It's two days before Thanksgiving and my mind is on the big feast - the menu planning, shopping, cooking, and so on. However, I'm a knitter, so I'm also thinking about holiday presents for everyone - what I have on hand and what I need to knit and/or crochet. This leads me to think about the yarns I have on hand, and believe me, at KnittingGuru there's always a huge stash of yarns. Still, I may have to order some new yarns for the season. That's why I jumped at the chance to add My Favorite Yarns on Craftsy to my blog. It updates the yarns for sale at Craftsy, including their many excellent deals. You can get a head start on these sales by checking the Craftsy Yarns in the right hand column of this page.
While you're looking there, please also check out my Craftsy Pattern Store which has so many patterns for things to give for Christmas. I always think of the babies first at this time of year. For the littlest babies, why not whip up this Baby Santa Cocoon and Hat Set. It takes only a few hours and not too much yarn. Think how cute your Christmas photos will be with baby wearing this!
The cocoon set is made with 200 grams of red knitting worsted used doubled and about 25 grams of white. While I used some Paton's Classic Merino Wool to make this cocoon because I had it on hand, it would knit up beautifully in Cascade 220 Yarn in Ruby which has the same yardage. And... if you click on that yarn in My Favorite Yarns on Craftsy, you'll see that the regular price is $7.65, but it's now On Sale at Craftsy for $5.40 per skein. That means you could make this cocoon set for less than $16.20 for the yarn and only $6.50 for the pattern.The white yarn will last for many projects, so the next time you make this set your cost will only be $10.80 if you take advantage of this current sale at Craftsy.
That's very little to make such a warm and cozy outfit for your baby or grandchild. But consider this -- The very same pattern can be used to make a springtime or Easter cocoon with other colors. You might want to pick the beautiful Goldenrod Yellow, the Mystic Purple, or the Puget Sound Blue to make the cocoon and hat and trim them with your left-over white. I'm sure once you make this speedy pattern, you'll want to do it again and again for your baby, and those of your relatives and friends.
So while your checking your turkey and pumpkin pie recipes, take a minute and click here to see the color choices for Cascade 220 now!
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
My final Autumn post for this year is the quintessential Autumn vegetable - The Pumpkin!
What can we say about pumpkins? They look good, they taste good, and they're a great color. So my knitting brain naturally connected this to babies who also always look great, especially when they're wearing cuddly cocoons. First came the Carrot Cocoon, then the Green Pea Pod Cocoon, and now the Pumpkin Baby Cocoon....
Just what's needed for taking babies Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House on Thanksgiving, or any other day! The cocoon is snug and warm for Autumn strolls in the carriage, photo-ops, or just cuddling. It's a great way to calm your infant! The pattern has a photo tutorial on how to knit the leaves and includes step-by-step pictures and directions for making invisible increases.
Here's a full view of the cocoon:
This Pumpkin Cocoon is available as a knitting pattern and there's also one available that I knitted in pure Merino wool. The pattern is available at Etsy and Craftsy. The ready-to-wear cocoon is available at my Etsy BurryBabies shop.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!
