Tag: warm

Knitting

Monsters In The Making

Iris Rose

Well I scooped an extra day this week by thinking that it was Thursday last Wednesday and posting a day early, oops!

This week, I have been continuing to make stock for my craft sale. I am almost (and that is a big almost) ready. I finished all of my Sugar Cubes for now and have moved on to Monsters. I had a bunch of fun with these as you can really use your imagination to make them each unique and as colourful as possible.

This toy is a great way to use up those fancy fluffy yarns that you bought as irresistible and now wonder what the heck you are going to make with it.

 

 

My pattern for these is free on Ravelry for now and is not a difficult pattern to make. You do need to have some knitting skills though to increase and decrease. I would not rate this as a rank beginner pattern.

I am going to continue my toy making for one more week and then it is time to inventory and ticket for the first sale. I am going to try to squeeze in a couple of more kid sweaters as well, good luck on that to me!

I started making a poncho with Hobbii Twirls yarn and I am not loving the way it looks. The yarn is really nice to work with. It is soft and has a nice stitch definition, but I somehow expected it to be more gradient than it is. You can see stripes in the work where the colours have changed. It may be that this is just the nature of this style of yarn. I own a cake of Whirl but haven’t used it yet. I hope it has gentler colour transitions.

Thank you for following my blog and have a happy crafty week!

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Toys For Sale

Iris Rose

I have been busy making new stock for my craft sales over the last few weeks and really having a blast creating them. I had been feeling a little stressed about managing my stock, but I think that I will be okay once I get through the load of knitted and crocheted but not sewn yet pile.

 

I decided to try production style creating again even though I hated it last time I did this. Hey, I like it this year! I found that doing all of the planning at once, all of the knitting or crocheting at once, making the noses and eyes, well, you get it, is really working for me. I feel like I am accomplishing so much more and that I will actually be done by the deadline. I sort everything into separate bags and, once the bag is empty, I start on the next one. I am actually having fun!

 

I have a bag of monsters, mini monsters and little square animals yet to be sewn. I had a bag of topsy turvy dolls and another of roly poly animals that I have finished except for two. I am on a roll!

Here are a few of the little things that I have made. First up are more topsy turvy dolls, because DH thinks that they are cute and will sell (I do too!), that are based on a Jean Greenhowe’s pattern.

 

Next finished are some roly poly animals that are really popular. These are based on a Barbara Prime pattern called Pookies.

 

I hope to get a few more things sewn up this weekend, Thanksgiving here in Canada, and will be well stocked for early November.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Regardless of where you live, have a fun and safe weekend with lovely yarn and easy crafting.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

On Time This Week And A New Shawl In Development

Iris Rose

Well, it is finally the end of summer and yes, that is me you hear crying. I am sad because I love the long days of light in the summer. I am happiest when it is still light at ten at night, go figure.
The change of seasons, however, gives us a great chance to get creative with our knitting and crochet.

I am working on a shawl right now (did you guess that I love crafting shawls and wraps?) that uses Caron Tea Cake. DD1 bought me a couple of cakes as a gift in the spring and I finally figured out what they wanted to be. I started and realized, of course, after I had started that I needed a third cake to make my imagined shawl become real. I am sure that you know exactly how it feels when you are looking for the impossible to find skein of yarn.

I made a couple of tours of different Michael’s yarn aisles and nada. I searched online and nada until I looked at the Woolwarehouse site and yay! I have a couple of cakes coming just in case a third is not enough. Here is what I have done so far.

It is pretty basic, just garter stitch, but I am trying a wider border and centre spine. I plan on embellishing the plain knit with some crocheted appliques. We will see how that works out for me. Sometimes what you envision and what you get in real life are vastly different.

The Christmas craft sale season is fast approaching and I will be at two sales this year. I will post my locations closer to the dates if you live in Calgary and would like to stop by and chat. I am focusing on kid’s clothing and mostly toys again this year as there is always a plethora of hats, scarfs, mitts, etc. at other vendor’s displays.

Don’t forget that charity begins at home so if you love to make warm wearables, I am positive that they will be welcomed by shelters this winter. Have look at my previous blogs for an easy hat and scarf pattern.

Happy crafting until next week and remember to love yourself.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Winter In Summer Blog Post

Iris Rose

Okay, it is ridiculously cold here right now and has been for the last couple of days. Minus one degree Celsius at ten in the morning, really, on September 13th? I haven’t even started my winter knitting! My blog is not late this week because of the cold but I have just been too busy with family stuff. Anyway, here it is now.

Speaking of the cold, I have a super easy, super warm couch blanket pattern on Ravelry that uses Bernat Blanket or any super chunky yarn. You could even double some worsted weight that you have too much of or don’t know what to do with and make a pretty and warm addition to your living room, den, bedroom, you get the picture.

If you don’t have access to Ravelry, here is the pattern for you. I know that this is a cop out this week but, you know, we all have those days where you realize that writer’s block is a real thing!

I had four balls of Bernat Blanket yarn (you can use any worsted weight doubled) that I had bought with cowls in mind but found that the yarn just did not have enough bounce to create the look that I imagined. So what to do with it? Why not a Blanket blanket? Okay, I got my joke out of the way and here is how I went ahead and made a 115cm x 155cm (45” x 60”) cozy blanket.

The blanket is knit with garter stitch in the Shetland style with a centre rectangle and then subsequent rows worked around that. You will need 800 metres (885 yards) of bulky weight yarn. As I said above, you can use Blanket as I did or any worsted weight yarn held double which will double the amount of yarn that you need of course.

You will need 10 or 12mm circular needles. Use one to start then two or a very long one as the size of the blanket grows. I used an interchangeable with a cable connector and used two 100 cm (40”) cables.

With a 10 or 12mm circular needle, cast on 18 stitches and knit 60 rows, bind off.

Pick up and knit 18 stitches across the short side of the rectangle, place a marker, 30 stitches along the long side, place a marker, then 18 stitches at the other short side, place a marker and finally another 30 stitches along the last long side, placing a final marker. (To garter stitch in the round, you will knit the first row and purl the next. These two rows will be worked throughout.) Purl the next row.

Increase in each corner on each knit row by making a stitch before the marker, slip the marker, knit one and make another stitch. Make a stitch by lifting the bar between two stitches onto the left needle and knit through the back loop.

I changed colours every 14 rows, then 18, 18 and 12 rows to make the stripes around the centre piece. You can alternate colours as often as you like or make it all in one colour. Just have fun with it!

 

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Old UFO Now An FO

Iris Rose

What is the oldest UFO that you actually picked up and finished? I finally, finally finished a cardigan that I started in 2001. Only seventeen years from start to finish, not bad, eh? I actually have completed projects older than this one before but this is the latest.

I made the crocheted border squares and then, because the yarn was fine 4ply, got overwhelmed at the thought of all of that knitting plain stocking stitch and hid it in a yarn bin. Who was I hiding it from? I have no idea as I am the only one who ever looks through my stash, so I guess I was hiding it from myself and that UFO guilt. I had forgotten about it until I was looking for yarn for another brilliant idea that popped into my brain one night. Voila, I found the yarn that I was looking for and my deserted cardigan.

It seriously took me about two weeks to pick up the cone of yarn and finished motifs and then I put it down again for another week. I finished the knitting and then I put it down again for another month. What is it about some projects that you have to be dragged kicking and screaming to finish them? I really liked the colour of this yarn, I really liked the design that I made up, and I really felt compelled to finish it but not quickly obviously!

Two weeks ago I told myself that it was finish or frog time. I always like to crochet the bands on my sweaters if practical because it just seems to be a more professional finish than knitted bands. Maybe this is because I suck at knitted bands, I don’t know. Anyway, I took a big breath, not holding it because the bands would take a few hours and got to work. The only thing I don’t like is the top buttonhole placement. I didn’t take the neck band into consideration when I calculated the button placement but, you know, I rarely button up my cardi’s so I think I can live with it. I am happy, happy, happy with the finished cardigan and I am not really looking forward to winter even though I will get to wear it.

I don’t have any other projects this old but I do have a crocheted lace sweater that is about half done that I started about ten years ago and a couple of felted pieces to make bags that are riding past the six year line. Will I finish them? Who knows, maybe I will be inspired now that the ancient cardigan is done but I wouldn’t bet on it. There is too much new and lovely yarn calling me!

On a closing note, I follow another blogger who crochets, very well too. She commented a blog this week, disparaging herself about her weight. I felt sad for her that society makes such a point that we all must fit the same mold. You are who you are and, even though sometimes it is hard to remember, true and real beauty shines from within regardless of the outside dressing.

Have a happy week and be kind to yourself first and foremost. Kindness to others comes from a happy heart.