Bookmarks The Spot!

The secret is out of the bag, or wrapping paper in this case!  I made some bookmarks for the ladies at work.  These were very fun, & I used a lot of pretty lacy stitch patterns that I just loved.  I had some fine white baby cotton left over, perfect for bookmarkers.  I also used some multi colored sock cotton, but I didn't have a lot of it, plus it is a bit...wild!  Since they had few stitches they worked up very quickly & I was able to have them completed in a week.  Many thanks go to my sweet husband for making up little envelopes for them, since I was still knitting them late Tuesday evening! 

Many of these feature the lacy faggotting stitch that I fell in love with during my stitch pattern search.  All have relatively the same stitch count, but the sizes vary due to lateral spread of the lacy stitches.  I tried some different finishes also, some have tassels, others have beads, some have twisted cord, some have I cord.  Some patterns will follow!  Hope you all like these as much as I did!  Merry Christmas to all! 

Lace Bookmark Pattern

Newsflash!

All scarf knitting has been put on temporary hold.  I'm currently in the process of knitting some last minute gift ideas, but I don't want to spill the details here.  There might be prying eyes! 

I need to make 13 small objects, & I have 7 completed so far.  I started this past Wednesday evening, so I'm doing pretty well considering.  I trying to have them completed by this coming Wednesday.  I have to block the objects, so I need to be sure to have time for that as well.  I'm very excited by this project, so I'm motivated to complete them.  Of course, I will take pictures of the items & post them here after the recipients have them. 

Cross your fingers for me & say a little prayer to the Knitting Goddess above to grant me speed!

Offline to knit away!  Be back soon!

How Many More Times?

Well, maybe one more.  Again, I've started, gotten a good way in & realized I still won't have enough yarn to finish.  My daughter doesn't want a really lacy pattern, otherwise that would probably work.  So we settled on making it much narrower that originally planned.  

My discouragement with this project is reflecting in the fact that I just haven't knitted much on it.  I finally snapped pics of what I had, then...sigh.  I frogged it & started over.  I'm using the same stitch pattern shown here, just using only 2 repeats.  I'm a good few inches into it so far, but I'm not sure this pattern will work on such a narrow scale.  So that means more swatching.  Sigh. 

I'm sure we are all alike in that we want it to work the first time.  I was just going to settle for making a hat from this yarn, but I'll give it one more chance.  If it doesn't work this time...its hat city!

On The Lily Pad...

On my scarfing adventures, its been a challenging time.  First was massive swatching to figure out what pattern I wanted to use.  I want to use something rather lacy because I only have two balls of the yarn.  I also want something that will be nice looking on the reverse side.  So I finally figured out the stitch pattern & received Daughter approval, although she said it was a little boring on the back side.  So I threw in a small 2 stitch twist on the back side.  Looks nice & easy to do.  I figure out my calculations, putting a seed stitch border on the bottom & the sides.  And we begin...

But, I got caught in one of the oldest problems in the history of knitting.  My seed stitch border spread out more than my main stitch pattern.  This resulted in the border making a nice little "wave".  Ugh...I know better!  So I frogged.  I re-evaluated my number of cast on stitches, starting with less at the beginning & increasing right before starting the main pattern.  Yahoo!  It worked great, looks good & things are moving right along.  Until...

I get almost to the end of the first ball of yarn.  I am NOT going to have enough to make a nice long scarf like my daughter wants.  ARGH!  It is coming out just lovely, she really likes it, I have fun doing it, even both sides, but it won't work.  So now, off to the Lily Pad for a little more frogging.  I took some pictures to preserve my work for all eternity...before I rip it!

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Scarfing It

My teenaged daughter doesn't ask me to knit much for her.  Last week, she came home wearing her friend's scarf.  It was a simple cable scarf, store bought, done in a very soft but inexpensive yarn.  Therefore, it was pilled beyond repair.  But she really liked it.  I was checking it out myself & of course, I said I could make that.  She then asked me to make her a scarf!  Yahoo! 

So off to the yarn stash to see what we've got.  I found a lovely cream wool leftover from a previous project.  I just loved the yarn (still do!) because it is so soft & creamy.  It makes my hands softer as I work with it too!  Then to the stitch library for a nice reversible pattern.  I'm a bit afraid I may not have enough (only 2 balls), so I think a lacy pattern will be best, since it won't use as much.  A-swatching we will go!

After much searching, swatching & deliberation, we settled on a very simple yarn-over rib-type stitch pattern.  The back is rather plain, so I may try to experiment with it to see if I can add some interest without altering the effect on the front side.  Of course, I will post my trials & tribulations here.  I haven't started it yet because I was working out the details of the scarf, but I hope to start it today.  I'm really looking forward to it, but I hope I don't become too bored with 5 feet or so of the same thing back & forth!  Hopefully it will go quickly! 

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Just when I thought it was safe to go to the mailbox, it strikes.  Not one, but TWO yarn catalogs.  Sigh.  So, while dinner is simmering, I kick back in the recliner, put on the light & flip open the page.  ARGH!  Scattered across the pages are lovely tote bags, some felted, some not, some large, some small.  Then the yarns...wonderful colors & the lovely lace scarves they show featuring each yarn.  It all looks so delicious, my mouth starts to water...& its not because of dinner.  The trouble is...I want to make them...I want to make them ALL.

The torture continues as I continue through the catalog.  I finally reach the end, only to continue the pain & suffering by opening the next catalog.  Oh, the agony!  I can only tolerate flipping two pages before I'm overwhelmed from the glossy colors.  I must shield my eyes from its glory.  It is not till after dinner that I'm able to return to the second catalog.  However, the pain returns immediately, I'm amazed how quickly.  I continue to punish myself by completing the journey through the pages. 

Thus continues the torture of a yarn fast.  Sadly, I'm coveting the yarns, the projects & money I don't have right now for any of it.  In its wake, all I'm left is wanting.  Sigh. 

Such drama!  LOL!

Hats Off!

Hats off...to the Cancer Center that is!  Shown above are the latest in the hat saga.  Some of these were very much fun to do.  I think I got a little more creative with these because I was getting bored doing hats. 

Some have the same color stitch pattern, but in different colorways.  It makes them look totally different.  One hat used a different gauge yarn, which made the pattern almost unrecognizable, but I liked it anyways!  I made a few of the usual spiral helix hats, so great for using up those small balls of yarn.  Also a multi-colored hat that used up some small amounts of yarn.  It also made for a fun, cheery hat!

I also played with a little more texture this time.  One hat (a lilac one) is deep textured arrows, simple, fun, but it looks complicated.  Another (burgundy & pink) used both a color pattern & a little texture.  This is one of my favorite hats!  I liked the color pattern, it was something I experimented with on my own.  I had a time trying to recreate the upper "scallops" to match the lower ones.  I just love the way it looks!

Also shown is a cabled hat (done in a cream heather yarn).  This is my own creation...I've looked around on the internet & haven't seen any hat quite like it.  I'm waiting to hear from my "test knitters" & I will post the pattern once I'm sure it works for others...besides me! 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

What Next?

I'm still here, still knitting away!  I have a batch of chemo hats that are waiting for pictures.  Actually, they've been waiting for pictures for more than a month now.  I was counting on my family members to model for me, but silly me!  I just need to take the pictures & get it over & done. 

I have 16 hats in this latest batch.  Normally, I like to give them in even dozens, but this time, I kept working on more hats.  I want to get them to the Cancer Center soon, too, because the weather has turned cold.  But now I'm bored with the hats.  I want to do something else....but what. 

A woman from work has a mom who knits, and she has been making newborn & preemie hats.  And guess what?  I have TONS of baby & sport yarns!  In nice baby colors, too!  Sounds like a plan!  So I've been browsing the internet for hat patterns & ideas.  There are tons of hat patterns out there, most seem to be worsted weight yarns, a few sport weight & very few baby or fingering yarn ones.  Hmmmm...

So, I found a terrific hat size & yarn type guide for Red Heart Yarns.  Most of my baby yarns are Red Heart anyways.  Even if not, its a great guideline for approximate stitches & hat sizes, plus it seems to be a good basic hat pattern for all sizes, children & adults included. 

Now that I'm armed & dangerous, it will be interesting to see what I come up with in my journey.  I'm going to have to dig through my stash & see what colors I have to play with.  I know I have loads & loads of baby blue.  Years ago, a local store went out of business & all they had left was blue, so I bought up all they had (it was really cheap)!  Of course I'll be sure to post my adventures here. 

Soon, I will be posting notes on my Dog Sweater design (see Sparky's Sweater link at right), & a new hat pattern that I've come up with after it has been "test-knitted"!  And of course, any other knitting babble I can think of!  See you soon!  

 

Second Round Of Socks

The next round of socks is a finer gauge batch.  They are great for wearing in shoes or just around the house.  These were equally as fun to do, maybe more so than the bulkier versions.  I was more inclined to try some fun patterns, particularly lacy patterns!  Plus I found some fun glitter thread that I knit along on some of them, which just adds to the fun of the sock!  These were done on about size 1 needles, with mostly fingering or sock yarns.  These take a bit longer to make, but I can do one sock in about 2 days.  Not too bad! 

First up is a spiral rib pair made in a fun yarn called Wild Parrot in Socka by Stahl.  These are for my husband, but because they have no shaping, I could wear them too.  They are just a long tube, the only shaping is at the toe.  The ribbing makes for a snug fit, no matter the size of the foot.  For him, they are crew socks, for me, they are knee socks.  Either way, they are a great fun pair!

Next is a pair made in Wildfoote from Brown Sheep.  These are also for my hubby.  They are more of a dress sock, but made from a nice blue heather yarn, could easily be worn with jeans.  This pair has a simple 4x1 ribbing to snug it up against the foot a little.  Plus it is shaped around the heel, so it fits him well.

The next pair is one of the first that I made, and its for me!  It is a lovely, soft superwash wool.  It has no ribbing, so it does tend to slide down my leg after a while.  I used a picot edge hem for the cuff, which gives it a delicate, feminine effect.  It has the heel & toe shaping of a nice fitted sock.  But I had that fun glitter yarn, so I made the heel & toe with it for a fun surprise.  If you look closely, you can see the glitter yarn is two different colors.  I had left overs from socks I previously made for my daughter, so I thought I would use it up! 

The last pair is also for me, a lovely fine cotton yarn.  I made a foldover cuff, then began one of my favorite lace patterns for the leg.  It also has some glitter yarn in the heel, which is shaped to fit my foot.  Thelace pattern continues across the top of the foot, while the bottom is a plain stockinette.  Another simple toe shaping ends it up.  These are probably my favorite pair out of all the socks I've made.  They are just beautiful when worn, the lace pattern opens up & looks so delicate!  Very fancy, but very comfortable & warm to wear!  Now I know why folks always rave about handmade socks!

Sock It To Me!

Yes, I'm still here.  Its been a slow summer for knitting projects.  I admit I don't knit as much during the summer months, though occasionally I will work on something.  Not this year.  It was way too hot to have any project sitting in my lap!  So, since things have been slow, I posting some older projects...this time SOCKS!  The next few posts will be about my sock adventures, at least until I get some knitting projects underway.  The itch is happening, now its a matter of making it reality!  Don't you just love knitting in the fall?

There is something very comfy about hand knitted socks.  I've made a variety of types, from heavy winter "boot" socks to lightweight, lacy "fancy" socks.  They are all fairly quick & easy.  Even though I've read horror stories about "turning a heel", I personally found it to be no big deal.  It was all just basic knitting techniques, & even added a bit of adventure to the whole process. 

For my first "Sockesode", here are pictures of some of my heavy boot sock adventures.  These are all made from Stahl's "Big Socks", a thick superwash wool that is very soft & cozy to knit with.  Using a size 7 needle, these all knit up very quickly, I can make one sock in a few hours, a pair in a weekend.   Plus they are very warm to wear inside slippers or winter boots. 

The first pair was for myself, a heathery creamy grey.  Made simply, with a ribbed leg & upper foot, they have a nice fitted appearance while being worn.  I had some larger leftovers, so I combined some similar colors to make a complete pair for my husband.  I made the leg, heel & part of the foot a heathery steel grey, then the upper foot & toe with the creamy grey.  he was worried that the ribbing might bother his foot, so I did a rib on the leg & left the foot section plain.  My hubby just loves these in the winter because he is not a slipper wearer, so these keep his feet comfy!

My next pair was a rosy heather with a cabled ribbed leg & a plain upper foot.  Probably my favorite thick sock because it is a slightly more feminine color, plus I had some fun with the ribbing!  I didn't want the ribbing on the foot section, because it is a stiffer stitch, & I thought it might bother my foot.   

Hope you enjoy the pictures & until next time, Happy Knitting! 

 

Baggin' It!

Here are pictures of the latest felted bag project.  I decided to go ahead & show them.  Even though it didn't come out the way I had hoped, it wasn't too much of a failure. 

So, first I had to decide how I wanted to do the handles.  The traditional 'booga bag' calls for a needle to be poked through the felted material, then the handle is threaded through it.  While I liked that idea, I also thought about using grommets.  Awhile back, I had asked for a grommet kit for a gift.  As of this time, I still haven't used it for ANYTHING!  I thought this purse might be a good project for the grommets, but in the end I decided on the "poke" method.

So, I pulled out a thick knitting needle & poked it through the four layers of fabric.  Not too bad, just had to work it in a few places, but it went pretty smooth.  Now, getting the strap through was different.  I tried to use my finger to push it through..no luck.  So I grabbed a needle-nose plier, & poked that into the hole, worked it around a bit, then grabbed the handle end & yanked.  It took a little pulling, but it came through great!  I used this method to thread the strap through the rest of the holes, up & around to the other side.  I knotted the strap together, but didn't cut it like the booga bag pattern showed. 

Needless to say, my daughter got sight of the bag & ranted & raved & wanted it bad!  BUT, she wanted velcro closures on a few of the pockets, so I sewed them on (what a pain in the tookus) & she loved it!  The best part...she's using the bag as her purse!  Now her friends want bags too, so this could be a busy knitting summer after all! 

Its all good, I just love making bags, & felting them is so much fun too.  So now, I'm looking forward to some happy bag & felting adventures, and of course, I will post my efforts here!  Have fun with the pics!

New Project, New Pictures!

In my laziness, I haven't updated my blog because I haven't taken pictures of my latest knitting projects.  Shame on me!  So off my duff, here we go!

As usual, I am still making chemo hats, but my progress has slowed.  The extreme heat we are currently enduring does not make good knitting weather!  Not for a warm hat, anyways.  I do have about 9 or 10 finished.  As I've probably mentioned before, I like to wait until I have a dozen, then I photograph them & post the pictures here.  So that may be awhile.  I've also had a second glimpse at my failed booga bag.  It may not be as hopeless as I originally thought.  It just didn't do what I wanted, but it could be salvaged.  I think I will revisit it & see what I can do soon!  I will even post pics, why not?!

Summer is not one of my best knitting times.  I honestly don't knit much, but I usually do something.  My latest thing has been with beads.  Summer & beads DO go well together, in my book!  So, anyway, I got a bug to do something with beads.  Some time ago, I ordered a beaded bracelet kit from Patternworks.  Lovely matte finish black & white beads, along with a gold thread.  Perfect for what my "bug"!

On a recent vacation, I gave it a shot.  I have knit with beads before, see my entry http://journals.aol.com/spunknit/InnaneKnittingBabble/entries/1162 about my beaded purse for my wedding.  It is really easy, & goes along quickly, even on size 0000 steel needles!  So I threaded up the beads & got started. 

What a pain in the tookus!  The thread is not soft, it is scratchy & rough.  The pattern requires tight knitting, which also made it uncomfortable.  The stitch makes the knitted piece spiral, so sometimes I ended up with more beads than I needed.  Frustrating!  I do like the way it looked, so I perservered.  I still need to join the ends together, which has also been frustrating.  It just doesn't look right, so I've done it about 5 or 6 times already, & ripped it out each time. 

All in all, I like the look.  The kit came with enough for 3 bracelets or one long necklace.  I wish now I had done the necklace, because I would have probably finished it just to get it done.  I'm not sure I will knit the remaining 2 bracelets, just because I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. 

Anyways, I have pictures of the finished, but unjoined item above!  Enjoy!

A Tough Lesson

Again, its been awhile.  Just to update, I felted the purple bag.  Arghhhhh!  It did not come out like I had hoped.  What a frustrating situation.  The problem is that I should have known better.  My swatch shrunk very little width-wise, but tons length-wise.  So, of course when I felted it, it ended up puckering around the top opening of the bag.  It also came out much shorter than I expected.  I had washed it once, & I liked the way it looked, but wanted it felted just a bit more.  So I put it through another cycle on the machine...arghhhhh!  I wish I had stopped when I had it to where I liked it.  So now I have a short, puckery bag that used a pricey yarn that I'm unhappy with.  How sad. 

So what went wrong?  I'm actually not sure.  When I felted my swatch piece, I washed it 4 times to get it the way it is shown in the pictures.  So why did it felt so much when I only washed it twice?  Could the size of the piece be a factor?  I don't know. 

This won't deter me from doing future felting projects, though.  I still love the look & the feel of the finished product.  I'm disappointed because I loved the look of the yarn after felting.  I'm disappointed because I used practically all of that yarn.  I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to the finished bag.  Sigh. 

Oh well, I'll move on & work on something else to occupy my time! 

Some Fun Things!

Has it really been that long?  Wow, I'm way behind!  Tons of knitting has been done & no one in cyber-land knows about it!  Time for an update, you think?!

So...around Christmas time, I showed the ladies at work the little snowmen I made last year.  They were a HUGE hit!  Needless to say, I was pestered almost daily about when they would get some of their own!  Since the season was drawing to a close, I didn't feel like making any more...so I only made these five.  Here are the ones I made!

I did the traditional snowman with the black top hat, a guy with red & green hat & scarf, a Santa hat guy, a lady with yellow & green hat & scarf & a lady with purple & pink hat & scarf.  Some have pom-poms on the hats, some have a contrasting hat band.  Whatever I could think of to make them a bit different!  These are so much fun to make & go very quickly.  Plus its a great way to use up those very small scraps.  I put a dollar bill behind them so you can see how small they really are.  Sometimes in the pictures, you just can't tell!

I was thinking that little bunnies would be great for Easter, but I didn't have time for them.  But maybe in the future for baby showers or gifts.  Maybe even a kitty, or dog.  I think the possibilities are endless.  Or at least as far as my imagination will carry! 

The bag is done, I have to get pictures of the felted, completed bag to show for next time!  I'm still making hats, hats & more hats!  Such a great portable project...& quick to finish, too! 

Well, that's it for this time, I hope to post again soon.  Due to some family issues, my time online has been severly limited.  Happy Easter to everyone!  See you next time!

The Next Batch!

Here is the latest batch of chemo hats!  Another fun dozen, I experimented with more stitch patterns, color patterns & styles.  I bribed my daughter into modeling them for me.  As you can see in the pictures, her cooperation was quickly declining as we went along!  Not really, she just was enjoying hamming it up for the camera...too much, maybe! 

Some of my favorites from this batch are the blue & cream Swiss check, the black & blue Quaker rib (probably my most favorite!), the green & white Quaker rib, & the rose & burgundy Thorn stitch hat.  I just love the Quaker rib hats, they look sort of slouchy, then open up to show the hidden color underneath!  Sort of like an accordian!  Plus they are fun to play with! 

The ladies at work seemed unanimous on the rose & burgandy hat.  It was the overall favorite from the bunch!

Oh Just Kick Me!

Here I go again.  Dreaming of yet another tote bag/purse.  Sigh!  This time, I'm thinking of using some pretty wool yarn that is hand dyed in lovely shades of purple.  I've tried felting it already, last year when I was trying to decide which yarn to use for the eyeglass case.  It comes out nice & thick when felted. 

So I'm thinking about a new knitting bag.  Maybe a bit smallish.  Just enough for a skein or two & a chemo hat or other small project.  Something I can just grab, stuff & go!  I don't really need another huge bag.  I've already got quite a few of those!  I'm thinking maybe in the "booga bag" style...with the drawstring type handle.  I'm not sure yet, because this yarn does felt up very thick!  Needles will have a hard time trying to poke through this yarn!  I want to add some nice pockets on the outside, for little gadgets & whatnots.  Maybe a pocket or two on the inside as well.  I have a ton of this yarn, so it won't be a problem!

I'm still making chemo hats!  I'm almost done with this batch, I have 3 more till I have my dozen, then I'll post pictures of them.  The ladies at work only see the hats in progress, they haven't seen a finished one yet.  They think I don't really finish them!  I promised I would bring in the batch when I'm done so they can see them.  I'm doing some different things to a few hats.  So its been exciting for me to work on them.  I'm excited to finish & show them off!  Soon!

What's New?

Not too much new to report on my end.  Still making Chemo hats.  I'm very close to finishing my 8th hat in this bunch, so I'll be able to post the pics soon!  While I just love the helix spiral pattern for its ease & use of smaller scraps, I've been doing a few different styles of hat for variety. 

Currently, I'm making a Quaker rib hat. Another very simple concept, its 4-6 rounds of St. st, then 4-6 rounds of reverse St. st. - repeat to crown.  I'm having a lot of fun with these, though, because it scrunches up like an accordian!  You can't really see the St. st. parts until you stretch it out, so I'm using coordinating colors for that part.  Its sort of like a surprise when you stretch it out & see a different color inside!

My mind is roaming for variations on this, maybe add another row of a third color on the St. st. parts, just a row or two.  Use up some smaller scraps & add some interest & variety as well.  I'm also contemplating a spiral rib hat.  I have loads of cream & off white yarns just screaming for a textured pattern.  It won't even matter if its just a solid color, because the stitch pattern will add the interest.  I may even venture into some cables, but those take more time & thought, so I'll see how I feel about it!

On other news, Luv2knit63 (aka Lisa!) asked about the helix spiral hat pattern.  I searched the web & couldn't find the pattern again, but I know its out there in many forms.  If you want it, I"m sure if you search more diligently than I did, you'll find it! :)

Rhaman60 asked for the felted purse pattern.  I sort of made it up as I knit along. Unfortunately, I did not write down instructions for what I did.  Shame on me!  But there are many very nice bag patterns out there, a google search should help with that!  I hope you find something you like! 

Someone else out there asked about knitted flowers.  (I can't seem to find the post right now)  I highly recommend Nicky Epstein's book Knitted Embellishments.  It is rather pricey to buy ($30), but I found it at the library.  There are loads of delicious flowers & other trims!  The woman is a genious!  I personally want this book, too, so maybe a Mother's Day gift or anniversary present?! 

Thanks to everyone who take time from your busy days to read all my sillybabble! 

Happy New Year & More Hats To All!

Happy New Year to Everyone!  Let's hope its a healthy, hopeful year for us all!

Here are some pictures of my latest batch of chemo hats.  I actually finished these back in late October or early November & took them to the cancer center.  But I was in the middle of some bag babble, so I didn't talk about them yet!

I was trying to get a little more adventurous with the yarn types I've been using.  So I pulled out some chenille yarns.  They blended very well with the regular yarns & came out soft & cuddley.  I'm not a big fan of chenille, but I have a ton of it from a yarn store going out of business sale. 

I also pulled out some fun confetti-type yarns.  They have lots of fluff on them & look rather fuzzy & cuddley.  Not a fun yarn to work with, but I don't have too much of it either!  I think the hats came out fun!  I'm sure someone out there will love them!

I also resorted to one of my favorite basic patterns, the spiral helix.  It is such a great way to use up those yarns & I made quite a few that way!  They just look so interesting & its better than a plain boring hat!  Like the hats I made in the beginning!  There are a couple with a regular ribbed hem, but most have the soft rolled brim that I like so much! 

I currently have 7 hats in the basket, but as mentioned before, I like to give them in even dozens.  So, just a few more & they'll be making their way to the cancer center too!