Deedee's Coat

Well, I've started Deedee's winter coat. Yay. Last year I bought a pattern for a Reversible Cuddle Coat that I thought looked adorable and I'm finally getting around to using it. It originally calls for a Plymouth Encore worsted. It's a lovely synthetic wool blend but then I found Plymouth Jelli Beanz. It's also a synthetic wool blend and I fell in love with Grass Green. It would look awesome with Deedee's copper hair.

Unfortunately, I couldn't afford it. :( Since this is a double sided coat, I just couldn't handle over $50 for one side. Needless to say, my husband put his foot down. He told me to find a cheaper alternative so I did some research and got it down to only $30 which is what we could reasonably expect to pay for a child's winter coat anyway. I'm not going to knit both sides. I'll knit only one side, and line it with a heavy polar fleece so Deedee will be quite warm and snug this winter, and perhaps even next winter as well.

I wanted Lion Brand Yarn Wool-Ease since it's the same weight needed, as well as the synthetic wool blend that I'm looking for. They even had some beautiful fall colors that would look gorgeous with Deedee's coloring. So I picked out what was needed, but with shipping it was too much since I still had to have enough to get the fleece lining. So I tried the local stores, but none of them had the colors I wanted! They both had only 4 or 5 colors to choose from and neither had even one that I needed. :(

So I wound up with Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, which is a full synthetic. Grrr........ I do have to admit though that I'm quite pleased with the colors and the price was the same so I still have $12 in which to play with for the fleece and buttons.

Since I'm only doing one side, I chose the striped pattern vs. the solid since I'll be buying a solid color fleece. I'm also doing the basket weave pattern that was supposed to be used for the solid side and I'm really liking the ways it's turning out.

So here's my color line up. Charles has informed me that he really likes the blue and wants a coat too so perhaps I'll make him a sweater. I love the way this is coming together with the basket weave pattern. It's not just straight stripes across, as it would be with a stockinette stitch. Instead, the basket weave splits the colors up in a way I hadn't expected but really looks awesome. It's hard to explain so I'll try to take a picture later.

This originally called for four colors: purple, orange, yellow, and blue. But I had a hard time sticking to just those four colors and I consistently had six that I was looking at. So then I got the bright idea to just stay with those six and do a tree. That doesn't mean I'll actually knit a tree on her coat. It's how I linee up the colors for the stripes. So, I started with blue (sky) then down through yellow, orange and red (leaves), on to brown (trunk) and then green for grass. The colors lined up beautifully and really compliment each other.

And while no one else will see the tree in it, I will and I can always think of Deedee when I see the coat and it's colors. Not only do the colors look great on her but Deedee is my little tree hugger; I wish I had a picture of it. She's always running up to a tree and giving it a big hug and kiss; she's so darn cute when she does it.

Now, to fix the tangled mess my yarn is in. A friend recommended to put yarn in baggies, and put a hole in one end for the yarn to come out which made total sense to me since it would keep the yarn clean and not all over the place. But she put two balls per bag so now everything is just a mess. :( I'll have to take them out and either put each one in it's own bag or just forget them period.

The special little girl for whom the coat is intended.

Today was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and it was pleasant sitting outside in the sun while I knit on the little sweater. LOL, Deedee had a fun surprise. The sprinklers came on for the first time today and she happened to be almost on top of one. She was soaked! She loved it though. It quickly formed a puddle on the pavement and she gravitated towards that to dance and play.

I spent most of the day knitting. (Except when I fell asleep while Charles & Deedee were napping and Kitty destroyed the living room but we won't speak of that.) This afternoon after Carey arrived home, I was off to my group. Only Marisa was there today. As usual her little one beat up on Kitty. I don't understand why he's such a bully. However, when I wasn't comforting Kitty, I got the rest of the body knit on the bolero, and actually got one shoulder sewn and an arm on. It's looks awesome! I didn't follow the pattern exactly but where I did change something I took note of it so I could do it again on the other side. For one, this was supposed to be knit in cotton but I chose a wonderfully soft 100% wool. I also knit the arms in the round instead of flat. One less seam to sew together. And I changed the cuffs a little; I used a smaller needle so it would be a little tighter and I like the line of the sleeve better now. Ignore the yellow. That was my provisional cast on and it will soon be going bye bye when I start the edging. There is also a small eyelet flower on the back between the shoulders that you can't see but is so sweet.

This is my loverly sweater. :D It can be found in One Skein by Lee Radford. It really is a quick easy knit. The right side is done and very pretty. It lined up perfectly! And no puckering. Yay.

I think one thing that helped was the advice my friend Marisa gave me. She told me to bind off the sleeves in a needle one to two sizes large than the one I was knitting with to keep it a bit looser so the sleeve isn't too tight around the shoulder. That actually just happened to my friend Bernadette. She too just finished her first sweater. She had spend $60 on a lovely cashmarino yarn and she did a beautiful job except on one sleeve where she bound off too tight and then pulled it too tight when she was sewing it together. So, not only did it pucker really bad, but we could hardly get an arm of any of the baby's in, not even Kitty's petite little appendage's fit. So I was glad to know that bit of advice.

This was such a quick, easy knit that I've been thinking of buying several skeins of wool in varying colors, and knitting several up to stash for last minute baby gifts. Also, I was thinking of perhaps trying to pick up stitches around the armhole and knitting it from the shoulder down, instead of knitting it separately. One less seam to sew, if it works. Hrmmm.........

This is being knit as a gift for a little one set to arrive next month. The parents don't know what it is, which is good since the gray will actually go either way. Besides, this is what I had in the stash. :D

Ahoy!

~UPDATE~ 3/15/07

It's finally complete, and it looks totally awesome. The little fimo button I made came out perfectly. I made a square button with all three colors; black on the outside, then red, then white. That one was for the outside flap. I also a couple of red ones to go inside of the bag for the belt. Sigh.... think I have a pic of it though? Of course not. My wonderful son wouldn't hold still long enough for one when I first finished it (I had barely finished sewing on the buttons and laying it down when he snatched it and took off. He's been avidly watching the progress ever since he found out if was for him.) And now, we can't find it. :( I know it's somewhere in the house, I just can't figure out where. It's a good thing Spring Cleaning is coming up later this month. I'll get a good pic of it then. Hopefully.

~UPDATE~ 3/14/07

Finished! Well, almost. The bag itself was sewn together this morning and successfully felted during a 10 minute dance with the washer. I definitely reccomend Freedom wool for felting. Even the white felted! I haven't started the belt yet, although I am hoping to get it done within the next few days. I want to get the buttons first so I can plan the size of button holes I need accordingly and that's what I'm off to do now. Carey had the day off so I'm planting the kids with him for a child free afternoon. Yay. The only snafu I hit was when I ran out of red yarn. :( I was almost to the top on the side and I really didn't see buying a whole skein of red for that small amount so I subbed black instead. It doesn't look too bad. However, the cool thing was that the bottom of it actually lined up with the bottom of a black stripe on the back so it looks a little more in line with the pattern. If I'd thought of it before, I would have done that on purpose to both sides. Ah, well. This still turned out great considering one, I've never done intarsia before, and two, I had no pattern.





If you want to see a few more pics, check out the set here. If you'd like to see more finished objects in the WCTP KAL, check them out here. As soon as I get the belt finished, I'll get a pic posted of James wearing it.

~UPDATE~ 3/14/07

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I last updated. Where has the time gone? I'm almost done! I don't know if I'm going to make the end of the KA or not but it will be close. I was stalled for a while because stitches weren't lining up and it took me a week to realize that it was because I had somehow increased by a stitch. Bleh. An I hit another hitch when the boys decided they wanted the bag now. They hauled it, and the needles, upstairs to play with it. I found the needles stashed in various places and I finally found the bag behind their bunk bed. They'd ripped about 2 inches out, so at least six rows. Sigh......

But I got a good sized chunk done last night after the kids were in bed, and I'd put the days laundry away. The front, back, and flap are being knit in one long continuous length. The bottom was knit separately and then I picked up the amount of stitches needed along each side to knit the front and back. Just one less piece that I have to sew together later. I've made it to the flap and I'm almost done with that. The skull is almost completely blocked in and I've started decreasing. After that, I have to knit the sides, sew it all together, and knit the belt. The Hipster gave me the inspiration for that. I was going to make this a backpack but I thought James might like it better if he can just open it to put something in/take it out vs. having to take if off of his back before he can do anything. I did have one little hiccup. I reached the end of my black skein and was thinking that I would have to buy some more before I could finish it. However, after a bit of searching I found the last skein I had bought. Yay. I guess I estimated the amount needed after all. For a long time, I was thinking that I had way too much and was sifting various ways to use the leftovers.

The front. The flap is still on the needle and it's been brought over the front.

The is the back. I didn't want to do any more skulls, but James got mad when he saw that it was going to be plain black. So I added red randomly. You can see the slits for the slits for the belt towards the top. I know the bottom seems wide. I did that on purpose so there will still be a little give when it's felted.

~UPDATE~ 2/12/07

Yay. I finally found time to work on this some more and I actually got 5 rows done. I got some time to myself to vegge out at my LYS this last Saturday. The skulls are really starting to come together and look good. All of my fellow pirates are doing well. My favorite of their projects so far is an awesome pair of socks by Kris. I need to try something like that myself. They make me think of my sister and she has a birthday coming up.

The colors are so much clearer now that we have the new digital camera. I love being able to take pictures and not have to wait until we can afford to have the camera developed. I think there are like, 5 cameras waiting to be taken in right now. LOL



1/26/07


I have finally cast on James WCTP pirates bag! I joined the We Call Them Pirates Knit Along on January 10 but it took me this long to finally get the yarn, figure out what I wanted to do, and finally sit down and do it!

I chose Freedom 100% wool yarn by Twilleys. It seemed serendipitous that I went to my local yarn store and there it was. This beautiful little display of wool yarn, in three different colors: red, black and white. The exact colors that James had chosen. Perfect. So I went home with several balls of lovely wool, and size 10 bone needles.



This be t' fore. You can see the bottom o' the bag (large red chunk) and the beginnin' o' the fore. I have just started the first skulls. Me camera just doesn’t do justice to the beautiful colors.

This be the back. It be me first foray into intarsia but I’m not doin’ too bad if I do say so meself.

Ok, enough of the piratese. :D Anyway, from here on out, I'll update this post whenever I have something new to add, or I have new pics. Check out the great projects that my fellow pirates be doing by clicking on the banner at the top of the post and you can check out the awesome We Call Them Pirates Flickr pool here.

And, ye'll find cool pirate lingo here.

Dílleachta Lace Scarf

Update ~ Errata: In the optional keyhole directions, after transferring the stitches from the stitch holder, it read to knit for 15 rows before joining both sides again. It should read only 7 rows.

This is the scarf that I knitted for the Red Scarf Project in the condo knitting technique. (of course, it didn't make it out on time. :( Maybe next year. ) Not only did it look neat, but it was easy to do and knitted up fairly quickly. What is condo knitting? Basically, it's knitting with two wildly different sized needles; one small and one large. (such as an US 11 & US 35) When used together the two needles would produce alternating wide, lacy rows and small, tighter rows. It was popular during the late 70's to the mid 80's and at it's heyday you could actually buy condo circular needles. You can still find them occasionally.

This is such a fun technique and there are endless possibilities. Although I used a chunky warm yarn here since it was for a winter scarf, this would also look really neat in the novelty yarns and ribbons. Changing the sizes of the needles, how many stitches were cast on, etc changes the whole look of your project.

Dílleachta Lace Scarf
level: beginner

• 2 skein Lion Brand Yarn Homespun in Calypso (color has now been discontinued) or other suitably bulky yarn in weight category 5 (Approximate equivalent 13 ply) 6.00 oz./170 g (185 yd/169 m)
• Size US 4 needles
• Size US 19 needles
• 1 stitch holder

Gauge: Not Absolutely Necessary

CO 30 sts with size 4 needles
Row 1: K one row with size 4
Row Two: Switch to size 19 and K one row.

Reapeat these two rows for at least 100 rows or until your scarf is half as long as you want it, ending on size 4 needles. The first couple of rows knit a little tight, at least for me, but then they lossened up and I had no problem putting size 19 needles in size 4 stitches. Optional Keyhole: Divide the stitches in half and put one half on your stitch holder. K for 7 rows, ending on size 4. Transfer the stitches on the holder back to the size 4 needles and put the remaining stitches onto the holder. Knit the the new stitches for 7 rows. Transfer the stitches from the holder back to the needles and knit them across. Or, you could just add on a bit of yarn to that side and knit both sides at the same time. Knit at least 100 more rows, ending with size 4 needles. K one row in size 4 needles. BO in size 4. See? Super easy.

I also made the same scarf with size US 11 and size US 19 and CO 16)

Well, I've gone and done it. I joined two more KAL's this week. And this month is just flying by so I don't know if I'll finish my Green Hat KAL or not. I hope I do. I have tried numerous times to knit the little hat I chosen for Kitty but it's just not working. I don't know what my problem is. I can't seem to get past row four before I find mistakes and have to rip it out. Then I found the Harry Potter and the Book Seven KAL and the Knitters of Avalon KAL and I just had to join. But I have until April with these two and I already have some projects in mind.

I love Harry Potter period so I just had to join, even if just to keep up with everyone else and see what awesome projects they're doing. My brother has a birthday coming up so I'm hoping to get something done for him this way. Maybe it will give me incentive to actually get something done. Oo, maybe a cool wizard hat? That might be fun.

Along that line, I had to let the hat sort me and the results are:

"You belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid to toil."

Get Sorted!

I also mentioned the HP KAL to one of my knitting groups and not only did they get really excited about it, but one them found this quiz:

You scored as Neville Longbottom. You often feel scared and unsure of yourself as a result of a tough upbringing, but everyone knows you have so much boiling potential in you waiting to burst. You get a strong feeling of elation when you accomplish something and reward yourself for it. You love your friends and family dearly and are a kind and loyal friend to have.

Huh. Interesting. I never would have considered myself Neville. According to this quiz, I'm a full time Harry Potter fan with 31% obsession. Gah, and another quiz told me I was Neville, too! At least this one had a cool picture.

Which HP Kid Are You?
As for the Knitters of Avalon, I just had to join. The coincidence was just too huge. I had just finished buying The Mists of Avalon book, after being obsessed with it for over a month, when I fond the link to this cool KAL. And guess what book it's based on. :D I'm not too sure what I'll do for this one either although I do have a couple of projects in mind. We'll see. Here are two buttons I came up with for my use:

However, if you are in either of these KAL's, please feel free to use them. Sometimes, it's a really cool button that has shown me the way to awesom sites. Yes, I know, they're a bit big. I just haven't gotten around to resizing them yet.

Deedee's Fairy Skirt

I made this cute little skirt for Deedee to wear to her birthday party next month. I originally saw an adorable skirt in a Paton's pattern booklet, unfortunately I didn't have the money to buy it at the time and when I went back it was out of stock. On the cover was a little girl wearing a fun fur skirt with a little matching collar. I was dissapointed I didn't have the pattern so I sat down and tried to figure it out on my own. It seemed simple enough to do.

Fairy Skirt
level: beginner

size: 2 years (4, 6)

size USA 10 circular needles, 16" long
100 grams / 82 yards of fun fur. I used one ball of Hairy color HR27 by Dark Horse Yarns
narrow elastic
needle and thread
stitch marker (optional)

gauge: This isn't as important. It's impossible to measure when you can't see the stitches although I figured about 2 rows to an inch. According to Dark Horse, the gauge is 2 sts per inch on a size 15 needle.

Cast on 75 (77, 79) sts. Marke your first stitch with the marker, or just use the tail to mark the end/beginning of each round. Join and knit in the round for 10 inches (11.5, 13), or until you like the length. This is super easy and that's all there is to it. If you don't have circular needles, just knit flat and then seam it up the back to form a skirt. Turn the skirt inside out, weave in the ends and sew in the elastic. I used a back stitch to make it secure but perhaps a herrinbone stitch would work as well. This knits up really fast and it's so easy that it's perfect for a beginner's first project.

Tip: Do Not drop any stitches. It's almost impossible to pick them back up. And it's ok if you lose count of your rows. Just measure every so often to check the lenght of your skirt. It is ok to go up one size in needles to 10 1/2 but pay attention because it knits even faster that way. And if you do make a mistake (twist a stitch, yarn over, etc) it will probably be ok because the very nature of this yarn will help hide them.

I'll upload another picture when I have one of Deedee wearing it. I can't wait for it. I love the mix of these colors. That's why I chose this yarn although it was expensive and I'm sure I could have found somthing cheaper. I love the interplay of the blues, greens, oranges and golds. It will looks so pretty on her with her hair. And it will look awesome with her bright green fairy wings that Deedee picked out.

Green Hat Along

Get Stitchy's Green Hat Along has officially started! Yay. I cast on my pretty kelly green yarn for Shedir this morning as well as a cute bunny hat for Kitty in my recently hand dyed Kool-Aid Lemon Lime wool. You can find that pattern in Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch Nation. Speaking of which, since that is one of the patterns with errors, here is a list of all errata for her books. I admit that it can be annoying to have to rip things out when an error in the pattern is discovered. I'm so glad I found this site before I started that darling little hat. I can't wait to see Kitty in it.

Update ~ Ok, I changed my mind on the hat I'm making for Kitty. I found Anna's Angel quite by accident and just fell in love.

Lesson Learned #2

Never ever ever leave a pile of just cut pretty white yarn on the table when there is a one year old anywhere in the vicinity. Said one year old will will think that it's a fun toy to play with and tangle it beyond repair.

Well, no, not quite beyond repair. But still, you get my meaning. I had just cut over 200 yards of Blue Face Leicester 3 ply wool from my large 2 lb cone (Yep, you heard me right. Two pounds. That's 4000 yards.) I laid it on the table in preparation of winding it into a large loop for a self striping yarn that I was going to dye with Kool-Aid tonight. I left the room for two minutes and that's when disaster struck. Deedee was adorable, but still. What a mess. I spent over three hours untangling it. And ooh, boy, does this stuff felt easily. Most of the felted knots easly came a part with a moment of fiddling. On one knot, I wound up breaking the yarn by accident. :*( Still, not the end of the world. My heart really broke though on the last big knot. I worked at it for over 40 minutes and no matter what I did, enough of the fibers had felted together that I was never going to get it undone. So, I had to cut it. >:( Grrrrr.......... I think I lost about 3 inches. Sigh......... Well, my lesson has been learned the hard way. So much for having pretty green yarn to show off to everyone at group tomorrow. Bleh.

The Last Knit

This cute little movie was linked off of one of my forums this morning. It's about an obsessive little knitter and what happens to her.

Kool-Aid Dye Along

I found out about this today and I'm so in. :D I have always wanted to do this so it gives me an excuse to actually haul everything out. I have just been given an abundance of beautiful natural wool that's just screaming for color and I can't wait to do this with the kids. It will be a huge mess but think of fun!

I'm thinking of dying some red yarn for James bag so that's even more added incentive. :D Then all I have to do is get my hands on some black to complete his trio of cool pirate colors: red, white and black.

Red Scarf Project

OFA’s Red Scarf Project – Guidelines, 2007

Love to knit, crochet or know someone who does?

Send warmth and encouragement to America’s college-bound foster youth. OFA needs thousands of handmade scarves to put in our Valentine Care Packages to these parentless youth attending college on their own. Your handiwork will truly be the personal touch in these packages and bring students the encouragement they need to move forward and graduate to a brighter future. For over 25 years, OFA has provided funding and family-like support to foster youth in transition.

I just found out about this today, thanks to Jamin, and I'm so there. I was just given a huge 33 gallon garbage bag slightly more than half full of yarn. Score! I posted on my local Freecycle wanting some yarn to augment my stash, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect this much. A full time student's salary doesn't allow one to buy much yarn so this is a huge blessing. There are a few yarns that I have my eye on for a couple of scarves so I'm going to knit up some swatches to see how they do. I also have my eye on this Condo Knit Scarf. The technique looks interesting, they knit up quickly (a bonus in this household), and it will give me the chance to use my size 19? (no, I'm not positive what size they are, my gage stops at 16 and these are just barely too big) needles. That just makes it more fun. The cool thing is, if the scarf(ves) for this project turns out, I'll make a few for Christmas gifts to stash for my Holiday Headstart KA.

We Call Them Pirates

I've joined my first knitalong! I had already tagged this as a great pattern to make for my little pirate, so of course I was in when I discovered a knitalong was being set up for it. It begins February 15 and it goes to March 15 so this will ensure that it will actually get done for him. :D James adores pirates and has already chosen a pirate theme for his party so this will be perfect. He doesn't want a hat, mittens or clothing of any kind so I found this bag to incorporate the chart into. James chose red, black and white.

Test Your Knitting Knowledge

I found this test today reading one of my many forums. What else can one do when she is broken except clean out her email and catch up on all of the reading she has been ignoring? I only got half right, but hey, I'm still a baby in the knitting worls so considering I got that many right is cause for celebration. :D This was fun though and I learned some new stuff. It's always good to learn something new everyday, and if it has something to do woth a favorite hobby, so much the better.

Test Your Knitting Knowledge

Childs Felted Purse

This is the first felted project that I've ever done and I made it for Deedee for Christmas. I just cast on stitches and made it up as I went. LOL. It came out a little crooked, but she doesn't mind. I adjusted the pattern and stitched another one until it came out right.

Deedee's Felted Purse
Level: Beginner

size US 8 straight or circular needles (or size needed for guage)
1 ball Lion Brand Yarn Landscapes Country Sunset

gauge: 4 sts to 1 inch

CO 60 sts
K 8 rows

Shape The Handle

row 9

K 8 sts
BO 12 sts
K 20 sts
BO 12 sts
K 8 sts

Row 10

K 8 sts
CO 12 sts (single cast on)
K 20 sts
CO 12 sts (single cast on)
K 8 sts

K 24 rows. BO Sew any open seams together. There is a total of 34 rows. You could make it longer if you wish, I only stopped at 34 because I wanted enough yarn left over to make a little coordinating gnome doll for her.

It took me about an hour to felt this down to the size I wanted. Before felting the measuremtns were 5 inches high and 6 inches wide and I shrank it about an inch all around. I'll get the exact measurements up later. Deedee has stashed it somewhere and I can't find it. :D After felting I used a sweater stone on it to get rid of all the fuzz. Let me know if there are any errors.

Abbreviations

Knit- K
Stitches - STS
Bind Off- BO
Cast On - CO

Each ball of Landscapes is 55 yards / 50 meters, 1 3/4 oz / 50 grams.
Knit: 11 sts = 14 rows = 4" (10 cm) on size 13 needles (9 mm) needles

My Newest Goody

One of my many aquisitions off of Ebay that I just received in the mail today. It's a complete, vintage Bucilla knitting kit, number 7887. It came with everything to make a hat and either a pair of clown mittens or the donkey mittens. I don't know how old this is since there's no date, but the instruction booklet is yellowed and there are mice bites across the top so I guess bits of my instructions are feathering a nest somewhere. I got it for only a few dollars and I can't wait to start it. Charles is the most interested, so I'll be making it for him; he chose the donkey mittens.

Yay.... Sock Time

Oooo......I'm so mad at Carey. His grandparents were very generous with Christmas money this year and after I had spent a portion on bills, I still had a little left for MEEEE. So I did what any crazy, yarn addicted knitter would do and bought new supplies. So I caught some awesome deals on Ebay and I've been waiting anxiously for it all to come in. I was starting to get upset because the stuff should have been here before now and I was preparing to send off scathing emails when Carey asked me why I was so upset. When I told him, he took off outside and came back with a few packages. Apparently, he had run into Eric, our mailman, and he'd been given the packages to haul home. He stashed them in the Explorer, and forgot about them. GRRRRR.........

Recently I've been wanting to learn how to knit socks, and I found an awesome kit on Ebay. (Yes, I'm an Ebay Fiend) For only $13, I got two balls of Moda-Dea Sassy Stripes yarn in the stormy colorway, 1 set of No. 5 Clover Takumi Bamboo Single Double Pointed Knitting Needles, 1 package of Susan Bates Point Protectors (green & red holiday stockings, they're soooo cute), 1 package of Susan Bates Knit-Chek, and 1 package of Clover Locking Stitch Markers.

So I can't wait to get started on this one. I haven't worked with dpn's too much, so this is definitely going to be a learning experience. I'll post a pic of the progress later.