Polly Foo Foo

Moved!

2009-05-21T08:15:00.005-05:00

I nearly thought I'd never post anything again, and it still will be some time before I have any creations to share, but I have moved recently, and the long chore of unpacking has begun. I will try to get back to regular postings, but I really don't know when that will start at this point! Wish me luck! (Mr. Biddles is doing very, very well in his new home!)

Ruffly Scarf - Done

2009-01-14T12:59:00.005-05:00

Yay! It's done!

Oh it's so pretty! And warm!

I love the contrasting strip of stitches down the middle for the length of the scarf.

And it rolls up into a neat woolie cinnamon bun!

Current WIP - Ruffle Scarf Pattern

2009-01-10T08:22:00.009-05:00

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It's so undulating!

I found this lovely wool, hand-painted yarn and got a free pattern for the scarf at a LYS after I saw their sample scarf. I thought it was such a lovely pattern, very organic, and in colors of blue and green would be very aquatic. It's a hard scarf to 'model' so please excuse the pics.

I'm probably going to use the whole skein, which I believe is over 400 yards. I just think it looks nicer the more that can be left draped across the torso. The pattern uses a lot of yarn, of course, with all the ruffles. What I had not known until I got this pattern is that you could make ruffles so easily while knitting. I always thought of ruffles as a crocheting possibility but not with knitting.

Here is the pattern.

Ruffle Scarf
Materials 350 yards of yarn
Needles: size depends on yarn of choice. Choose one size larger than what the yarn calls for.
Directions: Cast on 20 stitches.
Row 1: Knit 8 stitches, turn.
Row 2: Knit 8 stitches, turn.
Row 3: Knit 6 stitches, turn.
Row 4: Knit 6 stitches, turn.
Row 5: Knit 4 stitches, turn.
Row 6: Knit 4 stitches, turn.
Row 7: Knit all 20 stitches.
Repeat rows 1-7.
Save enough yarn at the end to bind off.

That's it! Easy peasy.

And here is Mr. Biddles on the computer. Literally.

And my latest favorite pic of him. Ehhhn.

Just in case...

2009-01-08T20:17:00.005-05:00

I had fun taking the "Is your cat plotting to kill you?" quiz.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T18:58:00.003-05:00

Finished Amulet Bag

2008-12-21T06:47:00.009-05:00

I felted the amulet bag by hand last night. It really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I used a small basin of hot water with a little wool soap, and I scrubbed the bag with a crumpled up plastic bread bag for 30-40 minutes. A good workout for the arms and hands! I did some shaping after I rinsed to keep things symmetrical as possible. This morning it was completely dried.

I'm pretty pleased with it. I think the only thing I would have changed about it is maybe having knitted it smaller. I'm thinking about adding a loop and a button - wooden or shell to keep with the natural, organic look.

Tough taking pictures in natural light today, but here it is:

Mr. Biddles! D'oh!

What's that tail doing in my picture? Sigh.

I really love how the colors blend. Manos del Uruguay yarn - have I mentioned how much I love it? If you look hard you can probably see there several spots where it felted in a way that almost looks like french knots, all twisted and curly. I'm happy about that because it adds interest and dimension.

Just a reminder what it looked like before felting:

It was still snowing this morning. Hi Crow!

SNOW!!!!!

2008-12-20T10:07:00.005-05:00

We got some serious snow overnight, and it is still snowing.

So pretty...

This tree looks familiar.....

Ah, there he is:

Tufted titmouse enjoying some seed:

Cascade.
Knitted by candlelight last night during the power outage. Here is the amulet bag, pre-felting. Looks pretty horrible, doesn't it? LOL

Felted Amulet Bag

2008-12-18T13:01:00.012-05:00

I'm making my first venture into felting (well, felting on purpose). It's going to be a gift so I hope it comes out ok.

Hopefully (fingers crossed) it will come out looking something like this:

The pattern is from Judith Durant's recent book. I'm really loving this book so far. Nice projects and what's really cool is they are arranged in the book by yarn weight. I'm a big fan of short-and-sweet projects and this book is chock full of really nice ones.

I love Manos yarn. I just love love love it. Beautiful to work with and the most gorgeous colors.

Most projects almost always teach me something new and unexpected, as this surely did. I didn't realize you could make a tube by knitting on DP's and slipping stitches. I was a little perplexed when I started the pattern, then when I saw the tube magically growing, I said, "WHY didn't I know about this trick before???!!!" It's pretty nifty, I'll tell you.

I just need to bind off and make the cord. I'll keep you posted.....

Let's check in with Biddlepants.

A-ha. He is doing his eggplant impression.

Hi cutie!

Aaaah. Nappies. Zzzzzzzzz.....

Cookies Cookies Cookies

2008-12-15T20:26:00.016-05:00

Ok so I've been on a roll lately. I love cookies. They are little pieces of art. Don't cookies make people happy? They make me happy, for sure. So fun to make, even if it is a lot of work. Christmas gives me the perfect excuse to make a mess of cookies. I planned ahead which ones I wanted to make, wrote up an ingredients list, and have been slowly working away at it and putting them in the freezer. The ones that need to be iced (like the chocolate trees at the bottom, and the sugar cookies I'll be making later this week) will be thawed out and iced Christmas Eve Day.

Here are the latest. I have used my shortbread mold. The tricky part is getting the cookie batter to fill in all the design. You can't tell if you managed to do that or not until after the cookie is done baking. Next time I use it, I'm going to experiment a bit to see what is the best way to do this.

The mold:

Slap that batter on a greased mold:

Pat it down with your fingers:

Poke the top with a fork. (I forgot this step once, and it didn't seem to make a difference, fwiw)

It is done baking: (I sprinkled a little raw sugar on it before it baked.)

Let it sit for 15 minutes or so, then flip it and hopefully it will pop right out. I only had trouble once because I forgot to re-grease the pan (lightly with olive oil), but it didn't give me a hard time.

See the indentations where there shouldn't be?

Ah well, still pretty and yummy!

I made ginger shortbread, lemon shortbread, plain shortbread of course, and orange spice shortbread. The recipe for shortbread is so easy and well - short - that just changing the flavoring ingredients is all it takes to alter the recipe.

Then I made chocolate cookies. Lots of cocoa in these babies! YUM! Ah the sun is setting on the trees. A fun day of baking.

Mr. Biddles was close-by to supervise. See how excited he is about all the cookies?

Yup. It's a tough life.

Springerle Molds for Speculaas

2008-12-12T10:38:00.008-05:00

After reading about these cookie molds in a recent Martha Stewart magazine, I was so captivated by their beauty and texture (and history) that I had to give it a try.

I bought the molds from House on the Hill. The really cool thing about these molds are that they are replicas of molds from as late as 500 years ago. They even leave in the 'imperfections' of the originals for a true copy.

The recipe I used was the one they supplied with the molds, although you can find many recipes online for Speculaas. Here is a nice informational about the history of Speculaas.

So last night I began baking, and had a blast. The aroma from the mingling of spices is truly intoxicating. I wish blogs had smellovision. Just imagine citrus, cocoa, cardamom (which is a party of aromas within itself. If you have never smelled this spice, I suggest you get to your grocers STAT), mace, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

Low light is my camera's handicap, so please forgive the poor quality photos:

The 3 molds I have. The house is my favorite.

A poinsettia cookie before baking:

MMMmmmmm! A tray of cooling speculaas!!

One very important thing I learned. See the cookie on the left? See how much clearer the imprint is? That is what happens if you put the molded cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes before putting them in the oven. A critical step, I'd say, and one I will be sure to do in the future.

Again, cookie on left was in the freezer before baking. Big difference, isn't it?

I love these houses. Have I mentioned that yet?

House speculaas!
I sprinkled some sanding sugar on them. It gives a slightly sparkly effect, without being gritty.

YUM!!!

Earthy Gauntlets

2008-11-24T12:49:00.005-05:00

New gauntlets for a good friend of mine. Superwash merino from Etsy seller "Fearless Fibers".

Lovely colors - the more you look the more you'll find.

Chazz cares not for such things.

After making the previous stockinette gauntlets, I learned that this K2, P2 style is much better. It hugs the arm more, and doesn't slouch.

Worry Vase

2008-10-23T08:28:00.005-05:00

I started taking pottery classes a few weeks ago. This is my favorite piece so far.

I found throwing pottery to be a great deal of fun - and very therapeutic. I could just zone out and mess with the clay on the wheel, and turn off my worries of the day, which is saying a lot for an obsessive person like myself. I made this vase on a particularly bad day. It's nice to see that it didn't detract from my work - perhaps it added to it?

One of Two

2008-10-21T10:15:00.005-05:00

I've finished one of the gauntlets. I'm going to keep these for myself!

Lovely colors, and wonderful soft and warm superwash merino. Bought from the same seller as the Tartan wool, and I've just done a simple stockinette stitch with a little k2,p2 border on each end.

and checking in with Biddlepuss:

enjoying the lower angle of the southern sun.

=^.^=

Tartan Gauntlets

2008-10-09T14:26:00.008-05:00

A friend of mine wanted gauntlets to match her tartan. I sent color samples to this fabulous etsy-seller Katie who dyed a skein of her lovely merino wool to match. The colors came out perfectly. The yarn was wonderful to work with and both my friend and I are very pleased with the results.

Plus, you can see, they have also received approval from Chazz the orange kitty.

I used this "Voodoo" pattern from Knitty.

Poofy kitty tail!!!!

Way Cool Green

2008-07-16T16:12:00.011-05:00

I made the switch to reusable grocery/shopping bags a while back. This movement has certainly gained popularity very quickly to the point where every major market seems to have their own version of them.

The bags I am happiest with are ones that do not have a store name on them, ones that are practical and can be good multi-taskers.

I am very pleased with the ones I bought from Lehmans. Extremely inexpensive and they have a feature I have not seen on any others: Hooks that grab onto the sides of the shopping cart and hold them open while you shop/pack! I find these are excellent especially when shopping at a chain where they give you the hand-held scanner. That way, as I go, I scan the product, drop into my bags, and there they stay until I get home.

Here are the ones from Lehmans. (go to "more views" and you can see them modeled in a shopping cart). Lehmans has a lot of other very cool things as well. I have had excellent luck dealing with that company.

What I couldn't find until recently were some good-sized produce bags. These are so cool. I just received them today. Check out the super-duper recycled packaging!! I AM SO IMPRESSED!

Inside the bags are wrapped in tissue for protection.

And here they are. Inexpensive, well-made, lightweight (1 oz.) and just plain neat. Perfect dimensions for fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. Nice drawstrings to keep stuff in. Look at the retro design! They are from www.baggreen.com, or from her etsy shop of the same name. A+!

And of course, Biddles gets to sit on the newspaper after. (bad lighting! sorry)

Oh Mr. Biddles you cutie-pie.

Bit of a Dry Spell

2008-07-04T06:44:00.008-05:00

It's that time of year again. The heat and humidity of the summer always renders me dry of creative juices.

However, something is percolating. I'll keep you posted as things develop.

In the meantime, enjoy the 17 year cicadas if you are lucky enough to have them in your area of the country. It's been super fun watching them hatch and grow, and hearing them sing. I'll miss them when they're gone.

I got a pair of really cool t-shirts from a nearby screen printer, celebrating the arrival of the cicadas.

Mr. Biddles does not care for such things.

Cloths and Collars!

2008-05-12T21:00:00.016-05:00

Washcloths/Dishcloths/Whatevercloths - Made for my mom for mother's day. I had fun making them all frilly!

I love these colors. Kinda old fashioned.

This would be nice for a teapot.

This organic cotton is so soft and lovely.

I love picot edging!

In other news, Mr. Biddles got some new collars from this great seller on etsy. They have the coolest fabrics to choose from, are super helpful and make a terrific product. They use the breakaway collars, which is the only kind I will put on Biddles, just to be safe.

They make collars for poochies too!

I sent them pictures of Biddles in one of his new collars, and they put him on their website!!Squeee!!!!

Here he is sporting their "Hottie/SpottieDottie" collar. Very becoming, yes indeedy. Good colors for Mr. Biddles. He is so gosh darn good at accessorizing!!

"mmmm. so happies."

" i like sunnies on my tummies and warm stones on my backsies."

"my new collar is very comfy. see i can still stretchie."

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Amigurumi of Consiquince

2008-04-20T11:55:00.012-05:00

Okay - a little background information.

Years ago, one of my dearest friends introduced me to the often-misunderstood fruit called Quince. This odd little fruit became an inside-joke between us, sparking a plethora of word games (like in my title, for ex).

Anyhoo, I modified a pattern from my amigurumi book. I think it could use a little tweak here or there but basically I am satisfied with the results. Quinces are often misshaped but basically look like a cross between an apple and a pear. This might look a little too pear-ish but I can't bear frogging this little cutie to satiate my inner perfectionist. This is part of my friend's housewarming gift and he is going to love it!

Does anyone remember this book? It took me forever to figure out what the title was when all I could recall was something about "bunnies going down the road" to go visit "old man toad". Finally I found it - I grabbed a second-hand copy. Such a cute little book. I love the story and the detailed pictures.

i love how the little girl has her own toy stuffed bunny. (see way over to the left) And the mom with her hat and high heels.

A toad would wear a vest and smoke a pipe, no?

I love the mole with the shaw, apron and slippers.

home is indeed where the heart is.

Washie Wash and WIP

2008-04-10T14:41:00.006-05:00

My current WIP is going to be a baby's hat. I am using a lovely naturally-dyed organic cotton yarn by Mirasol called Sampa. I like crocheting (and knitting) in the round but I am having some tricky moments with the 'ruffle' factor and the 'beanie' factor. I've been adjusting as I go. I'm not using a pattern for this so wish me luck! I'm using some guidelines by the wonderful "yarn harlot" Stephanie Pearl-McPhee in her book "Knitting Rules".

My last project was 4 dishcloths/washcloths for part of a housewarming gift for a friend. All the same Mirasol Sampa yarns.

These two are simple single crochet:

This one I alternated single with half double for a little design:

This is a single crochet but only grabbing the front of the "V"s instead of both of them. This creates a line or ridge in your project. I have found it also allows the fiber more give, more stretch.

I did a little edging on this one.

I would have made them frillier - putting picot and shells around the edges, which I was dying to do but they are for a guy so I had to resist.

Happy April

2008-04-01T09:46:00.003-05:00

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Mr. Biddles says happy April and doesn't he look cute!

Confession and Current Prodge

2008-03-26T10:58:00.011-05:00

I'm a yarn snob.

There. I've said it.

Some knitters say they are knitting snobs, some crocheters say they are crochet snobs, having personal preferences and seeing knitting as the best way to interlace yarn, or crocheting as the best way to interlace yarn. I don't have any prejudice there and I like both knit and crochet.

Me, I'm a yarn snob. I have a hard time buying average yarn, mass-produced yarn, the yarn that is sold at Walmart and Michaels and ACMoore, for example. I can't help it.

I go nutty for handspun yarn and hand-dyed yarn, local-made or made by an artisan or a community of artisans or a small company that sees to high quality and the beauty of natural fibers. Companies like Blue Sky or Malabrigo or Manos del Uruguay and the unnameable, numerous small companies that produce wonderful yarns from natural fibers.

I go to local yarn shops (LYS) - privately owned - the equivalent of mom and pop shops where you get the best service, knowledgeable and caring attendants, and top-notch products. The LYS's are where you find the best yarns. It is almost always more expensive as far as money goes, but the quality of whatever you are making and the luxury of handling such good yarn while you are making it pays off endlessly. Quality beats quantity. Plus, you know you are helping to support the crafting community all the while.

That being said, now I will get off my soapbox and show you my current project. I will use the term "prodge" for "project" from now on, because it is silly and makes me giggle.

This is my first excursion into the daisy/star stitch in crochet. I really like how it looks, although this is not the best type of yarn to see the design. This yarn was chosen by the recipient of this scarf. I, being a yarn snob, would be hard pressed to choose yarn like this. It has acrylic and poly in it. Metallic threads are often itchy although they look pretty. Ok, enough snobbery.

Pretty colors.

See the pattern of stars?

Soft n Fuzzie Cowl

2008-03-26T07:19:00.007-05:00

Originally this had been a scarf. It is a skein of angora and a skein of ribbon. I now wish I had a before/after picture. I had made it for my mother before I started this blog. The scarf was made on large-ish needles and the ribbon would snag during every-day activities so I had her give it back to me so I could take a good look at it and see if it could be frogged.

You know how these natural fibers can felt/full naturally from friction sometimes so I wasn't sure if it would frog easily. It did - well, fairly easily- so here it is. I turned it into a cowl on smaller needles - (well, size 10's are small for me!). It turned into a beautiful, soft and squishy and stretch, incredibly warm cowl which can be also worn as a hat.

I did the binding off for the first time in a different way to maintain maximum stretch. The typical bind-off was not stretchy enough so I pulled it back and did a search in my books for an alternate bind-off. I found it in "Teach Yourself Knitting" which has been a very helpful book.

1. knit two together (k2tog) through the back of the stitches.
2. slip this stitch you just made back to the left needle.
3. repeat.
4. continue until one stitch remains, then cut your yarn and pull it through the last stitch to secure it just like you normally would for the universal bind-off.

At first I was like "huh?" and it seemed so weird, but after a few tries it made sense and it left my bind-off with equal elasticity as my cast-on, which made it a perfectly symmetrical cowl. Very pleased am I and my mother loves it!

Happy Easter

2008-03-21T18:45:00.004-05:00

What could this be....

Why, it's Lil' Miss Bunny!

From "Knitted Animals" by Anne-Dorthe Grigaff

It's still a bit chilly so she needed a scarf.

But Spring is right around the corner so she needed a flower for her ear.

Lil' Kerchief

2008-03-20T17:24:00.008-05:00

I set out to make a beanie/skully for a young daughter of a friend of mine but the yarn I had did not work with the pattern very well so I knitted a little kerchief for her instead.

The pattern was straightforward, from Debbie Stoller's first Stitch'n Bitch book. I wanted to girlie up the edges so I did a crochet picot around the sides. It amazes me what a difference a little decorative edging makes.

Sans picot:

Avec picot:

I debated on using the picot across the top as well but it didn't seem like the right thing to do so I decided against it.

I used Blue Sky Alpaca's Silk which is 50% alpaca and 50% silk. Very nice drape and indeed silky to the touch. Color is Guava #145.

Kerchiefs are so darn cute. I hope she likes it!

Bebeh Hat!

2008-03-09T08:52:00.014-05:00

Stuffie kitty will have to demonstrate. I think square hats are so cute. Oh baby is going to look so adorable in this!!

I love these colors. Mirasol Cotanani 60% Cotton/40% Merino Wool. Lovely yarn to work with. I made this baby hat for my good friend's little boy. I followed the "Dots" pattern in "Itty Bitty Hats" by Susan B. Anderson but I did a little improvising and made stripes. I did this on straight needles and then stitched up the seams on the sides. I have learned a lot from this little hat. I will never make a square hat this way again - next time I will make it in the round. That way the only seam to stitch is the crown. Much easier and possibly more comfortable to the wearer.

I even like the WS, which I usually don't like that first row where the next color is added on. I think it is because these colors are so beautiful together. There are 4 different colors I chose.

The edge is seed stitch, which i so much love.

Beautiful colors!! Have I mentioned how beautiful the colors are? Have I? Have I??

BTW, I also saw in the bookstore Susan B. Anderson's other book, "Itty-Bitty Nursery", and oh lordie there are so many adorable patterns in it that I nearly keeled over.