a wonderful story...

Have you seen this?  Alana Dakos and her 6 year old daughter wrote this adorable little book ‘Annie and the Swiss cheese scarf’.  When I saw this on Alana’s blog, Never not knitting, I knew I had to get a copy for my grand niece, Madeline.  It arrived, and I couldn’t wait to sit down and read it.  It is a well-written children’s book and the illustrations by Neesha Hudson are perfectly matched to the story.

I just love it!  I decided to knit the scarf; pattern is available on ravelry, so my niece could wear it while she was reading the adventures of Annie as she takes up knitting. Madeline is 5, a great age to be introduced to the art and should the spark ignite, enjoy a life long love of knitting.  I’m excited to spend some time with her and this wonderful little book over the holiday season. I’m hoping the accompanying skein of yarn and knitting needles will encourage her to knit her very first Swiss cheese scarf… 

vite cowl

Lovely model, daughter Kristi

My vite cowl is fresh off the needles.  Blocking really helped even out the bumps and uneven areas.  The pattern is super easy to follow and lightning fast to whip up. Last minute gifts anyone? I am very happy with the results.  Now I understand why all the buzz over on ravelry. May just have to make up another…

Love the big stitch definition- Soft, cushy and warm

❤ finally it's fall ❤

Finally, it feels like the season has changed from summer to fall here in Sunny So Cal.  When I woke up to rain on Friday, and gusty winds on Saturday, I knew it was ok to bring out the cozy warm garments from storage and I couldn’t be happier.  I love the beautiful fall colors, the smell of clean crisp air and the sound of crunchy leaves as I take my daily walk.

In celebration I decided I needed to make a new hat and chose to make a beret. I found this cute, easy to follow crochet pattern; Dynamite Beret by Jaime Eads Maraia from her e-book; Fancy-Schmancy (available on Amazon) or her website.

Dynamite Beret

Made with Madelinetosh DK (My favorite yarn) in the color Wicked (hehe).

                                       

                                                            ❤ Enjoy your weekend ❤

in the works

After knitting with size 1 and 2 double points for the past few projects, I felt the need to bring out the jumbo size 15 needles to mix it up a bit.

I’ve had the Vite Cowl pattern by designer Kristi Johnson in my revelry que (free download) for awhile and brought it out to play.  I just love bulky yarn and the instant gratification it gives to the knitter. I’m using Ella Rae Mega in a lovely lavender shade #304 for this project.

Off I go to make some more progress on this one.

the beginning...

Tiny cuteness

The Tiny Empress set is part of the Royal Petite knitting pattern collection from Blue Sky Alpaca.  This pattern, designed by Colleeen Powley, is so sweet.  It is a well written with easy to follow instructions.  The Blue Sky Royal Petite yarn is a dream to work with, so soft and the halo created within the stitch definition is well, heavenly.  What angel wouldn’t look adorable wearing this set of cozy cuteness?  I enjoyed ever minute of working on this project and can’t wait to give it to the intended baby girl due early next year.

A gift to knitalatte

If you’ve been stopping by for a while, you probably noticed the changes here on knitalatte. With the help of Karen Valentine, I was able to create the visual look and feel that I wanted for my blog.  I do hope you love it as much as I do!

As a way for me to remember the old knitalatte, I wanted to create a printed book so I turned to blog2print.  It was really quite easy. With a few simple steps, I was able to add the covers, photos and content. The timeline I chose for the book was from when I started the blog to when I transitioned to the new look. 

The book arrived and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.  What surprised me the most was how much I enjoyed reading all of your comments again.

Kind words are so powerful and make such a difference in our outlook on life.  They make me want to strive to be the best version of myself. To that end I will continue to create and share my projects with all of you here on knitalatte.  

I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who has stopped by and left thoughtful and encouraging comments.  It has uplifted my spirits and reaffirmed how much I love the blogging community. 

Paper or Tech?

Love both of these Magazines so much!

I’m still on the fence about electronic Magazines. I just purchased the fall/winter 2012 Debbie Bliss magazine at the Newstand and downloaded the e-version of the latest Jane Austin Knits onto my I-Pad.

My Pro-Con List for each method of delivery;

Regular Magazine

Fun to receive in the mail or purchase at the bookstore

Familiar method of reading and bookmarking pages

Keep as long as I like, share with friends/family or sell at a later date

Doesn’t age or travel well without protection

Takes up space, creates clutter

Downloadable version e-Magazine

Typically available before the newsstand version

A bit less expensive

Immediate download onto computer/I-Pad

Portable if carrying my device with me

No obvious harm to our environment

Love the zoom in feature

Worry that I may lose if device fails or becomes obsolete (Remember cassettes?)

Not possible to share with friends/family or sell at a later date

Unfamiliar with this type of reading, will take some getting used to…

I’d love to hear your thoughts.