November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a really fast post just to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving! Be safe, have fun and don't eat too much!

September 24, 2009

This and That

I really don't update often. Sorry. I can never seem to remember. I did finish my sister's ripple afghan. I finished on Saturday the 12th. Just in time for her birthday on Sunday. I was so happy I finished it. I can officially say that her ripple afghan was the first biggest project I've ever completed. A baby blanket doesn't count as big. Other than the ripple afghans and a baby blanket, I only ever knit/crochet hats and dishrags with a few toys and other small projects thrown in here and there.

I have my eyes set on making myself a hat and mitten set with owls on them. I've never made a hat and mitten set before. I did make a small hat and mitten ornament set. It was cute. I found a couple patterns that might work. I just have to find the right yarn. Sometimes trying to figure out the gauge so I won't knit all wrong makes me not want to knit anything at all. It can be really irritating! That happened with the owl mittens I found. The pattern says the size fits most adult female hands. Well while I was searching through projects on ravelry a lot of people said the pattern knits up really small. Even people with small hands were saying it turns out small.

I can tell the weather is changing. That's good. I want a snowy Winter, but we don't ever really have a Winter here in North Carolina. It gets cold, but it's bearable cold. I want unbearable cold! I know I'm crazy, but I like the cold. The cold also makes me want to knit. I don't work on stuff in the Summer. It's way too hot.

I may start a pair of socks today. I may try two at a time on circular needles.

I will try to remember to blog, but I really keep forgetting.

September 08, 2009

The Baby Burp Cloths and Receiving Blankets

So back in July my cousin had her second baby. A little girl. I made her a flannel burp cloth with a crochet edging to take to the hospital with her. She says she got tons of compliments on it. So cool! It has a shell edging on it.


It took me a month and a half to finish the receiving blanket and mail it. It had actually been done since some time in August. It took me forever to mail it. Sorry for the crappy pictures. I can't decide if it's me or the camera. Probably me. It has a more involved edging than shell edging. It's the puffy lace edging. It took me a few tries to get the pattern right, but once I did, it went smoothly.


So last month my Aunt had her first baby. It was a boy. I made him a burp cloth and receiving blanket as well. I was very happy with the way these turned out.


The edging is just a simple shell edging called gentle waves edging. It was easy and fast. I didn't want to get too fancy because he's a boy. I didn't want it to look girly.

I think the next time I make some of these, I will use just solid color DMC thread and the gentle waves edging. The flannel was an ordeal. You can't find good feeling flannel. It's all cheap feeling now. The flannel I had for the girl's burp cloth and receiving blanket was stuff I got a few years ago. It was so soft. The boy's flannel I had to go buy and it doesn't feel as good as her's. They were both washed with fabric softener before I cut them out and you can still tell a difference.

I also made some simple single crochet wash cloths out of cotton tots for them both. Those pictures are really bad. So I'm not even going to post them.

The Ripple Afghans

Back in January I, spur of the moment, decided I would make a ripple afghan for myself. I prefer cotton over any other fiber. So I went to A.C. Moore to see what they had and boy was I lucky. They had big 14 oz skeins of Bernat Baby Cotton. I bought 6 skeins of the baby cotton. I got light pink, blue, hot green, yellow, purple and white. About a month ago I went back and they had a baby green and I got it. I had been using a Peaches N Creme baby green. Turns out they are basically the same color. I used 50% off coupons for it all. I rarely buy anything without a 50% or 40% off coupon. That's how I am. I also used a bright orange, Sunburst, in Peaches N Creme. With Sugar N Cream I had been using Robin's Egg Blue, Soft Violet and Tea Rose.


I've had to stop that far into it, about 40 inches. My sister decided she wanted one. It started out as a graduation present for her. That didn't work out. Then it was going to have to be done by the 4th of July. That didn't work out either. Then it was going to be a moving into the dorm present. That's right, that didn't work out either. So finally it is most definitely going to be a birthday present. Her birthday is Sunday, Sept 13. I am over 40 inches into it. She wanted it around 56 inches or something. I have been working like crazy on her's. This picture was taken quite a few colors back.



I don't know when I will get around to finishing mine. That's okay though.

August 30, 2009

My Basic Christmas Garland...

So last year around Christmas I bought some cotton yarn with a tinge of silver ribbon, or something, in it. After Christmas I decided I knew what I wanted to do with it: Christmas garland! I got a couple of pictures of it on the tree before we took the tree down.



They aren't the best pictures, but they were the best I could get. We had already started taking the ornaments off. And it was hard to place the garland. My mom had already told me the garland goes on after the lights, but before the ornaments. So, I guess I won't have good pictures of the garland until this Christmas.

I'm still working on it. I worked on it for about one day after Christmas and put it in my closet. Until tonight when I pulled it out and decided I better get working on it. It's basically just an I-cord. I wanted something simple to work on. I wanted to knit, but I didn't want a large project. So, I pulled it out and worked about two feet on it. My mom wants me to make it about 22 feet long. I'm not sure how many I have now. I'm guessing twelve feet, at least.

It's never too soon to start thinking about, and working on, Christmas decorations!


The Basic Christmas Garland

Materials:
  • Bernat Handicrafter Holidays "Sparkle" - White - or whatever yarn in whatever color you like
  • 2 US #7 (4.5 mm) double pointed needles - or whatever size you like
  • measuring tape
  • scissors
  • darning needle

Gauge:
Not important at all for this project.

Notes:
  • I personally wouldn't cast on more than four stitches. That's just my taste.
  • After each row, or every couple of rows, it helps to pull or tug on the already knitted I-cord. It makes it easier to see what's already been done and the stitches fall into place better.
  • It takes a few rows for the I-cord to start looking like an I-cord.
  • Most store bought garlands I've seen have been around 12 feet and 22 or 24 feet.

Instructions:

Cast on 3 (4) stitches. I used the long tail cast on. Do not turn. Push stitches to the right end of the needle. The working yarn tail will now be on the left side of your stitches.
R1: Knit 3 (4). Be sure to pull the first stitch tight (on this row and all rows) to close the gap behind the stitches. Do not turn. Push stitches to the right end of needle.
R2: Knit 3 (4). Do not turn. Push stitches to the right end of the needle.
R3: Knit 3 (4). Do not turn. Push stitches to the right end of the needle.
Continue this way until you have desired length of I-cord.

To bind off pull the yarn through the stitches. Cut yarn and weave in ends. The ends will be easy to hide because the I-cord is a big tube. I like that about I-cords.

If this pattern is screwed up, sorry. It's 3:00 am. I'm half asleep.

July 29, 2009

More on my hat...

I think I have the bobbles and hearts for my hat figured out. It took me a while, but that is perfectly okay. I now just have to work out the gauge, measurements, stitches, etc. so that I can start working on my hat. I think I am going to use cotton. I really enjoy knitting and crocheting with cotton. I have tons of it. And I mean a ton. A ton for me, at least. I'm thinking of using a red for the hat.
I've never written a pattern before. Well, actually, I came up with my own version of Hermione's cable and eyelet hat, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, from looking at the official picture from the movie. I was really proud of myself because I never thought I would be able to look at a picture of something knit and then figure out the pattern. I did this before I realized there was already a pattern out. I didn't finish writing the pattern out though because I had trouble figuring out the top part with the decreases and the cables.
As soon as I start on the hat, I will post pictures.

July 27, 2009

My dream hat...

is not what you think. It's not my ideal hat or anything. Last night while I was trying to fall asleep, all of a sudden an idea for a knit hat popped into my head. I'm not really a knitwear designer or anything. Every now and then I get sick of patterns and try to do stuff on my own, but it doesn't really work out. That's when I'm stuck following patterns or not doing anything at all. Hats have always been my favorite things to knit. They are relatively fast and not time consuming.

Anyway, creating the actual bobbles and hearts part and getting them in the right places is kind of time consuming. I almost have it exactly how I want it. This hat better work out or I will be so mad. I don't really have the patience for this kind of thing. Plus, this is the first thing I've knit in a long time. I've been crocheting like crazy. I've been making washcloths, dishrags, grocery bags, receiving blankets, burp cloths and ripple afghans since earlier this year. I really like how crochet is fast, but you have more options with knitting.

I guess this is my official first post. Ciao!

March 17, 2009

First Entry

Coming soon to a computer near you!