I made my co-workers sweaters for Christmas

Haven't had much time to work on presents for friends and family this holiday season. Had to settle for mico-sizes!

And I just have to say - Penzey's to the rescue yet once again - the bottle of lemon peel was exactly the right size to be a mold for making hangars!

R2d2 knitted hat

I'm working on this hat for a friend. Its an R2D2 hat to be used for a party she is giving for her sister and finance. Its been a long time since I've seen Star Wars - I'm not sure if she hadn't told me I would know what the pattern represents. She is making a Princess Leia hat for her sister to wear - now that would be recognizable to me and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Just as the inside of computer (or robot) would look - so does the inside of this hat! So many ends to weave in - I think it might take just as long to weave them in as it did to make!

Loopy Scarf

When I first saw the picture of this scarf I was intrigue by the look and thought that it would be fun to make. The pattern came from a calendar that Tam gave me for the date of August 13, 2009. It was originally from http://tattingmydoilies.blogspot.com/ which describes the pattern as "It's as fun to wear as it is to make!"

I wasn't able to find the same yarn that the pattern called for so substituted with a soft wool blend in a  heather rust called Queensland Collection - Rustic Tweed. The pattern required a set of straight needles plus a couple of double-pointed needles to make the loops (I-cord).

 

After blocking it our and looking closer at the pattern, I realized that I might have misunderstood the pattern and didn't connect the loops in the right place. There were a few errors at the beginning of the pattern that I was able to figure out and may have assumed there was an error in the loop section as well when it didn't make sense. It was only after I finished that I thought to look at the website and see that the creator had posted an addendum to errors but nothing about the loop attachment. And now I'm pretty certain it was a heidi-error. Should have looked there before! Oh well!

Perfect Sweater Model

The sweater looks much better on my sweater model then it did when I took it all by itself. And as expected, the hood didn't really fit like a hood should - it was too narrow and too short. But it sure did look cute!

And what better place to wear the sweater but the aquarium! I have never been to the Seattle aquarium and I was really impressed. They had a lot of interactive things for kids to do and wonderful displays at many differernt heights. Even fish viewing that Bella could look at without being held up.

Here is a huge wall of fish that was mesmorizing to watch.

 

And here Tim and Rachelle watch Bella watching the salmon in an underwater dome on the lower level.

And Bella and Naomi hamming it up for the camera surrounded by a bright underwater mural!

It was a long drive home...and a good time to catch a nap!

Coat Sweater for Bella

Seems like I've been able to finish some knitting projects lately. It is a pretty good activity for me to do on the plane. Here is a little coat sweater for my niece, Bella. I'm going to see her very soon and am really looking forward to seeing how she has grown and changed in the last year. Since she is only 1 1/2 I expect a great difference!


I normally try to do everything on circular needles because I hate to sew things up. But I thought I should get more practice so I tried it with this sweater. Since the main part was made up of moss stitch, sewing it up was a little easier to keep track of the bumps I was supposed to put together. Might want to consider this strategy again if needed.

Ruffles Purses

I find working with the tape-style yarn from Lion Brand Ruffles or Sensations Flounce, or Premier Flamenco, a challenge but in a good way. You can't knit very fast or you get messed up but it doesn't take too long to finish a project.

This one for Barb, has a beaded handle. I decided to put in a crimp between every 10 beads just in case it broke. I used a stainless steel thread so it should be pretty strong.


I'm not very good at the hand sewing. I tend to want to get it done and take too big of stitches or don't make them even. I tried to pay more attention if I know it will show. I found some mending tape that you iron on that I used to make a nice straight side. Then this is sewn together for the sides and makes a much cleaner and even side. In the past I would have tried to fold and iron a straight edge but this works much better for me.

And here is one I made for Tammy last summer. It has two pre-made handles. I added a snap-clasp that I hope works out ok.



And here is a small brown purse. There was just enough yarn left over to braid a strap for it.


and I added a black frog closure:


I have more of this yarn in other colors so I'll probably be making some more unless I find another project that needs ruffles. Tatiana suggested making a dress!

Cup Cozzies

I used up some scrape yarn and had a lot of fun making these cup cozzies over the holiday break for my co-workers. Some of these are felted using 100% wool and some are made from different weights of yarn using different patterns.

These are some of my favorites:

The red is a just an alternative k2tog for one row and yo for the next to maintain the correct number of stitches. The white and pink is just knitted and purles but I like the white hairy yarn. Maybe white isn't the best choice for covering a coffee cup though. I didn't think of that!


I love making the loop stitch (blue). I think loops are fun. The green/white is using a pattern called Broken Rib pattern where you k1, p1 for one row and then purl the next.


And these felted ones were fun too. It is always interesting to see how long something will felt and how big you have to make it to get it to felt to the correct size.


The pattern for the felted cozy came from a calendar that Tam gave me last year.

Cast on 50 stitches
Rows 1-3: K
Row 4: K8, K2tog (RS)
Row 5: P (WS)
Row 6: K
Rows 7-10: repeat rows 5-6
Row 11: P 14, P2tog, P13, P2tog, P14
Row 12-17: Knit RS, purl WS
Row 18: K14, K2tog, K11, K2tog, K14
Rows 19-21: Knit RS, purl WS
Row 22: K 19, K2tog, K20
Row 21-25: Knit Rs, purl WS
Bind off.


For the non-felted cozy I used the free pattern from Knitpics as a bases and used my knitting pattern dictionary for the pattern stitches.

Rug, part 2

After finishing the rectangular rug with the loops I thought I would try to adapt a pattern for a flower facecloth and make a second bath rug. So now we have a light blue and burgundy flower to warm the feet.


I ended up doubling the number of stitches and then increasing an extra two stitches to make the petals a little longer. I think it turned out pretty good, although I did notice a mistake when I was blocking it. Unless you are really looking at it most people won't notice and I'm ok with that.

Finally Finished

I have been working on this sweater for about a year now. I have to say I was inspired by Christen on my last visit to Fairbanks who said sometime about not being that far from finishing it. And she was right. Once I sat down I was able to finish in about 4 knitting sittings.

But until then, I had to put it away a couple of times because I just didn't feel like concentrating on the pattern. I had to count every row and pay attention to every stitch pattern. When you look at my notes you might think I was being really anal about keeping track but for me this is the only way I could keep track of what was going on, how many increases or decreases I had done.

For the Body:

For the Sleeve:

I think I was pretty successful in making the sleeves the same length and I don't think one side is bigger than the other - at least I hope it isn't too noticeable when it is worn.

There is some controversy whether or not the different patterns have meaning in the culture of fishing and living off the sea or religious significance. Since the different patterns stitches are selected and put together in an order chosen by the one making the garment then I tend to think that there is meaning although it might vary in interpretation.

This is what I found for the stitch patterns that I used:

The moss stitch - this was used on the underside of the sleeve and along the sides which fits with the suggested meaning or abundance growth (since it really did grow) and wealth


Tree of Life - in hopes that the fisherman will have a long life regardless of the events and occur and seem to lead to different paths. And this is the stitch in which I really had to pay attention. Sometimes, I had to do some frogging* and take out stitches because I had gone taken the cable the wrong way.

* frogging = rip-it out!

Blackberry (or Trinity) - brings in the idea of nature and the christian idea of the trinity. On first look you might not get the trinity part but each of the little berries is actually made of of three stitches that you knit together on one row and increase by three stitches in the next. So in that regard, it does make sense.


I'm not sure if this is what they would call the Trellis or ladder of success or the Fisherman's ropes for good luck - either way sounds good to me!


I couldn't find any definition for the popcorn or bobbles - I'm thinking that since it is placed right by the trellis or the rops that it represents the missing part of the circle - the fish that get caught in the ropes or the flowers that grow up the trellis...


And together:

Knitting Project for new House

I couldn't find a bath mat I liked for our guest bathroom so I knitted one up. I'm not sure yet if I want to secure a rubber backing to it or not. It doesn't seem to be slippery but I haven' really tested it out completely. These pictures doesn't show the colors very well - the gray stripes are actually a baby blue color.

I used 100% cotton yarn and size 11 needles. My gauge was 12 stitches = about 4 inches. I didn't really care about the row measurement but it looks to be about 17 rows = 4 inches.

Cast on 60 stitches with double strands of yarn. I actually purchased way more yarn then I needed (4 skeins of tan, 2 of blue, and 2 of burgandy - each one 400g/14oz and 710 yards) but I didn't want to run out and when I got the yarn and I didn't actually have any idea of how much I would need. I knew I wanted to use a double strand and it is easier for me to not separate 1 skein but to use two. I can probably make 4 more similar sized rugs. Or maybe a toilet seat cover, shower curtain, towel set and toilet paper holder. or not.

Here is what I did:
5 rows moss stitch for end border, 15 rows of stockinette stitch maintaining 5 stitches in moss stitch to continue the edge border. 6 rows of loops (actually loop row, purl row, and repeat 3x).

It was a pretty quick project and came out the perfect size that I wanted (23 x 31). I had a little trouble following the directions for making the loops in the knitting dictionary I have and found this example much easier to understand. It does slow you down but I think it is a fun stitch and I'll probably be doing more of it.




Did you notice how clean the grout in the tile looked it the first picture? It was scrubbed with a finger nail brush on my hands and knees. Just wanted to point that out!

Knitting Projects

I made this little hood poncho for my 1-year old great niece. It is made from Rainbow Boucle yarn with gradients of pink to white. It can easily be thrown in the washer and dryer. The hood part looks a little big but she probably won't wear that over her head anyway.



And here are some embroidered napkins. I really like to do embroidery work and haven't done any for awhile. I thought it would be a nice break from knitting. On my trip to Fairbanks I decided to take along some lace weight yarn and make lace to go around the napkins. This pattern is only 5 rows long so it was easy to memorize and I could stop and start as I needed to. I like to take lace projects on the plane because they don't require a lot of material and come together pretty quick.






And here is a felted purse that I made for Ashley. The pattern came from a knitting calendar that Tam gave me.



I was concerned that the flap would not flatten out and curl up like it did pre-felted. But it laid right down. I didn't even have to weight it down or anything. I sewed a big snap on the inside flap so its a bit more secure but it probably didn't need it.

Kniting projects

I made this back scrubber from a pattern from the calendar that the Burton's send me for Christmas. Its out of a cotton blend. I had to add extra rows because when I followed the directions it seemed a little short - at least my my arms.

Felting on soap is still in the test stage for me. I have found that some wool roving felts up better than others. I tried out one that didn't completely get covered by wool in the shower and I'm not sure how much I really liked it. It didn't seem to suds up very much. Its also a pretty personal item - you maybe don't want to share it with anyone else. But if you pick the right soap (smelly) it make a pretty sachet for your sock drawer!


And these are for a friend at work who has a new grandson. I haven't made this pattern before and I looked interesting.



and after a spin in the hot washer:

more knitting

Here's a few knitting projects that I've been working on – oh, maybe since last year! Sometimes things get put away or I have to take a break to figure out a problem I've encountered. But I'm always glad to finish them up.

This particular pattern is called floral scallops and reminds me of the pansy. I've used lace to add to pillow cases and towels. I have enough to trim out a set of dark purple-red towels for a gift.


I started this lace project back in June when I needed something to take on the plane to seattle with me. I like projects like this because they are small an easily portable. They really make a 2.5 hour trip fly by.


Here's a sweater I'm making for Jim. I am just now up to the point where I'm starting the raglan sleeve decrease. Its made from fine merino, acrylic micofiber, and cashmere. Its a washable wool!


Its from an old pattern book that my mom had. I kinda liked this pattern but its in French and the online translators I tried weren't taking knit-speak. I might have been able to interpret if I was making it for myself but one arm might have been different from the other!


This is that same pattern that Tisha sent, for the bike helmet earband. I had some left over self-striping yarn and adjusted the pattern for the smaller fiber. I think it came out pretty good. Since the yarn is wool its very warm. Unfortunately, its not a washable wool so that means hand washing and drying when it gets sweaty!


And in case you are wondering, I did have to do some adjustment to get the two ear pieces to match up.

The following changes to the pattern should be made to accommodate the thinner yarn:

Cast on 24 stitches and K1,P1 for 6 rounds.
Increase until you have about 68 stitches then K1, P1 ribbing for 8 rounds. Cast off 34 stitches.
Then on the other side of the earband do the reverse.

This bag was started before christmas and was supposed to be a gift for someone but it never got finished due to some complications. It doesn't look much like the picture on the pattern - I think I might have felted it too much.

Pre-felted:

The top binded seemed to pucker up and have the lettuce-effect. It was all ripply and looked stretched out. So I ran a couple of baste lines with thread, got it wet and then pulled it a bit tighter. After it dried it seemed a little better


I decided to add this ribbon to the top binding so that it would stretch out more. I do like the bag but am disappointed it didn't turn out more like the picture on the pattern. They must have added some type of form (acrylic or plastic) to help keep its shape.