Dwarven Battle Bonnet

Well I waited until after Christmas because I didn't want my nephew to see it beforehand but now that Christmas has passed here it is...

 

As you can see my cat Cleo is a little puzzled here.

It's very trans-formative, I can't help but laugh when I see it. The pattern is for sale on Ravelry HERE and it's well worth it, such an awesome project to knit. Anyway, I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.

Mohair Lovelyness

I had just one skein of a very sweet pink mohair and I was dieing to make something out of it. It was just enough to make a lovely little cowl. And of course what with it being mohair I had to show it off in a bit of feather and fan lace...

It turned out wonderfully. Airy, but so warm. I used a bit of fake grafting to join the ends and it worked out beautifully, you can hardly see the seam at all. Not sure who I will gift it too yet, we shall see.

Great Fun at Our Warm Up America Event!

Things went very well this year. Several people showed up to knit and crochet 9 by 7 inch squares for the Warm Up America cause. I was so pleased to have crocheters this time around...

Several new people were learning how to knit for the first time, and all for a really good cause...

Ah, and the always busy (and extremely talented) Donna found a moment away from all the holiday hubub to help school us in the art of granny squares...

And here's little old me, not taking the pictures for once...

Hmmm... I look so serious there. Anyway, it was great fun and the Warm up America basket will be on display at Micheals until Jan 25 when we do the joining party and sew all the squares together. So if you've got the time to knit and/or crochet a square or two you can drop them off there. Even if you cant meet up for the joining party all squares are welcome, and if you have no desire to make squares but would like to help us sew them together well we welcome you to join us on the 25th! : )

Here It Is!

And here it is, me sporting my Doctor Who scarf....

You'll have to forgive all my knitting and Ebay gear in the background. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and man is it warm, very handy for life in Alaska.

Warm Up America! This Saturday!

I will be hosting the Warm up America event at Michaels this Saturday. Come in and help me to knit or crochet some some 7 by 9 inch squares to donate. Later we will sew them together at the joining party and the finished blankets will be donated to those who need them. If you don't have time to come in and knit you can simply drop off some finished squares. The patterns for making the squares can be found here. Enjoy!

Fun With Micheals In Store Featured Pinterest Ideas

Today we had our Pinterest in store featured projects get together. So much fun! Just had to post these wonderful seasonal steampunk mini top hats made by Lisa Norris

This one was for her daughter, I love the little bird. And here's the one she made for herself alongside it...

A very nice use of crystals and hydrangea here. A very Christmas and vintage look at the same time. She attached alligator clips to the underside of these in order to clip them unto the hair and stay on one's head.

Apparently the trick to getting that jaunty angle with these guys is not to try for the angle at all but to affix them right at the top of your head and allow them to self adjust. The weight of the decorations will allow them to settle where they should and then you just ajust your hair with bobby pins as needed. A very clever and inspired idea these. I may have to make a few myself.

Five Hours of Knitting in Norway!

Had to post this, and no it's not as obnoxious as it sounds...

http://www.today.com/news/norway-air-five-hours-live-knitting-pursuit-new-record-8C11512053

Cheshire Cat Fingerless Fun

Just finished these fingerless gloves....

They were from an awesome little pattern I found on Ravelry. Here's a closer shot.

This was done with circular knitting on double point needles. I just love the wide rib and the clever shaping for the thumb. A friend of mine saw these in progress and said it reminded him of the cheshire cat from Alice and wonderland...

Yeah, I think I see it : )

Presenting.... My Doctor Who Scarf!!!!

Well I finished it tonight, my first ever Doctor who scarf. Well okay, not my first, but the first where I didn't get bored and stop following the instructions. My first where I matched the colors to the original as closely as I could and followed the pattern all the way through. And here's some sneak peeks...

 

It's the season 12 scarf, the first and original : ) I got the pattern and the color suggestions from this site here, and the instructions on how to do the tassels here.

In fact the site suggesting matching the colors via free paint samples that had been compared to THE scarf was very helpful. My husband Aaron and I went after these like it was a quest (it was just about as exhilarating too). We found every sample suggested but one (the gray one I think) before I had to get to work. At about my lunch break later that day Aaron turns up with the missing sample in his hand. Apparently he went all over town to find it, only to go back to the original store we were at and discovered we had simply missed it (now that's devotion). He's such a sweetie!

And now the line up...

This is Behr S-G-170 Licorice Stick which I matched with Impeccable yarn in Rouge

This is Behr S-G-690 Delicious Berry which I matched with Read Heart Soft yarn in Grape

This is Behr 260F-4 Sunset Beige which I matched with Vanna's Choice yarn in Beige

This is Behr 300B-6 Glorious Gold which I matched with Vanna's Choice yarn in Mustard

This is Behr 770F-5 Dark Ash which I matched with Impeccable yarn in True Gray

This is Behr 320F-7 Fig which I matched with Vanna's Choice yarn in Olive

And lastly, Glidden GLO31 Spiced Gingerbread which I matched with Vanna's Choice yarn in Honey

In all the scarf cost me $22.72 to make... however that was by buying every single skein at 40% off. Oh, I didn't even touch one of skeins of olive so I guess it's a little over. The pattern I was following suggested I buy one of every color except beige and olive which I should get two of. I could return the olive or keep it with the rest out the unused yarn (there is quite a bit) and make some 4th Doctor accessories : )

Pics of me wearing the scarf soon to come

Angora!

OMG! Had to post this!

 

My God! If it's for real, then that's a couple of sweaters right there!

Knitted Glass!

I never would have thought of this, but if you know anything about wax casting it makes perfect sense...

Apparently you knit strings of wax, create your mold, melt out the wax and then fill the mold with melted glass. Brilliant!

There's an artist who's pretty well known for her work in this arena, her name is Carol Milne. Here's her PDF on her process.

Proof once more that the world is full of amazing things and amazingly talented people!

Sweaters for Wildlife!

Okay, I know it's an old article but I couldn't resist sharing it.... it has patterns for knitting those cute little sweaters for penguins!

Yes, yes I know they've long since gotten all the sweaters they need, but who doesn't love the idea of making wild animals wear clothes? Okay it's a bit odd when you put it that way. But it was a really good cause, and you gotta admit, the little guys look adorable in them.

Garter Stitch Baby Classes

Quite a few of the of the classes I teach focus on garter stitch, and I'm quite glad for it. I think garter stitch, with its wonderful thickness and elasticity often gets over looked.  Here are samples from two of the garter stitch classes I teach, both for baby. A pair of cute little garter stitch baby booties, and a garter stitch baby kimono jacket.

BTW, if you have the skill to make the jacket and don't wish to take the class it is offered as a free pattern right now at Michaels. And of course we carry a lot of really adorable Bernat baby yarns (recommended for this pattern) to do it up nicely. This particular colorway was one I already had in my stash, Right now I cant justify buying new yarn until I use up some of the stuff I already have, but I was quite happy to have found something in my collection to knit up this cute little number : )

A Very Simple Coffee Cup Cozy

I've found when teaching classes to beginning knitters, and only being allowed two and a half hours for a class, that small projects are best. Not all of my students have electronic devices that they want to wrap in wool or acrylics, but almost everyone likes coffee (or if you're like me, hot cocoa). So I came up with two very simple patterns that any beginning knitter should be able to manage.

The first (the cup in the middle) is the simplest. It's just garter stitch with no increasing or decreasing, using the elasticity or the garter stitch to shape itself on the cup.

With worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles, cast on 12 stitches
Knit every row until fabric reaches about 7 and 1/2 inches
Bind off and sew the short sides together

The second (the cups on the sides) is knit from the top down and has only two rows with k2tog decreases.

With worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles, cast on 36 stitches
Knit every row until fabric reaches about 1 and 1/2
Reduce 4 stitches evenly across the next row (k2tog)
Knit until fabric reaches about 2 inches
Reduce 4 stitches evenly across the next row (k2tog)
Knit until fabric reaches 3 inches
Bind off and sew short sides together.

I don't worry much about gauge on these (unless the student is a very tight knitter) as these stretch pretty well.

Flowers and Dewdrops

I've been looking for something to do with that lovely purple Dewdrops yarn and I finally broke down and bought some... then after a quick search on Ravelry I found just the pattern for it... it was for a bulky and just the size needles I had on hand. Call it fate? Dunno, but it was a fun little knit. And there's nothing wrong with a bit of sparkle...