Friday, August 20, 2010
modified bella's mitts
so fast forward to last week, when i *finally* dragged this forsaken project out of hiding, and decided to unravel the top portion of the basically completed first mitt, and i bound it off. then, i took the "new" yarn that i'd reclaimed, and used it to do half thumbs on both. i also bound off the unfinished edge on the second mitt; and now instead of being full bella mitts, they are beautiful bella armwarmers.
and my co-worker loves them! :)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
scrap stash sorting
soooo....i don't know if i'm the only one who does this, but i totally save pretty much every scrap of yarn left over from a project that's over two centimetres long. up until now, i have just been stuffing them all away in a big ziplock bag, combined with some other ribbons etc.
well, last night i decided to go through that bag of scraps and sort it. finally! i have now sorted everything out into three separate bags:
1. short non-wool blend scraps that will be used for stuffing very small projects
2. longer non-wool blend scraps that i will start to ~~~SLLLLLOOOOOWWWWLLLLY~~~ knit into a blanket/throw for my bed
3. various sizes of wool scraps that i will felt into small squares, to be used in various ways in the future
i'm really excited, and actually quite surprised at how many more projects i have in mind now, just based on my scraps ends! awesome!!!
well, last night i decided to go through that bag of scraps and sort it. finally! i have now sorted everything out into three separate bags:
1. short non-wool blend scraps that will be used for stuffing very small projects
2. longer non-wool blend scraps that i will start to ~~~SLLLLLOOOOOWWWWLLLLY~~~ knit into a blanket/throw for my bed
3. various sizes of wool scraps that i will felt into small squares, to be used in various ways in the future
i'm really excited, and actually quite surprised at how many more projects i have in mind now, just based on my scraps ends! awesome!!!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
burberry inspired cowl
as *soon* as i stumbled across this (http://juliannesmith.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/free-knitting-pattern-burberry-inspired-cowl-neck-scarf/) pattern on ravelry, i *knew* i had to knit it! i love the whole look of the slightly scattered cables, and it’s pretty mindless to knit - i blasted through it while watching two pvr’ed episodes of iron chef america - yes!
i used lion brand vanna's choice yarn in rust (the same yarn i used on my amelia hat), and it took *just* under a skein to do three repeats. it fits very nice and snug, which is exactly what i wanted, and it seems as though i knit it at just the right time because it was perfect for pulling up around my face while braving the *ultra* cold weather in toronto this weekend!
i decided not to do the provisional cast on (cuz i hate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it with a seething passion, as per my last post), and instead just did a quick seam job up the back, which i’m totally fine with. :)Monday, November 02, 2009
shouting sooooo many expletives this weekend!
i HATE/DETEST/CANNOT STAND the provisional cast on!!!! seriously. i'm not sure what on earth made me think it was a good idea to try it for the first time with MOHAIR on a CIRCULAR NEEDLE no less! frustrated.....
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
amelia earhart aviator cap
pattern: http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt07.htm
needles: US8
yarn: lion brand - vanna's choice in "rust" (i used about 3/4 of a skein)
i've been wanting to knit this pattern forEVER! and i finally got up the motivation after seeing a bunch of really well done ones over on ravelry. *unfortunately*, mine turned out a LOT larger than anticipated (which is extra odd due to the fact that i knit ULTRA tight, and usually have to go UP a needle size), but i'm still happy with the results overall as i now know that i need to go down at least two needles sizes the next time i make it!
since it's so big for my tiny little head, i've decided to wear it "milkmaid kerchief" style, as an homage to my half austrian heritage
and i have to admit that i was inspired to do that by a fellow ravelry member (knave), who depicted this clever "make it work" strategy when her cap also turned out too large.
also, when seaming it up there is a little hole left at the top that i did seam, but i need to find a different method next time as it created a little point at the top of the hat, although perhaps if it fit a big snugger that point would settle down as it gets stretched across the crown...things to think about for next time....
Monday, October 12, 2009
i *DO* give a hoot!
when my sister requested a pair of mittens for her next gift, this pattern instantly came to mind. i'd seen it ages ago on ravelry, and you can find the original pattern on the kelbourne woolens blog (http://www.kelbournewoolens.com/giveahoot.html)
this is what they looked like before i sewed on the eyes:
i used two small plastic beads instead of buttons, just cuz i thought they looked nice, *and* they were already something i had in my stash of stuff :)
i’d been wanting to knit these ever since i saw the pattern, and now i finally had the perfect motivation. i used some old red heart soft touch yarn that i had left over from other projects, and i used US8 dpns for the whole thing. this was a surprisingly simple and mindless knit, and i was so excited to make them that i cast on right after getting off the phone with my sister (around 11pm i suppose), and had anticipated only knitting the first few rounds, but ended up knitting the whole first mitten in one go! i think i finished up around 12:30am or so. the only mod i made to the pattern is that i knit 12 rounds for the thumb, because 9 didn't seem to be enough. however i also recognize that i tend to knit VERY tightly. i’m ultra happy with how these turned out, and my sister *totally* adored them! she didn't take them off for the first full hour after she got them. and we were indoors. :) i LOVE it when people appreciate handknit goods. which she totally does because she's quite the little knitter too!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
bella's mittens
ok, so i am always totally *ASTOUNDED* by the way that a quick 2-15 second shot of a knit item in a film or tv show will send knitters into a total flurry of geekasming followed by subsequent (and IMMEDIATE) attempts to suss out exactly how to re-create that item. case in point - bella's mittens from the twilight movie. i remember seeing these popping up all OVER the web shortly after the movie came out, and while i'm not really a fan of the whole twilight phenomenon, i do appreciate the fact that the movie inspired soooo many patterns for these lovely looking mittens.
the pattern i used was this one by subliminalrabbit
the only mod i made is that i used dpns the whole time. i totally loved knitting this pattern, and so far i only have one mitten done, but i plan to finish the other one this week. i am making them to be used as a raffle prize or an auction item for my office's united way fundraising campaign. the first mitten took prolly a total of 3 hours, but i was watching tv the whole time, so i was a bit distracted.
i am using some leftover red heart super saver, which is definitely not the nicest feeling yarn in the world, but will totally do for a freebie project. besides, the colour is actually really nice, despite being a colour that i would never personally wear. i'm not a neutrals kinda gal, can't you tell? ;)
