Tag Archive | crafting

Thinning the Herd

Every January, a large number of knitters declare, “I’m going to knit from stash this year! I’m not going to buy so much new yarn!” I’m usually one of those knitters, and this year is no different. I do want to knit from stash; I’ve spent a long time cultivating a healthy collection of beautiful yarns.

I mean, look at all that yarn!! I shouldn’t need to buy more at all for a long time! But I don’t want to stop buying new yarn completely. That’s not realistic or fun, especially since I’ll be going to Knitting in the Heartland this year. No, my goal this year is to simply use more from my stash than I add to it. I’m going by skein count rather than yardage and to increase accountability, I created a page in my knitting journal to keep track of skeins in and out. I’m off to a good start, especially after a week of lots of knitting time: I’ve used five skeins from stash and added none! Last night I wound two more skeins and this morning cast on for a new project, a Malabrigo Rasta hat that I’ve been planning for about a year.

What are your goals for stash this year?

Eeyore is the cutest

Jan10

Yesterday I finished what might possibly be my favorite project ever, a little crochet Eeyore. It’s definitely the cutest thing I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a few cute things before (like a tiny sloth!). But Eeyore is just the best.

He wasn’t hard to make at all, but like any toy, it’s just fiddly to make all the pieces and then sew them all together. I always struggle with placement and sewing them up neatly, but this one worked out pretty well. I had some leftover faux fur yarn which made the best tail and mane ever. And thankfully the eyes were super simple, just two little lines of black yarn.

Adding the button for the tail was the finishing touch. I thought he was adorable without it, but then I sewed on the perfect wood button and heck, I just love him so much. I’ve just been carrying him around with me downstairs as I sit with dogs, and he makes me smile. I think that would make Eeyore feel pretty good. I don’t know that I’ll ever want to make another one, but if you need an Eeyore in your life, I used this free pattern on Ravelry. I used worsted weight yarn and a G hook to get a nice, tight fabric.

We’re bracing for a big storm tonight and tomorrow, with ice and several inches of snow. Should make taking Duncan outside interesting! Brrr… Happy Friday, friends!

Baa? Bah!

Jan8

One of my work knitting friends makes the cutest animals, some knit, some crochet. She’s done elephants and pigs and I don’t know what else, but I love them. Most recently she made the cutest little sheep and I just had to make one for myself. It’s small and quick enough that I made it all in one night, just a few hours.

So cute! And soft! And fluffy! And so fiddly to make that it’s gonna be one and done for me! Now, I probably got annoyed because I sewed the legs wrong the first time, and had to pull it apart and re-sew them, but still, making tiny animals has never been my favorite thing. So now I have my wee sheep and I can move on…to Eeyore. Sigh. I know, I never learn.

Duncan’s getting better every day, which is good and bad. He’s well behaved until around 3:30 in the afternoon, and then he’s bored and restless and wants to do all the things he’s not allowed to do. Yesterday we got a delivery of new Benebone chew toys, which was a huge help.

Not sure what I’ll do this afternoon when I have no more new toys to give him, though!

Chasing Squirrels

Jan7

I had projects picked out to work on while I’m home with Duncan; I even cast on a new one this morning. But then I decided I wanted to knit a little sheep, and also I want to crochet a little Eeyore. So I pulled out my baskets of yarn leftovers for those, and stumbled across a shawl I made six years ago that had dropped stitches and was a tangled mess. Like a dog distracted by a squirrel, I decided I really needed to frog that shawl and reclaim the yarn. Guys, it took over two hours.

But hey, I have a ball of purple yarn to add back to my stash! Sadly, it’s weird yarn (Feza Yarns Alp Natural) that’s a mixture of different fibers, including one stretch of velvet/chenille stuff that knits up weird. Plus, each stretch of yarn is joined by a knot, and I don’t love that. I don’t know if I’ll try it again any time soon, but it is a good feeling to at least have it available if I want want, rather than a shawl I couldn’t wear.

I was more focused yesterday, which is how I also have a new FO to share. This is another Flor de Maio cowl, which I’ve made four times now, in Plymouth Yarns Baby Alpaca Grande Glow.

fullsizeoutput_2531 I love knitting with alpaca. I love the thread of sparkle in the Grande Glow. Sadly, I can’t wear it next to my neck, so this one is for a friend at work. And now that this is done, and the yarn untangling is done, maybe I’ll get back to the Bandana cowl I cast on this morning!

Sock It To Me Monday

Jan6

With much of my weekend spent lounging on a mattress with Duncan, I have a finished sock to share today! This is my Yarn Geek sock, with accents from leftovers.

The next one will have the accents reversed, just for fun! And to spice things up, I switched the rib pattern to 7×1. Wild, right?? This yarn isn’t silky soft, but it feels thick and durable, and I’m guessing they’ll wear really well. I cast on the second sock last night and I’m looking forward to having a new pair of socks…partly because all my handknit socks are dirty and I haven’t had a chance to wash them! I might have to make an exception and put them in the washer this time.

Yesterday I got a break from dog-sitting and took the boy to Half Price Books, where I found Amy Herzog’s Ultimate Sweater Book. It says it’s a guide for “adventurous knitters”, and I don’t think I’m there yet but I aspire to be! And after that, the husband was still happy to chill with Duncan, so I got time to wash and block my lastest FOs.

The break was lovely because now I’m back on the mattress. The husband and the girl are at work and the boy is hoping to go visit the girlfriend, so it’s all me today. Don’t worry, I’ll make the boy give me a break before he leaves! And I did manage to get Duncan in the crate this morning while I had breakfast, just to get him used to it. He looked sad and pathetic but was very calm and resigned. He didn’t whine or paw at the door or bark. So I’m cautiously optimistic, and my next step will be to put him in there and then go upstairs for a while and see how he does without a person around. Overall, managing his recovery has gone more smoothly than I was expecting. Here’s hoping it stays that way even after I have to go back to work!

Knitting with a Dog

Jan5

Today is Duncan’s second full day at home after his knee surgery, and he’s doing really well. He’s touching the leg to the ground at times, even putting some weight on it, which is better than I expected. The hardest part is going to be keeping him calm while everything heals. I think the first couple of weeks will be the most critical, and after that we can start slowly building in a little more activity. Actually, the hardest part are the nights. He hates the cone, not surprisingly, so we’ve been sitting with him 24/7 and keeping him on a leash to restrict movement and prevent him from licking the incision. The husband and I took turns sleeping downstairs with him the last two nights, and it’s not very restful, but at least Duncan gets some sleep that way. We can manage this for a couple of weeks, right?

ee16171f-a91d-467f-9e8d-cbab1b57c5ee Also not surprisingly, I’ve had some knitting time while sitting with Duncan, and I’ve finished two projects! The first is the Botta Stole, which I don’t think I’ve mentioned before. It’s basically a scarf, and I chose it for a special skein of Aspen, a blend of merino/silk/cashmere from Baah Yarns. Unfortunately, I didn’t pay attention to yardage and I didn’t have as much as the pattern called for, so mine will be a bit short. I’m hoping it will block out long enough to wear with a shawl pin or ring.

db945b6d-a29d-49dc-a58c-b2d2a6e55def That is a terrible photo and I do apologize, but my opportunities to take photos in good light are a bit limited right now. I promise I’ll get a better one after it’s done blocking! My other finished item is a sock, so I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post. And two finished items means I get to cast on two new items, so that’s what I’ll be doing while Duncan and I watch the Golden Globes tonight!

New Year, New FO

Jan1

This is a nice way to start off a new year, with a completed project that used two skeins of stash yarn from a year ago! I actually finished it on December 27th, so it’s not really the first FO of the year, but it’s the first one I’m sharing, so it’s pretty much the same.

fullsizeoutput_251c This is Twindom, which used two skeins of Malabrigo Rasta. I did modify it by using size 17 needles instead of 19. The 19s made it too loose. Using the smaller needles, I got a tighter fabric but I did run out of yarn a few rows early, and it’s not as big as I expected, but it also hasn’t been blocked yet, and I’m pretty sure that will relax the stitches quite a bit. I’ll be sure to share an update after blocking. This color is Baya Electrica and I love it! It was a Christmas gift from the husband last year, so it was nice to finally find the right project for it.

I hope you all had a lovely New Year’s Eve! We spent the evening our usual way, with board games, an obscene amount of junk food, and much laughter. It’s such a treat to have all of us together these days. And I got to sleep until 10 this morning!! I know that won’t happen again for a very long time.

Duncan’s surgery is tomorrow. We’ve got a mattress downstairs so we can lay with him to help keep him calm, and one of us will sleep there overnight for at least the first week or so. We borrowed a crate from the brother, for when we’re not able to supervise him and the other dogs. He’s never been crated before so we’re trying to get him used to it by putting in one of his dog beds and blankets, and we put a few treats in there last night. Each dog took turns napping in there while we were playing games. It was pretty funny.

Now I just need to pick out a couple of easy knitting projects that I can work on while I’m sitting with a dog. I’m planning on another Bandana Cowl, and maybe a hat too. What’s your favorite mindless comfort knitting?

Happy New Year, friends!

Just Try It: A FO

Dec29

Let’s get back to a bit of knitting, shall we? Over my Christmas break I pulled a skein of Magpie Fibers Swanky DK out of my stash and it became a neck tube! I wanted something snug enough that I could feel the cashmere softness against my skin and long enough to snuggle down into when it’s cold. I haven’t gotten to wear it yet but I think it will be wonderfully cozy.

The pattern is Just Try It and I did the slimmest version, which I think they call the “guy version”. It’s so simple and knitting ribbing with a cashmere blend was so much my jam that I wanted to knit until the yarn was gone. Instead, I stopped when the cowl was about 10″ tall and decided to make fingerless mitts with the rest of the skein.

I scoured Ravelry to find a good ribbed pattern for sport weight yarn, since I wanted the mitts to match the neck tube, and I couldn’t find one that looked like I what I wanted. So I decided to improvise my own pattern! I took my favorite fingerless mitt pattern, the 75 Yard Malabrigo Mitts, and cast on fewer stitches with smaller needles and did the same ribbing pattern as in the cowl. The thumb I did the same as the original mitts since I couldn’t figure out how to make it ribbed, and I love how it turned out, growing out of one of the stockinette sections. I made them snug and short, perfect for wearing while I’m doing things like typing or knitting, and they’re officially my favorite new mitts.

These took 95 yards and I had enough left over that I could have made the cuff a bit longer, but I’m pleased with them. You can see the pattern notes here if you’re interested.

Back to real life

Dec26

Almost. I don’t have to go back to work until Monday but all the holiday stuff is over and now it’s time to just relax for a few days. Which is good because I got A LOT of yarn that I want to play with! The husband had a good time picking out yarn and he chose VERY well. But I restrained myself to winding just two skeins and casting on two new projects, a shawl and a new pair of socks. The sock yarn is Yarn Geek and the shawl is Blissful Knits, both sellers on Etsy.

There is a teeny tiny part of me that is a bit overwhelmed by my yarn stash at the moment, feeling like I have reached SABLE (stash acquired beyond life expectancy) and it makes me want to cast on all the things, so I might cast on a new hat today too.

In other gifting news, I gifted two pairs of socks and one hat, and all three were well-received! And I think they might even all fit, how about that? Hope your handmade items were equally loved!

Nope I’m done

Dec22

I really thought I was going to make more wine sweaters. I mean, I did make two more, and they’re cute and they’re going to a good friend who asked for them a while back. And then I thought about making more for the mother and the SIL and … just nope. They were going to be extras just for fun, so they won’t even know what they’re missing. And I get to move on to more fun knitting!

Last night I had the itch to cast on something new for myself, something with squishy garter stitch, something that’s bigger than fingering weight. I had a skein of yarn in mind but could find a good pattern for it. I went up to my stash to pull it out anyway so I could wind it, and in doing so, I touched a different skein. Friends, that skein had cashmere in it, and it said “HEY! KNIT ME! I’M SOFT AND SQUISHY AND DECADENT!” Well! Who am I to ignore the demands of my yarn?

This is Magpie Fibers Swanky DK, which is 80% merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon and SO silky soft. I wanted to be able to feel it against my skin, which is why I chose the close-fitting cowl called Just Try It. It’s making me happy to knit and it’ll make me happy to wear!

In other fun knitting news, I have a table in my craft room now. The husband recently finished a huge dining room table so we got to move the old one upstairs. Once I don’t need it as a wrapping station, it will become a winding station!

Happiness is having a room of one’s own, I think. Happy Sunday, friends!