Finished Project-Sophie
Project Specs:
Pattern: Sophie by Julie Anderson
Yarn: Cascade 220 and Hip Hop by Berroco
Needles: US 13, I think. (I need to start writing these details down.)
My Blog Links: Ready, Set, Felt
Once I added the magnetic closure, I needed to figure out a way to hide it from the outside. I found the ribbon at a local craft store. But instead of sewing it on top of the bag, I thought I’d weave it around the top. I was awfully nervous cutting into the bag.
But everything seemed to work out all right in the end. Whew! One more gift finished.
Happy Thanksgiving
Since I’m still sick, I had to cancel our Thanksgiving travel plans. But since I’ve been home all day, check out the knitted gift enclosure cards I made. I’ll hand write washing instructions and such on these and include one with each gift I’m knitting for the holidays.
If you listen to podcasts, you may be interested in this new knitting podcast. I’m still deciding what I think of it. Let me know what you think if you listen to it.
Finished Project-Misty Garden Scarf
Project Specs:
Pattern: Misty Garden from Scarf Style
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Ultralight
Needles: US 6 bamboo straight needles
Size: 60 inches long
My Blog Links: Scarf Style
Unlike the Branching Out scarf, this lace pattern was completely easy to memorize. After the first pattern repeat, I no longer needed to look at the instructions. This was the perfect project to work on “here and there.” Again, it’s a gift for a special person. Shhh.
Finished Project-Dinosaur Purse
Project Specs:
Pattern: The Gray Flannel bag from Pursenalities
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Ella’s favorite color, orange and a 25¢ ball of orange fun fur from Target (Halloween clearance)
Needles: Oops, I don’t remember. Maybe it was US 15?
Pattern Alterations: I made the handle longer. And I extended and tapered the flap to accommodate one button, instead of two.
My Blog Links: Ready, Set, Felt
It took me forever to find the dinosaur button I had bought this summer at The Yarnery, but I found it. Sewed it on tonight while listening to my organizing class. I hope Ella likes it. I’ll let you know.
And woo hoo! This is my 100th post.
Happy Birthday to Me!
Well actually, my birthday was last week. But look at the gifts that the mailman dropped off.
First there was a lovely little pouch from Britta. She’s wasn’t sure what I would use it for, but she thought I’d come up with a use. I can always come up with a use for a new container. Guess what I put in the pouch? (Mouseover to see the answer.) This pouch just happens to be made by the same designer of my favorite purse. How cool is that!
In the next package were these two great books from my sister-in-law Jenn. You may remember that she’s the one that taught me to knit last Thanksgiving.
The Color Works book is perfect for me and my fear of putting the wrong colors together. And Loop-d-Loop is so beautiful to look at. What will I make first from it: the corkscrew scarf, the ballet t-shirt, the yoke vest, the diagonal twist princess-seam jacket, or the fair isle short-row pullover.
Finished Project: I-Cord Gloves
Project Specs:
Pattern: I-Cord Glove serial pattern by Nona
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino
Needles: 2 sets of US 3 Addi Turbo circulars
Size: Women’s Medium
Pattern Alterations: I made the middle and index fingers the same circumference as the ring fingers. So I altered the rest of the pattern accordingly. I was too excited about finishing the gloves to wait for the cuff installment of the pattern. I went ahead and did a simple 2 x 2 ribbing for the cuff, about 18 rows long. Then for the bind off I used Vogue Knitting’s instructions for binding off a 2 x 2 rib.
My Blog Links: Look, I Have a Pinky! and Glove Do-Over
I knit these gloves using a much smaller needle than the recommended US 7 for this yarn. This produced a dense, warm fabric. I just love this yarn. It was so easy to knit with. And I love the way the stripes worked out on the fingers and the hands.
I had a slight problem with holes at the finger joins. On my second try at joining the fingers, I twisted the slipped stitches before putting them onto the opposite needle. I’m not sure if this was the reason that I didn’t end up with any holes the second time around, or if it was the fact that everything turns out better the second time.
This is by far my favorite thing I’ve knitted. These gloves will surely make my top 5 list this year. I’d love to make another pair right now. But I must stop knitting for myself and get going on those Christmas gifts. I like things to be on time.
OK, I can’t resist. More pictures!
Glove Do-Over
Nona’s second installment of her i-cord glove tutorial came out this week. I couldn’t wait to finish all ten fingers before moving onto the next step. So with eight fingers done I joined four of them.
Hey, they look pretty good. Even the holes between the fingers weren’t too bad.
BUT, three of the four fingers were TOO long. After trying on the “glove” again this morning, I know what I need to do. I need to rip it back to the fingers and shorten six of the eight fingers. Oh well. Maybe with the second try, the holes between the fingers will be even smaller.
Dinosaur or Ostrich?
Or maybe we can just call it an Ostrichosaur. Apparently my stitch height to width ratio in my Dino Chart was different than when I actually knit the dinosaur. These are not the proportions of a T-rex. It looks like it has the legs of an ostrich. And what’s up with those arms? Do you think my three-year old will mind? Probably not. Will I mind? Possibly.
I think I need to put the Dino Sweater on hold for a bit. Right now I feel like ripping it out and going for a plain sweater. Maybe in a month when I come back to it I’ll feel differently. We’ll see.
Ready, Set, Felt
I had a big felting day thanks to Amy and her generous offer to use her top-loader. Here’s what’s drying, before and after felting.
My stranded bag from my Color Stitching class: I conveniently found a box just about the right size to fit inside it for drying. The top brown band of the bag is kind of loose and flares out. Hopefully blocking the bag will fix that a bit.
A Sophie bag for a special friend: Really triangular, isn’t it! I kind of wish the opening ended up a little bigger. And the green in the yarn sort of disappeared after felting. But I really like the twisted handle. I may add a magnetic closure after drying.
A Gray Flannel bag for Ella: I think I like how this one turned out the most. The size and shape turned out just right. It’ll even be big enough for Ella to wear over her shoulder across her chest as she goes on nature explorations. There’s a dinosaur button that will be added after the bag dries.
