I've moved my crafting journal to Dreamwidth -- I'm the crafty_packrat -- look for me there.
I have not updated this in months... I need to get better about writing regularly, or find a better blogging service (this interface is annoying after Semagic's ease.)
The local yarn shop has been hosting free classes on Saturdays this month, which I've made twice. I am currently working on Endpaper Mitts.
Colorwork is something I find pretty enjoyable, though it can be a bit time consuming to get the pattern down. This one wasn't too bad, but the thumb gusset is going require me to do it at home where it's quiet.
But the color pops very nicely, and I have yarn to make a set to make some for gblvr, who since she never reads Vox, is going to be surprised ;)
I also took the cable class last weekend, and made a beret out of Karabella Chloe -- a cotton, angora, vicose, and microfiber blend yarn. It's pretty and will probably halo like made the first time I wash it.
It's also a bit looser than the tam I've worn all winter, so I'm not quite sure I trust it yet.
But it does look pretty inside. Hopefully it will hold up, at least for a little while. The hemp batik seems kind of brittle, though...
Completely finished with Mom's Just Pockets bag. As expected, the knitting was ridiculously easy, the felting likewise, but the sewing was a pain. Zippers are just not fun, especially tiny 9-inch ones.
But have a look for yourself:
The yarn is Ella Rae Classic which I picked up at A Tangled Skein for something like $5 a ball. There is a lot of yarn leftover when you finish knitting one of these, so each ball gets used twice, if not three times. Ella Rae Classic felts up tighter than the Cascade 220 that the pattern actually calls for, but it's not too bad.
It was attaching the zipper that drove me crazy. The felt is not perfectly even at the opening, and trying to sewing the zipper on meant that it wobbled all over the place.
Next time, I might spring for the extra-expensive and hard to fine double-headed zipper, just so that I have something sturdier to work with.
Wooh. I've finished all the Alligator and Baby Alligator scarves for the baby cousins. They were made from Swish DK from KnitPicks.
Two skeins for every Baby Alligator, three for each of the big Alligators.
Washed and dried, they stretched out to their full lengths, and are ready for shipment.
Except now I have a step-cousin to make one for, through what a 4-month old needs with one of these in *Texas*, I don't know.
I started the Just Pockets for my baby cousin H last night, and am already at the bind-off.
I've found an online source for that, but it's ridiculous to buy them online if I can find them locally, as the shipping costs eat up any savings I might make.
Hopefully, twistedchick or one of my other laundry-machine-equipped friends will let me borrow their machine to felt the bags -- otherwise, I'm going to have to try the bucket method.
After blocking, it turned out to be slightly longer than the pattern indicated, but that's just as well, because the baby nephew is ridiculously tall for somebody who hasn't seen his second birthday.
This, along with a toy truck of some sort, and maybe a knitted DNA model, is going to be his Christmas present this year.
It's an Alligator Scarf, made from a Morehouse Merino kit. Hopefully, my nephew is going to love it, or at least wear it.
And it looks like I will be teaching a workshop on it for beginning knitters locally -- Morehouse Farm was quite happy to allow it, once I said that I'd have every student buy a kit.
Now, I'm working on a Baby Alligator for the baby nephew ...and wondering if I could give anyone in my family a Rat Race that they would actually wear..?
Well, I got my Ravelry account! It looks fun, and it's certainly easy to add projects!
They seem to be getting through the backlog at Ravelry quite fast, and looks like they've got a lot of projects for knitters and crocheters.
If you're a member, swing by and see my stuff!
I have a tentative offer to teach a class on this pattern at an art store. I've already contacted Morehouse Farm and gotten permission for that, if every student buys a kit. Which is entirely fair, as it is a copyrighted pattern that they put a lot of effort into developing.
Now it's just a matter of hacking out details with the shop owner, finishing my scarf as a display (under glass, so it doesn't walk off) and advertising.
Recent Comments
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Arnoba Qadsawia said:
I really would like to learn how to do that , its in my mind for a long time now... read more
on Endpaper mitts -
neotoma said:
These are mine. Did you want a pair? They're kind of loose. read more
on Grey slipper sox -
neotoma said:
It's for a friend who have a Monk Parakeet, which is almost exactly the same colors. I saw the yarn... read more
on Hannah's Monk Parakeet Scarf -
neotoma said:
You've got them right there in the house (unless Dad is storing them with the shotgun)... how did you not... read more
on Dad's Shooting mittens finished
They look like a pair you made me some time agao, same pattern on the leg and similar colors. So... read more
on Grey slipper sox