Sky Scarf as of January 29, 2012



 I think my mood sometimes determines whether I see partly cloudy, partly sunny, or sorta gray skies.

Sky Scarf as of January 20, 2012



I've been checking the sky between 4:00 and 4:30 when the sun sets.  The sun is now setting a little later so  the past week's colors weren't as varied as before.  I think I'll start checking the sky after 4:30 now.

1-2-3-4

Maybe I'll make 3-4 scarves.  At this gauge, I could make four 45" scarves.  Quarterly sky scarves?  Perhaps.  Perhaps.

Sky Scarf

Somebody on Facebook and then Ravelry pointed me over to Leafcutter Designs Conceptual Knitting page.  This led to Leafcutter's Sky Scarf project.  I decided to take part in this since two rows of knitting per day is not asking too much of my time.  The project commenced January 1, 2012.

There were a few decisions to make prior to beginning the scarf.  I went to a couple of yarn stores and looked through my stash of yarn for any colors related to the sky.  I put them all together in a bag: all the white, blue, gray, yellow, pink, etc. I could find. I chose to use worsted weight yarn since I have lots of that.  Next, I chose The Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf pattern as the one I would use for this project.  I chose it because it is easy, but appealing, and reversible.  Finally, I chose sunset as the time to look to the sky for color inspiration.  That final decision was the best decision. The sky's colors at that time are so pretty and varied.  The first two days of 2012 turned out to be gray, but I knew everyday in 2012 wouldn't be.  I checked my gauge and found that two rows equal half an inch of knitting.  That means my scarf, if I chose to knit this for a whole year, would end up being 15 feet long.  I decided to make this a 4-6 month project instead.  But now I'm thinking that I could make two or three scarves for this project.  The beauty of that idea is that I have plenty of time to decide.

I'll be updating my progress here and in a Facebook photo album on my page.  Here are the first two updates.

Week 1:



Week 2:

It's Been Awhile

School and and expanded work hours keep me busy and away from my hooks and needles.  This weekend I decided to treat myself to a hat, a pumpkin hat.  I have to write up the pattern for it.  I kinda just winged it as I went along.  I love the way it came out.

Lake County Fair 2008

This summer I entered seven items in the fair. They are listed below with their respective outcomes in the competition.

1. Crochet Decorative Potholder (Stained glass flower pattern) - no ribbon

2. Crochet Shawl (Seraphina's Shawl pattern) - 1st place

3. Crochet Scarf - I don't have a picture of my scarf, but here is the link to the original pattern picture from Interweave Crochet magazine.  [http://www.interweavecrochet.com/issue/2008/toc-spring-2008.asp scroll down just a bit to see a picture)] - 2nd place

4. Crochet Purse (link to project page on Ravelry) - 2nd place

5. Knit Cardigan Sweater (Buttony Sweater pattern) - no ribbon

6. Knit Scarf (Branching Out pattern) - 3rd place

7. Knit Not Specified Above [Charlie's Hat pattern (pattern was once on Magknits, but the site is no more)] - 3rd place

Victorian Shoulderette is Done!

I'll have to post pictures later after I give Connie the office lady her shoulderette. After figuring out the pattern with the help of my friend Sandra, it was easy to knit. Apparently I couldn't read the pattern and knit at the same time. Sandra read the directionsto me s-l-o-w-l-y while I knit what she directed me to knit.

I had to do 14 repeats of the 24 rows. I was click-clacking along so well. Grrr!! Until I was just about done with repeat 9, that is. I ran out of yarn!! I called Alpaca Outfitters in Elkhart where I purchased the yarn to see if they had anymore. I was so lucky. They have discontinued carrying the yarn but the woman who answered the phone had two hanks already wound up into cakes. She sold them to me for $10 including shipping. I finished the shoulderette on Saturday the 19th. I'll have to thank her when I return to Elkhart in August.

I think I'll try and find a pretty pin for the shawl before I give it to Connie. Now I have to find soemthing to make for Pat the other office lady. She's a little harder to read, but I'm thinking a nice purse or maybe another shawl would be nice for her. Ooh! Maybe some gloves or a scarf. I'll figure it all out.

Crap!

I purchased this pattern this afternoon. I thought I'd do something nice for Connie the office secretary at school and make her a shawl. When she gets cold, which is frequently, she wears her jacket wrapped around her shoulders. As I was browsing the many, many patterns on Ravelry, I ran across the Victorian Shoulderette pattern and thought it would be perfect for Connie. That baby was knitting up fast! I got through over half of it this evening. I just finished the first three rows of the lace panel and counted my stitches since when I ended the repeats, I didn't have the number of stitches the pattern said I should have. It appears that I may have neglected three YOs somewhere and now I'm three stitches short. Crap! Now I have to go back three rows and figure out what the hell I did and where I did it.

I hate to undo knitting work. There are so many stitches that can get lost or dropped. It's not like crochet. In crochet there's only one loop on the hook at a time, not like the 173 (or 170, in my case) I have to undo three times on this shoulderette. Ugh! I'll fix it, but for tonight I tossed it aside on the couch and refuse to touch it again until tomorrow.

I thought about walking over to the park and knitting tomorrow, but we're expecting scattered thundestorms and a high temp of 86 degrees. I'm rethinking that idea. Perhaps, I'll go to Borders, purchase an iced tea and maybe a pretzel, and stitch in the cafe. Or I could walk over to the park in the morning before the rain or the rising temperatures.

Arachne's Tears Scarf

I decided to make the Arachne's Tears Scarf from Interweave Crochet's Spring 2008 issue. I'm using some yarn I bought last year at Loopy Yarns.

Here's the scarf from the magazine.
Is it me or does the model resemble Melissa Etheridge?

The yarn is Farmhouse Yarns Silk Blend in purple. It's 350 yards of a dk blend of 34% silk, 33% cotton, and 33% American Crown lamb's wool. Soo soft.




This scarf is going to be wonderful. I need to take it with me to the store and find beads to match. I don't think I'll put beads in the scarf just on the fringe. I've been reading other people's notes on Ravelry about the scarf and the prevailing opinion is that the beaded fringe helps with the drape. I just started it and this is how it's looking so far.


I don't think this is going to take very long. It should go from WIP to FO in no time.

A Little Poetry


I purchased a magnetic poetry kit from Interweave Press several months ago. Here's what I composed with it. Hope you like it.

Purse Exchange

I took part in a Purse Exchange at Knit Knack over on Ravelry. My partner was cabbie911. I made her the Fashion First Aid purse from the Stitch 'N Bitch Happy Hooker book. Here it is. She says she's already got a project in the bag to take with her to work on the ambulance.



I received this purse and goodies from jewls in San Diego.



I used the yarn to make a hat for one of my co-workers on the way to Bloomington. Alas, I didn't take pictures of the three hats I made for Lisa, Josie, and Heather.

Naughty Girl Stuff

Over at Ravelry I belong to (among 23) a group called Knit Knack. Knit Knack was born on MySpace as an alternative to the Stitch 'N Bitch group that kept getting spammed. Eventually some trolls began spamming Knit Knack something fierce. Skyolim, the founder, disbanded the group. The Knit Knackers from MySpace found their way, one by one, over to Ravelry and the group was reformed. Yippee!! Okay, then, there's the history.

Here's the naughty girl stuff! We recently had our Pasties Exchange. I'd never made pasties before, but figured what the heck? I had so much fun! I made two pairs for my exchange partner cerditovolador. I called them the (De)Flower Me Pasties and the Pirate Booty Call Dress Up Kit. Here are the pics and the patterns. Have at it. Make some pasties!

*****************************************

Pirate Booty Call Dress Up Kit

Materials and Equipment

About 2 - 2 ½ oz worsted weight cotton yarn in colors A and B
Crochet hook size H
2 skull buttons
Elastic thread

Gauge: each pasty is approx. 4” diameter

NOTE: The bag is not included in the pattern. It is the skullholders pattern from the Stitch 'N Bitch Happy Hooker book with the skull chart from Hello Yarn's Felted Knitting Tote. I simply striped the back side of the bag and worked one row of single crochet around three sides of the front and back to close and worked one round of single crochet around the top of the bag.

PASTIES

Directions:
Form loop with end of thread with color A.
Round 1: Ch 1, 8 sc in loop. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. Pull end of thread to close hole in center. 8 sc.
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc. With color B, sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 16 sc.
Round 3: Continue with color B. Ch 1, [sc (2 sc in next sc)] around. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 24 sc.
Round 4: Ch 1, [2 sc (2 sc in next sc)] around. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 32 sc.
Round 5: Ch 1, [3 sc (2 sc in next sc)] around. With color A, sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 40 sc.
Round 6: Continue with color A. Ch 1, [4 sc (2 sc in next sc)] around. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 48 sc.

Cut yarn and weave in all loose ends. Sew skull buttons to center of pasties.

EYEPATCH

Directions:
Patch
Row 1: With black yarn, ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 2 ch, 5 sc in last ch. Continue on other side of beginning ch, work sc in other side of next 3 ch.
Row 2: Ch 1, 4 sc, (2 sc in next sc) 3 times, 4 sc.
Row 3: Ch 1, 5 sc, (2 sc in next sc) 4 times, 5 sc.
Row 4: Ch 1, 6 sc, (2 sc in next sc) 6 times, 6 sc.
Row 5: Ch 1, 9 sc, (2 sc in next sc) 2 times, 2 sc, (2 sc in next sc) 2 times, 9 sc. Do not cut yarn. Continue with strap.

Strap:
Ch 60 and sl st to other side of patch.
Round 1: Ch 1, sc in each ch and across top of patch working 1 sc in end of each row. Sl st to 1st sc to close.
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc around. Sl st to 1st sc to close.

Weave in all loose ends. Measure the elastic thread so that it fits around your head comfortably when stretched slightly. Run the elastic through the back of round 2 of strap and tie or sew closed.

*****************************************

(De)Flower Me Pasties

Materials and Equipment

About 1 oz of worsted weight cotton yarn each in pink and green
Crochet hook size H
Letter beads D, O, M, E
Sewing thread

Gauge: each flower approx. 4” diameter

Directions:
Form loop with end of thread using pink yarn.
Round 1: Ch 1, 8 sc in loop. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. Pull end of thread to close hole in center. 8 sc.
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 16 sc.
Round 3: Ch 1, [sc (2 sc in next sc)] around. Sl st to top of 1st sc to close. 24 sc.
Round 4: Ch 1, sc in first sc, ch 2, [sk 2 sc, sc around next sc by wrapping hook from back to front and back again (wrapped sc), ch 2] around. 8 sc and 8 ch 2 loops.
Round 5: Sl st to ch 2 loop. Work (sc, 3 dc, sc) in each ch 2 loop. With green yarn sl st to top of 1st sc in round to close. 8 petals worked.
Round 6: Continue with green yarn. Sl st through any 2 threads on back side of first wrapped sc from round 4, ch 4. (sl st through any 2 threads on back side of next wrapped sc from round 4, ch 4) around. 8 ch 4 loops.
Round 7: Sl st to ch 4 loop. Work (sc, 5 dc, sc) in each ch 4 loop. Sl st to top of 1st sc in round to close. 8 petals worked.

Cut yarn and weave in loose ends. Sew on beads to read “DO” on one flower and “ME” on the other.

*****************************************

These are the ones I received from wildcherry in Alaska. I have always wanted to visit Alaska since I watched Northern Exposure. Marilyn, Dr. Joel's secretary on the show, was an avid knitter. I miss that show. Ahhh, nostalgia... Back to the blog. Here are the pasties received.

The pasties in the top row, black and red ones, are sparkly and give the illusion of pierced nipples without the pain. The pasties in the bottom row are crocheted. The flower to the right is a hair clip. One of my fellow Knit Knackers thought for a moment that I had three nipples. Not so. I turned one of the flower pasties upside down so the crocheted part could be seen.

Gotta Update This Thing

I haven't posted anything her in ages, but I have been busy with the stitching. So without further ado, I give you a slideshow of my projects since last November (eek!).

A Couple o' FOs and a WIP

I bought a new purple coat at Lane Bryant recently. Being a knitter/crocheter, I had to accessorize this new purchase with yarn goodies. I made myself some fingerless gloves (my variation on another's pattern, see this blog entry for details) with some Vanna's Choice yarn in a purple print. Yep, people, Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune has her own yarn. She's quite the crocheter. The yarn is very reasonably priced. The gloves cost me $2.99 to make. Here they are. Kinda spiffy, no? Note to self: Get a manicure!

I've never been one to wear hats. Having short, short hair and a big, big face, I tend to look odd when wearing hats. Headtoppers of any sort have never been a good look for me. However, now that I'm getting old (42 years, 8 months, and 25 days old to be exact), cold weather is affecting me more negatively than before. So what's a middle-aged knitter supposed to do? Stalk the profiles of the hat knitters on Ravelry. I found one I liked. It's Kody May's Lace Elegance Hat. It's purple, of course. I used Jo-Ann's Sensations Bellezza Collection Cosetta yarn. Can you believe I actually wear it out in public? I haven't worn a hat in public since...um... junior high/high school, way back in the late seventies/early eighties. Here she be.



Finally, I needed a scarf. So after stalking the Ravelry scarf knitters, I found the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf pattern. Talk about mindless and pretty (the scarf, not me). One row repeated over and over until the scarf is as long as I want or until the yarn runs out. So two skeins (maybe three?) of Vanna's Choice are now in the process of becoming my scarf. I'm using the same colorway as my gloves. Here's the progress shot so far.

Seraphina's Shawl

I just started this shawl a few days ago. I'd been all over Ravelry searching for shawl patterns when I ran across a few examples of Seraphina's shawl. The ones made with Jo-Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle are just gorgeous. Naturally, I couldn't resist the urge to crochet one. I ordered some yarn online since my local Jo-Ann didn't carry the colors I wanted. I really, really wanted the shades of reds/oranges but couldn't find it online. I ordered some orangy yarn instead. I'm sure the shawl will be pretty anyhow. I also got some berry shades yarn and green shades yarn. My plan is to make this shawl again in the spring in green for my secret pal at work. I sure hope she's a shawl wearer.

The first one I decided to make is the berry colored one. Just look at it so far.

It looks nice in my opinion. I'm going to love this shawl when it's done.

I've never been a huge fan of boucle yarns. I like my yarn on the smooth side without little things hanging from it, but I bowed to the Ravelry peer pressure and bought the boucle (6 big-ass skeins of boucle, as a matter of fact). It's not so bad once you get working with it. Plus, this boucle isn't that loopy. It's more like boucle-lite. My only complaint is that it's a bitch to untangle as I crochet. I found the end in the center of the skein. I like to use center pull skeins. But every few yards the yarn gets all tangled. Just take a peek here. You can see the tangled guts of the skein getting puked out as I crochet. This is definitely not pretty yarn porn.

I would be making so much faster progress if I didn't have to untangle so often. I swear I probably would've finished this within 3-4 days if my yarn was smooth and tangle-free. As it is, I'm gonna have to work for the FO this will be.

Have You Seen This Show??



Have you? I'm so hooked on Pushing Daisies. The best part is that Emerson Cod knits. He knits!! He knits gun cosies and money holders. It's awesome. I hope this show goes on forever and ever.

Thanks to Knitting Lemonade for the Pushing Daisies button.

Recorder Flute Case

My class has music the last period on Wednesdays. They are dismissed by the music teacher at the end of the day. Since they do not return to my class or their lockers, they must take their recorder flutes with them. Sometimes the recorders get jostled around or pulled apart when the kids jam them into their backpacks. Here is my solution below. I decided to make a class set of these (20, in this case) for my students. They only take 45 minutes to complete so I'll be done in no time at all. Well, fifteen hours of crocheting overall, but really, who's counting? They are being modeled in the pictures by the lovely Sarah.




Materials and Equipment

About 2 ½ oz of worsted weight yarn
Crochet hook size J

Directions:
Form loop with end or thread.
Round 1: Ch 1, 6 sc in loop. Close this round and all rounds with sl st in top of first st.
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st. 12 sc
Round 3: Ch 1 , sc in 1st st, 2 sc in next st, (sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) around. 18 st
Round 4: Working back loops, Ch 2, 5 dc in 1st st (one shell made), sk 2 sc, sc in next st, sk 2 st, 5 dc in next st, sk 2 sc, sc in next st, sk 2 st, 5 dc in next st, sk 2 st, sc in next st. Close this round with sl st in top of first stitch.
Round 5: Ch 1, sl st to 3rd dc of shell, ch 1, sc in same st, (shell in next sc, sc in 3rd dc of next shell) 3 times. Close with sl st in top of 1st sc.
Round 6: Ch 2, shell st in same stitch as ch 2, sc in 3rd dc of next shell, shell in next sc, sc in 3rd dc of next shell, shell in next sc, sc in 3rd dc of next shell. Close with sl st in 1st dc of beginning shell.

Rounds 7-28 Repeat Rounds 5 and 6.

Round 29: Ch 1, hdc in same st as joining, ch 1, skip one st, (hdc in next st, ch 1) around. Sl st to top of beg hdc to close.

Drawstring: Working with yarn doubled, ch 30. Run chain through ch 1 spaces of last round. Tie ends together.

Strap: With yarn doubled, connect yarn to center dc of one shell in last shell round made. Ch 80, sl st to 3rd dc of corresponding shell in round 4, turn, sc in each chain.

Weave in loose ends.

TA-DA!

I finished the Lacy V Scarf I was working on for mi primita Nora. I referred to the scarf in the "Sometimes I Feel Like a Genius" post below. It came out cute. Check out the picture below. I just have to admit this: Ahem, <clears throat> I hate blocking my work. I wish it would come off the needles ready-to-wear. That said, the picture shows the scarf blocking on some light blue foam board I picked up at Lowe's. I paid about $7 for this big-ass sheet of foam that the kindly store employee scored down the middle so it could fold easy for storage. I had such a Lucy-and-Ethel moment trying to put this in my car. Even if there was no Ethel to my Lucy, the sight of me wrestling with a big piece of sky blue foam was filled with enough comedy for two bumbling, block-hating knitters. Well, enough reminiscing. Here's the scarf.

Sometimes I feel like a genius

I decided to make this scarf for my cousin for her birthday. Now, when I knit lace, I can't see the pattern forming before my eyes and I must always read the directions or the chart. I love knitting lace, but it takes a lot of effort on my part. This scarf is a 14-row repeat. So far it's knitting up quickly. Here's why.

I copied and pasted the directions for the 14 rows into a table, one row's worth of directions per cell, on Microsoft Word and made the font bigger to accomodate my middle-aged eyes. Then I printed the directions off on cardstock and cut apart the cells into cards. I stapled them together at the bottom in order from first row to 14th row.

Now as I knit, I just see one row at a time and fold down the card to reveal the next row. I use a binder clip to keep the cards from folding back up. Seems to be working for me.

Halloween Things


Thanks to Nan Dodge and her help with this pattern. I found a pattern on the Internet that was 110 stitches on size 6 DPNs, but that hat turned out way too big. Nan suggested less stitches and a pattern for me. Click here to find a video for the The Two-handed Fair Isle Technique used to knit the green and orange rounds. Here's the pattern I used:

Nan’s Pumpkin Hat

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES:
Orange worsted-weight yarn
Green worsted-weight yarn
Size 6 DPN
Locking stitch marker

GAUGE: 5 stitches = 1 inch

DIRECTIONS:
With orange CO 80 stitches
Join and knit for 7-8 inches. Mark first stitch with stitch marker.
Join green and knit (7 orange stitches, 1 green stitch) around.
Next round knit (5 orange, 3 green) around
Next round knit (3 orange, 5 green) around
Next round knit (1 orange, 7 green) around
Next round drop orange and continue with green. Knit this round.

Crown:
(K6, k2tog) around 70 stitches
Knit one round
(K5, k2tog) around 60 stitches
Knit one round
(K4, k2tog) around 50 stitches
Knit one round
(K3, k2tog) around 40 stitches
Knit one round
(K2, k2tog) around 30 stitches
Knit one round
(K1, k2tog) around 20 stitches
Knit one round
(k2tog) around 10 stitches
Knit one round
(k2tog) around 5 stitches
Knit one round
Continue on these 5 stitches making an i-cord stem to the desired length.

*************************

Next up is Sarah Lou's candy corn hat.