snugglekitty | Entries tagged with crafty

You know that pretty shawl I wear all the time?
Well, I made a second version for my friend Cee. Pictures behind the cut.

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Current Mood: pleased

So, recently I've been on a sock kick.

These pictures show a pair of socks I'm making for my sister. These are being worked on Magic Loop - a technique where you use one long circular needle to make two socks (or mittens or sleeves) at once. I had wanted to use a simple pattern, since it was a new technique, but after doing the foot part of the sock, I got bored.

hanseth suggested mini-cables, so I decided to incorporate those into the ribbing. I'm hoping my sister will be wowed! I used Lion Brand Magic Stripe for these ones, so there will only be a few ends to weave in.

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Since I'll be taking a long trip this week, I need to come up with yet another project - I think these will be done after a few more hours of work, and the other project I've been working on isn't very portable. My theory is that I will make some squares for The Network. Perhaps it will give me a chance to try out some new stitches.

Current Mood: accomplished

I am broke, but desire to contribute something to the relief effort for hurricane survivors anyhow. So I want to knit or crochet something.

It seems that there are two main things that can be done. One is that there are several small charities that are collecting baby stuff for region survivors. The other is the Crafters United charity, which sells handmade items and gives the proceeds to charity.

I think I may do both. I have a bunch of soft washable yarn (read: acrylic) that I can make baby hats with. And, I have yarn for a project that I was interested in making but realized I didn't need to own afterwards. So here I go!

For more information, take a look here.

For folks in the Boston area, there's also a blanket being put together to be sold at auction for The Network/La Red. They're looking for seven-inch squares in solid blue or solid purple. More info on

opn's page: http://www.livejournal.com/users/opn/5370.html

Current Mood: hopeful

So, last night my box of goodies from knitpicks.com arrived. Eight balls of light gray alpaca/silk, two large balls of sock yarn to dye, and a copy of Knitting Heaven and Earth. Final birthday present from

redjo. Whee!! I'm very, very excited about this.

This means it's time to start planning that dyeing party with

starkeymonster. I am going to have pink and red socks and no one can stop me!!! I might do the other batch in blue and purple, or something.

This also means that I need to come up with a pattern to use with the gray alpaca. I'd like to do a shawl, probably a rectangular one - beyond that, I need to think more. I want to do a dragonfly pattern but alpaca isn't great for lace, since it's slippy. Or, I could wait to decide until I finish my four projects in process and do the next two I have planned. That would probably be okay. :)

Also, everyone in

knitting said, "Simple Knits for Cherished Babies is the bomb!" I got it out of the library and am actually not that excited by it. I'm more into making small projects (booties and hats) that are really cute. You know, booties with ducks on them, hats that look like pies, etc. Happily, there seem to be a lot of patterns online.

Current Mood: excited

So, I finished my first sock! And I'm about halfway through the second. It may not look that way, but since I am somewhat inexperienced with socks, the toe and heel are the hardest part for me - I expect smooth sailing from here on out!

( Look, pictures! )

I made these with Cascade 220 - a somewhat heavier weight than is usually used for socks. They will be nice and toasty for the winter. My feet tend to get cold...

Also, I signed up for the Magic Loop workshop at Woolcott. The class will be in about three weeks. It teaches you how to do two socks at a time on one pair of circular needles. (I made these kneesocks on doublepoints.) Fabulous! I can't wait!

Current Mood: accomplished

So, I went to the knitting store today. I bought double-pointed 13s (I had originally bought 15s, which was an accident) so that I can do the piping for the initial bag. I was trying to trade the 15s for 13s online but decided it's kind of a hassle. This way I can trade them for anything that catches my fancy.

I also got the book Folk Bags, which is sort of an ideological sequel to Folk Shawls. I really REALLY like bags. I feel in love with the Monk's Satchel pattern, so I got the book out of the library, and discovered it had a whole bunch of patterns in it I liked, plus some really neat techniques, like crocheting a light-gauge yarn on the top of your knitted fabric, like embroidery. Neat-o.

Then I stopped at Planet Aid. (

zzbottom was very patient throughout the process.) I limited myself to three sweaters. A gorgeous green wool yarn with flecks of blue, tan, and white... a black and white pure wool sweater with a yummy yummy texture... and a really soft, bulky wool sweater with blue, green, and white.

Soon nowhere is going to have sweaters in stock... right? *grin* Of course, by then I'll have enough sweaters to see me through a major disaster. 'Cause you need yarn to get through a major disaster. Very important.

Current Mood: amused

bryghtrose alerted me to the fabulous sweater sale at our local Davis Square Goodwill. Any sweater, two-fifty. I bought four - a navy wool (the navy sweater the aforementioned diva gave me didn't work out due to poor yarn quality), a creamy wool that should be great for dying, a bulky wool/acrylic blend that I just really liked the color of (marroon/rust variegated stuff), and *gasp* a sweater to wear. Yes, a sweater that I actually intend to wear on my body rather than ripping into pieces. It is soft blue felted wool and nylon. (I'll admit, I stared at it in confusion for a while before I figured out why it wouldn't be good for frogging.) It is extra-large. Yay, comfy jammy sweater!

I also had excellent luck at Boomerang, earlier in the week. A black cotton/ramie, a pale blue cotton, and a Sooper Secrit Sweater which is going to be turned into a Sooper Secrit Surprise for someone very special.

Finally,

ceelove gave me a lovely burgundy sweater for recycling, in cotton-ramie. (That's why I got the black. Stripes babeee!)

I am kind of tempted to go out again, and visit my other planned sweater death destinations - Planet Aid in Harvard Square and Goodwill in Central. I'm going out and spending ten dollars on sweaters instead of a hundred on yarn, and having a lot of yarn left over. Plus, recycling! Winter is ending - in a few weeks or months they probably won't have many sweaters in stock. That makes it easy for me to justify getting even more sweaters. (You're pointing out that I'm already ten sweaters behind? And it takes me a week to frog and process one? Oh, ye of little faith.)

And yes, I have actually started a project using some of my frogged yarn. When it's done, I'll post it up.

Current Mood: happy

I am finally posting the picture I took of the cabled scarf I finished a few weeks ago, since at last I finished another project - two birthday presents for

michellemybell. (It's kind of interesting to make things for someone that you would never wear yourself. I love pink, but neon isn't my thing.)

I have another crafy photo treat coming soon, but I'm not going to spoil the surprise.

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I am now working on the felted initial bag from Stitch and Bitch Nation. I am also only one and a half sweaters away from being able to start on the spiral crochet lap blanket I'm making myself. Right now, my shawl is doing double duty.

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Digitally Imported

I am considering making the Mariah cabled hoodie from knitty. I think it's really pretty. I'm thinking of either a dark gray or a burgundy yarn. I'm going to look at a few more thrift stores and see if I can find something I can use. (Does anyone have any T-accessible thrift stores they would especially recommend?) If not, I will probably use this baby alpaca from KnitPicks in Embers, since I love the way baby alpaca feels and it is nice and cheap.

Last night, I ironed the hanked gray wool. (I wish I had been taking pictures as I went so you would all know how much better it has looked in each stage of the process! Would anyone be interested in my doing that with my next sweater unmaking?) It is now looking great - like yarn you would buy in a store. All that is left to do is for me to get rid of some of the knots using the Russian Join, and check for any places that I missed where the yarn is worn and needs to be cut out, while I'm rolling it into balls.

The colors I have so far for my lap blanket are:

- charcoal gray
- lilac with white
- heather blue
- periwinkle blue
- bright purple
- plum

They're all blends of wool, except for the plum which is pure wool left over from a scarf that's almost done. (The knitting is done, but for some reason I am really procrastinating about blocking it. Maybe today is the day!)
I have decided to try to find a navy sweater, or to buy a ball of navy wool. I think that navy blue will be the perfect thing to balance the colors and bring it all together.

I'm also realizing, since I'm not planning to make an enormous or tightly crocheted blanket, that I'm going to have lots of yarn left over, all in colors and textures I really like. Yay!

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" - Wayman Tisdale

I am about halfway done frogging my third sweater. I have hanked the pink yarn. And, for my major accomplishment today - I have washed the grey wool, and it is now drying and being un-kinked. I hope.

I have the wool hanging up on clothes hangers in the bathtub. I found that a can of food seemed to work the best for catching all of the threads of yarn evenly. So, three cans of taro paste are holding things in place. Now, I just need to wait for it to dry. Then, hopefully, it will be spiffy. If it is still kinked, I will then try steaming it, which was also suggested on one yarn recycling website I read - first, by running a hot shower while it's hanging up in the bathroom, and then, if that doesn't work, by steam-ironing it through a towel.

It doesn't really matter if it's a little wavy. But I'd just like to see how close I can get it to being new yarn again. For fun and curiosity.

(Postnote: The yarn is almost dry now. It's also looking much straighter than it was, although I imagine there will be some bounce-back once I remove the weights. This is working out great!)

Current Mood: pleased

So now I have two and a half sweaters done, and I'm still loving it.

Got my kniddy-knoddy set up, and I'm loving that, too.

I think tomorrow may be my day of washing yarn. Any suggestions on what to use for weights to get the kinks out? (Yes, one situation where you want to.)

About a week ago, a friend watched me rip some stitches out of a project I was making.
He said, "You know, it's pretty cool that you can make stuff from yarn. But in a way, it's even cooler that you can make yarn from stuff."

Now that I have frogged two sweaters, I am starting to agree with him. It is just about the coolest thing ever. I now have about eleven hundred yards of dusty rose chenille yarn, and four or six hundred yards of gray wool blend. And I still have four sweaters to go! Two are really yummy wool blends, a third is another chenille in blue, and the forth is this awesome novelty yarn, black-and-gray-and-silver fuzzy stuff.

A project for later in the day is going to be making my own kniddy-knoddy, which is a thing you wrap yarn around to make hanks and measure it. After I do that, I can try to get the kinks out of the yarn.

I'm really feeling pretty jazzed about this. :) I'm going to have enough to get started on a lapblanket for my chair in blues, purples, and greys, and the novelty yarn is going to be the trim on my next shawl. Whee!

Behind the cut, find pictures of my recent crafty endeavors.

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Current Mood: happy
Current Music: "Fall to Pieces" - Velvet Revolver

Yesterday

bryghtrose and I went to Windsor Button together.

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So, I finished the shawl I've been crocheting today.

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Current Mood: pleased

So, last night I made a pattern and cut out the pieces for the crazy pink purse I'm making. It's going to be mostly round but flat on the bottom, sort of like a bowling bag, but not entirely spherical. (Hope this makes sense.) In another hour I'm going to walk over to the sewing store and buy some Fray-check, to keep the fake fur from unraveling as I sew it. Fraycheck is wonderful.

I have been working on a pair of Fluffy Cuff Mittens from the first Stitch and Bitch book. Yesterday, I finished one of the mittens, and then realized that the thumb of the second mitten was in the wrong place. In other words, I have two right mittens. Oops.
Once I had recovered a bit from the shock,

starkeymonster quite reasonably suggested that I undo the last few inches of the top of the mitten and change where the sides are (which is solely influenced by the decreases at the top of the mitten) so that the thumb is in the right place. She's so smart.

I am also working on a ribbed cabled scarf for

redjo. The pattern is one of my own design, about four inches wide with mirror cables and a rib stripe in the middle. I'm making it out of Mysterious Fuschia Superwash. It's going very well - I have about a foot and a half done, and the cabling pattern is starting to make sense to me.

Yesterday I bought a pattern for a very attractive knitted jacket. I've been totally unsuccessful at finding a crochet jacket pattern I like. I will probably post more about this to the knitting community later, since I want a substitution suggestion that will not cost me $10 for 100 yards.

Current Mood: busy

I finished the matching hat I made to go with Jim's black and green scarf. I'll see if I can get a picture of him actually wearing it, that might be fun.

Julia has looked at the first draft of the hat I was making her, and requested a few changes. It is a little too long, and a little too wide at the bottom. I am working on some minor alterations and will see if they do the trick or something more extensive is required.

Last night Julia also showed me how to knit with double-pointed needles. It was very easy. I have a lot of outstanding projects using doublepoints, so I'll have to decide what I want to do next. The tea cozy would probably be a relatively easy starting place.

The crocheted shawl pattern from the Internet I mentioned a while back is kicking my butt. *sigh* If I ever get enabled to post in the crochet community, I'm going to ask for help. I think I may also devote a few hours to a fourth attempt to figure out the pattern either tonight or tomorrow night.