Castle Cake and Dragon

Here it is!  I finally did a castle cake!  I wanted to do this type of cake for my daughter's 3rd birthday, but was unsure about the plan of attack and ended up doing a cricut cake version of a princess castle cake.  However, this year I'm happy to say that I summoned the confidence to do it.  Inside is red velvet cake and the hardest part was probably my own lack of sleep and at the end I just got too tired to put any more details on it. 

The party went great, the cake was (to most of the guests) unreal that it was an actual cake they could eat.  Overall, we managed 30 kids hyped up on sugar, relatively no injuries, juice spills, and I even got Darth Vader to show up too!  Another successful birthday party done.

Loom Knitting Double Knit Cowl

I just had to try it.  I am a knitter and my weapon of choice are two sticks, but I have secretly been falling in love with looms.  I started with a circular loom making toques (I mean beanies to my American friends) and was surprised at how easy it was to loom knit.  So I decided to try this double knitting on a loom, where both sides look knit which is great for things that have to look finished on both sides.

So here is my double knit cowl done on a loom.  I have shown a photo of the loom below and used the entire length of it to get this scarf's width.  All I did was double knit until my piece measured 24 inches long, and then I stitched the ends together.

Easy, beautiful, and fun to make!

Elegant Blue Bird Baroque Cake

Happy birthday to my sweet little girl who is a big 2 today!  It has been awhile since I delved into cake making (exactly one year since my last cake!) and I completely forgot all my cake skills!  I couldn't even remember how to properly ice a cake, but here is the cake I made for her.  I really wanted  her to have an elegant cake rather than a "kiddie" cake.  However, as I was doing the baroque fondant pieces the cake started looking like a wedding cake!  So I kept the top more simple and added the birds instead of a floral topper.

The cake is a deluxe chocolate cake, tinted blue buttercream icing and the rest are fondant and gum paste.  I got this wonderful idea to place the birds on with little lollipop sticks to give it some varying height dimension.  Overall, not bad for a friday night's worth of cake making.  Happy birthday to my little one!

Free Easy 3C Chunky Collar Cowl Knitting Pattern

Who would have thought that I would be waking up today to a winter wonderland of 2 feet of slushy snow after having slipped through a surprisingly warm (and dry) holiday season?  Well, it looks like Spring has not sprung yet over here, so we may as well keep knitting to stay warm!

So far, 2012 has been good to me (all 14 days worth!) and I thought a free knitting pattern may bring more good fortune for the rest of the year.  I call this pattern my 'EASY 3C' pattern, Chunky Collar Cowl.  It's very easy to knit and very fun to wear (as you can see!)  I just love that deep purple against the fresh white snow in my backyard!  So hopefully all of you are having a good start to 2012 and if not, I hope this fun and free pattern will make you feel better, enjoy!

(Scroll down to get my free "EASY 3C - Chunky Collar Cowl Knitting Pattern By The Createry Shop!)

Easy ‘3C’ Chunky Collar Cowl

Knitting Pattern By The Createry Shop

Copyright © 2012 The Createry Shop.  All rights reserved.

The Createry Shop patterns are protected by copyright. You may not post, rewrite, redistribute, copy, or resell the patterns in any form.  Patterns are for personal use only and is not for mass production. You may not sell the items made from the patterns without written permission from The Createry Shop. 

Size: One size fits most.  Finished item measures approximately 15”wide by 22” circumference.

Gauge:  Not important for this project.

Materials:

- 2 balls (3.5 oz/100grams, 109 yds/100m) of Loops & Threads Charisma yarn, Bulky #5, in color dark purple.

- Size US19 (15mm) straight knitting needles.

- Yarn or tapestry needle.

Pattern:

While holding two strands of yarn together:

             1) Cast on 28 sts.

             2) (RS) *K1, P1, repeat * to end.

3) (WS) *P1, K1, repeat * to end.

4) Repeat steps ‘2 to 3’ x one more time.

5) (RS) *K1, P1, repeat *to end.

6) Repeat step ‘5’ until piece measures 20 inches from beginning edge, ending with a WS.

7) (RS) *K1, P1, repeat * to end.

8) (WS) *P1, K1, repeat * to end.

9) Repeat steps ‘7 to 8’ x one more time.

10) Bind off all stitches.  Securely tie off last stitch.

11) With yarn needle and an 18” long yarn strand, fold piece in half and sew up the short ends of the knitted piece from the middle to one edge, as shown in the diagram below:

UPDATE:
I've been getting a few questions on how I sew up the sides of the knitting piece.  Here are a few photos to show you what I did to sew up the sides together.  I used a different color yarn to show up better, however in one of the pictures hopefully you can make out the actual purple yarn that I stitched to sew up the sides to the middle of the knitted piece.  I hope this helps!

Leafy Lace Border Hat Knitting Pattern (PDF)

Ahh, 2012.  My first post for the new year and what better way to start it off than back to what I love knitting most, hats for children.  I've actually been knitting like a mad-woman lately.  It's all that season of giving that just makes me want to create more and more (and also give more too!).  I have quite the optimistic soul for this brave new year, hopefully you do too.  If not, well there's nothing a little knitting can't help right?

Here is my latest creation, a lovely leaf lace border around the knitted hat makes for a wonderfully cute head piece and just enough lace tones to make it complicated to knit, even though it's not!  Click on the buy now button below if you would like this pattern asap!

Details:

- Knitting Pattern in PDF Format.

- Step-By-Step instructions that are easy to follow and comes with a list of abbreviations for clarity.

- Skill level: Intermediate.

- Size: (0-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-4 years old).

This is a knitting pattern in PDF document format! The pattern will be e-mailed to you within 24 hours of receiving payment. I can provide the pattern in other formats if needed. So please ensure that you provide your correct e-mail address. Please contact The Createry Shop if there are any questions or help needed with the pattern.

Don't feel like knitting? I can make it for you! If you would like to receive the item made and shipped to you, just contact me for more information.

Copyright © 2012 The Createry Shop

All rights reserved.

The Createry Shop patterns are protected by copyright. You may not rewrite, redistribute, or resell the patterns in any form. Patterns are for personal use only and are not for mass production. You may not sell the items made from the patterns without written permission from The Createry Shop.

For more wonderful projects, visit:

www.thecreateryshop.com

www.ravelry.com/designers/createry-shop

www.etsy.com/shop/createry

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Createry-Shop/152482784795510?sk=wall

http://twitter.com/#!/Createry

buy now