Rachel, my best friend from childhood, has been asking me to knit her a hat for three years. When I visited her in Seattle in 2012 we even picked out the yarn and everything.
She requested a cable hat and I’ve never had such a hard time finding a pattern I liked. I started three different patterns including the classic “Stitch ‘n’ Bitch Nation” one, but I just didn’t like them.
So I tucked the ball of purple yarn away in my stash and temporarily gave up.
Three years later I called Rachel to tell her I was coming back to Seattle for a work trip and asked if she would like me to bring her anything from home. She reminded me of my hat promise. I was determined this time that I would have a finished hat by the time I reached The City of Flowers.
I went back to Ravelry and found just what I was looking for. It must not have been posted when I last looked up cabled hats.
I used Blue Sky Alpaca’s Worsted Hand Dyed yarn in Mulberry. The downside was I only bought one skein and ran out of yarn two rounds before the end. Luckily I had left a long tail when I started so I had to Frankenstein the yarn toward the end, but it all worked out. PHEW!
I really loved the little braided stitch going up the hat between the cables. It is a good pattern for folks who have gotten down cables but are still not ready for anything complicated.
This morning I found a stack of hats I knitted for my son that he has worn from birth to present.
It’s hard to believe he fit into that teeny green hat! The biggest, most worn hat is definitely too small so I decided it was time to make him a new one.
Since Jack is 3 and has all the opinions in the world, I thought it would be fun to let him choose the colors for his hat. I opted for an ear flap hat to keep his body warm during recess.
We had a really fun time together today picking colors as we went along. When I sent a photo to a friend she said, “It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure hat!” We have a title, folks!
So this halloween I decided to embrace it, unibrow and all. It just took one visit to the thrift shop and a little digging in my closet to come up with a colorful Frida-esque costume.
Soon after becoming friends with Kasandra in college I discovered we had one big difference: she celebrated holidays.
Kasandra is from Connecticut where they have four seasons, a long history, darkness in the summer and tolerable cold in the winter. These reasons are why East Coasters celebrate holidays differently from Alaskans.
“I love that the East Coast celebrates every holiday to the fullest,” Kasandra said. “It makes me look forward to the seasons.”
I visited Kasandra and her husband, Gary, in their hometown seven years ago in May. As she was giving us a driving tour of a road used to deliver mail during the Revolution, I was seeing house after house ridiculously adorned with flags and patriotic banners. I asked, “What the hell is going on here?” and she said “It’s Memorial Day weekend.”
Feel free to contradict me, but Alaskans just don’t celebrate this way. Sure, I’ll carve a pumpkin in October and string up some lights at Christmas, but there isn’t a single house on my block right now with Halloween decorations outside.
So today I wanted to show off a little of what Kasandra has going on in her neck of the woods to hopefully inspire Alaskans this Halloween.
Kasandra maintains that frugal collegiate spirit but includes East Coast charm and sophistication. All of her crafts are easy, quick and affordable. Here are three that she shared with me.
1. Bedazzled Pumpkin
Paint a pumpkin. Stick craft store jewels all over it. No glue necessary if the paint is still wet.
2. Mummy cookies
Melt some white chocolate. Dip Milano cookies halfway into chocolate. Drizzle chocolate over the cookie to make it look like a mummy. Stick on sugar eyes.
3. Monster mouth snacks
Peel some apples and slice them into wedges. Spread peanut butter on one wedge. Add some yogurt-covered raisins to look like teeth. Top with another apple.
So, get out there, Alaskans, and show some last-minute Halloween spirit!
This week is dedicated to all those procrastinators. We’ll be featuring last-minute Halloween ideas, but today I wanted to feature a costume that if you have a few hours to spare this week you could still pull off.
My friend Kait sent me photos of her daughter’s costume and it was too darn cute not to share.
Little Bea’s armor is constructed out of soda pop tabs and jump rings. Kait said she used about 350 tabs. Construction wasn’t the hard part, she said. It was collecting the tabs themselves.
“That’s the long game part of it,” she said. “You have to start collecting and asking around if people will help.”
Luckily she was able to find a friend with a whole bag of tabs.
Kait used 10cm jump rings to connect the tabs, but if she were to do it again she said she would use 12 or 14cm instead so it would use fewer tabs and take less time to make.
The dragon emblem was part of a handmade birthday card her husband received in the mail and the belt and crown are made from a belt purchased from a rummage sale.
Bea’s costume doesn’t stop here. Bea’s father is going to be her damsel in distress and Kait will be dressed up as a dragon.
It’s been a fun couple of weeks here in Alaska blogland, with akshopgirl taking the lead in week one with “Where the Wild Things Are,” and the whimsical wonders of week two’s “Woodland Creature” theme.
In a similar vein, we are dedicating this week to Wes Anderson. We’ve got costume ideas, knitting patterns, cocktails, music mixes, and in this post I’ll show you how to set your table for a Wes Anderson theme party.
We’re all adults here. Our days of Halloween ragers have long passed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate. This theme party is for the folks who have left their kids with the grandparents for the night. It’s fun, it’s classy and you can probably find all the materials in your house (I raided my parents’ place, which, as it turns out, is very Tenenbaum-esque).
A huge thanks to Black Cup for letting us stage our tablescape in their remodeled cafe. The floor tiles alone would make Royal Tenenbaum stop and smirk. If you haven’t had a chance to take a look at Cafe Del Mundo’s makeover, I highly recommend it.
Here’s what you’ll need to host your very own Wes Anderson dinner party.
It’s T-minus 12 days till Halloween and if you haven’t pre-ordered your costume then that means you’re like me and you leave it to the last minute, thrift stores and luck.
In Anchorage, one of the best places to build your own costumes is the Bishop’s Attic on Gambell. This place is ’80s costume heaven (and keep it in mind for those ugly sweater parties during the holidays).
And this week’s theme is definitely thrift store appropriate. We’re dedicating the week to all things Wes Anderson.
So here are three Wes Anderson costumes that are easy to slap together with a visit or two to your local thrift shop and some rummaging through your closet.
This outfit was easy to find at the thrift store. I recommend washing the beret before wearing. And if you’re able to use your own pea coat you’ve just created a perfect Alaska-friendly costume (yay for staying warm!)
Accoutrements:
Binoculars
Retro suitcase
Pea coat
Knee-high socks
Saddle shoes
2. Dudley from “The Royal Tenenbaums”
Beautiful artist’s rendering photographed by Will Laren on flickr.
From the thrift store:
Retro t-shirt
Cargo shorts
Safari Hat
’80s glasses
This costume needs no additional elements. It’s perfect. But some Croakies couldn’t do any harm.
3. Team Zissou from “The Life Aquatic”
By John Lester (Flickr: Zissou)
This is the simplest costume I was able to find at the thrift store. Just have a look in the uniforms section of the shop and grab some hospital scrubs. Top it off with a red hat and you’re solid. Go the extra mile and print off this free logo and tape it to the shirt.
If you have a spare few hours this week, knit yourself a Zissou cap using my free pattern.
And stay tuned for more Wes Anderson delights this week from me, akshopgirl and TessieStyle.
It’s week two of our Halloween Blog Party and the theme is “Woodland Creatures.” So far we’ve had fairy flower crown and forest garland tutorials, a woodland fairytale mix by DJ Spencer Lee and today I’ve got a super quick baby costume that requires minimal crafty skills and a shoestring budget.
This was my son’s first Halloween costume and I love it so.
“Step off. Don’t make me sick my Jeremy Fisher on you.”A while back AK Shopgirl was inspired by our little gnome. She decided to dress up her twin baby boys as more traditional David the Gnome.
Here’s all you need to achieve a gnome-tastic baby outfit:
*If you aren’t a knitter, I suggest making a gnome hat the way AK Shopgirl did using a sheet of red craft foam fashioned into a cone, adhered with a hot glue gun. Ohhappyday.com has a free template here, if you want to get technical.
How to make the beard
Place the mug upside down in the middle of the white felt, 1.5 inches down from the top edge. Trace a circle for the neck hole.
Use the mug to shape the corners of the beard bib.
Draw a line at the top of the neck hole to the top edge of the felt. This will be the opening of the beard bib. I just love saying “beard bib.”
Freehand the shape of the beard. Cut out your beard bib.
Dress up baby of choice in the onesie, pants and booties. Use a safety pin to connect the back edges of the beard bib. Place pointy hat atop baby.
It’s week two of the Halloween Blog Party with AK Shopgirl and Tessie Style Blog. This week’s theme is “Woodland Creatures.” We’ll be featuring crafts, costumes, decorations, cocktails and music mixes that represent the fairies, flora and fauna of the forest.
Earlier this week I posted a video tutorial on how to make a fresh flower crown. I’m kicking it up a notch today with a fresh garland to decorate your woodland creatures party or to spruce up your mantle. No video for this tutorial, but I encourage you to watch the time-lapse flower crown tutorial as the technique is similar.
DIY Fresh Garland
Here’s what you’ll need:
About four feet of twine
floral wire (available at crafts stores)
Fresh greens such as salal, plumosa ferns and eucalyptus
Flower crowns are my thing. I love making them and I certainly love wearing them. After months of working with Meringue Studio Boudoir and having a couple of booths set up with the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, I’ve had lots of people ask me if I have a tutorial for my flower crowns.
Check all three of our sites this week for costume ideas, décor, music mixes and more.
My flower crowns are no trade secret (although you do have to have a florist business license to acquire the light green floral tape). I’ve been held up by simple technological difficulties (I don’t have a tripod that allows for bird’s eye view).
I asked my husband to figure it out. Five minutes and some duct tape later, he had rigged up a suitable bird’s eye camera. Thanks to The Alaska Life for the free selfie stick — I finally found a non-silly way to use it ;).
Whether you’re dressing up yourself or your little girl this Halloween, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have a fresh flower crown to compliment your fairy costume.
Flowers and greens (in this tutorial I used chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, eucalyptus, and saladago)
Directions:
Measure your wire around your head and cut the wire with four inches extra length.
Tear off pieces of floral tape about six inches long. You’ll need several, but I usually tear off five at a time.
In this time lapse video I show you how I construct a partial crown, which is worn off to the side. I usually start in the middle of the wire and work my way toward the edge. If you want a full flower crown, start about three inches from one end and work your way toward the other end.
Prepare your flowers and greens by leaving two inches of stem remaining. Trim away any excess leaves or buds.
Starting at the middle of the crown, lay a green against the wire and tightly wrap the tape around it, working your way down the stem. Add a new flower to the wire and position it to cover the first wrapped stem. Tightly wrap this stem with the floral tape.
Work your way down the wire, positioning the flowers and greens in a herringbone fashion. I usually wrap a green tilting toward the left, then a flower tilting toward the right, a flower tilting toward the left and a green tilting toward the right.
Use your best judgment to nestle greens and flowers together. Pay attention to the natural curve of each flower and place them so they are featured in a pleasing way.
When you have about three inches remaining on the wire, stop adding more flowers. Wrap the ends of the wire around each other so it fits your head well.
Store in the fridge whenever you’re not wearing it. It should last for a few days.
Here is a one-minute time lapse of my making a flower crown. Pretty neat! View the long version here.
Alaska Knit Nat 