FO – This Tangled Skein

Two Days ’til Christmas…

by beth

December 23, 2011

12:26 pm

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Everything Else

Cross Stitch, Finished, FO, FO Friday, Non-Knitting Projects, Santa, Stockings, Xmas, Xstitch

… and the stocking is done!

(Yes, I blurred K’s full name.)

Pattern: Candy Cane Santa Stocking by Donna Race
Source: Dimensions Gold Collection kit via Jo-Ann Fabric
Notes: This is the third (and final) family stocking, and it definitely took me the longest. It’s also the only one I actually did the final sewing on. (The first sewing I’ve done since I was 14!) Like the others, I lined the front with the white felt that came in the kit and used red felt to create the back of the stocking. It’s probably a good thing that Santa doesn’t stuff the grown-ups’ stockings in our house, since this one might be just a little bit fragile at the seams.

Science Doll

by beth

December 24, 2010

7:00 am

1 Comment on Science Doll

Yarn

Finished, FO, FO Friday, Gift Knitting, Projects, Toys

(Or, Hey, Look, There’s Some Knitting on the Supposed Knitting Blog!)

This is my friend, Sarah:

Well, a toonified representation of her alter ego, Science Doll, anyway. She’s smart as a whip, and you can follow her at her her site or her twitter feed.

I’d wanted to make something for her for quite a while, but I wasn’t sure what to make. And then I heard about the Stitched Selves that went on display in London last summer. How could I not make her her very own Sci Doll doll?

Project Specs:
Pattern: Stitch Yourself (Knit) by Whodunnknit
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Natural for the body; Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Thraven for the shoes, and a bit of some alpaca blend for the hair.
Needles: Size US4 bamboo DPNs for the body, size US1 bamboo DPNs for the shoes

I made her a little skeleton of chenille stems (what we used to call “pipe cleaners” when I was a kid) so the arms and legs are poseable and attach to a spine that keeps the head from just flopping over. Her skirt is made of wide wired Christmas ribbon that I folded in half before bending it into the pleats. It’s sewn in place, right onto the body. The shirt is made of white felt, cut and sewn on. I made the hair by looping a length of yarn around and around a little toy beeper (it was the right size), sewing through the middle, and cutting the loops on either side, then sewing it to the top of the head. Finally, I embroidered the face.

The knitting itself was super quick. The clothing was a little trickier. I would have liked to give her some knee socks, but couldn’t quite get them scaled right.

When I handed it to her, she said, “It’s a little me!” The best reaction I could have asked for, really.

Lil Miss also really liked the doll, so I’m going to have to knit up a mini-Lil-Miss for her.

Marching to the Finish

by beth

March 26, 2010

5:29 pm

1 Comment on Marching to the Finish

Yarn

Bags, Cardigans, Finished, FO, Knitting, Knitty, MrGreenjeans, Sweaters

Even though I didn’t make it by the Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics, I was determined to finish my Greenjeans sweater. I finished the last few rows and sewed on the button this morning.

I am not in love with the button after all. I need to take it off and move it inward (away from the bound-off edge) anyway, so I might replace it entirely.

I decided to try out the timer setting on our camera, with mixed results:

It’s an incredibly comfortable sweater, despite the sleeves being a teeny bit too long (which was completely my own doing).

Pattern: Mr. Greenjeans, by Amy Swenson, from the Fall 2007 issue of Knitty
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, about 12 balls
Needles: US8 and US7
Notes: Thank you, Amy, for writing the instructions for picking up the neck-/buttonband the way you did. If I had realized ahead of time that I was about to pick up 262 stitches, it probably would have given me more pause. Since my row gauge was off, I did extra rounds on the sleeves in between decreases, and I made the sleeves full-length. I also made the body a little longer.

This was a really nice, clear, straightforward sweater pattern. It’s been quite a while since I made a sweater for myself. I should make some more.

Meet the Mantis

by beth

March 4, 2010

6:00 pm

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Yarn

amigurumi, Finished, FO, hansigurumi, Knit Picks, Knitting, Projects, Test Knitting, Toys

Now that the Knit Picks catalog for March has arrived, I can show you all my favorite recent knit for them, the Praying Mantis, from Amigurumi Knits.

Clearly deep in contemplation, she’s a thoughtful one.

Also, being an outdoorsy sort, she can’t resist climbing a nice tree.

But she didn’t mind hanging out at work with me, either.

She found that Piggie, who regularly appears as my Ravatar image, is a very good listener.

But then she seemed to be getting just a little bit too close for comfort, so it was time to send her off to Washington for her professional photo shoot.

Knit from Wool of the Andes in Green Tea Heather and Fairy Tale (which is a really nice shade of purple) with two sets of bamboo DPNs. Chenille stems down the legs and in the thorax keep her upright, and fiberfill in her abdomen and head round her out (so to speak).

I really, really like knitting toys. I’m going to have to knit a Mantis for myself. With the right colors, I could totally make myself a little N’Grath.

Victory is Mine!

by beth

November 16, 2009

6:00 am

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Yarn

Finished, FO, Knitting, Loopy Ewe, Sock Clubs, Sockdown, Socks, Wollmeise

I finished the Zig Zag Diamonds Socks while watching the Illini lose to Northwestern on Saturday. Well, at least one of us was successful.

Details:
Pattern: Zig Zag Diamonds, by Jeannie Cartmel
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 100% Superwash, in “Guide to Galaxy”
Needles: Addi Turbos, size US 1, 2 circs
Started: October 15, 2009
Completed: November 14, 2009
Comments: This would have been a quicker knit if I hadn’t messed up the pattern on the second sock. It was nice to have plenty of yarn for that 3rd sock, though. I’m not loving the way the pattern starts straightaway after the cast-on, even though it’s a 1×1 ribbed stitch pattern. The pattern and yarn were the September shipment for the Loopy Ewe sock club. It also happened to fit the theme for the Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown! for October, which is the main reason they got cast on and done so soon.

They are cozy socks. Now, what to do with that extra one?

Scarf Weather

by beth

June 26, 2009

5:00 am

1 Comment on Scarf Weather

Yarn

Casbah, Finished, FO, Gardiner Yarn Works, Knitting, Midnight Lace Scarf, Projects, Scarves, Scarves and Shawls, Test Knitting

When my first installment of the Loopy Ewe Sock Club arrived, I knew there was no way that beautiful skein of cashmere blend was going to become socks. It was so soft and lovely that I just kept the hank on my desk for weeks, regularly gazing at it and every now and then giving it just a little squeeze.

Gorgeous blue and green, and so very squooshy. I decided right away that it was going to be a scarf of some sort, but I needed to find the perfect pattern.

And then came an email from Chrissy, looking for a few testers for upcoming patterns. I was assigned a scarf with lace and cables, designed for Handmaiden’s Swiss Mountain Cashmere & Silk. And I knew exactly what my Casbah was destined to become.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Midnight Lace Scarf, by Chrissy Gardiner. Available at many retailers.
Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah, “Ocean Currents” Colorway. Used as much of the skein as possible.
Needles: Size US 6
Dimensions: 6″ x 64″ – about an inch narrower and shorter than the pattern.
Notes: I blocked this really aggressively, because I knew I had less yardage than the pattern called for. While this works for the lace, the cables are a little bit more stretched out than I would like. Still, the scarf is incredibly soft and cozy. I found the pattern easy to follow and easy to memorize, but with just enough action to keep me interested.

I finished the scarf in early May, just in time for temperatures to hit the 90s around here. This autumn, I’m going to be hard-pressed to decide between this and my green Bugga! Clapotis. I can hardly wait.

The Deadliest… Finger Puppets?

by beth

June 24, 2009

5:00 am

1 Comment on The Deadliest… Finger Puppets?

Yarn

Baby, Finished, FO, Knitting, Knitty, The Deadliest Crab, Toys

I finished Crabby Crawl for Little Miss over the weekend, but I couldn’t resist playing with the pieces before sewing them up.

Creepy, aren’t they? I tried to get a picture of them curling around a door frame, but I couldn’t quite contort myself enough to get a photo of my own hand in that position. And the other members of my household may have had enough of my crab-leg-fingers after I put them on and waved them around eerily in the semi-darkness as we watched The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

Once they were stuffed and sewn onto Mr. Crabby Crawl, though, they were downright cute.

Project Specs

Pattern: The Deadliest Crab, by Amber Allison, in the Summer ’09 issue of Knitty

Yarn: Cascade 220. The white is from a batch I bought at Stitches West a few years back; the orange is from The Loopy Ewe. It took just over half a skein of orange and about a quarter skein of the white.

Needles: Size US4 Crystal Palace DPNs. I went down to 4s, and you can still see stuffing through the stitches in some places.

Notes: The pattern is pretty easy to follow, especially now that the decrease error has been corrected. I also picked up the stitches for the bottom shell in the wrong direction – watch out for that, or you end up with a reverse stockinette belly! I don’t trust “safety eyes” in knitted fabric for the under-3 set, so I cut circles out of black and white felt and sewed them on with matching embroidery floss.

Little Miss found him in the den on Monday morning and immediately exclaimed, “Crabby Crawl!” She proceeded to carry him around by one leg for quite a while. Ah, a girl and her crustacean. Is there a sweeter sight?

Now That’s A Sock

by beth

August 30, 2008

10:13 pm

2 Comments on Now That’s A Sock

Yarn

Embossed Leaves, Favorite Socks, Finished, FO, Interweave, Knitting, Mona Schmidt, Socks, Tempted

Two of ’em, in fact.

Specs:
Pattern: Embossed Leaves, by Mona Schmidt, from Interweave’s Favorite Socks
Yarn: Tempted Hand Painted Bad Grrl in the Clover colorway, purchased from her Etsy Shop (You can also get her yarns over at The Loopy Ewe.)
Needles: Size US1.5 bamboo Clover DPNs.
Modifications: Doing an entire first sock and then ripping it out gave me a chance to test out a few things and discover I didn’t like the fit of the specified 1×1 rib cast-on. So, I did my usual cable cast-on followed by the 18 rounds of twisted rib. I refused to cut the yarn after turning the heel, instead picking up the gusset stitches on the first round after the short-rows. Also, I slipped the first stitch on every heel flap row to make picking up those stitches easier.

I love these socks. They’re so pretty! And the yarn is soooo soft and luxurious. If it weren’t 90 degrees out, I’d be wearing them right now. Actually, I almost did wear them to work today anyway, but my green blouse is in the wash. Maybe next week.

FO (Felted Object) Friday

by beth

April 25, 2008

4:01 pm

1 Comment on FO (Felted Object) Friday

Yarn

Accessories, Bags, Felting, Finished, FO, IndiKnits, Knitting, Noro

I go away for a while, and wordpress totally changes the look of things. Crikey.

Last week, I was off work on Friday, and I decided to go through some stuff in the craft closet. I found a bag that I knitted up at least two years ago, but never got around to actually felting. So, I tossed it in our front loader on Hot with a few tennis balls, then ran it through again with a load of towels. And voila: a felted bag. The i-cord handle tied itself in a couple of knots during the process, but they came out easily. The pattern was supposed to be done in stripes of Lamb’s Pride, but I used either Noro Kureyon or Big Kureyon and let it stripe itself.

It’s my first felted project, and I have not fallen in love with the process. I think I’ll go back to socks now.