Since my basket seems to be bursting at its seams lately, I thought it would be fun to take a look at what’s inside.

First a finished object. I’ve always loved the crochet grocery nets that pop up on blogs regularly, but I never felt up to the challenge to make one myself. Luckily I found this knitting pattern.

I still have to test the bag in real life, but it’s amazing how much it stretches. I think I’ll make some more soon. I already have some requests by my girls  😉

Next up: a cardigan. It’s based on the Shalom pattern, but since I have thinner yarn and a bigger body than what the pattern is intended for, it will be different. I also want to be able to button it all the way down and if there is enough yarn left I’d like to add sleeves. So I guess it’s only the yoke that’s really based on the Shalom. Anyway, I think I will actually wear this one. The yarn is thrifted, but as far as I can tell it is real wool, so it will be a great warm sweater.

And then there’s this. I was browsing my own archives a few weeks ago and I found the scrap blanket that I started knitting when Amanda Soule started hers. I found pictures of it that is, since I threw it away when I thought I would never be knitting again because of the pain in my hands. Well, I am knitting again, I still love seeing her blanket every once in a while and I was also slowly accumulating some odd balls of scrap yarn, so I thought I’d start one again.

Well. that’s what’s in my basket right now, except for the little pink pouch that holds my notions and a notebook. I am itching to cast on some other projects though. I like to think that I’m a one project-at-a-time-knitter, but sometimes I seem to catch a bit of startitis. And I’m already doing that blanket on the side, so… Hmnn 😉

The receiver of the white cowl (4th picture in this post) was pleased with the design, but she stated she would use a scarf when it was really cold, since it was rather wide and therefor not suitable for colder weather.
Hmn. Okay…
So I took the challenge and used the same yarn (two threads Sparkle byZeeman and 1 thread Royal by Zeeman held together) to knit another cowl, that would be closer to her neck. My first trial involved flaps and splits, but it looked awful, so I frogged that and knit this simple ribbed one.
Mission accomplished.

She doesn’t really like how it looks though (I don’t either, but it’s practical and warm). Yesterday I saw that she solved that problem herself , by wearing the first, wider, cowl over this one, creating an even warmer cowl that looks great as well. I think she may be on to something…

Some Dutch readers told me that “drop stitch” is called  “lazy wife’s stitch” in Dutch. So what does that say about me and my cowls? Hmn.
Oh well. I did it again.
This time I used another pattern that I saw at Soulemama. It’s different because it creates waves by doing double and triple yo’s. I love how that looks.
I used one skein of Julia yarn by Zeeman on 7 mm  needles. That was all I had and it makes a scarf long enough to wear under a coat. 

Yep, hats again. I’m working through the remains of my epic cowl knitting and if you’ve been reading here before you know I love knitting hats to get rid of scraps. This was the Julia yarn (from Zeeman) that I used to knit two cowls (third picture).
To avoid running out of the yarn I kept it simple: a rib band and a round top. I could have done something more, since there is still a little bit left, but I do like these simple hats. I’m going to ask the receivers of those cowls if they’d like a matching hat. If not… well, I guess hats are like cowls. You can’t really have too many, right?

After knitting all those cowls I didn’t really feel like knitting for a few days, but on New Year’s Eve, my fingers started itching again. Seven of the cowls and the grey hat for my husband were knit from the same type of yarn (Marl Wool from Zeeman) and I guessed the leftovers were enough to make a hat.
So I cast on and started knitting. I kind of knit myself into the new year and finished it on the first of January.
I guessed right;  there was enough to make a nice slouchy hat. The very last pieces of the yarn became a pompom to finish it off.

I don’t know if I like the way it looks on me though… (it is nice and warm)