a brioche knit infinity scarf

My sister asked for two infinity scarves for Christmas this year.  She swears that it gets chilly in Mexico.  I don't believe her.  Nevertheless, it's what she wanted.  She will be moving stateside this year, so maybe she can use them by next winter if, in fact, she isn't telling me the truth.

Here is the first one.  I used this pattern, free of course on Ravelry.  I love how it turned out!  Despite the worsted weight yarn, the brioche stitch makes the scarf light and airy while giving the look of reversible ribbing.

The brioche stitch pattern was actually very simple to memorize.  The part I could not figure out was how to graft the two ends together to make a seamless inifinity scarf.  After searching the web for a while and reading how no one else can really figure it out either, I connected the two ends with simple seam.  It's definitely not the prettiest seam I've ever done, but I will just tell her to keep the seam in the back.

The scarf is a total of 52 inches long but since it's circular, it reaches my waist at 26 inches.

See my ravelry notes.

yarn name: Lion Brand Heartland
yarn type: 100% premium acrylic
colorway: redwood (red)
yardage: ~375 yards
needle size: US 11 (8.0mm)

{my} new blue slippers

I just love this pattern!  I used it to make these green slippers a while ago, but they turned out a little small.  I gave the green ones to my mom.  Since it has been a lot cooler around here lately and the hub keeps the house at a chilly 68, I decided to modify the pattern to make a new pair that fit my size 9 feet.

I held two strands together to knit the bottom, the light blue and a neutral cream color.  For the top of the slippers, I used only a single strand of the blue.  After I made my modifications to the bottom to create a bigger sole, I realized that I overcompensated and they were a little too big.  So I slimmed them down just slightly by using only one strand of yarn for the top of the slipper.

I decided to use a ribbed cuff instead of a garter stitch cuff.  I thought this might slim down the slipper a little, too, and ensure the slipper would not slide off my ankle.  The unknown acrylic yarn that I used for the cuff didn't exactly react to the ribbing as I would have liked but oh well.  I just wear a pair of red slipper socks with them to help them fit better and keep my feet super toasty warm.

I love these colors together.

You can find all of my modifications here on Ravelry.

I think the cream colored yarn is an acrylic blend (mostly acrylic) but I don't know the details.  Here are the details for the blue yarn.

yarn name: Paton's Classic Wool
yarn type: 100% wool
colorway: seafoam (blue)
yardage: ~200 yards
needle size: US 9 (5.5mm) for sole, US 8 (5.0mm) for top

quilted sewing machine mats

For a while now, my sewing machine and serger have been resting on flattened cereal boxes so they won't leave marks on my sewing table.  I finally decided it was time to bust out my scrap collection and make some vibrant sewing machine mats.

I used the quilt-as-you-go method for these mats.  This method turns out results faster than any other type of quilting because you do the quilting as you piece together the top.  When I originally learned this technique, I used this tutorial from Diary of a Quilter.  I also use the quilt-as-you-go method to make this changing pad.

This one is made of long scraps from past projects. It's always fun to remember the projects that were made from each of the scraps.

This one is my favorite.  I've been saving up selvages since I started sewing 4 or 5 years ago.  I was saving up for a selvage quilt but I decided that I didn't want these hanging around for another 20 years while I save up my edges.  So a sewing mat will have to do.

Each of these mats measures approximately 16 inches x 10.5 inches, a perfect size to fit under my machines without getting in the way.

a memory pillow

It has been 6 months . . .

I'm not sure what else to say.  Some of these months have been the worst of my life.  But I have prayed for strength nearly every day. 

Father, please provide me the strength to get through today and the courage to love others.

He has delivered.  I still struggle through some days and I get angry with myself sometimes.  I don't do well in a cloud of depair.  I am a happy person and I avoid situations that make me feel otherwise.  But some days the weight of the sadness hits me so hard.  I try to cry out the emotion, but it doesn't work.  Sometimes it lingers for an extra day or two . . . and then it's gone for a while.

I struggle more with the 'courage to love others' part.  People can be insensitive even when they have the best intentions.  We all get wrapped up in ourselves sometimes and we forget or don't consider how our actions or words will affect another.  I have little patience for people at these times, but He is helping me work on it.

I cried when I finished this pillow.  It's just hard knowing what the pillow represents: the memory of precious love lost to me, not forever, but for now.  But the pillow makes me smile whenever I see it.  The colors are fun and vibrant.  And, of course, I love to see his name. 

faith.hope.love.  Through this lens, this world is a much better place.

fingerless mitts {knit & crochet}

My dad requested some fingerless mitts for Christmas, but I didn't quite get around to them. So I made some for him for his birthday.

 

He wanted some mitts to keep his hands warm since the circulation in his arms isn't as good as it used to be.  The hub (not) so willingly modeled these for me since they were too big for my hands.

I crocheted the hand and arms and held the yarn double to speed up the project.  Then I picked up stitches to knit a band for the fingers and the thumb.  I even added a little stockinette to the arm end of the mitts.  The stockinette rolls nicely and gives the mitts a professional finish.

 

I used a J hook to crochet and chained 23 for the start of the mitts near the fingers. This number created a large mitt perfect for my dad but much too big for me.  If I was going to make these for lady hands, I would probably only chain 19 which I would consider medium.

 

These fingerless mitts were very quick to whip up.  The first one took about 3 hours because I had to make all the design decisions.  The second didn't even take that long.  Two evenings and done!

 

my own capelet design

I knitted this capelet for my sister, Amanda, for Christmas.  She didn't request anything handmade from me (in fact, she may not even like handmade things) but I had this idea and I wanted to go for it.  She lives in Arizona where it's above 50 in the middle of winter, so I wanted to make her something light that she could wear around without making her sweat.  This little capelet was my answer.

I used bulky weight yarn and size 10 needles so I could complete the project in the week that I had left before Christmas.  I knew that I wanted a capelet knit in the round without any type of closure, simply slipped over the head to rest on the top of the shoulders. 

Since the top half would be so plain, I wanted to use something more substantial for the bottom half.  I thought about using a lace pattern but with the alpaca yarn, I knew the lace would blend too much.  And then I found the saxon braid.  This intricate cable certainly holds its own and becomes the focus of any project. 

And believe it or not, it's a pretty simple design to follow.  This was my first experience reading a chart and although I messed up a couple of times, I don't think that anyone unfamiliar with knitting cables would be able to tell.

I think it's a perfect length for a capelet and I hope it serves her well in the warm climate of Az.

knitting a blanket for christmas {that's crazy}

My lovely sister, Laura, who has always supported by love of fiber and diy crafting requested a knitted blanket as my Christmas present to her.  This was back in November.  I informed her that there was no way that I would be able to finish the blanket before Christmas, not only because it would take for.ev.er to knit a blanket but also because I had so many other projects on my Christmas list.  She graciously offered to wait longer as long as I agreed to knit one for her.

My sister currently lives and works in Mexico.  While she is gaining valuable business and life experience abroad, I know she misses us loved ones here in the States.  So I decided to give the blanket an admirable effort to be finished by Christmas.  And with the help of super bulky yarn and size 15 needles, I came through with time to spare.

Laura's only specification was that the blanket be gray or navy.  These are her signature colors.  And other than that, I had free creative reign.  So, naturally, I chose a gold color.  See, I don't take orders very well.  I need complete creative reign apparently and I thought that gray or navy would be too boring for such a large project.  You can buy gray or navy knitted afghans just about anywhere, and I wanted to use a color that was a little harder to come by.

I chose the Winter Lace Afghan pattern from Lion Brand available for free on Ravelry.  I chose the pattern before the yarn and I really thought that the gold (it looks like butterscotch) would be a great fit for the beautiful lace pattern.  I increased the size of the borders because I like thick borders on my quilts and I assumed the theory would transfer to knitwear, too.  I love the result.

I had to stop the lace pattern after 6 repeats instead of 7 like the pattern calls for, but the blanket still measures a healthy 45 inches by 55 inches . . . perfect for throw.  And since I used super bulky weight yarn, the blanket is heavy, but it's intensely warm.

At Christmas time with my family, I heard her planning her next blanket request.  As long as it can wait until her birthday in April, I'm down with another.  And there's always next Christmas.

striped knit christmas stockings

So the hub said to the boys one day, "I think mommy should knit us some Christmas stockings."  If I wasn't so excited that he (pretty much) requested something from me, the more logical part of me would have told him that he was crazy if he thought it would happen before this Christmas.  But few challenges have passed me by without some sort of effort.

The Challenge

• knit 5 Christmas stockings before Christmas, preferrably at least a week before Christmas day
• all five must be similar to show uniformity but not exactly the same
• they must be oversized (this is one of the hub's problems with our current stockings)
• the pattern must be simple enough to work without too much thought
• they must be knit in the round (I refuse to knit flat when I don't have to)

Believe it or not, Ravelry doesn't have that many stocking patterns that do not include fair isle.  Don't get me wrong.  I would love to make 5 stockings using fair isle but that doesn't really fit any of my specs.  So I had to improvise.  And because I've never made a sock before, I really had to work at the toe and the heel to get them right.

These are the three that I managed to finish before Christmas, one for each of my three boys.  The blue is for Logan, the green for Trent, and I chose purple for Timmy's stocking.  For all the stockings I used stash yarn.  Timmy's stocking is purple (which I've chosen as his signature color because it would never be claimed by any other boys in my house) and I used leftover yarn from my Comfort Buttony that I knitted for myself; that was a special way for me to tie the two of us together.

 These stockings definitely fit the bill.  I used the same pattern for each but, depending on the yarn, the sizes are a little different.  Trent's stocking is the smallest at 16 inches around and 20 inches long while Timmy's stocking measures about the same 16 inches in circumference but a whopping 24 inches long.  That's more than half the length of my 6-year-old!  So these are definitely big enough for Santa to fit all the Christmas goodies!

Merry Christmas to my three darlings.

rigid beanie

I knitted this hat without a pattern.  Hats are my sanctuary.  They are so quick, and you can customize each one to make it different than the last.  I just wish you could wear them all year.  Then I would have a justification for all the hats I've been making lately.

Both yarns are a wool blend.  I love the colors in the contrast yarn.  I tried to showcase the multicolored yarn by alternating knit and purl rows in the round (which would be garter stitch if I had knit it flat) and I like the results.  From the right side, the ridges make the colors pop.  And I think that the gray blends into the background, leaving the fun colors in the contrasting yarn for the spotlight.

I used the same crown shaping as with this hat.  I really enjoy the look of this shaping, and it keeps me interested while I'm knitting.  I never get bored with it.

When I try this again, I will make it a little longer.  This hat is more of a beanie and that's not what I was going for.  It still looks nice and fits well, but I like my hats with a little more depth to be able to pull down further over my ears when it gets windy.  Probably another inch of stockinette after the contrasting garter ridges would be perfect!

Here is the general pattern guideline for worsted weight yarn:

Main color (MC): I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted in gray.
Contrast color (CC): I used Sensations It's A Wrap bulky in purple/rose.

Cast on 80 stitches in CC for adult sized hat & join to work in the round.
Change to MC.
Knit 2x2 rib for 2 inches.
Knit stockinette in MC for 1 inch.
Change to CC.
Knit one round.
Purl one round.
Alternate knit and purl rounds for 3 inches.  Be sure to end with a purl row.
Change to MC.
Knit stockinette for 1 inch.
Shape crown as desired.

Next time, I might try these changes:
1/2 inch stockinette in main color before ridges instead of 1 inch
3 inches stockinette in main color after ridges before decreasing


yarn name: Lion Brand Wool-Ease (main), Sensations It's A Wrap (contrast)
yarn type: 80% acrylic, 20% wool (main);  75% nylon, 25% wool (contrast)
colorway: Gray (main); Purple/Rose (contrast)
yardage: ~100 yards (main); ~30 yards (contrast)
needle size: US 8 (5.0mm) circular and double-pointed

small crochet cowl

This is really the last thing you'd like to see in Spring, but I realized that I forgot to post this several months ago when I made it.  I only had this one photo and I was going to wait to post until I had more, but that ship has now sailed.

This cowl is nice and snug.  No need to wrap it multiple times.  It just fits snuggly around the neck and is tall enough to cover the mouth and nose if needed.  I used bulky yarn so it worked up really quickly.  If you plan Christmas gifts really early (unlike me who waits until Dec 1 to start planning), then put this on your To-Do list.

I believe I used this tutorial from Crochet In Color, but I crocheted in the back ridges of the half double crochet and joined the rounds for a knitted look.  If you crochet, this is a lovely blog.  Her designs are modern and many of her patterns are free!

a lunch bag {patchwork style}

I have made a few lunch bags for Logan, but I never attempted one for me.  Since I just started a new job, I thought it would be fitting to bring a new lunch bag along with me.

I used this tutorial by Ayumills from Pink Penguin, but I added some patchwork.  This lunch bag is really unique and I love the drawstring cover that helps keep everything inside . . . especially if I fall.

At first I thought the bag might be too small to fit all my food, but thankfully I was wrong.  As long as my tupperware stays properly portioned for one, everything fits.

This project took me all day.  I'm talking at least 6 to 7 hours.  This project could certainly be made in less time, but I spent a lot of time ripping seams and getting everything just right.  If I was going to spend the time making something for me that would give me happy giggles at work, I was going to do it right.

I used linen for most of the outside and quilting cotton for the patchwork, straps, and cover.  The only thing I did differently than the tutorial was to double the length of the cover so that it could be folded in half and show the right side of the fabric from both the outside and inside. 

For the interior lining, I used two red placemats that I found on clearance at Target.  I wanted the interior to wipe clean of any spills on the inside.

I just love this little bag.  It's pretty and sturdy and really fun to cart around.

pleated purse

I found another use for the wool I bought at the Salvation Army fabric sale a year ago.  This wool purse was made using a the Folklore Bag pattern from One-Yard Wonders.  I used knife pleats instead of a large box pleat (more of an oversight than a calculated decision), but I don't think it made that much of a difference.  The use of black is always a good choice for moms, especially moms of boys, because dirt can hide and stay hidden.

I only had 2/3 of a yard of fabric, so I used some quilting cotton for the inside of the purse.  This is always a fun decision anyway.  I used some Hometown by Sweetwater to make a large pocket on one side and two small elastic top pockets on the other side, perfect for holding two Playtex sippy cups.

This purse is the perfect size to carry a small amount of stuff and still be able to find everything.

a double wrapped simple cowl

This is a super simple cowl to crochet.  I bought this yarn last month thinking I would make a hat.  But I've been making a lot of hats lately (although I guess none were for me), so I decided to make something else.  This is super bulky acrylic yarn that I got at JoAnn's.  It was one of the bulk packs and it has slubs of yarn for added interest.

I found the tutorial at Crochet In Color.  Liz has several great (free) tutorials.  She calls this the Effortless Cowl and it really lives up to its name.  I was tempted to change it up a little because it's so simple, but I thought that with the added texture of this yarn that any extra details would get lost.

I have the cowl double wrapped around my head in the photos above.  I usually find things that have to be wrapped a little to finicky for my taste, but I decided to give this a try because Liz made hers look amazing!  There is still plenty of room to move my head around and the combination of extra thick yarn and a double layer keeps me nice and warm.  I'm not sure I would wear it to play in the snow with the boys, but it works well for just walking around.

This is how long the cowl is without being wrapped.  It reaches my waist.  Please excuse my weird expression in the photo below.  I was in charge of my own photo shoot here and it looks like I was more concerned that I was pushing the right button.

another brimmed hat {crochet}

Do I really even have to put crochet in the title anymore?  I suppose you can pretty much figure that when I make a hat, it's been crocheted.

This hat was made using Vickie Howell's new Sheep(ish) yarn available at JoAnn's.  I really, really like the look of this yarn.  As with the first brimmed hat I made, I wanted to look for a softer looking yarn, but I needed a manly color.  This yarn is like a gunmetal sort of color, mostly black with a grey/silverish sheen.  The hub agrees that this color is perfect.  The yarn is really soft, too, and it comes in lots of fun colors. 

I started this hat using the same Cheri Hat pattern that I used for this hat, but part way through I abondoned this pattern for my own.  This hat is for the hub (although he declined my invitation for a photo shoot).  When he saw the first brimmed hat that I made, he asked if I could make one for him.  The pattern doesn't give adjustments for adult sizes so I had to improvise.  I originally increased for 7 rounds in double crochet, but that proved to be too big to I pulled out a round.  Even 6 increase rounds was too big, but I got too far before I realized it.  I corrected the hat a little in the back by decreasing a few stitches and it's not noticable, but I should have done a few more decreases.  Next time, I will increase only 5 rounds in double crochet because don't forget that hats are supposed to stretch a little.

I also couldn't get the brim to look right using the pattern I had.  I tried 5 different ways of adding the brim, but I ultimately settled on this youtube demonstration by bobwilson.  I really like her videos.  They are modern designs and she does a really great job of explaining all the steps in all of her demonstrations.  I'm still not convinced the brim looks exactly as it should, but it's much better than what I started with.  I even had to try this one 3 different times to get it to look like this.  I'm not sure if blocking it will give it just the right look or not, but it's worth a try.  I will just have to keep working the idea until I find something that makes it look just right.


ps.  I just picked up the Holiday 2011 issue of KnitSimple at the library and Vickie Howell is on the cover.  In her interview, she explains how her mother tried to teach her to knit when she was younger but she hated it.  She says she favored crochet and it wasn't until she was in her twenties that she learned to appreciate knitting.  If I just learned to crochet a month ago and favor crochet over knitting now, I should learn to appreciate knitting by the time I'm 50.

a baby hat with a mod brim {crochet}

My sister's friend, whom I also know from school, just had a baby in July and my sister wanted something to give to the baby for her first Christmas.  Because it's rare that I can make something for a little girl, I jumped at the chance.  I decided to splurge on some 80% baby alpaca wool and 20% silk from Debbie Bliss because the pattern I had in mind was just a plain brimmed hat.  I thought some really good yarn in a really fun color would make it less plain.  I used almost the entire 50g skein of color 25010 for this 6 month sized hat.

This yarn is so soft!  I just kept feeling the hat after I crocheted it.  And I really do think this wool helped give the hat a really feminine look.  I used a free pattern that I found on Ravelry; it's called the Cheri Hat.  I really like the pattern exactly how it is and I will definitely use it again for a baby hat, but sample hats in the pattern used cotton yarn.  Although very practical for kids, cotton yarn just doesn't have the same look as wool.  Luckily, I think my slurge paid off because my hat turned out looking softer than the sample.

Sorry, no baby to use in the photo shoot.

Also, it's amazing how colors can look different in different types of light.  I don't think the hat was quite this pink


Other Notes:  I read somewhere once that acrylic yarn is easier to learn with than any other type of yarn.  I don't usually buy into this stuff, especially if as a beginner you knew that you wanted to use merino wool all the time then why wouldn't you teach yourself using merino wool.  But when I crocheted with this stuff, particularly when I made a mistake and had to correct it, I really realized the difference they were talking about.  Acrylic yarn is easy to pull out; this alpaca and silk yarn is not.  It sticks together better and is difficult to tear, which I guess is a good thing if you are not trying to fix your mistakes.  If I would have used this as my first yarn, I would have been completely frustrated and probably never moved past my first hat.  But now that I know, I will first be more careful with my stitches and second be more patient with my corrections.

a cabled hat {more crochet}

Since I was making a hat for one sister, I crocheted a hat for another sister.  I wanted something a little more elegant for this one, so I purchased a pattern from Holland Designs.  This is the Diamond Slouch Beanie pattern.  I found this pattern through Etsy, but it looks like she sells them on her website, too.  If I would have had the money, I would have bought the whole store!  She has some really neat designs and many of them have a knitted crochet kind of look.

This was my first lesson in yarn weights.  This pattern called for DK weight, but I only had worsted.  I just thought it work up more quickly, but it ended up being huge!  I had to downsize it quite a bit.  The hub asked me at one point who the skirt was for.  I knew at that point that it was too big for a normal size hat.

One of the best things about the yarn medium is how quickly you can fix mistakes.  Just pull out your stitches and you can start over.  No slow, sharp, and frustrating seam ripper to worry about.  So I just pulled the yarn out to the appropriate height and joined the hat at the top.

This hat has some weight to it.  I hope my sister doesn't get neck cramps wearing around.  But it will definitely keep her head warm.  As fussy at this pattern was (or I should probably just say advanced), it did help me understand cables and it's a really elegant and timeless hat.  I would do this one again, just in the correct weight and maybe in a really fun and girly color.

I used Vanna's Choice in Wheat.  I used nearly 2 full skeins.

crochet puff hat

I love crocheting hats for some reason.  I usually don't like making more than one of anything, but hats appear to be the exception.  Good thing it's winter or this would be a useless effort.

I wish I could tell you a nostalgic story about how I learned to crochet, and it would have been possible because my mom has always crocheted.  But I never showed any interest until now and, unfortunately, she lives 6 hours away.  So left to my own devices, I learned to crochet from youtube.  There are a lot of good tutorials that show you exactly what to do.  I learned this puff stitch and the general idea for the hat on various youtube videos.  I made sure the size was right by just trying it on.

I wanted this hat to be a little fuller around the top so it would have little waves.  Most of the tutorials I saw made the hat in the traditional hat shape (like a rounded cone), and I knew I wanted it a little more modern than that.  So I increased the number of puff stitches to start with which made it a little fuller.  It's amazing what you can learn from trial and error. 

I made this hat for my sister for Christmas and the hat actually looks better on her.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of her in it.  I'm sure people get tired of seeing me pose in all my photos.

I would definitely do this hat again.  It worked up really quickly, I think it took me two evenings, maybe 4 hours total and it was only my third hat.

I used Vanna Choice yarn in Grey Marble. I used about 1.25 skeins for this hat.

a new hobby {and a cozy for the tools}

I've been crocheting . . . a lot.  I got it in my head one day to learn to crochet so I could make a hat.  It's always fun to me to learn something new, but I wasn't sure how it would go.  I taught myself to knit (but not purl) a couple of years ago, and it was fine.  That pretty much means that if knitting was the only way to pass time, I could tolerate it but it certainly wouldn't be my first choice of crafts.

But for some reason, crochet was different for me.  I first made a hat for my 5-year-old that was too big.  After reworking it, it fits now but there is nothing special about it.  I hijacked it back so I improve it even more.  The second hat I made was for my 3-year-old who doesn't appreciate handmade items as much.  But this hat is so cute.  I just can't figure out how to get the photos off my phone.

I have made several other hats that I will share soon, but I first wanted to share the case I made to carry my crochet hooks and knitting needles.  Most of these hooks and needles were extras that my mom gave to me.  I have since purchases a few hooks on sale of sizes that I didn't have.

It rolls up nicely for easy transport.

The only thing I would do differently (and I will have a chance because my mom requested one) is to add some kind of flap so the needles stay in when help upside down.  I try not to carry it upside down, but when I'm in a hurry I can't tell the difference.

Now I just have to remember to put my hooks back in here when I'm done with them.