Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Pillows, hats, wristlets and more!

Since I'm still here, still pregnant I thought I'd pop in and share with you what I've been working on...

 

There's another easy-peasy newborn hat for the baby, now with stripes!  The free pattern I shared is here and you can queue it up in ravelry here.  The stripey yarn is yarntini in cheertini.  I love stripey yarn - it's my one major weakness!

It all started when I saw these beautiful pillowcases here.  I immediately started scheming how to figure out how they were made, so I could make a few of these beauties for myself.  Luckily, I found a really fun crochet/sew-along to make them.  You can find the whole great tutorial here.  I made a big stack of pillowcases, some with edging and some without and have a whole pile more in progress.  It's a great stashbuster, it uses up a lot of fabric.  The folksy set I made for the master bedroom. 

If you tweak the tutorial and shorten the pillowcase measurements by approx 2 inches you can a set of pillowcases out of a yard of fabric of the main and contrasting colors.  Much closer to the way I stash than the 1 1/8 required by the tutorial.  Plus, the pillowcases were a little large for my pillows, so shortening just made everything fit better.

And, last but certainly not least I spun up some more yarn.  This is 100% superfine CASHMERE top and it's oh so yummy and luscious.  I spun 2 ounces which got me about 125 yards.  I'm currently knitting this super cute free pattern for wristlets out of it.  So yummy!

Pixie Baby Hat

Knitting is always fascinating to me - you can take a combination of simple stitches knit flat and create amazing and unique 3 dimensional pieces.

Take this baby hat for example,  I had some leftovers from my baby blanket project that I've been wanting to turn into a matching baby hat.  I thought about using my pattern for the matching february baby hat pattern but then thought nah, wanted something a little different.  Then I saw these cute little pixie baby hat's popping up all over the blog-o-sphere. 

There are a couple popular patterns that I really like and they're all free!  This one uses sockyarn (STR mediumweight) in a smaller gauge  (link to ravelry pattern) and after further searching I found one that is sized for worsted weight yarn too.  So cute huh?

You start my casting on at the bottom in 2x2 rib and then slowly incorporate reverse stockinette rows that create the x's at each corner and the head shaping. 

You keep going until you don't have any more ribbed stitches left and you only have knit stitches across and then bind off and sew the top together.

Add a neck edging and ties and weave in your ends and easy peasy you're done!

I made a few key changes to the pattern that made this work better for me.  #1, I cast on 74 stitches to size this for a 6month old size (the existing pattern is for a newborn)  you can upsize or downsize as much as you want as long as you do it in a 4 + 2 pattern. 

Instead of binding off and then sewing the top together as the pattern wants you to do I rearranged the stitches so I could kitchener the top closed.  Much easier and cleaner of a finish. 

I also added a knitted on i-cord edging to finish it off, I love the simple styling and built-in ties that this technique creates.  If you've never tried it before, the purl bee has an amazingly simple and clear tutorial that will have you going in no time. 

Now that this is done, I just need to finish the actual blanket!  That's next on my todo list!

Happy knitting!

Sockhead Hat

Since I don't have a ton of free time lately but I miss blogging and taking photos I thought I'd give some shorter blog posts a try.

My current WIP that is keeping me sane is a variation on a plain vanilla sock (easy mindless knitting, little shaping and very portable) - perfect desk knitting, work knitting, stick it in a purse and pull it out knitting.  The MCN (merino, cashmere and nylon) makes it uber luxurious and fun to knit with.

The pattern is sockhead hat (a free pattern!) and the yarn is Have you Any Wool luxe sock in the colorway Perfect Storm.  And hey!  Rachel even has this yarn on sale until tomorrow!  The best of all worlds brought together at once.  I can't wait to get this off my needles and onto my head!

Toto we're not in Louisiana anymore!

Well, that adventure was short lived!  I'm talking about the Louisiana adventure of course - made it about 9 months and hubby and I realized we needed a change of pace.  His job was 7 days a week, 14 hours a day non-stop.  Then they cut pay...and benefits.  I think his previous employer was counting on the recession and terrible job market to keep people there under those circumstances.  After months of new job searching we were lucky to say NO thank you!  You can take your job and we'll take our freedom.

New job means new location of course and what better way to do it then 6 months pregnant???  A do it yourself move - please! =)  Now here we are, in the high desert of Southern Arizona, settling in.  We lived here about 6 years ago so it's a strange kick to be back, familiar yet different.  A bit bigger of a town but still has those lovely mountain views.  On the day we arrived in the rental truck there was a "blizzard."  Want to know what a blizzard looks like in Arizona...please see below -

Lol!  Gorgeous but still...that's no blizzard, atleast by my reckoning.  Beautiful sunset though.  Our new rental house has a gorgeous view of the mountains.

In the meantime I finally started a baby blanket for knittygritty baby - it's a girl!  I had chosen a beautiful Irish green color before I knew the sex and decided to choose a "lacy" pattern to girl it up a bit.  The free pattern is called the Pine Forest Baby Blanket and it's available on ravelry.  My project details are here.

The yarn is MCN from Have you any Wool in the color Keagan - it is sooo decadent to knit with!  I worried that the cashmere would be too over the top in a baby blanket but I'm glad I splurged because I've enjoyed every second of knitting this.  And I've bought more, in other colorways for other projects!  It's addicting I tell ya.

I've also been knitting and finishing other projects...too many to recount here.  Here's one of my favorites -

A Christmas Doily!  It's been on my must-knit list for awhile.  The pattern is Egeblad and I knit it with 1 ball of cotton yarn, great bang for your knitting buck.  My ravelry project details are here.  

And in other news - my job will be coming to an end in the next month or so, after which time I'm excited to finally be around here more frequently and get around to working on all those projects and tutorials that I've been wanting to share with you all.  Happy knitting! =)

Time is flying

Geeze - time is flying by.  Since I last checked in, so much progress has been made on the house.  Every hour I haven't been working, I've been spending painting, spackling, installing new light fixtures and planning projects.  It's been completely exhausting but rewarding work.  The house looks completely different.  Shiny new walls with white glossy trim have just freshed everything up.  It feels so clean and airy, much better than before.  I have bits and pieces of rooms completed but just as soon as I manage to finish 1 room, I'll take photos to share.

In the meantime, there's been some knitting...

Handspun merino/silk in the colorway Kelp from tactile fiber arts knitted into a lacy baktus.  I love love love this pattern - words cannot convey how delightful knitting this has been.

And some sewing....

A lovely tanglewood bag from posie gets cosy.  Maybe I'll manage to finish it in the next year or so at the rate I'm going ;)

Peaty Pants!

I haven’t finished my shawl yet but I did manage to finish something else with Peat - Peaty Pants! =) I went a little overboard with my sampling when I couldn’t decided between spinning it a worsted weight or a fingering so I ended up with a bunch of worsted spun up. I had to turn them into cute little baby pants (all my friends are expecting this year) and figured I might as well get the knitting done early.

Rav details here

I had trouble capturing the cuteness without a little baby model but there you go. These are 3-6 month size knit magic loop with two legs at one time.  I love these pants, super cute!

The pattern is WonderPants from Wooly Wonder.  I own a number of her patterns including Perfection Pants and Wonder Soaker and I've knit them all (I just haven't taken photos of them yet).  I have to admit, the patterns that she has gotten around to updating are nicely written.  Perfection Pants and Wonder Pants are essentially the same pattern.  Perfection pants gives you all the info on how to calculate your own perfect fitting pair by taking measurements and includes no measurements.  WonderPants includes all the measurements (which is quite helpful when you are trying to knit them as a gift!) and essentially provides the same info, just has a different gusset construction.

For $12 bucks apiece I will admit they are pricey.  Perhaps a smidge overpriced.  I do think it's worth it to buy one or two styles (I would recommend Wonder Soaker and Wonder Pants) if you plan on knitting a lot of these.  There are lots of good construction tips in there. 

I've also been warming up my sewing machine again.  I've been trying to get through my stash of special little bits of fabric I've been hoarding.  Aren't those birds the cutest?  The fabric is from cicada studio and it's called feeding the birds.  I made the cute little checkbook cover from Weekend Sewing. It makes me smile everytime I use it, and isn't that the point in crafting??  Creating wonderful things that you love using?

Happy Thursday!

Making your place: Rebalancing your spending

I've been trying to regain my balance with the simple life after my move.  When you're in transition it's easy to consume consume consume and buy buy buy.  I've been doing a lot of "no-spend" days to get me back in balance.

That's where you don't spend any money for a day - on anything, including gas, food, groceries, bills, online ordering or more.  Hubby and I try to have an equal number of no spend to spend days week, usually 3 no spend and 4 spending days.  I'm gradually trying to rebalance to make it 4 no spend days instead.  The rewards are plenty - much more cash in your pocket and a better feeling of balance.  It helps you look around your home to see what you have and make do.  It can be quite inspiring once you get started!

I'm having a no spend day tomorrow (tues), Thursday and Sunday of this week, will you join me?

I saw this adorable little book "Make your place" on Amy/Angry Chicken's blog.  Ordered it Friday, showed up Saturday and I was reading it by Saturday afternoon.  It has all the recipes and back to basics info I'm constantly searing for on my road to a simple, sustinable lifestyle in one little itty bitty cute book.  It's handwritten and hand illustrated and has info on medicines, skin care, planting and more.  Definitely a must-read.  You can buy it online here.

It also goes perfectly with my cute little handwoven washcloth I found at the local farmer's market this weekend.

In other news, I spent the weekend spinning the rest of the yarn for my peat feather and fan comfort shawl.  I needed to spin the last little bit and ply it up and it's washed and the twist is set and I'm ready to knit.  Super excited to finally get this one off the needles and blocked although the knitting has been so enjoyable, I don't think I want it to ever end!

Happy Monday!

Girasole, oh Girasole!

First order of business, the random number generator told me comment #5 is the winner!  Which if my kindergarten counting skills serve me, that makes Kathleen the winner!  Congrats!  I'll email you for your address and get them right out to you.  Thanks everyone! =)  And don't worry if you didn't win, I'm going to have more giveaways soon.

In the meantime I had a project I wanted to share with you...

I cast on for the girasole blanket a few months ago, even after I swore I'd never knit another circular shawl again after Rona.  The round and round?  Yea, not so much for my straight thinking personality.  I never feel like I'm making any progress on a circular shawl.  I couldn't resist though - I mean just look at the gorgeousness!  I even had the perfect yarn in my stash Elsa Wool Company Cormo Yarn.  Such a lovely yarn and a lovely woman who runs the company.  When you order you get emails from Elsa herself! 

This yarn is a woolen spun which means it's spun long draw for a very lofty, air filled yarn.  The resulting item feels light for it's weight and is extra warm which is a result of all the air trapped in it.  Makes for a very cozy blanket!

The best thing about this blanket?? It's the perfect size to drape over my lap when spinning!  The circular shape just covers your legs to your toes but swoops up the side before it gets tangled in the treadles.  I spent a long lovely winter wrapped in this blanket, spinning the days away in Vancouver.  It gets cold in Vancouver - who knew??  We were even snowed in for a few days and the heaters in the apartment were sketchy at best so warm woolies were very prized.

I only had 5 skeins though so I had to make do.  I shortened the last few charts by a few repeats...

I also had to modify the edging completely for my shorter yarn amount.  Look familiar?  It's the edging from the hemlock ring blanket!  I actually prefer it to the regular edging, it's a crocheted chain bind-off and creates a beautiful symmetry between the last chart and creates little hearts on the end.  Can you see it?

Here's a link to ravelry project for all the deets

Happy Thursday!