Baby Shrugs

After not blogging for more than a year, you might think I would have finished a few of the projects in my Works in Progress list in the sidebar. The grand total is...1. And I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Instead, here are 2 projects from this year. I knit 2 baby shrugs from the same pattern, with different yarns. Sorry for the poor lighting in the pictures; I tend to finish gifts after midnight, hours before I need to give it to the recipient. The pattern is simply titled 'Baby Shrug'. Ravelry has links to publications in which the pattern can be found.

The first was made with Bernat Satin, colorway Faded Glory. Ravelry has it listed as an Aran/10 ply yarn. After knitting 3 or so inches, I realized that it was looking Christmas-y. My solution was to use a different color for the edging. I used Hobby Lobby's 'I Love This Yarn' in #160 Brown. Although Ravelry lists it as a DK/8 Ply and Hobby Lobby labels it sport weight, it was a similar thickness to the Bernat yarn.

 

I made the 3-6 month size; the baby was one month old when I gave it to her, and it was on the small side. She was able to get a few months use out of it. The closeup picture has slightly truer colors. 

For the second shrug, I used Bernat's Mosaic yarn, colorway Daydream. Ravelry lists this as an Aran/10 ply. Although it is in the same weight category (on Ravelry) as the Bernat, it seems a bit thicker. It also looks, feels and knits very much like wool, despite being 100% acrylic.

Since the baby was born in Summer, I wanted this to fit in the Fall and Winter. Keeping in mind my previous experience, I made the 9-12 month size, instead of the 6-9 month size. I haven't heard yet if/how it fits, although she should be big enough to wear it fairly soon.
Other than the size issues, I have not had much difficulty with this pattern. In, fact, this pattern and the Tulips pattern may become my go-to baby sweaters.

Dishcloth Project #3

The Dishcloth Project; my quest to knit all of the dishcloth patterns from my 3+ years of Creative Knitting magazines.

This dishcloth was completed sometime in 2011. The pattern is one of their 'must try stitch' features. Often the must try stitch is in one of the larger projects in the magazine, although not in this case.

The Details  

The Pattern: Creative Knitting, May 2007, 'Spring is in the Air Dishcloth'.  
The Yarn: Sugar'n Cream, Violet Veil.

Dishcloth Project #2

In December of 2010 I started on the Dishcloth Project. One of the knitting magazines I subscribed to had a dishcloth pattern every couple of issues. I decided to knit them all! Here's the second one - it was completed in April of 2011.

The pattern is from Creative Knitting, March 2007, Mock Cable Dishcloth. As I was knitting this dishcloth, I kept thinking that the pattern seemed really familiar. I finally figured out that the mock cable pattern was the same as the mock cable on my Wristlets! I had enough yarn leftover to make another dish scrubber.

The Details  

Patterns: Creative Knitting, March 2007 Mock Cable Dishcloth, and Mini Double-Thickness Scrubby Cloths from 2009 Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar  
Yarn Used: Sugar 'n Cream Twists, Taupe Twists

Tulips Sweater

A year or two ago, a lot of bloggers were raving about the baby sweater "Tulips" by Dream in Color. I thought it was a cute sweater, but couldn't quite see what all the fuss was about. My quilting friends went on a shop hop, and got the pattern as a freebie. Since neither of them knits, they gave the pattern to me. The pattern sat in my knitting notebook for several months, because I didn't have any pregnant friends at the time.

Last year I finally got the opportunity to knit Tulips. Now I understand what all the fuss is about. This was my second baby sweater, (I still haven't worked up the nerve to try an adult sized sweater) and compared to the first one, this was a piece of cake! It is knit from the top down, so there are no side seams to sew; the sleeves are made by picking up stitches from the armhole section, and knitting in the round. There were a few parts where I had to really stop and think about the directions for a few hours (or days) but overall, this is the easiest knitting for a baby that I've ever done.

Yarn: I chose to use Vanna's Choice yarn, partly because it's acrylic and can be machine washed, and partly because I already had all but one skein in my stash.
Pattern Variation: If you are familiar with Tulips, you probably noticed that I did not use seven different colors of yarn. Again, this was partly because I was trying to stash bust, and also because I thought it would be too busy. I also did the knit-on I-Cord edging in purple, instead of pink, to make the sweater 'pop' a little more.
Advice: One thing that really puzzled me in the pattern was at the end of row 8, it says "for first three sizes, work color change row" then after row 10, it says "for largest two sizes, work color change row". What confused me was where to put in the row, since I already had directions for those rows. I finally realized that if there was a color change, to work the color change instead of the 8'th row (or 10'th, depending on the size made.)
The only other advice I have to offer is to work the applied I-Cord and seed stitch along the edges loosely! I had to rip out the second side and do it over because it was a good inch shorter than the other side.

First Finish of 2011

These wristlets were one of my vacation projects; I completed about 2" on vacation. The pattern is from Creative Knitting, November 2008. Once I started working on them, they went very quickly. I finished the second one in two days. They are very warm, and fit perfectly. My only complaint, (or disappointment) is that the yarn is too bulky to really show off the mock cable pattern.

The yarn is "Plumlishious" from The Colorful Ewe on Etsy.

Dishcloth #1

A few months ago, I decided to go through all of my Creative Knitting issues, and knit all of the dishcloths in them. So far I've only knit one, and I have three knitting projects to finish before starting another one.

The pattern is from the January 2007 issue of Creative Knitting, page 66, "Dish Pan Bubbles" The dishcloth is knit using two colors of yarn. I used Sugar'n Cream yarn in Weathered Rose and Country Red.
I had a lot of fun doing the faux popcorn stitch - I've always liked the look, but have never felt motivated to figure out how to crochet it.
The next dishcloth will be from the March 2007 issue, page 66, "Mock Cable Dishcloth" (link goes to the Ravelry page for this pattern.)

Scrappin' Saturday X

Scrappin' Saturday - take a peek into my scrapbook pages, and read about how I made them!

Background Paper: The background paper is a plain brown paper.
Photos:I only wanted this to take up one page, and had a difficult time deciding how to arrange it. I finally chose the hats I liked best, and that looked different from each other and carefully cut around them. (Some of the hats were nearly identical)
Die Cuts: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Seven. The largest label is cut out of a DSP with small pastel hearts on it. I used it to journal about the project. The two smaller ones are on solid colored paper and have information about the hat patterns I used.
Project Pictured: The 300 hat project.

Knitting Rules

Lately it seems as though every time I think about blogging, something more important comes up. I finally have a little bit of time, and a question. My question is: Do you have any 'rules' about your knitting? I do. I have two, actually. The first one is easy: Don't pick a project wildly beyond your knitting capabilities. Work your skills up to the project before starting it.
The second rule is somewhat more complicated, as it has exceptions. On the surface, it seems quite simple and straightforward: Never have more than one knitting project at a time. Easy, right? The complications come with the exceptions: Dishcloths or other small no-more-than-two-sessions projects are allowed. Taking time off from one project to knit a gift is allowed. Taking two projects on vacation is a good idea, in case one of them doesn't quite go the way you'd hoped.

And that's where I ran into trouble. I went on vacation in August. I thought that it would be a good idea to have two projects. So I cast on a knit a few rounds of two separate projects. Somehow that started things spiraling out of control and I now have three four knitting projects going. One is a gift, so that doesn't really count, right? That still leaves me with three WIP's, though.


The first two pictures are the projects I took on vacation. The top picture is of Cat Bordhi's Spring Thaw Socks. (Knitter's Magazine Summer 2008) I haven't worked on the socks since the day I cast on.
The second picture is "Cabled Wristlets" by Silka Burgoyne. (Creative Knitting November 2008) I worked on these the first day of vacation. Haven't touched them since.
The third picture is of a vintage stocking that I started. The pattern was downloaded from Vintage Purls. I have no idea why I started it, especially since I already had two projects going. I have no idea why I bought the yarn, either, since I'm not supposed to be buying yarn until I use some up.

This brings us to the fourth project. All I can show you is the yarn - it's a gift, and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for the recipient.

Million dollar question of the day: What project should I go back to after I finish knitting the present?

Scrappin' Saturday VII

This page is mostly finished, it just needs one more picture. These are the Buddy Bags I made for my cousins two years ago, for Christmas.

 Nothing too fancy here!

Photos: I cropped the photos and some decorative scrapbook paper to the size I wanted and rounded the corners with a corner rounding punch.
Letters: The first 'B' is from a self-adhesive chipboard alphabet set. The rest of the letters are from the Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale die set.

As you can see on the left, I really need to work on my calligraphy. I've done this on several pages, noting where the pattern came from, materials used, and any notes on the pattern.

The Knit Princess Comic

The Knit Princess is an online comic that I discovered last week. The story is by Allison Sarnoff, and the pictures are by Melody Moore. They know knitters, and they know cats. I can sympathize with many of the situations the characters find themselves in, and I have seen certain cats (who shall remain nameless) doing the same things with my yarn and some of my friends' projects.

I read several online comics, and this is the only one I've liked enough to buy. You can purchase the comic here, or read it online, here. Check it out, even if you're not a knitter.

Little Projects

Last year I bought a Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar. One that intrigued me greatly was the Dish Scrubby from Monday, May 11. I made it in a couple hours, with Sugar 'n Cream, Potpourri. I gave it to my Mom, but haven't heard if she likes it or not. If she does I will make more for her, and for my hope chest.

Remember Paprika? Well, I made him again for the little boy I babysit who loves dragons. I tried pulling the chains tighter, as I recommended in my previous post. It didn't work so well. I had a very difficult time getting the starch to keep him in the right shape. So, tighten your chains, bit not too much. Here's the original Paprika. I didn't have time to photograph the latest one.

Spoilt Rotten

Here's another project that I never blogged about: a dog sweater for my sister's dog. It's from the booklet "Dog Gone Cute" published by Leisure Arts. It was not hard to knit, but hard to size. Kelly is a chow-lab mix, and rather fluffy. I'm not sure if she lost weight between the time I started and finished, or if her fluff gave me an incorrect measurement. It was too big around the chest, so I had to take it in about in inch. Also, the back didn't stay very well, so I sewed on a button and loop to keep it in place. One other note about the pattern, work the first and last stitches of the back shaping rows loosely so that it will be easier to pick up the stitches for the body ribbing. The yarn is Lion Brand's Wool-Ease "Blue Mist" The contrast is Bernat Soft Boucle "Softest Straw".

Too Many WIP's

Last night I was debating what WIP to work on, and became overwhelmed by all the options. I ended up cleaning my room, instead. This morning I was looking at the WIP list to the right, and realized that updating the list would at the least double it. I decided to write a blog post, rather than update the list.
Knitting: Although I have vowed not to have more than one knitting project at a time, this is an exception. A few weeks ago I was in between (knitting) projects, and finally decided to start a stash-busting afghan. I'm not sure how successful the stash-busting will be, but it should use up some yarn. The afghan is 'Beside the Seaside' from Debbie Abrams 100 Afghan Squares to Knit. As you can see, I've made marvelous progress! (not)



The reason for starting a second knitting project is that the little boy I babysit will be moving to Italy, and I finally came up with a going away present for him! I'm knitting another backpack in John Deere Tractor colours, and the pocket will look (hopefully) like the John Deere logo. The colours aren't quite perfect, but when it comes to specific shades of yarn, you have to go for the closest shade available. I wandered the yarn isles looking for colour, instead of brand. Progress on this project is much more promising. However, when I bought the yarn, I forgot that I will need fabric to line it with, so now I have to go back to the fabric store.

I seem to have a thing for afghans going. Besides the knitted one, I'm working on a crocheted afghan, have plans for another knitted one, and have started a cross stitch afghan. I finally finished the backstitching on the first (and only) motif. The motif is from Tiny Little Teapots, a booklet published by Cross My Heart, Inc. My plans for the afghan have gone through multiple changes; the current plan is to use all the motifs from the booklet, and fill in the empty spaces with quotes about tea.

Other cross stitch items: a stamped baby blanket, a stamped family tree, and Lady of the Thread. I couldn't get a decent photo of the baby blanket, and there really isn't very much completed. I talked myself into starting the family tree because 1) It's stamped, so it's not technically cross stitch; 2) It'll be quick - it's mostly borders, a few flowers and branches. 3) I always wanted to do a family tree.
Once again, I was quickly reminded of how much and why I despise stamped cross stitches. I figure it's old enough that the stamped colors won't wash out, so I have to make sure they are covered, and I want it to look like real cross stitch as much as possible, so I try to make adjoining stitches go through the same holes. Not fun.

My current embroidery project is a set of pillow cases. I am expecting them to take at least as long as the first set of pillowcases I embroidered. (Several years, in case you were wondering.) I can't seem to find a photo of them, but next time I feel like rummaging around in my hope chest I'll photograph them. Here's a picture of the current pillowcase. I've discovered that I don't enjoy satin stitch, and that's the stitch for most of the flowers.


Over the weekend I picked up a new hobby. What's that? Oh. Yes, I know I really don't need any more hobbies, but there was a sale...I got two patterns at 50% off! I'd seen Punch Needle Embroidery at the LNS, and was interested, but I never saw any patterns I liked. They were having a sidewalk sale, and I found two patterns I liked - a rose and a heart. I haven't made a lot of progress- it's a little harder than I thought. I also couldn't find any suggestions on a setting for the punch needle. I am using #3 for the border/outline and #4 for the fill-in colours. I think for the rose I will try settings #1 and #2.

Last, but not least, my current tatting project is a Flying Minor Norwegian Dragon. After several tries I have finally gotten my thread to stop breaking (thanks to whoever suggested thread conditioner!) and mastered the SSSR. (Single Shuttle Split Ring) It is my 'go anywhere' project, so I'm still working on the tail and back section.

So with all these WIP's you can see why I didn't know what to work on. (I didn't even mention or photograph my quilling and sewing projects). I think my first priority will be finishing the backpack. I have no idea what I will work on after that.
~Sarah

Various Projects

I've been writing this post in my head for several days, and figured it was about time to blog it.Warning: this is a picture-heavy post!



For starters, I'm planning on an Etsy update sometime this weekend. All my listings have expired, and I have some new items to list. These fan pulls will be among the new items.

My latest knitting project was this reuseable Swiffer cover. It's made with The Original Sugar & Cream yarn, the colorway was 'Potpourri'. The pattern is from Ravelry.







A couple of weeks ago in this post, I set a goal to finish the yellow rose and fabric in Lady of the Thread. I was able to finish the rose, and got the two bits of fabric connected, but not finished. In other cross stitch news, I finally took Ruth 1:16 to Hobby Lobby to be framed.

 

A while back I joined the Rochester, NY Crochet Group on Ravelry. I've been going to the bi-monthly meetings, and have progressed slightly on my Never Ending Granny Square Afghan. The afghan consists of 70 squares, and I'm doing one color at a time. There are 7 rounds to each square, and the white makes up the third and fourth rounds. After all the squares get sewn together, there are four border rows.
I  got the pattern from freepatterns.com and it appears to be copied from Crochet World Magazine Vol. 19, page 40.



I made two of these bookmarks for the Summer Missionaries that came to minister at our Church for the month of June. The pattern is one of my favorites for quick gifts. It's the Ribbon and Lace Bookmark from the Big Book of Tatting, page 14. My current tatting project(s) are the Facebook July TAL motif (the theme is Christmas in July), and finishing my second cross bookmark. The reason I have two is that I broke the thread on the first one and couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I started over. By the time I finished making the second one, I had figured out how to fix the first one.

I think that's everything I've been working on while I haven't been blogging. Hope you enjoyed the crafting gallery!
~Sarah

Mystery Knitting (Cup Cozy)

You may have noticed some 'mystery knitting' in my WIP list. I can now reveal the project. A sock monkey mug/cup cozy. I found the pattern on Ravelry, and since my sister loves monkeys, and since today was her birthday, I made it for her. A couple of notes on the pattern - knit loosely! I had some trouble with the knitting curling up on me, since I was knitting tightly. Also, make sure the ears are facing the right way when you sew them on. Somehow I ended up sewing one ear on backwards.
~Sarah

Knitted Glove-Mitts

 I finally finished these Glove-Mitts Wednesday Evening. They still need a button and loop of some sort to hold the glove-flap down when it's not being used. A friend of mine has a loop and a pompom. I'm still thinking about the best way to do it. The pattern is from the January 2008 issue of Creative Knitting. I didn't quite like the way the first one fit, so I made some changes to the second one. The cuff is 1/4-1/2" longer. I picked up a few extra stitches around the thumb/thumb gusset. I also added two extra stitches to the pinky finger.
~Sarah

                                                                                        

Belated Gifts

Because of a death in the family, we did not celebrate Christmas with my grandparents until late January. I made this beach tote for my Grandma, since she likes mine so much. The pattern is 'Girlfriends Beach Tote from Mary Mulari's book Accessories with Style. The best thing about this tote is that there is a layer of vinyl between the top lace and bottom tapestry sections. You can put your wet stuff in the top, and everything in the bottom will stay dry. The one problem I have is that the tapestry fabric ravels like crazy. I serged most of the seams this time, but there were a couple I couldn't quite get to.

I also knitted this washcloth and soap sack. The washcloth was not exactly square, and my attempt at knitting the edging from the book looked awful. My Mom kindly helped me out by crocheting an edging for me. The patterns are from the Spa Set in 100 One-Skein Wonders. The yarn is Naturally Caron Spa Yarn, an acrylic/bamboo mix.
~Sarah

A Sock Story

When I started knitting these socks, it was November of 2008. When I finished them, it was February of 2009. They were supposed to be my Mom's Christmas present. However, my plans were waylaid. My pattern was from the book Sensational Knitted Socks; a book that claims to be the only book you'll ever need for knitting socks. Since I had a self striping yarn, I decided to try a chevron pattern designed for self-striping yarns. My first attempt turned out too small. I frogged, grabbed larger needles, and started again. This time the sock was too large. I frogged again, cast on a different number of stitches, and tried again. Way too small. I may have repeated the above process a few more times before I gave up on the pattern. I decided to try a toe up sock. That way I could make the leg longer without having to worry about frogging a lot of work. Just as I was about ready to start knitting the foot, I realized that the toe section looked a bit large, and tried it on. It fit over my slipper sock. 'Nuff said. Right around this time was Christmas day. My Mom got a box of yarn, an un-frogged 3 inches of a tiny sock and an IOU.

By this time I was very frustrated and gave up on any fancy design. I turned to the first pattern in the book, cast on, knit the ribbing, and let Mom choose the pattern. After knitting the pattern design twice, I discovered that it didn't look quite right. Turns out I messed up the pattern and made my own. 'Ok,' I thought, 'nobody will ever know the difference.' Things progressed fairly smoothly until I reached the heel flap. After knitting it, I laid the sock down to photograph it, and decided to make the leg a few rows longer. Put the heel flap in the second time, completed the heel turn, and realized the heel turn was wrong. Ripped it out, put it in again, and realized that I had forgotten to use the reinforcing thread for the heel. So, I frogged and re-knitted. The heel turn was successfully completed. After the heel turn the needles are re-numbered. After puzzling for a while (and getting nowhere) it occurred to me that I should look for corrections for the book. A quick internet search revealed 5 pages of corrections, and two pages that needed to be downloaded. The two downloaded pages were for the pattern I was working with. Doesn't that inspire confidence? The only sock book you'll ever need, along with 5 pages of corrections. However, I digress, after the little matter of re-numbering the needles was solved, the only other issue was that my gauge tightened considerably after I dropped the reinforcing thread. It made the foot look nice, at least. It wasn't the best sock in the world, but it was a sock. I showed it to my Mom, she tried it on, and said she would have liked the foot a bit longer. I offered to rip it out, but she wouldn't hear of it. So, I started in on the second sock. Now that I knew my gauge needed to be tight, everything went smoothly. The second sock took only a few weeks. So, there you have it; how I came to knit a pair of mis-matched socks.
~Sarah