Needles Sizes

I just measured some big needles I was using yesterday for the bikini top and they are size 15. I need size 10. But I liked the fabric I was knitting so I'm going to keep going with that and start the bikini with a different set of needles and yarn. I'm thinking the knitting I started on the 15's is going to make a nice shrug or tube top. Now I have to scare up some 10's for the bikini top.

Luckily we got a break in the weather today and it's not sweltering. First cool day we've had in 2 weeks I think. So I'm definitely going to knit outdoors under the tree on my patio.

Knit Pro I Think I Love You

I just found a free online site where you can convert your .jpgs into knitting patterns. http://www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/ Just drop in a .jpg and hit submit. Also great for other gridded projects like needlepoint and crochet.

Bikini Top

I was over on Threadbanger.com looking for a tutorial I found a while back and came across one for knitting a bikini top. I doubt it would support a buxom person, but it looks very sexy on someone that is say an A or B cup size. I will probably make one just to wear around the yard. It was the top only. Some commented that they were going to modify it into a halter top or corset top. It takes size 10 needles so should work up fairly quickly. She used a double strand of cotton. Make sure you pick something that feels good against your skin. Even if you line it, the straps may still irritate your skin if you pick scratchy yarn.

Little Green Sweater

I'm knitting a tiny green sweater ornament. I just started on the sleeves. Now I need to figure out where to get either tiny clothes hangers or tiny clothes pins to hang it up with.

Knitting on a Hot Hot Day

I got to spend the day outdoors with a bunch of blacksmiths. So while they were pounding away on hot steel on one of the hottest days of the year, I was sitting in the shade knitting this lovely scarf out of trellis yarn on circular needles. I also got another hat crocheted today.

Tomorrow is our bowyer's meeting so I'm going to take my knitting and crochet with me as well, and maybe some beadwork. That is if I ever get to bed and get some sleep tonight.

Heat Wave in July

I've confined myself to quarters, so to speak, during this heat wave. My truck doesn't have air conditioning and unless I have to be somewhere I'm going to work out of my home as much as possible. Luckily for me I have many knit and crochet projects going on right now, and there is no risk of running out of yarn anytime in this millenia.

I want to see the new Harry Potter movie that is coming out soon and fortunately movie theaters are air conditioned in S. California, so no worries there. And I want to find my Slytherin scarf so I can finish it to wear to the theater. But only if I go at night, because it's way too hot to be sporting a neck scarf in these temperatures.

Once again I'd like to remind the knitters out there that learning basic crochet is almost essential to be a successful knitter, because that hook comes in handy for retrieving dropped stitches, fastening odd bits of knitwear together and doing decorative edgings. In general, crocheted edgings work up a whole lot faster than knitted ones. But if you are looking for brownie points for having used knitting and only knitting for the entire project, have at it. I'm not your mother.

Redwood Greenwood Knitting Panel

I've been continuing my experiments with cables. I found the pamphlet I learned cables from in the first place when I was cleaning my bedroom this morning. Right now it's just an experiment. I don't really want to make yet another scarf. We'll see.

I took apart a partially made teddy bear I was knitting in eyelash yarn in a shiny redwood color to use as a contrasting color. I didn't have enough to make the whole teddy bear anyway, and I was tired of having so many unfinished projects. Also, I didn't like the bear tying up a pair of needles.
I took the photo before I added the eyelash yarn.

Colorful Knitting

I went to my local library and requested 3 Kaffe Fassett books. And this morning I was cleaning my bedroom and found one of my knitting pamplets I've been looking for for ages that has a cabled scarf I wanted to make again. So I started on that this morning during the Michael Jackson Memorial service on TV that went on and on. I think they were about ready to call him St. Michael. At any rate, it's a day I won't soon forget.

I'm just never going to be good at knitting bland colors. I'm trying to make some solid colored hats for a male friend, but I keep drifting back to more colorful projects. The way I look at it, life is just too short to knit with beige. I've seen a seller on Etsy whose shop name is 'Kill Beige". I think that's great. And navy too while we are at it. Do any big beautiful women actually like Navy, a color foisted on us by the fashion industry for decades? I even hated the navy skirts I had to wear in choir and that was in the 70's.

Silly Knitting

Awhile back I knit this silly spiral hat. I never wear it much because where am I going to wear it, especially in S. California.

But now that I'm doing Silly Sunday Self Portraits I'll get to wear all my goofy hats. Yay hats!

bag of goodies

I was looking for my Harry Potter scarf and I went through a few buckets full of knitting and crochet projects and it wasn't in any of them. So I decided to start going through some of these things to see just what was in them anyway. So I grabbed up a bag and went through it. Evidentally it was from one of my train trips. Inside I found a Mary Englebreit notebook, a pencil pouch I'd made a traveling drawing kit in, train ticket stubs, the beginnings of a little knitted purse, my sunglasses, a bandanna, and some random balls of yarn. And a partially finished something on a pair of thin needles, only one of the needles is missing. Let me guess...it fell out in the living room somewhere? I'll have to go look for that. I've noticed I often start things on trips, but when I get home I'm tired and behind on everything else and then the projects get lost.

Kaffe and Slytherin

I got to see an interview with Kaffe Fassett on the Create TV show. I've always done colorful knitting so when I discovered his books it did wonderful things for my imagination. Of all the crafts he does, he said knitting is his favorite. It helps him forget his problems and escape for awhile. So as soon as I wake up enough, I'm going to go work on my knitting.

Also, with the next Harry Potter movie coming out in July I really want to finish my Slytherin scarf which I started knitting before the last movie came out. Or was it two movies ago? It's in a bucket around here somewhere. And high time I finished it off.

For more about Kaffe Fassett go here: http://www.kaffefassett.com/Knitting.html And he pronounces his name CAF, not Cafe like I was saying it.

Cable Knitting

I'm making slow and steady progress. I'm glad I don't have a deadline. That way I can enjoy the way this is turning out. I did 12 rows today. My hands were a bit sore from yesterday. Not all of that is from knitting. A lot of it is from typing. Seems like I'm always typing.

My cat is feeling good tonight. He's spinning around on my bed trying to catch his tail.

Cable Scarf Progress

I made some more headway with the cable knit scarf. When it stops being fun, I take a break from it. Cables make the stitches tight, so my hands get tired faster on that row with the crossover as well as the next row after that. Then the tension goes back to normal. It's a six row repeat so after about 18 rows it's time to put it away for awhile or even til another day.

Cable Knit Scarf

I started a new cable scarf with front cables, back cables and horseshoe cables. First I tried it with Caron soft yarn and the mistakes were too hard to correct. It doesn't hold it's loops if you pull the needle out of a stitch to correct a cable. So I unraveled that and started again with basic Red Heart yarn. I don't like the way it feels as much but it's a lot easier to see and fix mistakes. I know the photos look like a salmon color but it's really a dusty rose pink.

Knitting and Tea Interview

Meet the authors of Knitting and Tea in the Threadbanger interview.

Knitting a Tam

Although I'm really good at crocheting tams, I've always wanted to knit one and haven't succeeded yet. Does anyone know of an Internet site with a tam or beret knitting tutorial I could try? I think my problem is I've been trying to do the complicated kind with a lot of colors, when I should just knit a solid colored one until I get the hang of the technique.

The Knitted Bunny's New Home

Now that I'm knitting and crocheting quite a bit again, that strange blister under my thumb is breaking out again. Does anyone else have this issue? It gets all red and irritated, then eventually the skin all peels off like a blister and starts all over again.

Anyway here are some more photos of my trip to San Luis Obispo CA last week.

Tiny Sweater Knitting

This teeny tiny knitting is truly a bit of magic.



This teeny tiny knitting is truly a bit of magic.

Coffee Cozies

I need to design some coffee cozies. I don't use those paper sleeves all that much but as I've been traveling I'm going through about 4 a day. And I realize my daughter would use one a lot if she had it. And when I got her coffee this morning it was so hot that the thin paper sleeve didn't really work anyway. I like the coffee cozies with cabling on them so maybe I'll try that. And I like the ones that look like little corsets.

Magenta Scarf

I got a little knitting done today on a magenta scarf. I'm out of acrylic yarn so I'll have to wait until I get some more. It's a nice wide scarf. A silver brooch would look lovely on it. I'm going to use 2 other colors on it. I'll decide which colors when I see what's available at the store. Or if I get home before I get to the store I'll use my existing stash. I really don't have the room to store any more yarn so I'd like to use what I have. And I don't want to move it all again. Not that yarn is heavy, but it's bulky. We bought some of those suction bags to store it in, but then I read yarn should never be stored in plastic. So now what?

Bunny One is Done

I'm almost finished with the camel and pink yarn bunny. I made him a fuzzy green scarf out of fun fur last night. Now I just need to make a carrot and then wrap him up for my grandson. I meant to give it to him last Sat. but the event was just too busy and his mom took him home straight away afterwards because it was cold and windy at the beach. But today I'm driving down to Santa Maria to spend the night with them so I'll get to see him lots.

I've already started another bunny in a technique I learned from a book on Sat. This one is in Lion Brand wool in the color called 'pumpkin'. The head has a gusset. I just hope I'm sewing it together right because the only directions the book had was 'sew the two pieces together and leave an opening for stuffing'. One piece is shaped like a diamond and the other like a long rectangle with a pinch in the middle. We'll see.

Pink and Brown Bunny

I took a lot of photos of my knitted bunny today. I have it all assembled. Tomorrow I'll do the face, wrap it and give it to my grandson on Tues. Then I'll make another one for my Etsy shop now that I have the pattern worked out. I'll have to wait until I get home to my own computer to post the photos though. I have some orange yarn with me so I may knit a carrot to go with it. And if I have time I'll make a green scarf for the bunny nexk.

Another Bunny

This photo shows the colorway of the new wool bunny. I had to start over five times to get the face the right shape. I kept ending up with a little volcano nose. My cat tried to steal the yarn last night and kidnap it. I'm making this one on DPN's too. The yarn is Lion Brand Autumn Sunset.

Bunny Ears

I just finished designing the ears for the bunny. This time I remembered to take my camera. I might make some changes if I do another one. But not bad for a first try. So now I have the body, the head and 2 ears. Now I need to make arms, legs and a tail. So far so good. The weather is pleasant so I've been knitting out on the porch. I haven't decided what I want to use for eyes but I have some of those lock tight eyes I might use. Or I could do felt.

More Knitted Bunny Work

This morning I could tell I wouldn't have enough of the camel yarn to knit the whole bunny. So I'm saving what is left to use for the ears and I'm moving on to a pink/gray/white fuzzy yarn to make the pants with. I got a few more inches done on it at the park this morning. Even though I'm visualizing in my mind the way I want the rabbit to look, it's kind of taken on a life of its own and now it's telling me what it wants to be. Nothing is set in stone and I'm as curious to see how it comes out as you are.

Camel Bunny

I got started on my bunny in some vintage acrylic yarn from Fedmart. I think that department store went out of business some time in the '80's. It's a lovely camel brown color. When acrylic yarns first came out, no one knew how they'd hold up to daily use. I've found them to be low maintenance and practically indestructible. (I can hear the yarn snobs groaning from here).

I don't exactly hate wool, but it makes me itch (all kinds of wool even merino). Of course I could make a bunny in wool, and I might, because you don't wear a bunny. Then again a baby can't tell you their wool snuggle bunny is making them itch.

I'm all for other organic yarn like corn, hemp and bamboo. Some of the those are finally trickling into Joann's. But if the yarn for a project costs twice as much as acrylic, I can't sell it for double. The market just won't bear that extra cost. Then again if the customer wants a custom order in $25 a skein yarn, and they are paying for the yarn in advance, I'm happy to do it. Or maybe you are a spinner and prefer just to mail me the yarn for your project, that would be fine.

Anyway, I got the bunny's head knitted and now I'm starting on the body.

Bunny Madness

I saw some amazing knitted bunnies on Etsy this morning and now I have knitter's envy. And I started wondering whatever happened to that pink bunny puppet I was knitting last year. I lost it when I rearranged my bedroom to squeeze a bigger bed in here. I'm sorely tempted to start a new bunny (I know I know I need another new project like I need a hole in the head). Chock it up to Easter or Ostera or Spring but I have 'bunny madness'. Sigh. Now where did I see those double pointed needles?

Here is the bunny that pushed me over the top: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18454483 Did I mention it glows in the dark? That vendor also sells the glow in the dark yarn here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=19276342

But just use the etsy.com search feature to see the plethora of bunnies big and small.

I'm almost done with my Lipstick scarflette. Hopefully I'll finish it today.

Lipstick Scarf Cont.

I got a good bit of knitting done yesterday on the lipstick scarf. I decided to add a slit to thread through one end of the scarf in lieu of a button closure. I might still add a button to spice it up a bit, but it fits quite nicely on the neck right now. I have about 10 more inches to knit and then it will be ready to list in my shop on Etsy. Yay!

I love knitting with these wooden needles I inherited. I need to go get the camera out of the other room and upload the photos I took so you can see what I mean.

Camping Update

I did get to do some knitting during the archery campout. On Sat. night while waiting for the concert to start, I got in line and took my knitting with me. I was working on a simple rainbow scarf. By the time the doors opened I'd made some good progress. Unfortunately the chair I sat in had poor lighting so I had to stop, but down the row from me another woman was knitting away like crazy on some frothy bit of knitting. Maybe she was knitting by feel, or maybe her eyesight is a lot better than mine. The sun had already set, and the only lighting was small mood bulbs and space heaters.

Here are some photos of the event. It was at a ranch near Springville, CA.

Lipstick Scarflette

A 'scarflette' is a small scarf made to wrap around your neck. It's often fastened with buttons and loops.

I started a new knitting project today. It's a scarflette in a colorway called "Lipstick". I used large wooden needles that I inherited. I'm not used to that much friction but I'm working with it.

Last night I was watching a PBS special on street musicians around the world. One group was a youth choir in Ireland that was half Catholic and half Protestant. One thing I did notice is nearly every girl in the choir had a knitted or crocheted scarf on. So I figure living in CA isn't helping my sales any. It's funny the things knitters and crocheters notice. Anyone in Ireland want to buy a scarf from CA? Or prove you are in that choir and I'll make you a scarf for free. Then it really would be a small world.

Camping and Knitting

This weekend we are going to the Sierras to do a bowmaking demo at some sort of Irish music event. I'll be taking my archery stuff but I will also take my knitting. I tend to get a lot of knitting done at things like that. We will be camping for three days without the distraction of telephones, computers or television (Yay)!

I love it that knitting is so portable. And it gives me something to do while the rest of the archers are hiking over hill and dale. I do some of the archer roving events, but not when it's 100 degrees up steep mountain trails. Yes, I'm a wimp. But I'm also 51 years old with a bad back, so I do as much as I can.

Knitting in the April 2009 Crafts 'n Things Magazine

The April 2009 issue of Crafts 'n Things Magazine has some wonderful knitting projects in it including a women's sweater, a swirly tablecloth with beads and a baby cardigan. The circular Knitted Swirl Tablecloth is fancy indeed. Then they have a knit-across sweater in a mossy green.

There is also a baby cardigan called the Boston Baby cardigan shown in peach. It has a collar, buttons, cables...so if easy projects bore you, this could be just the thing.

If you prefer crochet projects, there are some of those in the magazine too.

Knitting Poem

Take time to knit if you must sit
Make a cable if you are able
Never knit your boyfriend a sweater
Or he will find someone he likes better.

New Yarn New Grandson

I picked up some new yarn recently at Joanne's. Now that I have a grandson there are so many more new things I can make that I never needed before like baby blankets and booties and toys. I had two daughters so never really explored things boys like. It's like a whole new world. He's growing so fast. He just turned six months old. I've already crocheted him some things and I gave him a sock monkey but I haven't knitted anything for him yet. At least my bf's mom gave me a bunch of baby yarn. I shared some of it with my daughter. But one way or another that kid will have something knitted sooner or later.

Knit Fast, Die Young

I just finished another of the books on my 100 books a year goal. I'm mentioning it here because it has a knitting theme. It's called Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger. It's her 2nd one. I haven't read the first one, Died in the Wool. It would be fun to read it outloud at your local knitting circle. Since it's a murder mystery I don't want to give the plot away so I won't say too much about it.

Last Sleeve

I don't always want to knit so much as I want to just move the project along so it doesn't get buried. So today I made myself sit and knit for an hour on my sweater sleeve. I don't know why I've been procrastinating. I think I have an inner imp that just refuses to finish things. It's like a cliffhanger in a soap opera only the ending never happens. I'm sure my boyfriend is getting tired of looking at it at the end of the couch. Anyway I'm done knitting for the day I think. I'm going to go work on some beaded earrings.

I just wrote another gift article here: http://hubpages.com/hub/People-Love-to-Give-Gifts I'd like to make some knit cuffs so I can put the photo in the article. But that is a project for another day.

Making a Dress Form

My daughter came to visit and not only found my missing cable needle, but a matching crochet hook. I hadn't even realized I lost a crochet hook.

Today we helped each other make duct tape dress forms. Now I'll have something to hang scarves and scarflettes and scoods on to photograph for my Etsy shop. Seeing my duct tape twin in 3D form was shocking to me though. We don't normally see ourselves in the round and I was a lot rounder than my mind could swallow. In fact right now I have a towel covering the scary thing. I couldn't look at it and eat dinner at the same time. After stuffing the form, my first impulse was to throw it in the dumpster but then I had a vision of some neighborhood kid pulling it out of the trash, putting it in a red wagon and dragging it around the neighborhood.

It's going to come in handy for freeform knitting and crochet. I'll finally have something to pin the little pieces to that is approximately my shape. It's very hard to pin things on to your own back.

Lost Cable Needle

Yesterday I was knitting on the couch, and wanted to do some cables. So I found my cable needle stuck it in my yarn, and then life sucked me away from my project. It wasn't until this morning I had another chance to work on it. And now the cable needle has vanished without a trace. I have a feeling it's disappeared inside the sleeper couch somewhere. So tomorrow I'm going to have to unfold it and look again. I was so aggravated I didn't even do any knitting today. It doesn't help anything that the cable needle is gold, the blanket it was on is gold, and the couch is earth tones. I hate losing things and I do it with alarming regularity.

How Not to Make a Hat

I wanted to knit a hat so I got some yarn labeled papaya and set to work. I used double pointed needles, cast on 90 stitches and started doing a 2x2 cable for the brim. About an inch into it, I realized it would be too small for me, almost a little girl's size. So I ripped it all out, and cast on 120 stitches, figuring it would be plenty big this time. I did 4 or 5 rows and it's still going to be way too small. Even worse I don't have 5 needles and the 4 needles won't hold any more stitches. It's maxed out. I'm not sure what I want to do about it. But it's 1 AM so it will have to be a problem for another day.

Yarn

I used some of my birthday and Christmas money to buy more yarn at Joann's during their 25% off sale. This time I took my daughter Heather with me. She bought two shades of purple yarn to knit or crochet a scarf for herself.
I also bought some Celtic Knotwork buttons and some clasps. And I'm glad I got them on Sunday when they were 50% off because we went back there tonight and the sale was over.

Yesterday I started the last sleeve of the confetti sweater. I'm at that stage where I've lost all motivation to finish, and that is a dangerous place to be. It's where a lot of my knitting projects go to die. I can't let that happen this time. If I do, I'll only be disappointed in myself.

Knitted Headband Photos

I finally got some decent photos of the headband I knitted for the pattern I designed and mentioned earlier in this blog. This is the first one I knitted. I still have to do photos of the pink and green camo one. But today is almost over and I still have five or six things on my to-do list.

Easy Knit Scarf

I got tired of crocheting at the archery range yesterday and luckily I had a pair of big needles with me so I started crocheting a scarf in steel blue and medium purple Caron yarn. I did it in garter stitch and I got about a foot knitted before it got too cold to knit. That's the thing about Boye aluminum needles; in cold weather they are just like holding two popsicles.

The big needles will make a nice fluffly scarf. It's basically 20 stitches across and knit every row. It's what I call 'mindless knitting', a simple project to pass the time that doesn't have any finicky details or patterns to refer back to. Easy enough to knit in public while carrying on a conversation and watching people go by.
I leave my complicated projects at home for times when I'm alone and can concentrate.

One More Sleeve To Go

So far on my sweater I have the front panel, the back panel and one sleeve finished. Things have been hectic, but it shouldn't take too long to make the last sleeve if I can just find a few hours of uninterrupted time. I've already had to renew the book once, so I'd like to get on with it. I'm thinking of just buying the book from Amazon is it's out in paperback too. We'll see.

Sleeve and Video 51 Things

Today I finished the sleeve for the confetti sweater. I also made a youtube video called 51 things. My knitted headband is on there. Also some items I crocheted.

Confetti Sweater and Book

This is the knitting book I'm doing the sweater from. It's page 95.

Confetti Sweater 5 AM

I woke up before five AM with a tummy ache. Since I needed to sit up for awhile, I started working on my confetti sweater. After about an hour of knitting I felt I could lay down again and get some more sleep. I'm just about ready to put the marker in place for the V-neck.

Confetti Sweater Update

I finished the back panel of the sweater and I am well on the way with the front panel. This should be faster now that I know how the pattern goes. This sweater has no ribbing so I hope I like it. If it comes out I want to make more.

Tags and Blog Labels

I added labels to my blog again so it's easier to search by topic or follow along with a certain project. The tags are listed in the right column at the bottom of the page. That should help you track down the parts of the blog you want to read.

Sweater Back

I almost have the back section of the sweater finished. This pattern has four parts; the back, the front, and the sleeves. So I'm happy to be almost done with part 1. The front is much the same as the back, only its split in the center to form the neck.

Multidirectional Scarf

Today I needed a project to take on a day trip, and I grabbed a headwrap I was knitting. Then I grabbed a tote bag to stuff it into and we rushed out the door. I didn't have time to clean out the totebag first and later in the day I went through the bag and found the multidimensional scarf I started a year and a half ago. I worked on it a while hoping I'd remember the technique, but not a chance. So I ripped out the stitches I did today and when I got home I looked the directions up again on the Internet and ultimately found the link on my own blog that led to the directions. So here they are: scarf Now I need to go in the other room and see if I can correct the part I did wrong today.

Loom knitting

Today I took a break from knitting on needles to knitting on a loom. The knitting is still done one stitch at a time with a hook. It makes a very nice texture. My loom knitting is on a different blog though.Here

Yellow Sweater cont.

Now that I've got about a foot of stockinette stitch done on my new sweater back, it's a lot stretchier than I thought and there is a chance it might fit me after all. My guage was a bit on the big side and that slight difference could give me just enough extra space to fit me. We shall see. I'll probably add an inch or two to sleeve length as well, because I have longer than average arms.

The Cost of Knitting

I've seen some lovely knitted items on Etsy.com and people keep saying they are selling their knitting. But I've never been able to sell a single knitted item on Etsy. My prices reflect the time invested, and I see many other knitters only covering the cost of their supplies. They don't seem to add any wage for their time spent. Not all of them, but some of them. I do know one lady that manages to sell $300 hats. But I just can't see selling a handknit hat for $20.00. And I can't compete with those that do. I know they are trying to compete with Walmart/Kmart prices. Or they live in countries where $1.00 an hour is considered a good wage. It's really a no win situation.

Knitting and Cross Stitch

Yesterday I got over to Michael's and got the embroidery floss 791 I needed to finish the Twilight cross stitch quote. I might design some sort of artsy border to go around it and to add more color.

I also started working on that multicolored sweater and did some more this morning. It's knitting up fast on the number 15 knitting needles. After my recent tedious projects it's nice to see so much progress so quickly. It's been foggy out and there is just something so cheery about knitting with bright colors on a gloomy day.

Sweater

I just started knitting a new sweater. The largest pattern size was L and I'm XL so it's probably going to be a gift or go into my Etsy shop. But I thought I'd learn some valuable techniques along the way. It's multicolored acrylic yarn that is mostly yellow. I got the yarn for free and want to put it to good use.

Velona and Kaffe Fassett

Yesterday I was looking up local yarn stores and found this Kaffe Fassette interview at Velona yarn store. http://www.velona.com/items/velona113.html

Kaffe's books are famous amongst knitters and fiber artists.

Checkerboard headwrap

This morning I finished the knitting part of the checkerboard headwrap. And not a moment too soon, as I only had about a foot of yarn left. Then using the same needles I started knitting another one out of Lion Trellis yarn.

That Does Not Compute

Here it is Friday the day after the American Thanksgiving. I'd rather be knitting but my computer is being impossible. For no apparent reason, my computer suddenly goes silent and whatever windows are open at the time just freeze on my screen, and I'm just dead in the water. The only thing that works is to turn the power off and then back on, and even then, it's taking a good 30 seconds to five minutes to kick back on and restart itself.

I spent an hour running a virus scan and just when it was about complete my computer froze again and I lost the scan. So now I'm running a 'quick scan' hoping it gets through before my computer has another seizure.

If I had to choose between computer problems and knitting problems I'd go with the knitting problems.

Vintage Book

Someone gave me some vintage knitting pattern books, so I'm trying out a bit of those on the new yellow and navy project I started yesterday. I had gotten through the first row of the pattern repeat when I spotted something fishy. So I tried to rip back to just that spot, but then I dropped another stitch, and eventually took out 3 rows, and tried again. Now an hour later I'm about to the point where I made the mistake the first time. Part of the problem is I'm using two strands of yarn and have to knit into the back of every other stitch so it's binding up a bit. Still, onward and upward.

Two strands together

I was cleaning and came across some navy yarn and some gold yarn. So I cast them on together on some rather large needles just to see how it would look. Sometimes I like knitting nothing in particular just for the heck of it.

Knitted headband with squares

Still working on this one but thought I'd share a few photos.

PLARN

I'm writing an article on using Plarn, or plastic yarn. Yarn that's made from cutting up plastic bags. So I need to make some samples for the article. I started a hat many moons ago, but I'm not sure where it ended up. So I'll start afresh on something new.

Another headband

I couldn't resist starting a new headband today in a checkboard pattern in pink camo yarn. If it turns out I'll share how I did it.

Getting Organized

I just spent over an hour sorting a tote bag full of tangled yarn projects. It had a hipband in progress, a finished pink snood, a Christmas scarf almost finished, a doll I started about 15 years ago, several balls of yarn that didn't seem to go with any of the projects, 2 crochet hooks, a circular needle, 2 stitch holders, and other odd bits. Now they are all hanging safely on hangers in the hall closet.

Projects Revisited

Here are photos of an original tube top I knitted a while back.
Projects like this are a great way to use up small bits of your favorite yarn.

Prayer Shawl Update 2

I worked on my prayer shawl tonight. Remind me not to try that again without wearing my reading glasses. Hard on the eyes with those little stitches. But at least I made some progress.

Yarn & Needles Tip

If you are working with a yarn that plies loosely, in other words, it keeps seperating, use needles with blunter tips to keep from splitting the ply. With any new yarn test it out on the needles you plan to use, and if it's a hassle make another choice before you've invested lots of hours in fighting with it.

Prayer Shawl

I have been knitting a prayer shawl for my aunt, who has stomach cancer. I get depressed when I work on it so I'm not doing that much on it at the moment. It's a pearly gray color and it's a lacey pattern in a triangle shawl.

Here is the pattern if you are in need of such a thing. Triangular prayer shawl.

Knitting Blogs and Pricing Your Knitting

I just realized I have three different knitting blogs. This one of course, then one on loom knitting and one on freeform knitting. I must really like knitting.

Today I got into a not very pleasant discussion in the Etsy chatroom about how it hurts all knitters when someone prices their items too low on Etsy. I know buyers can't understand why hand knitted items cost so much but they don't knit and haven't a clue how labor intensive it is to do even the simplest of knitting. Then you start tossing in cables and handspun yarn and beads, and the price goes up and up. But it's hardly fair to expect someone to offer a hat for sale that took them 10 hours to make for $20.00, now is it?

One lady asked how much she should charge for knitting a custom sweater. And I said I can't tell you, but you have to factor in how fast you can knit, the cost of yarn, buttons, and trim, your hourly wage (yes you should have one, you have to eat too), and how much time it takes to fix mistakes because you are working with a new design and there will be mistakes.

Free Head Wrap Pattern for beginners

Today I am knitting a head wrap out of Homespun that is 2x2 ribbing and 14 stitches wide. You can make one too.


Supplies:
Pair of knitting needles in a size you are comfortable with
Yarn that feels soft against your face
Yarn or tapestry needle.

Stitches you need to know: Knit and Purl
You must also know how to cast on and cast off.

Cast on 14 stitches.
Knit 2, Purl 2 until you reach the end of the first row.
Turn
Purl 2, Knit 2 until you reach the end of the 2nd row.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until the piece is long enough to form a tube around your head.
Cast off.
Use yarn needle to sew narrow edges to each other using an overcast stitch or your favorite joining stitch.

Optional: Sew on an artificial flower or decoration.

Put head wrap on, take photo, and send me your picture and I'll add it to my blog.

Pattern copyright 2008 by Fayme Harper
For non-commercial use only.

Need help learning to knit? My favorite site is http://www.knittinghelp.com.

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