Kim's Crochet Blog

Christmas has come and gone with a touch of handmade gifts of all varieties. Knitted and crocheted gifts included:

• Valley Yarns purple mobius cowl for my SIL- knit
• Wavy scarf for my MIL- knit
• Mushroom fingerless mitts for my nephew- knit
• Gold fingerless mitts for a friend- crochet
• Gold headband for the same friend- crochet
• White sparkley unicorn for my niece- crochet
• Tunisian diamonds scarf for a friend- tunisian crochet

There were several adventures along the way of most some of the projects.  Starting with the Valley Yarn mobius, that one I knitted twice!  It was a revisit of the mobius pattern I’ve previously made for myself.  I am completely in love with this cowl and during the fall and winter I’m nearly always wearing it.  I wear it out with my coat and inside to take some of the bite out of the air.   I find that it is so versatile for indoor/outdoor wear.  Since I can wear it double or single around my neck I also get two levels of warmth without looking silly wearing a scarf inside.  I had a couple skeins of Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky made of wool and alpaca left over from my purple sweater project.  From the couple times I’ve worn the finished sweater I’ve discovered the yarn is fantastically warm!  My SIL works from home and her studio can be pretty darn cold so I thought that a snuggly cowl would probably fit the bill nicely.  After knitting it the first time I cast off too tight and it wouldn’t go around my head to wear it doubled.  I recast it with about 10 to 15 more stitches than it called for and also made sure to cast off nice a loosely.  That worked out nicely.

The fingerless mitts for my nephew were the next installment in his collection of knitted/crocheted Super Mario themed gifts from me (starting with the Super Mario Blanket that started this blog!).  I had never knit gloves before so I knew it would have a bit of a learning curve.  I thought I could easily turn the fingerless mitt pattern found at Vickie Howell’s blog into mittens, but after finishing off the top of the mittens and having added the mushrooms to each mitt I realized I don’t know the slightest thing about knitting a thumb!  I decided to just crochet a thumb but it was a bit obvious I didn’t really know what I was doing.  Since it is winter there are several drives in the area for scarves, gloves and hats so I just donated them.  Second try I decided to just stick with the pattern with only one minor adjustment of shortening the wrist portion.  This project was my first time using a duplicate stitch method to create an image on a knitted fabric.  My nephew loved them!

The other Christmas projects went off without a hitch for the most part.  The Wavy scarf was a project that came about when I had one of those extreme itches to knit or crochet something, anything.   I had the project added to my queue at Rav for nearly a year and decided it was high time to cast on.  I went to Joann’s with this project in mind and purchased 2 yarns, Lion Brand Tweed Stripes, only to get home and realize I needed 3 yarns!  Luckily I had a random skein of purple acrylic, Loops & Threads Impeccable, I had purchased previously that was nearly the same weight.  I hadn’t gotten my Knit Picks interchangable needle set yet which was a problem when I discovered that I didn’t have the right size needles.  I was determined to start this project regardless.  The needles were one size smaller than they should have been and unless you’re a knitter you probably can’t tell.  It’s a fun pattern and you get the hang of it quickly.  Some nice variegated yarns are perfect for it or just 3 different colors to really emphasize the waving.

I’m currently on bed rest to avoid some issues in my pregnancy.  The baby is doing great at 4 pounds which is right on target for where I am in the pregnancy.  I’ve had several issues with episodes of strong Braxton Hicks contractions, which are like practice contractions.  I’ve had a couple trips to labor and delivery to have my contractions monitored.  After my first visit to the hospital for dehydration while having a cold I’ve seriously upped my water intake from maybe a cup or two all the way to eight to fourteen cups a day.  One of my bed rest issues is low amniotic fluid so I’m now going to try and drink even more water!  I used to hate drinking water and now I feel odd when I don’t have a glass in reach.  Another upset in what was an easy pregnancy was a diagnosis of gestational diabetes.  I’ve been monitoring my blood glucose level 4 times a day for 2 weeks now and it seems like the diagnosis isn’t one I need to be too concerned about.  I’m managing it very, very well with diet and can’t wait to talk with the nutritionist this upcoming Wednesday.  Thanks to my mom and several friends my GD diet has been easy to make and keeps me full.  I’ve also been tracking all my meals using a website called Babyfit.com so my nutritionist will get a very detailed report of the diet I’ve created for myself.  Hopefully only a couple tweaks are necessary.  One perk of bed rest is the opportunity to update my blog (oh so long overdue) and knitting and crocheting more stuff!  I’m currently done with 3 projects and am on the hunt for new ones.

Another month has whizzed by and I’ve been knitting and crocheting every day.  On October 20th we found out that our baby is a boy so I could finally choose a cute baby item and yarn to knit something special.  I had already started a gender neutral baby blanket in tunisian entrelac to keep myself busy.  The blanket is made using 2 yarns; Joann’s Sensations Breeze Self-patterning and Sensations Sublime.  I found both skeins in the clearance bin which now leads me to believe both have been discontinued.  I purchased the yarn with baby in mind.  They are both a DK or lighter weight yarn requiring a small hook.  I’m using a 3.25mm hook although it calls for a 3.5mm because I don’t have what a need.  The self-patterning yarn is a bouclé which can be a bit frustrating with the small hook as sometimes I just catch a fiber or two versus the yarn itself.  After a quick refresher at My Life in Knots blog I quickly remembered that I really, really enjoy tunisian entrelac.  Luigi and the Goomba were both done in tunisian entrelac and here I find myself a year later working in the same method.  There’s something about working in small squares in the round that is very satisfying.  The self-patterning yarn is fun to work in regarding colors.  Every square is a little bit of a different color and I love seeing what will happen to each subsequent square as I go.  The white yarn is my reprieve from the colored bouclé.   Tunisian entrelac has a front and back side.  I’ve thought about maybe sewing the finished piece to some fabric but the lovely knitting night ladies have said that the back is ok and doesn’t need to be covered.  I guess I’ll see how I feel about it when it’s done.

After finding out our little babe is a boy I immediately hit the Ravelry pattern search for a knitted sweater or vest.  I found the cutest little vest with owls on it.  These little owls have caught my eye several times but I just don’t see myself wearing them in a sweater, but a little boy vest is perfect!  A Caffeinated Yarn blog is where I found the pattern and fell in love.  Things started falling into place after finding my pattern of choice.  Stitches East was in town at the convention center and there I could buy some nice yarn to work with.  I bought Valley Yarns Superwash merino yarn in a blue green color.  On top of that, my Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Harmony Wood Circular Knitting Needle Set had also arrived via my sister-in-law.   I think I ended up casting on 3 times for the project.  Twice before I realized that the cables I had were too long and then a third time for my actual start.  I’m using my long cable(32 or 34″, I’m not sure) because I have to use the magic loop method instead of just knitting in the round smoothly.  At first I was a bit disappointed at that because my only other experience with magic loop was knitting my 2 purple sweater sleeves and where the two sides ‘joined’ in the round there was a bit of a gap.  I mentioned this at knit night and they all said that with practice that gets better, so I’ve just made sure to pay close attention and not let there be extra slack when knitting those stitches bridging the gap.  Last night I reached my first goal of knitting 4 inches of the vest and it was time to start cables for creating the owls.  I actually find that using the magic loop is perfect for this!  The vest has owls only in the front so I have all the owl stitches on one side of my loop and all the back stitches which are just continued in stockinette are on the other side of the loop.  Yay!  So far my owls have little feet and bellies.  Today I will probably get into the faces and from there who knows where I’ll stop- I get a bit carried away sometimes.  Being pregnant does remind me to get up, walk around and stretch all my leg muscles though so I can’t get too carried away.

Before the blanket and the vest I did a test-crochet for someone on Ravelry.  She had posted the cutest little giraffe amigurumi in the Crochet Finished Projects of the Month thread for September.  I commented saying I couldn’t wait to try out her pattern when she posted it on Ravelry for all to use.  She sent me a private message asking me to test her pattern.  I was so excited!  I wanted to crochet the giraffe in some un-giraffe like colors but couldn’t find 2 yarns in my stash that were of similar weight and complimented each other.  Oddly enough I did have a yellow and brown that met the requirements to work together.  So a normal colored giraffe it would be.  He worked up quickly and for the most part I found no kinks in the pattern.  The pattern is very nicely written and the giraffe is practically seamless.  It also requires very little sewing which most amigurumi crocheters are not very fond of.  I finished him off, took pictures and sent my comments to the creator.  A couple days later the pattern was published for all to use: Geoff Da Giraffe.  My giraffe needs some stitched on eyes and then I will consider him done.  He will be part of my baby’s stuffed toys and I made sure to crochet him with that in mind.

I finally finished the 15 stitch gift ghan for my sister’s wedding present on the day before the wedding; September 2nd!  I even worked on it right in the presence of the happy couple, but since it’s not unusual to see me knitting or crocheting I knew they would think nothing of it.  My sister and I had a good laugh when she figured out that I had been working on it right in front of her eyes.  They really loved the gift and I hope that they’ve had some cool days to try it out.

My goal had been to make it the size of a twin bed at the very least.  I didn’t actually take any measurements after completing it which was a bit silly of me.  It didn’t reach that size, it’s about big enough for one person to use length wise from head to toe.  In the last couple knitting weeks I got quite tired of working on it and so progress slowed.  I still averaged 1 skein a week though so I didn’t let myself slow down too much.  I used 10 full skeins and a very small portion of an 11th skein of Red Heart Collage Tundra.  After so many skeins I still thought the yarn was decent and still liked the color.  I would use Collage again for sure, which is good since I think I have 2 or 3 skeins still floating around.  I’ve used the left over skein to crochet a baby hat and a baby wrap cardigan.  The yarn crochets nicely as well, I love the slow color changes.

The blog has been quiet for a couple reasons, one is that I was just knitting that blanket and nothing else.  Another is I was teaching art at a summer camp which consumes a lot of my time; I was up at 5am, out of the house by 6am and home around 6pm, bedtime at 9pm.  This summer I was even more exhausted than the 2 previous summers.  On July 14th I figured out why I was so much more exhausted; I’m pregnant!  This upcoming Tuesday, the 27th, I will be at 16 weeks.  Baby will be here around mid-March next year.  We are very excited!  Of course, this means time to queue up lots of baby patterns on Ravelry.  I’ve told my Monday night knitting group and they are very excited to get to knit baby items again.  One of the other group members just had her baby in July so baby projects are still fresh in everyone’s memories.  I’ve queued up lots of stuff on Rav for the knitting group to peruse and pick from.  I’ve saved a couple for myself as well.  We don’t know 100% yet what we’re having so I’m waiting to make stuff after our 20 week scan in October when we should be able to find out the sex.

Now that the afghan project is done I’ve just been hovering between projects, filling my time with crocheting Snuggles for the Snuggles Project.  I haven’t found any projects that are begging for me to start them, and those that are require knitting needle sizes I don’t have yet.  I’ve purchased the KnitPicks Harmony interchangeables but am still awaiting their arrival.  Waiting is hard when you know there are projects to work on!

I’ve started a scarf that has been in my Rav queue since November ’10 called the Waving Chevron Scarf.  I had some good coupons for Joann’s and picked a project from my queue to shop for.  Luckily, not all the yarn was on sale so I was able to use my coupon on the skeins I bought.  But as I’ve just said, I don’t have the correct size needles for the yarn I’ve picked.  The yarn calls for 6mm and my closest size is 5mm.  I’m trying it out to see if it’ll work but I can see that it is noticeably too small a size because the 5 or so inches of scarf I’ve knit so far bulge a bit and won’t sit flat.  I’m going to keep work on it t see if maybe it’s just because it’s still too short.  This is my first time working with Lion Brand Tweed Stripes and Michael’s new line called Impeccable.  All three are acrylic yarns.  The LB Tweed is considered a bulky yarn and the Impeccable is a worsted.  So far I like working with them; they slide nicely along my bamboo needles.  The pattern calls for 1, 3 or more yarns to create the desired effect.  I didn’t realize that at the time I purchased the yarns, hence the 2 Tweeds and 1 Impeccable.  I prefer to use 3 of the same brands of yarn just to prevent the headache of having to find yarns of a comparable weight.  Luckily, I had the Impeccable from a previous shopping trip and the color goes with the other two.  The weight is similar enough I think.  I’m just itching to do a more serious project than Snuggles that I couldn’t wait to start so I wasn’t going to slow things down by putting off the project until I had another Tweed that would function as a 3rd color.  I suppose I could have just worked with 1 color skein but that wasn’t going to satisfy me either.  So, as my husband says, it is what it is.  If I change my mind after knitting a couple more inches so be it.

I’ve been busy knitting an afghan for a gift.  It’s called Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown; a spiraling rectangle growing from the center outward where I knit only 10 stitches (or in my case 15) at a time before joining it to the previous edge with some slip stitch magic to create a ridge.  The slip stitch ridge is a suggestion from another user.  The gift needs to be done around late summer early fall and I’ve set a lofty goal of queen size blanket.  My less lofty (and way more realistic) is couch afghan.  I started it on June 17th and it’s now big enough to cover my legs.  Knitting is soooo slooow compared to crochet.  I knit for half an hour before I punch in for work and then for about an hour during and after an episode of Doctor Who.  I’m on my 3rd skein in about as many weeks so I think I’m on a reasonable track to make a large blanket.  I hope to do some knitting on it during the Fourth of July Festivities at my in-laws.

The yarn I’m using is Red Heart Collage.  Now for a gift I would usually shy away from most things Red Heart as it can have a very scratchy acrylic feel to it, which is not very desirable.  I did a lot of researching on Ravely using all the fantastic different search methods.  Ravelry has connected so many things in each project that one can search by yarn, by project, by difficulty, by rating, etc.  I browsed all the super fantastic projects of other folks and decided that the pattern lends itself well for a variegated yarn with long stretches of color before gradually changing.  It also had to be acrylic as the giftee is not super yarn savvy so I didn’t want something with complicated washing instructions.  I had done a sample 10 Stitch as a Snuggle with Caron Paints but the variegation changed quickly and abruptly so the spiraling effect was lost.  Having tried it out I had a good feel for what I wanted to look for.  Off I was in search of which variegated yarns people had used.  I found some contenders and then looked at the yarn’s page to search the projects that had been done with it.  As I’ve said, Ravelry has it all interconnected so I could search for something specific in the projects done with that yarn.  I narrowed it down to something that was only be available in the UK.  Well, darn it.  I went to the desired yarn’s page and found in the comments section of the yarn that there is a comparable yarn called Red Heart Collage.  I wasn’t comfortable buying yarn without touching it so an online purchase wasn’t an option.  From there I searched all the local craft store websites and then immediately headed out the door to purchase some at Joann Fabrics.  I picked up 6 skeins and started that night.

I little while ago I knitted the cutest bib featuring a goat.  The pattern creator has several animal bibs and it was hard to choose which one to do.  It’s knitted in cotton.  I used some size 3 knitting needles I received from my mom that must be at least 15 inches long if not more.  It’s like knitting with oars.  I kept on poking whomever was sitting next to me when I was working on it.  The length of the needles made it a bit fiddly at times as well.  I will most likely take a rotary tool to them and cut them down to size.  I can’t fathom any reason for me to have such long knitting needles.  The other 2 pairs my mom gave me are just as long!  I knitted the bib without an actual recipient in mind.  I guess I’ll be prepared for any future babies.

While wandering around the Ravelry site I discovered something new to do with those little bits of yarn left over from a skein; magic balls.  I even joined a scrap group to see what others had done with scrap yarn.  Up til now I’ve crocheted little motifs so sew onto Snuggles.  A magic ball, as I understand it, is made up of left over segments of yarn knotted together.  I grabbed my left overs and my ball winder one afternoon and started knotting and winding.  I produced 3 cakes of scrap yarn.  My left overs are from the last couple years and 3 cakes may or may not be enough to make something neat.  I’ve seen that some people make them without using scraps but of segments of yarn cut from skeins.  The effect is nice though especially when contrasting the magic ball yarn with a solid yarn to keep the crazy from going too crazy.  Not sure what I’m doing with it yet but they are ready for when it strikes me.

I’ve been going back to crochet again lately.  I guess I’m still a hooker at heart.  One of the knitting group members is expecting in July and of course we had to have a knitted baby shower for her.  She made a wish list on Ravelry by tagging projects in her queue with a baby shower tag.  This was a great way for us all to choose something of our liking that we knew she would appreciate.  Plus she didn’t end up with piles of baby blankets (uhh, not really…).  I made a little crocheted dragon and added a cute little crocheted bow.  I’ve crocheted this dragon before in May 2010; read all about it here.  This time I used some of my reclaimed yarn from a blue sweater and a size F 3.75 hook.  I ad libbed some wings by starting them off following the spikes for the dragon.  I love how the yarn looks oddly smooth in each stitch.  I made sure to really sew all the bits on and hide the ends inside.  I opted for yarn eyes in case baby decides to snack upon her wee dragon’s face.  It was a hit as were all the other hand knitted, crocheted or quilted gifts.  Everyone made fantastic things including blankets (7 all together!), a onesie, a sheep hat, sweaters, booties and even a mobile.

Something that has tickled my fancy lately is crocheting or knitting washcloths.  I did an experiment with crocheted circles to make a face puff.  I crocheted one circle in single crochet continuous rounds with a slip stitch join at each round.  The other circle I crocheted turning at each round.  The different texture produced was much more dramatic than I had expected.  I sewed those two together for one puff.  I also crocheted 2 circles using double crochets and no turning for another face puff.  I alternate use between the two for about a week giving them time to dry.  I didn’t expect them to stay so wet after use.  I squeeze them out really thoroughly (I’ve even rung them! sh!) and then hang them up.  They take about 24 hours to be completely dry.

I also noticed that the circle done in continuous rounds gets more of a hexagon shape because of the increases falling on top of each other.  I didn’t mind it much since sewing them together would remove any hint of that.  The continuous rounds circle also produces a tighter fabric.  After sewing the two sides together I added a chain loop inside to hang them up.  The puffs fit nicely over my fingers to wash with; no flopping around!  I’ll probably make more so I can rotate them out more often.  I have a 12oz skein of teal cotton to use up!

I’ve completed a Snuggle for June already using a pattern found on Ravelry called the Climbing Shells Preemie ‘Ghan.  The pattern is almost ridiculously easy to learn!  If you can double crochet and chain you’re all set.  I am a bit annoyed with my yarn color choices in my stash and ended up using green Red Heart Super Saver left over from the Luigi pillow project.  The bulky green yarn doesn’t show off the stitch the way I had wanted.  I added a border of shells and on that I added an eye lash yarn edge.  I dug that out while looking for other yarn in my stash.  I haven’t used eye lash yarn much besides for Snuggles edges; small quantity and a little pizazz.

Another Snuggle I’ve started for June is based on the Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie on Ravelry.  I was going to make this into a full size blanket or throw but found that the yarn I chose didn’t have long enough stretches of color to really make the spiral effect show which was what I wanted.  I’m using Caron Simply Soft Paints.  The yarn is a bit denser than the regular Caron Simply Soft which is good.  The way the blanket grows is really neat.  Turning the corner is done using short rows which was a pain to figure out from the pattern instructions since it assumed you knew what you were doing!  I did some searching on Rav and found the written out directions for both parts (decrease and the increase) of the turn which I then noticed was already included in the pattern instructions.  I started this pattern on Friday after feeling a bit low and cranky.  I needed it to work and be successful.  I didn’t go to bed until I figured it out; I wasn’t going to let the cranky day win.

Once I finish the Ten Stitch Snuggle I’ll prepare my Snuggle donation to the Stray Katz rescue group.  I hope that they are ready for 20 new Snuggles to distribute to cats in their shelter.  I laid out all the Snuggles I’m ready to donate to count and photograph.  I was also secretly hoping to attract a cat or two for the photos.  All I had to do was wait a couple minutes and there they were!  For Onyx I laid out all the Star Snuggles on chairs around her.  It was fun to watch her check each one out and then decide which one to sleep on.  I laid out the other, very random assortment of, Snuggles for Kes.  She hesitated at first so I left her alone to figure it out which worked perfectly.

Last week there was a bit of star theme in my crocheting.  I learned two new things via the wonders of YouTube.  I hesitate calling 2 things a theme but keep thinking back to middle school math where I learned I can draw a line with two points.  So here is my line with a star theme.

I have watched several crochet tutorials by Mikey (aka The Crochet Crowd) and there was one that always stuck around in the back of my mind; a crochet blanket in the shape of a star that can be any size you choose depending entirely on when you stop.  I thought this would make a fantastic Snuggle for The Snuggles Project.  The video titled “How to Crochet a Super Star Baby Afghan” was easy to follow.  I opted to start my beginning ring with a magic ring so I could cinch it really tight and not leave a gap in the middle.  I think it leaves a more finished look for this project.  The star is made up of double crochets so it grows quickly!  I used up a bunch of scrap balls of yarn and contrasted the colors with some black to make them pop.  I finished my star the same day.  It has a great shape and lies flat.  So many crochet stars end up with unpointy points and then look more like flowers than stars.  The pattern has 3 chains in the points allowing for more of a star point shape.  The pattern is also easy to memorize as was proven by the starting of 4 more star Snuggles while subbing the last week!

I haven’t Snuggled in a while and was starting to feel a bit bad about that.  I know it’s a charity and I haven’t promised anything to anyone but I still feel like it is something worth my while.  I love the opportunity it gives me.  I can learn new things, use up scraps of yarn, give my time to cats that do not have their families yet.  It’s a bit odd to think about my Snuggles and wonder where they are now.  Are people enjoying them?  Have they been used well and withstood the use?  Do the cats like them?  Have the cats who have a Snuggle in their shelter cage been adopted?  Did my Snuggle make them seem more adoptable somehow?  The last question is the one I’d really like to have an answer to, but if I never get one I’ll be fine.  As long as I can find a shelter that appreciates and uses the Snuggles I’ll continue making them.  I’ll probably schedule another delivery soon.  I’m pretty sure I have over 12 Snuggles in a bag waiting for me.  Add these 5 stars and it’ll be a nice bounty once again.

The second point in my line is the star stitch.  Back in the fall I downloaded a pattern for fingerless gloves that were made using the star stitch.  I tried following the written directions for the star stitch and got all befuddled.  Needless to say those fingerless gloves were never made.  The star stitch still haunted me.  It’s so delicate and different than other crochet stitches.  So while watching the Super Star Baby Afghan video something in the suggested videos got me thinking about looking up a tutorial on YouTube for that too.  So from the star blanket I moved onto the star stitch.  I used a very scratchy white Red Heart yarn which was terrible to work with in color and texture but the stitch still turned out beautifully.  I chained 24 just as in the tutorial and used a large hook, a J maybe.  This sample turned out the right size for a Warm Up America block.  By pure coincidence I was working on both of my charities!  The YouTube tutorial “Crochet Star Stitch” was made by Teresa from the channel The Art of Crochet and the blog The Art of Crochet by Teresa.  A couple days before I had started a Snuggle that was just going to be a mix of different stitches and I decided to practice a row of star stitch.  It worked out nicely and gave the Snuggle some interesting texture.  The Snuggle was made using Caron Simply soft, a big contrast to the Red Heart I had used the first time.  The Caron has a bit of a sheen to it which highlights the star stitch nicely.  The softness of the yarn also made the stitch itself go much faster and smoother!   All in all I was very happy with it.  I think that alternating the star stitch with a row of single or double in between might be really nice.  The star stitch is made using two rows and the wrong side is a bit different than the right side.  Some proper calculations will be necessary and of course good old counting (who does that? Not me)!

My purple sweater took a break.  I finished all the parts to it but discovered that I had cast off the armpits too early due to a miscalculation.  I’ve knitted 2 small strips that I’m sewing in.  After all the bits are seamed I’ll have to see what I can understand about making a finished collar around the neck.  I’ve had the project laying on the couch and Onyx has attempted to  knead it much to my dismay.  I kept a pillow over it if I wasn’t there, but if I’m on the couch I usually use both throw pillows which means the sweater is left exposed.  I moved it to the coffee table thinking that would work with minimal effort but she still managed to discover it.  Finally my husband was the smart one and put the whole thing into one of the storage ottomans which was what I should have done at the beginning.  Hopefully the sweater has only sustained an unnoticeable bit of pulling of fibers.  I picked it up again yesterday thinking I really should just get it finished.  Maybe tonight.

This evening I was knitting my purple sweater, wearing the finished sleeves to fend off the chill in the evening air, and thinking about the blog.  All week it was on the To Do List and I just never got to it.  A couple times I sat down at the computer to write but nothing came.  Spring is in the air but we still haven’t had consecutive warm days that make it seem like it’s here to stay.  The mornings and evenings can have quite a bite to them still.  So knitting my sweater doesn’t seem completely off base.  If I hurry I can wear it at least once this spring.

The sweater has given me some headaches.  The language is a bit awkward for a ‘first time’ knitter.  I got really stuck here:

When piece measures 33-34-35-36-37-38 cm [13''-13 3/8''-13¾''-14¼''-14½''-15''], cut the thread. Now continue as follows: Beg after the 15-17-20-23-26-29 st from the first MT. Work 14 sts front band – see above – and stockinette st on the next 74-82-94-106-118-130 sts. Now pick up 14 new sts behind the front band = 102-110-122-134-146-158 sts.  [ DROPS Jumper Pattern here ]

Thank goodness for Ravelry as it saved the day.  Between envisioning the knitting, rewriting the directions how I understand them, talking to folks on the forums, and looking at notes made by other people on the same pattern I finally got that part figured out.  One thing I learned is that I may want to rewrite the DROPS pattern so I don’t get lost in it all.  All the different numbers for the sizes and whatnot really, really distract me, to the point where I forget what I was reading about before the list of numbers.  I end up doing a lot of reading aloud to help myself get a grasp of it.  I even act it out a bit.  LOL.  I’ve also been using a notebook and just writing my version down for myself there.  It’s so much easier to follow!  The above section looked a bit more like this:

When piece measures 33cm cut thread.  Continue as follows:

Begin with new thread after 15th st from 1st marker.  Work 14st of front band and stockinette in next 74st.  Pick up 14 new st behind front band.  88+14=102st.  Continue back and forth on needle with 14 front band st on each side.

Now in my notebook I have each direction as a bulleted note so that it’s even faster for me to find where I am.  Sometimes paragraphs and I just don’t get along.

For the sleeves I had to either buy myself some size 11 double pointed needles(also known as DPNs) or learn how to do the magic loop for knitting(which is nothing like the magic loop for crochet!).  I decided I have 2 sets of size 11 needles, 1 with a 32″ cable so the magic loop would do for me.  I went to my favorite knitting learning site, KnittingHelp.com,  and watched the video several times for the magic loop as it was throwing me for a loop!  After knitting about 10cm of the sleeve I decided that it was too large in diameter for me so I pulled it all out.  Then I decided that now I’ve got a handle on the magic loop I should knit BOTH sleeves at the SAME time on the magic loop!  I was feeling pretty proud of myself for deciding the tackle that within 24 hours of learning the magic loop.  This time I refered to Liat’s video YouTube to see how one would do 2 things with the magic loop.  I made my notes with all the new numbers and worked it all out.  I was feeling some math love when everything worked out on paper and again when it worked out on the needles.  The sleeves have a bit of a gap where the magic loop causes tension between the 2 ‘sides’ of the circle but it’ll do.  I’m pretty sure that my sweater will be a ‘lazing-around-the-house’ thing anyway.  If I had a couple more stitches on the sleeves there may have been slightly less tention between the sides.  Doing the two at the same time worked out nicely since I could just do the same thing to each at the same point; if I increased on one I’d do it to the other too, less note taking that way.  I am quite happy and impressed with myself, which is probably why I wore them while working on the sweater back tonight.

After some diliberation I decided to pull out what I had done on the left and right of the sweater front.  I had attempted to understand when to decrease but not with the right results.  I took my new sweater-knitting-confidence and ripped it out to where I first cast off 6 stitches to make the bottom of the arm holes.  This was a bit unnerving as knitting doesn’t behave like crochet; instead of one live loop there are many stitches that can slip out at the slightest wrong move.  I put the sweater on a pillow on my lap to give it an even surface and ripped.  Since the yarn is so bulky it went fine.  Phew!  I don’t think I picked up the stitches correctly though, so one side has twisted stitches.  Oh well, like I said ‘lazy-around-the-house’ thing.  I looked at my notes, rewrote them and have reknitted both sides.  All that’s left now is knitting the back and then the neck.  I’m skipping the hood so I’m sure I’m in for some more headaches, this time of my own doing.  Then it’ll be seaming time, another new thing.

There is more to blog about; Kes’ 2nd ampuversary, my finished plarn tote, and the CT Sheep and Fiber Festival, but I’ll have to put that on this week’s To Do List.

Kes helping keep my place in my notebook.

I’m knitting a sweater, the DROPS 109-1 Jumper with hood, and I require stitch markers. I had one already made from the Mobius cowl project that fit great on the size 11 circular needles but needed more. Monday night at the knitting group a member gave me a set of stitch markers she had made herself using jewelry wire and beads.  The next day I looked closely and saw how to make my own. I overestimated the size of the needles a bit, but loose is better than too tight. I made them using a bright green bead, evidence of my ache for sunny spring weather to start. I’ll definitely try my hand at making stitch markers again, they are a quick project and useful too!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon shopping with a friend.  Among other shops, we visited Christmas Tree shops where I bought 2 square ottomans that are collapsible.  I’ve wanted 2 of these for nearly 3 years and just haven’t gotten around to making the purchase.  After 3 years of scoping out styles and prices I was ready to buy when I saw these at the store.  They cost $14.99 which is a pretty average cost but I hadn’t seen them as collapsible before so that was neat.  I wanted these for storing yarn and maybe a blanket as well as for seating when we have a get together and end up playing games around the coffee table with people sitting on the floor.  They look great and my husband approved although he had been hard to convince before this.  I didn’t even fill one of the ottomans completely so there is some growing room.  My wire basket (garbage can) where I had been storing my yarn in the living room can now be retired to another place in the house and used for its proper purpose.

While transferring my yarn from the wire basket to the ottoman I found several skeins of yarn that needed to be wound into cakes or balls.  I did some spring cleaning and wound 10 cakes.  I should probably crochet some Snuggles again to take care of all the scrap yarn balls/cakes I have and make room for new yarn!  Something else that also takes care of yarn scraps is freeform crochet.  I tried this out the other day with a purple/white/brown variegated yarn, a purple chenille yarn and a fuzzy cream yarn.  I’ve run into some freeform crochet projects while browsing Ravelry and they always appealed to my  style of making art; art is the journey to the end, not the end product itself.  I played around with different stitches and enjoyed how there were no rules or pattern to follow.  Before I knew it I was making plans of what to do in the piece and what rules I would apply.  I look forward to trying it again or maybe adding to what I’ve made.  At the moment the purple thing is about the size of a face.  My husband thinks of it as a mask and if you look at it length-wise the white line I’ve crocheted could be viewed as a nose.  I want it to be bigger but I also feel like it might be done.  Freeform crochet is a change of pace from the usual crochet/knitting pattern following.  I’m sure I’ll dabble in this more.

Last night, fueled by an 8pm cup of coffee and a slice of delicious coconut custard pie, I created the progression video of Luigi and Goomba.  By 11:30 it was done and ready to be viewed by the world but I felt it would be best to go to sleep.  I used Picasa to make the video.  It’s a simple video editor but it does just enough that I could get what I wanted. Check it out and enjoy.

Nearly completed: a Handmade in 2011 Gift for my friend Kim!  This is a marriage of her favorite animal and the colors of her favorite ice hockey team, the New Jersey Devils.  The bag is made using tapestry crochet.  I found the pattern at my favorite pattern source Ravelry.  It’s called Escher’s Horses Tote by Jessica Sant and I had seen it around a couple times and loved the tessellation.  When I made a promise to make some handmade gifts for friends this year this pattern came to mind as perfect for Kim.  I really loved making the pattern and even managed to memorize it around the 8th round.  As you can see the project isn’t quite finished, it needs some handles.  I’m not sure what to do for handles; long, short, straps, wood, bamboo?  I figure I should pose the question to the receiver and will do that shortly.  The tapestry crochet makes a nice solid fabric so the bag won’t need a liner which is good news for me since I still don’t know how to use my sewing machine acquired at a thrift store (I have a hunch it doesn’t work but should be repairable).

I took this project with me to a get together with friends.  When I pulled it out a friend’s 5 year old son came over very intrigued with what I could be doing.  He quietly inspected it without touching and then proclaimed that there is a horse on it!  And another, and another, and another, etc.  He started counting them with excitement.  Then moved to the other side of me and from this angle he was seeing it ‘upside down’ and he said, “There are more horses!” He counted even more skipping numbers in his excitement.  He loved how the horses interlocked and that there was nothing else on the bag than horses.  I loved this moment, an “ah ha” moment as he learned and figured out a bit more about what patterns can be.  A saw a small foundation on patterns and tessellations being built in his little brain right before me.  The educator in me was happy.  A couple days later my husband mentioned this moment and said that before the little boy had pointed out the horses that were ‘upside down’ he hadn’t realized that the whole thing was tessellated horses.  I had a good chuckle at that.

I’m crocheting a plarn bag in the diagonal box stitch using Stop N Shop bags.  The bags are a beige color and aren’t very interesting but when they are turned into plarn they look like dried grass or raffia.  They give a nice effect when crocheted.  I’m using my usual market bag recipe: one large rectangle to form the large sides and bottom, then two smaller side panels and two straps for handles.  I like this recipe because the bags can stand up on their own while I put my groceries in.  I’ve finished the large rectangle and started on one of the side panels.  On the side panels I decided not to do the diagonal box stitch but alternate some rows of single crochet with double crochet.  That’s about where I’m at.  This past Sunday I spent about an hour cutting and joining the plarn rounds.  Then I wound it into a cake on my ball winder.  Plarn winds nicely and it causes the flatter parts of it to become a bit softer and pliable, plus a cake is so nice to work from.  The plastic and the action of winding it causes some static electricity though.  I got a couple good shocks from the metal in the winding handle.  Yikes!

This Monday at knit group some of the ladies asked me again to show them how to make plarn and this time someone had a spare bag to do it with.  They were happy to see how it’s done and to see that it is quite easy.  If you want to learn how to make plarn there are many sources from craft blogs to YouTube videos.  A quick search on any search engine will get you started.  I used Kate E. Austin’s Art blog entry on plarn when I first tried it out.  I’m working on calculating about how many yards of plarn I get per bag when I make it.  So far I’ve noted that I cut between 18 and 20 strips per bag so all I have to do now is measure the length of one, but I just haven’t done it yet.  I’m sure I’ll have a plarn making session again soon for my market bag.  I love the idea of using plastic bags this way, plus I love having a bag made of bags.

I went to Webs for the first time in Northampton, MA this past weekend with some knitting group friends.  Webs is like yarn Mecca and it kind of felt like I was going to a Renaissance faire for the first time.  I wondered if it was apparent that it was my first visit to Webs and at any moment someone might yell, “Webs virgin!” as they call “Faire virgin!” upon your first visit to a ren faire.  I knew that I would potentially be very overwhelmed in a large yarn store and yarn warehouse so I made sure to bring information on patterns that I wanted to buy yarn for.  This helped a lot and I wasn’t too distracted(ok, maybe a little) by all the pretty colors and soft things.  I bought yarn to make the Lava Flow cowl by Dixie (teal) and a sweater from DROPS Design (purple).  This’ll be my first actual garment.  Eep!  I decided on the yarn based on a sample sweater that was on a mannequin; it was soft and squishy, perfect for a winter sweater.  It’s called Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky.  I’ve cast on earlier today and I hear it calling my name right now.