Christmas

It's that time of year again. I'm not sure why but the people around me are all in panic mode. I've never been one to do this but every now and again I can feel the sense of panic welling up inside.

I can usually talk myself out of this panic. My children are grown so there doesn't seem to be the same sort of demands placed upon trying to have a perfect (whatever that means) Christmas. 

I do however have four little grandsons and I would like to start some Christmas traditions for them. I think if I made them each a handmade ornament every Christmas, that by the time they were grown they would have an armload of beautiful handcrafted Christmas ornaments.

So, with that in mind I crocheted this little beauty.

The pattern is called snowman lights. The design is by Deborah Arch. It is from the crochet magazine called crochet world.

I couldn't be happier with how he turned out. I love his goofy grin. I did make some mods to the pattern. Instead of black beads, I used safety eyes. And I didn't use beads on the mouth.  I embroidered the mouth with some black yarn. The next one I make I will have the earmuffs down over the face a little more. We shall see how they all turned out. One down and three to go.

Edited December 16

So, I finished all four of the snowman. I couldn't be happier with them I am tickled at how cute they turned out.

My embroidery however could use a little work. Look at this photo.

I'm not sure if the lettering is legible or not but I can read them. So, as long as the boys know who owns what it's all good.

I also wanted to share these mittens with you. They are from the self striping club that I was telling you about a couple of posts ago. I'm pretty sure I will be gifting these to my friend Flo. She has been not so subtly hinting for these. This girl professes not to be a yarn snob but she does recognize good yarn when she sees it and who am I to deny someone who has such great taste.

I'm not sure what happened.

The summer has really gotten away from me. Now, I can start to make all kinds of excuses - like, we are in the middle of building a house. This is true and it has no doubt kept me busy, but I've still been crafting.

I can also say that I went on vacation. Also true, but I still crafted. And I shopped!!! Yes, I went to just about every decent yarn shop in Montreal that was close to the metro. And I went there on my own! This may not mean much to some, but it does to me - a middle aged woman from a very rural part of Canada. You get it - I'm not a big city kinda gal. Its amazing what the proper motivator would have you do. And this photo? Its only from one store.

I could also say that I've been very busy at work. I've had one pharmacy student this summer, I hired two other students and one of them got into pharmacy school and the second is studying to be a dietician. But still, I crafted. In fact I made my students hats. This one, I'm particularly fond of (the hat and the student). Its made from the yarn that I made out of the punis in the last blog post (shamefully back in July). The hat was made in a mystery KAL put off by one of my favorite designers - Lee Meridith. It was a great KAL and I fully intended to blog about how unique it was and how much fun I had, but then things got away from me. Like I said, I'm not sure what happened.

I could even make the outrageous claim that I've been busy since my step daughter was pregnant and expecting a baby. Well, look what we got!!!!

Yes, a beautiful little boy. For those who are keeping track, this is number 4! His name is Reagan and we couldn't be more delighted with him. In fact, I've been crafting for him too.

So all in all, its been a busy summer with lots of things happening in our lives. But through it all, I've been knitting, crocheting and spinning. I think that its such an integral part of who I am that no matter how busy things get, I will continue to make things. Now, will I continue to document them?? That is the question.

Crazy about Crochet

When Kev was in Montreal earlier this month, he brought me back a new book. 101 One Skein Crochet Wonders by Judith Durant. I haven't been crocheting in a long while. And for some reason, my knitting mojo has reached an all time low. So this was just the thing I needed. There are so many really cute things in this book and I'm sure its one I'll turn to time and again when the mood to crochet strikes me. One thing I noticed about this book is that it seems to make use of yarns like Noro that utitlize long repeats of colour. Those are some of my favorite yarns, and I have a lot of them in my stash - single skeins that I'm not sure what to do with.

I couldn't resist crocheting up this cute bunny. He seemed to progress so quickly. I couldn't stop crocheting the little pieces. They came together so nicely. And notice how the colours line up so perfectly on the different parts. This was a happy accident! They yarn is acrylic - Bernat Mosaic. Not a yarn, I'd normally chose but for a toy, I think it works perfectly.










And in other news I finally finished the Leaflet sweater that I started back in November. I like it a lot and I'm not sure why it went into the 'hibernation' pile.





And I'm still plugging away on these Hope Springs Eternal Socks. I'm enjoying the pattern and the yarn. These will be finished soon! I just love how the colours are pooling and swirling around the leg of the socks!

The Big Project

Megan (of Stitch It podcast fame) has decided to do a 'big project'. She plans on processing a fleece right from the start. Me, in my infinite wisdom, I've decided that this would be a great idea and I'm going to Big Project a long with her. My proof? This box.

In this package there is a well skirted fleece of corriedale/merino/ramboulet cross lamb - 4 pounds of it. I'm not sure if this will be enough to make a whole handspun sweater (since I'm sure there is at least a pound of lanolin in the fleece) But there will be enough to make some serious yarn. I'm thinking this is a better quality fleece than the whole Jacob debacle of 2009. Its a white fleece, so it'll be easier to dye right? And this time, like Megan, I've decided to process smaller batches and spin from the lock this time. Anyways, I'm hopeful. Wish me luck!

In other news I've been doing the freeform crochet a long on Ravelry again. Every March is international crochet month. I love, love, love this game. I don't always love my final item, but I usually learn a few new stitches and make a few friends in the process. Here is what I've got so far.

Interesting, isn't it?

I need a new project

I don't know whats wrong with me, but I have no real desire to cast on new projects. I'm trying to finish whats on my needles. Which is a fairly long list.

1. Prairie Rose Lace Shawl in Paton's new lace yarn from The Knitters Book of Wool
2. Greenfield Cardigan in Cascade 220 from New England Knits
3. Pinstripe Slouch hat in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 from Knitting 24/7

These were all started keeping in mind my new goal to knit more from my library. But I'm not sure why, I just don't feel like finishing them. I love all 3 projects. I'm enjoying the patterns and the yarn, but I just keep looking and lusting after other things. Why can't I finish them? Especially the cardigan. I've been working on that since September, and I won't allow myself to cast on for another sweater until I finish it. I only have 1 and 1/2 sleeves to finish. I know what the problem is though. I hate knitting garter stitch in the round. It is so annoying. I've decided to knit the sleeves flat and them seam them up afterwards. That should make for decent TV knitting at least.

I did manage to finish a crochet project though. This time not from a pattern in my library, but from a freebie on Ravelry called Calm Cowl. (Ravelry link only -yet another reason to join)

This was crocheted using Rowan felted tweed. I loved this yarn so much. The resulting fabric is very nice, with great drape. This is sometimes hard to get in crochet. I'm very happy with this cowl. It will likely be a gift for my daughter or one of her roomies. The house is having a depressing time with boys and whatnot, and could use some cheering up. So, I will send woolies. Nothing says I love you, like woolies

Crochet Love

It started with that little duck Halloween hat for Colson.  It was so fast.  It was so cute.  I was smitten.  I can't stop the cute.   I had to crochet another one, with the proper eyes.  Adorable, isn't it? 

 
Then, I found this cute owl pattern on etsy, so I crocheted some of them.  I ended up modifying this one quite a bit.  I'm on a roll now. 

This latest one is my favorite.  I plan on donating these to Heather's Ranger group who are raising money to go to Halifax next summer.  I think people will like these.  

 And guess what this is? No, its not my favorite yarn shop.  Its my bedroom, and it makes me so happy to see all my yarns on display like this.  It makes them so accessable.  I've kind of organized them by colour.  Also, the quantities that I have in sweater's worth are in those duvet bags under neath the pile of feltable sweaters that are folded on top.  I still have large quantities of yarn in the living room and some downstairs.   When I get another square shelving unit, I will stack it on top of the existing one, and add more yarn.   My self striping yarns are hung on the closet rod, in the hanging shoe units.  Works in progress and spinning fiber are hung in bags over the closet rod.  Pretty clever isn't it.  I've shown some of my friends this picture, and they can hardly believe I have that much yarn.  I don't tell them about the shelving unit in the living room.

What happened to October?

Was that ever a fast month! But then again, I always find that time seems to speed up in the fall.  I guess, I've been so busy with work, and girl guides that I haven't found the time to blog.  I've been knitting though.  And some other things too.  I even did some painting. 

 Last weekend the Big Land Trefoil Guild went to Lake Alexander for a fall camp.  7 of us attended.  We each had to bring a craft or activity.  I figured the girls could handle some silhouette painting.  Here are the results.  I think they turned out very nice!  I particularly liked my friend Karen's.  She did the Inukshuk in the sunset.  Gorgeous!

 I was busy with knitting Halloween items for Heather's baby, Colson.  I made him the knitted duck feet from Knitty.  These were just about the trickiest things that I've ever knit.  Turkish cast on, applied icord, stretchy cast off, shortrows.  This little pattern had it all!  But boy, oh boy, were they ever cute.  Just look at that little duck!  The crocheted hat was a cinch in comparison.  It only took about 2 hours to finish.  Talk about a great little pattern.  Its from speckledfrogcrochet on etsy.  You can buy it here.  What a great seller, and a great pattern.  I'll be making this again.  And she doesn't mind if you sell these hats - if you ask!

 I've been making a very concentrated effort to knit more with my handspun.  Its hard.  A project has to be worthy enough, a recipient has to be worth it too.  It has to be a special project for a special someone.  I'm trying to relax those standards somewhat and just knit it already.  (I'm really starting to build up a stash of handspun - my regular stash is bad enough).  I'm also trying to knit more from the books in my library.  This argyl hat is knit from two different colours of my handspun.  The pattern is from All New Homespun Handknits which is a really nice book with the patterns calling for small amounts of handspun.  I just love the resulting hat.  I've already cast on for two more.  Stay tuned.

Last weekend

Self Striping Yarn - My True Love

The yarn is Zauberball Crazy and it is just that.  There is no repeating of any colours.  If you knit socks from this yarn, they would definitely be fraternal twins as there is no way to make the colours line up.  Up close, the yarn is like a barber poled handspun.  I love the result.  I would have kept crocheting but I ran out of the contrasting black yarn.  It took two skeins of Knitpicks Palette.  

I have countless other images that I wanted to put up as well, but I chose these.  I love the close ups.  This is from a free pattern that can be gotten here.

In other news, I cast on for a baby sweater four days ago, and finished it.  I used Spud and Chloe Sweater yarn.  Its a blend of wool and cotton and is supposed to be easy care.  I really enjoyed the yarn.  This sweater is for Heather's new baby, not yet born, and it had to be easy care.  No care would be great, but I'll settle for easy care.  I bought this yarn from A Good Yarn.  Its a new yarn shop that opened up in St John's.   While I've never been there in person, I can attest to the great customer service.  I hope to visit it real soon.

Still loving the Crochet

I finished the little dress, which turned out to be adorable.  I donated to the Girl Guides fundraiser silent auction.  I know the lady that bought it, so I will be secretly watching her child this summer to see if she wears it.  This was such a cute design, and the designer couldn't be sweeter.  She contacted me on Ravelry to let me know that she liked my rendition of her design.  I did use a heavier gauged yarn than recommended and consequently ended up with a size to fit a 2 year old even though I crocheted the smallest size.


And here is my progress on the rhubard scarf.  What a great pairing of stitch pattern and yarn!  I'm loving the result, though I'm getting a little tired of scarves.  I just finished knitting Summit from the most recent issue of Knitty.   I modified mine to make a more narrow version because I didn't have enough of the yarn to make a full sized version.  I used Knitpick's Stroll kettle dyed in the auburn colourway.  Overall, I'm happy with this as it resulted in a nice spring scarf.  Blocking was tricky though!

What I've been up to.

Its been a while since I've blogged.  So much for my resolution to blog more, but in my defence, I was ill.  Strep throat to be precise.  And at the worse possible time.  I went to visit Amy last week.  I had all of these plans to go yarn shopping.  I even had Kev convinced to go wheel shopping with me.  He even knew that I was talking about a spinning wheel, not actual tires or a vehicle.   All that I managed to do (in the fibre realm) was to buy some books and magazines.  I did get to take in some amazing performances by the students of Bishop's University.  Other than that, I slept.  And took medication. 

Prior to our trip, I got on a crochet jag.  Brought about by National Crochet month and our little CAL on Ravelry.  So here is a look at some crochet projects that I've been working on.

This is the Bella Dress from the most recent issue of Interweave Crochet.  I finally broke down and bought a subscription.  This was my first issue and I was not dissappointed.  This little dress features a fabric skirt sewn in after.  I just love the coordinating fabric.  It came from a tent dress that I bought from Old Navy on sale for 99cents!!  I guess I'm still in denial that Heather is having another boy.  I really wanted this dress to be for her new baby.  Maybe she'll still let me put it on him.





This is the Noro Catherine Wheel Scarf.  I'm making mine out of a ball of Zauberbal Crazy and one ball of Knit Pick Palette.  I love how its working up.  This was my go to project on our little trip.  Normally, I knit or crochet like a bandit while travelling.  Sadly, I hardly worked on it at all.  That just goes to show you, how sick I really felt.

Scrumming

 Or Freeform crochet.  March was crochet month.  Over on ravelry I participated in this crochet along.  Each day in March a different set of instructions were given by different 'designers'.  I was March 27th designer.   I had everyone crochet grannysquares in remembrance or honour of their grannies/nans.  My finished ....erm....thing is this.  Here it is in all its glory.  Lots of new and interesting techniques and stitches here.  I know, its kind of odd, but some people make great things out of freeform crochet.  Check out Prudence Mapstone.  She is the queen of freeform crochet.  I think I may hang this in my imaginary studio.  My plan is to hang one of these each year that I participate in the freeform along.  I suspect it will look interesting when I have several of them done.  Oh, and someday, I'll have that studio too.

Some sets of things and other stuff

Been a while since I posted. Who knew? Well, remember that stuff that was on the bobbin? Its now off. I can now officially say that I can spin with a backwards long draw. Not well, mind you, but I can do it none the less.

Here is proof.
















Also, I've been knitting a little. I will admit to a decline in the knitting mojo. I don't know whats going on. Its fall. That time of year when knitters just about go crazy with desire to knit. Not me. I haven't knit a thing on the vine yoke cardigan since I came back from vacation. Instead I've been content to fritter my time away with knitting little projects on huge needles. Instant payoffs. Oh, and crochet. Proof again.















That's a crocheted version of the 'Bainbridge Scarf'. And here is proof of some quick bulky knits. These are from a free pattern off of Jimmy Bean's website (who I just placed an order with for the first time) called Neckies.














They are cute. Here is what they look like when worn. I love bulky neckwarmers. Especially if garter stitch is involved.















Cute or what?

Good Luck/Bad Luck?

I'm involved with girl guides. This year I had to help plan our advancement ceremony. We had 13 girls advancing. I wanted to make them each something - a little good luck trinket. I decided these lucky penny flowers would be easy and fast enough. The fact there are 13 of them? Well, lets just say, I'm glad I'm not superstitious.

More Slippers

I crocheted these adorable slippers for Morgan for Easter. They are from the same design as last pair, and they are from the same yarn as my symmetric cardi - Valley Yarns Northampton. I think this will be my go to worsted weight yarn. The colours are great and the price is right.

I just cannot get over how cute they are. Seriously. Gorgeous!

In spinning news, I've spun up some corriedale that I've had in my stash for a while. Its from Etsy seller RoaringBravado and its called Frozen treats. Its funny because pastels are totally not my colours but I really like this, and I had to cast on right away.


I ended up with about 180 yards of DK weight yarn and I immediately thought that they had to become mittens. I'm not really going by a pattern or anything. I'm just basing it on a pair of mittens that Amy was given for Christmas a couple of years ago.

Mad Eye Patch (Free Pattern)

Materials
Size 4 mm hook
Small amounts worsted weight black, blue, white (I used Paton's Classic Merino)
50 yds (?estimate) light brown
tapestry needle
small amount of fiberfill
two buttons
elastic (about 6 inches)

This pattern is made up of 4 pieces. The eyeball part, the socket part and two straps. Here is a picture of all 4 completed parts before being pieced together.



Eyeball
* Pattern is worked in the round. Each round begins with ch 1 and ends with sl st in first sc of round to join.
Rnd 1 (Black) – ch 2, 6 sc in second ch from hook, sl st, fasten off
Rnd 2 (blue) – attach blue at first sc of Rnd 1, ch 1, 2sc in every st, sl st (12 sts total)
Rnd 3 – ch 1, (1 sc, 2 sc in next st) 6 times, sl st, fasten off white (18 sts total)
Rnd 4 (white) – attach white at first sc of Rnd 3, ch 1, (2 sc; 2sc in next st) 6 times; sl st (24 sts total)
Rnd 5 – ch 1, (3 sc; 2 sc in next st) 6 times; sl st (30 sts total) fasten off

Here are some photos of the eyeball being worked







Socket
Work in brown

Repeat rounds 1-5 of eyeball part
Round 6 Ch1 (4 sc; 2sc in next st) 6 times; sl st (36 sts total)
Round 7 Ch 3 (counts as 1 DC) DC in 35 st around in front loops. Sl st to ch 3. Fasten off

Hard to visualize? See here




Straps (Make 2)
With Brown, Ch6. DC in 3rd st from hook (counts as 1st DC) 3 DC across Chain 2 turn
Round 2 - 3 DC, Ch 2 turn
Repeat Round 2 until 3 inches long ending with 3DC (omit C2)
Fasten off



Finishing

Sew straps to socket at a slight angle as shown



Weave in all ends.


With brown, whip stitch 'eyeball' to 'socket' as shown, but leave a small opening to stuff slightly with fiberfill.





Sew elastic to both ends of straps and sew buttons in place. Note that buttons are purely decorative.



Try on patch and enjoy