I just received my three samples of my new Winter Trails pattern back from my test knitters.. and before I put them in this month's trunk shows, I thought I would share a picture.

For this pattern, I chose to have it tested in three different worsted weight yarn blends,
but all in a wintry off-white. 

I love seeing the differences that yarn choice makes in this design.

From the right: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Natural, Cascade Venezia Worsted in color #101, and Cascade Cloud 9 in color #101.

I think that my favorite has got to be Cascade Cloud 9. I have always really enjoyed how a fuzzy yarn like this looks knitted up in cables. (Here is another example of great cable-to-fuzz ratio. Oh and here is another favorite fuzzy knit.)

Thank you to Veronika, Stephanie, and CeRae for doing such a great job on these knits for me!

Pattern available HERE.

I am happy to tell you that there is a new addition to my pattern line! 

And yes.. since you asked.... I AM proud of myself for completing this pattern while having a new baby in the house! :)

Although I seem to be designing at a snail's pace these days, I am very happy with how this hat turned out.

 The cable pattern weaves through itself and is very fun to work up. Also.. the entire project knits up quickly with a worsted weight yarn. The end result is a squishy, cozy, elegant hat, perfect for a cold winter's day.

For the hat pictured, I chose The Fibre Company Organik yarn in Arctic Tundra after being 

inspired by this lovely knit. What a fabulous yarn this is! 

This is my first time working with it, and the texture of this yarn is amazing. 

Soft, slightly shiny, slight halo.. gorgeous.

Here is the pattern information for those of you interested in knitting up a Winter Trails hat of your very own:

SIZE

Women’s Medium-Large

(fits 19–23” / 48–58cm head circumference)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Brim Circumference approx 17” / 43cm unstretched.

MATERIALS

The Fibre Company Organik [70% Merino, 15% Alpaca, 15% Silk; 98 yd/90m per 1.75 oz / 50g skein]; color: Arctic Tundra; 2 skeins or approx 180 yd / 165m of a worsted weight wool or wool blend.

Alternate Yarns: Cascade Yarns Venezia Worsted, Madelinetosh Tosh Merino, Malabrigo Merino Worsted

1 16” / 40cm US7 / 4.5mm circular needle for brim.

1 16” / 40cm US8 / 5mm circular needle for body of hat.

1 set of US8 / 5mm double pointed needles

Cable needle

Stitch marker

Tapestry needle

GAUGE

18 sts/ 24 rows = 4" / 10cm in Stockinette stitch on US8 / 5mm needles or size needed for accurate gauge.

The pattern contains both charted and written instructions.

As always, thank you to Julie Crawford for modeling and to her husband for the excellent photography. 

I hope that you enjoy the pattern!

This pattern is now available in French!

I just recently had this lovely set of pattern samples knit up for me by one of my fabulous test/sample knitters, Anne. This is my Autumn Vines Beret and Oak Grove mitts worked up in the lovely Road to China Light yarn in the Ruby colorway by The Fibre Company. I've used this yarn before but I especially I love the elegant look it gives to these designs in particular. The slight fuzzy texture and sheen is so luxurious!

Although the stitch pattern is different, I've always felt that this hat and mitt pattern would serve as an excellent coordinating set, especially knit up in the same colorway like this.

I often have samples knit up for trunk shows and to put on display in different venues... but this particular set.. I wish I could keep. It's so pretty!

Autumn Vines Beret pattern found HERE. 

Oak Grove mitt pattern found HERE. 

Yarn found HERE.

There are so many good things lately that I have been very happy and excited about...

First of all.. on a personal note.. our little guy is now 2 months old and is all smiles these days.

Just a smiling face sitting atop a pair of shoulders. No neck in sight. :)

Aside from that, I've felt re-enthused about my knitting and have been working on a new design!

Squishy elegant cables are always a treat.

Also. I am planning out a trip to Santa Clara, California at the end of February because I am going to be a vendor at Stitches West again this year! The neckless baby and I will be sharing a booth again with Lisa Sanchez from Becoming Art. Crazy? Yes, probably. But it will be fun.

See.. so many good things.

When I was recently invited to my friend's baby shower celebrating the birth of her new baby son born only 3 days before my own.. I was a bit concerned. Not about attending. But about getting her a gift.

These days, I rarely get out of the house.. Not only does it seem to take half the day to get myself ready to go anywhere, but between lugging around a huge diaper bag, and a baby carrier containing a baby that may start screaming at any moment.. shopping is a bit nightmarish at this point. Not to mention.. my first attempt at grocery shopping with both children last week has left me traumatized to the point in which I may never recover...

So I am very happy to say that with a little ingenuity and the help of the internet..  I put together a clever little baby gift (if I do say so myself) without leaving the house. 

In keeping with the "owl themed" baby shower, I purchased these sweet hand-painted little owl shirts from this awesome etsy shop. A onesie for baby Logan and a little tee shirt for his older brother, Cole. 

I just love these..

I then found a stray envelope and handcrafted a personalized card using the computer and some of my daughter's construction paper.

And then comes the cutest part.

Using some scraps of yarn, felt, some left over buttons, and this pattern as a guide,

I created this cute baby owl as a present topper...

..and attached him to the box like this..

All of the wrapping materials were recycled as well.. 

(because I am one of those people that carefully folds up and hoards 

wrapping paper and ribbons when I receive a gift.)

So there you have it.

An owl themed gift created from the comfort of my own home.

And by the way.. she loved it. :)

Over the past few weeks I have gone through my pictures from the photoshoots for Coastal Knits and was reminded of how much I enjoyed that experience. For those of you familiar with our book, you'll know that it isn't me modeling my designs, it's actually my former babysitter and friend Andrea.

Hannah and I had originally intended to model for the book ourselves, but since I ended up pregnant during the time the pictures were taken.. I wasn't exactly feeling or looking very "model-y".

It really worked out well however because not only did Andrea make for a perfect model, but now I have a super cute and squishy baby too! :)

We spread the picture taking over three separate days using the evening time for the best light. 

My husband, daughter, and Andrea's fiance, Hunter accompanied us each time. 

On a side note.. Both Andrea and Hunter are two of my most favorite people and couldn't make a cuter couple! 

In fact.. you podcast listeners might be interested to know that Hunter is also the voice behind the Never Not Knitting podcast theme song! We have known Hunter for years. He is an amazing and talented guy, and proved to be a great help on the photoshoots as well. He worked the second camera for me and helped us carry coats, props, and even my daughters pink sippy cup. What a guy.

We were able to capture some really pretty model shots of Andrea for the book, but it wasn't all serious work all of the time...there were definitely some silly times too.

Additionally.. Andrea was such a great sport because I made her do all sorts of uncomfortable things.. like model in front of onlookers. 

That's the awkward part about photoshoots in public places. :)

I also made her climb eucalyptus trees for the Rustling Leaves Beret photoshoot.

and instructed her to stare at them lovingly...

Which she actually did. 

Poor girl. I really put her through it. :)

We weren't the only ones who had fun though.. my daughter LOVED exploring our coastal locations with my husband while we were busy taking pictures.

She walked the flower fields of Shell Creek Rd...

Ran through the waves at Morro Strand Beach...

Climbed the gnarled oaks in the Los Osos Oaks State Reserve...

And walked the Moonstone Beach Boardwalk with us.

And had a fabulous time with Andrea as well. 

Andrea started babysitting for us when my daughter was only 8 months old and the two of them have a very special relationship. My daughter looks up to her so much. It is very sweet.

What a fun experience it was creating this book with friends distant and local. It was a lot of work, but I will always look back on the process with fond memories.

Thank you again to Andrea and Hunter for all of your help with our project. 

We couldn't have done it without you!

Someone that I know is now 1 month old...

...and has gained 3 pounds...and grown 2 1/2 inches...as you might have noticed.

I haven't wanted to mention it to him, but his Owlet sweater is already growing a bit snug around his tummy. And lets not even get into the double chin situation. :)

The month has gone by all too fast. I can't believe how much he has already changed and grown.

The past few weeks have reminded me of how unbelievable time consuming newborns can be.

It is amazing how much I work and how little I accomplish. At the end of the day I try to remind myself that this is the most important job I can be doing right now.. taking care of my little chubby guy.

The rest can be put on hold for the moment because this special time won't last long... and in a year from now I will miss this roly-poly baby in his handknit sweater sitting on the couch with his big tummy and multiple chins.

Somehow between all of the feedings, diapering, and soothing.. I managed to knit up this stripey little hat for him a few weeks back. I'm a bit surprised that I actually got this done. I rarely have time to myself anymore, and when I do.. Instead of knitting, I find myself exhausted and staring blankly at the living room wall. I know that when we get into more of a routine, I will have more energy and get my creative enthusiasm back.

This little hat was knit from two stray balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, and I made up my own pattern using Kate Oates awesome Math For Hats book as a guide. 

I love the way this little project turned out and I think baby does too... maybe.. I dont know.. It's kind of hard to tell. :)

It just feels good to get something off the needles. It makes me feel productive.

Congratulations to Tonia!
The winner of the Blogiversary Book Giveaway!

Since the release of our Coastal Knits book, it has been so fun for me to see all of the pictures of the book projects that many knitters have completed and shared on Ravelry. With the amazing selection of knitting patterns now available, I'm always so flattered when knitters decide to make something from a pattern that I've designed. 

Out of all of the Coastal Knits patterns that I contributed to the collection, my favorite is the Gnarled Oak Cardigan. This design turned out exactly as how I had envisioned it. 

I love knits with texture. The cable and oak leaf motif in this sweater yoke is fun to knit and really stunning with its embossed appearance. 

This sweater was inspired by a very special location on my coastline. 

An eerie, ancient forest of oak trees that are completely twisted and bent with age. 

The kind of trees that you would think only exist in storybooks. I've never seen oaks like this anywhere else.

I am very attached to this particular location and knit, so when I saw another knitter's beautiful version pop up on Ravelry... I was thrilled.

This Gnarled Oak was knit up by Mary (dextermaine on Ravelry). Not only did she do a fabulous job on the knitting and take beautiful pictures.. but she chose a seriously gorgeous colorway as well! 

Such a beautiful color for autumn.

As many of you already know, all of the Coastal Knits patterns are offered in a nice range of sizes. The Gnarled Oak Cardigan for example is available in sizes 32"- 61.5" 

It was nice for me to see how my cardigan looks knitted up in a larger size than the sample pictured in the book. I think it fits her perfectly and looks wonderful. Thank you Mary for letting me share your photos.

I originally planned for this sweater to be worn with 0-2" of positive ease.. but in Hannah's latest blog post, she shows how cute the cardigan is worn with negative ease as well! Check out her photos here!

For anyone interested in knitting the Gnarled Oak Cardigan from Coastal Knits, I hope you will join us for the Gnarled Oak Knit-A-Long taking place in the Coastal Knits Ravelry group!

In celebration of my four year "blogiversary" I have a nice stack of knitting books to give away!

I love knitting books. Love. Them. 

There are so many fabulous books out there, but here are a few newer releases that will really round out your knitting library.

Starting at the top of the stack...

A Knitter's Home Companion

What a completely charming little book this is. This isn't just a book of knitting patterns, a book of essays, or a recipe book.. it is actually all three. And it is put together in a very touching way. This book is written and illustrated by Michelle Edwards and in it she shares the role that knitting has played in her relationships with family, friends and her community throughout her life.

60 More Quick Knits

A great, go-to accessory book of 60 patterns all using Cascade 220 Sport yarn. There are 20 hats, 20 scarves, and 20 mitten designs for you to choose from. This book offers many cute patterns in a wide variety of styles so there is something here for everyone. This is a great resource for knitted gift ideas.

Custom Knits 2

If you enjoyed Wendy Bernards first book offering, Custom Knits, as I did, then you will also love Custom Knits 2. As someone who loves sweater knitting, I really appreciate Wendy's amazing insight on how to plan, alter, add-on, convert, and customize sweater patterns. This book contains tons of extremely useful information as well as several beautiful garment designs. An amazing publication for sure.. although the pictures of the women modeling their sweaters with their bikini bottoms will always make me chuckle just a little bit. :)

10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters 

In this book, Vicki Stiefel and Lisa Souza offer up a fun and relaxed approach to knitting with their 10 secrets to knitting success. Its a great read with lots of fun stories, information, and interviews.. not to mention... some seriously cute patterns too! I desperately am wanting to make my daughter the
Princess Garden Skirt.

Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters

Ok... I seriously am in love with this book! My time as a knitter has taught me how important finishing is for every knitted project. This book covers it all. Zippers.. seaming.. steeking.. blocking.. everything. It's a great reference book. I think that everyone should own a copy!


To enter to win this collection of five fabulous books, please leave a comment (including contact information) under this post. In your comment I'd love to hear how long you have been a reader of Never Not Knitting and what your favorite knitting book is. And no.. you don't have to say Coastal Knits. :)

I will randomly pick and announce a winner from among the comments left on Sunday December 4th.
You have until December 3rd to enter.

Remember only one comment per person please. And if you do not leave any contact information for me such as an email address, ravelry id, or so forth, I will have to pick another winner if your name is chosen.
I have had too many problems with unclaimed prizes and it's important that I am able to get ahold of you if you win. Thank you!

And just to make sure.. you do know about the blogiversary pattern sale, right?
Click HERE for more information!

 Four years ago, on November 26th, I started the Never Not Knitting blog... and I am so glad that I did! 

This knitting blog has opened up amazing opportunities for me, allowed me to meet so many inspiring and talented people, and has completely changed the course of my career. My blogiversary date of November 26th is certainly a day to celebrate, and every year I try to do something special on this day for my readers.

As a thank you to all of you who have supported me over the past four years, I will be offering up a special sale and giveaway starting tomorrow. 

In honor of our new little baby, all of the Never Not Knitting children's pattern pdfs will be 50% off. 

The sale will go on all day tomorrow, November 27th, from midnight to midnight PST. 

 To receive your discount, please enter the special code "4yearsofnnk" in the checkout process. 

Here is what you have to choose from!

Chloe

Sheepish

Very Cherry

Spring Garden Tee

Watermelon

Haltermelon

Molly

Playful Stripes

Roses Are Red

Violets Are Blue

The Birds

The Bees

And just so there are no misunderstandings... To make a purchase, please visit my pattern store HERE, Please click the 'add to cart' button below the patterns of your choice. A new window will pop up called  'Ravelry Shopping Basket'. You will see a little link at the bottom that says "Use Coupon Code", please enter in the code there. Then click 'apply'. 

Please email me if you have any questions: nevernotknitting@gmail.com.

Enjoy your new patterns and please check back tomorrow for an amazing drawing giveaway for you to enter!

I feel similarly about chocolate-covered strawberries as I do about handknit-covered babies..

Both are great by themselves.. but together, they make for an amazing combination.

I take advantage of every opportunity for our little guy to wear his handknits.. as many as possible at one time.

For his one week doctors appointment, I dressed him in a little handknit bundle with his Puerperium cardigan, Aviatrix hat, and Saartje's Bootees... Which turned out to be fairly ridiculous because as soon as we walked in to see the doctor, the nurse instructed us to strip him down to his diaper so that we could weigh him...oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

I love seeing him in his little sweaters so much that I've been putting them on even on days when we don't leave the house. I have a tendency to suffer from that weird syndrome where you don't use things because they are "too special". I don't want to do that with these handknits. Seeing him wear them makes me really happy and if I keep waiting for special occasions, he may never get to wear them at all. Babies grow so fast and all.

I am very happy with the fit of this Puerperium cardigan. It's turning out to be a very useful addition to his newborn wardrobe. The Acadia yarn I chose to knit it in is so soft and comforting. The other benefit we have discovered is that apparently it is also delicious. I seriously cannot keep this sweater sleeve out of this little guy's mouth. But I keep on trying because I'm not sure how healthy it is for an infant to ingest wool, alpaca and silk fibers.. no matter how delicious they may be...

I looked up Acadia yarn on the Kelbourne Woolens website and this is what they have to say about it:

Acadia is an absolutely beautiful, completely original and custom designed 2-ply yarn with a rustic look and soft hand. A subtle tweed effect created by the silk noil is combined with a heathered base and then overdyed in the duotones we are known for, creating incredible depth of color.

Perhaps they should add... 

Also surprisingly tasty.

A couple of weeks before my due date, you may have remembered me mentioning that I had a few unfinished projects on the needles.. 

Once I finished my Gramps Cardigan, I realized that there was no way I was going to finish up my Rocky Coast before the baby came. Instead I opted for an instant gratification baby knit.

I decided to make our little one a last minute Owlet sweater out of the beautiful Madelinetosh Tosh DK in the Olivia colorway. This tiny sweater only took me a couple of days to knit up.. which was perfect timing!

Do you see the little owls perched on the yoke? I've always found Kate Davies' Owl sweater patterns so incredibly clever. I've been meaning to knit myself one for quite awhile. Eventually it would be great to make one for my daughter as well so that her and her brother can match. One day I will get around to doing that... :)

Three days before my due date I went into my local craft store in search for the perfect buttons for the owl's eyes.

The lady working that day insisted that this sweater would NEVER fit our baby. 

She felt that it was entirely too small and that it was better fit for a doll. 

She mentioned this maybe.. um... 10 times. 

As I left.. she said... "You wait and see.. that sweater will never fit that baby..."

Well guess what lady... I tried it on the baby.. and it's too big.

So there.

:)

I am so happy to tell you that on Monday, November 7th, we welcomed our new baby boy. 

He is soft, and sweet and just perfect in every way. I couldn't have asked for a more precious baby. 

Seriously.. I love this little guy.. I can't even begin to tell you how much. I still can't believe that he is actually ours.

While I was pregnant, I guess I just assumed that our second child would be exactly like our first. 

I was expecting a light haired but mostly bald, 10 pound baby... but we ended up with this little guy instead.. a full head of dark hair and almost a full pound less than our daughter was at birth. 

But still more beautiful than I could have envisioned.

Soon after birth, I felt that it was only fitting for our new one to be adorned in handknits. 

Very quickly he was dressed up in his Malabrigo baby hat and matching Baby Sophisticate cardigan.

So that he could look his best when we introduced him to his big sister and the rest of our family... of course.

A perfect little gentleman.

And then again we just had to dress him up to go home. 

This time in the full ensemble with the coordinating booties... which fit by the way!

As we walked (or in my case.. were wheeled down) the halls of the hospital on our way out, I couldn't help but feel so much pride as both a mother and a knitter to overhear multiple nurses and patients commenting on the sweet little baby "in the sweater". 

Here is this new little life that I have created and nurtured for the past several months, and the handknits that were carefully selected and knit just for him. There is no greater sense of accomplishment than to see the two together.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have this little one join our family. Thank you to everyone for all of your kind emails and well wishes. I am happy to report that everyone here is happy, healthy and adjusting well. :)

More updates to follow!

My sincerest apologies to all of the baby sweaters that may be reading this post. Because what I am about to show you may incite feelings of insecurity, jealousy, perhaps even self-loathing.

It's to be expected. Those feelings are normal when you are dealing with a handknit this perfect. 

And this handsome.

 It's my finished Gramps Cardigan by Kate Oates, knit from Madelinetosh Tosh dk in Vintage Frame.

This is my favorite baby knit to date, and maybe my favorite knit EVER.

Because I am all about dressing our new little one like a preppy Grandpa. 

I imagine our baby wearing this sweater and studiously reading a baby book by the fire... because that's what a baby would do if he owned a sweater like this... and he would have very smart looking baby glasses and perhaps even carry something... like a baby handkerchief.. or something.. as well. Yes. Definitely.

I don't know what I like more..

Is it the cables.. the shawl collar.. the color??

Frankly, the entire combination is just crazy adorable. 

Especially with these shoes.. 

Who said it wasn't fun dressing a boy?!

I want to knit one in every size the pattern comes in, so he will always have one to wear.

I'm a bit obsessed.. can you tell?

In case this post makes you think I've gone off the deep end.. just keep in mind...
I'm having a baby in 3 days.
Emotions and hormones and irrational thoughts are running high.

:)

Several weeks back I knit up this quick little set for our new baby out of a gorgeous skein of Becoming Art Handspun yarn that has been waiting patiently in the stash for some time now.

The hat was knit from the pattern Quynn from the book Bambeanies. I love this design! Not only is it fun and quick, but I love how the ear flaps are constructed! Although I love the look of them, I've never been fond of knitting ear flaps onto hats.. until now.

These ear flaps are created as you knit through increases and decreases.. no picking up stitches... so nice!

This is a seriously adorable hat that I will be making again!

Along with the hat, I knit up some quick matching baby mitts out of another fabulous children's knitting book, 60 Quick Baby Knits. This book has tons of great practical baby patterns all knit from Cascade 220 yarn.. the perfect worsted weight. 

There is a sweater in there that I am dying to knit for our little one... eventually...

I can't wait to see our little guy in this handspun set! 

Another newborn sweater off the needles and ready for our baby boy.

This is knit from the Puerperium Cardigan pattern, and as soon as I discovered it, I felt the need to knit it IMMEDIATELY. 

It is a newborn sweater that I think will be so easy to slip on and off. 

The side buttons are extra adorable too.

The pattern calls for a small amount of DK weight yarn which I may or may not have massive quantities of.

There is nothing like tiny baby knits for using up stash yarn!

For this sweater I used a new Fiber Company yarn that I've been dying to try called Acadia. The wonderful softness and tweedy quality of the yarn made it really fun to work with. 

I rarely work with textured yarns such as these. It was a nice change of pace.

I was glad to have found a good application for these 2 skeins that have been lingering around for months.

Now to find projects for all of that "other yarn".

One of the very first things I cast on for our new baby are these ridiculously tiny and adorable baby shoes from the pattern, Saartje's Bootees.

This is actually the biggest size that the pattern offers, and they are just SO small. I wondered for a long time whether or not they would actually be big enough, but in the end decided to just complete the pair and hope for the best. It helped that I was reassured by two very kind knitters who provided photographic proof that these shoes do actually fit newborns. 

I suppose that newborns are much smaller than I actually remember them being. :)

This is one of the cutest unisex baby bootee patterns that I have come across, and they work up in no time! I would love to make more in different colors and using different yarn weights for some size variation.

I've already planned out our baby's "first outing" outfit. I think these bootees add the perfect touch.

Sometimes simple is good. As is in the case of this tiny, blue newborn hat.

It's knit from Rowan Calmer yarn so its stretchy and soft and a perfect hat for keeping baby's head warm while in the hospital. A very practical knit.

I remember making a special hospital hat for my daughter when she was born. It felt so much more special than the weird, not so soft, machine-knit, gender neutral, hats that they were giving out. 

When you are a knitter.. these things matter. 

One of my favorite things I have knit for the baby is this sweet little aviator style hat. 

This is from the free pattern, Aviatrix, and it's knit using Blue Sky Alpacas Sport.

It's hard to capture the hat's unbelievable cuteness with it just laying flat like this... It seriously needs to be modeled for the full effect. Unfortunately, there were no teddy bears around with the appropriate head size, so we'll just have to wait until baby arrives to get the perfect shot.

I know this hat will be warm and cozy and I love how it buttons around the chin. If I had more time, I would love to make this in every size and in many different yarn and button combinations. 

Did you know that this pattern actually comes in 7 different sizes with options for 3 different yarn weights?!? Amazing, right?