February at last!

January is my least favorite month of the year. It so cold, snowy, and gloomy. I'm so glad it is over. It wasn't a fun month.

It started with me coming down with the stomach flu on January 2. I was just feeling myself again when hubby went in for outpatient hernia surgery on January 14. This is the first time either of us has had to have any surgery beyond oral surgery. It was very stressful and tiring for both of us. It was hard keeping up with my chores that had to be done, his chores that had to be done, plus taking care of him. He watched a lot of TV and I knit when I had time to set down. Hubby was off work for a week. He went back for a few hours after his post-op visit with the surgeon. He's healing well and getting back to normal activities.

There are a bunch of new patterns just waiting for me to have time to release them or finish them up. Here are two that were used for the Holiday Mystery Gifts KAL in 2009.

Cozy Ears Hat
This crocheted hat is a modern take on the vintage pony tail hats of the 1950s and 60s. It wraps around the head covering the ears and ties under the chin. It’s a soft and fuzzy hat that will warm your ears (and not crush your hair). Make it from that odd ball of novelty yarn that is lurking in your stash (or carry along a novelty yarn with some worsted weight yarn). About 60 yards of bulky weight yarn and and size J hook.

A Sassy Little Bib
Scraps of cotton worsted weight yarn, a fun button, and about an hour of your time are all you need to knit this cute little bib. It looks a little like a handbag, doesn't it? Use one color of yarn for the bib and a different color for the straps, or use the same color for both. About 50 yards of worsted weight cotton yarn on size 8 (5 mm) needles.

Both of these patterns are available as free pdfs on Ravelry. They're both formatted as little fold up booklets printed sideways on both sides of a sheet of paper.

Click the name of each pattern to go to the Ravelry page where you can download the pattern. You'll have to be logged in to access them. (If you're not a member of Ravelry, hurry and go sign up. It only takes a few minutes to become a member and have access to thousands of knitting and crochet patterns.)

I love seeing the photos of projects made from my patterns or having people favorite (heart) my patterns.

Have fun with these!