Indecision City

I bought this beautiful yarn for a project way back last summer, in July 2012.

It is Alpaca Silk (50% Alpaca / 50% Silk) from Blue Sky Alpacas.  It is sport weight and it is in a rich purple color.  I bought 3 hanks of it from a woman on Ravelry for $24, including shipping.  That is a fantastic deal, because online, one hank goes for about $14.  It's like getting one free!  Love it.

My original project idea was from a book called French Girl Knits by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes:

Interweave Press

This book has beautiful French-inspired knitted garments, with seamless construction.  The project I was going to choose to do was called Delphine, a lacy tank top:

Delphine, Interweave Press

Once I copied the pattern and started to do my research on needles and gauge, I discovered that I needed 7 different sets of needles: 2, 3, 4 circs in two separate lengths and then another circ in yet another length.  Ahh, oh crap.  I don't want to be doing all of that!  Yes, gorgeous tank, not so fun knitting experience.  Ugh!

I was bummed when I came to terms with it in my head.  I then poured over my knitting pattern library (with the help of Ravelry: I have it all in their database, where I can search the patterns without actually thumbing through all of my magazines).  My next choice was another lacy top that will use about the same amount of yarn.

It is from Debbie Bliss's Magazine, Spring 2011.

Debbie Bliss, 2011

I chose Cropped Lace Top, pattern #13 (lucky 13, I hope).

Cropped Lace Top - On Right

The sweater is the one on the right.  The construction is knit in 2 pieces from bottom up.  Seam together. Uses one set and size of needle.  Sounds good to me.

I am using size 5 circular, knit flat, not in the round.  I actually started this one and when I got to about 2 inches knit, I was half through one ball...I only have 3.

I put waste yarn through the loops and took it off the needle.  I had 13 scallops (pattern repeats) which measured over 24 inches across.  I need it to be only 20 inches...Drat!  I did not do a meaningful gauge swatch.  I knitted one to make sure I got the pattern repeat down, then casted-on.  My bad.

I even went to the beach with it when my sister came to visit:

Siesta Key Beach, FL

So, I did what anyone would have: I ripped it all out.  Ugh.  Yup, back to the drawing board.  I continued my pattern search and came up with a cute shawl that can be draped into a wrap, shawl or scarf.  It is called Summer Flies shawl.

A fellow knitter on Ravelry, esqknits let me use her finished pic to show what it would look like when it's finished:

Summertime Blues by esqknits

How beautiful; I think that looks very stunning, especially in that aqua blue.  I'm still sticking with the purple, so I can only hope that it is as eye-catching as her Summertime Blues shawl.

Third times a charm??

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I am starting my Christmas knitting early.  I am on a roll and have completed two hat and scarf sets.  I don't know how many items I will make as Christmas gifts, but I will just knit until I run out of time.  That always seems to work :-)

I start out by buying some really cute yarn at a local store; they were inexpensive so I figured I'd buy a bunch and figure out what to do with them later.  The first set of yarn is a wool-like multicolored strand with a novelty strand of mini fuzzy nubs on them wound together.  I'll call this set of yarn "Fuzzy."  The brand is Gala Yarns and I believe it is a yarn company that must buy out other company's yarns and recycles them.  So I am being green by knitting something with recycled yarn.

Fuzzy

The second set of yarn is a brown worsted weight acrylic yarn with a novelty strand of mini fuzzy nubs on them wound together, like in the other yarn.  This set is also from Gala Yarns (again, being green).  I will call this set of yarn "Wuzzy."

Wuzzy

I decided to make a hat and scarf set for my friend's two daughters.  I made them a hat last year (I Heart Hats) as well, so they can add these to their collection.

The scarves are first.  It is a pattern that I am improvising on.  Here is my pattern:

• Any yarn, at least one ball of 50g (more if you want fringe)
• Size 8 or 9 knitting needles (8 if thin yarn, 9 if thick yarn)
• Work the following pattern until you run out of yarn or reach the desired length:
• CO 16 st, loosely
• Row 1: k1, *yo, k2 tog, repeat from * to end
• Row 2: p
• Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until you reach desired length
• Bind off loosely
• Cut fringe in 10" pieces for fringe that is about 5" long once attached
• For Fuzzy, I used 3 strands of yarn for each fringe
• For Wuzzy, I used 2 strands of yarn and one strand of ribbon for each fringe
• Attach fringe at the ends of scarf at the ribs

This pattern created a ribbed look with eyelets (holes) in between each rib.  It was to have an easy pattern to mindlessly knit without a pattern, but different than stockinette.  

Here is Fuzzy, while in the works:

Here is Wuzzy in the works:

Next was fringe.  I cut 54, 10" strands for Fuzzy and 36, 10" strands for Wuzzy.  Wuzzy also had 6, 10" strands of purple ribbon cut.  

I explain how to attach fringe in a past post: Quintet Scarf.  For Wuzzy, I placed the ribbon one on each end and one in the middle, so there are 3 strands of ribbon weaved in at each end.

On to the hats.  The hat pattern is a pattern I have used in the past and love it.  It is very versatile.  That pattern is available in my I Heart Hats post.  This time, the yarns were pretty thick, so the bottom edge did not naturally roll, so I made them like beanie hats.  You gotta roll with the punches and just go with it.  

How cute, huh?

Here are them as a set:

So, I can officially cross two little people off my list.  Not too shabby.

Yarn Stash

I had a long weekend this weekend, thanks to Hurricane Isaac.  Tampa Bay was expecting tons of rain and heavy winds, but the Hurricane went further west than the original forecast models predicted.  My employer had cancelled work for Monday.  Last time we got a lot of rain, my work was like an island, where the parking areas were completed flooded, even the road in.

So, I decided to work on a project that I have been meaning to do for some time now.  The online knit and crochet database & fiber community, Ravelry, allows you to enter in your patterns, yarn, needles & projects.  I had previously entered in my patterns, magazines & books.  This weekend I entered in all of my stash yarn.

Here is a bin of my oldest yarn.  I have had some of this yarn for years, that I even moved from Mass with it.  I swear I will use it one day.  There are some unfinished objects (UFOs) in there that I have full intention to rip out and make better use of the yarn.  Someday...

Here is a picnic basket full of one skein or half skeins of yarn.  This mostly houses the leftover yarn from my completed projects.  It also has my metal straight needle collection.  My cat, Roo, is dying to jump in that basket.

Here is a small basket of yarn from projects that I have recently completed and don't have room in the bin or the picnic basket.

I need to start stash busting.  Some ideas I have are to make scrap scarves, striping with different textures of yarns.  I did a bit of that for the Trio Scarf and the Quintet Scarf. I have other patterns that would look nice with multi textures and colors.  I also want to make a scrappy throw blanket where I would knit different blocks of different patterns and sew them together.  It would be so kitschy; I would love it.

I have a few knitted Christmas gifts to get through (I'm limiting it to just a few) and then I may just start on some scrappy scarves and throws! 

 

Cotton Wrap

I'm doing what we knitters call "stash-busting" with this weeks project.  Stash-busting is taking yarn that you already own and making something with it.  It could be yarn that was bought but never used or it may be leftover yarn from a completed project.

In this case, it was leftover yarn.  I made a sweater with it back in 2007 and had a lot leftover.  I always buy too much.  The sweater had it's issues, but it came out nice enough that I do wear it.

This yarn is a hand-dyed cotton that I bought when I visited Mass one winter season.  It is a cotton yarn that when it was spun, it was done in a way that makes the strand thick in some places and thin in others; very cool.

I chose to knit a small shawl that I am calling a wrap.  It came from the Holiday 2011 issue of Knit Simple.  This is not the suggested yarn, so I had to wing it a bit.  The original pattern called for a silk yarn that had beads and sequins attached to it. That sounds very pretty, but not within my budget for this week.

The wrap is knitted by casting on 3 sts and increasing at the beginning of each row to create a triangle.  I used a size 13 circular needle to accommodate the large number of sts it will have when finished.

The yarn is a purple/brown/pink variegated yarn, which you can see a bit better in the above pic.  This worked up pretty quick because it was just knit and purl back and forth.

Since the original pattern with the beaded and sequined yarn was a fancy idea, I knew I had to put a bit of pizazz into this one.  She's a bit of a plain Jane.  What I decided to do was to make fringe.

I cut strands about 12" long, held two together and placed it at every end-of-row hole.  It came out very chic, in my opinion.  My new summer cotton wrap:

Stash-busting was fun.  You can stash-bust too, by seeing what supplies you have on-hand (which could be fabric, beads, ribbon or anything that is leftover) and make something nice for yourself.  Go ahead - Stash-bust!

Sweater Purse 5.0

Happy Easter!  Even though this is not an Easter inspired project, it is a project that I did back in February.  Guess what it is?  Yes, another Sweater Purse!  You will never escape this project!  Well, maybe once this year is over, then I will move on to a new obsession for 2012!  Anyway, this is a purse that came from the same J. Crew sweater as my last Sweater Purse.  I took that sweater and some odds and ends that I thought may spice up the purse a bit and went to work.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

I have Santana featuring Michelle Branch's song Game of Love in my head when I was typing this.  I love that song! 

I had made this purse for my friend that I went to The Melting Pot for in one of my previous posts.  Her favorite color is purple, when I thought it was blue.  So, I had to dig around for the purple tulle you see above.  I also had bought a box-o-ties from an estate sale a while back, not sure what I was going to use them for, but when they are only $1, you gotta go for it!  So, I will use one of them for this purse.

First, I cut out a rectangle section of sweater, utilizing the side seam.



I have scaled down my sweater purse size from what I did over Christmas, because I thought it would be easier to handle, but it takes just as much time.  But, scaling it down has allowed me to make more than one purse from a sweater.

Next, I sewed the side seam and the bottom seam.

Upside Down Purse!

I actually flipped the material upside-down so the ribbing that is normally at the bottom of the sweater will be the top of the purse.  I then cut out a section of purple lining to match my purple tulle.  Those purple items were remnants from a dress I made to attend the Sex and the City II movie with my Ladies.  It was a fun night and I wore the dress at least one additional time since, so it was worth it.


Drinking Cosmos before we left the hotel room!!

Anyway, back to the purse.  Always save remnants, you never know when you will need them.  Here is the cut section of the lining:


They should make a no-fray lining-I'd buy it!

I folded it and inserted it into the sweater purse to get a good fit.  I pinned it and then sewed the lining like I did the purse.  I put that aside and tried to come up with some creative idea to do with the tulle.  I already made a rosette for the last one, so not that.  I knew that the tulle would not make a good handle...so I was stumped.  I finally decided to bunch it up going around the circumference of the purse.  I then realized that I would need to unstitch a little of one of the side seams so that I could tuck it in to secure it good.


Unstitching...


I pinned the tulle to the inside of the purse at the seam I unstitched, then periodically scrunched the tulle together with purple thread and anchored to the purse.  I did the same on the other side.  Then turned it inside-out and sewed up the side seam again.


I pinned before I scrunched.

Once I was happy with that I took the lining and folded down the top until it lined up with the purse.  I then iron the lining at that fold, wrong sides together.



Fold and Press.

Then I inserted the lining in the purse and pinned it in place.  Now comes the tie.  I ironed the tie a million times and used startch, but could not get all of the wrinkles out.  I measured a decent length of the tie for a handle/shoulder strap so that it would fit right under the armpit when worn on the shoulder.  I then measured a "closure", using the tie bottom/front (where the V is in the tie) so that would be the closure front.  I pinned those to the purse between the purse and the lining.  

Tie ends-strap and closure.


I then sewed the lining to the purse with a zig-zag stitch along the top edge ensuring that I sewed through the tie handle and closure end.  Since the edge was finished already, no more needed to be done.



Finally coming together.


Once I sewed the lining in, the purse was complete!

Black-tie Purse!

With each purse I do, I like them even more!  See how I scrunched the tulle at the right places so the tie closure could be threaded though?  Nice, touch, if I do say so myself! 

From the top

While I was on a break, thinking of what to do, my cat Julie decided to warm up the purse before I got started.


Roo-girl!  I can't walk away for a minute! 

How can you be mad at a fuzzy face like that!  So, Sheri, if you find some white cat hairs on the sweater, this is why!  I figured she would not mind too much, she has a cat of her own (fellow cat-owners know you can never get away from cat hair)!

I do have more Sweater Purses in my queue to blog about, so stay tuned!

Quintet Scarf

This is basically the Trio Scarf, but with, guess how many different yarns....five.  This installment of the scarves will be about attaching the fringe.  Another thing I loathe about knit or crochet patterns is that the pattern assumes that you know something about knitting or crocheting beyond your nose.  But sometimes, you just don't.  You just see something you like and want to pick up a pair of needles or a hook and start!  Practice is something that comes with time, how can you practice if you don't work on patterns?  So, in the Trio Scarf post, I simply stated "attach fringe" as a step to complete the scarf, but if you don't know how that is done, then the pattern is just dumb.  Trust me, I get it!

Let me start by explaining why this is not the Trio Scarf, but the Quintet Scarf.  The five yarns I used were out of necessity, not want, but I made the best of it (and my yarn stash).  First my MC (Main Color) was the wool that I mentioned in the Trio Scarf, with the all purple hues from South Company Rio de la Plata.  Did I mention that the Rio de la Plata is hand-dyed in Uruguay?  !Es fabuloso!  Then the second yarn was the rest of the Berroco Opulent FX.   I did not have enough of the Opulent FX to knit all the way through, so I knit it in the beginning then at the end.  My third yarn was Katia Sevilla in a silver color.  I said cream in my last post, but upon further inspection, it really is silver.  My fourth and fifth yarns were also novelty yarns.  The fourth yarn was leftover Berroco Jewel FX which is 94% Rayon and 6% Metallic.  It has a silver thread, purple thread with nubs and a blue thread with nubs all twisted together.  I used it in a felted purse project years ago.  Finally, my fifth yarn was a purple eyelash yarn.  I no longer had the wrapper label, so no clue of the brand.

If not "nubs" then what are they?

The eyelash yarn, I do remember, I bought at a yarn shop in Middleboro, MA called The Wool Patch.  It is the cutest shop built on the same property as the owners home, built like a rustic cabin.  The yarns are in wooden cubbies, baskets on the floor, hanks hanging from the wooden rafters and in an antique wooden hutch with the yarns popping out of the drawers and cabinet shelves.  In addition to the knit shop is a llama corral.  She only has a few, I believe, more as pets than shearing them for profit.  But I could be wrong.  Definitely check out The Wool Patch if you are in the area.  I don't see that they have a website, but they are on Facebook.  I included the link above. 

Like in the pattern in Trio Scarf, I alternated between these five yarns.  It gave a slightly different look than the Trio Scarf, but just as pleasing.  Ok, so now for the fringe lesson:

1. Cut fringe twice the desired length.  It will eventually be folded in half, hence twice the length.  I organized it by laying each set out because I knew I did not have enough Opulent FX to have two strands per fringe.  In the pattern, I used 11 sets of fringe for each end of the scarf.  You may add more or less, depending on how full you want it.  I put one strand of Rio (MC), one strand of Katia, and one strand of Opulent.  Then cut a few lengths of Eyelash (not too much, this can overpower the look), and a few strands of Jewel and randomly selected sets to add these to.  Not every set had an eyelash or a Jewel.

Eleven sets, organized in the order I will use them

2. Work on a flat surface and put project right side up (knit sts up).  Examine and plan out where the fringe will be attached by looking at the spaces at the end of the scarf.  This is usually the cast-on edge (alternately, bind-off edge).  I started with the very side-edge loop with the tail of the MC hanging.  The stitches may elongate as you attach, that is fine and will blend in once done.  I was able to count every other space/hole, using the knit sts space.  It doesn't matter where you put the fringe, as long as you are consistent, it will come out beautifully.  Insert the crochet hook from underneath into the hole you want the fringe to go.

Be consistent when choosing the placement

3.  While holding the crochet hook in one hand, take the first set of fringe in your other hand and find the center of the length.  The center, place in the crochet hook.  Use a big hook, it will give you the deepest notch to hold all the strands.  You may have to hold the yarn tight in the hook to prevent from losing it.  Move the crochet hook with all the strands from the front to the back until it is about half through (called, "pulling it through").  Once through, maintain the center, drop the crochet hood and place your fingers through the hole/loop that you have created (where the crochet hook was).

Make sure all the strands have made it through the space

4.  Once your fingers are in the loop you have created, take the tail of the fringe with the fingers that are in the loop and pull through.  Now with both hands, tighten and adjust the fringe so it fits snug against the scarf hole.  One fringe has been added.

Hooray!  Only 20 more to go!

5. Add the remaining fringe evenly across the edge.  You have the freedom to add as much as you want or as little as you want.  I wanted a full look, sort of chunky looking.  If you feel like it needs more bling, then in the spaces in between the existing fringe, add a few Katia strands or other shiny yarn.  I added extra teal Katia to the Trio Scarf.  I felt like the silver shows up very well and did not think more bling was needed.

I love the mixed look!

Now that you are an expert on fringe, repeat on the other end of the scarf.  You can leave the ends a little ragged, with the fringe uneven, or you can choose to snip them all the the same length.  Just be careful if you are the straight-edge type and make sure that you are cutting an even amount off.  You don't want what happened when you tried to cut your bangs when you were a tween and one side ends-up shorter than the other side, then you try to cut the longer side to match the short side and then that side is shorter and then you go back and forth before you realize you need a stylist to cut your bangs even again, now that there is only two-inches left.  But in this case, you can always "grow" new fringe, unlike your poor bangs, which will take a month to grow out.

Ragged-Edge all the way, baby!

So there it is, the Quintet Scarf.  I did not measure the full length of this scarf, but I'm sure that it is taller than I am.  What else in the world can you wear that is taller than you?  That is why I love the scarf and I hope that you love knitting them too.