Tag Archive | crafts

Bonus post: Crochet Beanie

Two posts in one day? Craziness. Don’t get used to it; it may never happen again. Or if you’re one of my followers and you’re like “Another email? Jeez, enough already!”, don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of it. But I finished a hat today that I find quite appealing and I wanted to share it. (Okay, truth time: I needed to be alone so I am hiding in my craft room and this is as good a use of the time as anything else.) Anyway, this is the Bellisfaire Beanie from the book Crochet One Skein Wonders. It’s a delightful book and a delightful hat. This is my first crochet beanie. I haven’t done a lot of crochet hats, aside from character hats for kids, because I like the stretch and flexibility of a knit ribbed brim. But this was so cute, and I got new crochet hooks for Christmas that I wanted to try out. (I got the Clover Amour Hook set with the colorful cushioned handles. They worked wonderfully. I love them.) The brim is snug on me with my relatively small head, but I know it’ll stretch, so I’m optimistic that it’s an average woman’s size. It’s got a lot of slouch too, which mean it’s trendy…right? Right. I put it on and my daughter laughed, but I think it was more at me than the hat.

The yarn is Classic Elite Yarns Premiere, which is 50% Pima cotton and 50% tencel, and I used all of two skeins (216 yards). It’s soft and lightweight and should be a marvelous spring hat.

Bring on the Hats (and Headbands)

Dec28

Okay, so if you’ve been following along at all (and Thank You to those who have!!) you know I love to make hats. There are so many variations: color, yarn weight, style, size, decorations. They’re fast to make. They keep people warm and make them look cute. They’re just so darn fun to make. But I don’t wear many hats, so I have to find other homes for them, and my kids can only wear so many.

To go along with that, for the coming year I’ve challenged myself to build my bonny knits business. I want to do more craft shows throughout the year and have inquired about a big one in March. I want to grow the audience on my bonny knits Facebook page. I want to add to my Etsy shop. I’m encouraged on that front because I got my very first Etsy sale this week, and it felt GREAT. I sold my Wonder Woman knitted headband, so now I want/need to get some more unusual headbands up for sale. My head is spinning with ideas: superheroes, minions, TMNT, Doctor Who…all those cool pop culture fandoms. What would you want to see?

I want to improve my photography and show off my pieces with better photos. I’m better than I was a year ago, but I’ve got so far to go. I want to start using models (i.e. my family) and take them outside. If I take it seriously and be professional about every aspect of it, I believe the customers will be more likely to see it as worth the money.

Whoops, got distracted there. My point is, I want to focus mainly on hats. I like them and they sell well. I’ve got a lot of yarn and three books devoted to hats. I think what I’d like to do is pick a book and just work my way through it, making each hat in there. Not only would I end up with a large, varied inventory of hats, but I think I’d end up learning a lot of new techniques too. So watch for that; I think it’ll be a fun new regular feature on my blog starting next year.

Until then, you can look at my two newest hats, one from yesterday and one from the day before. The first is another Super Soft Merino Hat. It was supposed to be for me, but I really think I want one with lavender instead of royal purple, so this will go into my inventory. This is my third from this pattern but the first I’ve made with the size 11 needles (which I got for Christmas) and it came out a bit bigger than expected.Yesterday I pulled out my one and only skein of Noro yarn, a pretty rainbow blend of Kureyon. It’s a hugely popular brand and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I decided to do a spiral hat, choosing this one by Brittany Tyler. It was a fast, easy pattern and I loved watching the different colors emerge as I knit. But I was surprised by the yarn: it’s not really soft at all. It knit wonderfully; the slight stiffness made it easy to work with, and will help it hold its shape for ages. I just don’t think I could wear it, because I have a very low prickle tolerance. For those who like the warmth and look of wool, this is the hat for you! My good-natured son, who has a bigger head than I, was kind enough to model for me. But I think I need to stop posing things in front of the bookshelves. Surely I’m not the only one who gets distracted by looking at the titles in the background?

Today I’ve got a slouchy beanie on my hook. Yes, that’s right, I’m switching it up and making a crochet hat. Don’t worry, I’ll still be making other things, so it won’t be all hats all the time. Just most of the time!

Christmas Presents Unveiled

Dec27

I don’t know about all of you, but I was very tired yesterday. Christmas can wear a person out, what with all the shopping & wrapping & cooking & eating & cleaning & unwrapping & cleaning. But we had a wonderful two days of family time, so it was all worth it. And now that gifts have been given, I can share a few things I couldn’t share before.

The first is the Bumble Hat. He’s the Abominable Snowman from the Rudolph TV special and I found the link on Facebook. I was tempted to make one for myself but ended up making it for my aunt, who commented how much she liked it. I used some fuzzy white yarn from Joann (lost the ball band so I don’t know what it was, but not fun fur) and random acrylic from the stash for the face. He was so fun to make.I made a Jayne hat (from Firefly, I think. Or something like that.) for my sister and I think she liked it. I used Knit Picks Bulky, and the orange wasn’t quite as orange as it should be, but she assured me it was still acceptable. Our mother couldn’t figure out why she would want something like this, or how she could wear it out in public. Some things just can’t be explained.I made the hubby some fingerless gloves. He doesn’t wear gloves often but I figured maybe his hands get cold sometimes, and this way his fingers would be free. By some miracle, they actually fit! The pattern for these is called Maize, by Tin Can Knits, and there’s also a variation for a full mitten. I made them with Plymouth Baby Alpaca.Isn’t he cute? 🙂 You know who else is cute? My girl. I’d knit up another Super Soft Merino Hat for her in pink and gray but I knit it in front of her and told her it was for me. She was quite happy when she opened it Christmas morning. The experience of the boy’s hat did not go so well. I needed a box to wrap it in and in our box of boxes found one a good size. Without thinking, I reused it. The boy pulled off the paper and saw a box for a Doctor Who mug and got all excited, and I had to tell him it was a reused box. There were tears and I felt horrible. But after a few minutes, he recovered and didn’t seem to hold a grudge against the hat. Hmm, anything else? I think that might be all the gifty knitty things that I couldn’t share before. It was lovely because all the things I made were well-received and fit well. And I even managed to finish something new for myself just in time for the holidays: I bound off maybe five minutes before we left the house.That’s the Cupido Cowl knit in Knit Picks Reverie in Wine. I did not enjoy the knitting of it; too much knitting into purls which is not my favorite thing. But I do enjoy the finished project so much. It’s so soft and cozy, and not itchy at all. I have two more balls of the Reverie and I’ll make something else with it, but it’s going to be a very simple pattern next time!

I do hope the holidays went well for the rest of you too. I’m looking ahead to the new year with a lot of hope and optimism, and I’ll be sharing my goals, big and small, with you soon. (hint: there is yarn involved.)

No Willpower = Swirly Knitted Cowl

Dec23

I failed. Those gorgeous skeins of yarn I wound yesterday? The ones that were supposed to be for after the holidays? I couldn’t wait to start playing with them. So I pulled out the Nerd Girl Yarns Foxy in #nofilter and cast on the Later, Gator! cowl. After maybe three hours’ knitting (super fast for me) I had a new cowl, and I love it. I made it with the girl in mind, and it looks lovely on her, but I was kind of sad to let it go. These aren’t colors I wear much, but I like how it turned out so much I kind of wanted to keep it. At least this way I’ll get to see it often, and even borrow it if I want. The blue reminds a bit of TARDIS blue, so I picked a pattern with a bit of wibbly-wobbly swirl to it. And the really cool thing is that this pattern only used around 95 yards, so I’ve still got around 180 yards left! So I’ve cast on a swirly hat, and the boy (also a Whovian) will get first crack at it. Merry Christmas Eve Eve, and happy knitting to all!

I’m Dreaming of Life After Christmas

Dec22

This morning, I spent some time in my craft room. I missed my yarn stash. I admired my beautiful yarns and wished I had time to knit all the things right now. Since that’s not possible, I settled for pulling out a few of the skeins I want to knit with soon after Christmas and getting them wound and ready. I’m picking based on the yarns, not the projects or the people. Just the yarns that are calling to me. I can’t wait.I’ve got some Berroco Borealis in there, some Manos del Uruguay Maxima, some Skacel Simpliworsted, and two Nerd Girls Yarns. See that blue and green back in the corner? Yep, that’ll be first.

What about you? What are you looking forward to making after the holidays?

This is why I’m not a knitted glove specialist

Dec20

Six months. That’s how long it took me to make this one pair of fingerless gloves. That’s ridiculous. And it might also explain all the problems I had. See, I started these in early July and the first one went quickly and smoothly, like it always does. And then I got bored with the project and put it away, like I always do. A few days ago, I decided to finish them. I pulled out the bag and realized I had actually started the second glove (wonder of wonders); I had about two inches already knitted. No problem, I thought. I pulled the pattern up on my iPad and got to work.It wasn’t until I had all the thumb stitches on waste yarn that I thought to hold it up against the completed glove. I’m glad I did: the second glove was significantly bigger. What the heck had I done? Thank goodness for Ravelry. Because I was using slightly bigger yarn than the pattern called for, I’d modified row counts the first time around. The good news was that I’d made note of my modifications. The bad news was that I had to rip back all the way before the thumb gusset.

I got that done, saved all my tiny stitches, and knit the gusset again, and this time when I measured against the first glove, they matched. Whew! I sped through the next 12 rows, had maybe 4 left, and checked size again…only to discover I’d gone wrong again. I have no idea how I managed it, but again I had too many rows on the second glove. Again I had to rip back, but at least it was only around 6 rows. I finally got the second glove finished and I think they match top to bottom. But a couple of little things don’t match up, like the seed stitch panels on the sides. And I think one thumb might be one row longer than the other.But I’m still quite tickled with them. I like how they’re fraternal twins, not identical. I love the seed stitch portions and the snug fit. And I especially love the lovely little dark green buttons I found to sew onto the sides.I think this is why I continue to knit gloves. Despite all the problems (you have to make two things that match exactly!!) they’re so delightful when they’re done. It’s like childbirth in that way. The end result is so charming that it makes you forget all the pain you endured to get there.

Details, for those who care: The yarn is a mystery yarn that I believe is a DK weight. I used this Seeded Mitts pattern and I do like it. Any problems I had were due to my own inability to count. (Yes, I have a digital row counter. Yes, I used it.) I’ve Raveled them here if you’d like to see my modifications. I’d like to knit them again, but a bit shorter and with the seed stitch panel all the way up the side.

Now, with these silly things done, I’m down to only five WIPs! That’s exciting. I wonder how long it will last…

Just keep knitting, just keep knitting

Dec15

We had a busy busy weekend around here! My daughter, who’s a high school freshman flutist, made it into the All District Band. Fabulous achievement, right? Yes. But it meant driving 30 minutes each way on Thursday and Friday after school for rehearsals. The upside was that I then had two and a half hours to myself. I got to sit there and listen to talented musicians practice beautiful music while I played with yarn. I really can’t complain; I enjoyed it. And I finished the last of my must-knit Christmas gifts! Unfortunately, you can’t see them until after Christmas. But I swear I got them done.

Saturday was performance day for the band, and I knew I’d have a lot of idle time. So for my easy concert knitting, I decided I needed to make little pouches for some small gifts I’m giving. I was going to use little boxes, but surely a handknit pouch is more fun, right? I’m using this brilliant Treasure Pouch pattern with bits of leftover worsted yarn and size 4 DPNs. Each one takes maybe 45 minutes tops, and I got two done that night! They’re adorable. I’ve got another on the needles and I’ll be making a few more before the big day.Yesterday we had a birthday party for a special little boy, and I’d made him his first handknit mittens. They match his winter hat (which I also made but forgot to photograph). Thankfully, they fit well and he seemed pleased…until he needed his hands to play with the Batmobile and pulled them off.Now that the presents are all prepared and procured, I’m getting the itch to start wrapping. I want presents under the tree, but I’m also ready to get rid of some of these piles in my closets!

Knitted Candy Cane Scarf

Dec11

This is the fastest scarf I’ve ever made! Partly thanks to it being garter stitch and partly thanks to wanting to get it done before Christmas. Anyway, I cast off during flute lesson last night and wove in the (many) tails last night. I love it! It’s 6 1/2″ wide and 65″ long. Thanks, Kristen Rettig, for the awesome Candy Cane Scarf pattern!

Two Christmas FOs

Dec9

I got to add two more FOs to the Christmas gift pile over the weekend. The first, and most satisfying, is a blanket. It’s throw-sized, about 31″ by 41″, so not huge, but still, knitted blankets take a long time. It’s a much bigger commitment than, say, a hat. I spent most of Saturday at a band competition with my daughter and this was the project I took with me, hoping I could get it finished. I got a long way, and finished it Sunday morning. This is the Double Seed Stitch Blanket by Purl Soho. It’s simple, classic and lovely. I used 5 skeins of Knit Picks Brava Bulky in red. I wanted it to be soft and warm but also washable. I used a smaller needle than the pattern specified, 11 rather than 13, to get a denser fabric. I found it quite cozy on my lap as I worked on it, so I’m really hoping the recipient will be pleased with it.

The other gifty object is the red tote. You may remember I blogged about it before, discussing my felting struggles. I tried one last time and finally I have called it finished. This is the bag after three machine cycles and two hand-feltings.I like it. There’s more stitch definition than I would prefer, but it’s definitely a sturdy fabric. It’s a good size for a book, notebook and cell phone. For those who missed it before, this is the Lucky 7 Felted Tote made with Cascade 128 Wool. I’d like to try this pattern again with a different wool.

With two gifts finished, I thought I deserved to start a selfish project. Did anyone else see the new Candy Cane Scarf pattern? I can’t remember if I saw it on Ravelry or Facebook but I fell in love with it immediately. I don’t make many scarves anymore because they take so long, but I’m making this one! And I’m making it special too: I’m using my Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky. Mmmm, it’s gonna be soft and warm and delightful! Since the yarn is bulky, not DK like the pattern uses, I’m using size 8 needles, and I only increased to 32 stitches before switching colors. I’m so happy with it, and it’s going faster than I expected (thank you, garter stitch).This is totally going to be worth all that end-weaving.

I hate to brag, but my Christmas shopping is DONE. Christmas knitting is down to one fingerless glove. (I really should start that soon.) I have none of the panic from last year, and I’m liking it. It’s a combination of starting earlier in the year and stressing less about handmade gifts. Not everyone is getting one, and that’s okay. Not everyone is getting something big and complicated, and that’s okay too. Now I can sit back and coast along, and not freak out every time the kids cross off another day on their Christmas countdown. I wish the same calm for all you other crafters!

A Visit to a Pottery Studio

Dec8

We did something really fun yesterday: we went to an open house for a pottery studio! The Kansas City Clay Guild sponsored a Holiday Sale and Pottery Tour involving several studios around the city. We had big plans to make it out to the Rafter E Studio to see Tara Dawley‘s pieces, but the girl had to help her grandma with some chores and the hubby had to do a long run and before we knew it we were out of time. We had to be happy with going to 323 Clay, which is two minutes away on the historic Independence Square.

And it was SO COOL. Obviously we’ve driven by it many times, and my husband had been once before, but I’d never been inside. They rent studio space, offer classes and workshops, and have a gallery space. The first two rooms were filled with gorgeous mugs and vases and teapots and platters, then you move on back and there were booths set up in the roomy studio space in the back. Down the stairs was another little booth. There were several artists displaying their pieces; at least five, maybe six. We were greeted by David Lee, the studio owner and artist, and he showed us around enthusiastically. We got to see his kilns, which were numerous and huge, and he explained a bit of the process to make pieces look the way they do. It was so interesting to see things in the various stages, from the unformed clay to works in progress to unpainted items to painted but unfired pieces. I loved seeing the little handmade touches: a glass rim that’s not perfectly round, the faint finger marks in a delicate cup.

My son thought the snacks were the best part of the tour. One of the neatest touches was that David had made a bunch of ceramic cups for guests to use while there and then take home. Seriously, free pottery! How cool is that? So we each picked one out. I like how each one is slightly different. Even the ones with similar colors are like variations on a theme. My daughter picked out the pink one. I think she likes to stand out. These are fun little cups, perfect for juice, or scotch, if you’re my husband.

Of course we had to take something home. I really wanted to get something from David’s collection because he was so personable and welcoming, and he had wonderful pieces. The teapots, which is what I really coveted, were out of my price range, but there was a soft green mug with hints of red that I liked. I also liked this big red mug, and I was glad it was the one Alex decided he needed.But I kept coming back to this mug and it said it needed to come home with me. I’m not sure why, because it’s not a color I typically gravitate toward. But it’s such a lovely pale shade of turquoise with the palest hint of pink inside. It’s an appealing shape and the handle has such interesting line details. I just…needed it.This is by a different artist, and I’m kicking myself because I forgot to get her business card or even her name. The mug says Percival on the bottom, and the price tag said CJP. And she had so many other pretty things that I imagine I’ll be going back for more in the future.

It was a wonderful little adventure, and it made me wish we’d taken the time to do more of the tour and hit other studios. We love to see real people making a living from their passion, to see examples of art and creativity taking root in the community. And a unique handmade piece is so satisfying!

So if you’re in the Kansas City area and love pottery, you might check out 323 Clay. They’re open by appointment or by chance, so call the studio and set up a time to visit. I’m sure David will be happy to show you around!