Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

many crafts of may

This May has been filled with a little bit of everything for our family. David had a show to attend, the Janesville Renaissance Faire, and his preparation kept him busy in the weeks leading up to it. The rest of us? Well, we spent a lot of time in the garden, writing on the sidewalks, cutting shapes out of paper and fabric, sewing, knitting, gluing, painting...

My favorite project of the month goes to Esme. She made a very creative and lovely fish windcatcher. She colored two sides of a fish, cut them out and glued them together (back to back), and then glued orange, plastic newspaper bags to the tail. She also cut strings to attach to the fish's mouth and hung everything from a pencil.




And while Esme's fish started things off with a bang, this next project is perhaps a bit less exciting. Last month, a friend of mine birthed her second son, at home, as planned. She is an avid breastfeeder, so as a mama gift for her, I made a few pair of nursing pads with waterproof backing to help prevent leaks. I chose a soft, pretty tie-dye print cotton for the side against her skin, a couple of cotton layers inside for absorbency, and a layer of PUL on the outside to prevent any moisture from leaking onto her clothes.


With so many new babies on the way, I spent a few hours here and there knitting tiny, striped newborn hats to crown the little heads of all the new arrivals. This turned out to be a lovely stash-buster of a project, and is still continuing with a pink and gray hat that is halfway complete. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised with some of the color combinations on these hats, including one for a happy Gryffindor supporter!


Summer is here, unofficially, perhaps. But with its arrival also comes free time and opportunity for family crafting. We all have a list of things to get done, and my own list is only getting longer. One things is absolutely for certain: getting dirty and clay covered together sure makes for a wonderful way to spend summer vacation!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

french press


Slippers are a must-have. They make wonderful gifts for friends and family, for birthdays, for new mamas, for no reason at all. One thing is for certain, though: every mama needs a favorite pair of slippers to keep her toes warm and comfortable on chilly days and dark nights.

My favorite slipper pattern is Melynda Bernardi's French Press, a felted wool design which knits up in no time at all and is then felted in the washing machine in less than 15 minutes. Pairing this pattern with my favorite felting wool, Cascade 220 in 9421, these are the second pair of French Press slippers that I have knit. This time, I followed the pattern for a size 9/10, and, after felting, they came out to be around 8.5. The pattern leaves quite a bit to personal interpretation and inspiration, which is why I love it so much.

I really like the look of French Press knit up in natural, earthy tones paired with metallic buttons, but this pattern has such wonderful potential with vibrant colors! The very first pair of French Press I made was done in a darker blue with neon green buttons. This time, though, I wanted to make something very springy and light, which is why I chose this clear sky Hawaiian blue.



The most difficult part of making these slippers was picking out the buttons. Bubblegum pink popped against the blue wool, and purple was a wow, too. But I fell in love with the contrast of the yellow against the vibrant blue. It is so simple and so lovely, and reminded me of the bright sun shining in a clear blue sky.



This pair of French Press slippers is destined for a friend. And I have already started knitting my third pair of French Press, to hopefully be finished very soon.

Friday, April 27, 2012

oh, spring!

The garden is in bloom. Everything is green and thriving. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing. Birds are busy building their little nests. Neighborhood children are playing hop-scotch and the sidewalks are littered with chalk. A herd of bikes graze the front yard of one house, soon to migrate to another yard. Projects are making progress as the days grow longer still. Spring is here, and it is beautiful.





My birthday has come and gone with perfectly soundless fanfare. Friends and family surprised me quietly with little gifts hidden here and there for me to find. Love and laughter filled my heart as I held those dear to me, and they whispered, "Happy birthday to you, Shana!"

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

spring knitting


Today, I bring you a recently knit project. I wanted to make something sassy for my five year old to wear with her trademark leggings and spunky shoes. Using the pattern Girl's cap sleeved spring shirt by Shellee Floyd at Soulfulhues, I chose Loops & Threads Cotton Club in Wild Rose for a lighter-weight sweater as we head into warmer days. 
It seems I always have to make a few variations from the pattern as it is written. With this sweater, I lengthened the body slightly to be more of a tunic and only used one size needles throughout. Also, instead of doing a rolled hem along the bottom edge, I opted for a cleaner look with a band of ribbing.
My notes:
CO 92 sts. Follow pattern for medium sweater.
Begin changes: Sixth row (or so) after underarm joining, increase three additional stitches under each arm (104 sts). Do not switch needle sizes.
After piece measures about 16 inches, begin bottom hem with following:
Row 1: K2 P2 until end of round.
Row 2: Knit.
Repeat these two rows for about two inches, then bind off.





I loved how this sweater turned out. It's simple and comfortable and darling. Esme loves wearing it, and it's the perfect weight for long spring days. And perfect for a sassy little girl!



Sunday, February 12, 2012

sweet baby things

Knitting projects! It seems like I have a dozen going all at once. And sometimes I am very bad and do not take pictures of those that are finished. This weekend turned into a catch up of sorts -- time spent finishing the last few rows on this project, sewing in ends to that, attaching notions on yet another, and photographing the latest of many baby gifts. 

I wanted a little something sweet and sassy in my gift giving this time around, so this little sweater made it on to my needles. For a baby girl, I chose hot pink and hot orange in my color choice. The pattern is Kids Seamless Sweater by Soulful Hues. I used Lily Sugar'n Cream -- a solid cotton that will be great for springtime wear. The pattern was a breeze, though I made a few alterations in order for the sweater to fit a wee one (see my notes at the bottom of this post).



The sweater came together smoothly and quickly. I paired the sweater with a lovely ruffly skirt in the same hot pink. What a lucky find for this little baby girl! And now, we will shower her sweet mama in love and gifts as we wait none so patiently for this little baby girl to join us.

***

I altered the Kids Seamless Sweater by Soulful Hues in order to fit an infant and it worked out perfectly, ending up at a 3-6 month size. My notes for a striped sweater, using a main color (MC) and a contrasting color (CC), are as follows:
CO 52 stitches on in MC using size US 7 needles.
Work 10 rows of K1P1 ribbing in MC.
Change to CC. K one round, complete one round of increases as described in pattern (K2 M1). K three rounds, complete second increase round (K2 M1) [approx 116 stitches]. K three more rounds.
Change to MC, K three rounds.
Next round:  K14, put 29 sts on waste yarn, K29, put 29 sts on waste yarn, K15. K six rounds in MC.
Change to CC, K 10 rounds.
Change back to MC and finish bottom of sweater as per pattern instructions, with K1P1 rib for 10 rounds.
Arms:  Place 29 stitches back on needles. With MC, K2tog right under the arm (where you will have to sew up the tiny hole later) then complete seven rows of K1P1 rib in MC. Do the same for the second arm.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

a light winter's day

Winter finally made her presence known over the weekend when she caught us in a good sized ice storm. The children were able to enjoy a full afternoon of skating on the ice, all bundled up in their cold weather gear. I finished knitting a pair of wool mittens for Evelyn just in time for her to wear them into the cold. She took off with them before I could even capture a photo. Here are a couple post-worn-in photos:



Monday turned out to be a nice relief from the harsh cold with a surprise day of sunshine! As it turned out, the ice did not last long. The muck from the ice storm over the weekend melted before morning was over. All three of our cats curled up in the windows and enjoyed the bright winter sunshine that has been almost rare these last few weeks. Nova claimed the sunny spot on the window seat in the dining room garden, a perfect place to keep guard over the yard as well as indoors.


Tea, hot chocolate, and freshly baked cookies were absolute musts for the girls, even though the sun was shining. Esme proudly made her very own cup of tea in the Japanese butterfly mug she picked up for a whopping 15 cents at the thrift shop.



Snow-covered, sunny winter days spent curled up with a blanket and a good book next to the fire -- there really is not much better than that. Hopefully we will find ourselves snow-covered again soon.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Turkey Awareness Dye

It's that time again--holiday craft season has begun! I started my annual elving about a month ago, but I have only finished one project so far. It only took a day plus a few hours to finish, most of which was drying time, which took up Thanksgiving Day. Most people cook a turkey, but me? I cook yarn.

Using nine envelopes of Kool-Aid powder and 200 yards of wool, I made a very colorful skein of hand-dyed yarn for a friend's Christmas gift. My inspiration for this yarn came from the following image, which is a photograph taken during the Leonids:


 I took the better part of a skein of natural colored Cascade 220 and soaked it in a vinegar-water solution then laid it out in a casserole dish. I separately prepared the three blends of Kool-Aid in three individual jars.


In order to get the colors of the dye to replicate those I observed in the meteor shower, I experimented with flavor combinations. I used three packets for each third of the yarn dyed to get good color saturation. For the green, I used Lemon-Lime exclusively, and for the darker blue, I used Berry Blue. For the blue-green in the center, I combined two envelopes of berry blue and one envelope of lemon-lime.

Once the dyes were mixed in their jars, I poured them individually over the yarn, the green on the top third, the blue-green over the middle third, and the blue over the bottom third of the casserole dish.


 I put the casserole dish, yarn and all, in the oven and baked it for over an hour at 250 degrees. When I rinsed the yarn, some color bled out still, which makes me think it could have baked longer, though there is still a natural color definition between much of the color changes. Finally, I hung it to dry, and made a lovely skein.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Pattern: Quidditch Scarf

Now you can create your very own knit Quidditch Scarf to wear and support your favorite Quidditch team (or sport of any other sort, for that matter) in Hogwarts style! This reversible ribbed scarf is simple to knit. With a long, skinny design, this scarf can easily be made wider, longer, shorter, and can be worn long or wrapped around the neck.



This scarf pattern was primarily inspired to mimic the clean lines and blunt color changes of the Quidditch sweaters worn by the Gryffindor Quidditch team in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (below is an image of Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley modeling the sweater for us).



In order to knit a scarf to fulfill your own personal team pride, you need to know the appropriate colors of each of the houses. Hogwarts House Colors are as follows:
  • Gryffindor -- Red and gold
  • Hufflepuff -- Yellow and black
  • Ravenclaw -- Blue and bronze (blue and gray in the films)
  • Slytherin -- Green and silver

Pattern: Quidditch Scarf


Supplies
US 10 (6.0 mm) needles
Two skeins worsted weight wool, one dark color, one light color [recommended: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool]
Yarn needle for sewing in ends

Instructions
Cast on 24 stitches in Main Color [MC]
Row 1: Knit 2, Purl 2
Repeat Row 1 for 23 more rows (24 rows total).

After initial 24 rows, switch to the Contrast Color [CC]
Repeat Row 1 for another 24 rows.
Continue alternating 24 rows of MC and 24 rows of CC until scarf reaches desired length.
End in MC.
Cast off.

Finishing
Using yarn needle, sew yarn tails from cast-on, cast-off, and color changes.


Saturday, October 1, 2011

yoda, baby!

Star Wars. Well it has a following, right? Maybe just a little one. My dear husband loves Star Wars. Everything about it. He saw Return of the Jedi for the first time in the cinema when he was a boy. 

He does not know it yet, but for his birthday this year, I made him this fabulous knit Yoda hat.


I took Sunshyne Leland's pattern, Felted Baby Yoda Hat, and edited it in order to fit an adult head. Next year, I hope to sew David a Jedi robe so that he can go all out as Yoda for various costuming events. David also has this idea of making lightsaber whips, which are weapons that Sith warriors use during the Clone Wars and in some of the Star Wars novels. If he made one in green (Yoda's lightsaber is green), it would give the perfect touch.

Here is what I did to make the pattern fit an adult (see full notes on my Ravelry project page):
With US 11, CO 90. Begin decreases after 11 inches.
Ears: With US 13, CO 23 with two strands held together. Follow St st for 3.5 in inches/12 rows
  decrease row
  cont 3 rows
  decrease row
  cont 3 rows
  decrease row
  cont 3 rows
  k2tog
Decrease every other row until 13 sts left.
Follow pattern from here until end.
Flaps: Pick up 24 and continue in St st, decreasing every 4th row.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

$5 in Paris

I cast on for this sweater in February. By March, I had most of the body done. I set it aside for two months in order to knit up some baby things, but picked it up again at the beginning of June, when I finished the bottom ribbing and picking up the sleeves.
The pattern, $5 in Paris by Anna Peck, called for alternating stripes throughout the body and sleeves, but I kept with one single color in order to highlight the subtle color changes throughout the Malabrigo yarn in Tuareg. I also did short sleeves so that I could wear it on cool summer evenings. I love this sweater. I love it's easiness and comfort. And I love Malabrigo yarn. It is the softest wool I have  worked with yet.

Notes on my sweater: CO 152 for small on US 6 for a smaller neck (could have gone down another needles size or two). Switched to US 8 after ribbing. Worked pattern as written, for the most part. Tried it on two or three times to make sure fit was right. Did no side shaping. Sleeves: Had 43 saved stitches, picked up additional nine for 52 stitches. Knit seven rounds before doing nine rounds of ribbing, then BO.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

fresh off the needles


 I finally finished knitting another scarf, just in time for another round of cold weather! I used Rowan Cocoon on US 10 1/2 needles, and followed Whitney Van Nes's Mistake Stitch as a basis for this project, though I made some simple alterations to the pattern to make a long, skinny, striped scarf. Here are my notes:

Using main color, CO 23.
Follow mistake rib for four rows.
Alternate colors every other row, following mistake rib. End with four rows of main color.
Bind off.


My scarf ended up being about six feet long and four inches wide after light blocking and lengthening. The pattern looks relatively complex when it was very simple. The yarn, a merino-mohair blend, is quite possibly one of the softest and squishiest I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It sheds an unbelievable amount, though. I should have just enough yarn left over to make a matching Calorimetry.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

malabrigo swap winter 2011 - spoilage for my victim

This latest round of the Malabrigo swap has a great theme: The Simple Life.
Things are simplified, as we are only permitted to send a total of FOUR items to our partner. 
  • 2-3 skeins of Malabrigo (they can be sent as is or knitted/crocheted into something for your partner)
  • Something edible or drinkable
  • Something to read or listen to (book/pattern(s)/CD/audiobook)
  • Something your partner can’t live without (something THEY say they can’t live without
It was rough. And I cheated a little with the edible/drinkable, sending a few little things as one. Included in my package to my partner were two skeins of Malabrigo Silky in Ravelry Red; chocolate, tea, and a gorgeous mug [something edible/drinkable], The Hunger Games on audio CD [something to listen to], and Burt's Bees Lip Balm [something she cannot live without]. I would have loved to receive this package, and it was a real challenge to come up with only four things.

Friday, February 18, 2011

crafting for my valentines

We have been busy lately, knitting and crafting away! We made some really fun projects that are hanging around the house for Valentine's Day.

First of all, my knitting--I made these lovely socks, and they're for me! Yippee! I used the pattern BFF Socks by Cookie A. from the book knit. sock. love. I used Knit Picks Palette in Raspberry Heather on US 2. I had trouble with the heel not lining up with the cables, so I did the following set up:

K1. Heel begins here. K1, p2, (Cable Decrease, p2, k2, p2) 3 times. Cable Decrease, p2, k1. Turn.

After this project, I may stay away from cables for a while. Whew!

 

The girls painted paper decorations and wooden hearts to hang around the house to celebrate the holiday. The purple and blue hearts are Eva's, the red ones are Esme's.




We made watercolor-painted paper lanterns to hang on the mantle. Evelyn's friend came over to help with this project.


Finally, Esme's wonderful still-life, done with celery dipped in acrylic paint and stamped on construction paper. The leaves are teeny toddler thumbprints.