Flapper knit hat

Another hat done for Baby Z.  This time it is a flapper hat with a cute bow on the front.  The pattern is from 60 Quick Baby Knits: Blankets, Booties, Sweaters & More in Cascade 220 Superwash (Sixth & Spring) which I received as a gift from some friends of ours along with three balls of Cascade 220 superwash to make it with.  It turned out pretty darn cute except that it's supposed to fit a 6month-12month old and it probably won't fit her until she's about 10.  I have the hardest time with gauge and hats - they always come out way to big.  Either way it's adorable and it's also pleasing to have made one more thing for her.

Sewing for knitting: DPN & straight needle case

I did it!  I managed to sew two more cases to match my circular knitting needle case and it didn't take me a year to do it.  After looking at many online I sort of came up with my own pattern.  It wasn't terribly hard, just a simple rectangle on top of a rectangle with sewn in slots for the needles and a flap at the top so they don't slide out.  This makes it easy to roll the case up and tie it with an extra piece of fabric so as the case fills with needles you can adjust the size with your tie.   I made two, one for straight needles and one for DPN's:

 

What a relief it is to be able to find needles when I need them.  I should have made these a long time ago.  But just when I think I'm done, now that I have some extra Loft 1800 by Moda fabric I'm considering making a knitting bag that can house my new needle cases and any knitting project I'm working on.  If I can decide on a bag pattern I'll make one because with summer here (almost) it would be so convenient to just grab a knitting bag with needles and everything and go.  Very handy with summer traveling.  For now though I'm so happy with my new cases, I finally have a place for all my grandmas knitting needles.

Sewing for knitting: Circular needle holder

This week I tackled a sewing project that's actually for knitting: a circular needle holder.  I got the pattern from Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook.  It wasn't a hard project but it did take a few hours.  I'm so happy that I don't have to dig through this mess to find my needles now:

It's so much nicer to have them all lined up by size on my new circular needle holder:

 

I've never worked with printer fabric before and this gave me an opportunity to explore that.   The handles are attached with velco on the back:

If I had enough money, not to mention time to use them all, I'd make several of these to house different lengths of needles too, but for now this works and I'm so glad I took to the time to organize them.  I'd like to make two more similar needle cases, one for DPN's and another for straight needles.  Hopefully this will inspire me to get moving on those! 

Baby Z's first knit

 

Baby Z should be arriving in just a few months!  I thought I better get going on one of the million projects I'd like to finish before she gets here.  I started with a simple knitted matching hat and booties.  The booties are from Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook.  They say they are one hour booties and they really are one hour booties.  They are part shoe part sock and will be great in the cold months.  I love how they have a cute crocheted strap over the top with a button on the side:

The hat is a pattern from Fiber Fiend which I found off of Ravelry.  It's rib so even though it should fit her the first winter she's here I might be able to get away with dressing her in it a year later because it stretches quiet a bit.  

I can't seem to remember where I got this yarn although I know it was called something Angel Hair.  It's a super soft mix of wool and synthetic.  It was probably the last yarn that I bought from a big box craft store as I've been trying not to buy or use synthetic since I took my spinning class.  I usually find that synthetic yarns are itchier and coarser then wool, contrary to popular belief,  but this yarn is actually like knitting with cotton candy so I don't mind.  

There will be more projects to come but I'm pleased with her first knitted item, what can say, she's already spoiled!

How to: Make a Niddy Noddy

Since getting my new spinning wheel I've wanted to make a niddy noddy.  You can pick up a niddy noddy up for around $20.00 but I thought if you can make one for less why not.  This is a very basic niddy noddy that Lewie helped me make.

Materials:

Large 1/2" wooden dowel
Hand saw or table saw
Two wood screws
Drill

Directions:

1. Cut your wooden dowel into three pieces: two 12" pieces and one 17" piece

2. Using your screws and drill, attach the 12" pieces to the ends of the 17" piece in opposite directions.
3. That's it!  You can then sand down the edges if you need to and or stain it.

Because the dowel is 1/2" in width the whole niddy noddy will measure 18" which is half a yard so one time around with yarn will measure 1 yard.

Now that I have a niddy noddy I can make skeins with the yarn I've been spinning.  I put the first batch on and measured it last week:  about 66 yards total.  I need over 300 yards for the pattern I want to knit!  I better get spinning!

Bambino Taffy Toddler Hat

It's pretty ironic that almost a year ago when I started this blog I started with a knitted baby hat and now a year later I'm knitting another baby hat.  This time it's for a girl.  Our friends are welcoming their 3rd daughter next month and I thought I'd knit them a cute hat.

I didn't have any yarn that was girlie enough though so I had to go shopping for some yarn.  There are several yarn stores in Knoxville, TN but I hadn't been to any of them yet.  I took the opportunity and headed to Loopville which is located in West Knoxville off of Kingston Pike.   I really liked this store!  It was a bit small for all the yarn they have in there but it was nice to see so many varieties.  I also saw a few things I've never seen before like Be Sweet Bambino Taffy hat kits.

I couldn't resist.  It has enough yarn to make one Sweetie Pie Hat which will fit ages 6 months to 1 year.  The yarn is 70% organically grown cotton and 30% bamboo.  They have all different colors including boys and girls but I fell in love with Peppermint Stick.  It's also nice because on the yarn label has the Sweetie Pie Hat pattern on it.  So, I left with Peppermint Stick and just finished the Sweetie Pie Hat.  Isn't it cute?  I love that it has hearts in it; so darling.

I also like that I was able to try a few things I've never done in knitting before like make bobbles and Icord.

Mine came out a little bit big, but she'll grow into it.  If you'd like the pattern you can download it on Ravelry or it's on the label of each Bambino Taffy yarn.

Handmade present: Potato Chip Scarf

What a fun handmade gift:  a potato chip scarf.  I made a few of these for Christmas presents this year and I love them!  They are easy to make, relatively inexpensive and perfect for the season.  I got the pattern from Knit Picks.

Needle: Size 8, circular, 32"
Yarn:  I use whatever I have around - I have made them chunky with larger yarn and smaller with DK weight yarn

Directions:

Cast on 90 sts.

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit into front and back of every stitch
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Knit front and back
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Knit front and back
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Bind off

Weave in your ends.

Wa na na na na na Bat Shawl!

 Blocking the bat shawl on the deck

So, I lied, the black alpaca I got wasn't for a Christmas present it was for a birthday present.  My mom's birthday is right around Halloween and we are a family way into bats.  My parents were both cavers and we all admire bats.  So, when I saw this shawl as a show in tell at my last knitting group in New Mexico, I thought, I have to make that for my mom!  The pattern is free from The AntiCraft you can get it here.  Seeing as it was my first shawl, my first lace and my first time working with charts, it was a trial and error for the first month of working on it.  My errors included the fact that I discovered I knit with a twisted stitch which I have now corrected thanks to Sally from my knitting group and Emilee from The AntiCraft.  A twisted switch is when you knit and pull the yarn from behind instead of in front of your needle.  What a difference a untwisted stitch makes. 

 This is the first part knit with a twisted switch - you can't see it!

So, I had take it out several times, make it survive the move across country last month and then figure out where I left off, but I did it!  I think it is lovely and it is perfect for Halloween.  I don't have a great picture of it on, but if you go to AntiCraft you can see what it looks like on someone - although as a side note, I did not do the border, I only blocked it in a scalloped edge.

See all the bats?!

Wine bottle ruffle

How cute are these wine bottle ruffles?  They aren't just for decoration either, they are to stop red wine drips from getting on your table after your pour a drink. I had some extra black aplaca and owed someone a small thank you gift after having us over for a dinner party and I thought it would be a fun little project. I got the idea from Interweave Presents Knitted Gifts: Irresistible Projects to Make & Give.  They are very easy to make - just a few hours at most.  Black will work great too because if the yarn was too pretty, you wouldn't want to get wine on it either! 

Tennessee State Fair

Well, we packed up our stuff, prepared our three cats and headed East.  We only managed one flat tire along the way but we made it across country and are settling in to our new town of Knoxville, Tennessee!

On our way across country one night we stayed in Nashville and were able to make it to the Tennessee State Fair.  I had to share this beautiful knitted sweater that was on display in the Arts & Crafts Building.  Isn't it wonderful? 

The colors are so pretty and the pattern was amazing! Amazing enough in fact to win first prize. 

Also, check out these great giant pumpkins!  I'm so excited to start a garden at our new house - our first garden together.  I'm already thinking a year in advance in terms of what plants I want to see next year that need planting this year (i.e. tulips and daffodils).  So many things to plant, so little time.

As a side note, I thought since we are in a new town, a new blog look was fitting.  I hope everyone enjoys!

Knitted coffee mug scarf

I had to make a gift this past week for a friend and she owns a coffee shop so I decided to go with a knitted coffee mug 'scarf'.  They are so easy to make, I finished this one in less then an hour and a half.  They are meant more for the paper cups in coffee shops so that the sides don't burn your hands and or the coffee stays warm, but they look cute on mugs too!  I got the idea from Interweave Presents Knitted Gifts: Irresistible Projects to Make & Give. 

Matching gloves and scarf!

 

I finished my matching scarf and gloves for the hat I knitted earlier this summer.  They are made with the same Peruvian highlands wool that I got from Purl In The Pines.  They are fun colors, almost child like, but will brighten up a gloomy winter day this fall I'm sure.  They are also very comfortable and warm.  I'm excited to be able to wear them for the first time!

Scarf

Directions:

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia Colors

Color: Raku Glaze

Needle: #8 16" Circular

CO 15 stitches.  Garter stitch until you run out of yarn or until desired length.  Cast off.  Weave in tails. 
                            

Mittens

This pattern is part mine part Knitting Pretty.  I did a combination so it work work with my yarn and fit my hand.  For the entire Knitting Pretty pattern click here.  

Directions:

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia Colors

Color: Raku Glaze

Needle: #10 set of five DPN's

CO 36 stitches.  Divide this stitches among 3 needles, 12 on each.  Working in the round, do a 2-2 rib stitch for 13 rows.  For row 14, K2 M1 K3 *M1 K4*.  Repeat * till the end of row 14.  You should have 46 stitches now.  Next, knit rows 15-21.  Then, divide 11 stitches on to three needles and 13 stitches on to a forth needle or a stitch holder.  This will become your thumb, but not until later.  Using just the 33 stitches (11 on 3 needles), knit in the round for 23 more rows.  To start the decrease after knitting 23 rows start by K3 k2og in a round until there are only 10 stitches left.  Cut your yarn leaving a 8 inch tail and weave your tail through your 10 remaining stitches.  Pull tight to close and weave in tail.  

Next, finish the thumb.  This part was taken from Knitting Pretty:

Slip the 13 stitches from the stitch holder onto 2 DPN's.  Place 7 stitches on one side and 6 on the other.  Using a third needle, pick up 3 stitches in the space between the first 2 needles to form a triangle.  Starting on the right side of the third needle, knit a round, leaving an 8 inch tail to weave in later.  Knit 14 more rounds.  Begin decreasing to create the thumb tip.  For 1 round, knit 1 stitch and then K2tog, repeating throughout.  For the final round, K2tog throughout.  Cut an 8 inch tail and use your yarn needle to draw the yarn through the remaning stitches.  Pull it tight, knot to secure and weave in and trim the ends.  Gently tighten the trail at the base of the thumb and weave it in.  

Alpaca Christmas project

I got this lovely alpaca wool from Village Wools in Albuquerque a few months ago for a Christmas present which I am just now starting.  It is Henry's Attic Prime Alpaca from alpaca's raised in Peru at 13,000 - 16,000 feet.  I'm starting to really love alpaca.  It's like knitting with a pillow.  It's super soft.  It's just perfect for what I'm making, which will remain a surprise until Christmas. ;) It was a little pricey but I got 665 yards in one skein.  It is also a nice natural dark black.  This will be the first time I've knitted with fine black yarn which I've heard will be a challenge, but I'm giving myself five months to finish it!  Wish me luck...

Roving

Look what I got!  At my last Vixen group meeting a member, Jenn, gave me this giant ball of wool roving!  It's cleaned, combed and ready for spinning.  It's a rich gray color with hues of black and white here and there.  I think it will make a great cabled scarf or something like this - if only I could knit like that! I can't believe how much there is.  It will last me the next year!   Off to go spin...!

Summer/Winter - Knit Hat

The first day it really gets cold in the fall, I'm always like, "I wish I would have thought to make ----- last month so I'd have it today."  So, this summer begins my summer/winter knitting - knitting in the summer for next winter.  I always have the idea do it but now I have the ambition.  My first summer/winter knitting project I started was a nice simple hat that I made with the wonderful Peruvian wool I got in Flagstaff, AZ at Purl in the Pines.  I got the pattern from the blog, a Friend to knit with and I really love how simple it was, yet it looks pretty neat.  The complete pattern is also here.  Thank you Lesie and I love your blog!

Chunky Knit Hat 
via Leslie @ a Friend to knit with

Directions:

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia Colors
Color: Raku Glaze
Needle: Circular 16 inches Size US 15
Gauge: 2 stitches per 1"

Cast on 44 stitches.  Knit in garter stitch for 5 rows.  Change stockinette and knit until piece measures 5 1/2 inches, ending with a wrong side row.  Next row (RS) knit 2 together until end 22 stitches.  Next row (WS) Purl 2 together until end 11 stitches.  Next row (RS) Knit 2 together to end.  (On this row, on the small size, you will knit 2 together 5x, and have 1 stitch remaining for 6 stitches total)  6 stitches also remain for large size.  Cut yarn and run through remaining 6 stitches.

Next up is trying my hand at making mittens to match.  I have four months until I want them to be done so I think it's manageable.  ;) 

Spinning school graduate

This week was my last spinning class!  I have officially graduated from spinning school.  As my teacher put it, I am now her textile daughter.  For our last few classes I learned how to ply.  The picture above is my recipe card for the skein pictured.   On the left is what the single looks like (yarn that has been spun but not plied) and the right has my samples of different plying: (from the top) 4-ply cable, 2-ply, Navajo 3-ply, and 4-ply basic.  I ended up making the skein with the Navajo 3-ply and I think it turned out great.  It's really fun to see all of my spinning work start to form itself into skeins of beautiful yarn.  I still have a lot of the green yarn that I've been posting pictures of to ply and I will post pictures as soon as I do it.

I was so grateful of my spinning lessons that I had a whorl made especially for my teacher from 2 Cranes.  It turned out wonderful.  I was able to pick the piece of turquoise I wanted it made from and the piece I picked was from the Kingman Mine in Arizona.  I think JoAnn really liked it.  I'm sad to see my classes end, but excited to start spinning for future knitting projects and learn how to dye with natural dyes from Janet at Lofty's on 60.  More projects to come soon...

My first (real) sock

I finished my first real sock!  I say real because I actually started one in February, however it turned out to be what my husband calls a cankle sock.  It had a really wide ankle and then I got frustrated and I finished it really quick so it was too short for my feet and too skinny at the bottom.  It was pretty sad.  But, I was determined to make a sock so I started again with this pretty sock yarn I got in Albuquerque.  It took me two months but I finally just finished the first one!  I used the Beginner Sock pattern from Knitting on the Net.  Be aware that the picture of my sock is what the pattern makes, not the picture they have on their website. 

Beginner Socks Knitting Pattern by Kim Goddard from www.knittingonthenet.com


Directions:

Yarn: Happy Feet DK (I made one sock with about 3/4 of a skein)
Color: Multi - Aspen Print
Needle: 5 Size US 2 double pointed needles
Gauge:  28 sts = 4 inches

Cast on 56 sts.  Join and mark beg of round.

Rib in K2, P2 rib fr 7 inches or desired leg length. (I did it to about 6 inches)

(con't after the jump)

Spinning Class #6

Back from another spinning class.  Only two more to go!  I'm working steady on the merino wool that my teacher dyed a lovely greenish blue color.  I'm trying to spin it everyday so that I'll have enough stuff to play with when plying.  Pretty isn't it?

Today I got to play with flax - which is spun into linen.  It's much different then working with wool or cotton.  It's stiffer but has a wonderful luster and is incredibly strong.  I brought some flax home to play with this week - see picture above, it's the white fiber.  I also got to make a few cotton puni's at class and got to bring those home too.  I made them with the natural orange cotton that I just love.  Don't they look like big worms?  I'm really enjoying spinning school and will be sad when it's over, but it's taught me so much new stuff about sheep, raising sheep, growing cotton, fibers in general, spinning, history and being more self sufficient.  Next week starts the two-part ending class about plying.  I'm excited to be able to see what all this fiber I've been spinning will look like as yarn!

A new toy!

Meet my new toy:

It's a ball winder!  Ever since I saw my teacher use one I haven't started a new knitting project because I didn't want to make a ball without one.  She had one today that she was selling at a good price and I snatched it up.  I'm addicted.  It rolls yarn into a nice ball with a flat bottom (so it won't roll) and it pulls from the inside.  No more chasing yarn around the floor like I've been doing.  I was reading about ball winders online and in a comments section a woman said, "Do I need to join Ball Winders Anonymous?"  Haha!  I can relate to this now - I got home from school and spun all the yarn I am using into balls with my ball winder.  When I ran out I tired to find more!  Look how pretty it makes them:

Anyone that doesn't have a ball winder and is a knitter, weaver, crocheter and/or a spinner - I highly recommend getting one.  They are really fantastic!  My teacher tells me they can also be used for plying but I won't know how to do this for a few more weeks!

Easter Cap

When I was in Albuquerque, NM a few weeks ago and found my pretty in purple wool, I also found this gorgeous organic wool by O-Wool called Balance.  It is 50% Merino wool and 50% cotton.  When I saw it I thought of my mom who loves the color blue.  It's a blueish gray with specks of white and although I didn't know what I wanted to make with it I knew I had to get it.  I ended up going on O-Wool's website for ideas and they had a free pattern for a cute little hat called In-Between Seasons Cap.  I had never done a cable stitch but this was a good time to try.  This pattern also had a few other stitches I had never used before like twR and ssk.  The cable band was somewhat easy but as the hat went on I found it to be somewhat difficult, however the end result was worth any frustration I had.  Mine came out somewhat small like a beanie so if I were to do it again I would make it longer.

In-Between Seasons Cap from O-Wool:

Yarn: 1 skein O-Wool Balance, 130yd/50g 
Color: Lapis
Needles: Circular 16 inch size US 6, 1 cable needle, set of 5 size US 6 dpn's
Gauge: 20 st = 4" over Stst  30 rows = 4" Stst
Size: Woman's M (20" circumference)


Directions can also be found on O-Wool's website along with other great free patterns.

Using either circular or two dpn’s, CO 19st.  Do not join.

Work back and forth as follows:
Row 1 and all WS rows:  p4, k2, p8, k2, p3
Row 2, 4:  k1, twR, p2, k8, p2, twL, k2.
Row 6:  k1, twR, p2, sl 4 st onto spare dpn or cable needle and hold in front, k4, k4 from dpn or cable needle, p2, twL, k2.
Row 8, 10: As Row 2
Repeat Rows 1-10 until piece measures 20” (13x total).
Work Row 1 once more.