Knittersdelight

Wishlist

2011-11-10T20:56:00.000-05:00

Christmas is coming and i have a list for santa :)

(http://www.knitpicks.com/cfCart/viewWishlist.cfm?wishlistid=905366CA-B1F8-57AF-8FC748EEEE181169&media=WLBL)

Hats and Socks

2011-10-05T21:49:00.008-04:00

I have been a busy bee knitting these days. Every year when the season starts to change to fall and the weather gets colder and damper my hands begin to itch to make something cozy and warm. I finally decided to listen to them and made myself a hat. I used up the handspun I made a couple years back to knit up an Urchin hat. I just love how it came. The pattern itself is genius. It's such a simple knit and it knit up fast! After the first couple of pattern repeats it becomes easily memorized making it completely effortless. It was super easy to resize as well. The yarn I used was pretty thin and I wasn't able to achieve the gauge the pattern called for with a bulky weight yarn. All I had to do was add extra repeats until it fit my head. I didn't have to bother with adding more stitches and adjusting the pattern. It was also a great chance to practice my short rows. Since the hat is garter stitch I didn't have to worry about picking up my wraps.

I love the way the color switches worked up and feel like it showcases my yarn perfectly. This was the first project I have actually made with myself in mind to receive it and it felt really satisfying to finish it. Originally I added a pink ribbon seeing as that was all I had in the house at the time. Since then I have replaced it with a nice teal/jade ribbon. I just love it. It really made a great fall hat. It is a bit big on me and slides a bit when I'm wearing it but a few bobby pins fix that. I can also tighten the ribbon so it doesn't slide.

Not too long ago while looking through ravelry I came a cross a link that brought me to Knitpicks youtube page. I believe their youtube videos can also be viewed on their site under tutorials. I personally prefer watching them on youtube, they seem to load faster for me. Anyways while browsing their videos I came across a series for sock knitting. I took some notes and used them to make a pair of socks for myself. They are made with Caron simply soft in the color way Ocean. I just love this color! My socks aren't perfect, one of has a looser gauge and the descreases are not as clean as I would like but I fixed all these problem on its twin half. I am very pleased with the end result and had a lot of fun making them. I have only made one other pair of socks prior to this and I am now working on another pair of socks for my boyfriend in the same colorway but with a gray toe and heel. Once I finish I will post a pattern/guide for them.

Funk and Inspiration

2011-08-24T10:28:00.010-04:00

I know, I know, it has been way too long since I posted on here. I have been a terrible blogger but in my defense my job does keep me very busy and frankly I have been in a crafting funk. My hands would have the urge to knit but every time I picked up some yarn it just didn't feel right. I wasn't feeling inspired at all, either it was the yarn I was using or the project I had set out to do, sometimes it was both. I would have the urge to knit a sweater or bolero, look through the yarn I had in my room only to decide none of it was right for the project in mind. Sometimes I found myself in the craft store looking for the yarn I so desperately needed to inspire me only to leave empty handed. Other times I mumbled and groaned to myself that I was supposed to be saving money and yarn was the last thing I needed. Finally my funk lifted when I came across a blog post by Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits.

I have been following her blog for a couple years now. Her blog first caught my attention when I came across the adorable animals she knits, but that wasn't what kept my attention. What has kept my attention are the more personal blogs that she writes involving her family, I won't get into details as it is not my place but she is a remarkable woman, who's experiences I can relate to on more levels than just crafting. What she experiences around the clock I only have to experience 40 hours a week at work. I love what I do and I can't imagine doing anything else but at the end of the day I am glad I get to go home where it’s quite and where I can relax. One day while reading one of her blog posts titled One a day, where Julie talks about a project she has started where she plans on crocheting at least one square to a blanket a day. I finally got the inspiration I was looking for and thought hey I can do that. Now one thing you should know is that I typically do not crochet and when I do it's very rare that I finish what I started. I should also mention that I HATE granny squares with a passion, ok maybe that is a bit harsh but all the squares I have come across have been in horrid colors that hurt my eyes and designs that remind me of being in a stuffy house, poorly lit, smelling of old lady. I know that sounds awful but somewhere along the line that is what granny squares have come to represent for me, that is until now. When I read the One a Day blog I was drawn in by the circular design of the square and the bright colors used by Julie and of course the gorgeous border design. I was in love again and my hands were ready to go. So I checked out the original blog Julie found the pattern at by Solvieg and began collecting the spare balls of yarn in my room. After picking out three colors I liked grouped together I started out on a test run. I had only tried to crochet a granny square once when my Nana had mentioned she always wanted to know how to make one. I thought I would learn and then show her how. That was a failure, but in all honesty I shouldn't be so hard on myself because it wasn't a bad attempt especially since I was new to crochet and it did look like your typical granny square just a bit wobbly and slanted.

As soon as I started my test square I was hooked and addicted. My plan was to make a baby blanket that would be about 10 by 10 squares, however when I brought my crochet bag over to my boyfriend's for a weekend and started putting the few squares I had already started together, he kept hinting at how he liked it and thought I should make us a blanket. I had planned to keep this one a baby blanket and knit us another one once I was done. Several months back I had bought a blanket kit from knit picks that I planned to knit that for us but the more I worked on the blanket over his house the more he seemed to think it was for us. Soon he was saying how it should be bigger and how I should be aligning the colored squares, that it would be cooler if the colors were laid out in a block pattern instead of stripes. With how much he seemed to actually be interested in a project I was making I decided to follow his suggestions and recalculate how many squares I would need. Since the blanket is put together as you go, the fourth row being the round that connects the squares, I had to stop crocheting for a bit to figure out my design and how many squares of what color combinations I needed. Thankfully the boyfriend came to my rescue and did that work for me, using an excel sheet to lay out the blanket design and then he even counted all the squares for me. I don’t have much of the project done, as I had to stop crocheting and start sewing in loose ends, there are a lot of loose ends with this project. Now if you thought I hated granny squares before you should know I Hate sewing loose ends even more. It takes me twice as long to sew in looses ends then it does to crochet a row of these squares and put them together. I finally told myself no more crocheting squares until all my loose ends so far were taken care of. I finally accomplished this task and now have half of two rows put together without any loose ends. I say half of two rows because I put them together when I thought the blanket would still be baby size. Now I need to crochet up a few more squares to add to the width of each row so it’s big enough for my boyfriend's bed. I still have a long way to go with this project and my momentum has slowed down but I know once I start crocheting the squares again I will be back in the groove. This project has been a lot of fun and has given me a new interest in granny squares.

Here are a couple pictures of the first row.

The second row has the same colors just in a different order. I am rotating the yellow, blue, and green rows while keeping the outer border of white for the fourth row. For anyone on ravelry who wishes to look up this blanket pattern its is called Flowers in the snow and is by Solveig Grimstad.

OOPS- blog draft I never posted :$

2009-11-29T18:25:00.005-05:00

Lately I've been a bit restless. I cant seem to stick with any project. I started the hat then started a blanket square, which I stuck to for 3 days. Then I started a pair of booties, and started spinning some merino fiber even though I'm trying to finish up the green singles I started. A couple days ago I decided it wasn't spinning or knitting my hands wanted to do but rather crochet. I was feeling rather ambitious and took out my copy of Amigurumi: Super Happy Crochet Cute by Elisabeth Doherty, turned to the last pattern in the book and started finding some yarn to make Strawbeary. Now usually I don't follow the color schemes set out by the pattern but when I pulled up my stash I new I wanted to use up some of my Caron Simply Soft and Bernat Satin and it just so happened that I had most of the colors. I did change a few. I used a Bernat colorway in a deep jade for the main color of her shirt and selected the green shown in the pattern to be the accenting colors on her shirt. I am still not sure what color I will make her hair, I have the pink it calls for but I also have a cute purple and a really nice pink that has textured white fibers in it. I'm kinda waiting to finish to see what kinda hair she is screaming for.

Update: 8/2011
Hey guys, sorry for not posting this before I must have started the blog and saved it so I could proof read it for later and then never got around to it. Since I wrote this I managed to complete most on my Strawbeary bear. I made her skirt(gray) a bit longer and gave it a little lace design at the end. She is still waiting on hair and legs, however it might be a while before I finish her up. I have also finished plying the green singles I spun and now its just waiting to be wound into a ball, which is not top in my priorities but I will get to it eventually. I'm pretty sure the blanket, hat, and booties I started have since been frogged but I did manage to knit a toy for a co-worker who was expecting a baby girl. I made her the Silly Duck by Barbara Prime's pattern collection. Both mother and new baby loved it.

After I finished the duck I had another very large crafting funk, you can read about it in my next post.

Winter knitting part 2

2009-11-01T13:25:00.003-05:00

So the hat is coming along very slow. I started with the ribbing and made it two rows into the cable before I messed up. I put the hat down for a week then when I picked it up I forgot where I was so I just ripped right back down to the ribbing. I worked on it some more yesterday, while I was visiting with my Nana, and learned that I should really focus more on my knitting than. I started the first cable row and had to rip it back half way twice because both times I forgot to add the left side of the cable for a couple of the repeats. It was very frustrating but I finally finished the row and the hat is really looking great now. Plus I had a good laugh with my Nana about it all. I will have to work on it though when I have more time to focus on it.

Winter Knitting

2009-10-11T11:36:00.003-04:00

The cold weather is approaching fast and with it comes a feeling of nesting, what better way to beat that feeling then to drown it in some warm comforts like soup and chili and some warm winter knitting.

Every winter since the time I began knitting I always kick out the warm bulky yarns and large knitting needles and tell myself this winter I am going to make myself something to wear, and well I never do. I would love to have the time to make myself a pair of socks, a hat, and some double knit mittens, as well as another blanket. I have a small knit throw I made a while back that was really just a knitting experiment but it is amazingly warm and I would love to make another one that is wider and longer to fit my whole bed. I guess I just need to take one project at a time. Therefore, I am starting with the hat and mittens. I will need them the most once it gets really cold (mind you, our nights are getting down to 30f and they are already predicting snow).

I have already started the hat. I am making the new owl torque designed by Barbara Prime (fuzzymitten) surprise surprise. When am I not knitting one of her patterns? It is really cute. I am making it with Bernats natural alpaca. It should be super warm and squishy when I finish. The pattern is written for newborns up to 1 year olds so I had to add extra stitches. After making a swatch and roughly measuring my head my calculations said I would 99 stitches so I went cast on 90. I figured this way it would fit snug and with the give of the knitting should fit nice. I think I may have cast on too many though. It is looking a bit large. I just have the ribbing done and instead of the k1, p1 ribbing I did K2, p2 ribbing. I hope that once I move up to the cable and seed stitch it will get a bit tighter. I guess if it does not fit me, I can give it to my younger sister. Her head is a bit bigger than mine is and then I would have another excuse to make another.

As for mittens, I am not sure what pair I am going to make. I would like a double knitted pair but I would also like to incorporate the owl cable. Maybe I will just double knit a plain pair, knit the cable separate, and then sew it on the top of the mitten. That might be the easiest way to go about it. We will see.

On a non-knitting/crafting front, I bought a new car this past week and I love it. It is a 2001 Nissan Maxima and it is excellent. All my cars prior to this have been older cars that I have bought for under $1000. The difference between has this new one runs is amazing!

Quick Update

2009-10-04T15:39:00.003-04:00

So I am going to try and update my blog every Sunday for now on,even if it is just a quick update letting you know how my week was going. I feel like I have been neglecting my blog since I started working. I also want to try and have a few more features and who knows maybe a giveaway someday.

HandSpun and Thank you Features

2009-10-04T11:53:00.007-04:00

Last weekend I went to an Organic Fair in Unity Maine with a friend. It was so much fun and it really inspired me to get my butt back in gear and finish the fiber I had going on my spinning wheel. So the next morning I took out my wheel oiled it, and tightened a few screws and went to town spinning. I had about 2 oz out of 4 already spun up so I got to work on the other 2 oz. Once that was spun up I made my self a Lazy Kate using a box I had laying around from an old jewelry shipment, and three 18 inch size 9 knitting needles that I no longer use. Then I got busy plying my singles together with a not so helpful hand from Ozzie the new kitten. He just loves my wheel. He sits there trying to to spin the wheel part faster and stretches up to "help" the singles onto the bobbin. He really is a cutie, just not so helpful at times. I finished my first handspun and love it. I used some amazing cooriedale fiber I bought from Sunset Fibers on Etsy. It was a pleasure to spin and made a beautiful 2 ply. I managed to get about 227 yards out of the fiber with some left over. I would guess the yarn weight is similar to a fingering or dk yarn. Its not really thick but it does get really thin in some parts. I am planing on knitting it up into a feather and fan patterned scarf in hopes the changes in thickness won't be so noticeable. My fingers are itching to get to spinning something else. Part of me wants to stick to spinning more cooriedale since its what i am farmilar with but the adventorus part of me wants to try something new on the wheel. I have a lovely 2oz batt that's a blend of BFL, firestar, silk, and some bamboo called Baby Dreams that I purchased from Ilashdesigns on Etsy, which I think I am going to try next. Its really soft and should be a quick spin.

I also wanted to send a quick Thank You out to my friend Shar (aka: theknittycat/knittycat) for the lovely package she made me. I just loved it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Shar's work you should go check it out. She makes the cutest knit amigurumi which she calls Peeps. They are perfect little gifts and great for anyone of all ages. You can find some of her Peep patterns over at her website. She has also made some really amazing character Peeps such as Elmo, Cookie monster,Kermit, Eeyore, The Incredible Hulk, The Thing, and Taz. All her finished projects are created without patterns and are usually made all in one piece! Her craftsmanship is just amazing and some of the techniques she uses just blows my mind! I am so lucky enough to have her as mentor, she has really helped me out and inspired my knitting. She also included one of her Peeps in hte package for me! She sent me Little Bonnie the Bunny and she is just adorable! Right now she is mingling with all her new softie friends and has become best friends with my Lil Bunny girl Hazel.Shar was also kind enough to send me a toy for the kitties and I have to say the baby loves it!!

I also wanted to Thank Barbara Prime for Callum. She was having a giveaway on her blog and I was so lucky to win Callum. I was so excited I have had my eye on him for a really long time. He was up for sale in her Etsy store for some time before the giveaway and every time I went in I had to check to see if he was still there looking for a home. I just never had the spare money to take him home with me. At the thought of someone winning him in the giveaway my stomach just sank. I never thought i would win him, but I did and now he is home with me mingling with Bonnie bunny, Hazel bunny and his fellow Fuzzymittens friends that found a home with me during swaps. Here is a picture of Callum enjoying his new home. He seems to like my spinning wheel as well.

Knitted elephant and New kitten

2009-09-13T13:01:00.004-04:00

So its been a while since my last post but I finally have something to share with you. I started knitting again after a rather long knitting funk and love the result. I made an Elijah the elephant. He will be finding his way to a new home on Monday. I made him for a co worker who has helped me catch up on my paper work immensely over the past couple months. He will be a little thank you gift as well as a baby gift as she is expecting. I wanted a short stumby elephant so i made his body a little shorter leaving out one of the repeats and add a few more row between one oft he bottom decreases. I also added a little tail.

I also got a new kitten. We havent names him yet. we're still trying to come up with a name everyone likes but he is a cutie! he is all striped on his back then when you flip him over to his belly it is covered in spots. He is 8 weks old and it looks like he is going to be a very long lanky cat.

Meet Hazel

2009-08-08T13:13:00.008-04:00

Here is my new bunny Hazel. I made her using Barbara Prime's FuzzyMitten "Bunny with a Dress" pattern and Knitpicks Swish dk in Truffle. I am in love with how she came out. She is the first toy of mine who's head is actually sewn on straight. I usally use large sewing pins to postition the pieces as I sew them (which never works out well for me) but today I couldn't find my pins so I decided to improvise and grabed some bobby pins from my hair supplies and they worked out fantastic! I will never be using sewing pins again! My bobby pins are now sitting in with me knitting supplies. Since the head worked out so great I used them on the limbs as well. I placed the bobby pins in so that the straight side was stuck into the toy with out coming out through it and the crimp side was on the outside of the toy holding it together. It gripped the fabric excellently and really stablized the limbs so that I didn't have to wrestle with them.

In my last post I mentioned how I was in a knitting funk majorly. I'm starting to come out of it. I didn't knit Hazel recently, in fact I started her in October 08 and finished her within the month but I never got around to putting her together . So today I woke up rather refreshed feeling and in the mood to do something crafty so I pulled out the little bunny pieces I had hidden away in a draw so I wouldnt have to look at them and feel super guilty all these months. I think finishing Hazel was just what I needed. Now i just need to find another pattern to get started on. I'm thinking Debbie Birkins Pocket Hippo. I know i have some grey wool laying around.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-07-26T13:20:00.004-04:00

Yep my title about explains it all. I have been very busy lately. I decided to take on a second job selling jewlry. Basically I booked home parties were i sell the jewlry. Its alot of fun but it has also been alot of work. One of the requirements to start selling jewlry was that you had to book 5 parties within the first 3 weeks of your training class. which i did but i managed to squeeze them all in in the the first 2 weeks. Thats alot of parties and alot of paper work lol. I'm glad i had the parties though they were alot of fun which as just what i needed since the last week at work has been complete hell. I'm starting to doubt my ability and thinking maybe this is not the right job for me. I am so behind in paper work and everytime i turn around i feel like im doing something else wrong or that im not meeting everyones expectations.

The 13th was my birthday, I went out with my boyfriend and had a nice time. However one of my cats went missing. We noticed he hadnt come home Tuesday. Since we live by the woods and have a huge fisher cat and coyote population that he got himself into so trouble and wasnt coming home. Wednesday night my sister went out looking for him ,calling his name and well he must have heard her because Wednesday night he was hit by a car crossing a street heading towards home. We found out thursday morning. Since then we have had him cremated and we burried him out in our yard by the bird feeder.

i havent done much knitting infact at this very moment i have nothing on my needles. My friend came over this week and was in complete shock when she heard this. Since we learned to knit together i have never not had a project on my needles. Right now I don't have any desire to knit. I'm definatly going through a funk. I'm not sure whats up but i just can't seem to get inspired. I don't know what to knit and there is nothing in my stash calling to me to be made into something. None of my patterns even look appealing to me. I have however been doing a little more spinning. not to much as once again I've been very short on time. I was spinning up some Blue and black fiber but eventually got tired of it and decided to switch to some gorgeous fiber i got from Sunset Fibers. Im wasnt a huge fan of Cooriedale until i started spinning this batch, it is absolutly stunning! The fiber feels great in my hands and the color itself if spinning up wonderfully. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a hige fan of Sunset Fibers, i have always been impressed by their colorways and have never been disipointed by the texture of their fibers in fact i am always surprised at how soft they truely are.
Here is a picture of what i have spun up. It extremly thin...not sure if im a fan of the thinness but thats seems to be wat my fingers want so im just going with the flow.

thats pretty much all ive been up to. I've been a bit boring lol.

more dyed fiber

2009-06-28T10:28:00.006-04:00

So there hasn't been to much news on the crafting front since I last posted however I did dye some fiber a while back that I didnt get a chance to post yet. I bought some BFL from Mielke's Fiber Arts and went to town dying it right before memorial day. I needed a nice green fiber I could ply together with the dark green BFL I was spinning. So I dyed up about 3 oz of BFL using lime jello and neon green Mccormick food coloring that I picked up at the grocery store. It came out exactly how I wanted it. When held up next to the previous green it looked great together. I cant wait to spin it and ply the greens together.
After dying the green I decided to try out some Wilton's food coloring and dye up some BFL in pink, orange, and violet. I was in the middle of putting a swap together and my swap partner recently started spinning so for an extra little gift I wanted to send her some roving in her favorite colors. Since I didn't have her first choice I went with her second which was autumn colors. This batch of fiber came out extremely vibrant and very lovely. I will have to use the Wilton's more often. My swap partner loved it! I even have some left over to spin up for a small project. I actually have a lighter orange,pink, purple merino fiber I dyed with jello and koolaid that might look really nice plyed with the vibrant wiltons version.

I finally got my wheel back fixed and it works amazing! Such a small thing made a huge difference. I also received some more fiber and another bobbin with the wheel when it came back. I asked Jan (the owner of Heavenly handspinning) if she cold send me a little joe spindle as well instead of reimbursing my shipping. I just love those spindles. They spin like a breeze and look great! Now i have an extra bobbin for my wheel and an extra spindle! I am almost done spinning the fiber that came with my wheel. I want to finish it today and then eventually I'll spin up some natural colored fiber to ply with it. The fiber that came with the wheel is a blend of turquoise, black, and white. I didn't have enough white to use though so I only spun the black and turquoise up. I am finally getting the hang of my wheel. I can get into the groove and stay there for a while now before losing it. One day I will find my sweet spot and then I wont have to worry about losing that groove. Yesterday I stained my wheel and it came out fabulous. It's pretty much all dry except for the bottom. The weather here has been very damp so the bottom stayed wet longer. I now have my wheel laying on its side so the bottom can air out. If all goes well I should be able to use it this after noon.

For those of you wondering I am finally settling in nicely at my new job. It has its up and downs of course and I am still learning the kids and trying to figure out what motivates them and how much they can take. Their programs are becoming more familiar and when I work with I'm feeling more comfortable with what I'm doing and gaining a bit more confidence. Last week we took the kids to the Science Museum. It was alot of fun but also alot of work. We took extra teachers so that we would each only have to work with one kid instead of two, thank god! I would have been pulling my hair out if I had to watch two kids, one was enough that's for sure! Next month we are going to see if we can take the kids out for ice cream and then in August we have a field trip planed to go to a farm. I am really looking forward to going to the farm. It should be alot of fun and I think it will engage our children more then the Science Museum did.

Sheep and wool festival and more

2009-06-07T11:54:00.011-04:00

So it has been a while since my last post. Since then I have officially graduated from college and now have a Bachelors in Psychology! I also started a new job, which has been taking up all of my spare time. I don’t get home until 4:40 in the afternoon on most days and since I am still trying to get use to my schedule and work load in my spare time I am tired as all hell. I have been there for 3 weeks now and after my first week I got sick and I’m just starting to feel better, so that didn’t help very much with my energy levels. Slowly I’m coming home with more energy, and hopefully will be able to get more accomplished.

The first weekend of my new job was Memorial Day weekend and I went away with a friend (Val) to the Massachusetts sheep and wool festival. We had a lot of fun even though I felt like crap. We drove out wet to the fair on Saturday checked into our hotel then spend the next few hours at the fairgrounds. We really enjoyed looking at the sheep and all the different exhibits. We even tried out a new hobby, Hooking, it as a lot of fun and I think, I'm just going to have to go out and buy some supplies.
They had some wonderful stalls with nice people and great products. There was one stall,however, that we came across where we found the vendor to be rather snobbish which was disappointing because I had heard great things about them and was told it was a must see. Val basically came along to keep me company and see the sheep, she does not spin and she knits rarely so she wasn’t into all the fiber and yarn, all she wanted to buy were little sheep items, and this particular vendor had an adorable button pin no bigger than a quarter, that she loved. She wanted to purchase a couple with the idea of replacing the pin with a little magnet for her fridge. After waiting like five minutes for the vendor to acknowledge her (she was pretty much standing in front of the lady who was talking to another vendor) she was told they weren't for sale but were free with purchase...now I was going to buy something, after all she had lovely fiber but the look she gave my friend when she said this was exceptionally rude and condescending. Therefore, we just left. Her prices were a bit pricey and I knew I could buy fiber elsewhere where it was cheaper and the service was friendlier. That rather put a damper on my friend’s day that’s for sure.

Her day eventually brightened up towards the end when we came across a stall, Holiday Yarns, (you can find a picture of heir stall on the owners (Jennifer) blog in this post) which really had some wonderful items! They had lovely colored sock yarns and amazing sock kits displayed (pictures do them no justice you have to see them in person for the full effect) and of course, they had fiber. It just so happened to be the only stall I saw BFL fiber sold in, which was exactly what I was looking for! After looking around for a little bit, I finally settled on buying 4 0unces of BFL dyed yellow. While I was paying my friend saw a bar of sheep milk soap which was cleverly crafted into the shape of a sheep (So cute!) that’s she loved! However by this point all she was buying was soap and already had about 6 bars in her bag, so she was hesitating and decided she wasn’t going to buy any (she was still in her bummed mood and pretty much done with shopping), seeing how much she liked it the woman running the stall (Jennifer) gave it to her for free! It wasn’t a small bar of soap either. Now that is real customer service and that act alone, even if I didn’t like her products, would have had me coming back for more. Actually, I did, I went back for a business card and then before leaving the fair I told my friend we needed to stop in one last time so I got some more fiber in the stall, some purple BFL by Gnomespun yarns. I have yet to test the fiber out but once I get my spinning wheel back I will! Once I get some more cash flow coming in I would love to buy one of their stunning sock kits and some sock yarn.

For those wondering I did get my spinning wheel, I got it right before I started my new job however I was having an issue with one of the peddles and had to send it back to get fixed. I would have it already only I wasn’t able to get it in the post until yesterday. Jan (the maker/owner of Heavenly Handspinning) will be reimbursing me for shipping and will be sending some extra goodies back with my wheel for my troubles!

I also finished my Chameleon. He came out really cute. I will have to make another one someday.

Spindles and more

2009-05-11T10:26:00.012-04:00

I finally received my roving in the mail and they are excellent. The roving I bought from sunset fibers is so rich in color that I don’t mind the texture so much (I mentioned before I’m not a big fan of corriedale) but I have a feeling when spun up it will be wonderful in both color and texture! The roving from Copperpot is terrific not only is it super soft but the colors are lovely. The splash colorway isn’t as bright as it looked on my monitor, the pink looked like it was a hot pink but it’s really a cranberry maroon (a little disappointing ). The minute my sister saw it she said the roving looked like Barney :( I am sure it will spin up great and not look like Barney in the end. I haven't taken the roving out of the package yet so I am not sure if the colors are blended together (looks like it is) or if their more separated. If they're more separated I might see about pulling the two colors apart and plying the two colors together to create a nice fluffy twist colorway. I haven't really spun any bulky weight yarn yet as my hands seem to want to spin thin singles (which is ironic since I don’t use alot of lightweight yarn) but I want to try because I think this colorway would make a great bulky yarn. I have it in my head that it would make a great pair of chunky mittens.

It was a bad idea to buy all that roving as a last day of class celebration because it has thrown me into a shopping frenzy! I just keep on buying, I really need to stop otherwise I will be out of money in no time. At least I start my new job next week. Anyways let me share some of the items I have bought. Since we're on the topic of roving I bought another 4 oz from Copperpot and really there was no way I could resist she put another batch of her Victorian holiday up!!! That’s the one in the last post that I absolutely loved but was sold out! It is a merino bamboo blend and absolutely stunning! I cannot wait to see how it feels! Hopefully I won't be too afraid of spinning it up lol. I also bought another 4 oz from the etsy seller CatsMeowPresents. The colorway is called watermelon (image above, taken from their etsy shop) and just lovely. What better color is there to spin with the summer approaching! This roving is Falkland and I’m interested to see how it feels and spins. I'm a little nervous getting my hands on a new type of wool but excited as well.

Besides buying roving I also bought a new spindle, called a little Joe spindle, which I absolutely love! It spins effortlessly and is very pleasing to look at. Plus it is very affordable! I may have to buy more!

I got my Little Joe from Heavenly Handspinning. I bought it from their etsy shop but they also sell items on their website. I received it in the mail on Saturday and grabbed my new dyed roving (sunrise sherbet) to test it out. The first few minutes were a bit rough since it spins so differently than my other spindle and I’ve never spun merino up before. I can see now why they say merino might not be best for a beginner to start with. I love that it drafts so much easier but the downside is it also snaps/pull apart easier while spinning which resulted in my spindle dropping to the ground a few times. So I have to keep connecting my roving over again which has helped with my joins. With the first singles I spun for my yellow/orange/black yarn (now called Fiesta Time) the joinings were thicker and more noticeable. Now I can get a nice even and consistent join. Eventually I got the hang of the new spindle and have a nice consist single going. It is very thin though not sure what I would make with it, I only have 2.5 ounces of the sunrise sherbet roving, and I read it takes about 4 oz for a hat, socks or mittens. I could try to make a pair of baby socks with it. I’m sure they would come out lovely! We'll see. I might ply it with a different color to get more yardage but I haven't decided yet. I don’t want the colors to get lost when plied with something else. I do have a nice soft lavender though that might ply nicely with it. Part of me is thinks it would be to many colors but another part of me thinks the light purple would go great plyed around the pale yellow, orange and pink of my sunrise sherbet roving.

After about spinning for 15 minutes on my little Joe I am now capable of drafting the roving as I spin! I'm really excited about this as it means I won’t have to predraft as much and that the process will go a bit faster. Heavenly Handspinning has some great videos on their site, and one of them was for the park and draft spinning method, which really helped me to understand what it was I was supposed to be doing while drafting and it finally just all made sense. The little Joe spins so much longer then my older spindle that I really got a good chance to try drafting as it spun. My old spindle constantly had to be set back into a spin so that I didn’t have time to try to draft the fiber as I went and could actually see what I was doing. I still like my older spindle and will be keeping it around (after all I still have my green roving spinning on it) but I LOVE my little Joe! I might paint my old spindle and keep it around for decoration if I don’t use it after this.

Ok now on to the final and most exciting item that I bought, a SPINNING WHEEL! I have been looking at different spinning wheels online for a while now and was planning on setting up a new savings account so that eventually I could buy one. The initial plan was to put some of the money I already saved up and my graduation money into a new account to start with then transfer about 40-60 dollars each month over to it but with the price of wheels it would take me a good year or so to save enough money. I was set on this plan and ok with it until I stumble across Heavenly Handspinning! Not only do they make spindles but they also make wheels! Not only are they cute (picture above, take from heavenly handspinning) but their cheap as far as wheels go! I was a little hesitant at first since I've never heard of them and wasn’t sure how the quality was, but after watching a few videos on how to set the wheel up and some demos of how it ran I decided it looked like a great wheel for a beginner. It looks simple to assemble and spin with and doesn’t look intimidating. I also decided that before I bought it I would check on ravelry to look into different wheel manufacturers, so I did a group search for spinning wheels and low and behold there was a Heavenly Handspinning wheel group! After talking to a few members there and reading the forum posts I decided I had to have this wheel so for a graduation present to myself I bought one! I bought their double treadle Bellus wheel and it should be shipped out by the end of this week!

On a whim I also made a spindle. My sister just came back from college and we were cleaning the room and organizing when I came across a random dowel so I got my craft bin out and got to work. For the whorl I used a pom pom maker and then to connect it to the dowel I cut off the rim of a stitch protector, it was one of those plastic sock stitch protectors that you can pick up at a local craft store, placed the dowel through it and the pom pom maker sits on the stitch protector. The whorl could be heavier as the spindle isn’t very balanced but once you get some singles spun and add weight to the shaft it works nicely. The dowel did crack at the top where the hook entered so I had to use some packing tape to bind it back up. In all I don’t think it was a bad first attempt especially since it was a spur of the moment project that took 5 minutes.

Sunrise Sherbet Roving

2009-05-04T13:03:00.010-04:00

Last night I finally managed to dye up some roving. A new friend gave me around 7 ounces of undyed merino top so i grabbed a handful and got to dying. I used 2.5 ounces of roving, 3 packets of jello mix, vinegar, and salt. First I set up set my wet roving on the kitchen table over a towel and some over lapping zip-lock bags. The method called for plastic wrap but I was currently all out so decided to improvise. Once my roving was all layed out I started to mix my dye, which was a combination of jello power, vinegar, and salt. For the yellow/lemon I used just about a full package, for the pink/black cherry I used half of a package, and for the orange i used just over a pack of jello powered. Then I put a pot on the stove top to bring to a boil. While I waited for the water to get hot enough to produce a steam I got to work applying the dye to my yarn. I knew the colors would bleed together eventually so I started out with the yellow, moved over to the orange and finally added the red so that when they did bleed together it would create a nice transition flow. Once the dye was on i finished wrapping my roving in the zip-lock bags making sure to start the roll from the yellow side that way when the water was displaced by the rolling I wouldn't get the red into my yellow. By the time I finished this my water was already at a nice boil so I placed an old strainer/shifter into the top of the pan to create a boil rack and placed the roving in the strainer/ shifter and covered it with a lid. I kept the roving in the steam for a little over 35 minutes and then let it cool in the sink for about 10 mins before I put it into a cold bath or another 15-20 mins.

I am really happy with the results! Next time i think ill use the full packs of jello for all the colors. I got a very soft pastel colorway which is lovely but i was hoping for a more vibrant color. ( the top picture shows the true colorway more accurately then the one below) I was really happy that the fiber didn't have a lot of felting after the dying process. I know it is to be expected but I was really worried it would felt alot and no longer have that nice merino texture. However the roving regain its fluffy after i snapped it a few times.

Knits, Roving and More

2009-05-02T10:20:00.005-04:00

Ok first i want to start by saying yesterday was my last official day of college!!!! I still have to take finals and finish writing a paper but atleast i dont have to go to another class. So what does a wool addiction do to celebrate her last day of classes....by ROVING if course!!! As my last post mentioned I am still very new at spinning so i keep telling myself i am not going to go out and buy all those pretty roving s featured on etsy incase i screw them up royally but I could not resist any longer and since yesterday was pay day and I got my last pay check that included pay for vacation time i had not taken I decided to splurge a little(if $60 is considered alittle lol). Here is what i bought:

I got theses here from Etsy Seller Copperpot she really has some lovely color blends so be sure to stop by and check them out. The first colorway(the pink and lime) is Splash and its from her new line color duos. The second colorway is Mango Berry and it is just gorgeous!

My favorite colorway by here so far was the victorian holiday; it is now sold out though :( and i wasnt able to buy it. Just look at how lovely it is. It is a combination of merino and bamboo and would have been just wistful to spin with. I think i would be afraid to use it at first though.

My next stop on etsy was to Sunset Fibers and i must say the roving she is overing right now is perfect for the current season. They're just full of color. Here is bought some cooriedale roving and I'm excited to see how it feels. The yarn i made in the last post i made usinf some cooriedale that I bought for felting. It was a little rought though but i have been told i should judge until i spin some more. I will say the bit of cooriedale i did spin have have been a bit more rough them i liked but it was easy to work with. Plus the colors where just do beuatiful i couldnt resist. The first one is a lovely pink and yellow blend and looks absolutly stunning. In my opion it is the perfect summer color way. Reminds me of the sun.
The second one i got is a blend of blues and purples. I bought this one with my twin sister Vanessa in mind. Growing up she always were purple and i always where pink. I know she will like these blends of colors. If anyone is interested Sunset Fibers also has some adorable needle felting kits and patterns.

Recently i also received about 7-8 oz of a beautiful undyed wool roving from a new friend of mine Romana over at Yarn cloud. She is very kind and i think you should buy and see what she has. She has a lovely line of sock yarn and bamboo yarns. Believe the pictures she has up does them no justice at all!! I have been wanting to try my hand at dying some yarn and roving and was very excited to see that roving she was sending me was undyed! Now i have some roving to practice on! After checking out ravelry i have decided i want uses unsweetened Jello packets mixed with salt and vinegar as my dyeing solution and dye it using the plastic wrap steaming method. It sounds a bit messy but it seems like the best way to go for a beginner. It should fun but first i need to buy some supplies. I dont think my mom would appreciate it if i used her cook wear for wool dying.

Ok now for the knitting! It has been awhile since i finished my alan dart chick swap and i noe have the pictures to post for you. I was really late on sending the package out but i made sure to send alot of extra goodies to make up for it. It managed to make its way to my partner the monday following easter and my partner assured me that she keeps her easter decorations up for a while. Plus chicks are very springtime and should make a nice spring addition. Here is my chick. I am very happy with how the shell came out even if it was a pain in the but to knit! To many rows of stockinette stitch for my liking but it did come out adorable. If i make another one i'll be sure to knit the shell in the round. It wasnt to hard to seam up and in fact my seaming skils have improved immensly but it nice to know when all that stockinette stitch is complete that you dont have to seam it lol.

I am also curently knitting a new Hansigurumi pattern and it is amazing! Her new pattern out, other then those in her new book which by the way is stellar, is the a chameleon. The minute i saw it i knew i had to make one! So far its going well, it just may be the most complicated project i have knitted to this day but i'm having fun with it. I will post pictures once i finish it. Until then though i will post a picture of the chameleons she made for the pattern.

I a more personal note i will be graduating and receiving my bachelors in Psychology on may 16th and will be starting a new job the following monday. I am both excited and nervous. I managed to get a full time position at the school i was interning at which is amazing. I love it there so much and can't wait to be back to there. However i will not be working with the same class and will miss the little guys alot. I am nervous to see where i will be placed and hope it is with the early childhood kids. I will be happy where ever i am placed, after all it never hurts to broaden your skills and experience and after i do long to learn new things. I am no longer employed at my previous job. I left early so i could concentrate on finishing my classes and that way i will have a week or so with out school, finals, or work that i can enjoy the weather and get some of my crafting done.

Note: the picture in this blog where not taken by me (other then the chick) but where taken by the artisan who made the items.

Spinning

2009-04-05T17:52:00.005-04:00

Last summer i decided to teach myself to spin so i got together with a friend and we learned together. At the time i was positive i was doing something wrong and eventually gave up since I couldnt figure out what i was missing. However I'm not one to let fiber get the best of me and decided to give it another shot only this time i was going to follow through to the end no matter how much i felt like i was doing something wrong and i did and made this. Turns out I wasn't doing anything wrong I just needed to practice. I also looked up some tips on Ravelry and you-tube and have managed pretty well. I need to work on my plying it came a bit undone as you can see by the picture.
I am still working on learning on how to draft and spin at the same time which is a weak point of mine. I was never good at coordination and its hard for me to do two different things with my hands at a time. So for now i have been pre-drafting. I am currently spinning up some green dyed bfl and really like how its coming out. It isnt as consistent in thickness as I would like but I am getting a better feel of the whorl and slowing practicing drafting as I go, which seems to be going better now that i pre-drafted the fiber out a little bit. I bought some beautiful merino roving and can not wait to spin it. I spun a small amount of it up as a test and loved it. I want to get a little better with my top whorl before i try out a larger amount of the merino.

Random side Note

2009-03-05T20:26:00.002-05:00

hey guys and old friend of mine is getting married next year and is trying out for the show iron brides and could use your votes to get on. Her audition can be found here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQMWf32IYd4&feature=PlayList&p=452BA10B1B14885A&index=22

and all you have to do is leave a comment on her audition video ( just a simple good luck works). those with the most votes with be casted.

thanks!

Quick update

2009-02-26T14:27:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to post a quick update for those who actually read my blog (i know the number is very few). I have decided to participate in a swap on ravelry once again ... this time around it is for the Alan dart group and we will be knitting Alan Dart's free chick and egg pattern. So far i have the chick complete and it is super cute! It was also a really fast knit. It took me about an hour to knit then another half hour to an hour to stuff,seam, and embellish. The only trouble i had was with the feet. I couldn't quite get them together correctly mostly because my fingers kept getting in the way.

Once i finish the egg and send the swap out i will post pictures. I plan on using some of the palletes yarn i bought from knit picks. I bought a whole bunch because it came in alot of colors ways then wasnt as happy with it as i thought i would be. The colors are nice and seems to felt well but I am not a fan of the weight.

I sent my baby booties to their new home in Maine. Baby Nathan was born on the 19th weighing in at 8 lbs and with a clean slate of health! They will be needing those booties on cold nights.

My duckling also made it safe and sound to her new owner who was very happy to see her.

Ducklings with footwear

2009-02-15T17:46:00.004-05:00

Hi. So i haven't been around to much and that is mainly due to school and work. This semester is going to be an exceptionally busy one. I am currently taking part in an internship at a school for children with autism. So far it has been a lot of fun. The school focuses on behavior analysis which is what i hope to get a masters in (someday). If all goes well I will hopefully end up with a job in the field come may. Ideally I would like to continue working with this school but if I can't then atleast its a great foot in the door for me. So with the intern, classes and work I do not have alot of spare time, luckily though I have a break between my classes on Monday and Friday so I have been able to get some knitting in. I do not know how long this will last though....I may have to use this spare time for homework in the future.

This week I was able to finish up a couple projects. I made another toy by Barbara Prime a.k.a Fuzzy mitten for a swap on ravelry. It was a lil duckling and I love how it came out! I was a little sad to have to mail her out. I will have to make another one one of these days. The swap itself went beautifully! I was so excited. This was the first swap I arranged and the 3rd i have participated in and everyone mailed their packages out when they were supose to go out and no one was left out!

I also participated in another swap on ravelry for the kitty swap group and made a crocheted heart teaser toy along with a pink cat nip filled fortune cookie that looked more like a heart. The theme for this swap was of course Valentines. I have yet to mail the package out (its a few days late now) due to a post office mishap and a long weekended. The package though will go out tomorrow.

I managed to finish a pair of baby booties for my aunt who is due on the 18th. She lives in Maine so I will have to send them up with my grandma when she goes to visit on Wednesday. As for the cardigan for merry I was suppose to knit her...well that is on hold and looks like it may be permanently...I just don't have the time right now to knit it. When I do I will cast on this time as separate pieces instead of knitting it as a whole. My seaming has gotten better and I find it relaxing now to sew things up so I don't think it will be a huge problem. With the breaking it up into smaller pieces I am hoping it will decrease my chances of messing up and that being able to see my project progress sooner will motivate me to finish it faster....I will also be ditching the cables and most likely fill the front columns with seed stitch instead.

Today I cast on a pair of pom pom peds (socks) and am excited about knitting them up. I am using Bernat satin sport in jade and camel. I have been "craving" to knit another pair of socks for a while now and wanted a simple relaxing project that wouldn't require alot of attention and this pattern seemed perfect. I couldn't find any yarn in my stash that shouted out to be a pair of socks so I went to Michaels craft store to see about getting some microspun and came back with the bernat which was cheaper and the colors were exactly what I was looking for. While there I noticed a sign that said they were getting a new yarn section come spring. I have mixed feeling about this. Lately Michaels has been discontinuing the yarns I typically go there to buy. I am hoping they are going to get a wider range of colors and brands. I am excited to see if they make the section larger but weary that they will be making it more "commercial".

With tax season coming up I have treated my self to a couple new books. Knit picks was having a sale and I couldn't resist. I bought Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting and Favorite Socks. I can't wait to look through them.

knitting updates

2009-01-04T11:21:00.010-05:00

ok so i have started the sweater over and think my gauge is looser then what it was before but I'm not going to complain and I am keeping what i have. I did a test swatch of the cable and it looks good. I think i fixed the mistake. I am not to fond of this cable....its such a pretty addition to the sweater but there is something about it i just dont like. Yesterday when I started this post i was determined to make this sweater with this particular cable. I have never had so much trouble knitting anything before and defiantly want to stick with it to prove I can do it (I know I can the swatch i made the other night was easy). Plus i could not find a cable pattern i liked to replace it, however I have come across a new cable found with the help of a forum on Ravelry (vicking cable shown in a pattern titled Viking socks) that i think would fit in well with the sweater. The cable pops out a bit more and is somewhat similar to the the one in the pattern but it is not reversible. The original cable i feel sinks in where the the cable pops out on the reverse side so that parts of the cable are not as noticeable. I will make a swatch later on with the new cable and see how it knits up in this yarn. If i like it more and get the correct gauge I am going to use it instead of the reversible cable. Here is a picture of the new cable. I actually love the socks and think it may go on my list for future projects. The socks featured in the picture were knit by the designer : Lykkefanten and featured on her blog.

Cardigan for Merry

2008-12-31T18:50:00.001-05:00

I finally admitted to myself that the sweater needed to be frogged :(. I'm sad to have to do it but after messing up with the cable i put the sweater away for awhile and forgot where i left off and then when i went to continue where i thoguht i left off stitches unraveled and I just need to start from scratch again. I may find a different cable to use...one that isn't reversible. I need to get this sweater done soon and this cable is just not working for me right now.

Sock Knitting

2008-12-17T11:54:00.004-05:00

The weather here has been really cold lately and my feet have been freezing!! I hate cold feet. So I decided I was going to knit myself a pair of socks… this is not the first time I wanted to knit a pair of socks in fact it’s like the 4th. However my first attempt at sock knitting didn’t go to well. I have a tendency to bite off more than I can handle the first go at things and the sock pattern I chose was a bit much and a bit difficult with the yarn chosen. it was a top down sock and by the time I got to the heel I was lost and wasn’t sure if I was doing it correctly( turns out I was).... so I frogged it. The second attempt was with a toe up pair of socks and that was going well but I got impatient and once again frogged it. Then I decided I was going to start small and test out a pair of baby socks...I made one and it came out great...super cute....but got second sock syndrome and never made the second sock....I was going to go back to it but I had altered the pattern and by the time I went to work on the second sock I had forgotten the alterations I made.

This time around I was determined to make myself a pair of socks and not lose interest. So I grabbed the yarn I wanted to make the first sock with and got to work. I didn’t have a specific pattern in mind so I kind of just made it up as I went and refreshed my knowledge on the different parts of a sock. I am rather happy with the results. I used Joann’s sensations angel hair which is a bulky yarn on size 8 needles, the cuff is really short and comes just to the top of my ankle. The instep has a mock cable running down the middle which I love. The first sock has a rather slanted/pointy toe...which isn’t bad since that's how my toes actually look but it is a little tight....the second sock I added a couple stitches more so it wouldn't be so tight and now the toe on that one doesn't have a huge slant to it and fits wonderfully. The socks are very warm and squishy they're great for around the house.
I have since bought Cat Bordhi's book "new pathways for sock knitters" and once the holiday commences I want to make a second pair for myself and a couple baby pairs for my aunt who is expecting sometime in March.

I am almost done with my swap box for the kitty swap group on ravelry. I just need to print out the cookie recipe and knit up one more toy and stuff the first with cat nip. The package was supposed to go out on the 15th but I have been insanely crazy with school work and finals. I did let the swap leader know I wouldn’t be able to finish on time but would get in out within the following week….today is my day off from work and even though I should be studying I am not. Instead I finished my Christmas shopping up and now I’m going to see about finishing my swap knitting and then maybe I will study for a little bit.

The picture on the left is one of the socks I just finished and the one at the top is the baby one I made and never got around to finishing the second one.

Update: picture heavy

2008-12-07T11:43:00.003-05:00

Hey guys. It has been a while since i added any real updates. I must apologize i was trying to keep up with the blog as much I could but life got in the way a little. This semester school has been rather hectic and i don't really have alot of time to myself between school and work let alone knitting.

Since I finished my little bat girl I was able to finish upthe 2 cat toys i needed for the cat swap. I ended up making a golden snitch and a cupcake thing lol here are the pictures. The yarn i used for the stitch was a perfect gold color. I mean to another one with smaller needles for my kitties.

I also managed to finish up a couple crochet projects i started almost a year again. They were initial started to be Christmas presents for my cousin's twins however crocheting began to bother my wrists and they were put away until i eventually finished them up to give as birthday presents (they were turning 3). I made the little boy a blue monkey ....all though it looks more like a koala bear and the little girl a pink bunny. The boy seemed to like his toy until his sister grabbed it and threw it on the ground so she could see the c he got. She had previously open her gift and instantly threw the bunny on the ground and went straight for her clothes. I have a feeling they won't get much use but at least their finished and no longer sitting in pieces at my house and i know my cousin will atleast appreciate them.
About the same time i started these little guys i also started crocheting a black and white cat for a co worker which is based off of the same pattern. After finishing these guys up i was inspired to actually finish the one for my co worker. In all i was really happy how all three of turned out specially the black cat. I really did not like crocheting with the black yarn. It was really fun to add whiskers to the cat.

Somewhere in between all the choas i also managed to finish up a small dish cloth which i had started sometime in the summer. The cloth is made up of a bunch of mock which i have fallen in love with. they were alot of fun to knit and so easy and fast. The dishcloth was made with some left over bernat cottontots and will be a Christmas present for my Nana. I may her a bar of soap to go with it but she can be picky with fragrances so i think i will just stick with the discloth.

As for the cardigan i started in july for my aunt who is due in march ...well i only have about 2 cable repeats done. After these 2 repeats i realized their was an error some where on the right side cable. I had apparently translated one of the rows in the graph wrong...I have since fixed the mistake in the pattern but it is a little to late to fix it in the cable i have already knit. I will most likly just continue where I left off and hope that no one notices the difference. I was hoping if i let it sit long enough it won't look so ugly to me. I know i really need to get back to work on it.

I also never finished the plushie for my friend or the Fuzzymitten KAL i set up on ravelry. Everytime i pick it up the plushie work on the last 2 tail feathers I end up knitting half the feather then frogging it. I feel awful though because i have been working on this plush toy for sometime now. As for the Fuzzymitten Ballerina Bunny KAl well i have all the pieces to the bunny knit up i just just dont have it stuffed or put together. I also need to still make the outfit. I plan on doing this eventually but it may have to wait to till the summer kicks back up.

Since I am so goooood at finishings projects lately (I am in fact being sarcastic ) i took on another swap for the holidays. This time i need to knit 2 cats toys and provide a gift for both my swappee and her cats along with a cookie recipe. I have the recipe the gift for my partner and just need to finish the toys and get the cat a little something. I have until the 15th to do this ..... I am hoping i get it done on time....however it is not looking good with the semester coming to an end on the 11th (i have an unbelievable amount of school work to finish) and finals starting the 15th. I may send it out late :(. I also decide it would be fun to put together a swap for the fuzzymitten group on raverly where everyone knits up a doll for their pattern and include a ball of yarn and clothing pattern so their partner can then dress up their doll the following month in a new kal. The swap isn't until the month of January and it will last 5 weeks or so..that way i should have plenty of time to finish a toy up. If anyone is interested in signing up for the swap the deadline is 20th and you can find the sign ups here . I would love to have you join in on the fun.

Seamless Christmas Tree Pattern

2008-11-21T18:03:00.010-05:00

Seamless Christmas Tree

By : Sarloz/Sara L.

Materials:

Scrap yarn in green and brown

Circular needles (1-2) or dpns

3 stitch holders

Note: It does not matter the weight of the yarn used or the needle size as long as you are able to achieve a tight gauge so your stuffing does not show through.

Techniques needed:

Circular knitting (pattern is written for 2 circular needle method)

K2tog= knit two together (decrease)

KRL- Knit Right Loop (increase): Insert right needle into right loop of stitch just below next stitch, place it onto left needle and knit it, then knit the stitch on needle.......This stitch can be replaced with kfb increase

IMPORTANT NOTE: When knitting the krl it includes the increase as well as a knit stitch. So where it reads Krl you are going to increase and knit one then continue with the pattern instructions picking up right after the krl.

All these techniques can be learn by going to Knittinghelp.com and looking under the increase and decrease section or under the advance section (for circular knitting)

Don't like how fidgety starting the tree is? Try using a circular/invisible cast-on and/or cast-on for 8 stitches and then begin the pattern with round 2. One suggestion would be to use the "lighter circular beginning" which can be found further down on the above link. This will allow you to tighten up the tip of the tree later

Looking for a slimmer tree? Just add more knit rounds between the increase rounds. If you’re looking for a fatter tree add less.

Pattern:

Starting at the tip of the tree and working down to the trunk

Cast on 4 stitches (I used the long tail cast on) in green yarn

Divide your stitches evenly among your needles

Round 1: Using increase of choice: increase into each stitch (8)

Knit across for 2 rounds (for a wider more, rounded top only knit 1 row)

Next round: [k1, krl, krl, k1] repeat (12)

Knit across for 2 rounds (for a wider, more rounded top only knit 1 row)

Next round: [k1, krl, K2, krl, k1] repeat (16)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k4, krl, k1] repeat (20)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k6, krl, k1] repeat (24)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k8, krl, k1] repeat (28)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k10, krl, k1] repeat (32)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k12, krl, k1] repeat (36)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k14, krl, k1] repeat (40)

Knit across for 2 rounds

Next round: [k1, krl, k16, krl, k1] repeat (44)

Knit across for 3 rounds

Next round: [k2tog, k18, k2tog] repeat (40)

Next round: [k2tog, k16, k2tog] repeat (36)

Put the first 5 stitches on a stitch holder

Switch to your brown yarn

Knit the next 9 stitches

Place the next 9 on another stitch holder

Knit the next 9 stitches

Place the next 4 on a stitch holder

You now should have 18 brown stitches on your needles. This is the trunk

(Note: If you wish to graft the stitches on an even number you can make your trunk wider or slimmer. For the wider trunk put the first 4 stitches on a stitch holder, switch to your brown yarn and knit the next 10 stitches, place the next 8 stitches on a second stitch holder, knit the next 10 stitches and place the final 4 stitches on a stitch holder. For the slimmer trunk put the first 6 stitches on a stitch holder, switch to your brown yarn and knit the next 6 stitches, place the next 12 stitches on a second stitch holder, knit the next 6 stitches and place the final 6 stitches on a stitch holder )

Lightly stuff the body of the tree

Continue knitting the trunk in the round until it is the desired size

Carefully stuff the trunk and then graft the bottom shut

Pick up the stitches from the first stitch holder (5stitches) and the stitches on the last stitch holder (4 stitches) and divide these 9 stitches among your needles and graft them shut.

Firmly stuff your tree (if needed)

Pick up the 9 stitches from the remaining stitch holder and graft them shut. If you have any small openings next to your trunk stitch them closed.

Be sure to decorate your tree with embroidery, beads, buttons, bells, or add some ribbon and hang it as an ornament!!

If you want a larger tree continue with the pattern adding more increase rows being sure to knit 2 rows between them. You could also knit using a bulky yarn.

I would like to thank all of my test knitters you did a superb job!! I could not be any happier with the outcome!

Ravelry Test Knitters:

Jbyrd, Mullarkea, Alyssav, Moilulu, Inupermom, Litchfield, Chillyfreetoes, Hiptobeme, LikismaAngel

If you have any suggestions, questions, need help or would like the pdf version of the pattern please feel free to leave me a message on my blog, ravelry account(sarloz), or via email at Knittersdelight@yahoo.com. I am always happy to answer any questions and help where I can.

Thank-You,

Sara L.

Bat!

2008-10-01T18:30:00.005-04:00

Finally I have a finished project to show you guys. I even managed to get my camera to work to take some pictures. I finished my bat, which once again was a Fuzzymitten pattern, and I must say I am very pleased with how she came out. For once i actually like the embroidery I did on the face. She is made with Lion Brand Organic Cotton in pecan and pink...I do not recommend using this yarn for toys since it is prone to breakage when seaming. It doesn't take the weaving in and out of seaming well at all. It made my seaming all the more frustrating. However my bat is incredibly cuddly and soft lol. She is the biggest of my projects measure a foot tall and 16 inches in wingspan (measureing from the widest across not tip to tip or it would be longer).
I have recently joined the Fuzzymitten group on ravelry and will be taking part in the October knit along which is a bunny in a ballerina outfit. I am very excited to get started, ever since i came across Barbara's patterns I have meant to make a bunny for myself and never got around to it. I plan on making my bunny in a dark truffle brown with a orange leotard and green tutu. She will be my pumpkin ballerina. I f possible i want to make her a pair of ballerina slippers in orange with green ties that have leaves going off of them as they wrap around her legs as well as a pumpkin hat. I love pumpkins they are my favorite part of the season! Once i finish my Bunny i really need to get back to knitting that baby cardigan for my aunt. I have been bad and put it off to the side. I have been going through a knitting funk lately where i either have no time to knit or no patience/desire to pick up my needles. I was hoping the bat would help me but the funk started up again when i has having trouble with the wings... I was misreading the pattern....3 times i had to start over because I wasn't paying close enough attention to what I was doing. However it that finishing of a project that really sets me going and now that the bat is done and looking good I can't wait to cast on for my bunny. I may have to wait until tomorrow though, I have been battling a killer cold the last week and it's really kicking my ass I'm exhausted and ready for bed now lol.

Just a quick update

2008-09-26T09:38:00.003-04:00

hey guys. I just wanted to post a quick update. Things right now have been pretty busy for me with school starting back up and I haven't had to much time to knit. I am currently still working on the bird thing, a baby cardigan, a new projects which is a bat designed by fuzzy mitten, and a cat toy for a swap(I actually have to make 2...one is already started). Unfortunately I have not had any time to finish any of these projects let alone work on them for reasonable amount of time.

my camera is actually not working right at the moment so I dont know if I'll have pictures for you soon. I do have one of the bat when i first started her but i have added alot to her since. As you can see she is going to be a rather large bat. I now have the head/ears complete and started on one of the wings. She is being made in organic cotton in the brown and pink. I might even add hair to her. Hopefully I can finish her before Halloween.

Sewing time

2008-08-22T20:08:00.004-04:00

I don't have any new knitting updates but i have been messing with my mom's sewing machine it's been like 13 years or since i last used on when i was like 9. I'm rather proud of myself since i figured out how to work on my own with a little help from the manual. Now i just need to practice turning corners. I did make drawstring bag though for my knitting projects.....mind you its a very narrow bag and can only fit a tiny project with a narrow skein of yarn lol but it gets the job done and im happy with it as long as i dont look at the seams on the inside. here are some pictures of the bag i made
they are really bad pictures but will have to do. the first picture is of the inside fabric please ignore the ugly seams that do show ...i tried to hide most of it .

Long time no Blog

2008-08-10T16:57:00.004-04:00

So it has been a little bit since my lost blog....not too much has happened. Work has been really busy and shorthanded so I haven’t had much time to knit. I started the cardigan and am done with the first repeat and so far it’s looking great ...still not enough to photograph but hopefully soon I will have pictures to show off.

For a side project I have been working on a plushie for a friend and its coming out great I just have to finish it up now. I cannot remember if I mention in an earlier post what it is that I’m making him...it’s a bird creature with no wings called a weewoo. It is a character off of the neopets website. I just have to finish the tail feathers and ship it off to him. I don’t want to post pictures of it just now since he reads my blog sometimes and I want the finished product to be a surprise. However here is the image I am using as a reference. I will not be adding feet to my plushie...he is rather round bottomed and stands very well without the feet and I’m afraid with the feet on it will off balance him. I am rather proud of this project since it’s done completely without a pattern. I can't wait to send it to my friend i know he will love it.

Cardigan

2008-07-25T13:22:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, just wanted to post a little something since its been a while. I finally have all the materials I need to start the leprechaun .... I was able to get my hands on some Patons Fab in skin. I bought it from a seller on ebay since I couldn't find it else where. The yarn was cheap but the shipping cost an arm and a leg. I bought all she had in stock which was 6 balls so I'll have plenty for future projects.
As much as I wanted to start the leprechaun it is now on the back burner ... I found a new project thatI can not wait to get started. About a month ago my aunt found out that she was pregnant so I was looking around for some patterns I could make for the new baby and came across the most adorable cardigan! It's called "A Cardigan for Merry" and is a smaller adaptation of the "Cardigan for Arwen" that was featured in Interweave Knits (winter 2006). The "merry" version doesn't include direction for the cable so I had two choices; Icould download the orginal "arwen" version online or look for the magazine issue it was published in...i chose the latter and it came out be a little more than the pattern download plus I got a bunch for patterns to look through in the magazine. For the yarn I ordered Swish dk from knit picks in pale lemon and asparagus green, I will be doing the cables and trimming in the yellow and the rest in the green.

I just got the yarn today and started on a gauge square and I have to say the yarn is super soft....i wasn't expecting it to be so nice! The green is more green then pictured on the site but it will still work with the lemon. I am really excited about getting started on the cardigan as this will be my first clothing item other then baby booties and a baby sock. I'm alittle nervous as well since its a bigger pattern then I'm use to working on and something I haven't made before....hopefully it won't come out to bad and I won't have to much difficulty with the pattern.
I will be sure to update my progress and hopefully have pictures soon.

Also I bought more yardage in yarn then the pattern calls for an hope to make a matching hat and mitten set and maybe a scarf if i have enough....do one year olds wear scarfs? Do parents put scarfs on little kids?

disclaimer: the picture above is what the cardigan looks like and this is the picture featured in he pattern ...it was not done by me.

Finally some knitting

2008-07-15T19:19:00.005-04:00

After not knitting for a week or so i got my needles out again to finish test knitting Shar's Phyling piglet. Here is the end result. I am really happy with her. The wings are made fro m Joann Sensations Angel Hair in white. After knitting the wings i brushed them out to get a more full puffy fuzz. The black line on her back is an embroidered coin slot. I think she makes an adorable piggy bank plushie. She in made out of Caron Simply Soft Brites in the color way Watermelon. I will be sending her to live in California With shar and her husband Duncan and of course their wonderful kitty Pudge.

Bon Jovi and birthday Update

2008-07-15T09:09:00.002-04:00

My Bon jovi concert rocked! it was incredible i had so much fun. It was definatly the best night ever. As for my birthday it kinda sucked...I really didn't do much and my boyfriend actually for got that the day was Sunday and it was my birthday so he picked me up way later then I wanted. Even though he forgot I really couldn't be to mad because the Bon Jovi concert was his gift to me. I know he knows when my birthday is and that he just didn't realize the day was Sunday. However to top every thing off i got terribly sick that night. By the time i got to the Boyfriend's house i had swollen feet and killer migraine and was extremely nausea. By the end of the night I was throwing up. My night completely blew but towards 12:30 i was able to fall asleep next to the bf for a bit before i had to go home around 1:30 a.m and he was being really sweet about the whole thing.

I did have a nice day on Saturday I went to Six Flags with a few of my friends and we had a lot of fun. It was nice to see them before my birthday and they even sang happy birthday to me on the car ride home once it hit 12:00 a.m. (we stay at the park till 10pm then its a 2 hour ride home )

On the knitting front i haven't gotten much done over the past week. I did get a couple new crochet books for my birthday from a friend though. She bought me Creepy Crochet and Amigurumi world seriously cute. I am still waiting for a knitting book i bought used off of Barnes and Noble which says was shipped out on the 4TH but I'm pretty sure the post office isn't open on the 4TH due to holiday. The payment went through on the 7th so I am hoping the book comes soon. I am getting nervous that is might have been lost in the mail.

Purchases

2008-07-08T09:57:00.011-04:00

Here is a quick post for today. I finally have all my yarn for the leprechaun...mostly...I don't think I have enough of the yarn I want to use for his beard so I order a bit more ...I do have a fall back yarn though just in case. The color I got for the skin tone is a lot more yellow and less peachy then I thought it was going to be....but I’m not going to bothering finding a new one right now. I will use what I have and add some blush to at least give it a rosy cheek and I’m hoping when its next to the copper beard it doesn't looks so yellow. I really like the greens I’m going to use the dark is called forest green the medium is irelande and the bright one is called green tea. the coppery fun fur is my fall back for the beard that yellow is what I had bought for the skin tone...it looked more peachy/pale on the computer, and then I have black for his shoes and the white to go with his leggings.

SO after I said I was going to stop buying stuff for a bit I went and ordered a Japanese felt craft book off of etsy from Owlishy.

She has some really cute craft books up right now...a few were embroidery books which I was really tempted to get but I stuck with the felt one since I have had my eye on this book for a long time and never purchased it. I guess it will be a b-day gift for myself lol. I still have to get my twin sister something.

This little Piggy went to the Market.....

2008-07-06T19:04:00.003-04:00

I have finally purchased all the yarn i need to make my little leprechaun. I am just waiting for the last batch to be delievered. I can't wait to get started. As for project that are still waiting to be finished hopefully i can finish them soon. My weewoo/bird creature i am making for a friend most likely will take me a bit to do. i am getting tired of knitting the body. Its not so bad i just hate the needles im using. I must say after using my KA bamboo needles i can't stand to many other bamboo needles. The KA are so nice. the slides across them smoothly and rapidly and the points are nice and sharp where my clover needles feel like the yarn is sticking to them and they dont feel as hollow as the KA. I really do need to buy some more. Its a shame I dont have more money to spend on supplies. the new yarn i bought set me back another 60 dollars or so i think. i know i wont need it all for the leprechaun and will get use of it later on but its still alot to spend on yarn. Iwas doing good for a while and wasn't buying any knitting supplies..the minute i start though i just keep going and going its awful.

Right now i am testing knitting a pattern for a friend called Petunia the Phyling Piglet ... it rather a simple pattern and rather cute if you ask me. So far i have the main pig body knitted up and just have to make the wings. Here is a Quick peek at what she is looking like. I think i messed up somewhere because her snout is croocked so it looks like she is looking to the side . I'm not happy with the placement of the eyes either but in all shes not to bad lol.

I also still need to finish knitting my second sock the first half is getting a bit lonely. maybe I'll sit down and knit it a little bit tonight.

On a personal note my boyfriend is taking me to see Bon Jovi in concert on the 10th. I can' t wait. I am a huge fan. It is a sad day when My Bon Jovi jam sessions can not lighten my mood. Now i just have to see a Madonna concert and i will be all set for the rest of my life. My Birthday is also coming up just 7 more days and i will be a year older. It scary how fast time flies now. Everyone is in such a rush that we don't really get to experience the day for what it is...its rather sad when you think about it. Oh well their really isn't any thing I can do to change that so I'll just keep knitting my days away.

new project and bear update

2008-06-30T21:24:00.005-04:00

hey guys. just wanted to post an update. my bride bear has made it safely to her new home. My friend loved her and lets just say her new hubby was the first to see the bear's garter belt lol. I have been working likely crazy for the last week and a half and havn't had to much of a chance to knit. i starts a new project for another friend. Its going to be a character he likes from a website...its like a wingless bird.I have most the body and hope to work on it some more soon.

I also bought some new yarn for an Alan dart project i want to start. I want to make his leprechaun. You need three different shade of green and i never realized how hard it was to find greens lol. I got a couple nice shades in Casade 220and just need to get one more. I have never used this yarn but I hear its nice to knit with and it has a rather large collection of colors. Now I just need to find a nice flesh ton yarn that isn't discontinued and got a nice color for his beard...the only fun fur i have is in blue or pink and they will not do. if anyone has any suggestions on yarn i would love to hear them.

Bride Bear Finished

2008-06-23T13:16:00.005-04:00

Here she is all finished. She doesnt look very brideish but it is the best i could to in the time frame. I was going to put more flowers on the headband but the one turned out to big and I didnt feel like redoing it to be smaller. I also opted for beaded eyes over the needle felted ones ...once again due to the time frame. My friend got married Friday and the package was suppose to be shipped out be for then .

Here is better picture of her garter belt...my favorite part of the outfit

bride bear dressed

2008-06-22T19:27:00.005-04:00

Here are a few more pictures of my bear. I finished the dress and in all i was rather happy with the results. i started from the bottom of the dress and woked my way up the dress is pleated up at the top but its hard to tell cause the dress is a little tighter than i planed..next time ill make it wider...the waistband is a lace design i found in an issue of simply knitting and really pretty but unfortunatly you cant see it well in the pictures. the dress is strapless and even laces up in the back a little bit.
the garterbelt is uder the dress and a nice surprise in my opinion. I will be making a flower head tomorrow hopefully and than i need to add some eyes. wasnt to fond of the one i have embroidered on so i cut them out.

i had started the dress from the waist and worked my way up then redid it when i learned if i want to do the pleats the best way to do it was from the bottom up. I am glad i did cause then i was able to add the lace and get a decent shaped skirt without it being overly complicated . the dress was actually really simple.

sorry for the crappy pictures

Bride Bear Update

2008-06-18T14:40:00.007-04:00

I finished knitting the teddy bear along with the garter belt i just need to make the dress... I am a little nervous about making the dress....I do not have alot of experience with knitting clothes and I don't have a pattern for the dress I want to make. If all goes well with the dress I will be in complete shock. the garter belt is hard to see in the picture but here its made of of a cast on row of white yarn a knit row of blue then a knit and cast off of white.

I am really pleased with the body and I think my shaping and seaming is getting better. This is the first stuffed animal i made other then the octopuses that would sit up on their own with out propping against something ..I am really happy about that. I didn't us as much yarn as I thought I would. the pattern calls for 50g of yarn and out of a 50g ball i have probably a little less then half left. It probably isn't enough for another toy but it will work well on a multicolored toy.

Bride Teddy

2008-06-17T13:39:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would post a couple pictures of the teddy I'm making. Its rather tiny and pettit...and i really like how it is coming out. I put the head on a little differently then the pattern called for but i liked it better standing up on the bottom verses the side. I will be knitting up a white strapless dress for her (hopefully) and adding a little garter strap for her leg and i would like to add a little flower veil if i an manage it. She is going to be a gift for an old friend who is getting married this Friday. We'll see if i get it done on time.

Lazy Monday

2008-06-16T10:46:00.001-04:00

It’s another Monday but this time I do not have to work :) which makes me happy. It is a dreary day out though and looks like I will be stuck in the house for most of it...this usually is not bad thing since I have my crafts to keep me occupied, however my stepdad doesn’t have work until around 3 o'clock and he is in a grouchy mood and once again working on leveling the hallway floor. We moved into this house 5+ years ago and it has been none stop repairs. Whenever my step dad gets to working on the floor you know he is in a bad mood that is just going to get worse. Since he is in front of the stairs I’m pretty much stuck in my room. This also puts him in a bad mood....he sees it as being lazy which he despises.
Then I’m stuck in the room with my twin and we do not get along well at all..... She just took over the one hard surface in the room so it looks like my plans for needle felting isn't going to happen. I wanted to finish at least the main body of my chipmunk today ....most of it is complete I just don’t like the markings I started to put on the body. so I will just be covering it up with a light brown fiber...add a white belly then use a darker brown for markings on his back. Then its onto his arms and legs ... I’m not sure how I want to make them yet. He looks like a very cartoonish chipmunk so I think I will settle with a teddy bear type body with arms and legs that are moveable.

Yesterday was father's day...one holiday I am not very fond of. It’s so hard to find a good father’s day card let alone 2. I don't really consider Mark (step-dad) a father my mom married him when I a sophomore or junior in high school and well he really isn't around too much since he works in the afternoon till around 11 o'clock at night. He does a lot and I do appreciate that and he is a huge part of my live and I care about him but I feel uncomfortable getting him a greatest dad ever card act.... and then there is my dad....who was gone most of my life mainly spending it in jail and not paying child support. he is now back in my life and has been for about 10 years or so...we get along well enough and I love him but he is not the best person ...he doesn't have a lot of morals and will screw anyone including his own son (multiple times) if it will benefit him in some way. I defiantly don't feel comfortable buying him a greatest dad ever card or one that is sappy and reads "thanks dad for always being there for me....being someone I can trust and always sticking by my side” but I still want a card that is both meaningful and sincere for both my step-dad and my father. I did manage to get a couple cute cards ... I went with one that was funny for my dad and then for my step-dad I got him one that was simple and just said we appreciated him without going all sappy.

Later that night I went out with Elvis (my boyfriend) and caught a movie...we say Kung Fu Panda. It was such a cute movie and Elvis was laughing so hard at one point I thought he was going to pee his pants. I love when he laughs that hard it’s so cute. After the movie we went back to his house and I ended up falling asleep most of the time over there which I was really disappointed about. I hate when I do that but sometimes I just can't help it. He did say it was ok if I slept when he saw I was tired but I would rather spend the time with him not sleeping lol ...I did take a quick nap then we watch some tv together which ended with the both of us dosing off for a little bit. In all it wasn't a bad night and my sunburn was feeling better...I wasn’t in complete agony lol it was a little irritating but nothing too bad.

As for the knitting front....I still have not worked on my second sock lol I do have it started though. I started on a new toy which is almost done I just have the arms and ears to make. I have the head/body/ and legs stuffed and sewn together already so it’s mostly done. Once again it is a toy pattern by Barbara Prime. (a.k.a Fuzzy Mitten...you can find a link to her blog on my side list) made with some Andes wool I got off of Knit picks and even though the yarn is a bit rough and stiff I really like the color i'm using and how the yarn has knitted up. I am also still working on designing a pair of booties...I have a rough prototype that I like but I just want to change a few things on it. Here is a picture of the bootie so far...well I have added a strap since this picture was taken

I have changed the cuff a little and want to change the toe. I want to work the short rows over a larger number of stitches and then I think it will be complete. That’s really the only part I’m not satisfied with. Ok well know that I have given you a massive blog to read (not sure if I have any readers out there yet) I am going to call it a day for blogging and hopefully I’ll see you soon.

2008-06-14T13:39:00.000-04:00

i finally have a Saturday off and do not know what to do with myself. it a beautiful day and i would love to sit outside however yesterday i went to the beach without any sunblock and my back is completely friend. i have a nice tan started on my front so i decided to just work on getting some color on my back .... i did not get the color i wanted. In stead of a nice tan i am lobster red from my waste down and crimson on my shoulders and most my back. I do have to finish knitting the second sock to a pair but right now i'm just to tired to and i can't sit in one spot for long until my legs scream for some relief. later tonight i will be heading over to my boyfriend's house and until then i will be lathering my self in aloe and lotion in hopes that i can remain some what comfortable.
I am hoping the bf wants to go get some ice cream to night i am dieing for some homemade coconut in a cone....or a sundae would be nice.

Baby Knits

2008-06-11T14:26:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the booties i have made

First pair od booties ever. Made with Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk
using Saartje Booties Pattern
The below Booties are made with the same pattern in Caron Simply Soft

Got to love the heart buttons

Most recent pair of booties made. Used patons classic wool merino
in denim with Ruth's Perfect Bootiespattern

Made with Bernat Cottontots using a pattern written by Shar

This is my first Sock ever! Sorry im excited about it. I have tried socks before but always got confused with the heel. The other half of the pair is currently still on the needles.

Toy Pictures (heavy in pictures)

2008-06-11T14:02:00.000-04:00

Needle felting projects

A work in progress: Chipmunk
(Second Project)

Front View
(first needle felted project)

Back view

Knit toys: just a few of my favorites

this little nurse was made for my friend who is a nursing major.
she was made using patterns from Barbara Prime

Octopus for a co-worker using a pattern by Hansigurumi

Baby gift...made using a pattern from Barbara Prime

Another Octopus for a co-worker using a pattern by Hansigurumi

This guy is a snowman made from a Jean Greenhowe Pattern

Crocheted Toys

This Girl is my pride and joy. she was a baby gift

This guy was my first crocheted project ever...no pattern

This little turtle was my second crocheted toy project .. the first one in the round

Seamless Heart Pattern

2008-06-11T13:51:00.007-04:00

Seamless Heart

Materials:

Scrap yarn

Circular needles (1-2) or dpns

2 stitch holders

NOTE: Size of the yarn and needles does not matter as long as you achieve a tight gauge

Techniques need:

SSK= slip slip knit (decrease)

Circular knitting (pattern written for 2 circular needle method)

K2tog= knit two together (decrease)

IMPORTANT NOTE: When knitting the krl in includes the increase as well as the knit stitch. So where it reads Krl you are going to increase and knit one then continue with the pattern instructions. Picking up with the knit stitch after the Krl increase.

All these techniques can be learn by going to Knittinghelp.com and looking under the increase and decrease section or under the advance section (for circular knitting)

Variations

If you find the lopes of the hearts to be too pointy you can end it on round 19 or round 20 and thread the yarn through the remaining 10 stitches (Variation sent in by Floofle)

If you don't want to sew up a small gap you graft the lobes closed. This should also give your heart a more rounded lobe. (Used by Litchfield)

Don't like how fidgety starting the heart is try using a circular/invisible cast-on and/or cast-on for 8 stitches and then begin the pattern with round 2. One suggestion would be to use the "lighter circular beginning" which can be found further down on the above link. This will allow you to tight up the bottom of the lobe later adjusting the bottom point of the heart. (Used by Litchfield)

PATTERN:

Starting at the point of the heart and working up to the lobes

Cast on 4 stitches (I used the long tail cast on)

Divide Stitches evenly among needles

Round 1: increase into each stitch (8)

Round 2(and every even round following): Knit across

Round 3: [k1,krl, krl, k1] repeat (12)

Round 5: [k1, krl, K2, krl, k1] repeat (16)

Round 7: [k1, krl, k4, krl, k1] repeat (20)

Round 9: [k1, krl, k6, krl, k1] repeat (24)

Round 11: [k1, krl, k8, krl, k1] repeat (28)

Round 13: [k1, krl, k10, krl, k1] repeat (32)

Round 15: [k1, krl, k12, krl, k1] repeat (36)

This is where you are going to begin shaping the lobes of the heart

Round 16: k9, slip the next 18 onto stitch holders, knit the last 9 (this will divide your stitches so you will be working with 18 stitches at a time)

Round 17: [k 1, K2tog, k3, ssk, k1] repeat (14)

Round 19: [k 1, K2tog, k1, ssk, k1] repeat (10)

Round 21: [k 1, K2tog, ssk] repeat (6)

Round 22: knit across

Break yarn thread through remaining 6 stitches pulling to close up the left lobe. Secure end.

Switching to the right side lobe you are going to knit the 18 stitches on the holders for one round then repeat rounds 17-22

Break yarn thread through remain 6 stitches pulling to close up the right lobe. There will be a small gap between the 2 lobes this you can stitch shut with you tail end. Secure end.

Tested and corrections sent in by: AlienSunset

If you find any other mistakes such as the count being off or have any suggestions please feel leave me a message on my blog, ravelry account, or via email at Knittersdelight@yahoo.com.

Thank-You,

Sara L.

First Post-Intro

2008-06-11T11:12:00.000-04:00

Hello Guys. I finally decided to create a blog here. I am not very good at keeping up to date on blogging but we will see how it goes.

My name is Sara and I love to knit. I taught myself about two years ago and really haven't stopped since. I consider my self to be an intermediate knitter and really enjoy to knit toys and baby booties; their small projects that can keep my attention long enough to finish. I recently made my first sock.....yes it is baby sized but i think i might be hooked. I am currently working on my designing skills and hope to create more patterns. At the moment I have one pattern posted on another blog for a seamless heart toy and am working on a pattern for a pair of seamless baby booties.

My favorite toy designers are Hansigurumi, Barbara Prime a.k.a FuzzyMitten, Alan Dart, Jean Greenhowe, and a personal friend of mine Shar.

Along with knitting I crochet and needle felt. I learned to crochet about a year ago and really enjoyed it until my carpel tunnel started to worsen so now i only crochet once in a great while. I am still new to needle felting, and have only been doing so since March but the minute I started I was addicted. I absolutely love the craft. It is extremely relaxing and allows me to focus my sole attention on one thing. It allows me a small period of time were i am completely closed off to the world around me. I have only finished one project but i am currently working on my second and it is coming along nicely.

Well i think thats it for now. I will try to put a couple more post up with some of my projects I have made and the pattern i have for the heart.