Yes, Another Pair

I love it when a client refers someone new to me!  I got a request for another pair of felted clogs, this time in an 8.5/9 though.  I used a variegated yarn (Classic Wool).  I started the inner sole with one strand bright pink, and one strand of the multi.  Then when I got to the body of the clog, I used two strands of the multi, but realized after a few rows that I should be matching up the colours on both strands.  Sometimes, this meant cutting a bit of one yarn as the colours started to not match up after a few rows.  I did the outer sole in dark brown, with "no bumper".  On the second clog, I ran out of bright pink on the inner sole, so for the last row I used a purple with the multi.  For the cuff, I didn't worry about matching the colours of the two strands, hoping for a slightly different look than the body.

When I started these, I thought I had 9mm needles, but couldn't find them, so used the 8mm which is what I knew I used to use.  I was just about done when I found the 9mm ones.  I was a little worried, because this meant I was knitting a bit tight, and the 8.5 size is kind of in between two sizes.  I did try to knit loose, but somehow, when I set them out to take a before picture, one was smaller than the other!!

I felted it a little less, and stretched it a lot!!

 

Yarn In: 1624gr
Yarn Out:  175gr + 818gr = 993gr
Balance:  631gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $68.18/100 days = $0.68/day

Bits and Bobs

After creating all those hearts, I got thinking about other small items.  At about 3gr of yarn each, they don't use much yarn, LOL, but the impact is pretty high.  I had thought last year, of creating a broach for each month.  Something that could go on a lapel, or hat, or even a purse, keychain, or rearview mirror.  Whatever.  My next item after the heart was shamrocks.  I gathered my green worsted weight yarns and started.  I found only one free crochet pattern (I just found another one, very similar though). 

I also tried it for a four leaf clover.  The kids declared it ho-hum and not worth the "extra" work.
All together, I made 6 clovers, though one seems to have disappeared (the one made in a different shade of green).  I'm not sure why the colour is funny in the picture above.  It was an emerald green.  Total weight...a whopping 8grams.

I was also getting into the Easter spirit, thinking I could actually start early.

I don't have much in the way of yellow and orange yarns.  This guy just needs an eye and the ends woven in.  I also made a white bunny, but I can't find the picture.  These two guys each weighed in at 0 grams.  Together, with the shamrocks, the total was 9 grams.  It'll take a long time to get through the stash making these LOL!

Yarn In:  1624gr
Yarn Out: 9gr + 809gr = 818gr
Balance: 806gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $68.18/97 days = $0.70/day

Pretty!

My neighbour is expecting her second baby, and this time it's a girl.  This couple is not what I'd consider traditional, but by today's standards, they aren't unusual either.  Think tattoos, black clothes, etc.  Wonderful people and their son is adorable.  When he was born, I gave them a pumpkin hat for Halloween (he was born in early October).  This time, I was a little stumped.  We're not cozy neighbours, but our husbands chat quite a bit when outside. 

When I first started TracyKM Designs, the photographer I was working with sent my an inspiration picture.  I recognize the crocodile stitch booties in a Knit Picks ad a while later.  Recently, I got around to purchasing the pattern.  I thought they'd be a nice modern gift.  I poured over the choices for KP Chroma but couldn't find one I really liked.  Sometimes these modern young people actually do like traditional baby items because it's so different to their daily lives.  I wanted something vibrant, that I could possibly pair with black or dark grey (I was thinking about a little sideways garter stitch jacket too).  Since I was also ordering myself a set of KP Options, finally, I decided to wait on the Chroma and see what I had in my stash, or could find locally.

I finally set off to look.  I was rather disappointed.  The sock yarns had colour changes that were too short.  Or odd colour pairings.  The fingering weight baby yarns were blah pastels.  Or, the colour changes were too short.  I didn' t really want to go to the "real" yarn store though.  On my second browse-through, I found two odd balls in a clearance section, with no prices.  They were perfect! 

"Loops and Threads" Graceful, for $3.99 each.  I chose a ball of Patons Lace Sequin in the dark purple.  Black just seemed too harsh.  I think I will use the vibrant ball on the left.  All three balls came to $14.43!

Now, I just need to finish up some other things :)

Yarn In: 270gr + 1354gr = 1624gr
Yarn Out:  809gr
Balance:  815gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $14.43 +$53.75= $68.18/94 days = $0.73/day

Busy Week

Do you ever have one of those weeks that just has a lot of added stuff?  Maybe it's cause I'm in a band, I don't know, but about once a month I have a week that seems to have extras like doctors appointments, kid home sick, concert, field trip, etc, all crammed together.  Last week was the week.

Now, I can breathe for a moment, but lots lined up over the next couple days too, knitting wise!  I still have to show all the little clovers I made for St Patrick's Day, and another pair of clogs, and an unfinished little chick and bunny, but other than that I've been slogging away at a pair of gloves....and spending way too much time on Facebook after finding a new group called "Vintage Whitby".  Whitby is where I grew up, and this group is for nostalgia purposes only.  Memory lane.  Very interesting, since some of the members are quite a bit older than me!  Hopefully, now that the group isn't brand new, it will slow down a bit.

So, check back in a few days after I get the pictures off the camera and finish the gloves LOL!

Vintage

My dad had been asking for  a knit headband for awhile.  After one more request, I decided it was probably time.  I have a lot of older knitting booklets, especially from Patons (and all their various forms).  I sent him a picture, and he approved it.

Often vintage patterns present unique challenges.  The yarns are rarely still available.  Thanks to Ravelry, it's often possible to at least find some info about them.  Sometimes, basic info isn't in the pattern, or it's outdated.  For this pattern, the needle size was given in the old Canadian or British way.  The yarn wasn't available, and the gauge was given for stockinette stitch, when the item was knit in garter stitch (and I assume, knit a little dense for warmth).  And there wasn't much of a size given.

I found a thick yarn and just got started.  I figured I could adjust as I went, or just re-do if it didn't work out.  It did though!  One strange thing.  The yarn, and old "craft" yarn, felt soft in the skein, but once knitted in garter stitch, it seemed to lose that softness!  I did a BAD job of grafting the start and finish, but I didn't expect him to wear it OVER his hair!  LOL.

I didn't weigh it before giving it to him, but when I got home, I weighed what was left, and basic math says 19gr was used up.  Hard to believe, but maths don't lie, do they?  :)

Yarn In: 1354gr
Yarn Out:  19gr + 790gr = 809gr
Balance: 545gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $53.75/79 days = $0.68/day

Lost My Heart!

I got started on these little hearts a bit too late, but they are cute all year long.

Red is REALLY hard to photograph.  I think that red one is the very first one I made, a different pattern than the others.  I also tried one that uses a magic loop to start, and I didn't like it much.  I did change this pattern slightly.  When doing the single crochets around the outside of the heart, at the tops of the humps, do 2sc in each of the two top most stitches, rather than three in one stitch.  Seems to lay smoother.  I think the very top right heart was made by Lucy.  She wanted to try this, but like whenever she tries anything new, she was really resistant to help and this was a smidge above her crocheting ability.  But once she calmed down and realized I do know a thing or two, she did a great job.

Yarn In: 1354gr
Yarn Out:  28gr + 762gr = 790gr
Balance:  564gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $53.75/77 days = $0.70/day

Heart Felt

I had hoped to reach 200 likes on my facebook page by New Years, just as a nice little milestone.  I didn't quite reach it, but later in January I did, and I held a little contest for either felted clogs or sewn sweater mittens.  Denny, from Sew What? was the lucky winner and opted for the felted clogs. 

Another size 10, pre-felted, compared to my 8.5 felted clogs!

She loves earthy colours, and bright colours, but no pink.  The inner sole is the bright green, and the outer sole is brown.  Hope they're keeping her warm out in Calgary!

Yarn In:  1354gr
Yarn Out:  207gr + 555gr = 762gr
Balance:  592gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $53.75/76 days = $0.71/day

Same Old Story

So, I've had three mitten posts in a row.  Time for something else?  At least until I get finished the gloves I'm working on :)

I got asked a little while ago to donate a raffle prize to a newborn photography workshop.  Of course I will!  I first toyed with the idea of knitting something new, but with the thumb incident, and trying to get the Owl Mitts finished, I opted to get something out of my bin.  I don't have any luck selling ready-made items anyway.  I selected this pixie hat, made from re-purposed yarn.  I wrote about it back in March 2013. I never did make myself a hat or cowl! 

I did decide to make some baby legwarmers to go with it.  I was hoping to do a layering blanket too, in a complementary yarn, but I've changed my mind.

This whole thing hasn't gone smooth though.  I needed to include business cards.  I knew I was getting low, and could only find 10, and needed 20.  I have new designs to get printed up, but hadn't gotten to it yet.  I bought some business card sheets and figured out how to do it, though they didn't line up exactly right, and the colour is a bit dull.  I'm glad I had Hugh help me alter one of the cards a couple months ago so I didn't have to print on both sides.  Though the text is a little small now.  Then, I wanted something to go with the prize, and made up something to print on 4x6 photo paper, since I have a ton of that.  Not perfect either, but hey, I'm a knitter, not a graphic designer :)

Then, packaging time.  Got it all in the Foodsaver bag, vacuumed the air out, and realized the flower pin was right where the stamps need to go, and was really lumpy.  I knew the postal clerk would not like that.  So I snipped the corners and let the air out, then realized I should move it around.  Cut it open, resealed without sucking out all the air.  Finally got to the post office (what a day!) and the clerk could not fit it through the "letter slot" so she said it had to go parcel post, for $12!!  Are you kidding me?!

I took it home, and since I was going through the city where the event was going on, but the organizer lives in a totally different area, I emailed her and asked if she had someone local helping out I could drop it off with.  She said no, but suggested just leaving it at the hotel where it's happening.  I said I would on my way back down, which was going to be  today.

Except that a major snowstorm suddenly brewed up and I decided to leave late last night and didn't want to stop at a hotel with three kids and a dog at 10pm.

So, I'm back to mailing it.  I took off the broach and added some crocheted flowers.  Four.

Maybe the winner will contact me and I can see about getting just the brooch to them.

The hat is already accounted for last year, the leg warmers used up about 19gr.  The flowers came to 21gr  This surely doesn't make up for what I bought while up at my parents...I had to go to V&S Stedman's and they had some new bags in from Spinrite's tent sale!  Got another 5 balls of Patons Classic Merino in the bright green I used in those last mitts,and 5 balls in a mid-blue.  $33.90, 1000gr!

Yarn In:  354gr + 1000gr = 1354gr
Yarn Out:  40gr + 515gr= 555gr
Balance:  799gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $19.85 + $33.90 = $53.75/71 days = $0.76/day

Ditto...

Yes, another felted mitten post :)

My older girl stole my rainbow flip top mittens.  I'm glad she likes them, but I do rather miss them.  She said I could make her new mittens and she'd give them back.  She picked out bright green and purple.  I handknit these ones since my studio is a disaster, and I wanted some handknitting for car rides.

I felted them lightly, but then in the rinse they shrunk a bit more, so my youngest has taken them.  That's fine, because her coat is actually purple, LOL.  But, I still don't have my rainbow mitts back :(

Yarn In:  354gr
Yarn Out:  74gr + 441gr = 515gr
Balance:  161gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $19.85/67 days = $0.30/day

More Mittens

...it's really hard coming up with snappy titles about mittens :)

My brother and his girl were going to keep an eye on our house when we went on our family cruise in January.  Cheryl is a mitten girl; she wears a pair that a relative made for my brother when he was a KID, and I've made her a pair or two that weren't quite perfect.  So I wanted to try again.  This time, she picked out the yarn!

Yes, they are giant before felting.  And yes, that's my Christmas tree; picture was taken January 6 :)

 Cheryl says they could be a little smaller, but wants me to do it cause I scared her when I told her sometimes when I felt things they go from needing a bit more to being way too small, very quickly. 

You can see the density of the fabric now.  When I first  started knitting mitts, I couldn't really fall in love with most of them.  They were fine if you kept your hands in your pockets, but on a windy day, they were cold!  No matter how much wool content the fiber had, no matter how tight you made the gauge.  But with a light felting, there is a huge improvement in the functionality of the mittens.  You just don't want to use too thick of a yarn to start with.

Yarn In:  354gr
Yarn Out:  108gr + 333gr = 441gr
Balance:  87gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $19.85/64 days = $0.31/day

Owl Be Back...

Just a little play on words LOL. 
I got my stitches out on Tuesday, the doctor was rather concerned about the amount of swelling and lack of movement in my thumb (for the story, see here).  Gave me a Rx for a high tech anti-inflammatory that sports athletes use.  See?  Knitting is a sport!! 

Wants to see me in a month to see if I need physio!
Wednesday at work, it was nice to be wearing my warm felted orange mittens again outside!  Then I bumped into the metal gate in the kindergarten yard. 

Oh My Goodness!  Ooowww!

When I got the mitt off, it bled a little, but I could see a 1mm gap now :(  I knew my family doctor would be in the walk in clinic on Thursday, so I got there just before it opened and was 4th in line.  She was so nice, as usual.  She put some steri-strips on, and lots of gauze and tape.  Got to keep the strips on for 48 hours, and keep the thumb wrapped up for 7 days, to protect it from further bumps.  I think it had been pulled so tightly together that the skin was under tension and not quite healed all the way through, so it just pulled apart really easily.  The strips didn't get it right together, but will prevent further pulling apart.

I did start knitting again last weekend.  Loosely, on a mitten to felt.  I don't thing I could do anything too strenuous, and now with it all mummified again, even that mitten might be too much :(

What's with the owl word play in the title?

Back in early January, I created a mitten photo album on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/tracykmdesigns.  My sister in law saw the grey owl mittens I made a few years ago for a friend of Lucy. Her sister loves owls, and has a boy turning three who has been smothered in owls his whole life.  She knew he needed these mitts!  I swatched, and swatched with a variety of navy blue yarns, and ended up with four strands--two of different Kroy sock yarns, another navy sock yarn, and a very fine strand of a cone yarn.  I got the first mitten done, and started on the second in record time (finding the pattern and swatching took longer!).  Then I was comparing the mitts and realized I had messed up on a cable crossing on the first one.  Fixed it and moved on.  I got them both finished, but the ends needed weaving in and buttons/beads found for the eyes.  I knew I had lots of time, and set them aside to work on a prize from a contest on my Facebook page. 

 Then, I sliced my thumb open before I got the owls finished!!!  Ack!!  I waited as long as I could, but less than a week after the stitches, I was finishing them up.  The darning needle kept getting caught in the gauze!  I couldn't fit my thumb into the scissors.  Even once I took the gauze off, I couldn't pinch anything, or really even use my thumb for anything other than a oversized lobster claw.  It took forever to thread the 4 strands of yarn into the darning needle repeatedly, and weave in the ends (I'm a little picky on this job!).  Then trying to sew on little seed beads for the eyes?  I couldn't find a needle that would go through the bead, I just kept having troubles.  Don't want to bore you.

I had looked all around to find a pair of mitten clips with an owl ribbon, but everyone was sold out.  I had a set of fitted sheet clips, so I cut the elastic off two of them, and crocheted a short strap.  Got them all finished and wrapped with about an hour to spare!

These mittens look best with a hand in them, to fill them out because the front side is purl and the palm is stockinette, so the curl in a little.  A dishcloth stuffed inside works just as well :)  They were apparently well received!

Yarn In:  354gr
Yarn Out:  44gr + 289gr = 333gr
Balance:  21gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $19.85/59 days = $0.34/day

I think that's my lowest "per day" cost of yarn since starting this record keeping.  This winter has been very cold, and business a little slow, so I just haven't been out to Value Village or the yarn stores!

What to Do?

Back around Christmas, I decided I wanted a cooler bathing suit cover up.  The one I had made a few years ago was good at covering me up, but it was a little warm in the Carribean.  This one would be more loose, but no too revealing, crocheted with an old yarn by Bouquet, called "Cindy" (80% acrylic, 20% wool).  Over the years I've gathered up a fair bit of it at Value Village, of course, not aLl in one dye lot.  I had made my mother in law a tank top years ago, but nothing for myself.  This time, I would!

I got started.  I wanted it not too open at the bottom, but the hdc I started with was taking too long.  Moved on to dc and a larger hook at some point.  It was moving along, I decreased the number of stitches for some simple shaping round the waist, and a smaller hook, or I changed to hdc, I don't remember for the belly zone.  Larger hook and dc or even tc for the next section?  Then I got that order for the beanie and cowl.

So, I didn't get this cover up finished.  Looking at it now, it seems like too much to bother with, I'm not sure I like the changing stitches.  I still like the yarn (wish it were a bit thicker though), and I still want it as a cover up.  I have some Mon Tricot stitch dictionaries but they use English terms and I get frustrated trying to convert.  I have had some crochet books out from the library with some stitches I might try.  They always seem either not lacey enough, or too lacey, or too complicated.  I'm not usually averse to ripping out failed projects, though there are quite a few small balls in this.  Ugh.

Even though I keep saying I need to work a season/holiday in advanced, I can never get into it.  This can be evidenced by the pile of pink hearts I crocheted before slicing my thumb on Feb 16.  Wait...I think this actually means I HAVE worked a year in advance LOL.

Ooops!

THere's NO knitting or crocheting going on right now :(  To see why, check out my other blog http://www.theothertracykmblog.blogspot.ca/2014/02/we-interrupt-cruise.html  Hope you're not too squeamish!

I did make a whole pile more crocheted hearts before the injury.  Not sure why.  Have a pair of owl mitts almost finished, and some other stuff...

Here's My Heart!

I had wanted to find a little heart pattern for a while, I was hoping some photographers might be interested in them.  But Feb 14 sort of snuck up on me.  A week ago, I did search Ravelry, and found a free crochet pattern I wanted to try, but yesterday, another search didn't show it, and I don't remember which device I was using/where I stored the pattern.  So I tried another one.  Wasn't overly thrilled with it, and tried another one.  Used Red Heart Super Saver and a 5.5mm hook.  It was a little larger and looser than I wanted (but not bad, just seemed not dense enough).  Went down to a 4.5mm hook, I think.  Liked it much better.  I've seen the same pattern on a few sites, so I'll quickly just re-write what I did:

Chain 2. 
2 Single crochets in second chain from hook (or, the starting chain).  Ch1, turn.
2 sc in each of the 2 sts = 4sc.  Ch 1, turn
2sc in first sc, 1 sc in each of next two sts, 2 sc in last stitch.  Ch1, turn.
2sc in first and last stitch, 4 sc on the middle 4 sts  = 6sc.  Ch 1 turn
Sc across row, ch1, turn, repeat.
Slip st in first st, then 5 dc in next, slip stitch in next two, 5 dc in next, slip st in last.  Ch 1. 
Working around outside edge, single crochet in each row, doing 3 sc in the bottom point.  When you get back up to the first "hump", work 3sc in the top stitch, then sc to middle, then sl sts the middle two sts or so, sc up to the top of the second hump, 3 sc in that stitch, and sc back to where you started.

I got my KnitPicks Options needles on Wednesday.  I ordered from www.grandriveryarns.com.  So excited!  I also picked up these three balls of yarn :)  The pink/brown is quite fine.

Yarn In:  156gr + 198gr = 354gr
Yarn Out:   15gr + 275gr = 289gr
Balance: 65gr more brought IN than used up 
Costs:$15.28 +  $4.57=$19.85 /45 days = $0.44/day

Uh....I'll Pass

I like getting knitting books from the library.  Sometimes you get a good one....sometimes you shake your head.  I got a book recently that had a cute hat on the front.  Once I looked closely, I didn't like the hat very much.  And I was very disappointed in most of the patterns....fun fur scarves?  There was one pattern in particular I just couldn't resist sharing:

Why don't you click on that and check out that furry fun up close?  Two randomly placed splotches of fun fur.  Plus the top border.  The tank top itself is fine, why did they mess it up?

First Up for the Year

Right at the start of the year, I got a message asking if I can copy an item from a photo.  I'm of mixed opinion about this.  One, I like a challenge, but also worry that the client wants the item exactly like the picture, which is not usually do-able, and two, I feel bad using someone else's creativity.  Now, I'm not exactly raking in the dough here, but I don't want to take credit for someone else's design work.  However, I LOVE to see how others interpret my own designs, LOL!  As long as I get credit.  Now, if the original is a basic pattern, then I don't feel so bad (and often the non-knitting client has no idea that the item they love is so basic that it doesn't even need a pattern).

This project was like that.  I let her know that I do my best, but sometimes it's not possible to make an item exactly like an inspiration photo, so I inquire as to what they love about the inspiration.  She sends me the photo of a simple beanie with large black button, and a cowl.  The yarn appears to be a grey and white marl (twist).  No problem, but what yarn could I get to mimic the picture?  I googled and researched, and then I enlarged the photo and thought "Mmmm....considering the small crochet stitches (maybe hdc), and that there's only about 33 st around the head, it must be a thick yarn".  Then it hit me...maybe it was one strand of worsted weight grey and one strand of worsted weight white!  I sampled that up, and indeed, it matched the picture!

 

Poor lighting, above, but you can see the two strands of yarn and how they blend. In knitting, this doesn't always work well, as it appears blotchy. But in crochet, it is much more even! I have ideas for more hats now! Even the client thought maybe she'll get some for her daughters.

 

Got started on the hat, it took a few tries to get the gauge feeling good.  Ended up using the hook from Meg's new "Learn to Crochet" kit LOL.  Had to pause until I got her head measurement...good thing, since she was a little over 24"!  Then she said she wanted the cowl long enough to wrap twice, but a little longer than usual since most that she's tried feel a little snug.  Oooh.  Wasn't sure I was going to have enough of the white I was using (Decor).  Ripped a few rounds out and started alternating, one row white Decor (and grey) and one row a different white with the grey.  It all blends in pretty well.

 

Since we were leaving for our cruise very early Friday Jan 17, I really pushed on this set.  The length of the cowl scared me, but I used the largest hook I had and did double crochets, and each row was almost an inch high!  And it was very narrow, 12 dc wide.  I steamed it to make it a little drapier, since I didn't have a larger hook.
I didn't get the "ear to ear" measurement, but tried using a chart, however, the measurement it said seemed really long so I didn't go that long.  It's still too long though, and she asked me to adjust it (I have no problem with that, it was my mistake!), but she hasn't come by any of the times she said she would.  And, she still owes $5 :(

Here's the button, and the completed set.  Maybe I did trebles, and not double crochets in the cowl?  Gosh, I hope I wrote it down, LOL.  I did buy a skein of Red Heart, which I ended up not using.  I'm still thinking I might return it, but then again...a skein of white Red Heart....it's not like it'll go bad, LOL.

Yarn In:  198gr
Yarn Out:  Hat:  95gr + Cowl: 180gr = 275gr
Balance:  77gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $4.57/42 days = $0.11/day

Nice to start the year off with a negative balance, LOL!  Not like last year!

Finally

This is the final knitting project to show for 2013!  I have a couple of unfinished items...a little sideways cable cap, and a giant pinwheel blanket (just needs an edging!).  I also have a sewing project to show, but that can wait.

 I squeaked these ones in, the picture above is from Dec 31 before I felted them.  I bought an orange earflap hat from Value Village earlier in the winter, to wear during my job as a lunch room supervisor, so it would sort of match my safety vest.  But I needed mittens.  My orange is a little dull compared to the  hat, but it's not too far off.  The motifs at the top are taken directly from the hat, the lower band is slightly altered to simplify it.  It was all done in Patons Classic Wool.  I knew the white probably wouldn't felt much, from having made that pillow with Lucy, but I went ahead anyway.

The little rows of blue barely show up.
I wanted flip tops, since I'm always having to help the kids with something.  I was in a rush, and didn't really think them through.  Instead of knitting a topless hand, and then picking up stitches half way down, when I short rowed the one side, I added about 5 rows after increasing back out.  Then, on the non-short-rowed side, I added 5 rows.  Both of these were ribbed.  I thought that would be enough overlap.  It's not bad, but it's not great.  I did sew little velcro squares to keep the flaps down, otherwise they would just open up.  And, not very much of my fingers get exposed when they're open, so really, they don't work all that well, LOL.  They are decently warm though.  Knitted mittens have the issue of not blocking the wind, but felted mittens do that (though maybe not 100%). If I can find some more orange wool, I'll probably try another pair, doing them the right way, then chop off the flaps of these and make them fingerless.  They'd be good over those little cheap stretchy gloves.

Yarn In: 16 153gr
Yarn Out:  93gr + 16 712gr = 16 805gr
Balance:  652gr more sent OUT than IN
Costs: $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day

Really?

Yesterday I got a comment about my machine knit longies pattern/tutorial.  I answered, and wanted to include a link to a  brown newborn soaker I made for a give away/charity auction.  However, in scrolling through my blog, I can't find the post.  I know it's just a small little thing, plain old brown, not very exciting...but still, I like to post about everything I make!

Yup.  Not much too it.  Unfortunately, I never heard back from the winner, to see if it fit, or if she even got it.  I sent another email last month, but no response to that one either :(

This is in Patons Classic Wool, and is based on the Dandelion Dreamer pattern that I've shown before.  I think I handknit this; it's really quick and a nice portable project.  The icord I made on the machine though :)  It is a really easy pattern to adapt to the machine though, the biggest key is figuring out which part of the crotch you're working on, I think on the machine you do the opposite direction on the gusset (and you have to work out how many rows you need for the measurement given in the flap).  Any interest in a more detailed tutorial?

Yarn In:  16 153gr
Yarn Out:  57gr + 16 655gr = 16 712gr
Balance: 559gr more sent OUT than IN
Costs: $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day

"Epic" in Purples

Ever since I made the first Epic hat, in beiges, I had been hoping for a chance to make one in purples.  I finally got the call for one as a Christmas present,  for a four year old girl.  Super excited!

I started with going through my stash.  I plucked out anything in pure white, lilac, lavender, purple and plum.  I didn't have as much as I had hoped.  So, I headed off to Michaels' to stock up.  It takes a lot of yarn to make these hats--not actually for the individual hat (less than 200gr), but a large variety is needed, though only a few yards for each colour (at the start of the hat, about 60" per row, or just under 2 yards, but I usually do more than one row of a yarn).  Each of these hats has been a financial loss, though each one has enriched my stash tremendously, LOL!!

 I got them out and organized them, I used a black backdrop to even out the background and make the yarns stand out more.

 As I played with them (and this wasn't all the yarns I ended up using), I noticed that there were two types of purple.  A bright purple, and a more plum type purple.  I wasn't sure which way to go!  I decided to throw caution to the wind.  The hat is for a four year old who loves purple.  So, all purples shall be in it!

 Got off to a great start, though I didn't have as many bright whites as I would have liked (having used up some on those Santa hats!).  I was trying to be mindful to not have a long white section, but once again, I think I should have shortened it.

 I blended in some grey as I went up, hoping to soften the transitions between colours, and to tie the two shades of purple together.

 Reminds me of snow and ice.  Don't know if you can see it, but there are some tiny little sequins in there!

A little bit of tuck for texture in the plain yarns.  One difficulty with this hat is the frequently changing gauge of the different yarns.  I didn't get it right in the transition between the tuck and the bulky lilac.  Blocking helps somewhat, as does remembering that this was going to a four year old non-knitter :)

 In the end, I quite liked it!  Always love the tassels.  This time, I made it so there was only a little bit of the lighter colours in the inner part, and dark on the outer, to continue the darkness of the tip of the hat.

If anyone is interested in their own Epic hat, I have a stockpile of beiges, browns, greens, pinks, and purples now.  I do have quite a bit of blues too.

Yarn In: 16 153gr
Yarn Out:  122gr + 16 533gr = 16 655gr
Balance:  502gr more sent OUT than IN
Costs: $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day

Next Up

Thanks for the feedback on my last post.  I DO love blogging, and won't stop :)  And I really do appreciate my readers, it really brightens my day when I see the stats.  I just need to know that my readers appreciate my writing and that it's meeting their needs.  It's like being a mom....you make a great meal, everyone eats it up, but no one says anything.  So you don't make it again, or just not often.  Then someone says "Why don't you ever make that awesome dinner again?".  LOL.

I've still got a little to catch up on from last year, before I launch into this year's projects.  On a bummer note, it appears I left a water bottle and it's holder on the cruise ship Sunday.  It was a blue wool one, with an appliqued medallion, one of the first ones I made :(

Was just browsing through my photos, and forgot! about a striped long toque I made as a rush before Christmas!

Pretty much identical to one I made last winter for newborn photography, but this one was for a 4 year old.  I added the flower cause it's been in my drawer for a long time, and I thought it softened it up a little.  Made this on the LK150.  If anyone wants more info, let me know :)

Yarn In:  16 153gr
Yarn Out:  126gr + 16 407gr = 16 533gr
Balance:  380gr more sent OUT than IN
Costs:  $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day

Still need to show purple Epic hat, flip top felted mitts and a sewn mei tai (from August LOL).  New this year, Cheryl's mitts, April's hat/cowl...

Hello?

I know I get about 10-15 views for my "average" pages, and quite a few more for pages that I have patterns (especially linked to Ravelry).  But I have 59 "followers".  Why do people follow a blog if they don't read it?  One-sixth of my "followers" read my blog regularly.  I haven't had a comment since Oct 29.  My most "commeted" month was January, and my post with the most comments?  NO knitting/crocheting content at all :(  All total, last year, I had 24 comments (including at least 4 that had nothing to do with knitting).

I write because I like to share knowledge and writing is an easy way to do that.  It's a great record of what I've created, and hopefully inspires others.

But when you have very little confirmation that others find what you have to say to be of any value...it's really hard to keep going.  At least, with my facebook page, I can get thumbs up (although pictures don't often show up in newsfeeds, and again, the number of real fans is quite low compared to how many likes you have).  Maybe I need one of those little bars under the posts, where readers can click "like/funny/agree/learned something" etc.  How do I do that?

On a positive note, my husband found a missing ball of sock yarn!  I thought it might be in a suitcase pocket, but I guess I checked the wrong suitcase.  I was so down about losing it since I had already started the socks, toe up, and was at the heels when I ran out.

Simple Santa

Shortly after making the Christmas hats for Jennifer, she wanted a simple Santa hat to go with a red basket she turned into a Santa suit. No problem, though the picture she sent had very plush fur for the trim. She didn't want that expense, but she did have the leftovers from a dollar store scarf that she had used to trim the basket. Okay, I can work with that. Then, it really matches! She also suggested instead of a pompom to cover a Styrofoam ball with the yarn.

Is that not the sweetest thing?!
How about this:

Good grief, Jennifer slays me with her beautiful shots. How can 60gr of yarn turn into something so awesome? It's the babies, I tell ya. I need to borrow a few.

Yarn In: 16 153gr
Yarn Out: 60gr + 16 347gr = 16 407gr
Balance: 254gr more used up than brought in
Costs: $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day

Santa Turban?

The lady that ordered the pink and brown dress and hat set, also wanted a red and white Santa hat that could also double as a winter hat.  I had just seen a picture of a little red turban style hat, done in a fine mohair, with a white picot trim.  I knew the mohair wouldn't work as a winter hat, so I went with a thicker red, and found some red Lionbrand Homespun in my stash.

I don't have good pictures of it on it's own; red is hard to photograph and I was in a rush.

 For something so simple, I actually had to start and restart a few times.  The first time I had it going the wrong way and I just couldn't wrap my brain around it.  Then it was too large one time, then too long...basically, cast on for the length you need to go from one earlobe up and over to the other.  Or, cast on half this number of stitches, and double them over the first couple rows.  Knit almost the length you need, then decrease down over a few rows, draw the yarn through the live stitches to cinch up, same with cast on (except it's not live stitches unless you start with an open cast on).  Then I used a fuzzy white to do the picot edge.  I would have liked to use a finer white, but ran out of time.

Here's the precious one wearing it.  Apparently, she was rather fidgety and kept moving the hat around so it ended up sideways.  Cute from the front, but I'm not sure that it would keep her ears warm.  This would be a nice cancer hat, or done in a terry yarn, it could even be a hair towel hat!  It's a very classic style/shape that you don't see very often anymore, but creates a great impact with minimal work.  I would like to do more, perhaps in a soft, fine mohair, and maybe on the knitting machine.  It's pretty much a rectangle after all :)

Yarn In:  16 153gr
Yarn Out:  50gr + 16 297gr = 16 347gr
Balance:  194gr more sent OUT than IN
Costs:  $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day
I just discovered I have one itty bitty Santa hat to show, as well as the purple Epic hat.  I also made another pair of felted mitts for myself, but I'm not sure when I finished them...were they last year or this year? 

A Tale of Two Santa Hats

I'm almost done blogging my 2013 projects!  Looks like I might meet the Yarn In = Yarn Out goal (although, some of the things I've made have not actually left the house, LOL).

One day I got an email from Jennifer saying she just had a client, Heather, who might be contacting me about getting a hat made for her granddaughter.  I LOVE referrals!  Indeed, Heather got in touch with me, wanting  a Santa hat, in dark red, for her granddaughter to wear with striped pajamas at a breakfast with Santa.  No problem, I said, and got right to work. 

I used up the very last of the white I had from the Frosty hat, and for the pompom, since it's not a very stable yarn when you cut it in small bits, I combined it with a plain white worsted.  I like the effect.  Then I started second-guessing the darkness of the red.  It's darker than in this picture.  Not quite "wine", but I wasn't sure...

 So, I made up a second one!  Still not a bright red, it was indeed lighter.  This time I used a strand of white worsted with the eyelash in the brim and the pompom.  When I trimmed the pompom, I tried to trim just the worsted yarn, so that the eyelash would stand out.  I quite liked this one too.
I took both for Heather to pick one....and she picked both!  I love what I do!  AND, she requested two other hats!!
Both these two hats, and the next two, were done on the LK150.

Yarn In:  16 153gr
Yarn Out:  100gr + 92gr + 16 105 = 16 297gr
Balance:  144gr more USED up than brought IN!
Costs:  $378.91/365 days = $1.04/day