Finished : Sampler Scarf

So the scarf that I started knitting in February is done!  Less then 2 months - not bad I'd say!  I picked the yarn to match the hat (that I didn't make) that I'm wearing in the picture. 

I'm calling it my sampler scarf because that's what it is - a sample of different stripes and blocks of colours.  I did make the ends match but the middle is a free for all.

And now it's almost spring (hooray!) but I have a feeling I'll have a couple chances to wear this before putting it away for the summer.

On my Desk

I seem to have a bunch of projects on the go right now.  This is what my desk looks like as a result!

One of the projects is making little dolls from the instructions in this book.  I'd ordered the felt before Christmas but hadn't gotten around do making anything (non-Christmassy) with it till now.  I forgot how enjoyable embroidering on wool felt is.  Very theraputic!

Not that I'm rushing along at great speed but the dolls will have to be headless until I can get to Michaels or some such and buy the right size beads.  Good excuse to visit a craft store though!

On my Needles

I like having a knitting project on the go: I rarely just sit and watch TV, usually I am also working on something and knitting fits the bill pretty well.  It's easy to pick it up and knit for a few minutes, doesn't require too much thought and I can keep half an eye on any important on-screen action.  Since I finished my Fiddlehead Mittens I've cast on for a scarf. 

It's fun to decide the pattern as I go.  I think it's going to be like a sampler, with different sizes of colour blocks and stripes in no particular pattern.  And it's work towards my goal of decreasing yarn stash.  This yarn has only been in the collection for 4 months so that's not too bad.

Finished : Fiddlehead Mittens

This weekend I got one project crossed off my list - fiddlehead mittens (kit purchased in fall 2009) are now complete!

I ran out of wool in the lining colour so had to use one of the colours from the outside mitten to finish off the second lining.  Since the whole thing gets shoved inside the outer mitt you won't notice the dark blue on the end. Phew!

I haven't tried the mitts outside yet but I'm sure they'll be nice and warm - two layers of wool has got to equal warmth, right?  Just as well with temperatures like we've been having (-30 celcius this morning)!

The one thing I'm not completely happy with is that the lining bunches up a bit inside, like the lining is a bit too big for the outer mitt.  I want to knit these again with fewer stitches in the body of the lining mitt or on smaller needles to see if that helps.

Although after taking a year (with lots of breaks) to knit these I'm not sure that I'll be in that much of a hurry to start again!

Doll Mittens - Tutorial

I made these into Canada/Olympic mittens for a Cabbage Patch Kid but they could be used on any soft doll in the 16" - 20" range.

I used Cascade 220 and 4.5mm needles.  You could always vary the yarn weight and needle size to make the mittens bigger/smaller!

Cast on 22 stitches and join in the round. **

Knit the body of the mitten:

Rounds 1-6:  K1, P1 rib.

Rounds 7-8: knit

Round 9: K2, K4 onto waste yarn, knit to end with regular yarn.

Continue knitting in the round until the mitten is 3 inches from the edge of the cuff.

K1, K2tog for 2 rounds

K2tog for 1 round

Cut yarn and thread through remaining stitches, pull tight and sew the end in.

Make the thumb:

Unpick the stiches on the waste yarn and put on to two needles, picking up an extra stitch at each end of the hole (10 stitches total).

Round 1: K3, K2tog. Repeat.

Continue knitting for 5-6 rounds.

K2tog, K1 for one round.

Cut yarn and thread through remaining stitches, pull tight and sew the end in.

Sew in any remaining yarn ends and knit the matching mitt!

**I used to have a hard time keeping the stitches tightly together when joining in the round until I read about this trick: Cast on an extra stitch (23 for these mitts).  Divide the stitches onto three needles as normal.  Without using the fourth needle knit the first stitch onto the last needle and cast off one stitch.  Now you should have 22 stitches on three needles.  Pick up your fourth needle and continue as usual!

On Second Thought...

The tutorial on the mini notebook (alluded to here) is not going to happen.  I should have bought the one I saw at Michaels!  Things started going wrong after this step:

The outside looked great and I thought letting the thing dry folded up was the answer to my problem.  Until I put the lining paper on and after drying folded it doesn't have enough give to let the book open flat.  I'm still going to finish it off but I think I need to find a tutorial rather then write one!

Another project that has been redirected is the knitting of a scarf out of this:

After knitting about half a dozen swatches I couldn't find a pattern I could get excited about knitting and wearing so I'm reassigning the wool to leg warmers.  It's good to be flexible after all!

Of course some projects go well from the start - I made a brooch today and it turned out how I pictured it (don't you love when that happens?).  Tutorial coming up on that one!

New Year, New Projects

Now that Christmas is over it's time to start some new projects.  I haven't had any non-Christmas projects on the go for the past month or two and it was a little strange to start in on something that was not a) intended as a gift or b) in red and green.

Last week I was at Michael's and saw a little notebook titled "Ideas".  I almost bought it (it was only $1.50 after all) but then decided it would be a better idea to make my own, reusing some paper printed only on one side and perfectly fine for notes and scrap paper.  I had my cover beautifully covered in chiyogami paper and everything was great until I tried to refold the pre-scored cover.

I obviously forgot to account for the fact that a scored piece of cardboard will be "bigger" when bent then when lying flat (which is how I applied the paper and let it dry.)  Back to the drawing board on that one!  The good news is I am planning a tutorial so you can learn from my mistakes!

Also in progress - or more like the planning stages - is a scarf made out of this "chocolate mint" wool. 

I thought "knit a scarf" sounded so simple but I'm having trouble finding a pattern that I want to a) knit and b) wear.  I'm going to knit a couple more swatches tonight and hopefully decide on a pattern!

What new projects have you been working on?

WIP Update

So the WIP from the last post is still IP. I need to make a trip to the scrapbooking store before I can finish it. Maybe this weekend. In the meantime I've started another project using this yarn. The mulitcoloured yarn is Noro's Cashmere Island - soooo beautiful! I just loved the colours in this skein and since I only need one skein (I hope!) for this project the extra cost seemed do-able.

Fingerless Mittens

Just a quick post to show off my latest knitting project - fingerless mittens for keeping wrists warm!

I got the pattern from Sandy in Wonderland and made the minor adjustment of using one skein instead of two. (The pattern calls for two skeins so the stripes will match. Then with the leftover yarn you knit a second pair for your "best friend") I wasn't too fussy about having them match and couldn't think of anyone to give the "best friend" pair to so I knit both from the same skein.



I loved knitting with this yarn: it's really easy to work with and has such lovely colours running through it! It's got a really long colourway and each bit of yarn can have several colours in it. A bit hard to explain so take a look:



I have to admit this project was a little addicting, it knit up so quickly and with such great colours I said "just one more row" several times!

Thrummed Mittens

This winter I have fallen in love with knitting thrummed mittens. You start with some wool roving and yarn...


and end up with this:


I started with a kit I got for my birthday (which wasn't by chance - I dropped some "subtle" hints). It took me a while to get the hang of thrumming but once I got it I had so much fun playing with the wool roving. This is what they look like inside, all that lovely wool against your hands!


About a week before Christmas I noticed my sister needed new mittens, guess what she got?


Actually it was a bit of a rush so she only got the one mitten (finished on Christmas Eve day) wrapped up but the other one appeared a few days later. Then, not to leave my mom out I made her a pair too.


I love the combination of the two blues. I enjoy playing with the colour combinations. I think a pair of black mittens with really bright roving would be great! Now I just need more people to knit them for...

Felted Friends

A new craft for me this year is needle felting. Over the holidays I got myself some roving and a couple barbed needles, these are the results so far:
This was supposed to be/it is a sheep. I think the legs need a little more felting so they'd be stronger (this guy had some objections to standing up for the photo).



Then I decided to go for an easier project with fewer appendages needing attention, a ladybug fit the fill nicely!



My first attempt at a "make it up as you go" critter. (The previous projects followed instructions from Wool Pets). I think he turned out quite well, he just needs some eyes. Not sure how I'm going to do those, beads maybe.



And just for fun, something not needlefelted at all but lunch at a local bakery!