Tag: toys

Knitting

Stash Clean Up

Iris Rose

I have been busy again and missed posting last week.  I have a great excuse this time though; I was cleaning out and organizing my stash.

I have no illusions about the size of my stash.  It is huge and almost beyond the capacity of my closet and craft room to hold it all.  I wanted to have access to everything (and who doesn’t) so that I can choose some of the yarn that has been languishing for a while.  To top that off, I foolishly (or not ‘cause it was a steal) bought a stash of coned yarn for machine knitting which is hard to come by.

I any case, I wanted all of my stuff in clear containers for easy viewing and to keep it dust free.  I had solid bins that held everything but who can see through a solid plastic wall?  Every solid bin that I opened was followed with “what the hell is wrong with me?” and a lot of other cussing aimed inward.

I have read about using those shrinking bags with the air sucked out of them for yarn storage and invested in a couple of packs.  They work!  I managed to cut my storage of odd single, double, and triple balls into a workable pile stacked up in the closet.  I then had enough empty clear bins to go to town on all of the rest.  Hand knitting and crocheting yarns in the closet and most coned yarns in my teeny craft room with the machines, I almost feel like I won a huge battle.

Now all I need to do is crochet, knit, or machine knit for several hours of every day for the rest of my life, and it better be a long one, and I will cut my stash in half, haha!

I did find time before the big stash sort to knit up these cute gnomes on my standard bed machine.  I think that I will make a few more and put them around for the holidays.

 

Have a lovely week with little stress and lots of fun.  Thanks for reading and be kind.

Knitting

Finishing

Iris Rose

I have taken a bit of a hiatus from writing this last few months so my posts have been few and far between.  I have reached a point where I am ready to connect again so here goes.

My last post in the middle of September was about unfinished projects.  Well, I did some more tidying and, low and behold, my twenty one unfinished projects turned into thirty four, yes, that is correct, thirty four.  I obviously have too many project bags and hiding places for them when I get bored with a project!

I am happy to say that all except for two are finished.  One of the remaining, a cardigan, will be finished and the last one, that shawl started in January, is going to be frogged.  Maybe.

I finished all of the toys, wait, make that five unfinished projects, (what is wrong with me!), except for a doll, a tiny bear, and a chicken hat.  Here is an example of how something started and hated can be rescued with a little imagination and colour changes.

I made this monster, a free pattern in my Ravelry store, in orange and brown, my least favourite colour combination, a couple of years ago and just could not bring myself to finish it.  Look how a change of colour (the nose) makes such a huge difference to the overall look.  I added neutral fuzzy yarn limbs and I think he or she turned out to be a real cutey.

Moral of the post: don’t be afraid to try something different and you might be surprised how things turn out.  I know that seems simple but sometimes we just have to reach out from our comfort zone and give lime green a whirl.  I have officially been blogging for five years on the 25th; I never thought I had it in me to stick to this for so long.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely crafty and safe week.  Remember to be kind.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

New Bear

Iris Rose

I love to make and sell toys at craft fairs although that is not happening this year.  I also like to play with my knitting machines when I am not hand knitting or crocheting.

I have made a bunch of kid’s sweaters, not yet photographed, and wanted to knit something different.  I, like a lot of us, collect patterns as well as yarn and had purchased a few of Maggie Andrews pattern books for machine knits online.  Included in that pattern haul was a book of toys.  The legs, body, and head are worked in one piece and the arms and ears, etc. are knit separately.  It was designed for a standard gauge machine which would give you a little 15cm stuffie.

I had my bulky out (I only have room in my craft den to have one machine out at a time) from the sweater run and want to continue that so I adapted.  Using the same row and stitch count gave me this little guy who is about 22cm tall and really cute except that his nose, which I hand knit, could have been a little higher on his snout.  Happy, happy me!

I think that this could also be hand knit with the same row and stitch count.  Who needs to worry about gauge when you are making something that can be any size?  It is a great little stash buster and I will be making more; next attempt will be a bunny.

Thanks for reading once more and remember to spread kindness around freely during the week ahead.

Knitting

What’s Next?

Iris Rose

The climate for business in Alberta is really bad right now and, as a result, I have been laid off. Upside? I get to craft a whole lot more. Downside? Less money for crafting. I am trying to find the lemonade recipe if I can only remember where I filed it.

I will be spending more time polishing up and testing the bazillion patterns that I have created and are filed away as notes only due to lack of time. I really want to dye gradient yarn as well.  There’s the recipe, right there, I knew it would turn up.

Well, the craft sale is done and the resulting orders as well. What do I do now?

I have fallen into machine knitting again to the detriment of my other crafting. I made a resolution to knit or crochet at least two toys every week but I am failing miserably at that! I have one to show for the last two weeks, but, and this is important I guess, I was working on a couple of custom kids’ dresses. All done now except for the final finishing and I am back to the usual.

Stay tuned for new releases and, in the meantime, here are a couple of relatively new creations.

Have a terrific week ahead and, for your health’s sake, give someone a hug and a kind word.

Knitting

New Babies

Iris Rose

I was very flattered a couple of weeks ago when I was invited to participate in a spring craft sale being held by the Okotoks library as a fund raiser. This, of course, made me take stock of what I have on hand and immediately panic.

I didn’t really panic but I did take stock and decided that I need to increase my toy and sweater supply. I started in on toys first as they are my favourite make. I had knit six little babies and the same number of little rabbits while on vacation in December and had promptly put them in the later pile when I got home.

 

I worked last weekend and this week on finishing the babies and have started on the bunnies. I am quite happy with them and I think that that will fulfill my baby stock shortage. The bunnies are still a work in progress but, as long as I don’t procrastinate too much, I should have those finished up this weekend.

This brings me to my favourite toy designer, Pat Alinejad.  Known as Gypsycream, Pat is one of the most talented toy designers offering patterns today, in my opinion. Her patterns are very well written, with very detailed instructions on assembly of the finished pieces. She makes every step clear enough that a beginner is able to follow her designs to completion. Here is a link to her Ravelry store. I have made several of these designs and own even more. They are just so darn cute and great value.

I am currently working on a couple of dolls from her newest pattern, My First Cuddly, and hope to show you the finished baby in the next post.

I have still been tootling with my knitting machines and put together these little clothes for DGD2’s baby whose favourite colour is rainbow. Yes, I love her enough to sew in all of those ends, and even more than that.

Have a lovely week ahead. For those still stuck in the cold, the weather will get warmer, I promise. Kindness and happy thoughts to you all.