Latest blog posts

More Simple Skyp Socks
MelsNattyKnits,
I have made these socks previously but this pattern appears to be a ‘go to’ pattern for me as the finished socks always look great! It’s a free pattern I found on Ravelry called Simple Skyp Socks and they sure … Continue reading →

Starlight Slouch Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Starlight Slouch Hat pictured in size Adult Medium The story behind this hat is simple: although it's been months since I attended the Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March, I am still struggling to give myself permission to use all of my beautiful yarns (seriously you guys - the best way to give yourse…

Morning Glory Shawl
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Morning Glory Shawl You know when you buy yarn for a hat, but then you get confused and suddenly you're making a shawl instead? Well, that's pretty much the story behind this little number, which is made with roughly 430 yards of the light purple yarn and half as much of both the white and the dark…

Nikki's Slouch Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Nikki's Slouch Hat pictured in size Adult Small/Medium Here's another pretty hat with a simple story: my friend Nikki was struggling to find a nice slouch hat here in Switzerland. Meanwhile, I had just bought some lovely yarns at my local store knowing that they would be *perfect* for something. An…

The Rose is Magical Socks Test Knit
MelsNattyKnits,
Here’s another beautiful sock pattern by Penny Schumers who designs her patterns under the name Knit-by-Bit Designs. I test knitted these socks a few months ago: The Rose is Magical Socks. Penny actually featured some of my pictures on her … Continue reading →

Two Sock Pattern Test Knits
MelsNattyKnits,
It’s been a while since I posted about some of  my sock knits, particularly a couple of test knits. The first is Leaves are Changing Socks by Penny Schumers from Knit-by-Bit Designs. This sock pattern was designed because of Penny’s love … Continue reading →

Follow Your Arrow Shawl
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Follow Your Arrow Shawl First and foremost: a quick thanks to Nikki from Zender Studios for taking these photos for me; you're a doll for helping (and lending me your shoes for the pictures)! And with that being said, let's get to some details about the pattern... ... like the fact that I should pr…

A Random Act of Kindness
MelsNattyKnits,
We’ve all heard about them and we’ve probably all participated in a random act of kindness but usually it involves someone you know. In this case, a random act of kindness I received was from a complete stranger. If you’re … Continue reading →

Single Stripe Mittens
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Single Stripe Mittens pictured in size small Sometimes I buy yarns because they BEG me to bring them home, all puppy dog eyes and soft squishiness. Sometimes I buy yarns because they're on great sale, and I'm my mother's daughter. And sometimes (like this time) I buy yarns because I happen to wande…

Xcellent Adventure Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Xcellent Adventure Hat pictured in small size What can I say about this hat? Well, I guess I could start by mentioning that I still had a skein of this yarn left over after finishing the Rainbow Rib Mitts , and I thought that the variegation of it might work well for a larger project (since the col…

Zigzag Slouch Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Zigzag Slouch Hat Pictured in size small This is another one of those designs that first appeared in my mind half-formed and hazy, and then solidified as soon as I bought the yarn. And while I know I'm reusing some concepts here (I used the same stitch pattern and combination of a solid yarn and a …

Rainbow Rib Mitts
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Rainbow Rib Mitts as seen near an *extremely* green pond thing I keep looking at the hands in these photos and thinking, "dang how did my nails get so long?!?!" (since I'm always the hands in my photos). Then I keep remembering that today, for the first time ever (that's not exactly true - my husba…

Reflecting Pool Cowl
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Reflecting Pool Cowl There's no denying it: this is one of those yarns that I bought because my raccoon brain demanded it (okay fine, maybe raccoon isn't accurate - it's not shiny although it's colorful. You get what I mean). And, as always with these yarns, as soon as I got it home I wondered what…

Little Birds Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Little Birds Hat Yet again the story behind this hat is simple: while at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March, I went on a quest to find the perfect silvery yarn for a hat design. After combing through all of the booths, I finally settled on the subtle luster of this 4 ply from Ripples Crafts. Then…

A Is For Ascot
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
A is for Ascot - toddler size Oh man, this is a project that I finished quite some time ago, but then I couldn't photograph and post it because my wild third child didn't want to get in front of the camera to model. And, of course, as soon as I FINALLY snapped these pics he also let me cut his hair…

Skye Shawl
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Skye Shawl Those of you who follow my Instagram may realize that I attended the Edinburgh Yarn Festival last month (not that I posted much - one photo, maybe?). What you may NOT realize is that I also bought a crapload of yarn. Of course, because my mother raised me to value a sweet deal, I bought …

Reverb Shawl
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Reverb Shawl First off, I hate to admit how long I've been working on this shawl, because, to be quite honest, I can no longer even remember when I started (nevertheless, I am 98% sure it was last year). And I know that may not sound like *that* long to some of you with years-old WIPs sitting aroun…

Pink Ponytail Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Pink Ponytail Hat A few of you have been asking for a ponytail/messy bun hat, and I'll admit there are two reasons why I haven't jumped on the trend. #1 - Hedwig (my fake head) looks absolutely RIDICULOUS when I try to put her lovely hair in any kind of updo, which means that I have to model any ve…

Quatrefoil Cowl
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Quatrefoil Cowl What can I say about this yarn? The minute I saw the color I KNEW I HAD TO HAVE IT, even though this yarn weight (worsted) in a mostly-cotton blend can be hard to design for (Why? Because lace isn't very crisp in this weight, the lack of stretch compared to wool makes it less ideal …

Arrowhead Hat
noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen Tracy),
Arrowhead Hat Pictured in Adult Large (that's why Hedwig's in her big hair today) The story behind this hat is simple: I have a friend who stru ggles to find a hat big enough for her hair, and I happen to know a n inde pendent knitwear accessory designer who loves to make people stuff th ey can't s…