Warm Fuzzies

I just bought the book Warm Fuzzies by Betz White. This is a book of ideas of things to make out of repurposed felted knit sweaters.

I'm loving the layout of this book and the projects in it. My only complaint is that the author assumes that one has some basic knowledge. For example, there isn't any explaination (that I could see) of how to make felt beads. They are used in alot of the projects. There isn't a really good step by step intruction on how to actually felt the sweater; in terms of taking it apart.

But overall this book is worth purchasing for the photos alone. There are some really gorgeous FOs here. I've already finished the pin cushion which is featured on the cover. Next up is a baby jumper.

Why is there no joy in sock knitting?

I ponder this a lot. Other people love it. Other people obsess over sock knitting. Not me. I love the yarn. I love the finished product, but I hate knitting the damned things. I thought this time would be different. I tried entrelac socks. Now, I love entrelac. You only need to look at my long line of 'Danica's' to figure that out. So I thought just this one, I would find the joy. But, sadly no.

I am determined to find a sock pattern that I love. One that I don't dread knitting. I'm thinking a plain stockinette, in a larger weight yarn might do the trick. Old fashioned vamps. Or maybe something with an interesting construction. I might even try magic loop next time. We'll see.

On the bright side though, they are pretty aren't they?

Other Crafts?

Sometimes, rarely, I will do other things besides knitting and crochet. I recently was given a needle felting kit from a great swapper on Craftster. This is the first thing that I've ever made. I love needle felting. I can seriously see myself getting hooked on this. This was so much fun to do. Cute too, I think.




Here is a little bingo bag that I sewed for a fundraiser that we had. This pic doesn't really show it well, because I hadn't put the draw string in. It turned out really nicely though.

February's Sweater

I may not have spoken it aloud, but my New Years goal was to knit a sweater (or some other larger garment) per month. Two months in and I'm doing well. This is my sweater for February.

Everybody (and their dog) is knitting this sweater it seems. Its a freebie from drops studio. There are two different versions for different weight yarn. It can be knit with full or 3/4 length sleeves. My version is the worsted weight version with the full length (and then some) sleeves.

I need to find the right buttons (or toggles) for this. The ones shown are just laid on and probably mismatched.

Some FOs

So I finally finished the 'Tilted Duster'. I love it, and have been wearing it non stop ever since. This is such a cozy sweater. Since the weather has been so freakin cold here lately, I must say, I really appreciate this cardigan. I was a little worried about washing it. A member of Raverlry contacted me about this yarn. Its supposed to superwash, but she washed out at Stephanie Japel pattern and it FELTED!!! I would have been devestated to have this felt! But the whole point of buying the superwash merino was to have a FO that I could just toss in the wash. So I threw caution to the wind and did just that...with no serious repercussions. I must say, it came out of the wash looking even better. I think I had almost over blocked it if possible.

Speaking of blocking, I'm having trouble deciding what do with my Argosy. Its finished, and the colours are gorgeous. But its angora and its not holding the shape of the lace well. Ravelry members are telling me to block this carefully, since angora felts easily. I've worn this scarf twice now, and I've been wearing it all bunched up around my neck. Now this sort of pains me since it doesn't show the beautiful lace stitches, but I'm afraid the scarf isn't substatial enough to wear any other way. Perhaps in the spring I will wear it knotted at the neck and sort of hanging, but for now I think I'll leave it as is.

I Love Kool Aid!!

It has remarkable powers, I swear. It actually kinda scares me, and I don't think I'll be drinking anymore of this stuff. But boy, can it ever dye well. I made 'le slouch' (free pattern from Knit and Tonic blog) for Amy. She wanted purple, and I'm determined to knit from my stash. So, I wanted to try overdying after my prior sucess with dyeing a neutral yarn. I was thinking about overdying the yarn, but was anxious to cast on and didn't really want to wait for the yarn to dry.

Here it is on me...pre dying.



Here it is in the dye bath. Note, I only used 2 packets of Kool Aid wildberry tea. I nuked it in the microwave in about 3 cups of water at 5 minute intervals. I think it took about 5 different intervals (or 25 minutes) for the dye to take.




And here it is on Amy. It looks a little splotchy in places. I think its because I didn't leave it soaking long enough. When I dyed the yarn, I soaked it for 2 hours in water prior to adding it to the kool aid bath. I read somewear that the splotchiness comes for little airbubbles on the fibre that hasn't been soaked out.



Oh, the starting yarn was Bernat Lana, like before.

My Camera!

Is Broken. (Insert hysterical wail here) Its only 3 months old. I'm very upset by this. Thankfully it is still under warranty and Kev purchased extended warranty so its covered until September 2009!

I'm sending it for repairs and it may take 1 month. I don't think I can wait a month. I've ordered another from Sears. Amy's camera had died too, so she will get my new one from Sears when my other camera is fixed.

In the meantime, I thought I go through my photos and dig out some pics that I'd forgotten to post.

More Newfoundland mittens. Free Pattern from Creative Whimsy. I love these so much. I've knit 4 pairs in total now, and I'm currently working on a 5th pair. I think this will be the thing that I will always have on the needles.





These crocheted purses are from Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker. I made these for a swap on Craftster. These are super easy to make. I really hated sewing in the lining however. I'd made these in October, and didn't finish the linings til December!



This Hello Kitty Skirt was also made for a swap. I really wish I had crocheted a red lace trim around the edge of the skirt, but I ran out of time.






On the Fifth Day of Christmas my swap partner gave to me...5 Golden Snitches. Yes, this is what I made for my swap partner for Day 5 of the '12 Days of Christmas Swap'. This was a very large swap, but so worth it.