Dagnabbit. Another knitting failure. I refuse to blame it on not checking gauge, but it *is* my fault. So I got an order for these hats for Christmas presents, and I wanted to get an early start. Plus I love making hats so this is a fun project to have in my rotation. Unfortunately, when I went to cast on, I realized I didn’t have size 7 16″ circulars. I have 6 and 8, but no 7. I have size 7 in my interchangeables, but those tips with the 16″ cord are still a bit longer than 16″ and it’s more awkward than a true 16″. You can guess what I did. Yep. I thought, oh, I’ll just use the 8. They’re for slightly older boys so it’ll be okay if they’re bigger than the kid in the pattern’s picture. So I used the 8. Here’s where I am. 
It’s cute, I like the pattern, it’s knitting up quickly, blah blah blah. Whatever. Last night I tried it on my 11yo son. It’s too big. Not terrible, but loose. And it’s for a younger boy. And it’ll stretch a bit with use. So yeah. Too big. Sing along with me (to the tune of “Crying Time”. I hear Barbra in my head, but there are a lot of versions): “It’s frogging time again, you’re gonna leave me. I can see it by the way you lose your shape.”
Tag Archive | crafting
My Favorite WIP
There’s a lot going on in my life lately and I’ve been feeling a bit scattered, unable to focus too long on anything. Maybe that’s obvious, given that I keep starting new yarn projects without finishing the others. (Current WIP count = 9) Partly I’m feeling a lot of creative inspiration where I actually know what a yarn is supposed to be. That doesn’t happen often for me so I want to start them before I lose the inspiration. And partly I just need different kinds of projects for different moods and needs. I need waiting room knitting, TV knitting, football game knitting, and quiet time knitting. I’ve got them all covered now! Plus I’ve got three orders in my queue; one is started and the other two are next in line. Clearly, I’ve got enough knitting to keep me busy for a good long while.
But I’ve got a favorite right now. I know you’re not supposed to admit it, but I do. A few days ago I came across a post by yarnandpointysticks titled “The moment when something screams knit me” and the second project really did scream that to me. Look at this gorgeous shawl!
dokatron’s Quadratic on Ravelry. (Photo by Victoria Magnus)
This is the Quadratic published by David O’Kelly and Eden Cottage Yarns. It’s simple but striking. It’s also a lot of delightful squishy garter stitch, which I love, and just a tiny bit of stockinette to make the little stripes stand out. As soon as I saw it, my mind went to the two skeins of icy gray Quince & Co. yarn that I bought in DC this summer. A quick check in Ravelry told me it was a fingering weight, which is what the shawl requires. Plus, I only had *TWO* other fingering weight yarns in my entire stash, and they just happened to be colors that look gorgeous with the gray.
Oh my, I just love those together. The only problem is that the shawl calls for 567 yards of the gray, and I only have 442. That didn’t stop me. I have a plan. I’m going to modify the pattern just a little bit. Instead of having all the larger sections be gray, I’m going to have one small one in the blue, and a larger one in the purple. I have no idea how much yardage those two sections will make up, so I’m really just crossing my fingers that this will work out favorably. If not, well, I’ll be begging for more of the gray yarn, I guess. I cast on the next day, and even though I’ve been working on projects for customers, I keep coming back to this one just a little at a time. 
I like it so much that I don’t think it will take me too long to finish. Check back for photos of the final product!
Newborn Owl Hats
I can’t stop making these character hats! Can I just say how much I love the Repeat Crafter Me blog?? Sarah is the creator of the blog and it’s her basic owl pattern that I keep coming back to over and over. It’s just genius, how simply it’s designed and how she’s included variations for sizes from newborn to adult. I also love that she’s so generous to share the pattern with crafters like me. So here’s a big thank you to Sarah. She does a ton of fun, unusual projects, so be sure to check out her website.
Now, on to the hats! I got an order for two newborn hats, one in pink and one in gray. After a quick trip to Joann for some super soft gray baby yarn, I made two owl hats in one day. And I cannot tell you how much I love them. Why is it that things are so much cuter when they’re little? Check them out: 
And using the wine glass as a hat stand? Yeah, that was Repeat Crafter Me too. Genius, I’m telling you. If you’d like to see other things I’m making, or contact me about making something for you, you can find me on Facebook too.
Finally, here’s the guy who was trying to help me take pictures. He’s cute, but not terribly helpful. 
Hello Hats
Today is Tuesday. Right? I’m feeling confused, having come off this long weekend. It was productive for most of us. My husband worked on our patio project, and though we still have a ways to go, it’s encouraging to see it progress. For me, Labor Day weekend meant watching the US Open, which of course includes playing with yarn. I finished another Christmas present yesterday and I’m quite pleased with it.
I never thought I’d get into making these character hats. I thought they were fussy and fiddly and would require so much detail work that I’d hate it, but I’m having a blast with them. Sure, the finishing isn’t my favorite, but seeing it all together makes it worth it. Here’s hoping my niece still likes Hello Kitty by the time Christmas rolls around!
Once that was done, I needed another project. I’m going to visit a friend with a new baby this week, and for the baby shower I made a wee pointy elf hat. Since the baby has a big sister, I thought I’d take her a present, so last night I made another elf hat.
I’m feeling pretty good about my Christmas knitting now, so I might even be able to take a break and work on some selfish knitting for a bit. It’s September…surely cooler weather is just around the corner…I need a new hat for myself, right?
Knitting for the Holidays
Okay, these people are freaking me out: “Only 16 Fridays until Christmas!!” Why? Why do we have to start that already? It’s still 90 degrees and sunny here, not even officially fall, and people are gunning for Christmas. Don’t get me wrong; I love Christmas. Love to decorate and buy presents and receive presents and eat lots of yummy food. But I don’t want to think about it year-round. And I don’t want to feel the gift-knitting-anxiety so early in the year.
I like to knit gifts for my people. I have a lot of people. That means a lot of knitted gifts. And the last year or two, I waited too long and tried to knit too many things. By the end of December, I was frantic. My love of knitting dimmed slightly, and I knitted each one with less love and more panic. This year, I decided to work differently. I had a potential gift list written out by May, I ordered the yarn this summer, and I already have three gifts knitted. That’s great, right? Right! I’m excited!
But then I see those things on Facebook where people are counting down and it just doesn’t seem like enough time to take care of all the knitting left on my list. Add in all the selfish knitting I still want to do, and here comes the trembly fear in the pit of my stomach. I’ve started to crave lists. Lists of presents, lists of yarns, lists of selfish projects….
Yikes! I have now thrown myself into gift knitting, and I started another today as soon I finished one this morning. I’ve got two more in my mental queue and I have no desire to go back to my current WIPs. At least not until I’ve made a bigger dent in my gift list. So I’m not really alleviating my knitting-anxiety. It’s just moved up earlier in the year. And maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’ll be worth it once December rolls around. I’ll let you know.
In the meantime, here’s a peek at the gift I finished this morning. He’s a Simple Medium-Sized Bear from The Best Dressed Knitted Bear by Emma King and he used up one whole skein of Knit Picks Brava Bulky in Sienna. The pattern called for knitting each piece flat, but I did the body and head in the round to avoid seaming. When I do the pattern again, I think I’ll also do the arms and legs in the round. He’s a good-sized fellow, a full 16″ tall, and he’s soft and squishy. I think he might get a little shirt too. I really like this pattern and its simple charm. I just hope the little boy who gets him likes him too!
Make a new project, finish an old one
Crafters have it bad. They’re always thinking of new things they want to make. They look at supplies and their brains light up with possibilities. It’s great to have all the ideas, but it does sometimes make it hard to get projects completed. I have seven WIPs but that doesn’t stop me from starting more. I’ve had some purple LaFurla yarn in my stash for months, but as soon as I got some purple Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande to go with it, I’ve been dying to make another furry cowl. It finally got to be too much and a couple of days ago I broke down and cast on. I finished it that day (I *never* finish projects in a day) and love it! The furry yarn was kind of a pain to knit with. It doesn’t like to knot when you finish it off, and heaven forbid you drop a stitch: I don’t know if you’d ever find it! It’s worth it, though.
I know, the last picture is terrible. I’m sorry. I wanted a photo showing how nicely it drapes, and a selfie with my phone was my option.
Once that was done, I was happy, and I could switch back to a WIP. I decided to finish the Chiefs fingerless gloves for my friend, since I knew one mitt would go quickly. And it did. I got it knit in the morning and wove in tails last night. They’re fun. I like the reversed colors, I think. Not what I had in mind, but it works.
Having finished two projects in as many days, I thought I deserved to start another one. So last night during the Emmys, I finally cast on for the Honey Cowl, the Madelinetosh pattern that keeps catching my eye on Ravelry and that I tried to cast on twice already. This time it worked, and I’m six rows in. And that Madelinetosh DK yarn is a delight to knit with too. Now let’s see how long it takes me to finish it!
Itching to Knit Some Gifts
The poison ivy was not just two little spots. It is now several spots up and down my inner arm. There’s even one on the inside of my upper arm, right where it brushes against my shirt and itches and itches and itches. My mom recommended wiping it with a rubbing alcohol/water mix to neutralize the poison, so I’ve done that, but it doesn’t seem to do anything for the itch. So far I’m relying on calamine and it’s helping. I’d like to not have to go the steroid route like I have every other time I get this stupid stuff.
The Doctor Who tote bag has gone to its new home and the teacher seemed thrilled to receive it. She even said I was an “artist!” Not really, but it’s nice to hear! It’s fun to make things for people, especially when they’re not expecting it. In that vein, I decided to make a gift for a friend of mine. I’ve had a lot of struggles the last three years, and this friend has been wonderful. She is supportive, kind, and encouraging. She’s a great listener and offers smart, objective advice. I don’t see her as often as I’d like, but I enjoy it every time I do. She loves the Kansas City Chiefs, and has season tickets, so I decided I’d give her something to help her stay warm. She doesn’t strike me as a hat person, so I picked out an earwarmer pattern first.
It’s simple yet has a few details that make it interesting, and it lent itself well to the striping of the Chiefs colors. The first time I tried to do the red purl row, it looked weird. Not sure how to describe it, but just doing one row of red didn’t give the effect I wanted. So I frogged back, picked up the red a row earlier, and knit one row, purled a row, and knit a row before going back to the gold. This was a lovely quick knit.
Fingerless gloves were next. I picked a pattern I’ve used before with success. They’re called Vancouver Specials: Half-Mitts and they’re just a basic mitt with ribbed cuffs. My first attempt, using the size small, was too snug, so I started over with the medium, and I think they’ll be perfect. Unfortunately, I realized as I was binding off that I forgot to pick the red back up for the top ribbed edge like I intended. I think I’ll just make the other glove in reverse colors: a gold cuff with red body. 
These were done with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. It’s my first experience with Knit Picks yarn, and I was pleased with how it knit and how the finished project feels. The wool isn’t terribly soft, but not terribly itchy either. I’d love to do some felting with this yarn next!
What do you want in a Local Yarn Store?
We did a little yard work on Monday, and today I woke up with two little spots of poison ivy on my arm. Of course. It never fails. Whenever I do yard work, I get poison ivy. Doesn’t matter what precautions I take or whether we can see any where I’m working. It just happens. Fingers crossed that it’s just the one spot and the calamine continues to do its job. Then I had a blog post half-written this morning before I realized I’d already posted about that topic (the purple crochet fedoras). Shoot. That was my big plan for the morning. Instead I’ll go down and cast on for the Honey Cowl again with my Madelinetosh.
My brain is a little preoccupied, I guess. I found out the other day that one of my favorite LYSs is moving. It will still be in the metro area, but it’s farther away. It leaves the area on this side of the state line with just one LYS, and not a great one. There are some positives, the best one being that it’s a 3-minute drive for me. It’s a big store and they have good prices. They’ve been there for years and years and it seems like the customer base is much older. The ladies who work there don’t always take kindly to younger crafters like myself invading their space. It is not a welcoming store. It’s not really a friendly store. I like to look at the yarn but I’d never want to just sit down and hang out there. And that’s what I want in my LYS.
So this news started a little voice in the back of my head talking, poking me about opening my own LYS. I’ve thought about it, dreamed about it. I have a vision in my head of what it might look like. It’s fuzzy and shifts, but it’s there. Certain aspects stay the same. I have ideas of promotions I would do, groups I could host, how I’d arrange the comfy chairs for crafters. I’ve already thought about what types and brands of yarn I’d want to carry to distinguish myself from the other LYS, but I think the atmosphere would be the biggest variant. Knitters and crocheters are such a friendly, community-oriented bunch that I think we flock to places that encourage it. I *want* to encourage it. I want to foster it and be part of it.
My husband and I have talked about creating a shop together, one that would allow us both to showcase our creations and help others create. He dreams of building custom furniture, and a yarn store could easily also be a showroom for his sample pieces. We have a name picked out, we’ve looked at available buildings…every For Sale or For Rent sign in our little downtown area catches our eyes.
Right now I’m dreaming. I’m even yearning a bit. But it’s not time yet. My kids are busy, and aren’t old enough to drive themselves to their various activities. I still want to be there for them, help them be active in band and theater and music and whatever else they dream of. I have some other family stuff going on, too, stuff that wouldn’t allow me to easily take on something as huge as my own store. I have a puppy who would eat the house if left alone all day, every day. We haven’t begun to write a business plan yet, something that definitely needs to happen. We need to do some research, start compiling numbers and working out the details. But I think this could happen. I think this could be our future.
It makes me wonder, and I want your feedback: What do you look for in a LYS? What compels you to go there again and again? What do you like and not like? What do you wish your LYS had or did? If you could have a dream LYS, what would it look like?
Silk Yarn from India
My husband got home this weekend from a two-week work trip to Bangalore, India. For the most part, it sucked. A lot. I’m not used to being a single parent to our two kids and rambunctious puppy, so that was stressful. Plus I missed him. I didn’t think I would. I thought I’d be all “Oh yay I can do whatever I want!” and I kind of did, but…I do that anyway and he never cares. So that part was the same except I didn’t have him around and I didn’t like it. But enough mushiness. Because he’s home now, and he came home with presents! The best present ever: YARN!
That’s right, my fabulous husband found a company in Bangalore called Silkindian that creates specialty, luxury silk products, including handpainted, handspun yarns. (They also have machine spun yarn, custom yarns, fiber for your own spinning pleasure, silk fabrics and knitting needles.) Not only that, he convinced his driver to go out of their way to find this place so he could buy me yarn. That was difficult since apparently not many women in Bangalore knit for fun and the driver couldn’t figure out why Alex would want to go to this place.
Silkindian’s wall o’yarn
Mohammed poses with some of his offerings
Alex and Mohammed. I like these guys. They provide yarn.
Yarn yarn yarny yarn for me! I have no idea how Alex picked but pick he did, and he picked out a lot more than I expected. Probably more than I would have allowed myself! Look what I ended up with:
Let’s take a closer look, shall we? Obviously it’s all silk. My favorite is two skeins of Roving Silk, a worsted weight with 200 yards of variegated purple in each skein. Gorgeous.
I got three skeins of this worsted Duke Silk Yarn, and these are the softest skeins of yarn I’ve ever touched. They’re heavenly. The colors are so rich too. Truly, this photo does not do the yarn justice.
Two more skeins of Roving Silk, again in worsted. (The man knows what I like!) It’s a really pretty combination of colors and I can’t wait to see how it knits up. I’m thinking they’ll be a shawl, maybe with an edge of the lilac Duke in the previous picture.
Another Duke Silk Yarn, 225 yards of worsted, in two of my favorite colors. I adore pink and green, especially together. Just one skein of this. What will it be?
This Duke Silk is a gorgeous rainbow with purple and teal and olive and salmon and mint. Mmm. The colors are brighter than the picture shows. Multicolored yarns are my favorite way to do colorwork! I think this will make my new favorite cowl.
More multicolored but these are pastel, and a bulky weight. 115 yards in each, so I’m glad I have two! Maybe a hat and mittens? They’re soft enough that I’ll love the feel against my skin.
These are my “outside of the box” yarns. The purple is a sport weight, thinner than I usually use but 350 yards of it! I’m excited to branch out and see if I can make a pretty spring shawlette with it. The green isn’t labeled but I’m pretty sure it’s a DK weight. I just have no idea how many yards are in it, so I’ll have to find a great flexible pattern for it. I do love the subtle variations in the greens.
Whew, are you getting tired yet? I am, but I’m not done! I have four more mystery skeins, already wound but lacking any labels. I’m pretty sure they’re worsted weight. Three are these marvelous rainbow skeins. I haven’t weighed them yet but I will, which should give me a basic idea of how much I have to play with. And one little random skein of pink and brown which will make a darling hat, I think.
Now look at these little beauties! Alex knows how much I like a little sparkle, so I’ve got two skeins of this yarn with some shimmery gold woven through. No labels but they look/feel like maybe a sport weight. They’re not as silky soft as the worsted & bulky yarns, but they feel light and bouncy. I’d love a shawl from them, I think. Do I work the colors separately or together?
Okay, we’ve reached the last bit of yarn, and these are the most unusual. They’re the recycled silk skeins. They’re cheaper than the others, not as soft, and there can be a lot of variation in thickness throughout each skein, but they’re fantastic nonetheless. The colors are still so bright and vivid, and more than any of the other yarns they evoke the feeling and personality of India. I’m saving these four to make a purse for myself, and it will be a treasure!
That’s the end of the yarn, but not the end of the presents. Alex picked up a lovely pair of knitting needles from Silkindian too, a 14″ set of size 8 with nifty ends. I’m already trying to figure out what pattern I can make to use them.
And finally, I got a silk pashmina in shades of fuchsia, purple and teal with stripes and polka dots: all my favorites in one article of clothing! I’ve already worn it and LOVE it. (This wasn’t from Silkindian.)
I know. I’m so terribly spoiled. I quite like it that way. If you’re jealous of my yarn, check out the Silkindian’s website here or find him on ravelry here. What I have is just the tip of the iceberg!
Back-to-School Knitting
The kids started school today, one in high school and one in middle school. I cannot believe they’re that old, or that I’m old enough to have kids that old. We had an early start to the day to get them on the bus, and now I am relishing the quiet. I still have a bouncy puppy who wants to play, but otherwise the house is empty. There’s no one else here that I have to worry about, or take care of, or anticipate the needs of. It is bliss. It’s a feeling that I haven’t felt for a long time, and I’ve needed it. I like being their mom, I like helping them and the rest of my family, but I need this time to myself too. What’s the saying? “In the event of an emergency, apply the oxygen mask to yourself before helping others.” I’ve been trying to remind myself of that lately, that I need to take care of myself so that I’m healthy enough to help others. But it’s hard. You all know it’s hard.
Anyway, so today. Quiet, empty house. I finished another Christmas present last night so as a reward I’m casting on a treat for myself. When I went to that store-closing sale a few months back, I bought a bunch of yarn, but I also bought an awesome book by Rowan called Winter Warmers. It’s full of patterns for their Lima (worsted) and Alpaca Chunky yarns, which are the weights I use most. They’re all these gorgeous muted tones of gray and blue and lilac and caramel and I want to make everything in there. I don’t have any Rowan chunky, but I do have several skeins of Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky, which is probably my favorite yarn ever.
I have three skeins of this red, and they’ve been earmarked for this pattern since I looked through the book.
Can’t wait! I’m off to cast on now!
bonnyknits 