The Line-Up

I have been hitting thrift shops for the past several weeks, grabbing all the 100% wool sweaters I could find that were of a "winter palette". Soft blues, soft pinks, grays, off-whites. I even scored some great cheap cashmere. It was nice coming across so many vintage sweaters with "made in the u.s.a." and union labels. Quite a few sweaters that are out of fashion, and/or with stains and holes will be able to repurpose themselves in my project.

I have been felting. A lot. Just a note: you CAN felt in a front-load washer. There is a myth it cannot be done. It can.

Only 2 sweaters of the bunch would not felt. I'm not sure how the manufacturers do it, but they can treat wool so it does not felt. There is no way that I know of to be able to tell if the sweater has been made with this process, but since I only ran into this problem twice out of probably what - 40 sweaters - it's not a big deal.

My project is going to involve cutting the sweaters into squares, zigzag stitching them together side by side (not 'right sides together' or overlapping. there will be no seams). Then I'll probably put a backing like a regular quilt. No batting needed.

We'll see how it goes. I'm kinda winging it.

Broomstick Lace

Inspired by the Broomstick Lace Scarf from episode 3-106 of the PBS show "Knit and Crochet Now!", I could not resist giving this old-fashioned approach a try. Very pretty and very fun. The stitch groups are large, so  it whips up pretty quickly.

Right Side:

Wrong Side: (just as pretty as the front)




Don't they look like the ends of peacock feathers?

LuLuBell

I needed to make a little something special for a birthday friend. Who couldn't do with a little fairy godmother? From Kajsa Wikman's adorable "Scandinavian Stitches" book, I found this darling pattern. I had no tulle for the wings, no tiny beads for the eyes, and no polyfill stuffing, but one of the most challenging things about homecrafting is making do with what is on hand. I'm not the most resourceful person, but found some scrap organza that worked fine for the wings, I did a simple stitch for the eyes, and used some scrap wool/pillow stuffing to fill her up. I tossed in some dried lavender for good measure.

There is something particularly "spiritual" -for lack of a better word - about making dolls. I've made a few, and it's not only that they come to life as you are piecing them together, their little characters materializing before you as you go, but if you listen closely to them, they'll tell you if they want a bow in their hair or a flower. They'll tell you if they want flowers on their leggings or stripes instead. They'll tell you if they would like to hold something in their hands or be free. Most of all, they'll tell you whether or not they want a little heart stitched on their butt.

LuLuBell and I have become fast friends, but her home is somewhere else, and she'll be very happy there.

Finished Jovie Hat

Phew! That took a bit of doing but it was worth it. So many lovely cables. I want to use these honeycombs in other projects.

WIP Update Jovie Hat

After 6 inches of K1P1, I'm into the cables. After the first set, I realized that one of the 6-stitch cables goes right to left and the other goes left to right. I'm not sure if this was intentional with the pattern, but I'd like for the cables to be symmetrical (the honeycomb cables on the hat are symmetrical), so I'm going to frog back and change one so it matches the other, and keep them that way for the rest of the hat.

Frogging back to fix a cable mixup like this is a bit frightening. If you run into something like this, Yarnharlot has this spectacular tutorial on how to fix them.

Honeycomb cables:

6 stitch cable leaning R/L

The other 6 stitch cable leaning L/R

Wish me luck!

WIP Jovie's Slouchie Hat from the move "Elf"

Getting a skein ready to make Jovie (from the movie Elf) hat. A very kind person by the name of Megan Ortmann replicated the pattern from the film and posted it on Ravelry for free here. Isn't that sweet?

Lots of cables and my first pompom-to-be (and what an impressive pompom it is!)

Wish me luck!

Mason Dixon Washcloth/Dishcloth

From "Mason Dixon Knitting", by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. These two ladies are so funny, and their books are full of lovely patterns and inspirations.

I had a skein of Lily's Sugar n' Cream cotton worsted, so I took an idea from their book - the washcloth - and inserted a locally, homemade soap in it, tied up with ribbon. A tidy little parcel gift.

Right side:

Wrong side:

Insert soap and ribbon:

Tidy tidy!

p*e*a*c*e

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.