Sock Yarn For Life?

 

I came across this contest on Marg's blog and just had to enter! My entry stated:

"I love to knit socks! I would knit some for myself, and some for my kids who have just recently learned that Mom is right. Wool is magic. I would also use a lot of the yarn to make mittens for the kindergarten classes that I supervise at lunch. And some of it would go towards fingerless mitts for gifts. I also use a knitting machine, and it loves sock yarn almost as much as I do!"

Go to http://www.yarncanada.ca/socksforlife to find out how you can enter too!

Although, on one hand, please don't....because I really want to win! If I won, would I tally it up with my "Yarn In" totals? OMG. I'd never get back into the "more used than bought" side again!

Mermaids!

Mermaid blankets are still popular this winter! And why not?! Warm, cozy, they won't fall off your feet, and you can have fun at the same time. I don't mind making them, but I really wish someone would order different colours. I just finished these two, and have another pink/purple one on the go. I do a little to change it up, but there's not a whole lot I can do when the customer says "I like the one in the picture just the way it is".

 Once I had finished, I wasn't sure if it was long enough, so when I went back to the starting chain to crochet over it, I continued upwards a few rows of pattern.

 I wanted the tail to be a bit bigger this time. I starter with more stitches, but it really didn't end up significantly bigger. I don't like the huge tails. They look cool, but they take a lot more yarn, so they weigh quite a bit which isn't the most practical with little kids. And more yarn=more cost and more time. 399gr

For this one, I did some colour blending instead of just going AA, AB, BB, BC, CC in rows. You can see how I did patches of AB. I like it. It was partly to stretch the AA yarn out more, but in the end, I think I had enough. I was working away on the couch, and I couldn't remember how tall the recipient was, so I kept working cause I didn't want to get up and look up the message. Turns out she's not as tall as I was thinking, LOL, so this is going to be super cozy. 1049gr

Again, I tried to enlarge the tail but it still wasn't much bigger. The shape before they get sewn on is rather bizarre, LOL. I'm always freaked out by it. But it looks great once sewn on.

Yarn In:    8023gr

Yarn Out:  1448gr + 6302gr = 7750gr
Balance:  273gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:   $351.86 /331 days = $1.06/day

Yarn, Yarn, Yarn

I'm working on several projects which each required several trips to several yarn stores. So it's been hard posting, since I seem to keep buying yarn faster than I'm using. But I'm going to try.

Fair Isle Stockings--12 balls Rowan Superwash Worsted, 1200gr. Total cost $124.30

Sigh. I think I'll stop there and get the rest together later.

Oh, wait! I already counted the first three Ivory balls of Superwash! Back to the calculator...9 balls, 900gr, $95.07

Yarn In:   900gr + 7123gr = 8023gr

Yarn Out:  6302gr
Balance:  1721gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:   $256.79+$95.07=$351.86 /328 days = $1.07/day

Sentiment and Pompoms

I got an email inquiry in the summer from a lovely lady who wanted new stockings for men marrying her daughters, made to match her family's existing stockings. Not the most complex pattern I've done, but still, there were challenges LOL.  The first thing I did was change the pattern to be knit in the round. The original had a very obvious seam, so for these, I did a "faux seam".

 She had written up the original pattern, but my yarn was slightly thicker, so I had to change some of the instructions to make it match. The bows/hangers were interesting to sew on. I figured out the best way on #2, but then, for some reason, it didn't work on the next one. LOL. If I weren't trying to match old stockings, I would have formed the bow and wrapped the middle with yarn, instead of trying to stitch it all down. I was worried the pompoms wouldn't look right since my yarn was thicker and different. I ended up washing the stockings twice because they took too long to dry the first time. The pompoms fluffed up really nicely in the dryer.

My big challenge was trying to make the pompoms the same size as the original. I got out my plastic ring pompom maker and googled for some instructions and tips. I know how to use it, but I always wonder what happens if you use only the biggest ring and fill it entirely full, vs, keeping all the rings together.  I found one blog that showed this type of pompom maker--most of Google was for newer gadgets. I know the instructions are not all that good on the package, but well...don't follow her's either. You MUST fill up the rings.

 It looks pretty ratty and ragged at first!  Trimming fixes all of that.

 Or, just use the smallest rings. One really important tip I have learned over time, is to use a finer yarn as the tie yarn. Something strong. Some people use cotton soaked in hot water, saying it will shrink when it dries. Maybe. By using a finer yarn, you don't get that gap around the equator.  I also like to steam my pompoms. This brings the yarn to life and fills it in really well. This time, I forgot to do that, but the washing machine and dryer did a good job.

Not shown here, but you can see it on my Instagram page, I believe---I am paranoid about spelling names right or phrases, etc. I somehow added an extra R to Merry on one stocking. Thankfully I noticed as I was working on the Y!

Yarn In:    7123gr

Yarn Out:  100gr x4= 400gr + 5902gr =6302gr
Balance:  821gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:   $256.79 /322 days = $0.80/day

I can't find where I wrote down the weight of the stockings. This is an estimate based on other stockings. I think it's a smidge high, but the pompoms and bows do add up!

Need to Catch Up

Last week kind of kicked my butt. Busy week, as usual, and the lack of sleep just really got to me. I'm getting back in the groove this week, but still feel about a week behind in life.

I checked out a new yarn "store" recently to pick up some Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted for some Christmas stockings. Less than 15 minutes from me, out in the country fringes of this megatropolis I live in. Nice drive, nice little shop. She is selling the property though and doesn't know what will happen.

When I went to drop those red scarves on, I was also searching for superwash wool for two different Christmas stocking orders--although one hadn't given me the deposit yet, so I didn't want to go ahead with getting the yarn for it, but I wanted the same yarn (different colours) for both. The store I was at didn't have the base colour (white), and recommended the Knit Kabin. She also told me that Rowan was bought by Sirdar and they can't order any yarn from either company until the merger is complete and re-organized. I was hoping I was going to find the perfect yarn for these stockings, since the design work takes a bit of time, but the machine knitting is fast, so it'd be a great item to add to my regular product line. So, I'm still not sure what I'll do.

I picked up three balls of Ivory, 100gr each. Now I have to go back to the first store for the two other colours, possibly three, and then back out to the Knit Kabin (who is doing appointment only) for more white and possibly a fourth colour.  Plus, a run to Michael's for another ball of dark purple for another mermaid blanket in pink and purple. So much running around and design work, and not enough actual knitting time!!

Yarn In:   300gr + 6823gr = 7123gr

Yarn Out:  5902gr
Balance:  1221gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:    $29.25 +$227.54= $256.79 /315 days = $0.82/day

Bring on Winter!

In a home-business crafter's group on Facebook, a woman was selling a huge lot of wool.  A few different types, lots of colours, part balls and whole balls.  I said I'd take all her part balls and I've already included that in my yarn totals (there was 1900gr!). A pair of mitts for the kindergarten kids takes about 40gr of yarn. I should be able to get 47 pairs of itty bitty mitts, at about $1 a pair :)  To replenish the spare mitten box right away, I went with neutrals for the first few pairs.

 I started working one burgundy, one green mitten as two at a time on two circulars. It was getting a little tangly and somehow I got off course with the grey spiral. This yarn is a little thicker than others and these are a nice, dense mitten.  I was hoping to use up the remainder grey with the pair on the right, but well...these take less wool than I always expect!

The wool is NOT a soft wool, by any stretch of the  imagination.  This is a hard working, utility wool.  I washed them, and even with a bit of conditioner in the rinse, they still aren't soft, but wow, did the yarn ever bloom! Hands will be toasty warm and dry in these mitts!  Look at all those short wool fibers poking out! Sure, there are some great soft, delicious wools out there, but for kids 3-6 playing outside for 30 minutes in a Canadian winter? These are perfect.

I've got another pair on the needles already, brown and green stripes.

Yarn In:   6823gr

Yarn Out: 117gr + 5785gr = 5902gr
Balance:  921gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:    $227.54 /307 days = $0.74/day

Red #2-#6

Red, as a colour, has a lot of things associated with it. Whole holidays, seasons, emotions, etc. And it's so tough to photograph!

I wrote way back in February about wanting to take part in a challenge to knit scarves for World AIDS Day. When Mary Anne posted the next scarf in the challenge, it was too much of a ...challenge. Then I don't know what happened.  I'm pretty sure she has not posted as many patterns as she was going to. I sort of put it aside and thought it's too late. Then there was an article in the paper, and we have until Nov 23 to hand them in, I think. I took a look at my red yarn and got to work. A nice little diversion from custom Christmas orders.

There are three different yarns used.  The second from the left is the one I did last February.  It's a very fine red yarn. The one on the left is made with ten rows a red slubby cotton (what I made my red Waterfall in), and two rows of the fine red, all in rib (92gr). The second from the right is Bramwell 4 ply, left over from a scarf (but was a left over to begin with LOL) (106gr). I talk more about its pattern in a minute.  The right most is straight up red slub in a rib (81gr).

 So.  This one was an accident.  I started out using the Bramwell and two strands of the thin red.  It had some issues so I restarted several times, the fourth time using one strand fine red.  However, I noticed after I had done a few repeats that I had not changed the settings correctly after the cast on and I was knitting it in some sort of bizarre rib.

It was knitting both beds one direction, and the main bed on the return trip. Whatever. I didn't really care by this point. It looked cool, it was laying almost flat, it was working out, both sides were nice. Etc. Time to move on!

 I got out the red slub and cranked out a plain ribbed one quite quickly.  After washing, I was a little disappointed with the red slub as it went a bit fuzzy.  Should've dried it longer in the dryer but I didn't want it to shrink. The one on the left is similar to the mistake one above, except that this time I did the ribbing correctly. In the basement, the two yarns looked much closer in colour, but outside? The red slub is not magenta like it's showing on my screen, but there was still quite a difference!

 I don't know which one this was...I think the Bramwell one (above).

 Four fat scarf sausages!

 I swear that red slub was not magenta.
When I went to drop them off, she told me at the yarn store that she is selling Bernat "Satin" at cost, in red only, to those making the scarves.  So I bought three more skeins. I had hoped it would be one skein per scarf, but I ended up needing almost 1 1/2 per scarf.

 I made the right one first. I started with a racking design but I didn't have the manual handy and I left needles out of work on the mainbed, which wasn't needed. I ended up making a big mistake so took it off and thought it out a bit more. The pattern still isn't quite symmetrical, but it's nice. The other side reads as stockinette, but if you stretch it out, you can sort of see the ribbed stitches.
The one on the left is the tuck lace rib design in the SK155 manual. T2 for both these, on the SK155 (all the scarves were on the SK155 except the original one from the winter, it was on the Memo-matic 327).  Both of these needed quite a bit of steaming.  There is a somewhat big error on the tuck one, right in the middle, I did 4 rows of plain  knitting instead of two. It's not that big of error, I suppose, many would never notice. But I did. We're not perfect.  No one is. 

Yarn In:  300gr + 6523gr = 6823gr

Yarn Out:  590gr + 5195gr = 5785gr
Balance:  1038gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:   $6.75 + $220.79 = $227.54 /306 days = $0.74/day

Sip, Sip

When my kids were younger, and someone would crack open a pop can, they'd come running, calling "Sip, sip!". Even though the youngest is about to turn 11 next month, we still all do it.

I was surfing on Pinterest and saw that someone I followed pinned a tutorial for a square based water bottle holder. Well. Back in the summer, after I learned to make  the boxed corners, I thought maybe this would be a way to make water bottle holders faster (even though I can't seem to sell them!). I hate trying to sew in the circle base, and doing the math for new sizes.  So, I searched the internet to find out how to make a narrow cylinder with a squared bottom. And searched. Nothing was coming up. It seemed that when people make wine bottle bags, they just make it two sided, with no bottom. I struggled with the water bottle holder pattern sizing, then made one for my niece who was heading off to summer camp. I knew she had a Swell bottle, and those don't have any sort of carrying loop or handle, so I thought this would be great for camp (I've made her one or two before, they're a very active family).

After seeing this tutorial on Pinterest, I was sure it must be new and maybe they got the idea from my design.  So I came to my blog and searched.  And...it looks like I never posted about it?! I know it was busy then, but crazy. I never posted about another dress I made either! Turns out the tutorial was from January 2009.

So, here it is. 

 This brown fabric was used in the backpack I made for her birthday.  I was disappointed with how the seam lined up, but there's not much you can do about that when it's a narrow circumference. I probably could have tried laying the fabric out the other direction, but 1) I didn't have much left to work with and 2) I wouldn't have thought to check this anyway.

 I used the cute engraved snaps.

 The inside is a bright and fun fabric because I know she likes bright and fun colours. I put a bit of elastic near the top because the Swell bottle is quite a bit narrower at the top.  I don't think I made it tight enough to really do much though. And then I found out she has a Swell Junior. Didn't know that existed.

The bottom! I think it might have been a bit easier to figure out if I had seamed both vertical sides, and also if I did the type where you don't cut the notch out of the fabric, but you sew diagonally over the corner so there is then a flap. I didn't want the bulk of those flaps though--I thought it might make it hard for the bottle to sit upright, especially if the two layers weren't aligned well.

After all this, I'm not sure how much faster this method is. Again, doing the other style would probably make it a bit faster. I might try that at some point, but since I'm the only one here I can get using them, I don't really need more!

The tutorial I mentioned at the start is here....it's always good to read other's instructions.  Mine is sewn by making two separate holders (no batting layer), putting them together, inserting the straps, and topstitching the layers together.  This makes them reversible, instead of the sew the top together and then pull the one layer through and handstitch the opening closed. Oh, wait a minute.  I have vague memories of actually doing some very tidy handstitching on something.  Maybe it was this, to see if it was overall easier.  Crap.  Don't remember. I was sewing a lot over the summer.

I did add some heavy iron on interfacing to the bottom base. That took some figuring as to how to size it, when to do it. Not sure how much it helps.  I also made the strap from fabric, with a layer of heavy iron on interfacing. I was starting to run out and I had to piece it together, but you'd never notice. It really does make a nicer strap.  Now, perhaps if I had new interfacing to cut from, and could just iron on one long strip (or the sewn in stuff), that would add back a bit of speed. I just find the light weight webbing I was using before got all bunchy and wrinkly. The heavier nylon webbing is nice, but I really didn't want to go shopping again, and I want to make these without having to buy a lot of extras.

Apparently I never blogged about the other holder I made in this style. I started it as the tester, then finished it after this one, for our trip. It has some extra features.  It hasn't had it's photo shoot, though there is a photo of it on our trip. Of my daughter using it LOL. They won't carry their own...

Here Comes Santa Claus!

It's been a busy year for Christmas stockings!  And I'm not done.  I was asked to make these two, which are Mary Maxim designs. However, the client specified, explicitly, that they were to be knit looser than the tension given in the pattern (which she had) so they would be bigger and very stretchy--to fit lots of goodies in!

I started the top of the first one....in the round. I even knit the first row or two of the picture in the round, then casted on one stitch on either side of what would become the seam, and started working flat. Then I decreased those two stitches once I finished the picture and went back to in the round knitting. This did change my gauge a bit, and I had to be conscious of knitting loosely in the area between the picture and the heel.

On BOTH stockings, I knit the heel and turned the short rows...and then realized I was supposed to change colours!

I wasn't sure about Ms Claus. The black eyes, sitting above the glasses.  But once done, washed and blocked, and hung to be admired at a distance, I saw that it works.  The stockings actually got two baths because they took too long to dry the first time.  This extra time through the wash/dryer got them really soft (Loops & Thread "Impeccable") and really fluffed up the pompom.  The pompom was made using the second largest rings of the plastic ring pompom maker.  No middle ring (one got lost long ago). It was perfect. The key with the plastic ring is to totally fill it.

The great thing was I needed to buy just a ball of white to make these.  Even the bright green was in my stash! So, the 209gr made--a bit--of difference to my totals LOL. I also weighed all the ends from various projects I've been working on, and that all came to 20gr.  Every little bit, right?

Yarn In:  6523gr

Yarn Out:  229gr + 4966gr = 5195gr
Balance:  1328gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:   $220.79 /296 days = $0.75/day

Yarn Confessions

I came to my blog today to write a little post and try to get updated on some of the yarn I've bought recently.  I ended up totally changing the look of the blog! I've had the exact same look since I started the blog (Aug 2006). I'm not totally happy with the new look.  Some of the design process is stupidly confusing, using different pages for different aspects. I couldn't get the header photo to be the right size. I can't move where my title and subtitle are to make them easier to read. Some links at the side are in pink. I don't like how the grey overlay comes close to where the background image is "seamed".  If I were designing it, I'd have them line up. I did find that the width of my post area was set rather small, which is why when I tried to insert XL size photos, they would get cut off on the right. 
Anyway.  How does it look? Easy to read?

First update on incoming yarn.  In a FB group for home craft businesses, a woman posted that she had a bunch of wool to sell.  WOOL! Of course I couldn't pass it up. She posted one of the labels, which was the same as some I had picked up from Value Village before...I forget right now, but it's from PEI, I think. I offered to buy all her partial balls, for $45.  Included was 172gr of Classic Wool. The rest of the wool came to.... 1728gr (total, 1900gr). Wowzer! I've already made three pairs of itty mittens for the kindergarten kids! But I have tipped over to the "more brought in than used". I do have some Christmas stockings to weight, BUT  I still have to buy more for some more Christmas stockings!!

Yarn In: 1900gr + 4623gr= 6523gr

Yarn Out:  4966gr
Balance:  1557gr more BROUGHT IN than used
Costs:    $175.79 + $45 = $220.79 /295 days = $0.75/day

Drowning in Yarn

I feel like I'm drowning in yarn right now!  I've got yarn on the couch for two different stocking projects and two pairs of little mittens and a ball of reflective yarn.  I've got a big bag full of balls of wool I bought last week.  I've got a bin and bag of yarn from the basement to figure out how much more I needed for a couple projects.  I've got a big bag full of new yarn for those projects.

None of this can get put away yet!

I did get some great deals at Michaels' this week, and combined with what's already in my stash, it really helps my bottom line with custom orders.  Six balls of Impeccable--buy two, get one free and I needed three colours.  At first I was only going to get three balls, but at the last minute I grabbed three more since the purple striped mermaid blanket is popular and I really wanted to make sure I have enough for the order--if I have extra left, that's okay because the colours are popular.  LionBrand Homespun was on sale, not great deal, but at least some what of a deal.  And another yarn I needed I used a 50% off coupon.  All total, 1248gr for $40.06!

Yarn In: 3375gr + 1248gr = 4623gr

Yarn Out:  4966gr
Balance:  343gr more USED than bought
Costs:    $175.79/280 days = $0.63/day

Elephant!

Megan was invited to her skating friend's birthday party, at Canada's Wonderland.  This girl is obsessed with elephants.  I found an elephant zipper pull when I was buying that last lot of yarn, but I also wanted to knit her an elephant!  I'd made one before, for my other daughter.

A trip through my personal yarn store and I couldn't find anything suitable in her favourite colours, blue and green.  I wanted to do striping, but all my greens were ugly moss greens. I did have one ball of Bernat "Mosaic" in the perfect colours...but...but...it's discontinued and I love it and it's an unspun acrylic so not all that durable.  But perfect colours. Sigh.  I went ahead.  I did have a few issues with the yarn pulling apart but I think it will be okay. 

 I didn't like the ear pattern, so I created my own.  Crocheted.

I almost forgot her tail!! I ran out of poly pellets, so I used aquarium gravel in the feet and the poly pellets in the trunk and belly. Not much else to say except when they came home from the park, she came up to the door with Megan, cradling "Ellie" in her sweater and a big grin on her face :)  I didn't weigh it before I stuffed it, but I weighed the left over yarn and it appears the Ellie used a whopping 52gr.  Not nearly enough to offset the wool I bought this past week!!

Yarn In: 3375gr

Yarn Out: 52gr + 4914gr = 4966gr
Balance:  1591gr more USED than bought
Costs:    $135.73/276 days = $0.49/day