Little Poncho

This is a poncho I made for my eight-year-old niece.  The idea was taken from a pattern on lionbrand.com called Downtown Tot Poncho.  This one is worked in double crochet, with a size L hook.  It is worked in two rectangles and then seemed together and finished with double and single crochet stitches around the edges.  We purchased the hoodie to go with the poncho.  

Little Poncho

Fingerless Mittens

Why fingerless mittens?  Texting, phoning, strumming, drumming, piano playing, driving, high-five-ing, "quote, unquote -ing," coffee drinking, Pop Tart eating, and. . . oh, yes . . . knitting and crocheting :)

Below are two pairs of easy fingerless mittens.  They were very fun to make.   These were both made as flat pieces.  (I am now working on some in the round which I will share later).  These two samples are basically the same pattern size, though one involves intarsia with a cable.  

Easy Fingerless Mitten (basic pattern)

Size 10 needles
Cast on 30 stitches loosely
Row 1-4: Seed stitch (Row 1: K1, P1 across.  Row 2: Purl the knit stitches, Knit the purl stitches. Repeat )
Row 5: K across
Row 6: K2, Purl to the last two stitches, K2
Row 7: same as Row 5
Row 8: same as Row 6
(I repeated Rows 5 and 6 for approximately 7 inches from the cast on edge)
Last 5 Rows: Seed stitch
Bind off.
Sew or join the edges leaving approximately  a 1" space for the thumb.
I finished the top edges with a single crochet.

Note:  The mitten with the cable inserted is worked differently.  If you would like the detail on this, please send a comment and  I am happy to share it. I have not written it up for the blog at this time.  Also, this mitten requires you to make a left hand and a right hand version of the mitten.  

Oh, and if you are thinking that this pair looks a little funny because the colors don't match, you are right.  Variegated yarn is wonderful but...have I mentioned I'm knew at this?  In the end I decided they were cool and I liked them anyway.  

  

Chunky Basket

Happy holidays to everyone!  It is now December and I am working on a couple of Christmas gifts. But, before moving onto those, I want to share with you my second entry for a basket.  This version is much more sturdy than the basket bowls I featured in the previous post.  I used a bulky acrylic yarn, though, I would probably use a wool the next time around.

I found this pattern at Crochet in Color (crochetincolor.blogspot.com).  Liz, the creator, is a master at making these baskets and her examples are awesome, beautiful!  This is my first try and you can see that my rows are not as straight and tight as her baskets.  Something to strive towards.  So, my chunky basket actually came out a little lumpy (for those that listen to will i am ;).

Chunky Basket