Eek!  I've made the cutest set for my granddaughter for Christmas!  Before it's wrapped up I asked my young neighbor to come over and model, but I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of her smiling face!  She loved it and I know my granddaughter will love it to!

The yarn confession:  I broke my rule and did not buy my usual "luxury" yarn, but instead went to a craft store and purchased acrylic yarn.  I think it has a smidge of wool in it, but still, mostly acrylic.  My excuse: I brought the patterns with me on my last visit to my daughter's house and ventured out to go a-wool shopping.  They don't have a knit store in their town and we ran out of time to get into the next town that does.  However, they do have a great craft store.  My granddaughter, Annie and I both fell in love with this oatmeal colored yarn and it was the right gauge.  It has flecks of black in it and really is pretty.  I'll admit my eyes twinkled at the cheap price but honestly, I'm surprised it wasn't even less expensive.  The result:  Despite my snooty misgivings, I ended up liking the yarn and love the finished project.  So there 'ya go. Will I use this yarn again?  Probably not, it's a bit itchy-ish while knitting and I'll have to see what Annie says after wearing it.  I have a sinking feeling that as cute as it is, it would have much much better in a soft and cushy yarn.  I still believe that knitting with higher quality yarn is still a better value in the end.  PS, I don't know if it was the yarn or the pattern, but the scarf only went flat after a good wet-block.  The modeled pics are before the wet blocking.

These patterns--I LOVE THEM!  That was me screaming!  I love owls! (And in fact I love them so much I'm working out something in my mind and on my needles, something owlie for the kiddies.  If I can get it right I'll share the pattern here on my blog.  Wish me luck.) 

Here's all the links so you can go owlie too!

Owl Ways Scarf by Ekaterina Blanchard

Chouette Hat by Ekaterina Blanchard 

Do yourself a favor and visit Ekaterina's design page.

She has some adorable, well-priced designs. 

The two patterns I used were very well written and I'm really happy I purchased them.

Wool-Ease Chunky in color Wheat