• DIY,  Knitting

    DIY: Pom Pom

    For my latest pattern (Reversible Smocking Hat), and for many of my Christmas gifts I had to make a pom poms. I actually have not made pom poms enough before to decide on a way to make them. There are several different methods. Here is what I tried first. https://techknitting.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-pom-poms.html or https://garnstudio.com/lang/us/video.php?id=95d This tutorial is great but I don’t prefer this way, mostly because I get bored threading the yarn through the center of the cardboard ring. You can purchase a pom pom maker like this one sold on amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Extra-Large-Pom-Maker/dp/B001CE38QQ Here is how I do it. I prefer making pom poms this way because it requires nothing more than…

  • Knitting

    Winding Yarn

    I don’t know about you but I wait anxiously for the mail when a package is coming. Especially if it is from my favorite yarn dyer. Not to belabor the point but…SKEIN YARNS is amazing! Here is the exciting package I got a couple of days ago. The lighting in my house has been terrible, due to winter storms. These are wild apple and pastel sky in the silk/merino worsted base. I am using them to knit up my head wrap with a smock pattern. So I still remember the first time my yarn came in a hank like this instead of a center pull ball or skein (like the…

  • Knitting,  Photography

    Tea and Knitting

    Looking back at my recent posts I have done a lot of DIY recently, and I have not said a word about knitting. I have been working on a few projects. I have been drinking tea in the afternoons lately as I knit. I have a small collection of tea cups. I cycle them out daily, it is so lovely to drink tea out of a beautiful china cup. This one is a Windsor Bone China cup that I found at a thrift store. I will be taking pictures of the other cups as I use them. As for my knitting projects… I finished my smocking hat and am prepping…

  • Design,  DIY,  Knitting

    DIY: Tulle Bow Headwrap

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! So this diy is a little bit crazy. I had been wanting to make a headwrap that was big and a little more out there. If I were getting married and having a bohemian hippy-ish wedding I might actually wear this for a more modern take on a veil. If I could find a way to make it not look like minnie mouse. Maybe this is just what you are looking for to accesorize your Disney themed party outfit.  If you can’t get it to look right on yourself try it on a little girl…it looks amazing on my two year old! Take a length of tulle a…

  • Knitting,  Photography

    Handmade Christmas {part 2}

    So it has been a few weeks since my Handmade Christmas post where I dreamed about what I would knit with some very fabulous yarns. Since then I have (surprisingly and uncharacteristically) knitted several of them! I don’t think I am any closer to having my Christmas gifts done, at least it does not feel that way. However, I feel a sense of accomplishment and wanted to share. Here is a hat I am in the process of knitting for my oldest son. I think it will be a Christmas present…one of several. In the beginning of fall, when we took a family trip to Portland, I took Corin to…

  • Knitting

    My Favorite Yarn {Giveaway Winner}

    I am posting this late…much later than I had hoped. I just successfully completed the 9 hour trip from my parents house to my own…with all three kids…BY MYSELF! Having two year old twins is wonderful and complicated. All that to say I am sorry for the delay. Now, before I announce the winner I wanted to answer the questions myself. My Name: (obvious) Elisa McLaughlin Who taught me to knit? My mother, and youtube. Mom covered the basics and I learned the rest from video tutorials. Favorite Yarn: I love Malabrigo Worsted Merino and MadelineTosh DK but my favorite is anything from Skein Yarns. I love her sock yarns,…

  • Knitting

    Courage to Draw

    Sometimes I underestimate, or perhaps just forget the amount of courage it takes to pick up a pen and draw. Like most things in life the older I get the more self assurance it takes. As a child I loved to draw. I have sketch book after sketch book filled with my imaginings. Somewhere along the road to adult hood I lost my courage. I gave into the, misguided, mis-conception that to be a great artist you must have a natural ability from birth to capture the world around you. Over the years I have found that this is not truth. Just as in any art you must first copy…

  • Knitting,  Pattern Release

    {New Pattern} Lovely Chevron Slouchy Beanie

    Introducing my newest pattern! The Lovely Chevron Slouchy Beanie…hot of the press and ready to order. If you are subscribed to my email list the “Pattern Release” email should be arriving shortly with a coupon. This hat is my new favorite…I love Dream in Color Classy yarn in the Cloud Jungle color way. Happy Knitting!! Ravelry Store Etsy Shop THE PATTERN: Chevrons! I design with what I love and at the moment I am in love with chevron patterns. That is how this slouchy beanie was inspired. It is knit up with a delicate chevron pattern (see chart on page 3). Get ready for winter by knitting it out of…

  • Knitting

    Drumroll please…

    I cannot begin to express how overwhelmed I was by the response to this giveaway. Especially considering the last time I had a giveaway there were 6 comments. This time I had over 200 responses. Thank you, everyone, for participating. This has been a wonderful experience for me. I wish I could respond to everyone’s kind words but there were so many! So, to all of you, as a thank you I want to give this little extra gift.   This coupon code: GIVWY1 is good for everything in my Etsy Shop. Just use the coupon code when you check out. This coupon can also be applied to the multiple…

  • Free Downloads,  Knitting,  Photography

    Hand Made Christmas

    {Giveaway at the bottom of the post} Every year I have high hopes that I will make every gift instead of spending lots of money on impersonal store bought items. Then, every year, due to my poor planning, I end up buying everything last minute. This year will be different. I am starting now, I am going to make a list of all the things I have to make, I will share some of it here. On top of Christmas I also have several baby gifts to make so those will also be in my list. This beautiful DK weight yarn by MadelineTosh will be used to make a couple…