First, these sweet, tiny crocheted hearts from Kristen TenDyke; these puffy little hearts made me smile.  Pattern Here.

Julie Kundhi has these flat crocheted hearts, which would make excellent gift embellishment, or glue a pin back on for a quick brooch.

And for a non-knitting, non-crochet, but all yarn-love option, try these wrapped yarn hearts from Woolywotnots.  Wouldn’t they be great on a small scale glued to cardstock for a sweet crafty valentine?

Wake up woodchuck chuckers, it’s GROUNDHOG DAY!!  Reports are in that the official groundhog meteorologists have seen their shadows, but not so much here in Alabama.  Desmond is recommending Keens and t-shirts in coming weeks.

I wrapped up this amigurumi project or the Groundhogalong in the nick of time, sewing up the last of the pieces and giving him a little embroidered schnoz just after lunch.  This project was a blast!

The details:

Remnants of two colors of KSD Merino Fine, dye-test skeins (available current colors-Dram and Mycroft).
Yarn was held doubled, two of the light brown for body, one of each for ears, tail, and limbs.
Size E hook
button eyes, embroidered nose, stuffed with wool roving

Desmond will be hanging out with me tonight on the sofa as we watch Groundhog Day on Blue-ray.  You can also see his cousins Phil over at Sister Diane’s, and Ned Ryerson over at Kim Werker’s, and if you want a cute little groundhog of your very own, head over to Planet June for patterns for the groundhog and a menagerie of amigurumi crochet critters.

And one more thing…BING!

Bow Headband pattern from Sweatshop of Love

It seems everywhere I look right now, I find another sweet, clever headband (Or maybe I have them on the brain because I’m growing my hair out.).  These are easy accessories to make with a bit of scrap yarn and a small amount of knit or crochet time, and they’re lovely and flattering with almost all hairstyles, from buzz-cuts to Rapunzel locks.

Allyson Dykhuizen of Sweatshop of Love has just released a sweet, beginner-friendly bow headband that uses scrap sock yarn and would whip up quickly on size 5 needles as gifts or a last minute finishing touch for your wardrobe.  The one above was knit in Luxe Merino Fine in Trafford.

Feather headband from Mimi Boutique (want!)

These gorgeous feather headbands are also an inspiration.  Maybe try a simple knit or crocheted rosette with a few strategically hot-glued feathers?

Travel Headwear has a fun selection, some for free, of crocheted headband patterns, both skinny and wide, with a fun bohemian style.

And, if you love the look and want to treat yourself to some handcrafted love, check out Broken Hallelujah’s etsy shop for some lovely flower headbands (and cute mary jane slippers, too!).

I just packed up a little gift box for a Valentine’s day swap on Ravelry, with this little nugget of a birdie inside (I’m pretty sure my swap partner doesn’t read this, and that it should be delivered by now, but if you’re reading, doll: SPOILER ALERT!!).

It measures about 2″ high, with little striped pipe cleaner chicken legs.  I modified a little bird pattern from one of my Japanese amigurumi books (isbn# 4-309-26670-3, bought from the fab Saucylouise) with scraps of Luxe Merino Fine in Peabody on a size C hook.  I love that little tail nubbin!

Now it’s time to gear up to work on some new patterns that have been clunking around in my noggin.  Fun ideas that I just can’t stop thinking about, so they must begin!  So knitters that may have been feeling neglected in this crochet lovefest, stay tuned over the next few weeks.   At least two new knitting patterns are on the way, including the full version (headband, cowl, mitts-So excited!) of the Snakehandler pattern featured back in autumn and a SWEET new embellished cardi!

Tara over at Blonde Chicken Boutique got sucked in a couple of weeks back (check her post on granny squares for some great links), which got me thinking about it again, which got the ball rolling on my current sock yarn scrap granny project.

Now Amy over at The Hook and I has a great post up about granny squares, including some basic charting and construction options, and a book in the works by she and Julie Holetz on granny square projects. Can’t wait to see that!

And my pile of granny squares just keeps on growin’.  I have a glut of sock yarn, so they may go on forever!  There are worse things, to be sure.  It feels like a guess the beans in the jar game, how many squares are in a basket of sock yarn scraps?

Want to start your own granny square project?  Start with this great tutorial over at the Purl Bee.

A delicate blend of supple silk and soft linen, this yarn takes the dyes with subtle, beautiful shading. Try it in your next lace project, or knit it doubled for a soft spring garment.

Details: 65% silk 35% linen

725 yards per 4oz skein

Heavy lace/light fingering weight

Hand wash in cold water, dry flat.

Merino Silk Worsted

A buttery-soft, next to the skin touchable merino silk blend with great yardage! Try this puffy, lofty single ply worsted weight that is great for accessories. Knits and crochets beautifully.

Details: 60% merino wool 40% silk

240 yards per 4 oz skein

Worsted weight
4-5 stitches per inch on US 7-9 needles

Hand wash in cold water, dry flat.

and not exactly new, but uncommon, Silver Spoon

Try this gorgeous, subtle glittering yarn in your next lace or sock project! A sumptuous blend of soft superwash merino, silk, nylon for strength, and 2% real sterling silver fiber.

Details: 63% superwash merino wool 20% silk
15% nylon 2% real sterling silver fibers

410 yards per 100g skein

Fingering/sock weight
Needles: US 0-3

Hand wash or machine wash gentle in cold water, dry flat.

That, friends, is the beginning of a cute amigurumi groundhog!  Using June Gilbank’s Groundhog pattern and KSD’s Merino Fine held doubled, I’m making this as part of the Groundhogalong that started from some joking around on twitter.  Turns out there are quite a few crafters that are just as crazy about the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.

Want to join us?  There’s now a ravelry group, a flickr group, and a cute badge!  Just grab a hook and complete your groundhog by Feb 2nd.  In Casa de Clark, we have a screening of Groundhog Day every year, so I’ll be camped out on the sofa with my g’hog and husband.

Progress has paused while I hunt through my super-disorganized stash for a bag of polyfill stuffing and some appropriate buttons for eyes.  And I’m naming my g’hog Desmond.  You can’t name yours Ned Ryerson, Kim already called dibs!

As a breather between some freelance projects, I decided to shop my stash of KSD scraps and start a nice basic granny square afghan.  What a soothing project!  I love easy-to-memorize, no-brainer projects as comfort craft.  This one is made from my KSD sock yarn scraps (Merino Fine, Luxe, Seacell, Superwash Sock) on a size E hook.  Small, but repetitive and great for TV crochet.

This afghan fits with my little household theme this week of “pantry shopping”, using what you have on hand with little to no additions to create something pretty/tasty/useful/clever.  The same night it was started, I made a great “pantry shopping” dinner with soba noodles in sesame lime sauce, and used up the leftover lime juice to make a great cocktail.

Despite the fact that we were in the middle of freakishly cold temperatures for Alabama; I had been staying up watching The Travel Channel for a couple of nights watching shows on Puerto Rico, Peru, and other warm and sunny places, so I had a craving for a fresh, citrusy drink.  The following was born from ingredients on hand:

British Tropic

In a rocks glass:

1 shot good quality gin (I used Bombay Sapphire)

1 T Rose’s Lime (or more, for sweetness.  I like mine pretty dry.)

juice of 1/2 lime

Add ice, fill to top with club soda.  Pretend you’re on a beach, even if you’re wrapped in wool and avoiding frostbite.

Is this a “real” drink?  A variation on an existing classic I’m just clueless about?  Let me know!

Here’s a quick last-minute crocheted git idea, the “Fast Julep” version of my Julep beret pattern.  Worked with doubled sock weight yarn and a size J hook, this version works up quickly out of stash yarn.

Following the Julep pattern (available here), and using doubled yarn and a size J hook, work rounds 1-3 of the pattern as written.  Rounds 4-8, work as for rounds 4-12 in written pattern (48 sts).  Rounds 9-13, work as for rounds 13-20 in written pattern.  Band: Rounds 14-1, work as for rounds 21-25 in written pattern (64 sts).

This version shown in Luxe Merino Fine in Dolce.

Original Julep pattern available for $5.00.

Just leave a comment below describing your favorite type of comfort project.  Simple socks?  A warm scarf?  Granny squares?  What do you reach for when you just want to enjoy the simple pleasures of quiet time and yarn?

Winners will be chosen at random on Tuesday morning, and can have their pick of any two KSD patterns, delivered in PDF format.  Etsy shop discount is good through December 31st, 2009.