Tag: child

Knitting

Done Dollies!

Iris Rose

Last week my subject was undone dollies. This week, tada, they are almost finished! I only have two little mermaids left to sew up and I am all done with this portion of my sale stock.  I went from this

to this

in just five days!  The little babies are about 15cm or 6″ tall and the little kids are 10cm or 4″ tall.

I had a good time putting these together. I usually have fun knitting these little toys; so much fun in fact that I keep on working on the knitting part with no regard as to how long the finishing will take. I normally regret my knitting impulse but this time it was different. I didn’t hurry through the process last weekend. I took my time with the faces and hair and really enjoyed myself.

  
I confess that I do like all of them but one. I am just not happy with the face on one little one but have a plan to redo the eyes and I think that it will make a huge difference. A couple of the little mouths are crooked but, as in real life, I am just going to accept them as they turned out. Someone will find them huggable I am sure.

  
I need to get back to reducing my stash and knitting little toys is definitely not the way. I see a blanket or two or at least a couple of bulky sweaters in my future project pile. Now if I can just get to it.

Have a happy week and enjoy whichever craft you decide to work with.

Crochet, Knitting

Undone Dollies

Iris Rose

Well, another week has zipped by and I seem to be amassing more UFO’s! I actually have a couple of topics this week, but I will start with the UFO problem that seems to be growing again.

I am setting up at an Etsy craft sale in early May (May 5th in Okotoks at the Elks Hall for any of you that live in the Calgary/Okotoks area) and, as I was reviewing my stock, realized that I am woefully short of babies. I always think that little knitted dolls won’t sell and they always are the first to go.

     

I like to knit or crochet while watching TV in the evenings so this was a project that fit the bill to a T. Look at what I have done! I have created a monster pile of dollies to finish and I can’t watch or read while I am doing it. Oh well, I had better dig in and start sewing. I have all the needed pieces made including the wigs (fuzzy stuff at the top of the photo) and found two elephants and a hippo with their dresses that I knit on vacation over a year ago and forgot about. I am on a roll, just don’t know where to!


I joined a machine knit KAL to make a rainbow yoke sweater last month and finally got around to making it last weekend. The pattern was great, thanks Claire Djuve, and I really like the finished sweater. It was my first go at a yoke and found it surprisingly easy even without the garter bar that I was too chicken to use. I will make the first row of the yoke in the body colour next time to minimize the jogs from the short rows.  The small size (4) was a good way to start as well. Fun stuff and I will be making more as this style seems to be a current fashion trend.


The next topic that I want to discuss is patterns. I have talked about this before and really am still stumped. Why do you download free patterns? Is it simply because they are free and you can’t resist free even if you will really never make them? Do you buy patterns that you never make? I am guilty of both of these. What makes a pattern more appealing than other, photos, recommendations, posting of finished projects?

These stats are from my Ravelry store:
Another Cake Shawl
Added May 26, 2017
8205 unique downloads       111 projects

If you have completed a pattern, free or paid, that you downloaded from Ravelry, please, please post your finished project. It means so much to designers to see that someone has liked their pattern enough to not only choose it but to actually make it.

Thank you, I will step down off of the soap box now.
Have a wonderful week and I hope that all of your yarn is untangled and every needle and hook is right at hand when you need them.

Knitting

Knitting and Pancakes, Love ‘Em Both!

Iris Rose

Here we are, almost into April! My goodness how the time passes by when you are not looking.  I have been busy this week.  Two new charity hats are in the bag and I have knit three babies and two mermaid dolls.  I have a big bag of unfinished dollies now so I better get to work on the sewing and stuffing.

I have been procrastinating about publishing my little cardigan pattern. I finally finished the test knits and have them blocked so will push myself to get the final draft of the pattern out next week.
In the meantime, I have been playing with my knitting machine (still) and spent my spare time this week embellishing a little pullover with crocheted appliques. I was hoping to finish it yesterday but, life, you know how that goes. Here is the almost finished sweater. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I used to make a baby version of this but haven’t done one for a while. I never write this type of finishing down, I should but I do love the creative process of just winging it!


Do you have plans for this long weekend? We are having the family over for a visit and dinner on Saturday. I can’t wait! I always love to see my kids and grandkids. I always like to make a special breakfast for DH and myself on Easter Sunday. I think that this year I will make pancakes with my homemade sausage and cook a couple of eggs as well. If you missed my pancake recipe that was featured in a prior post and would like to make it this weekend, here it is again. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Iris Rose’s delicious pancakes:
These ingredients will make two very large (plate sized) pancakes.
3 Tbsps of butter
Melt the butter in a 9” or 22cm frying pan over medium heat. I use two pans to cook both pancakes at once and melt butter in each. You will be using the excess butter in the pancake batter but leave some to brown with the batter.
1 cup of flour
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
Combine these ingredients in a bowl big enough to hold the wet ingredients too.
1 egg
2 Tbsps honey or maple syrup
1 cup of buttermilk (Don’t have any buttermilk? Just add a tsp of vinegar to plain milk or mix in a good dollop (2Tbsps) of sour cream or yogurt to plain milk to make a cup.)
I mix these ingredients using a 2 cup measuring cup in the following order: beat the egg, beat in the honey or syrup, mix in the buttermilk.
Pour most of the melted butter into the wet ingredients and stir. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Mix with a few quick stirs until all of the dry stuff is wet. Don’t worry about lumps and don’t overmix.
Pour half of the batter into each pan. Here is where you make them fun. Top the batter with sliced banana, sliced peaches, blueberries, sliced apples, you get the picture.
If you want savory pancakes, top the batter in the pan with cooked diced ham, cooked sliced mushrooms, grated cheese, shrimps and so on.
When the pancake has some bubbles that pop and is starting to look dry around the edges, be brave and flip the whole thing over. Your added goodies should have sunk into the batter and will cook while the second side is cooking. I wait a couple of minutes and turn off the stove at this point as there should be enough heat in the pan and the cooked side to finish the pancake without burning your yummy addons.
In a couple of more minutes, flip the pancake onto a plate and admire the pretty pattern made by the additions. Serve with syrup, preferably maple, and enjoy!

Knitting

Procrastinating and Finally Getting Back To It

Iris Rose

I am so glad that Spring is finally here! I love the light later in the evening; it is still light at 8:45PM this week, yahoo! I guess that fills the exclamation mark quota for this post, so I will have to calm down and write about crafting.

I have been messing around with my new to me knitting machine (having a ton of fun) and have been neglecting my hand crafts. I have also procrastinated about pattern writing. I have two in the works but just keep gliding past them for the new machine. It is just so hard to resist!


I sorted out my stock after my last sale and found that, even though I have a lot of stuffed toys still, I am woefully short of knitted dollies. I am always surprised by the popularity of this little babies, I don’t know why. So, on the couch I have been perched this week and, so far, I have five babies and two little mermaids knit up and ready to assemble. I don’t have photos of these ones but have photos of some long sold to show you.

  

The mermaid is based on a pattern by Amy Gaines called Mermaid and the babies are based on a Jean Greenhowes’ pattern that is free on her website. I can’t ever knit a pattern as written, (why is that?) so both of these sweet dollies are modified to suit my purpose. Wendy Phillips’ patterns are in my Ravelry library and calling out to me as well. Maybe I will discipline myself enough to get to those next week.


Toy making is a really fun way to use up your odds and ends and there is always, always someone willing to adopt your work.

Crochet, Knitting

New Pattern and Crocheted Edge for Last Week’s Freebie

Iris Rose

During the madness of my life (good madness not bad) this week, I have managed two things, well actually almost three. I have that crocheted edging pattern ready for you down below in the post that goes with the knitted cardigan pattern that I published last week. I have finished, but not written up, the cardigan knitted edging, can you say girly ruffles, and am very happy with it. The test knit is a size four and I am working on a two now before the pattern is complete.

      

Most importantly of all, I have, tada, finished the crocheted wrap that I have been teasing you with.  A Wrap for Spring is a paid pattern and is available for you to download on Ravelry in my store. If you act now (do I sound like an infomercial yet?) you can use the coupon code 50OFF at checkout to buy the pattern for half price until March 7th. That is a cool $2.50, such a deal!

I am still offering half off on my Gradient Cable Poncho and Northern Rose Shawl patterns as well. These are $2.50 with the same coupon code at checkout.


Now that I have given you my sales pitch, here is the promised edging for those of you who crochet as well as knit.

Crocheted Edge for Size 5/6 Cardigan:
This edging is crocheted all in one piece around all of the edges of the knit cardigan. Ideally you will only have the beginning and ending ends to weave in, my kind of project! As you will be switching from in the round to back and forth while you work, I have not broken the instructions down into rounds and rows. I will name the edges that are being crocheted on instead.

Tools: 5mm, US H/8 crochet hook, tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
Materials: 100m or 110 yds worsted weight yarn in the same colour as knitted cardigan or a contrasting colour.
Abbreviations:         sc = single crochet           dc = double crochet
ch = chain                         sl st + slip stitch

With right side facing you, at the bottom left corner, join your yarn.

Bottom: Work 28 sc along the edge of the left front, 56 sc across the back, 28 sc across the right front. Work 1 sc in the same place as the last sc on the right front to make the corner.

Right Front: You will now make the buttonhole band. Work 36 sc evenly up the right front to the neck edge, ch 1 and turn. If you sc into the knots at the row ends rather than the bars, you should have 1 sc in each knot. This will also result in a firmer edge.

Working back down the right front into the sc edge that you just completed, 1sc, ch2, skip the next sc, 4sc in each of the next 4 sc, ch2, skip the next sc, 4sc in each of the next 4 sc, ch2, sc into each of the remaining 24 sc to the end, ch1 and turn. Here you have made three buttonholes.

Working back up to the neck edge, work 1sc into each sc and 1sc into each ch2 space of the prior row. Do not turn.
The front band is finished except for the scalloped edging which is done later.

Neck Edge: ch1 into the same place as your last sc of the front band, work 2sc evenly across the top of the band, work 14sc evenly across the right front neck, 18 sc across the back neck and 14sc across the left front neck, sc in corner to begin the left front band.

Left Front: Work 36sc evenly down the left front edge (right side facing), ch1 and turn.  Work 1sc in each sc below, ch1 and turn.  Work 1sc in each sc below. Do not turn. You will be at the bottom edge where you started and the left front band is complete except for the scallops which come later.

Bottom: 1sc in same place as last sc to make the corner. Work 2sc evenly across the bottom of the band, then 1sc in each sc across the bottom to the right front, ch3 and turn.
The ch3 that you ended the last row with will represent a dc and ch1. Skip the first sc, (dc, ch1) in every second sc seven times, (dc, ch1) in the next sc. This will make an increase to ease the finished edging around the curve of the bottom. Skip next sc, (dc, ch1) in every second sc to the next outside curve, make the increase by working in the next sc and continue on with skip next sc, (dc, ch1) in every second sc to the next outside curve. Complete the row increasing at each outside curve (a total of four times), dc in last sc, ch1 and turn.  Working back across the bottom, sc in each dc and ch1 space. Do not turn.

You will now work the finished scalloped edge all around from the right front, across the neck, down the left front and across the bottom.

Right Front Scallops: skip the first sc on the right front, (5sc in next sc, skip the next sc, sl st into the next sc, skip the next sc). Repeat the instructions in the brackets eight more times. Work 5sc into the next sc, skip the next sc and sl st into the last sc.

Neck Edge: Work 1sc into each sc of the neck edge. Work 2sc evenly into the side of the left band at the end, sl st into the corner sc.

Left Front Scallops: Skip the first sc, 5sc into the next sc, skip the next sc, sl st into the next sc to the bottom. The last sl st should be in the bottom corner.

Bottom Scallops: Skip the first 2 sc in the row below, [(dc, ch1) four times, dc in the next sc, skip the next 2 sc, sl st into the next sc, skip the next 2 sc], repeat the instructions in the square brackets across to the end. Work the last repeat without the last skip 2 sc, just sl st into the last stitch on the bottom. Fasten off.

Sleeve Edge: Join yarn at the underarm seam and work 35 sc evenly into the sleeve edge.
Following the instructions for the Bottom Scallops, make six scallops around the sleeve edge. Fasten off. Repeat for the second sleeve.

Weave in your ends and block. Sew buttons on the left band to match the buttonholes on the right band.