happy love co

Category: Blog

  • After Christmas Sale on NOW!

    After Christmas Sale on NOW!

    I hope everybody had a super wonderful and merry Christmas! As I only have a few weeks left of this pregnancy, we decided to stay at home this year and enjoy Christmas with just our family. Unfortunately we did also have a couple sick kids, which is such a bummer. Really, the only couple days of the year where you really would rather not be sick! I’m really crossing my fingers that this is their last illness of the season.

    The season of sales is almost over and this will be my last big sale for a while! All patterns, including bundles, are currently 25% off through the 28th. Then I have another exciting thing happening, so you will want to stay tuned for that!

    My patterns are all fairly easy and I’ve had many levels of knitters knit them. But I do get frequently asked what I would recommend personally as a first sweater for the newest of new knitters.

    My top picks for all of you new knitters joining us are :

    The Winter Blues Sweater

    Skills needed: Casting on, 2×2 ribbing, stockinette stitch, make one stitch, bind off, seaming

    The Kels Marie Pullover

    Skills Needed: Casting on, twisted rib, yarn over and knit two stitches together (just for edges) make one stitch, bind off, seaming

    The Cropped Striped Winter Sweater

    Skills Needed: Casting on, twisted rib, stockinette stitch, changing colors, make a new stitch, bind off, seaming

    The Candy Hearts Sweater

    Skills Needed: casting on, stockinette stitch, garter stitch, twisted ribbing, yarn over and knit two stitches together (just for accent on sleeve cuffs) bind off, seaming, duplicate stitch (for “hearts”)

    I try to be available for help as needed for my knitters out there. So please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance. I do have five children though so I might not always get back to you immediately, but I try!

    I wish you all the happiest final days of 2021!

    Love, Bethany

  • The Holiday Season is here!

    The Holiday Season is here!

    Technically, it kind of isn’t, but at the same time, it kind of is. We’ve always waited until thanksgiving evening to put up the tree and all the Christmas decorations and reaaally get the Christmas vibes going. Which I probably will still. But on the knitwear and knitting side of things, let all of the holiday vibes commence! 🎄

    The left sweater is last years Christmas design and the right is the years before. I absolutely looove designing and knitting Christmas sweaters! It’s so festive and fun and gets me that much more excited for the season.

    Then you have all the coffee shops bringing out the holiday drinks, which is just the best. Although I’m quite unimpressed that Starbucks isn’t having the egg nog latte this year. That’s the only holiday drink I like there! At least I can get it at Caribou when we go out of town, and I’ve figured out how to make them at home as well. But still, kind of a bummer!

    We took a day trip to the “city” over the weekend and I kind of did a little splurging at Target on all things Christmas. Including a snowman toilet seat cover and rug. My husband wasn’t with me in the store, a couple of my daughters were, and we hurried to check out when he texted that he was coming in with the boys. I showed him the toilet seat cover, when we got home, and he asked how old did I think we were? 🤣 It was too cute to pass up. Much as I wanted to put all the stuff up right away, I put everything in a bag in the closet to save for after thanksgiving. Sigh. Willpower needed!

    Back to the sweaters. This sweater is seriously the coziest thing ever. It was my first time using the big cotton from Loopy Mango and I love it. The yarn is so gorgeous and silky soft, and has a perfectly heavy drape to it. You must try it at some point! Maybe to knit this Christmas sweater?!

    Then we have the Christmas tree sweater. I knit that one in Wool and the Gangs shiny happy cotton, but you can use We Are Knitters “the cotton” as well, or any other similar weight yarn. It’s been a favorite of many! That was my first time doing the duplicate stitch technique and I fell in love with it. It’s so fun to add a little something to really make it stand out!

    This was my Christmas outfit last year (won’t be this year as I’ll be 36 weeks pregnant) unless I can somehow find red maternity leggings, which would be amazing. It felt so fun to dress up in something festive that I made!

    I will have another sweater for the holidays coming soon! I am super excited about it and hope to have it for you all by thanksgiving! And no worries, it’ll be a quick knit.:)

    Happy Monday!

    ❤️Bethany

  • My Favorite Wool Yarns

    My Favorite Wool Yarns

    When I first started knitting, I had absolutely no clue where to look for yarn. We don’t have any yarn stores within hours of us so I had to look online. I actually first found knitcollage.com and fell in love with the colors and sparkles. I ordered a few skeins from there and tried it out. It’s absolutely stunning yarn, but a bit out of my price range. It’s fun for a unique project once in awhile.

    My go to is We Are Knitters “the wool” or Wool and the Gangs “crazy sexy wool”. For a few reasons. I love the look of it. It’s gorgeous. It’s a yarn I could just stare and for hours and envision all the lovely pieces it could create. Second, if you catch it on sale or buy a bundle, it’s not that badly priced. I know a lot of people still don’t want to spend that much, but if you’re knitting something you’re going to keep forever, it’s worth it. I really only order these yarns for my wool projects. Plus, they knit up super quick, which is what we all want!

    My very top color way and choice is by far We Are Knitters “the wool” in the color way yarnicorn. It’s a fav of everyone. It sells out super quick every time they restock it and I highly recommend getting on their email list so you can snag a few skeins when it’s available! This yarn is so breathtaking that you could honestly knit anything and it’s going to be spectacular. It’s that good.

    All of my chunky wool knit patterns are knit in either of these yarns and you can swap between the two as they work up and gauge the same. I swear there is nothing more exciting than picking out new colors for projects. It’s the highlight of every design I create!

    If you’re looking for patterns in these yarns, click the shop button in the menu above! A couple favorites of many is the winter blues sweater and the lost road trip cardigan pictured below. The winter blues sweater is an easy pattern and many have knit it as their first sweater! The lost road trip cardigan is a bit more for advanced beginners, but can be knit easier if preferred. I’ve had a few people ask how to knit it without the distressing details, and all you will do is simply knit in stockinette stitch, without adding the make ones (except for sleeve increases), yarn overs, or dropping stitches. If you decide not to do those, it’s an easy level.:)

    Happy knitting!

    ❤️Bethany