The Complete Haul

I thought I'd share the pictures of ALL the water bottle holders I made for the arts sale in July.  Many are still available for purchase!

 Extra large holders

 Medium size holders

 Bottled water sized holders (click on pictures for bigger view)

 Crocheted holders--these are very stretchy and fit a range of bottles.  Some are larger to begin with too.

 Crocheted tote bag

Neck coolers.  The three on the left have very pale patterns.

I really wish I had sold more at the sale.  They're so practical, especially for in the summer, when you're going to outside parties and don't want to lose your drink and you need two hands to carry your food :)
Although I count all finished items as "yarn out", I wonder how much yarn has actually LEFT my house, LOL.  Much seems to just get created into a different shape and stored in a different area!

Yarn In:  10 078gr
Yarn Out:  336gr + 5342gr = 5678gr
Balance:  4400gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $291.79/268 days = $1.09/day

Something for Me!

I've had a hard time in the past while, making things for myself.  I had some great mitts, but they've gone missing.  I've had a few hat failures.  I made a nice black hat last winter, and then a green set in late spring (which is starting to look messy--darn angora!).  I was making some pink socks in a Cookie A. pattern, and ran out of yarn. Nice to see though, when looking back, that I have made completed socks since then.  However, I started some other socks last winter, and the second ball of yarn has gone totally missing.  How does that happen?  I have a machine knit top on hold and a machine knit shawl that is also in time out.  I also have a sweater that is on hold, due only to the fact I need to lay it out and measure.

Every time TracyKM Designs is slow and I start thinking about knitting for myself, I suddenly get some orders.  I used to joke that my kids are like the cobbler's children...everyone else has new shoes except the cobbler's kids.  My kids don't get nearly enough handknit items from me (some don't like them!), and I get even less it seems!

Last Christmas, Tin Can Knits had a special offer to get a free pattern.  I chose "Branching Out" because of it's graphic, non-lacey lace.  I got started at New Year's, and it started out, like all top down shawls, super quick.  I had put the pattern on my new tablet, and found  the ability to make notes on the pattern very helpful.  Though I found it difficult to find the pattern on my tablet sometimes, LOL. 

(I don't know why Blogger is rotating my pictures!!)  This shows it half blocked.

I used Patons "Lace", which is mainly acrylic.  I knew it wouldn't block out a whole lot more, so I knit it at a tension that gave a nice look to the stockinette sections at the top.  I added several (or many!) repeats to some of the charts to add more length.

I chose the yarn, knowing it has long stripes, thinking the graphic design will not be hidden with the stripes.  For the first couple colour changes, it seemed to line up perfect with the pattern changes.  But then of course, as the shawl builds, and the rows get longer, the stripes get narrower.  Near the end, I actually used another ball and started the same colour, so I could get a wider section.

In the end, I'm not too fond of the stripes. I've been thinking of overdying, in a light blue shade.  I just want to tone down the white so that it's a pale blue.  What do you think?

Yarn In:  10 078gr

Yarn Out:  140gr + 5202gr = 5342gr

Balance:   4736gr more brought IN than out 

Costs:  $291.79/265 days = $1.10/day



Chunky Cable Hat

I had an order for the chunky cable hat, from the mom of the baby who's photo shoot I helped on.  She wanted a dark grey, charcoal.  A few of the pictures had her boy posed on this lush charcoal grey fur, and he looked awesome.  I started with some yarn I had, but I wasn't keen on it--it was dark grey, but had quite the teal tint to it.  Like gunmetal blue.  So I went in search of Patons Shetland Chunky in Charcoal, but when I found it at the store, it was nearly black!  I had just made one in that exact colour (but I thought it would be too big for this order).  There was another yarn in the colour I wanted though.

 

Click on the photo to see it bigger!

 

It's a nice little cap, and the boy looks adorable in it.  If you want to see that shot, "like" my Facebook page and see it under "Posts by Others"!  I really want to make an adult version...

 

I'm on the hunt for a grey mohair, and for a cream thick/thin yarn, so I stopped at the Salvation Army today.  Didn't find either, but I got 8 balls of fake mohair in other colours, and a novelty fur in a neat rusty colour.  432gr, for $9.  Newborn prop items take such little yarn, I've really got to get a grip on yarn shopping!  LOL. 

 

Yarn In:  432gr + 9646gr = 10 078gr

Yarn Out:  25gr + 5177gr = 5202gr

Balance:  4876gr more brought IN than out

Cost:  $9 + $282.79 = $291.79/262 days = $1.11/day

 

I still have a large blanket I made early in the year to show, but I wanted to get the machine knit edging on it before considering weighing it and declaring it finished.  But with the chaos in the basement, I haven't gotten to it.  It will definitely bring my "out" total up!  Also, stay tuned for an adorable monkey set, and a new shawl for me!

Water Bottle Holder

Boring title, I know. Sorry.  What more can I say about them?

The one photographer that got TracyKM Designs rolling, requested a water bottle holder for her papergirl, who is always hot but never brings water.  The girl likes pink, and Jennifer wanted something that would help keep the water cold.  I do think my wool holders work better for that than the cotton ones, but I also use a double walled bottle, so I can't do a fair comparison.  I didn't have any wool ones made up, but have quite a few sweaters waiting to be made into more mittens.  I also had this funky fleece that I used years ago to make a pair of pants for Meg.  She also has a water bottle holder with this fleece.

Some people like to carry things cross-body, and some like to carry over their shoulder, and people come in all sizes, so I've been wanting to make an adjustable strap, but the extra cost and time to use buckles/slides, etc doesn't make it worth it.  Then, when I bought some strapping early in the summer, I mis-calculated and ended up with short pieces.  I had an idea for making them adjustable, but couldn't put the time in before that arts sale in July.  Basically, I cut a long strap, and on the loose end, put about 5 button holes.  Then I sewed on a short strap, and sewed a button on.  Added a bit of time, but with using a vintage button, not much cost.  However, most of my vintage buttons are BORING! 

I have found that my wool bottle holders are not really reversible.  On ones done with a woven fabric, I figured it was because it was thinner and not stretchy.  So I wanted to use a fleece this time.  It didn't have a lot of stretch, but still, it just doesn't sit right if turned inside out.  The bottom gets all pouffy.  Maybe there's a different way to construct them...stitch in the ditch around the bottom seam to join them?  I'd need a tiny free arm though.  Perhaps "quilt" the bottom two layers together, but then how to sew them to the sides?  Hand quilt together?  Anyone got some ideas?  I had actually planned to cut the fleece layer a bit bigger than the wool layer, but I think I forgot, and it actually seems the fleece layer is too big.  Perhaps the wool got stretched when I cut it...

If it seems all I talk about/show is stuff for TracyKM Designs...well...it is taking up a lot of my time!  I just got some great orders that are  keeping me busy!!  I do however, have a shawl to show you later this week!!

Bear!

I got a request from Dawn at Hourglass Imaging for a simple but sweet pink bear hat.  No problem!  The picture she showed had a furry band too, but she wasn't fussy about having that if I couldn't do it (time was important).  So I made a removable band.  Dawn didn't think it would stay on the hat as babies are not usually very still.  On it's own, it'll be a nice headband though.

 She sent me a couple pictures too!

I love the pink against the darker skin!  So simple but sweet!  I'd love to make more of this style (but I"m not really into the ones with elaborate faces).

Yarn In:  9646gr
Yarn Out:  32gr + 5145gr = 5177gr
Balance:  4469gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $282.79/257 days = $1.10 per day

Berry Picking Bottle Slings

We went to visit my parents for a few days, and one goal was to go blackberry and blueberry picking (wild berries!  Free, organic fruit!  Yum!).  For blackberry picking, he's taken a 2L pop bottle and cut the top off, and made holes to feed a cord through.  I knew I couldn't have that narrow cord around my neck, so I made a holder for it (could also be used for carrying actual 2L bottles of pop, LOL).

Based on this pattern.

 

This was a little too tall in the body once the bottle got some berries in it, but still usable.

Since my dad had two pop-bottle berry picking bottles, I decided to make a second holder (sling is what we started calling them).  This one, I made the body a smidge shorter, and tried to come up with a way to do an adjustable strap.  I didn't want to have a knot at my neck, and I just couldn't seem to get things the right length. I was also using up some yarn. Not the greatest picture either.

In the long, wide strap, near the end, I made a "buttonhole", then I made a thinner strap which I thread through the hole and tied.
These work awesome for blackberry picking, but not so great for blueberry picking.  Might also be handy for putting clothes pins in for hanging clothes on the line...

Yarn In:  9646gr
Yarn Out:  125gr (aprox) + 5020gr = 5145gr
Balance:  4501gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $282.79; $1.10/day

Minty Fresh

I borrowed a car seat from one of the photographers I make a lot of stuff for, and as a thank you, I knit a tiny pair of mohair pants, to match the Zen Gnome hat.  I knew the hat would look nice with cream or tan pants (and was hoping to get orders for those!  LOL), so I went with the mint colour...something a little different.

The look so tiny to me, though compared to another pair I just made, these look large...I wonder if I can count the rows in the rise...LOL.  I know newborns are tiny though, and it's just hard to remember just HOW tiny!  They weigh only 23gr!!  Look how adorable they are with the matching Zen Gnome hat!  Thanks Jennifer!

I just bought a 1lb Mill end bag that looks like the old Patons "Pooch", but could also be one of the new yarns I saw at Michaels last night, though they weren't in cream.  I'm hoping it's Pooch, which was part wool, so I can dye it.  But Pooch was discontinued a LONG time ago.  And, the Patons website has changed....on the bag, it says "Value Pack" and "Cambridge Fibres Ltd" and has an address in Cambridge (Spinrite is in Listowel), but usually these bags are of Spinrite yarns, and I can pick out what ones they are LOL.  This also says to machine wash, which I'm not sure the Pooch was.  Oh, and I bought a skein of Homespun for an order...

Yarn In: 9022gr + 454gr +  170gr = 9646gr
Yarn Out:  4997gr + 23gr = 5020gr
Balance:  4626gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $271.21+ $11.58 = $282.79/256 days = $1.10/day

Bits and Bobs

I wrote, back in early summer, how I was doing a craft sale for the first time in a long time.  It was an outdoor arts festival in a park in downtown Oshawa.  For those of you not in the area, Oshawa is the home to GM.  It's mainly working-class, around 125 000 people, and like many big cities, the downtown is host to most of the city's disadvantaged folk, due to access to services, etc.  However, there is also lots that is great about the downtown, and this park sort of brings it all together.  The festival offered cheap table rentals, we could pick our own spot, and was supposed to go 10am-10pm.  Well, table handout would start at 10.

We got there a bit early (on-street parking only, not much available...) and picked a shady spot.  Got our table, got everything set up.  My table seemed bigger than the advertised 6ft, but that was good as I had a lot of stuff.  I had been afraid of not having enough, though no one can tell you exactly what that means.

Despite it being a large park, I ended up next to two other knitter/crocheters/sewers.  We had a variety of things between us, but still, I think this put us all at a disadvantage (one also had beaded jewelry).  I had asked the organizers when I booked my spot if they control the number of vendors for each type of "art" and they said no, but there wasn't much else in my field.  We three were not the only fiber artists there, either, but the others were more spread out.

We didn't stay till 10pm.  Sales were slow.  Very slow.  Almost to the point of non-existent.  I did cover my table rental though.  However, I think my kids used all my profits (and then some) at the table with the beaded jewelry.  The woman had a daughter my youngest's age, and they sort of buddied up, and I think her mom took advantage of her daughter and she (the daughter) was constantly coming over to us, showing my girls items and "offering" them "special" prices, and even a couple free items later in the afternoon.  I offered her a water bottle holder to give to her mom.  Her mom didn't want it (?!) and gave it to the girl.  She kept swinging it around and eventually the strap pulled out :(  I did give her another one, but I was getting really annoyed.  Didn't want to have bad karma though...

Anyway, here's some pictures of our booth. 

 I did sell that brown hat on the right!  I was really glad too; I had made it a long time ago and it was too large for me.  It had won a 1st place ribbon in the Orangeville Fall Fair!  I wish I had a better picture of it though.  I sewed a leopard print ribbon to it, and had made a multi-looped bow with long tails at the back.

Had a hard time keeping the "posters" on the posts, the breeze kept sending them floating away.  I tried putting them on these little picture easels I had bought, but even with the (light) cardboard behind the poster, they still were too flimsy.  Click on the picture to make it larger...maybe you'll see something you'd like to buy?  :)

Here's some pictures of a few "pre-blog" items.  If you're interested in anything, let me know!



Newborn crocheted beanie with ruffle trim, $10

Simple newborn cap, $7

Fancy bonnet.  I'm not sure this one is for sale; I think I found the sweater that goes with it and my daughter wore it so it'll be kept (I think I made the bonnet later though).  However, I can replicate it quite easily.  I love making "vintage" bonnets!

3 month sun hat, $10

Mini-work socks!  I always loved making these.  I have a home for these ones, but would love to make more, any size, $20+

I'm pretty sure I showed this hat a long time ago when I was learning to use my Singer 327 with the ribber set up.  Keep in mind that it wouldn't be so droopy if you have hair!  I should find a wig (do have a couple) for my head!  $25

 Close up of the top of the hat

Assorted baby balls.  Not intended for pets--too large for most cats and would be shredded by most dogs.  Not practical to ship, but could be done (FoodSaver vacuum sealing to the rescue?).  $7 each.

Vacation!

I was away again last week, Tuesday to Friday, visiting my parents with my three kids.  Got home Friday afternoon, and now it's Sunday morning and we're heading camping for 5 nights and to the parents for 1-2 nights.  I haven't gotten much finished in the past two weeks (another berry picking bottle holder), and have several little projects that need finishing, but who wants to pack a baby hat that needs 6 rows?  I haven't had much time to think about a new "big" project, but perhaps a complex shawl isn't a smart thing to start right now, LOL.  So, it'll be tiny mohair pants for photo props.

See you....probably not till Wed. Sept. 4 (Tuesday is the first day of school, but it's a short day and The Snowbirds do a fly over at our school, and I have my lunch supervisor job, so I won't be home much that day either!).

Updates

I've been away from home this past week, got home Friday evening and have been SO busy--catching up from being away and getting ready to go away again on Tuesday....then when we get home on Friday I have to recover from this trip AND get ready to go camping on Sunday!  Feeling a little stressed!  I didn't get as much knitting done as I would have liked while away (at my parents' with my kids) because we went wild blackberry and wild blueberry picking, and I had to drive.  Oh well, it's been a bumper crop this year, so it's nice to have some in the freezer!

I figured this would be a good time to update my Yarn In total, since I just bought some more yarn.  Yes.  More.  Sorry for the no pictures, but this just needs to be done quick!

Camo acrylic (Red Heart?), 235gr, $1.99; Bernat Max, 75gr x 6= 450gr, $5.98; total $9.01
Patons Shetland Chunky, 100gr, Some other grey chunky, 100gr; and a beautiful yellow laceweight rayon by Infiniknit; total, $23.30
DGB Confetti sock yarn; one ball partially knitted, 100gr; $3.39
Red Heart Boutique Fizzle, 100gr, $7.90

The Fizzle is neat, I wish I had had it when I made the three "Epic" hats, I think it's what was used in the inspiration photo.  It's really hard to describe.  When I made those hats, I would knit three stitches, then make a chain of about 10 stitches, and join it back to the top stitch.  This gives the same result, but it's more like two plies of the yarn are twisted into a mini-twist cord, at very close intervals along a binder ply.  Does that make sense? 

Yarn In:  1185gr + 7837gr = 9022gr
Yarn Out:  4997gr
Balance:  4025gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $43.60 + $227.61 = $271.21/231 days = $1.17/day

Blue and Fuzzy!

I found this yarn at Value Village (there were some other colours too, but too wild) and knew it should be a simple layering blanket.  However, it took several attempts.  The yarn on it's own, was not enough (yardage) to make a decent size blanket.  Just a little on the short side.  However, the yarn did not like being ripped out, so I knew the last try would be the last try.

I knit one row with the thick yarn, then one row with a thin navy chenille.  Then slid the stitches back to the other end of the circular needle, and knit the thick yarn.  Using the circular needles meant that I could do only one row of each yarn, using one only ball of each (normally you'd have to do two rows to get back to where you left the other yarn).

It didn't turn out square, but it's very flexible and shapeable.  Just give it a shake.  It's SO soft.  I'd like to snuggle with it!

Yarn In:  7837gr
Yarn Out:  82gr + 4915gr = 4997gr
Balance:  2840gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $227.61/225 days = $1.01/day

Yes, I know you're dieing to know what I bought this past week!  I'm dieing to show it!  Right now though, I need to get back to the custom order skull mei tai that I'm making!

Modern Babies!

I've written before on how I love wool diaper covers.  I wish I had believed people years ago, that they actually worked.  When Hugh was born, 13 years ago, I wasn't sewing, and I looked at cloth diapers, but the start up cost was too much (yes, I pointed out how much we'd save over the course of several potential children...).  I didn't really start sewing until the third kid, 8 years ago.  I didn't get into the cloth diapers until she was almost two.  I could have made SO many cute diaper covers!!  Even if I had purchased cloth diapers and sewn my own covers....

Anyway.  Now, I knit them for other people!

Newborn soakers in a grey/soft white/charcoal blend.  Slightly higher in the back to avoid the dreaded plumber's crack.  $18 includes lanolizing (but shipping is extra).  What modern baby wouldn't love a wardrobe staple like this?

Yarn In: 7837gr
Yarn Out: 42gr + 4873gr = 4915gr
Balance:  2922gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $227.61/222 days = $1.03/day

And yes, I know I still have to add some new yarn to the "IN" total!

Creativity

My dad really liked the crocheted water bottle holder I made him earlier this summer.  He likes that it's stretchy and fits different bottles, and that he can loop it around the roll bar of the tractor.  He asked if I could make one for holding spray paint cans, on the handlebars of his 4 wheeler (ATV).  He wanted a short handle.

The body of the holder was easy.  I wanted to do something different for the strap though--something that allowed for easy access and to use in different situations.  I didn't have a 4 wheeler handy either, so I couldn't test anything.  I felt that a simple strap like the water bottle holders would be too loose around the handle bar, even shortened up.  I toyed with a wide strap that folded back over the handlebar, so the holder projected forward--like the water bottle holders you clip over the handlebar of strollers.  But how to attach it?  Buttons are difficult with gloves on.  Velcro?  No way.

I came up with the idea of making short ties, all the way around.   This allows it to be tied many ways--directly over a bar, projecting forward from the bar, even on a belt.  For the ties, I chained the length I wanted, then slip stitched back to the top.  I tried sc back up, but it was too bulky.  While it's tied to the handlebars, the loose ties can be used for holding  a whistle, bear spray, bug spray, keys, trail ribbons, etc.

Yarn In:  7837gr
Yarn Out:  39gr + 4834gr = 4873gr
Balance:  2964gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $227.61/220 days = $1.03/day

Of course, the "Yarn In" and "Costs" amounts are not up to date :)

Let Me Count the Ways

I've been working on a shawl, "Branching Out", since New Year's (okay, a couple days before New Year's).  The beginner went super.  Usually does with top down shawls.  Then I worried that my mixed blend Paton's "Lace" would not block out much, so I added repeats of some of the charts.  I'd work on it for a few days, then get to a new chart, or get an order, or sidetracked somehow, and it'd sit for awhile.  And I have the pattern on my tablet, and although I can mark where I am on the pattern, sometimes I have a hard time finding saved/downloaded items on it.  So, the shawl had been languishing on and off.  We have been having a "staycation" with my husband's American relatives, and that meant driving around playing tourists, AND my youngest's skating lessons are now over an hour, so I thought this would be a good time to get back to it. 

I was starting the very last chart on the weekend.  Because I had done extra repeats earlier, I knew I might have trouble.  However, the previous chart is only a 4 row repeat, and I figured it should actually be easy to start the last chart (figuring each half of the shawl increases by 2st every RS row, so 4st over those 4 rows, and the new chart had a 12 st repeat).  I started the new row 1, but it didn't seem to line up right with the previous row.  The previous chart was only a 4 st repeat (I think...), so the new 12 st one should fit nicely, shouldn't it?  The strange thing is, all along the shawl, the yarn over of the previous knit row is treated as a single knit stitch--never part of  a decrease.  The row 1 in this chart took that yarn over and put it into a decrease.  I did not like that and it seemed to be creating a problem.  The following rows did not do this either.  So, I opted to knit that first stitch, and then start the pattern, lining up a centred decrease so it fell on top of a group of three stitch from the last knit row. 

Once I did this, it was going well.  I got to the middle, and the chart says that now you work across the middle, not doing the YO, k1, YO that had created the centre spin up till then.  I had to fudge some stitches to get that centre k1 to line up nicely with the new pattern, then continued on my way, fudging the end of the row to get it to end properly.

Did the purl row.

Started the next knit row.  Went well, until about 1/3 way across.  I investigated, and found an error in the previous knit row.  Argh.  Ripped out that knit row, the purl row, and 2/3 of the knit row below :(

This set me back a bit.  Got the row re-knit (if the pattern had kept the centred spine, I could have just ripped out the two rows from the mistake to the centre!).  Got the purl row done.  Got almost 1/2 way across the knit row....again, something wasn't right!  This time, I decided to just rip out the two rows.  While this was faster, I did end up with a little bit of the yarn I had unravelled left.  Hard to describe--I had unravelled from the middle to the end, two rows; but I had already knit across to the middle.  So, I re-worked the two rows using the long strand that was attached at both ends...when I got to the last stitch of the purl row (meeting up with where I had left off on the next knit row), there was a bit of yarn left, in a loop.  Theoretically, I should have used it all up to re-work the stitches it came from!  As well,  I somehow ended up with the yarn from the ball in between the (circular) needles...I can't even describe it.  Had to slip the stitches off onto another needle, free the yarn, then slip them back (or knit them off actually). 

So, I got back on track, and now that the pattern is (correctly) established, it's smooth sailing, and the last 14 rows are flying by.  Well.  Flying means 25 minutes for a knit row and 17 minutes for a purl row.  I'm going to count my sts and rows at the end...

Zen Gnome Hat

I love custom orders, though at the same time it's a little anxiety-producing to take someone else's idea and turn it into a finished item.  Especially when the customer is not a knitter, LOL.  One of my clients saw a newborn hat that was elfish, but the tip was held to the body of the hat by a flower.  I wasn't going to show the original at first, but thought it might be interesting to show the comparison.  The photographer is also from Ontario, so that's nice for me to support.  I don't know who made the hat, but I will try to find out!

She was going to be doing a newborn photo shoot and wanted two of these hats, one with a button and one with a flower (girl/boy twins).  The big issue (for me)?  The original was made with a yarn that blended softly from one colour to the next, though it came across as stripes.
She wanted to come over and see all my mohair-ish yarns.  Well, my "studio" is not really a studio anymore! 

 First there was the flooding I showed earlier (in May?).  The rest of the basement has been gutted, bit by bit, and now it's time to get over to my side.  Originally this wasn't going to happen for awhile, but plans change.

All my bins of yarn are actually not in this room, but even though I tried to organize them when re-packing/moving them, it's just not a situation to bring a client to.

So, I spent an afternoon going through the bins in the freezing basement and picked out some striping yarns, some gentle coloured yarns, and some mohair-ish yarns and schlepped them to her!

We came up with a design and I got to work.  I didn't like the tan yarn we chose, so I made an executive decision to get something else.  The other yarns were lace weight/DK solid coloured, smooth mohairs, and the tan was Patons' Divine, which I use in the layering blankets for it's lumpy, shady, bulky, textured look.  It would have been fine for a brim, but it was also to appear further up in the stripe pattern.  I switched it out for Patons' Lace Sequins, but I had to trim all the sequins off :(

 See how out of scale the Divine is?  I was also practicing with blending from one colour to the next.

 What a perfect button find!

 By not sewing the button down, it'd allow for adjusting size, or for knotting the tail.  See the pretty sequins I had to snip off? :(  LOL.  We had a few emails about that!

 I was struggling with the flower, trying to create something simple but looked like the photo she had found.

 

I made a couple different flowers, one I didn't show here was in the cream, with more open loops.

Isn't that the sweetest picture?  The boy was 8lb, and the girl, 5lb!!  Jennifer is a wonderful photographer and I LOVE when our collaborations result in fulfilling her creative vision!

The only downside--the two hats together (including buttons), weigh only 35gr!!

 

Yarn In:  7837gr

Yarn Out:  35gr + 4799gr = 4834gr

Balance:  3003gr more brought IN than out

Costs:  $227.61/207 days = $1.10/day

 

Purchase Updates

So, I've bought some yarn in the past few weeks.  And an item to turn back into yarn.

From left, two balls of Bernat "On the Fringe".  ($3.00 each, clearance at Wal-Mart, 120gr total).  This is the most soft yarn ever.  It's like a thick eyelash.  Would make an awesome bear, but I don't have enough for my usual pattern.  So I think it'll be a layering blanket.  One ball of silver eyelash yarn, 50gr, one ball of Bernat "Fab Faux" ( 70gr--not sure if it's a full ball, but since I've already started working with it, I can't weigh it), a ball of plain blue and variegated brown (total 145gr).  All those (except the ones from Wal-Mart), were in a bag from Value Village, for $2.99 ($3.38).  I will probably donate the blue and brown yarns.

Below the yarns in the top photo is a vest I bought for the yarn.  It's edged in garter sts, with a long tie, in a yarn that looks like Patons "Decor" or maybe even Classic Wool.  I'll compare them once I unravel.  I have no idea what the main yarn is, but it's soft and lumpy bumpy boucle.  Quite tightly knit--hard to even tell if it's garter stitch or stockinette stitch.  It looks good with the yarn it was paired with, and also the silver eyelash.  I picture a vintage inspired pixie hat, leg warmers, and layering blanket!  I won't weigh it till it's unravelled, but the price was $5.99 ($6.77)

Yarn In:  385gr + 7452gr = 7837gr
Yarn Out:  4799gr
Balance:  3038 gr brought IN than out
Costs:  $16.93 + $210.71 = $227.61/201 days = $1.13 per day

Tote!

After making the crocheted tote bag for the raffle basket, I decided to make another one, but with a flat, round bottom (the one in the raffle basket didn't have a bottom).  It didn't take too long to make, though it got a little boring and took a bit longer than I was expecting--I guess it really was larger than the other one, LOL.

I was originally going to do a short loop and a long loop, and feed the long loop through the short one, to close it off and make the shoulder strap.  Sort of forgot, LOL.  I did remember to do a row of single crochet around the straps (and top) and I think this really helps clean it up.  It didn't sell at the arts festival, so if anyone's interested, $15 plus Shipping.

Yarn In:  7452gr
Yarn Out:  175gr + 4624gr = 4799gr
Balance:  2653gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $210.71/199 days = $1.06/day

That's looking great, though I have to show what I bought over the past week :)

Keeping Busy!

My DVR died, and I had a lot of shows recorded to watch during the summer slow time...so now I don't have much motivation to sit on the couch in the evenings and knit.  I'm out and about a lot with the kids, so I need easy, portable projects, and when I'm home, I've been busy sewing.  On Saturday, I'm going to be a vendor at a local arts festival (music, crafts, arts, etc).  It'll be my first time doing it since....April 2007?  And back then I had a couple of table-sharers.  This time, I have sewing to offer too!

I have 21 sewn water bottle holders, in three sizes.  Almost all of them were made in the past two weeks (well, started two weeks ago, but the straps didn't happen till this week).  I also have 10 crocheted water bottle holders, and one crocheted tote bag, and some neck coolers...would have had more, but I can't get the crystals (and forgot to look at another store tonight...).  I wish I had more of the crocheted ones too.  I just hung some up to stretch out a bit and finish drying, and they fit a variety of bottles so easily.  I've got a 1L pop bottle in one!  Rob says they're too "girly" though.  We'll see.
I also bought three balls of yarn tonight.  Oops.  Two for layering blankets or pods, one for water bottle holders!  I'll add that up later, I've got to get more done for the sale!  It's all the little things that suck up time--printing photos, price lists, stock list, etc.

Sweet Soaker

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted last!  We had our Canada Day holiday on July 1, and time is just flying by this week!  I have been mainly crocheting water bottle holders and doing some sewn ones too.  Not the most interesting things to show!  I thought though that I'd take some time out to knit up a wool soaker to have on display when I do an upcoming arts festival.  I was in a hurry, grabbed what I thought was a 4mm needle (still haven't checked it, but I like the resulting material anyway), a pattern, and headed out.  After working for an hour, I checked my gauge and size, and it's definitely a preemie size, instead of the intended newborn!

 

 

I kept going anyway.  I was pleased to get it done in one day (though that day included my daughter's 70min  skating lesson and a trip to the beach).  Yes, I can do the main part on the knitting machine, much quicker (30 minutes for the body), but doing the ribbing by hand, and the sewing up, means it still takes me almost as long! 

I'm going to lanolize it anyway, and take it as a sample.  I might knit up a larger size too, in a more boyish colour.

 

Yarn In:  7452gr

Yarn Out:  29gr + 4595gr = 4624gr

Balance:  2828gr more brought IN than out

Costs:  $210.71/187 days = $1.13/day