Cable Visions

I'm having a vision...... No, seriously, I am!

For my first foray into the world of cables, I'm making this scarf from Red Heart. I'm making it in black, which may not be my best decision, but after four rows of the cable pattern, I think it's going pretty well. I have noticed that I have to knit a little looser when I am doing the actual cabling. I don't know if that's normal, but I'm going with it!

I've been in a weird position these past two days. I don't have any projects going right now (how did that happen?) so when I finished Branching Out, I didn't have anything I could just fall back on. I was a little tired of lace, to be honest, so when I started the Zigzag Lace Scarf, I ended up frogging it after just a few rows. There just wasn't a project that really interested me, and the few that caught my attention require yarn acquisition. I think part of the problem is that I hate clutter, so I feel like anything I make needs to be a gift or have a real purpose. Obviously, this limits me, so I may make an effort to break that habit with a few toys. Purposeless, frivolous, toys. OK, now I'm kind of excited......

Nothing Today

Sorry, but I haven't done anything worthwhile since my post yesterday. I am dancing between projects, trying to find one I really want to do, and hopefully I will have decided by tomorrow! Have a great afternoon!

BO is now FO!

And by BO I mean Branching Out, not Body Odor. And by FO, I mean FINISHED OBJECT!!!! Yay! I finished Branching Out, and I am super happy with it! I had a few problems, most of them involving my inability to count, but I still really like this pattern. Here it is:

All I have left to do is block it, which I am a little nervous about, but hopefully that will go well and I can do one of those awesome photo-shoots-on-a-bush. I'm really excited to have my first completed lace project!

Yesterday I made this bookend

from a cardboard box. It isn't perfect, but I think it's good enough, at least until I can go for a second try.

I also made a little ornament from an empty sprinkle bottle and some beads. Plus a ton of hot glue.

Here is an update on my list:


1. the Zigzag Lace Scarf from Persnickety Knitter
2. this Mohawk Hat
3. another Branching Out
4. another Zigzag Lace Scarf


Have a great day!

Weekend Knitting. I did some.

Hi guys! I hope you had a great weekend; mine was pretty good!

First, I forgot to put this picture in Friday's post, so here is the Jean Covered Notebook I made:

I loosely used this tutorial, and I haven't decided if I'm going to add any embellishments. I might thread an old belt through the loops like in the picture, but I probably won't do rhinestones. Not really my style!

Next, I took a break from Branching Out for an hour or two on Saturday to make this:

I know, another one. I can't help it! They're super addictive, and they make great quick gifts. This time it is the Three Crosses Cloth from Knitting Knonsense (I'm kind of addicted to that site, too) and I only had two little problems. First, I skipped one line of instructions (four rows) and I was missing the top part of the two little crosses. If I was making it for someone whose initials were TT, it would have been OK, but.... I ripped out (carefully) and fixed it. I also missed two rows right near the end, 55 and 56 I think. I didn't rip that time, because I was super close to the end. And I just didn't care. 

Speaking of Branching Out (a paragraph ago, I know) it has grown a lot. Here it is on Friday night:

And this morning:

I lost track of how many repeats this is, but I have about 30 inches so far. I think this is a very pretty pattern, and I am still deciding if I should do another one or the Zigzag Lace Scarf. There are a few mistakes here and there, including a big problem I had last night. So I was chugging along, completely focused on my knitting (OK, I was reading Harry Potter) and I realized that I had done Row  9 when I should have been doing Row 8. So I tinked back, counted my stitches, and had the wrong number. I ripped back another row, no luck. So I got really angry at it. (It didn't help). I finally decided I was just going to have to cheat a little bit. At that point, I was at the beginning of Row 6, so I did k3, pfb, p23, pfb, k3. I'm not sure if that's allowed, but it's just an addition to the already-too-large collection of booboos on this scarf.

I also made a plain old scarf, which I am going to do instead of another Hug Scarf (I changed the list too). It is big yarn on big needles, so it went really quickly. I used it to get a break from lace-not that there's anything wrong with lace!

Here is my list:

1. the Three Crosses Cloth from Knitting Knonsense
2. Branching Out, from Knitty
3. either another Branching Out or the Zigzag Lace Scarf from Persnickety Knitter (it depends on how much I like the Branching Out pattern)
4. the Apple Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense
5. the Sailboat Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense (the picture doesn't show up for me, but I have seen it before)
6. a plain old scarf

I'm going to keep working on Branching Out, and hopefully I'll have it done sometime this week. That's unlikely, but I can hope, right? 


Have a great day!

Tutorial: Upcycled Wrap Bracelets

Hi guys! I am doing a tutorial to make these bracelets,

as seen in yesterday's post. Here are the materials you will need:

1. Plastic rings, like the kind scarves come on in stores

2. Lightweight scarves or strips of fabric

3. Hot glue gun

4. Something to hot glue gun on (cardboard, newspaper, your Aunt Tillie's wedding dress)

I made three different kinds of bracelets. The first I call the Glue and Go method, and it's pretty simple. 

1. Glue the end of the fabric to the ring

2. Wrap it tightly all the way around the ring.

3. When you get to the end, add another dollop of glue to hold the end down.

The Glue as You Go method uses the exact same steps, but you put glue under each wrap, so the scarf is completely stuck to the ring.

You can do the same thing with two different scarves:

1. Glue two strips together at the ends  (I recommend using the ring to push them together, not your fingers, and no, that is not how I burned my hand!) 

2. Wrap one color completely around the ring (the same as the Glue as You Go bracelet)

3. Take the other scarf and loop it around, leaving spaces for the bottom color to peek out. I got burned doing this, so wrap carefully!

I ended up with these, which I then trimmed down to get these:

(Yeah, not entirely sure where the yellow one was when I took this.... But it looks the same!)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and that it inspires you to make your own upcycled clothes and accessories! 

Have a wonderful weekend, and I will talk to you on Monday!

Yarn Math!

That doesn't even make sense; I mean yarn is amazing and math is just, well, alright. But I did have to do some yarn math for Branching Out:

The yarn I am using for Branching Out has very similar yardage to the Elsebeth Lavoid Silky Wool, so I'm basing my numbers off that. The pattern said those using the Silky Wool would get about 27 pattern repeats. Based on what I have now, that would give me a scarf about 55 inches long, which is a pretty good length. I don't think I need the other skein, and I have until August to return the it, so I'll just go through the first skein and see if I like the length. (OK, not sure that really qualifies as math, but whatever.)

Here's what I have so far:

4.5 repeats and 10 inches. I really like this pattern so far; after the initial ripping out, it's basically been smooth sailing! It is taking me a lot longer than a normal scarf, and  haven't been working on much else, but I did make a few things with the hot glue gun this morning:

I can't post a picture of the first thing, since it's my dad's birthday present, but I will after his birthday. If I remember. I also covered a notebook, but I'll show that tomorrow to go with my upcycled post.

These are completely upcycled wrap bracelets, made three different ways. I'll have a tutorial up for tomorrow's post! I burned two of my fingers making the two-tone one, and I'm typing using hunt and peck while I put ice on it. :)

I also covered a notebook, but I'll show that tomorrow to go with my upcycled post.

OK, so a summary. I have anther repeat done for Branching Out, I'm probably returning some of the yarn for Branching Out, I had way too much fun with the hot glue gun this morning, and  I'll have a tutorial for those bracelets up tomorrow. Have a great day!

Random Photo for Today:

My comforter had a rip in it (probably from cutting fabric on it) and I've been ignoring it forever, but I finally decided to fix it last week. After a year. Anyway, I sewed it up, and I noticed the stitch line looks a little bit like Harry Potter's lightning bolt scar. Freaky, huh?

5 Repeats Down

That's for Branching Out, which I am really enjoying. Here are the five repeats:

That's two from yesterday and three from this morning, since I had to do a little bit of frogging. I will keep working on this tomorrow, and hopefully I will do more than today.

Sorry for the rushed post, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Have a great evening!

What Should We do Today?

How about some sailing? I have a nice boat we can use:

Made yesterday in just a few hours (I'm still getting used to how fast dishcloths are) with this pattern. I made two little changes. First, I did not do the rows in red, which make the little flag. I don't know why! I honestly have nothing against little flags, but I just decided to leave it out. So there. Secondly, the exact same problem I had with the apple, I had with this one. (Go look here.) I don't know where these stitches keep going, but they just disappear, and I really didn't want to rip back! So I ignored it. Again. Other than that, I just think the boat doesn't really look like a boat unless you squint. I guess my aunt will just have to squint then.....

Or maybe we could go shopping:

I stopped at Michael's yesterday and picked up a few cool things: two skeins of Bamboo Ewe in Grape, a skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Navy, a set of size 7 straight needles because the stitches of my dishcloths slide of the DPNs, a pillow form, and some brown Lily's Sugar and Cream for the Three Crosses Cloth.

No? How about a little sewing:

I finished the Meadow in Bloom pillow, which makes a total of two! These are really pretty, and quite nice to lie on.

How about a progress check?


1. the Three Crosses Cloth from Knitting Knonsense
2. Branching Out, from Knitty
3. either another Branching Out or the Zigzag Lace Scarf from Persnickety Knitter (it depends on how much I like the Branching Out pattern)
4. the Apple Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense
5. the Sailboat Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense (the picture doesn't show up for me, but I have seen it before)
6. another Hug Scarf from Knitty

I think I'll start Branching Out today, but I'm not totally sure.

How about, well, I'm out of ideas. Go do something fun for me, and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Underestimations

I have seriously underestimated myself. By a lot. I have two FOs to show you from this weekend, and I didn't think I would have one. Here they are:

The Magnificent Mantle was made using this pattern from Crochet Kitten. I used a Pound of Yarn in Rose. (I think. I do know that it's pink!) The yarn I have left is about equal to a skein of Red Heart Super Saver, which is nice, because now it fits with the rest of them. The only modification I made is that I didn't do the last two rows, because I didn't want the scallops. Other than that, I followed the pattern exactly, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!

For the Apple Cloth, I did exactly what she told me to, but then I got to the second page of the pattern (Row 49, I think) and I was missing a stitch! I have no idea where it went. None at all. Since I was so far I was not ripping back, because who knows how far I would have had to go! So I just took out a purl stitch at the end of each row (ex for the end of Row 51, I did p7 instead of p8) and it turned out just fine. It only took me a few hours on Saturday evening, and I have another Christmas present completed! Here it is blocking, which is a much better representation of the color:

I didn't do anything yesterday, since I was celebrating Father's Day, but I think I will start something today. Here's my list:

1. the Three Crosses Cloth from Knitting Knonsense
2. Branching Out, from Knitty
3. either another Branching Out or the Zigzag Lace Scarf from Persnickety Knitter (it depends on how much I like the Branching Out pattern)
4. the Apple Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense
5. the Sailboat Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense (the picture doesn't show up for me, but I have seen it before)
6. another Hug Scarf from Knitty

I don't have the yarn for the Hug Scarf or the Three Crosses Cloth, so that leaves Branching Out or the Sailboat Dishcloth. Hmm..... I don't know what I'll pick, but you guys will see tomorrow!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, and I hope you have a great day!

To my dad, I love you so much, and I hope your day is awesome too!

Magnificent Mantle Update

Hey guys! I have been working away on the Magnificent Mantle, and I am up to Row 13. It is taking  a lot longer than the other rows for this part, but I am about a fourth of the way done. Here's what it looks like now:

This is what the lace pattern looks like up close:

It's really pretty, but I'll probably have to block it out. As you can see in the top picture, it's a little scrunchy! I had to pull on it a little bit for this picture. I think this is going to be really pretty when it's done! (Which may or may not be some time next week. I'm thinking may, since I only have a few more rows left.)

I also printed out the pattern for the Apple Dishcloth, so I will probably start that some time tonight or this weekend. I have everything I need, so at this point it's a matter of how interesting the next few rows of the MM are! :)

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will talk to you on Monday!

Upcycled Tunic and Shrug

Hello again! On Sunday, I was looking around on Pinterest, and I saw a lot of upcycled and reconstructed clothing. And I mean a lot. There are tons of awesome ideas, which you should go check out. I'm not finding the exact ones I was looking at, but there are a lot. (Did I mention there's a lot?) Anyway, I was inspired to remake some of my own things. Here's the first one:


I took a super awkward poncho and turned it into a tunic. Here's what it looked like before: (This was my first attempt at making something like this, so don't laugh!)

I know, I should have taken a picture of the actual item.... And after:

Much better! I wore the poncho maybe twice, but I really just didn't like it. Now I have something much more usable. It was super easy too; all I had to do is sew up the open side and cut and sew a neckline. The neckline took the longest, because I did it by hand to make sure it was really neat. Super simple, super cute!

Then I made a T-Shirt Shrug from Wobisobi, using the pink tutorial. I used a t-shirt that fit but had a stain on it, which is now hidden in the crinkliness. And yes, it is hanging from my valance. It had the best lighting.

My friend emailed me this funny picture:

So true, so true. Have a great day!

WIPs and Future Projects

OK, so here is a progress report for my WIPs:

The Magnificent Mantle has 8 rows done in the second section. I hadn't done much with this while I was finishing other things, but I have been working on this a bit this week, and I probably will keep that up until it's done.

The Waterfall Strip is gone. Frogged. Adios. Sayonara. Au revoir. Get out! Yeah, so I ripped it out.

I made a little bag, and it is the perfect size to put a paperback book in, which I love, but it has no strap, rendering it completely useless. For now. I have no little things I could use for the strap, and I'm not sure if I should try to knit or crochet something, or if I should go buy something, or if you can even buy just a strap. I am completely clueless. If you have any good ideas, please let me know in the comments.

A year or two ago, I got #4 from the Meadow in Bloom Collection Quilt Block of the Month from JoAnns. I made it into a pillow, and I wanted to make another one, so I got #7. This time I didn't finish it, because the person helping me wasn't available, and I was scared to do it on my own. Last night I plucked up the courage, and I realized all I had to do was the outer triangles. It has been sitting in my sewing bin for a year and a half and all it need was a few triangles! Right, because it was that easy....

Does it go this way? No.....

How about this way? No, that's not right either.....

OOH! I got it!!!

I'm a little embarrassed at how long it took me to set those up.... Then I had to draw lines because I have problems sewing straight sometimes, and then I had to iron the seams which always makes me really nervous, and then I had to attach them all to the center block, but I did it. On my own. So I now have everything done except for the last seam, because I need to pick up a pillow form first. Then I will be done!

I have two more sewing projects that are in timeout. One needs a zipper, and the other needs a purpose in life.

Here's a list of some future projects:

1. the Three Crosses Cloth from Knitting Knonsense
2. Branching Out, from Knitty
3. either another Branching Out or the Zigzag Lace Scarf from Persnickety Knitter (it depends on how much I like the Branching Out pattern)
4. the Apple Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense
5. the Sailboat Dishcloth from Knitting Knonsense (the picture doesn't show up for me, but I have seen it before)
6. another Hug Scarf from Knitty

That should keep me busy for a while, especially since this is only Christmas presents, and not my       just-for-fun things.

Have a great day, and I will talk to you guys tomorrow!

Baby Blanket? Or Afghan?

Hey guys! Yesterday I mentioned that I had an idea for the baby blanket, and I'm going to give some details in this post. All colors mentioned can be found on this site.

Right now, I have the one four-square, which is made in Monet and either Light or Spa Blue. (see yesterday's post for that) I had the idea that I could make some more, then join them all together to make an afghan. I'm thinking I would need six four-squares to make it a nice size. These color combinations use yarn I already have, and would just need a little bit more of:

1. Monet and Light/Spa Blue
2. Ocean and Light Blue
3. Cherry Chip and Coffee

I'm not sure if I should do solids:

1. Coral and Real Teal
2. Cornmeal and Orchid
3. Magenta and Delft Blue

Or variegated:

1. Purple Tone and Medium Purple
2. Green Tones and Tea Leaf
3. Pink Tones and Perfect Pink

I really do like those color combos, so I might just do all of them in variegated yarns. (To clarify, I mean each four-square will have two solid, two variegated.)

Please comment with your opinions, and if you have better ideas for the colors (because I'm sure you do). I hope you have a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

It's June 11, so that means......

I am ready to restart my regular posting schedule!  First, my FOs:

I finished the sock! This was completed on May 27, and I am so happy it's done. I'm not going to make the other sock, because this one is a mess, so I would really have to make two more, and that isn't happening. So, I now have one random sock, but I'm cool with it. :) I had been reading about grafting, and a lot of people make it sound like some big scary thing, but it really wasn't! I just used the tutorial form Knitty, and I was done very quickly. It may have had something to do with there only being 4 stitches on each needle, but whatever. I actually really enjoyed myself.

I also made a Hug Scarf, from Knitty. This was completely in maybe two hours on May 27, right after I finished that sock. It is a Christmas present (the first of a long line) for my little cousin, and I will probably make another for her little brother (umm, not in pink though). I seriously love this pattern, so I'm fine with it!

Next up, a birthday present for my aunt; I made the Lighthouse Cloth from Knitting Knonsense. Although, technically, I made two of them. I made it to about Row 35 when I realized I had an extra stitch, so I ripped back a few rows. I realized I had no idea where I was in the pattern, so I frogged the whole thing. Then, I made it to Row 35 again, and I had the same problem, so I ripped back a few rows (counting a little more carefully that time). I finally made it through, then I finished the pattern, only to realize I had done Row 57 when I should have been doing Row 56.  It took me about a week total to make this, (on and off knitting, I am not just really slow!) but I am done now, so I am very happy. I was super careful to nicely block out the YOs that make the light, then I realized that it was going to get wet very quickly. Will that mess up the blocking? I really don't know.

I made another Patchwork Pouch, but I didn't have anymore fleece, so I did it a little differently. I made the patchwork part much bigger, then gave it a backing like normal. Then the whole thing was folded in half, instead of getting a back piece. That's why the front and back are both patchworky.

On a smaller scale, I made a little addition to the Rectangle Shrug I made last year. I don't really like having yarn in my underarms, so I wasn't really wearing it. That's a waste of time and effort, and most importantly, yarn. So, I added a little fabric in the part that was irritating me, and voila! Quick fix!

I am an idiot. Just throwing that out there. Remember how in this post I mentioned having enough yarn to finish the last square but it was in the wrong color? And how in this post I said I got everything I needed but that last bit of yarn? Well, I went to Michael's (shocker) on probably the second of June. And all I was going to get was the yarn. (That didn't work out so well, but more about that in a second.) Well, in that first post I very clearly stated that the yarn I needed was "Light Blue" and the evil yarn was "Spa Blue." 

So how come Light Blue doesn't match? (very dramatic, I know) Red Heart Super Saver doesn't have dye lots, but no. I still have the wrong yarn. And did quite a bit with that yarn before realizing it. But I don't care! I am declaring independence from this idiocy and I will have two different blues on that square. I honestly don't care. (OK, I don't know if you can tell, but I care a lot, so I'm really just trying to convince myself I don't.) Oh, by the way, the four-square is done. Just FYI. In case you can't see the picture.

Anyway, I have a new plan for all that, but this is getting pretty long, so I'll save it for tomorrow. Have a great day, and I'll see you guys tomorrow!