Toothless!

In early May, I was reading my Facebook newsfeed, and someone posted in one of the many groups I'm in (maybe the Handmade group for the area), that they wanted a handmade Toothless, the Night Fury dragon from "How To Train Your Dragon".  The picture they included was a crocheted Toothless, and I quickly searched and found the pattern and offered to do it.  We set a price, she had a deadline for Father's Day, and I got to work.  First thing I did was find a knit pattern.  I was going to crochet it, but there were a few negative comments about that pattern (and the knit one) and I wanted to use one ball of Bernat Waverly, and crocheting takes more yarn. I knew I could make the wings/spikes, etc with a different black though.

Most of it was pretty easy knitting.  The lengthy part is the assembly and stuffing.  The knit pattern involved a lot of little pieces, which many people had done in crochet instead.  The real charm of the pattern was the use of pipe cleaners to add structure to the wings.  They were optional, but I knew they should be done.

 As usual, I was in emotional turmoil as I got towards the end.  One moment, I was calm and sure I was on schedule.  The next minute, I felt hopeless and overwhelmed at all that still needed to be done.

 I was particularly concerned about the eyes.  In the pictures on the pattern, they looked like where I put them.  The pattern said to either take the yarn through the stitches, or to graft the stitches.  I did the gathering up, though in pictures, I think the grafted one looks better and may have changed how the eyes were placed.  I did my eyes with satin stitch, first in the yellow, then over that with the black.

 I liked the eye placement, but it seemed that the wings didn't line up like the pattern's pictures showed.  I finally just gave up and sewed them on.

 The pattern is good, though I found it hard scrolling between different parts of the pattern, since some things were different in the "pipe cleaner method" and the "no pipe cleaners method".

 See, he doesn't have a mouth.  The ones with grafted stitches make him look like he has a mouth.
The head spikes were an issue.  It was hard to find pictures that showed exactly how all eight spikes were supposed to be sewn on.  I ended up crocheting the smallest ones and I think I did the medium ones as i-cords.  While knitting the body (be sure to stuff as you go!), it would have been easy to put a few markers in to help with sewing on the wings, legs, and head spikes.  I got my stuffed animal start with Jean Greenhowe patterns, and she uses markers.

 I thought about doing the brown fin with some suede I had.  It was a bit too light, and well, my studio is in too much of a disarray to bother searching for it.
It was hard lining up all the wings.  I was particularly disappointed in the pattern with the small wings and tail fins.  It didn't tell you how to align them...if the cast on was the lower edge, or what.

There were good pictures of the individual pieces, but there were yarn tails, and I couldn't seem to make mine orientate the same way.  Could be because the yarn tail was from the cast on and was actually under the fin and then the end showed at the top.  Could be because the designer did a long tail cast on and I did a cable cast on (yarn tail would be at opposite ends).

A little text on the picture would have helped.  The fins did seem to be symmetrical triangles, so I did the best I could.  Also, as I was done the sewing in the pipe cleaners, and "wrapping a row with yarn", I used the ends to wrap around the edge stitches for a bit more "oomph".

 The wing tubes.  Well.  I thought, I'm going to knit them in the round.  Then I read, halfway through that the lower end is stuffed and the pipe cleaners are to be inserted.  I tried various ways to stuff it, basically ended up wrapping the pipe cleaners with some soft black fabric and trying to get that in.  Dont' try this shortcut, just follow the pattern, LOL.  Again, some markers on the wings would have helped.  My two wing tubes seemed to be different lengths.  I didn't know just how far along the wing they should go.  And does the wing wrap over the tube?  I just sort of tried a few things till it looked good and secure.

The pipe cleaners...the pattern didn't say how many, or how long!  This should have been included in the pattern!!  The store had only one length, but I bought an assorted pack of colours so I could get both black and brown.  I nearly ran out of the black ones.  And, there are two sewn into the wing tubes, and one is supposed to reach from halfway down the wing tube to the very tip of the wing.  Well, mine didn't.  I had to overlap a second one.

The toes.  I read several of the projects on Ravelry where the knitters had crocheted the toes.  I chained four, then slip stitch in second from the hook and next two.  Ch 4, then again, slip stitch in three.  Repeat twice more.  This created four little toes that sort of looked like black fringe, with a ch1 in between each toe.  Then I sewed it on along the top.

 The leg placement...very hard to see in the pictures, and I went through a lot of Ravelry projects trying to figure  it out.  Again, markers while you knit would be helpful.  In the end, I think they were okay, but like I said, when I was happy with the eye placement, it meant the wings weren't quite the same as in the pattern.

There's those toes again.
One other little detail.  The pattern said to sew around a row of stitches.  That was it for the instruction.  Well, very quickly you realize you don't just follow a row of stitches, you have to angle away.  No biggie, but you know...some people care about good instructions.

I used an entire 100gr ball of Bernat "Waverly".  The sewing on the pipe cleaners and over sewing the rows took a lot of yarn.  In fact, on the fins and tail I used other yarn, and also for the claws.  I wish I had done all the over sewing and sewing the pipe cleaners with a different yarn.  That would have given a bit of nice detail.  I also think that it needs the back "lumps".  Since it was stuffed as it was knit, it was hard to get an idea of how much yarn it really used.  I'm going to say 150grams.  I had a lot of little ends snipped off since it was annoying to use long lengths of yarn for the detail sewing.

Yarn In:  5493gr
Yarn Out: 150gr + 2040gr = 2190gr
Balance:  3303 gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $307.72/188days = $1.64/day

Cleaning Time

I was looking in my "hibernation drawer" (that place projects go when they need finishing up, but for what ever reason, I just can't/won't do it at the time), and came across a grey pixie bonnet that already had the ends woven in and the top grafted, and it jut needed ties.  I also found a chunky cable cap.  I'm not sure why it was in there.  I don't even know if I've already shown it.  I don't care, I'll count it again, LOL.  I take my weights after an item is fully done, which means all the ends that get trimmed off don't get counted.  This hat makes up for that (if I have already counted it) LOL  (Edit:  I apparently did count this last year, but I'm not going to change this year's totals).

 Sorry the pictures aren't awesome.  Took them with my iPad so I could get them online quickly.  The black cap took 49gr, so a 50gr ball of Shetland Chunky would make up to the 12 month size.

Back last fall I was making a grey set for a photographer, when I realized near the end of making the pants that the two yarns I used were not quite the same dyelot.  And it showed.  I opted to dye some Patons Lace in grey and start again.  I had plans to take apart the hat (all that was left was the chin ties) and pants, and use the different dye lots in a more "artistic" way, LOL.  I can't find the pants now though!  I posted the hat in a photographer's group on Facebook and sold it pretty quickly.  I wish I had asked for more, but I just didn't want it hanging around like all the other items I haven't sold!  This little thing weighed in at 20gr.  A real big spender LOL.

Isn't that precious?  Photo courtesy of Johannah G Photography!

Yarn In: 5493gr
Yarn Out: 69gr + 1971gr = 2040gr
Balance:  3453 gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $307.72/187days = $1.65/day

I Did It Again

My middle child, Lucy, wanted to make her music teacher a gift.  Mrs. S has been at their school for a long time (much longer than Lucy), and last year, due to a split 6/7 class, some grade 6ers got to learn an instrument.  It was successful, so she introduced instrumental music to all grade 6ers this past school year.  Lucy was in grade 6 and trumpet was chosen for her.  It was a bumpy ride in the first few weeks as Lucy adjusted from a spoon-fed curriculum to a self-lead curriculum ("all the knowledge you need is in the paragraph at the top of the page.  Read it"..."I don't want to read it.").  Once she got the basics of notation and pitch, she was off to the races.  In the spring, she got asked to join the jazz band, which is mostly grade 7 & 8.  It was a definite challenge, but she tried her best.  She searched Pinterest and came up with the idea of a letter S, decoupaged with music, on a plaque.  Off to Michaels' we went.  Picture later, it's on the iPad and I can't seem to use it for blogging.

Of course, I had to check to see if they had more of that reflective yarn, and indeed, they did!  And a few other yarns.  It appears Patons Lace is either discontinued or not going to be carried anymore :(  I picked up another couple balls, even though I knew they didn't match the dyelot I already had.  There was a LOT of the turquoise, which is gorgeous, but I have a large unlabelled skein of turquoise laceweight that I bought at Value Village, and I wonder if it might be one of the mystery skeins Spinrite sells at their tent sale.  I should do a burn test. There was also some other really nice yarns.  And, I had a coupon, though it didn't apply to clearance items.

Anyway.  590gr of yarn.  That reflective yarn is heavy!  100gr is only 88yds, compared to 70gr of Patons Lace that is 344yds.  And today I have to go pick up a couple more balls (uh, like 5) to work on that copy cat sweater.  $23.65

Yarn In: 4903gr + 590gr = 5493gr
Yarn Out:   1971gr
Balance:  3522 gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $23.65+ $284.07/ = $307.72/184days = $1.67/day
Still to come:  chunky cable cap, grey pixie bonnet, red and white bottle holder, Toothless....

Is It Summer Yet?

Here in southern Ontario, summer seemed to be taking forever.  Winter was very long, we often still had mitts on at the end of April, and there were some chilly days at the start of May.  We'd get one or two nice days, and then chilly again.  Now, we seem to have entered storm season--frequent threats of thunderstorms, sudden downpours, humidity, and even tornadoes.  I'm not sure what summer will be like, but I'm sure it will involve drinking water.  And what better way to do it than with a stylish water bottle holder?  Keep your hands free and never lose your water bottle again (okay, we won't mention how I hung my holder off the cup holder in the dark theater on our cruise, on the last morning while waiting disembarkment, and then forgot it...).

I recently found the water bottle holder on the far right in my "knitting junk drawer".  I pulled it out, and saw it only needed the strap sewn down (well, after pulling it out of the drawer, it needed a few more rows on the strap) and ends woven in!  Got it done, and all my in stock holders went for a photo shoot.  The holder on the right weighed in at 40gr.  Not a big user of yarn, but it can be a good stash buster.
I have posted pictures of all my in stock holders to Pinterest.   Please go have a look and consider following me.  I'd really appreciate it!

Yarn In: 4903gr
Yarn Out:  40gr + 1931gr = 1971gr
Balance: 2932 gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $284.07/176days = $1.61/day

Lilac Sunset

Way back in September, our neighbour, Matt, told my husband, Rob, that his wife Katie was pregnant and due in early May.  I appreciated the early notice, LOL, but that did nothing to help me get a gift done in time.  I justified it by saying it was already warm out and the gift was more like 3-6 months size!

I had no idea what to make.  Katie and Matt are young, modern, hip.  I wanted something a little nontraditional, but still "sweet".  I opted to choose a vintage sweater pattern, and make it in a modern, bright combination.  Originally, I wanted a grey or black for the solid colour, but nothing was working out.  I found this Loops & Threads "Graceful" back in late March and paired it with Patons "Sequin Lace" in violet.  Everything was going good with the sweater, though I had already missed the birth when I noticed a huge error with the first sleeve.  After that, it was smooth sailing. 

I wanted to use up all the purple, and thought some solid purple booties would be nice, and somewhat practical.  They turned out a little big, so I made a smaller pair in the Graceful yarn.  Wish I had a close up picture of that.  These booties are done in Brioche stitch, and in a solid colour, that's nothing interesting.  In a variegated though, it's rather neat.  I've made these before, so I won't get into the details.

 The hat.  I knew it had to be sideways, and it was going great, though my calculations seemed a little off.  I had to fudge the last wedge to get a bit more width.  Since it seemed short, I picked up around the edge and added a ribbed band to keep it snug.  That wasn't enough.  I wanted a solid picot/scallop turn back brim, with the idea that the bright colours would peak out through the large hole in each scallop.  It didn't quite turn out that way, but it's still sweet.

Part way through the sweater, I wasn't happy.  It took a bit, but I realized that the colour changes were way too short in the "Graceful".  I had wanted long changes, so it was a subtle shifting of colours.  The ball looked like that would be the case, but it wasn't.  However, I had gone too far to turn back.  Oh well.

The set got finished and gifted one day when she was outside with little Mia.  By not getting it done in time for the birth, I was able to add some lilacs from their bush, and some from our bush :)

Yarn In: 4903gr
Yarn Out:  119gr + 1812gr  = 1931gr
Balance:  2972 gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $284.07/174days = $1.63/day

Well, those calculations are a little off, since I popped back over to Michaels' and they still had some of that reflective yarn in the clearance!

Finally!

I have been working on two pairs of socks for a looong time.  This pair, I don't know when I started, but according to this blog, the last pair of socks I finished was April 2012, so it was probably after that.  Last summer/fall I lost the second ball of yarn, and with my TracyKM Designs doing well, I just left the socks to simmer. It was located in mid-January, and I got going on the socks again, as my portable project.  I finally got them finished yesterday.  Though I wonder if they're too short.  I'm just done.  I've had this yarn forever (probably 12 years), and it's time they were done.

 They were started toe up, two at a time on one circular, and I had trouble getting the size right so I increased a few stitches on the last row.  Then I remembered I wanted some ribbing, but I had already done the toe.  I opted to start ribbing in the middle and gradually build it outwards.  However, between the extra stitches, and the switch to rib, the toe looked rather odd.  Bulbous.  I knew the ribbing would stretch out fine, but the toe seemed bulky.  But I kept  going.  Did a Fleegle heel, carrying an inch width's of ribbing up the back from the bottom of the heel.  As I went up the leg I increased at the back and incorporated the stitches into ribbing.

I decided when they were done to re-do the toe.  Snipped a thread, and ripped out a row, then back a couple rows to get to the wonky bit at the start of the rib.  It was annoying, since I had to thread the yarn through the stitches that had been increased.  Then I realized...I had to make sure to centre the ribbing again.  I thought I had it, but I guess this one was a little off.  It took me a couple tries to get the toes just right (they kept ending up too short), but they fit much better now.  And, no surprise, I have yarn left over from the toes--in fact, one whole toe's worth!  I actually have 29gr left from the pair, and since the balls were 45gr, the pair is only 61gr (I was hoping for closer to 100gr).  Which means, I could possibly make a pair of anklets?  I'll have to see how this yarn feels once it's washed.  It's a little stringy now.  The yarn is Lang "JaWoll Color" superwash.  It comes with a 5gr tube of matching reinforcement thread, which I didn't use.

Yarn In: 4903gr
Yarn Out: 61gr + 1751gr = 1812gr
Balance:  3091 gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $284.07/168 days = $1.69/day

It's For Safety

I don't have a whole lot to post since I'm working on a stuffed "Toothless", the main dragon from "How to  Train Your Dragon".  I finished up the "Lilac Sunset" set for the neighbour, and will post that hopefully tomorrow (that's a "tomorrow" in Tracy language...could be Friday for all I know LOL).  But I want to keep up to date on yarn purchases.  I've done really well with not buying yarn; the last yarn I bought was May 2, I believe.  But I needed pipe cleaners for this dragon, and I didn't have cash so I didn't want to put $4 on Visa...so I HAD to buy yarn.  Right?

Luckily, they had some good yarn marked down.  I picked up a few balls of Red Heart "Reflective" in grey and teal.  I liked this yarn because there is a plied strand of reflective thread.  Previously, Bernat had made a glow in the dark yarn that was neat, but like all glow in the dark items, it needs to be "charged up" and then lasts only about 30 minutes.  This Reflective yarn is like the material on coats and shoes.  When light hits it, it shines (reflects the light).  My husband often walks the dog after dark, so I was thinking of using it as a cuff on a hat.  The yarn, a 100gr, 88yd ball, was regularly $7.99!  I got it from the clearance bin at $3.99.  I see on Ravelry there was an orange colour.  That would have been great to get, but there was none at the store.  It looks like one ball will be JUST enough for an adult hat, but I think I'll use it just for a brim.  I like the dog coats made with it, but our dog is huge and I don't think he'd wear a dog coat.  Maybe I'll make him a bandana, or even just a little tie for around the leash.  I'd make a poop bag holder, but hubby refuses to take poop bags since the dog never poops while on walks.

I also got two balls of Patons Lace Sequin.  I love this yarn.  I got "amber" which is just a beige colour; I've used it before (the Zen Gnome hats).  I only got two because there was only two of one dye lot.  There were some other colours but mainly a turquoise, and I have quite a bit of turquoise yarn already.  I'm thinking I'll use this to make a drapey cardigan for myself.  Even though what I need is a black and a white cardigan LOL.

Wow, just looked at my receipt, and the Reflective yarn was actually $2.99.  Wish I had gotten more :(

Yarn In: 440gr + 4463gr = 4903gr
Yarn Out:  1751gr
Balance:  3152gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $19.15 + $264.92 = $284.07/160 days = $1.75/day

You're NOT my Pal...

Not exactly knitting related, but it is related to a knitting order I did.  The client suggested I use PayPal to pay for a shipping label on her package.  She said she usually saves $3-$4 on packages.  I thought it seemed handy, to be able to print my own postage and not have to wait at the post office outlet.  I went through the process, and my savings were going to be $1.20.  Yeah, not much.

However, when I tried to print the label, it was SO tiny, it was unreadable.  I tried Chrome and IE.  Nothing worked.  I finally gave up and cancelled it, and filled out the form for a refund, on March 25.  I went to the PayPal community forums, and found out others had been having this issue.  PayPal said it should take 15 days for a refund.  Many waited longer than that.

Well, I'm still waiting.  I've sent in complaints, and I got this wonderful letter back:

 You'll have to click on it to get the Picture Viewer to open.

Yeah.  Really, PayPal?!  I sent an email back shortly after, but no answer.  So, I sent another one today:

How lovely for PayPal that it can hide behind the screen and just give lip service.  I'm sticking with etransfers as much as possible now.  My other big peeve with PayPal is that if you have a balance in your account, and want to buy something, you have to use your account balance.  I just had a purchase, and I didn't have enough.  I clicked the button to say to charge it all to my Visa, but it still took the option of taking all funds first and putting the rest on Visa.  However, my account page shows a negative balance?!  I have in the past, signed in as a guest so I could pay by Visa, but I remember there was some difficulty...I had to use a different email or something.  Sigh.

Intuition

I KNEW something was off.  I couldn't quite figure it out because I was sure I had followed the pattern, and I had done the pattern before, so surely, it must be right.  I couldn't put my finger on the problem, so that must mean there is no problem...I looked this way, I looked that way.  I kept knitting. I was thinking of sewing up the sleeve seam, and if I had done so, I would've spotted my error.  Instead, I just happened to lay it out in such a way to see my mistake.

It's had to explain.  You're working sideways, starting at the front edge.  To make the sleeve, you leave some body stitches on a holder and cast on the same number.  It connects up at the yoke, that continues around at the shoulder.  To finish the sleeve, you cast off the stitches that were cast on, and pick up the body stitches that were left on a holder.

  I kept looking at the back and thinking it was short, since I was sure I was making this a bit bigger than the pattern.  I looked closely.  Previously, I had only examined the front, which was right, so I had ignored the back, where the problem was.  Ugh.

When I casted off, I casted off all the sleeve and lower part of the yoke, right up to the purple part.  That meant the stitches that were supposed to be over the shoulder, in the multi yarn, were now from the body, meaning the body was suddenly about 10 sts too short across the back.   You can see how the front part, underneath, is longer than the back part (the lower edges at matched up).

I had to rip back to the arm.  I was already disappointed by the multi coloured yarn...the colour runs were much shorter than I expected so the stripes were a little too blended.  I almost ditched the whole thing.  But no.  I'm plugging on.  Baby is getting bigger every day, I must get it done!

Too Long!

It's taking me tooooo long to get things finished, photographed, weighed and blogged!  It's been rather busy here, lots of little things that take up small chunks of the day but stop me from really getting into projects.

I had a comment from a high school friend, one of those "I'll have to get you to make something for a new baby..." types of comments that usually don't pan out.  However, this time, it did!  She sent me some photos of what she'd like (thanks, Pinterest!), and I got to work.  First up, the baseball hat and high top bootees.  The big issue with this is that the baby is due in July, so she wanted 3month bootees, and 6 month hat.  The bootee pattern gave measurements, not sizes, and well, I never bothered to figure out what the length meant in months....and I didn't even check my gauge, though I did check the finished length and it was what it was supposed to be.  The hat...look up 5 size charts for 6 months, and you'll get 5 answers.  Then, there's negative ease vs actual headsize.  Knitters tend to use negative ease (knit it smaller than the head measurement), and crocheters tend to use actual head measurement (maybe cause crochet is not as stretchy?).  So, I tried to take an average.  Plus, this isn't really a "winter" hat, so it could really be worn from fall to late spring (this year....May....).  Then I thought, really, there should be bootees to match the hat size!  So I had to make another pair.  She requested blue for the original pair and I opted for red for the larger pair, to match the hat.

Lucy says I have to add black stars to the white circles.  The pattern doesn't show that, but most on Ravelry do.  108gr.

The other item was a cream coloured blanket in an Aran pattern.  Very chunky; my zoomed in picture revealed only about 44stitches wide.  The info with the picture said it used several strands of an organic cotton.  I knew that would be heavy.  It turned out to be much harder than I thought to find a bulky cotton blend.  Even a worsted blend was hard to find.  Even a DK blend....I knew I could use a cone/super ball of Handicrafter (Peaches n Cream), but knew that'd weigh a lot.   Finally, at a LYS, I found Sirdar "Click", an aran weight, in cream.  It was part wool, part acrylic, and the right colour.  I was tired of looking around.  The price was higher than I wanted, but I bought 8 balls and got started.  I could copy the original pattern quite easily, swatched it out and cast on 48 stitches...4 strands on 12mm needles.

A few rows later and I determine it's going to be too wide, so I dropped down to 42 and start again.  One thing I did was a crochet cast on, I like how it looks (but I couldn't find a matching cast off).

I knit almost all 8 balls, and could see, I was really going to need 2 more.  At least.  And that would put me over budget.  And, I didn't like how the edge curled in, and I didn't want to use up yarn trying to steam it out.  If I was going to crochet around the edge, I'd need even more yarn.  And, I was missing a cottony feel.  So, I begged my husband to take me (and the girls) to Len's Mill in Toronto.  I used to go to the one in Guelph (Ontario) all the time when we lived in Orangeville, but this Toronto location---the drive totally scared me, and indeed, it was tricky getting there (and back!).  I knew they carried Bernat Denim Style, which had an appropriate colour.  I picked up 6 balls...cheaper than the 8 of the Sirdar.  I casted on before we had even left the parking lot, LOL.

This is a super quick way to knit a blanket.  I would have liked circular needles though, and not such "sticky" needles, but still, it was over quickly.  And I loved the new version.  I would totally make this again.  I had a fair bit of two balls left over (I was using two balls at a time, both ends of each ball), so it could have been bigger even (okay, maybe by only two stitches wide...but still, at that gauge, two stitches is a lot!). 525gr.

I'm not sure why I took this picture, but I kind of like it:

I think the sideways shots of the details is neat too.  Non-Knitters don't know the knitting is "supposed" to be vertical.

Mmmm.  Why didn't that turn up sideways?  Interesting...in trying to find a way to rotate it (how many times has Blogger rotated pictures that weren't supposed to be sideways?!), I see a way to add info to the properties of the picture.  I had, at that moment, the idea of calling this the Charmaine Blanket!  That's the name of the friend!  Anyway, turn your head sideways to see  the effect I was intending :)

I didn't really want to be left with two partial balls of Denim Style.  I was going to knit a simple teddy, but I have that complex teddy pattern I love, and I just can't do simple now.  I dug out a free pattern for a stuffed star toy and got started.  Then thought, why do we knit two sides and sew them together?  Can't the points be made with short rows?  Tried that, and it didn't really work.  So, I cast on the width of one point, times two (both sides) with waste yarn, and knit the point circularly, from the tip.  Repeated for all five points, joined one side and knitted the centre portion. 
Which looked terrible.  It was so pouffy!  It didn't lay flat at all.  I thought a bit of roundness would be acceptable, to make it stuff nicely, but this was crazy.  Ripped the centre back and did the decreases on every round (except for the first couple rounds where I kept them at every other round).  I don't know if it was doing it all as knit, instead of one row knit, one row purl, or what.  I also didn't really like doing the decrease as a purl stitch, so I changed that.

While doing this meant no sewing, just the ends, it was fiddly (I expected that though).  50gr. I had to stuff it before finishing, and I noticed there seemed to be a crease where the points met the centre. I didn't want to stuff it too much though, I like floppy stuffies for babies.  I also forgot to put in a squeaker :(  And, I still have quite a bit left.  Guess I'll have to knit a ball now.  I was thinking of doing a mini blanket, so that on those days the big blanket is being washed, or is missing, or not practical, baby could still have the same feel.  But I think I'm blanketed out now :)

Yarn In: 4463gr
Yarn Out: 683gr + 1068gr = 1751gr
Balance:  2712gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $264.92/136 days = $1.95/day

Come Back Soon!

I still have nothing  to show.  If you follow my facebook page, you've been seeing sneak peeks of the projects I'm working on.  If you follow my pinterest page, you've been seeing what else has been keeping me busy.  I'm working like crazy to finish up a large custom order and also small set for my neighbour that had a baby last week.  No, the baby wasn't a surprise.  I have no excuse.  Scary thing is, I thought, according to my gauge swatch (yes, I did one), that the sweater would be about 3-6 month size...but yet, it looks tiny.  Could be because I live in the land of giant kids, I don't know.  And, it's not turning out quite like I expected and I have to really refrain from ripping it out.  It's getting done, slowly but surely. 

I have bought yarn though.  Three balls of Patons Lace (85gr x 3=255gr)  in the pink/brown colour...it was on clearance (almost all the colours were) for $3.99/ball ($13.53) .  I have plans for a waterfall cardi for myself, but I don't know if it's too sweet and delicate.  I also bought 10 balls of Sirdar Snuggly DK ($62.15) for a custom order.  I have no plans to buy more yarn for awhile, and am staying out of the stores! 
Oh, good grief.  I'm trying to update my totals, and I see in my last post I suddenly started using yards.  I was wondering why I was doing that when the red cardi I have to show (and reknit) is from a yarn with no yardage...

Yarn In: 755gr + 3708gr = 4463gr
Yarn Out: 1068gr
Balance:  3395gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $75.70 + $264.92/128days = $2.07/day

Hello!

I really have nothing to show!  I have several almost finished projects.  I had an almost finished baby blanket I ripped out.  The Peep I was crocheting...just a puddle of yellow.  Quickly made a red Bill King "Waterfall Jacket" on the Singer 327, but it's huge and will get ripped out.  Ripped out a red tank I had made eons again on the Singer 327 but had never finished (it needed the side seams sewn and armhole trim--I had already done the shoulders and neckline!).  Ripped out a red stole from Sept 2014 that I was never happy with.  Working on a vintage baby sweater for my neighbour.  Searching still for a yarn for a custom sweater.  Trying to get my Pinterest active (go follow me, if you haven't!  Tracy Mainwaring and also TracyKM Designs).

I really need to update the yarn totals!  A little sad, since some of the yarn I bought, I won't be using for the intended projects, but can't return it now.  Oh well.  It's been a cheap year so far (though that matches my lower income too).  I hope I get everything listed here!

Michaels':  2 skeins Red Heart Super Saver, 195grx2=390gr;
                   1 skein Patons Lace Sequins, 70gr
                   $13.30
The Wool Queen:  8 balls Sirdar "Click", 400gr
                    5 balls Sirdar "Escape", 250gr
                     $62.05
Len's Mills:  1 ball James Brett Marble Chunky, 200gr
                    6 balls Bernat Denim Style, 600gr
                    $45.69

I also got two items for taking apart for their yarn, but they're not yarn yet, so I'm not counting them.  Also got a big stack of old Knitter's Forum magazines.  This is the magazine the Canadian knitter's guild used to publish.  I'm actually in a picture in one!  I'll show it later :)

Yarn In: 1910gr +  1798gr = 3708gr
Yarn Out: 1068gr
Balance:  2640gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $189.22/120days = $1.58/day

Anyone want to buy 864yd of Sirdar "Click" in a creamy colour?!  While my numbers went way up, I'm still less in the yards in then last year (a bit higher in costs though).  And I'm down in yarn out, but this blanket I'm doing right now will bring that up significantly.

Peep!

With a few projects at Christmas, I came to realize I really had no acrylic bright yellow or orange yarn.  You don't often need large amounts, but when you need it, it's kind of hard to substitute something else.  I just picked up 174gr skein of something that looks like Red Heart Super Saver in bright yellow, from Freecycle/Frugal Mommy.  I intend to make "Peeps", those strange, marshmallowy Easter treats, vaguely shaped like newborn chicks.  I found a couple free patterns on Ravelry, and started one, though I'm not happy with the pattern writing, or design...but I'm not done.  Other things are getting in the way.  Anyway I need to add the yarn to the totals.  And, I have other yarns to add, though it looks like I'll be returning some, so I'm going to wait on that.  Nothing new that's finished, though there's still a rose bonnet to post about. 

Yarn In: 174gr + 1624gr = 1798gr
Yarn Out: 1068gr
Balance:  730gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $68.18/105days = $0.65/day

Now For Something A Little Different

Just for fun, go ask your friendly local knitter if she'd make a pair of gloves for you.  She'll respond one of two ways:  go pale, avoid eye contact, and shuffle away, or start laughing uncontrollably.  I did go through a glove phase a couple years ago when I learned to use my ribber on my standard gauge machine.  I'm not fond of thicker gloves (did do a few pairs with worsted, years ago), so I thought doing them on the machine would be awesome.  Well, you still have a crazy number of ends to weave in!  One at  the start,  pinky tip, start of ring, middle, pointer and thumb, tip of pinky, ring, middle, pointer and thumb.  That's 11 ends to weave in, if you don't have any change of yarn anywhere.  And it's fiddling weaving in---between fingers, at the tips of narrow fingers...

A few years ago, my mom got a new winter coat, with two shades of "navy" and a dull yellow.  She had been trying to find some navy gloves, but nothing looked right.  I tried a few shades of navy that I had, but nothing looked right either.  I did however, have a couple balls of Patons Decor in a "maize" colour that looked good.  One of those odd colours--it's not beige, it's not yellow, it's not cream...I found a free pattern for gloves in worsted weight and got going.  The colour below is terribly off.  I'm not sure if it's the colour called "Aran" because it's much more yellow than what I think of for aran yarn.

Didn't swatch.  LOL.  I thought it was odd the pattern called for 3.25mm needles.  The pattern calls for alpaca though, which can be very lofty and knit with smaller needles.  Patons Decor...not so much.  I did the ribbing in the small needles, then gradually worked up to 4mm, maybe a 4.5mm (I was working two at once on one circular till I got to the fingers).  I thought the thistledown pattern would bulk up the backs of the hands, but I'm not sure, it's kind of hole-ly.

I got them in the mail last Friday, April  4, and although it's April, I knew they still had a lot of snow!  Haven't heard a response yet, but then again, I'd need to be home to hear the phone LOL!

Yarn In: 1624gr
Yarn Out:  75gr + 993gr = 1068gr
Balance:  556gr more brought IN than out
Cost: $68.18/1001days = $0.68/day

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!