another attempt at cabling

... now he can't say I never made him nothin'...

Actually this is going up in my ebay store, for sale, in the new year.

There aren't a lot of guys knitting patterns, why is that? That totally sucks.

Digging into my yarn stash, I've found this very cool, unlabelled, camoflauge varigated yarn. I thought to myself, "Self, this would make a great something for a guy."

So, since I've recently became hooked on cabled stuff, it turned into a cabled scarf for guys. Tada.

Use Any Yarn crocheted gloves

These are wickedly easy to make, which is why I love them.

Materials: 1 ball of yarn, any tension, and appropriate crochet hook recommended for the swatch.

+++ Work from the top down. +++

method:

1) SC enough stitches to wrap around your fingers semi-loosely. Join.

2) Chain 2 (this counts as first dc). DC (double crochet) around in each sc, join.

3) Repeat step two until dc rounds to cover at least from your first knuckle to your thumb.

4) Keeping the yarn joined, sc enough chains to go around your thumb. Join 2nd or 3rd on a dc from the last row from beg. Continue to dc on sc stitches for thumb.

5) Repeat step two for one round.

6) Next round: Repeat step two, but dc2tog just before joining at the end of the round.

7) Repeat step 5 and 6 three more times.

8) Repeat step 2 for at least 1 inch for wrist.

I, being as maticulous as I am, did both at the same time to ensure that they're both exactly the same, although what's great about varigated yarn is that it almost seems like they're mismatched, but they're still cool. And yet warm!

craft blending.... my love of beads, my need to knit

My undiagnosed, yet genetically inherited O.C.D. comes in handy with detailed projects like knitting and beading, although beading crafts I've done for decades, while knitting is relatively new in my life.

Because beading has been in my life for so long, I can't just abandon it whilst knitting socks obsessively to keep my cold toes warm. So, going through my crafty stash, I've whipped up a couple sets of yarn markers! What better way to combine my two crafty talents?

Alright, so it's not the Mona Lisa. But the chinese coin markers look steller and zen whilst knitting that intricate red sweater, and the fimo yarn markers seem especially groovy while knitting with varigated pinks, yellows and oranges!

What shall I think of next?!?!?

committing random acts of recycling before getting committed....

No, your eyes deceive you not.... I've actually wasted time shredding plastic bags to make yet another plastic bag. And yes, I did bother to save those random yards of scraps of yarn to add to it.

To think, that one yard of this and one yard of that would currently be filling space in a landfill somewhere!

Want the pattern? Go through your grocery bags filled with more grocery bags, and neurotically shred them all, into inch thick strands, until at least 10 have been shredded. You may need more, who knows.

Mine was crocheted, using an 8mm crochet hook, but this can be knit as well. Sc at least 30 sts, or the width you want the bag to be. Dc in the 3rd sc, then dc to end. Dc across other side of sc. Close, 2 sc then dc around for a second row. Continue doing this until you get the height of bag you want. Incorporate scraps of yarn and beads wherever you want. I even hotglued a few ribbon roses I found in my crafting stash.

I've gotten quite a few compliments on this whenever I went to the market, everyone seemed to think that it's such a clever idea... although a bit of a pain in the arse to create, it does make for unique arm candy.

when nothing but scraps of yarn will do....

I've always been drawn to the cooler side of the colour scale, despite how bright and colourful everything is that I have; also, whenever I had knitted any of my Christmas presents, I had always asked first and foremost for favourite colours, and I found that those on my gift list liked similar colours to myself.

And it was bound to happen, after 2+ years of knitting, I've grocery bags and baskets filled with partial balls of blues, greens and purples that are just begging to be used.

Thankfully I've finished my Christmas knitting early this year, and what I've had time to do was some knitting for myself.

This shawl was knit on 9mm knitting needles, and I started with casting on 136 stitches. First row knit, then switched to second colour. *K2tog second row, knit rest of row.* Repeat between *'s for 3 more rows, then switch to next colour. Conitue for rest of shawl.

Fringe was added with a crochet hook afterwards, nice long strands to add a little extra length and colour.

This has now become my new favourite article of clothing, it goes with everything in my closet, and I was able to reduce my yarn scraps by a grocery bag! (yay!)