Did another Tiny Owl Knits Cowl

Like my needles? Yes those are corks on the ends. I needed size 7 for gauge and I didn't have any straights, so I pulled out my DPN's and corked them. I had tried using the DPN's straight up but the cowl is wide enough that it kept falling off the ends. Thankfully the corks did the trick!

I'm guessing needle point holders would work the same way - ? But I don't have any.

In progress...

Another lovely skein of Manos del Uruguay....

Bobbles!

 Finished.

Hot water bottle cover

Oh how I love Misti Alpaca Chunky! So soft and squishy and warm. "Buttery soft" is how Yarnmarket describes it. If you've never sunk your hands into a skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky, you're really missing out on something good. Perfect for a hot water bottle cover for my neighbor.

I had some in my stash. I'm not sure how much I used but it was more than one skein. Maybe about 1 1/2 skeins.

I found the free patten here. Very easy. I knitted an i-cord (nice how-to video here on youtube) for the tie instead of a crocheted chain.

I didn't completely sew up the bottom seam in case her bottle has that little tab at the bottom like mine does. The bottom seam was done in overcast stitch on the right side. I had a little trouble with keeping the beginning and the end consistent. One corner is kinda rounded, the other kinda pointy. It bothers me but I couldn't seem to re-shape it. I suppose blocking would do the trick, but I really don't have the time. I seriously doubt anyone will notice except me.

It is SO SOFT! I wish i could show you in squish-o-vision.



I've only got a few more things to make for the holiday, and I'm running on schedule. This Christmas has been the biggest handmade Christmas ever for me, and I'm really feeling pretty good about it. Go handmade!

One fulled pot rest coming right up!

Another Christmas gift to chalk off my list!


I wanted to make a nice fulled (we often misuse the term and say "felted") pot rest/pot holder for my dad.

I knitted garter stitch one 12 x 12 square of Manos del Uruguay (gorgeous!!!!!) wool yarn. Color: Eclipse. Size 10 1/2 needles. 40 stitches across and kept going until 12" long. I didn't use up an entire skein. I'm guessing I used 3/4 of it.


After washing 3 times in a pillowcase (hot water with soap, side-loading washer) along with tennis balls and my regular laundry, all the stitches were closed up tight, all the woolen fibers nice and locked together. Aaaaahhh, I LERVE wool! The final dimensions were 9" wide by 8 1/2" long.


Here is the remainder of the ball along with the post-fulled pot rest. See how lovely the colors blended together? Very painterly. The yarn is heavy worsted weight, but you can see that is is thicker in some parts, thinner in others. I do like that, but of course, once you full it, you don't see that difference anymore.

I'm blocking it because I'd rather it be a bit more symmetrical. I do like the 'organic' look, but for this gift, I'd rather it be more squared off.

 

(Look at those pins! I'm a messy blocker. But it gets the job done!)

 

Who's paw is that?

 

I love how cats talk with their ears.

Tiny Owl Knits Bedknobs and Broomsticks Cowl

Not sure if you know of TINY OWL KNITS but if you don't, I highly suggest you check her out. She's got the loveliest patterns and is oh-so-sweet.

Here is my rendition of her "Bedknobs and Broomsticks Cowl"

It is knitted flat, and joined when finishing. This is how it looked before I joined the seams - with the mattress stitch, which was new to me and a really tidy way of joining:

This is how it looked when I finished it. Also, this is why I don't take pictures after dark. My camera STINKS!! Please ignore the overexposure and look at the lovely pattern:

I love the microbobbles! They're so bobbly! I like how the pattern alternates between bars and bobbles.

Made with one skein of Jiffy by Lion Brand, color: El Paso. Acrylic- very warm and good for those who find wool uncomfortable on the skin.

A very nice gift and a very fun project to knit. :)

Mom's Christmas Gift

I finished the cable scarf a couple weeks ago, but it got set aside for some well-needed blocking. I've actually never had to block anything before, so I was dragging my feet. I had to buy some stainless steel pins first, too. Well a couple days ago I soaked the scarf gently in warm water, rolled it up several times in a towel, and then pinned it out onto a mattress. I would not go through all this extra stuff if I didn't need to ("finishing" items is not my favorite part), but the cabling had scrunched the scarf up so much into itself, that the beauty of the cables were hidden. I wish I took a photo to show you the "before", but I forgot.

Anyways, I unpinned it this morning and it looks really good. Here is the "after":

The blocking made a world of a difference. It has a professional look now, and a beautiful drape. I have grown very fond of cables, and look forward to more cabled projects. Indeed, it is not as complicated as I had imagined it would be.

You have to be careful who you knit for.

That's the thought I've come up with after much ruminating this morning after a knitting/giving/donating fiasco that left me feeling very hurt and unappreciated.

Perhaps other knitters, crocheters, etc., that may come across this post can tell me how they deal with this sort of thing. I take knitting very seriously when I am crafting a gift for someone. I put a lot into it, as I believe one should. It's like cooking a wonderful  meal for company - it's personal, it's a little piece of yourself, a caring and giving sort of thing.

I've had a busy week and maybe I'm over-sensitive right now because I'm very tired. This is what happened: I stopped by my library last week, to return some knitting books. The librarian excitedly suggested I knit something for the silent auction, and she gestured to a table that had some items on it. Crafts, made by locals. "When's the deadline?" I asked. She said Saturday (which is today).

So, this very busy week of mine was spent doing everything I had to do, and then working on knitting a pair of fingerless gloves. Fortunately I already had the pattern and the yarn from my stash. I could not start working on it until mid-week, and then had to frog it because I made a big error. Suffice it to say, I was up til the wee hours last night (this morning, really). I really wanted to do this. I went to bed late, got up after 4 hours, and this morning - the day of the auction - I finished the work. I was weaving in ends an hour before the library opened.

But I made it in time! I wanted to meet the challenge and be part of this effort to raise funds for the local library, to have my work share the table with other local people's work, to have people take a gander at what I made and say "Hmmm. Maybe I'll bid on that. I kinda like it."

So I package it up pretty with a care tag, and off I go. It was 15 minutes til opening time but I wanted to get there early so they'd have plenty of time to do whatever little arrangement needs to be done. This is a small town, mind you, not the Guggenheim, so I don't need to tell you that my jaw dropped when the librarian (a different one from the one earlier in the week) told me "Aw, you're too late."

"But I just finished them this morning!" I was too tired to be angry. I was just plain confused.

"It looks pretty, too." She said, casting a sideways glance, "There's no more room though. The table is filled." I was trying to form a sentence, but she was already into her work, checking in some books. I mumbled, "Maybe next year-", but my words didn't match my feelings, and she wasn't listening to me anyways. I felt thoroughly dismissed and rejected.

My thoughts were falling apart due to lack of sleep and working with a tricky pattern, and suddenly I felt so hurt that I could not think at all and just had to get out of there. I did a quick look at the table - surely there could be a space somewhere on there to set a pair of gloves - ? There was a lot of stuff, but room could be made, I mean, c'mon! Some items were even draped over the chairbacks around the table. Besides the fact that I was told I had until Saturday to donate-? But I was too hurt to argue, and if she didn't want these lovelies, then she could go fffffffffly a kite!

 The pattern is from "Alterknits", made with Manos (so love love) hand-dyed wool yarn. They are rather plain on top in the stockinette stitch, but the eyelet pattern underneath forms holes to draw lovely, girly ribbon through. Which reminds me, I went out of my way to get ribbon for this project! Grrr.

First Cable Project

I'm working on a scarf for Christmas. I saw the pattern on the pbs show "Knit and Crochet Now!" You can find the free pattern from season 1 (you have to register on their website, so sorry but I can't just give you a direct link to the pattern.) It's from show #105 "Cables Made Easy". This is the knitted cable scarf. They also have a pattern for a crocheted cable scarf.

Cables are easier than I had anticipated! I'm really enjoying making this. Once I'm done, I'm hoping to start making up some simple patterns of my own for more cable-y projects, like cowls and wrist warmers, etc.

(2 balls Moda Dea yarn. Color Raspberry)

My first gusset!!

Well I have completed my first gusset ever! Woo hoo! I had been avoiding glove patterns that had thumbs because I was intimidated by them, but i found a free pattern for manos silk blend yarn, so I gave it a try. It's beautiful yarn. The gusset felt a bit awkward with the M1L and M1R, but I referred to some helpful youtube videos to help me along (it's always easier once you see someone else doing it. written instructions are often confusing), and it all worked out.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Finished Fingerless Gloves

Here they are. One more Christmas gift complete! I think I've mentioned it before, but it is the "voodoo wrist warmer" from Knitty.com, and a very pleasant project.

I have had trouble in the past with having tight binding off. (I also tend to do a tight cast on, but doing the cable cast on seems to help with that.) I found the following method as a good alternative which leaves a very nice raised edge and is very elastic. It is also described as being a good bind off if you are going to be stitching at seams.

See the nice stitch this bind off makes.

To bind off:

K2tog through the back of the stitches. You will now have one stitch on the right needle. Slip it back onto the left needle and K2tog with the next stitch, into the back of the stitches as before. Continue this way until just one stitch remains, then break the yarn and thread the end through the loop and pull up firmly.

Get yerself to Craftland!

If you're in the Providence, RI area, I suggest you check out the 9th annual craft show at Craftland. One of my friends and I visited two nights ago and found many lovely handmade items to be had! We got there when things were fairly quiet, then it got swamped! It was nice seeing such a huge turnout. They had everything there from prints to textiles to ceramics and more. So many goodies!

The blurriness! My camera sucks.

I need Santa to bring me a new camera this year.

Free Owl Calendars at MY OWL BARN

Check out the adorable owl art at Shivani's blog My Owl Barn !! You get to design your PDF calendar the way you like it. IT'S FREE! Pass it on.

Falling Leaves Scarf Project: Finished!

Whew! Never before have i cussed so much while knitting. This yarn, though undeniably beautiful, is light as air and very hard for me to manage. I don't think I'll be rushing to make another lace item, that's for sure.

But I have to say, I learned A LOT from knitting this scarf. Now I can do YO's and K2tog's and PSSO's in my sleep. Repetition is key in learning, and I think these stitches are in my memory banks forever now. And at first I could not understand the pattern - that is, I couldn't read it and understand what would result. At some point, after all the repetition, I understood what was happening. It was really neat.

Falling Leaves Scarf

It sure is beautiful, if I do say so meself. The color of this yarn is stunning, and it is so squishy and poofy and fun to touch. Even better, that's one less thing I have to buy for Christmas! My  mom is gonna love it.

See the leaves falling? Ahhn.

Mr. Biddles hard at work

Falling Leaves Scarf

One of my first projects for Christmas - a scarf for my mom. I saw this photo/pattern and just knew I had to try it. It's so beautiful!! It's from Judith Durant's Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders. Not only am I determined to make homemade gifts for the holiday, but also to be frugal while doing so. This pattern uses a yarn that is priced around $12 per skein, which would be costly if I were to use a scarf pattern that required 3 or 4. So, here will be a scarf made from beautiful fibers (mohair and silk) and is still affordable.

photo of the example in Judith Durant's book

 Hopefully mine will look like this one from the photo in the book, but in cornflower blue (Douceur et Soie is the yarn name). My mother is blond with blue eyes and this blue is close to her eye color. I think it will be very pretty on her.

 I've never worked lacey stuff before, and I'm finding it very frustrating working this yarn which is as light as air. I'm not a very graceful person, so working such fine yarn makes me feel like I've got big meaty hands and that I'm knitting with logs instead of needles. I switched from my lovely but long Brittany needles to my short DP's for easier maneuverability. The scarf is narrow enough to stay on the DP's fine.

 

Another project I'm working on is felting a couple of wool sweaters I bought on the cheap from Salvation Army and sewing at least one pair of gauntlets out of them. I think I will take the scrap leftover and toss together a blankie of some type for biddles because he just loves napping on my pile of felted sweaters!