Knitting Friendszy

I have always admired knitted items with exquisite designs on them. Since I've never had the patience to do a really intense project, I wanted to start with something relatively simple.  Being that it is winter in Maine, I decided to try my first snowflake hat. I LOVE how it came out!  ( I see many more in my future in an assortment of colors... )  As I was knitting happily along, I was thinking about who this hat would be for. The first person that came to mind is a very sweet gal who takes great care of me at Starbucks. :)  Wanted to bless her with a little something for her holiday and the long Maine winter.  The Simple Snowflake by  LaVon Murphy The Simple Snowflake  pattern  can be found on Ravelry. You do need an account to get the pattern from there, but it's free, and it's a fun place to meet other knitters and share patterns and ideas. © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before using

Those that know me, know how much I love pinks and purples. When I shop, I am automatically drawn to those colors. That goes for yarn too... will always go for those first. After color, the next is texture, and I love to touch the yarn and let my imagination run wild. All kinds of possibilities! Christmas day I decided to whip up a little something for a special little girl.  Here she is modeling for me.. you can't get cuter than that!!  The Mittens The Model Love how they turned out!  The  pattern  I used was:   Classic Mittens This pattern includes both straight needles and circular/dpn patterns.  It's an old favorite, and I use it almost all the time. I use worsted weight yarn for these. *********************** © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before using any photos, text or content from this blog/site.  The use of concepts/ideas from this site are restricted to

I was looking for a hat that would work up quickly and easily, and was a little on the slouchy side. I spied this hat by Judy Marples on Ravelry, and just had to make it. However, I wanted to do something different with the yarn. So instead of using the Worsted Weight Yarn that the pattern called for, I used one skein of baby yarn, and one skein of sock yarn together. This made just about the same weight as Worsted. What I like is that because of the yarn that I chose, it is a lot softer, and drapier. It feels so nice to the touch, I just LOVE my new hat! Again, I am not a hat person, but I am working on mittens to match, so I guess you just might see me sporting my new hat around town!  I needed a proper model to show off the hat, so my friend Lisa happily obliged.  Of course now I have to make one for her.. lol ;) This is one of those hats that you can pull all the way to the front and have the top stand up more, or wear it like Lisa does, hanging down the b

My husband is constantly asking if my knitting projects are for him. This one started out being for someone else, but it came out on the larger side, and so Rob inherited the hat. I guess he doesn't mind since he wears it outside and has claimed it as "his"... As you can see below, the pattern is pretty straightforward, knits, and purls. When the hat is on your head, it flattens out nicely and looks good. I love the pinwheel detail of the top of the hat The pattern is available at Lete's Knits  © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before using any photos, text or content from this blog/site.  The use of concepts/ideas from this site are restricted to personal/non-commercial uses only. 

When I saw the name of this cabled scarf, I was in love. I just had to knit it. Took a while, as it is fairly long, but I wanted to finish it for Bethany. She models it below. When you live in the most northern part of Maine, you need something warm! You can find the pattern here:  The Irish Hiking Scarf © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before using any photos, text or content from this blog/site.  The use of concepts/ideas from this site are restricted to personal/non-commercial uses only. 

I have a chihuahua and he gets cold pretty easily. He outgrew a sweater that was given to him as a pup, so I made him one to replace it. I had some left over chocolate brown and threw in a red racing stripe. It didnt exactly come out the way I wanted, and when I ask him if he wants to put on his sweater, he runs and hides under the kitchen table! hahaha  Oh well! I will keep trying!  Alonso taking a selfie...  © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before using any photos, text or content from this blog/site.  The use of concepts/ideas from this site are restricted to personal/non-commercial uses only. 

One of the last things that I knit a year or so ago was a lacey, drapey, scarf. I don't care for making scarves. I will put that out here right now... lol   They TAKE TOO LONG! I would much rather do something quick like mittens or a hat, so I don't lose interest. I found this beautiful white cottonish yarn at Marden's on sale. I loved it when I bought it, and when I saw this pattern, I knew right away who I would make it for. This one went all the way to Elaine in Fort Kent. I knew she would love it. I had her daughter Bethany, model it for me. :)   The pattern can be found on Ravelry. You do need an account to get the pattern from there, but it's free, and it's a fun place to meet other knitters and share patterns and ideas. Feather and Fan Scarf © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before using any photos, text or content from this blog/site.  The use of concepts/ideas from this site ar

My friend Sarah asked me to make her a cowl, and I searched all over the web to find the pattern for the one she wanted. Unfortunately, I just couldn't find it anywhere. So.. I started searching for something similar, and this caught my eye. The beautiful lattice work in the front was very stunning and she agreed that it would be a perfect addition to her wardrobe. We went shopping for yarn, and she picked a beautiful shade of grey that will look great with her wool coat this winter. I am happy to say that the ascot was not that difficult to do, and knitted up fairly quickly. There is some sewing involved afterwards, but you can do it all by hand and doesn't take too long. I love how it came out. And my lovely friend Sarah, modeling her new Ascot Cowl :) You can find the pattern here:  Pam Powers Knits The price for the pattern is $7.00  © Louise Cunningham 2014   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Please ask for written permission before usin

I have found that knitting hats is a love of mine as much as making mittens. I myself, don't really wear hats, and never did until I started running in the winter. I do love making them for friends though, and when I spy a pattern I like, it usually brings a particular friend to mind, and then my knitting needles get hopping..... So I will start off with this. When I spied this I instantly thought of my friends son and how cute he would be in it. I of course, had to model it also... The pattern for the Failynn Fox Cowl can be found here: The Velvet Achorn ********************* I also wanted to make something for this young lad's daddy, who happens to be a good friend. He is of Irish descent, and I really wanted something with cables in it. After trying out different patterns, I decided on this one. I asked once again, that I get a picture with him in it. Of course, since he is a hiker/climber/ultra-runner, he obliged in his own style!  Th

Since I have been away for so long, here are some of my favorites knits! Mittens: This is my friends daughter. I thought she would like a little pink and yellow!  Love how they turned out!  The pattern I used was:   Classic Mittens This pattern includes both straight needles and circular/dpn patterns.  It's an old favorite, and I use it almost all the time. I use worsted weight yarn for these. Another variation of the same pattern above. This time in my running team colors! These are my last winter's pair, I have run with these on my hands many a time. Warm enough that my fingers don't go numb, but they allow a little airflow so my hands don't get too hot. As of right now, they are missing! :(  Hopefully I will find them soon, as they are my favorites! These were knit with Vanna White's yarn. LOVE that yarn! It has a beautiful sheen to it.  ************************* Another great pattern that I use is by 

Welcome back to me! I have been absent from my knitting for over two years now. I took up running, and racing, and thus all my time and energy has been spent doing that. Right now, I am finding myself with a few extra minutes per day, and since winter has set in here in Maine, I decided it was time to do a fresh new look to the blog and start posting about something other than my running for a change. Thus... Knitting Friendszy was reborn! Today I finished a pair of mittens for a dear friend of mine. I wanted to do something for her. Many doors and opportunities in the running world have come my way because of her, and I will always be grateful.  I decided to try and whip up a pattern of my own. I looked at numerous patterns for mittens that I had been using, and decided to blend them together to create something that would work for me and be easy to use. I struggled with giving this pattern a name, but decided on "Winter Wonder Driving Mittens". I wanted to knit some mi