A Quick Project

I made this fresh cranberry garland for our door wreath in about an hour. If Martha saw this, she would probably snicker up her sleeve, but I'm happy to have a quick project that added color to our holiday decor.

It's about 9 feet/2.75 meters long, which is just enough to tuck into a large wreath or drape along the mantle with some pine bough roping. It would take quite a few of these to decorate a Christmas tree.

I used a sharp needle, some red sewing thread doubled, about 1 pound of cranberries (a whole plastic "clamshell" of berries from the grocery store), and 2 short pieces of red ribbon.

I used the short piece of ribbon as the first and last item on the thread, and when all the berries were attached and the thread knotted off, I tied a bow in each piece of ribbon. If you omit the ribbon, you'll have to make a huge knot at each end, which is a little awkward when the berries are sliding around on the thread and the strand is trying to twist upon itself.

FO Report -- R is for Red Berries Hat

Last Thanksgiving, the sister that lives in Florida, her husband, and the three kids made the trek to Indianapolis for Thanksgiving and then spent a day with us in Chicago. We tried to fit in as much sightseeing as we could, and finished off the tour at Millenneuim Park.

By then, the sun was gone, a chill was setting in, and the Floridians were huddled up in their light "coats" and "winter gear." For a couple of minutes we watched the ice skaters glide about the rink, and my little nephew's teeth chattered as he pleaded with his mom to go ice skating.Instead, we scampered off for a round of piping hot cocoa and then bunched together under the warming lights at the El platform. Dinner was a couple of cheesy pies from Gino's East.

Yeah, they enjoyed their trip, but I felt bad about them being underdressed and chilled.

So this year, I started getting some warm hats ready.

For my niece S, who appreciates tiny little details, a cable heavy Shedir in dark pink wool, with all the knit stitches worked through-the-back-loop so that they really popped. Sorry, forgot to take a photo of that one.

For my nephew R, a variation on the Solstice Hat . He asked for red, so I obliged with some bulky wool & mohair from Wisconsin's Blackberry Ridge, in a hand dyed colorway called English Rose , umm, let's call it red berries for my boy.

Instead of the diamond pattern as written, I charted out some Rs, and needed to add just 2 stitches to the middle section to fit them all in.

As it turned out, the weather was great this year, and no one really needed to wear a hat. And my brother-in-law's work schedule forced them to cancel the Chicago leg of thia year's trip, so we didn't get to go ice skating at the park. Oh well. Maybe next year. We're ready.

FO Report -- Solstice Hat w/Violet Lambs Pride

Question: What do you do when it's midday and your boyfriend says he wants to go visit his mom? And wants to leave in 20 minutes? And you haven't taken a shower or changed out of the sweat pants you slept in, because you've been cleaning the house and playing with the dog all morning? And you don't have a WIP for the car ride?

Answer: While the water heats up in the shower, grab the first pair of pants and shirt you can find that are clean and match (more or less), then raid the yarn stash for bits of bright violet Lamb's Pride wool and undyed mystery yarn, some circular 7s and 8s, and the Solstice Hat pattern written by Elizabeth Morriston primarily for people who are knitting for The Dulaan Project.

What you have by the time you get home: another hat for Dulaan.

This one in Lamb's Pride weighs 42 grams, while the one made from blueberry colored Paton's Classic Wool weighs 38 grams.

FO Report -- Zugspitze

Over the weekend I finished this child's cabled hat. It's a gift for a friend and my own pattern. I'm calling it Zugspitze, in reference to the Bavarian alp where cable cars take skiiers and sightseers to the peak.

My mother and I visited Zugspitze about a year ago. She lives near Nurnberg, and took me on a little tour of southern Bavaria.

I took this photo for my sisters.
Mama driving 100 mph (160k) on the autobahn!
She's laughing because I told her why I was taking the picture.
For you knitters, here's some sheep, as seen during the short train ride from Garmisch-Partenkirschner to the base of the cable cars.








Materials:
Karabella Aurora 8 (100% Extrafine Merino Wool, 50 grams / 98 yards or 90 meters per ball, manufacturer recommends 18 st x 26 rows with US size 7 or 8 needles), Color #43, medium teal. Final weight of hat: 46 grams. US #6 (4mm) 16" circulars.

FO Report -- Orchid Pink and Violet Kitty Hat

Thanks for the feedback yesterday. The unadorned hat was a little too plain for me, but I thought embroidery stitches would make the top of the hat uncomfortable to wear. Too inflexible or maybe bumpy. So I came up with a different way to gussy up the kitty.



Size 4-to-6 girl's hat with kitty cat ears. A gift for a friend.

Pattern: vintage Family Headwear & Scarves booklet #98 published by Patons & Baldwin Canada, Inc. No publication date, looks like it's from the 1970s. Purchased from Vintage Knits.

Materials: Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian Highland wool, 100 grams / 220 yards per ball) 1 ball in Orchid Pink, #2449. Final weight of hat: 71 grams. US #7 (4.5mm) 16" circulars. Chibi tapestry needle for grafting. Bits of pink, violet and lime green fleece, coordinating shades of cotton embroidery floss, 2 Swarovski bicone crystals (5 or 6 mm), sharp needle for working blanket stitch, and Fabri Tac adhesive.

Modifications: Worked face ribbing in the round instead of flat + seam. Instead of "Inc 1 st in each of next 2 stitches," marked center of ears and worked left slanting and right slanting increases. Seamed side stitches to back flap by picking up stitches along the back flap and grafting them to the sides. Used sewn cast off.


The fleece flowers are a little soft and might have been better in felt. Does anyone sell "fat quarters" or smaller chunks of wool felt? When I search the internet I find either polyester felt or wool felt yardage. I could use a little wool felt for a Christmas project.

FO Report -- Kandinsky Tote

sweetfigs' Kandinsky Tote, September and October 2006
gift to knitter Alison in Campbell River, British Columbia, as part of International Tote Swap II


This bag is currently somewhere in Canada, on it's way to my tote swap partner. Alison, I hope you like it, I was a little sad to see this one go out the door.

First up, the embellishment, which turned out like I planned. Note to CJ: I was going to secure the threads to the back by ironing on some fusible interfacing, but chickened out. Instead of the super hot iron, I used some clear fabric adhesive. More detailed notes for CJ and other crafters are at the bottom of this blog entry.


For the bag itself, I was aiming for the size of a small shopping bag, and succeeded. Yay!


I gave the bag a little structural support by lining the bottom with some plastic needlepoint canvas, and attaching eight large grommets to the top.



Here's the details.

Materials:
Yarn & Needles: Approximately 350 grams of dark and light charcoal grey Reynolds Lopi (100% Icelandic wool) and Lambs' Pride Prairie Silks (72% Wool, 18% Mohair, 10% Silk. 2 strands held together and densely knit on size 9 or 10 US (5.5 or 6 mm) knitting needles.

Embellishment: Printed muslin in Penny Rug design and punch embroidery needle from Hooked on Rugs. Assorted colors of cotton embroidery floss, including machine dyed DMC brand from local fabric store and hand dyed pieces from Hooked on Rugs. Used 3 full skeins of DMC floss for grey background.

Other:
9" embroidery hoop
Beacon Adhesives brand Fabri-Tac clear permanent glue
1 small piece of felt or other fabric to glue onto back of completed embellishment
8 extra-large nickel eyelets (Dritz brand, kit #660 includes setting tools + 10 eyelets), hammer
1 piece plastic needlepoint canvas, trimmed and corners rounded to rest in base of bag
1 tapestry needle to weave in knitted ends
1 sharp sewing needle to affix embellishment to tote

Approach: Knit swatch, measure or just draw outline on paper for measuring later, felt with regular load of laundry, then remeasure. Using pre- and post-felted swatch measurements as a guide, make rectangular base in garter stitch, pickup and knit stockinette sides in the round, switch to garter stitch in final 6 rounds, bind off. Make I-cord for straps, exact length not crucial, allow sufficient length to tie knots in finished straps. Felt pieces and set aside to dry thoroughly. Make embellishment, trim muslin to 1" around, coat back of embellishment with clear adhesive and neatly fold muslin over exposed ends of embroidery floss, coat again and attach small piece of felt or other fabric to neaten and stablize. Mark and attach extra-large eyelets to tote, thread and knot straps, using matching thread and sharp sewing needle, tack embellishment to exterior.

Better pics of the FO -- Red Scarf

A few days ago I said I would take some better photos of the red scarf. Hopefully these show off the texture created by the lacy pattern and the bamboo yarn.

Since the pattern calls for frequent yarnovers (written as YO or YF) and centered decreases, it's probably not for a beginning knitter. But as far as lace patterns go, this is an easy one.

There are just two rows -- all the counting and stitch manipulation occurs while knitting the right side (Row 1), and then the stitches are purled back to the other needle (Row 2).

Every so often, count the stitches while you are working the purl side, and you'll quickly catch any errors you made on the knit side.

FO Report -- Red Scarf

Over the weekend I finished this scarf for a college student I haven't met yet.
Come back later for better pics.

This scarf will be part of the bundle of red scarves that Chicago KIP'ers are sending in January 2007 to the Orphan Foundation of America for their Red Scarf project. It will make its way into a care package that an American college student will receive in February.

I will add a little note with the scarf, but if you're the recipient, please know that I'm wishing you the best! When I started this scarf, it was kind of impersonal, just something to do for the community and because Theresa asked. As it took shape and became something wearable, however, it became much more.

Pattern: Wavy Razor Shell Scarf, by Portland, Oregon blogger Casey/I Think I'm Gonna Purl Thank you, Casey.

Materials: South West Trading Company Bamboo (100% bamboo, 100 grams / 250 yards per ball), 2 balls in Red, color 521. Final weight of scarf: 131 grams. 6 x 68 inches (15.5 x 172 cm). This bamboo yarn is a wonderful choice for lightweight tanks and scarfs.

Modifications: Instead of using US #5 or #6 needles with wool yarn, I used US #4 (3.50 mm). To compensate for the smaller needles and drapey yarn, I added 8 stitches to the pattern. There are four panels in the scarf, so I added 1 stitch to the left and right of the centered decreases. E.g., in the first and last panels, instead of (k2, centered decrease, k2) I did (k3, centered decrease, k3).

Other news: It's official, the peppermint socks have assasinated 5 And A Beagle in Sock Wars. Last I looked, there were 222 knitters left out of the 773 original entrants.

FO Report -- Sock Wars Socks of Doom for 5 And A Beagle

After I killed off my first victim in Sock Wars, stringthing in
northern Kentucky, she sent me the socks she started for her victim:

stringthing suspected, however, that the yarn might run a little short, so first thing I did was throw her completed sock on the scale.

Sure enough, 100 grams of yarn was not going to be enough to finish the pair, and since the yarn came by mailorder from elann, a little improvising was going to be necessary.

The girls at the local yarn store helped me pick out a little more fire power.

Ta da, Peppermint Socks of Doom, which are currently in the hands of the Canadian postal service for blogger 5 And A Beagle in North Vancouver, B.C.:
I think stringthing made a great choice! The peppermint yarn was nice to work
with and seemed like it would hold up well in the washing machine. It is still available at elann if you're interested in a pair of PSoD for yourself.

Yarn for one pair US womens shoe size 9: Main Color: Schoeller Stahl Micro Cable Color, color way 0002, 100% polyacryl, machine washable, 100 grams, a "chunky" weight yarn (78m per 50g skein) knit at DK gauge, 20 stitches/30 rows to 4"/10 cm. Source: elann.com. Contrasting Color: Steinbach Wolle, Supersport Effekt, color way 1, 80% wool, 20%
polyamid, machine washable, 100m/109y per 50g skein, used approximately one-third of a skein. Source: local yarn store.

Needles: US size 4, 3.5 mm.

The last time I looked at the statistics for Sock Wars, I was one about 250 remaining from the original 773 knitters that entered.

I have a feeling though, that waging Sock Wars in a distant land will be perilous to my health.

FO Report -- Sock Wars Socks of Doom for stringthing

After a bit of delay due to the effects of Hurricane Gordon on Northern Ireland, Yarn Monkey managed to post the official pattern for the Sock Wars Sock of Doom on Friday afternoon.

When I started knitting I had no idea how long it would take me to finish. I usually knit socks with fingering weight on US size 0/2 mm needles, but the Sock of Doom pattern calls for yarn that is twice as thick and US size 5/3.75 mm needles. I'm not a very fast knitter, but I can knit one of my usual socks in about a week, so maybe the Sock of Doom would take 3 days of dedicated knitting?

Et voile, a pair of soft red wool socks for stringthing:

I know the picture is blurry, but that's all I got before sending them off in the mail. It's photos like this that are making me think about a new digital camera.

Yarn: 2 strands of Dale Baby Ull (easy care superwash), with a strand of Fortissima Socka reinforcing yarn in the heels & toes. US shoe size womens 8, 53 grams each.

I'm waiting now to hear about their arrival and whether my target managed to send her completed socks out before she was killed.

In the meantime, I added about 6 inches to the red scarf I'm making for the Orphan Foundation.

I also finally succeded in adding a progress tracker to my sidebar. Woot!

FO Report -- Sewn Bag (KSKS kit completed)

Remember this fabric? Well it's been transformed into this:

My KSKS partner was hoping for something she could knit from while walking, so I put together this little backpack/ messenger bag. It didn't turn out perfectly, but I learned a lot and was fairly happy with the results.
There's a big pocket in the back for carrying a pattern or magazine and smaller pockets for carrying the yarn and gadgets. I also included a little key chain clip on one of the side panels, so she doesn't have to hunt. The top closes with an adjustable drawstring.
I enjoyed getting to know someone new through their blog and putting together this little sock knit kit for her. The pattern comes from The Keyboard Biologist and the yarn is hand dyed loveliness from Scout J, one of our swap organizers.

FO Report -- Odessa

I just sent this hat to my mom for her birthday.

She's about to spend her second year in northern Bavaria, which, as near as I can tell, has winter weather like Chicago's.

I picked out this color to set off her lovely blue eyes, and I think she'll like the softness of the yarn and the little bling-y beads. She's always appreciated my handmade creations, so the best part for her will probably be that I made this just for her.

Pattern: Odessa, by the impressive Grumperina, available on MagKnits

Materials: Rowan Cashsoft DK (57% extra fine merino, 33% microfibre, 10% cashmere, 142 yd / 130m per 50g ball), 1 ball in Navy, color 514. 1 tube of size 6 multi colored beads from Joann, used about 1/3 of the tube.

Modifications: Instead of using US #4 for the cuff and US #6 for the body, I used US #5 (3.75mm) for the entire hat. I knit kind of loose and didn't like how smooshy the fabric was on the 6s. Going down a needle size made the circumference smaller, but I still started the swirl of decreases when the hat was 5.5 inches tall. It's a comfortable, not too snug fit.

FO Report -- A Sewn Handbag

I'm back!

I got a little overloaded from the heatwave, lack of sleep, and too much to do, so I took a little break from blogging. I still need a few more nights of solid sleep, but I'm feeling better.

I managed to finish this handbag! It's a little sweet /twee /Laura Ashley for my taste, but I won't mind carrying it from time to time. The exterior is a remnant of cotton upholstery fabric from the sale table, the lining is cotton duck, and the corners and strap are pleather.

I like how the zipper extends upward into the handles, and gives the top of the bag a little structure. I dropped it off at the cobbler's so that he could put the brass rivets in the strap, which added $6 to the final cost, but I think they make the bag look more finished.