Monday, November 10, 2008

Just Because

Just because I can.


ARRRRRRRRRRR!

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I love this kid. He cracks me up so much.

Whirlwind Tour

I'm going to take you on a whirlwind tour of the stuff I've been making (and not blogging, heh). This might take a while....

Let's go in reverse order.


A friend of mine is due in December, and better yet she's having a girl and planning to cloth diaper. So, I dyed some yarn and made her a diaper cover. I couldn't decide whether to add a skirt or not until just a couple days ago. I happened to browse some of the baby patterns and it seemed like every other picture was a cute little skirty soaker! One in particular was especially cute and pleated. I had already given the soaker pleated ruffly cuffs, so I added a skirt with a similar style. It definitely improved the look. (I had made it a bit long too, and finally had the sense to fold down the waistband). I used up all my yarn.

Front:
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Front under skirty:
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Back:
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Before the skirt:
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Close look at the leg ruffles:
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I always have projects to work on. But sometimes, I start feeling bogged down if I don't have one close to being done, and then I don't really want to work on them at all. Instead, I want to cast on something new! And fast! Or maybe just make swatches with different yarn. I happened across some really cute catnip toy patterns on one such day, and cranked out three before I was done. There is something extra satisfying about using up that last little bit of leftover yarn.

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We had the NC State Fair here in Raleigh recently. I submitted a small Swallowtail Shawl that I had made with jaggerspun, and some colorgrown cotton/tussah silk blend yarn with seashells spun in. I don't have a picture of the yarn though. It didn't really photograph that well - I think it will look a lot better knitted, if I can ever figure out what to make with it. So here is the swallowtail shawl (knitted on size 2 needles).

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I like to wear it as a headscarf:
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I started working on a beautiful sock "Scheherazade's Slippers." I ignored the recommendations for size/gauge because I like my socks a certain gauge/tension, and I also like them tight-fitted. Well, I finished the main part of the pattern and I couldn't get the heel over my foot. Grrrrr. It is currently sitting, ripped back to the heel, waiting for me to decide if I really think I can remember or write down all my heel alterations and get them right for the next sock. Assuming I come up with a heel alteration that would work within the pattern. I might just frog the whole thing and use this yarn for a more basic sock, and re-visit the slippers when I have a thicker yarn.

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I also made a winter hat for my boy, with some yarn I dyed. It never pooled in any of my swatches, or even my first go at a hat (it was a bit too loose and open, so I went down a needle size or two). But in the right number of stitches and a better gauge, it made this spiral effect. I'm not really sure whether I like it better as random spreckles or ordered spirals. ;^)

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I started a pair of Kanoko Pants with the intention of giving them away as a baby present... but they took me too long to make and I like them a lot, so they're going in the "hope chest" for the next one. Hehe.

Of course, I tell myself that I'm done with stripes every time I do a project that has them. These pants took me two months to finish working up the motivation and weaving in all the ends. Bleh.

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I knitted a prosthetic breast. I need to knit a matching one, and maybe some more, and donate them.

(I kind of want to make a couple for me, for stuffies. Hehehe).

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I made a double-knit dishcloth to keep the bright colors of this very happy yarn in order. (I know, you wouldn't think I would ever buy such bright stuff. What can I say, I must have needed cheering up when I was in the store). I was liking how the colors lined up together every other row and was trying to figure out how to do a slip stitch pattern to really make it do what I wanted. I kind of figured it out in my head, but then realized "Hey, that would make it double knit. Not really what I wanted... wait, that would be neat!" So there ya go. The top and bottom edges are ribbing, and the edge 3 stitches are garter stitch. The middle is double knit.

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It's kind of hard to show the double knit aspect in a picture, but I tried:
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I made a ruffly shawl from the book "Greetings from Knit Cafe." I used some of the black mohair blend left over from the Transparent Cardigan. It looks nice as a headwrap, and makes me look like a gypsy. Well, maybe a gypsy in mourning, heh.

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Whew, I'm tired! Now I know why I've been putting off the blogging, hehe. That was a lot of stuff! And I still feel like I must be forgetting something. Oh well. :^)

Quick Halloween Post

First, the pumpkins:

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And next, the Nibbler:

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That costume took an entire week for me to make. He wore the mask for oh, maybe 10 minutes. Heh.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

My Boy Winds Yarn!

That's right, my boy winds yarn. And lately he's taken to watching me knit. I might have to try teaching him again soon.




I made him a simple little washcloth out of that yarn. He loves it. He also wouldn't leave me alone while I was knitting it, and he would insist on holding the yarn and pulling it out of the skein for me while I was working on it.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Monorail Kitty!

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Now with headlights!

Monorail Cat - with headlights!

More Dishtowels and Washcloths

Well, the title really says it all. I'm still having fun with the basket rib pattern, and I sort of invented a pattern of my own too. Unfortunately the washcloths are so variegated that you can't really see my pattern very well, but I mainly invented it so I could get to the end faster than garter stitch. ;^)

But first, the dishtowels:

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The green was from a recycled cotton sweater, and the brown was elann Sonata (mercerized cotton).


And here are the washcloths. One of them is in the basket rib stitch, and the other is my own invention.

CO 30 stitches in long tail cast-on (baby washcloth size).
Knit back and forth for three rows.
Rows 1 & 4: *K2, P2* across, end K2.
Rows 2 & 3: *P2, K2* across, end P2.
Rows 5-8: K across.

Work rows 1-8 to total 5 pattern repeats. Then repeat rows 1-7. Bind off in knit stitch.


Here's the pic of both:

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My Pattern (it's reversible):

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Basket Rib:

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Warm Ankles

I know I've told you all before, but man do I hate having cold ankles. Well, not all of the time. But when they're being quirky even my knees will hurt unless I manage to keep my ankles warm and snug.

I made myself some yoga socks in sock yarn ages ago, and finally realized that I had just enough of my own shetland/angora handspun to make a second pair. (And they are wonderful. Very soft, and warm without being too warm).

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You know the pattern - Yoga Socks from Just Jussi. I altered them from all-over ribbing to be mostly stockinette.