the Dude no longer abides

Last year, you may or may not remember, I designed a Dude sweater from scratch mainly for my brother for his birthday (Sept). For a first attempt at designing a sweater, I must admit, not bad. But, truthfully, not as movie accurate as I could've hoped.

Just as luck would have it, after literally years of looking for a dude sweater to buy or for free, exactly 7 days after I posted my pattern online and for sale (& 4 days after my brother's birthday), someone had designed a much better Dude sweater, more movie accurate than mine, and in a better variety of sizes.

To be honest, I was both heartbroken and a little jealous. But truthfully, nothing more. Had I simply known to wait for 3 more months, I could've used her pattern to knit her version for my brother for xmas.

Sales for my pattern did fairly well I must admit. No complaints really, as far as I know. Although I did have ppl that needed a bit of clarification on certain parts of my design, those who admited that clarification was needed, I did my best to help, and as far as I know, those were made without a hitch.

Sadly though the two projects completed on ravelry of my design weren't pleased, and for different reasons. In part, I believe, had to do with later realizing that they could've saved the purchase price to go with the free design, which is understandable. In part for other reasons, but I'm sure that was a good one.

I do admire the quality of the free pattern though, and anyone who is willing to give a project as detailed as a lace shawl or adult sized sweater as a free pattern, in itself, is fairly awesome & generous. :) The FO's of her design all look really great, and I look forward to get a crack at it eventually, although I think I'll avoid the work of sewing on a zipper the next time and go with a button-up version instead!

handspun scarf finished

The yarn I spun a while ago is now a scarf, finally! I've been meaning to post this pic a while back, when I actually did finish it, but better late than never. I'll be adding fringe to it eventually.

a sweater makes headlines

Just follow this link to the story ... it's not a knitting thing but it's a sweater thing so it's kind of a knitting thing. :)

from handspun to scarf

A few months ago I finished spinning this ball of yarn and I finally cast on a seed stitch scarf with it.

The weather's starting to cool off, and I'm realizing I need some more wintery clothes! Not that I don't already have a zillion scarves, hats, and mittens, but one can never have too many.

This will be my very first project that I've knit with a handspun ball of yarn, and even better, a ball of yarn I've spun myself! Pictures to come soon!

bacon & chocolate... mmmmm ;)

It has truthfully never occured to me to mix bacon and chocolate together, but I happen to stumble upon a few chocolate fudge recipes that actually have bacon in them... and I went from "Ew, that's gross" to "Wait a sec, that just might work!"

I got some merkins milk chocolate wafers, mixed it with half a square of bittesweet baker's chocolate, melted it and dunked these strips of bacon (this happen to be regular, unsalted bacon) and... it tastes awesome.

I've no idea how healthy it is, probaby not very. But it's wicked. I dare you to try it, especially if you're weirded out by the idea.

knitted wrapping paper find! woot!

I love that I found this wrapping paper at Michael's the other day - I've been searching for something like this for ages. There was paper in fair isle as well, but I'm such a fan of cabled fabric that I decided to stick with these!

Now I can't wait for the holidays to come around so I can put these to good use!

mini knitting movie video

I absolutely love this video... give it a watch if you haven't seen it yet! It's an animated knitting video which has been around for a while, but it's absolutely adorable and kinda funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

I can't seem to figure out how to upload video into blog posts... but just follow the link!

yum... hand-dyed indigo yarn

~ before ~

I've been itching to find indigo yarn for a while now, but everything that I came across seemed a bit too 'purple' to me... so I tried my hand at dying my own. All I had access to was some leftover knit picks wool of andes bulky in 'bare', and a bunch of food colouring. So, earlier this week I put it all to good use:

~ after ~



~ during ~

The actual colour of the yarn is closer to indigo than what it shows in the picture, and I love how it turned out. Now I just have to figure out a good pattern to use it all up in! I'lll probably make a cabled scarf of some kind - can't go wrong with scarves, and can't have too many of them either!

kids with unique names

I've been in the ravelry posting forums and etsy chat frequently, and I've noticed lately a lot of people venting about names being given to children; specifically complaining about 'original' and 'unique' names, and how strange they are.

Well, get over it.

I love unique names. In fact, the more unique the better. The idea that kids are going to wind up developing a complex because of their name, is rediculous. If a child is given confidence, it won't make a lick of difference what their name happens to be.

Frequently kids are taught to be unique, to be individuals, and to not fall into peer pressures and follow a crowd. Why does that not apply to their names as well? Why do they have to be one of five Brian's or Shawn's or Kelly's that's in their class?

Quite frankly, I felt bad for kids in my younger classes who had to be refered to as Beth A. and Beth B., or Adam H. and Adam K., because it was tough enough to tell them apart because they were stuck with the same name. Even when I was 17 and spent the summer working up north, there were 4 girls with the same name, who wound up having to go by different names, which was confusing at first for them. Simply because they were stuck with such common names.

Now, truthfully, there's nothing wrong with a common name either. But please, adults, whether you're parents or not, quit bitching about a kid given a name that's not the 'norm'. If that kid is going to develop a complex about their name, it's not because they brought it onto themselves, it's because of people like you weirding them out because they're a bit more unique.

Pick your battles. A kid's name is not that big of a deal. I actually applaud any parent who gives their child any sense of individuality.

loopy cables bottle cozy

Materials: worsted weight yarn, approx 25g; 4mm (US 6) dpn's - set of 5; cable needle; stitch marker

note: use a set of dpn's one size smaller than what's recommended on the label, to make a slightly tighter fabric

Tension (on label-recommended needles) : 20sts = 4"; with 1 size smaller needles needed for this pattern: 22sts = 4" in stockinette stitch

(I used Paton's Classic Wool Tweeds to make my cozy, and tension was based using this yarn)

terms used in this pattern:
k - knit
p - purl
k2tog - knit two together
k2togtbl - knit two together through back loop
dpn - double pointed needles

Cable Pattern: (worked over 8 sts)

Row 1: p2, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold back, k2, k2 from cable needle, p2

Row 2: p2, k4, p2

Row 3: p1, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, p1

Row 4: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

Row 5: place 1 st on cable needle &; hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle,p2, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle

Row 6: k2, p4, k2

Row 7: k2, p4, k2

Row 8: k2, p4, k2

Row 9: place 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, p2, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle

Row 10: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

Row 11: p1, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, p1
Row 12: p2, k4, p2

On one dpn, CO 6. *M1, K1* across. (12sts)

Divide between 4 dpn's & knit in the round.

Row 1: *(K1, M1) K1* around.

Row 2: *K2, (K1, M1)* around.

Continue in this fashion, increasing by 1 stitch at the beginning or end of each dpn until you have 48 sts. This forms the bottom of the cozy.

For body of the cozy:
Row 1: *k2, p1, work row 7 of cable, p1* around
Row 2: *k2, p1, work row 8 of cable, p1* around

Continue in this fashion, working in pattern and incorprating rows 9-12 of cable pattern, then rows 1-12 twice, then rows 1-6 once more.

first decrease:

next row: *k2tog, p1, work row 7 of cable, p1* around

next row: *k1, p1, work row 8 of cable, p1* around

Continue this last row in pattern and incorporte rows 9-12 respectively.

to finish:

row 1: *k1, p1, k1, p1, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold back, k2, k2 from cable needle, p1, k1, p1* around

row 2: *k1, p1, k1, p1, k4, p1, k1, p1* around

row 3: *k1, p1, k1, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, k1, p1* around

row 4: *k1, p1, k2tog, k1, p2, k1, k2togtbl, p1* around (36 sts)

rows 5 & 6: *k1, p1, k2, p2, k2, p1* around

Cast off (bind off) loosely in pattern, break yarn, tie and weave in ends.

© 2010 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. This pattern is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

Twisted Ladder Scarf

(pattern free for a limited time)

Materials: 3 skeins of KnitPicks Wool of Andes Bulky, in 'bare'

6mm (US10) straight needles, 2 pairs

a crochet hook, any size

Tension: yarn label shows 12-15sts =4" in stockinette

Size of scarf: approx 67" long after blocking excluding fringe, approx 5.5" wide (I made this length repeating the cable a total of 17 times, but it can be made longer with 3 skeins of this yarn.)

How-to:
Cast on 27sts.
1st Row: K4, p2, k5, p5, k5, p2, k3, slip last stitch.
2nd Row: P4, k2, p5, k5, p5, k2, p3, slip last stitch.
repeat these two rows until 10 rows have been completed.

Pattern for body of scarf:

Row 1: K4, p2, using another ball of yarn and a seperate pair of needles, k5, turn, p5. Work another 12 rows on these 5 sts in stockinette stitch. Place on a stitch holder. Slip next 5 sts on a cable needle & hold back of work. Using another ball of yarn, k5, turn, p5, work another 12 rows in stockinette stitch, then place on a stitch holder. Knot these two strips on stitch holders as follows: put 2nd strip under the 1st then over the 1st. 

K5 stitches from the second strip (which is now the first strip) p5 sts from the cable needle, k5 sts from the next strip, then continue pattern to end of scarf.

Row 2: p4, k2, p5, k5, make 5, k2, p3, slip last stitch.
Rows 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13,: k4, p2, k5, p5, k5, p2, k3, slip last stitch.
Rows 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14,: p4, k2, p5, k5, p5, k2, p3, slip last stitch.

Repeat these 14rows until desired length, then rows 1-11 only. Bind off in pattern.

Cut yarn into fringe strands 14-15" long. I used 18 on each end. Fold in half, and use crochet hook to pass through each end of the scarf, and tie securely. Block as needed.

© 2010 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. This pattern is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

knitting is driving me to drink

Ages ago, I decided to buy someone's Lion Brand Suede that they had listed in their 'destash' pile on ravelry - despite it not being a natural fiber, I like the texture of it and thought it would be fun to make something with it. So, said person happen to have a lot in their stash - a lot of one ball of several colours, and to cut my cost of postage a bit, I bought the whole lot from her.

As it turns out, and I didn't find this out until after I had received the yarn, that she originally made granny squares out of this yarn, which meant that she crocheted one row, cut the yarn, used anothe colour for the next row etc, and the skeins she sent me was in fact frogged granny squares. The yarn had been cut to peices, and despite my best efforts to try to get my money back, I had no luck.

I've had this bag of pretty much shredded yarn for a while, and not sure what to make with it, and I hate to have to throw it away. I finally figured a good use for some of it: I knit this whiskey bottle from Son of Stitch & Bitch - Projects to Knit and Crochet which I plan to pass on to my brother for his birthday.

The embroidery was a bit of a pain but overall it looks alright. The white parts are knit with Paton's Shetland Chunky that I had left over from the vest I knit my dad a while back

friday the thirteenth

There's apparently only one friday the thirteenth this year, and this is it.

Hubby was out doing service calls, and he happened to drive through Port Dover, where all the bikers are gathered today. It's the 30th year of them gathering there, and the 50th anniversary as well. I wonder what the origin is, of bikers and Port Dover and friday the 13th?

hearts revised

I'm destined to not make the same pattern twice, I think. I've started knitting a hearts blanket from some worsted yarn I found in my office - as an effort to destash what I have - it's the pattern I used to knit a baby blanket for my cousin over a year ago. I got about 3 rows done of the large size and just got SO tired of it. So, I redesigned the actual heart part of it, so the actual heart is about 4 stitches wider and 4 rows longer; the entire pattern repeat is now 8 rows longer. In the end I've cast on 6 fewer stitche for the blanket, and with the new heart pattern it's now 7 hearts across instead of 9.

(picture shows original pattern on left, and my revised version on the right, which I think looks much better)

stash busting - turtle style!

Ok, I know - lame Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference. Had to be done.

I just finished knitting knitty's sheldon - I wound up using almost half a skein's worth of Red Heart Super Soft yarn, between 2 colours. My cousin's having a birthday party for her one year old son on Saturday, where this guy will be gifted.

Not a huge fan of the pattern, although the end result is adorable. It's just in way too many peices, and I hate sewing. But, done nonetheless, and a relatively quick knit.

Baby Items

Well, I didn't use some of the yarn that I said I would to knit these baby items, but I was able to make them anyway. I used a yarn called Robin Aran 400, of which I have a 334 gram skein left. I obtained 2 skeins of it when my MIL came back from Ireland, and I used up all of it to knit DH's aran sweater, but I fell a bit short and was able to find a skein from someone's stash on ravelry. But, I have quite a bit of it left. So, baby items it was.

The soaker pattern is a free ravelry download (I made the small version); the hat is from Stitch & Bitch by Debbie Stoller; and the mittens are available free online (liked via ravelry).

The Great Destash 2010

Ugh, you have no idea how badly I need to destash the yarn that I have. I must have a zillion partial balls of EVERYTHING, and they've just been laying around. And, I feel so bad when going to my LYS to pick up some more to start a new project, when I know I've got so much just laying around.

So, my goal this summer is to not aquire any new yarn until I've knit up at least 1 kg of the yarn I already have. And yes, I'm going to have to use up as much of those partial skeins as I possibly can.

It's quite convenient that I just found out that a friend of mine is pregnant with her second child... so a lot of my stashbusting knitting will go to her. Partial skeins are going to make ideal baby booties and hats. She's not due until January 7th, so hopefully this will be more of a new year's baby than a christmas baby... assuming it doesn't arrive early!

I'm currently working on a pair of baby booties made from Louet Gems yarn - of which I'll make a 3 month old size, and a 6 month old size; I've got a baby sweater in transition (just needs sleeves!) which I'm making out of Yarn Bee Luscious yarn, which will wind up being a 12 month old size.

more knitting done!

I finished another pair of fetching ... this pair is for my sister in law, for her birthday in August.  She's a runner, and had said that she frequetly runs early in the morning where it's sometimes cool or cold. Well, naturally not now in the summer, but these'll work well for when autumn rolls around.

I made a couple adjustments to the pattern: there's an extra cable repeat to the bottom and top part, plus I accidentally knit four more rows than required between the thumb and first cable... which is fine, I think, since that part of the pattern is short and her hands are long.

dog sweaters!

When I posted a few days ago that I was collecting dog sweaters for local shelters, I didn't think I would get a response so quickly! But, I already received a package from Anna over at puppypocket on etsy! She included these 5 lovely sweaters and some doggie treats: which are super lovely! Thanks so much!

 

... which are super lovely! Thanks so much!

two mug cozies, finished

I just finished knitting this pair of mug cozies for my parents in law, who are avid tea drinkers. The pattern can be downloaded from ravelry here - where it also details how to adjust the pattern for a French press... but since my inlaws don't have one, the mug cozies will do just fine! I absolutely heart how these turned out, and I managed to eat through more of my huge stash of Elann Peruvian Wool! woo hoo! 

collecting dog sweaters for local animal shelters

I started doing this a bit last year, but really didn't keep up with it, I think partially because I started too late in the year. But, this year, I think I'll need to start a bit earlier.

I've got three very local animal shelters, who would gladly take in knitted or crocheted dog sweaters - one that is local to me in Mississauga, and two others that are local to family members who live within Ontario but at least an hour's drive from me. I'd like to be able to collect @ least 20 sweaters per shelter - so a total of 60 at least. Although knitted or crocheted sweaters are prefered, any sort of dog sweaters would be greatly appreciated, as long as it's warm.

The sweaters must:
- wrap around the dog's front legs. No cape-style sweaters.
- made from a warm, machine washable yarn or fabric. If it’s not machine dryable, that’s ok, but at least machine washable. Many dogs are rescued in the winter and suffer from frostbite and hypothermia, so a warm fiber content would be needed for these dogs
- fit a 60lb dog or smaller. There's no minimum size, but anything that would fit up to a 60lb dog would be ideal.
- knitted or crocheted doesn't matter, but please nothing lacey or with big spaces in them. If you're making something with granny squares, make sure that it's a more 'closed' pattern. We're aiming more for warmth rather than pretty. 
-  All sweaters must be submitted to me by September 30, 2010.

To get my mailing address, please email me at purplespirit1 {at} hotmail {dot} com ... or via ravelry - I'm knitphomaniac there.

Some examples of this size dog (up to 60lbs) can be found here and here.

Thanks. :)  

trying, once again, to get published in knitty

Why is getting published in knitty, of all places, a slight obsession of mine? I've no idea. It's just something that a part of me feels I need to accomplish.

I haven't blogged about this all that much, if at all (I'm not prepared to reread my entire blog to look for this info) ... but I've submitted a number of patterns to them and have yet to get something published. Now, if I were able to design a pair of socks or a sweater or a shawl or something lacey, maybe that would get my foot in the door. But, I'm not a sock designer, nor do I have patience to knit lace (let alone design something) ... and designing a whole entire sweater is just arduous. Possible, but much too time consuming. And, truthfully, shawls are really not my style, plus they fall under the "Why I Don't Knit Lace" rational. (Ignore, of course, the latest {and only} shawl I've knit for myself ... that was done in exception, since I'm attending a wedding this summer, it would be appropriate to wear there.)

Besides, I love more instant gratification projects. I love scarves and hats and mittens. My affinity for scarves is the reason why I wanted to learn to knit in the first place. I know that knitty has published many non-sock, non-lace, non-sweater, non-shawl items. So, the question is, am I ever going to be able to create something knitty-worthy?

Well, I love cables. If you haven't noticed already, I knit cables into as many things as I possibly can. I wonder if I could put together a scarf or hat or wrist warmers with a fun and different cable pattern, that could get published?

I was inspired last night, while watching tv, to cast on another scarf onto my knitting needles. Despite it being May, despite the warm weather, I'm knitting ahead for the cool weather. Plus, the current deadline for the next issue is July 15th, for the October issue. Fingers crossed, I can come up with something that appeals to the knitty editors.

sock monkeys finished

How ironic is it to make sock monkeys not from socks? Weird, right? lol... But anyway. I knit a couple sock monkeys, as my Holiday-Headstart knitting begins. The dark grey one is for my nephew, and the light grey one will be for my neice.

I have a hard time sewing things evenly, which is why they look slightly different... but they are the same design. The pattern is from Patons, and each measure about 18" tall.

custom order completed

These are the front and back views of two custom order pillows that I was asked to knit via my etsy shop - I just finished both of them yesterday. Made both out of Lion Brand Thick & Quick, and heavily cabled too, which I think look fabulous. 

Love, love, love cables. On anything and everything. 

finished a vest for my dad

Made a vest for my dad:

I hope he likes it... I'm going to gift it with the shawl for my mom when they arrive for their vacation here next month. I used a basic vest pattern with pockets, and intergrated the cables in with it, because I love making cables. There's just something abundantly classic about making cables, they're so fun, and they're so nice to look at. Whenever I see cabled anything, I automatically think of those aran sweaters from Ireland or something. :)
Also, I finished a shawl for myself:

It's not the full picture, obviously, but the center of the shawl... so you get the idea. The pattern is called Gail (aka nightsongs) and I used a yarn called Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball, which is one I discovered @ my LYS that I thought had a really fun colourway to it.
As much as I hate knitting lace (hate it!) I must admit that I love the way it turns out. I think I need a good break from knitting lace for a while! ... I have a wedding that I'm attending in July, so that's where I plan on wearing this shawl. I just need to find the right dress to go with it!

spun another ball of yarn!

This took me forever, but I finally finished it.

Was:

WIP:

Is:

Yay!

I'll miss theanticraft's blog

A couple weeks ago, the folks over at theanticraft.com posted on their blog that the blog shall no longer be. Not entirely surprised, considering how rarely it had been updated since facebook, ravelry, and the publication of their book. But I'll still miss it. Their blog was one of the main reasons why I went online. I don't know why, but I always found their blog contributions very entertaining and informative.

Facebook updates are just not quite the same.

But I digress. Such is life, and such is the evolution of the internet. I suppose blogs are becoming less "cool" when you can do instant updates on facebook, twitter and other places.

I've been a bad blogger...

... I've been much too distracted doing pretty much anything else, so, sorry. But, catching up today is better late than never.

DH and I have started the ball rolling with getting the garage done this year. It's falling apart, and it's something we should've done last year. Again, better late than never. It's unfortunately going to cost a small fortune... but one of those necessary evils. Fingers crossed, it'll be up by the end of July at the very latest - but a part of me is hoping it'll be up by the end of June.

Also, my parents are planning on coming over for 3 weeks. They'll be here for the last week of June. There's a wedding happening during Canada Day weekend that we're all invited to, and I'm working on a shawl that I may wind up wearing to it. I'm just finishing up on the edging atm.

More knitting projects... I've been working on a few items for my etsy shop and am starting to refill it, since it's been virtually empty since xmas. I also - believe it or not - have started knitting for xmas 2010. Because I'm that neurotic. I know. Just a couple small gifts for my neice and nephew for now. But I really like getting those out of the way a.s.a.p. ... and pictures to follow once I get those finished.

another pattern published!

Just got my keelhauled scarf published @ theanticraft.com ... :) woo hooo!

two projects done

I've been a bad blogger, I know. Much too much time has passed since my last post. But, it's only because I've been busy knitting.

I've finished two projects lately.

Last night I knit up another owl coffee cup cozie, which I plan to gift my SIL @ xmas. I know that's a long way away, but I wanted to start doing a little care package of knit items for her, which I plan to wrap in a Tim Horton's timbit box, which I was able to snag one for free a while back. A few more items will be going in there. Also note that I've revised the pattern, because I now realize that making this in aran weight yarn is a teeny bit too loose, so I've decreased by a few stitches, which should make this a bit more snug. If using DK or worsted yarn, it should be fine as is.

I also made my mom this cathedral shawl (scroll down a bit for the pdf link to the pattern) which I made out of some Fleece Artist Ottawa yarn. It's hard to tell in the picture but it's actually a very beautiful shade of blue, which I know she'll love. I plan on gifting it to her when she comes here on vacation in July. I'm also working on designing a sweater vest for my dad, so they'll both get something. But for now, this one is what I have done.

~*~ WAY TO WIN GOLD, CANADA! ~*~

The Canadian Team won the gold in hockey! Woo hoo! Congrats, Canada!

the deer are doing WHAT?!?

I love love love this chart, it's too funny. It's a ravelry downloadable pattern, which has the fornicating deer alone or with the forest charted for a hat. I adjusted the pattern slightly, because it also had a star in the pattern above the sheep, but it would've made the hat too tall.


Knit with my favourite yarn - Patons Classic Wool. I think it turned out rather well, if I do say so myself, and can't wait for the opportunity for me to wear it out in public!

sunflower granny square

Granny squares are so fantastic to make, I adore them. They're pretty much the only thing I'm willing to crochet.

This sunflowery one is from the book 99 Granny Squares To Crochet, and it's #97, made from acrylic yarn.

That book has some classic granny squares in it... I think it's a hard book to come across, but if you can find it, get it. There are some great recommendations in it! It's one of my favourite pattern books, when it comes to yarn crafts.

tools, toys, and FO's

For xmas, my wonderful DH gifted me a swift and ball winder... I finally had an opportunity, a couple days ago, to use it. I balled a skein of Fleece Artist Ottawa, which is being knit up into a shawl for my mom. Don't you just adore the colour?!?! Perfect for her, I think.

Also, I've finished a pair of fingerless gloves I made for my husband, to gift to him for Valentine's Day on Sunday. I used this pattern and some dark blue Sweaterknits Merino Alpaca - uber soft and ideal colour for him! Here they are:

my house is shaking!

For the past year or so, my immediate neighborhood has been going through some repairs - the water and sewage pipes are being replaced. My street is the last on the list to get these repairs and updates.

For the last week, there has been tractors and trucks and costruction guys up and down my street, digging things up, filling things in, digging things up again. Every time there's digging, shovelling, drilling, and refilling, my house (as well as other homes, I'm sure) shakes! It's unnerving.

Granted, it's not like it feels like I'm in an earthquake or anything, but my glasses and mugs rattle, I can just hear the house shudder at each move of the machines outside. A part of me sometimes expects my roof to cave in! Ugh.

Today's Friday. I hope that they finish doing the major work today.

pinwheel baby blanket

I whipped up another pinwheel baby blanket - again making it in 12 sections instead of 10. I think this is the reason why the center 'pops out' a bit... I've blocked it quite a bit and the center of the blanket before the first purled row kind of comes out like a big boob. Meh. But I think there's hope yet in flattening it out, somehow.

The last pinwheel blanket I made, was donated to afghans for afghans, and this one will be donated to project linus canada.

again, all felted up

I've included pics of some sheep I just finished making... more info about them can be found on my sheepy blog in this post I just put up today... here are the pictures, nevertheless:

help for Haiti

Just an fyi... I've decided to donate $6 from each purchase of my Lebowski sweater pattern to different charities and organizations that are currently helping out in Haiti, from now until Valentine's Day.

If you want to find the pattern via Ravelry, click here - and if you're not on Ravelry, then you can go directly to the pattern on etsy here.

Donations will be divided between Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, among others.

free pattern from patons

I love this felted tote pattern - I saw something similar to it in a book, and didn't buy it at the time, but I loved it regardless. The pattern's only free until about mid April, and it's only 1 page to print out. So print it and knit it and felt it already. I have.

Speaking of felting - I'm in the midst of making a bunch of knitted felted sheep! I'm hoping to get these done by the end of the week. Pictures and info to follow soon.

another sweater finished

I just finished knitting this sweater, which is too adorable. Intarsia is a pain in the butt to do, not my favourite, but love how it turns out.

More info about this sweater can be found here in my other (sheep themed) blog. :) Check it out!

another sweater for charity

I knit this sweater for afghans for afghans youth campaign using a little over 2 skeins of Lamb's Pride Worsted yarn, in old sage. Pattern is from a book called Paton's Back to Basics 2. I used an aran weight yarn for a pattern that called for worsted, and followed the sizing for an 8 year old. Buttons were 5/8”.

As it turns out, instead of having a ‘standard’ 25.5-26.5” chest, I think what I wound up with is a 33” chest. So, the 8 year old who winds up with this will be swimming in it. Oh well, lesson learned for the next time I make this pattern. (Or, to look at this more “glass half full” - this was purposely made to be loose fitting, lol!)

The pattern in the book says that a size 8 would fit a 25.5” chest, and according to the craft yarn council's site for sizing for an 8 year old, a 26.5” chest. Anything 4-6” bigger is considrered loose fitting, and 6” or more is ‘oversized’… hm… well, hopefully it’s a garment that will nonetheless be put to good use, it should be warm enough.