A Sea of Yarn!

I received a great box of yarn from Mary (dennymare) at Crochetville! See the goodies:





She sent me 2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft in orange and yellow, two skeins of a gorgeous blue Microspun and a skein of lime green Microspun, plus four skeins of Paton's Fresco. She also included a pretty cross bookmark and some beaded stitch markers. The stitch markers are sooooo pretty!!! I just love them! Thank you Mary!!!

Microspun feels SO soft and silky. Anyone ever used it to make socks?? Just wondering how it feels/wears??? If it won't work for socks, I'll use it as a carry along yarn in a scarf. :)

Today I made a trip to Columbus, SC to Goodwin's Stitchin' and Readin' to pick up some new yarn. If you're ever in this neck of the woods, make a point to stop by there. They have a great selection, and the staff is the friendliest bunch of knittin' ladies you could ever meet. :) My friend Kathie went with me. I picked up some pretty pink and purple Fun Fur to make a scarf for her. And 3 skeins of a really pretty yarn called Wild Thing -- the light purple and pink touches really look great! 3 skeins is enough to make a scarf for each of us.

I also got two skeins of Lopi wool in green to make a felted purse. I've been wanting to make the Little Bag (designed by Alyssa Orme) from Knitnet.com for a long time. When I got home and checked my pattern I noticed it calls for 3 skeins -- so I'll have to jet back up there tomorrow and pick up one more. I haven't worked with Lopi before, so I'm really interested to see how it works up differently than Noro Kureyon.

Here's a picture of the new additions to my stash:



The Wild Thing yarn is in the upper right corner -- it's so soft!! I'd never seen it before. I'm glad I bought it -- it will make very cute airy scarves! :)

The hard part will be finishing up the 3 UFO's I have before I start something new. I'm still working on a red Fun Fur scarf, a polka dot purse and a dark green homespun scarf. I will work on those for the next few days and try to get them finished. I will be so glad when I cast all those off and can start all new projects!!

Basic Knit (or Crochet) Shawl

I finally finished a shawl I have been working on for some time. Larger projects take me awhile to finish since I can only knit or crochet while the baby is napping or already asleep for the night. Makes a big dent in my crafting time. :)

Here's a photo of the finished shawl





The pattern is very basic, using a worsted weight boucle yarn and a carry-along ladder yarn, Eros by Plymouth. Eros is a little pricey probably because it's an Italian import (I paid $10 a ball for it), but Walmart carries a similar ladder yarn that is about half that much. I took a small bit of Eros into Walmart to compare it to the cheaper version. I saw no difference in the strength or quality really -- but the difference is in the colors that are available. The cheaper version is in very basic colors and Eros has a much larger range of colors, including the bright jewel tone variegated that I chose.

Ladder yarn is very pretty, but slips off the ball easily. I learned to prevent tangles by putting the ladder yarn inside a small ziploc bag. I sealed the bag except for a small space for the yarn to pull through. That really helped prevent the two yarns from getting tangled.

The pattern is very easy and basic. My completed shawl is 5 feet long and 1 foot wide.

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KNIT SHAWL

Size 13 circular needle
Crochet hook (for making fringe)
3 100 yard balls worsted weight boucle, or other "textured'' yarn of your choice
3 balls of Plymouth Eros, or other ladder type yarn (or Red Heart Tiki would work as well)


Cast on 160 stitches (or longer/shorter depending on the length of shawl you want)

Each row is Knit across, making the shawl garter stitch throughout.

When shawl reaches desired width, bind off.

Fringe: For each fringe, cut 4 lengths of Eros (or whatever carry along yarn you are using) about 10 inches long. Using crochet hook attach fringe at each depression between garter stitch ridges on both short sides.

CROCHET SHAWL:

Size J crochet hook
3 100 yard balls of worsted weight boucle
3 balls of Plymouth Eros, or other ladder-type carry along yarn

Chain 160 (or # required to get desired length)

Row 1 - sc across, chain 2, turn
Row 2 - hdc across in Back Loop Only, ch 2, turn
Row 3 - hdc across in BLO, ch 2, turn (repeat row 3 until shawl is desired width)

End with a row of SC. Finish Off.

Fringe: Cut four 10" lengths of Eros (or whatever carry along yarn you're using) for each fringe. Attach fringe with H crochet hook at the end of each row along both short sides.

I haven't crocheted a version of this shawl yet, so I don't have a picture of the crocheted version. If you make a crochet shawl using this pattern, please share a photo with me, and I'll add it here. :)

I came, I saw, I felted!!

I did it! My felted purse is all done! Finally, I actually made something for myself -- and I love it!

Ever since I first saw the pattern online I have wanted to knit the Booga Bag. I finally got started this week, and felted it last night.

Here's the finished bag!




I took some step-by-step photos since this was my first felting project. :)





~Here's the bag and I-cord handle when I was all done knitting. It took forever to make 6 feet of I-cord, but it was worth it!~





~I didn't have a pillowcase with a zipper, so I put the purse and handle into a pillowcase and shut it tightly with several large rubber bands~




~Then it was into the washer for wash #1 -- hot water wash/cold water rinse. I put it into the wash with several towels and a pair of my son's jeans because I have read that makes felting work better. The dye bled slightly with the first wash, but not too badly. The pattern said it would take 2-3 times through the washer to felt all the way. I checked it after each cycle to see how it looked.~

~Here is is after wash #1. A bit of shrinkage, but the stitches are still visible. Back into the washer!~




~Wash #2. Getting closer -- the stitches are disappearing and it's looking more fuzzy. Back into the washer!~




~Wash #3. I think we've got it by jove! Nice and fuzzy!~

~The trashcan I wanted to use to dry the purse was too large, so I used an empty baby wipe box to make the bottom flat and to give it an interesting shape. Then I turned it upside down and sat it on top of an old PC speaker. It sat overnight under a ceiling fan and in a nicely air conditioned room. By late this morning, it was dry.~

And that was all there was to it! After it was all dry, I poked holes into the bag with double pointed knitting needles and threaded the handles through according to the pattern, and it was all done! I just love it!

I have enough Noro yarn left to make a matching coin purse, so that will be my next felting project. I'm going to just make up a pattern of my own for the coin purse, so I'll be sure to post it here when I'm finished.

I saw this quiz on Karla's blog today. Here are my results:



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Booga booga!

Knitting class this morning was great! The shorter circulars solved the problems I was having with picking up stitches to go from knitting flat to knitting in the round. So, my Booga Bag project is coming along nicely now.



This will be my first felting project. I'm using Noro Kureyon in Color 40. It makes the prettiest stripe pattern in blue, purple, teal and green, with just a touch of a pretty rust brown in places. I'm really curious how it's going to come out so I'm trying to work it up fast.

I really love Noro Kureyon! I got the four skeins I'm using for the purse in a trade. I will definitely be getting more in the future. The local LYS doesn't carry Noro, so I will have to find a site online to order some. Anybody know a good site??

I'm still working on The Eternal Project -- that silly Fun Fur scarf. Ever had a small project that just seems to linger on and on and on and on....... I had it half way finished and the baby pulled it off the needle. I had to unravel it and start over. And it seems everytime I find a moment to work on it, the phone rings or something happens and I never seem to get anywhere. But I really don't have to have it finished until August. I'm going to stay up tonight after the baby goes to bed and work on it. I just want to get it done and out of my hair. lol. I'm having nightmares about being attacked by Red Fun Fur. lol.

I'm still working on a polka dot purse that uses intarsia color changes. I have one side done and half the bottom. That's another UFO that I need to finish. A gal at knitting class asked me about it today. I will have to do some work on it so I can bring it to class when it's finished to show her.

I'm going to take the Booga Bag in progress to Bible study tonight since it's just mindless knit stitch in a circle and see if I can't get at least the body of the bag finished. Then tonight and tomorrow I will try to work on the scarf and the other purse. I also have a Homespun scarf in dark green to finish up.

Gotta get some stuff finished so I can start to work on new things!!

WooHoo!!

Great mail day today! I got a wonderful RAOK package from my friend Karla. Karla sent me a nice note, several pairs of knitting needles, a cute J shaped notepad, a skein of Foxy yarn in a pretty purple color, and a dishcloth. Here's a picture:



I also received a envelope with knitting patterns and needles from Donna, a member at Crochetville. We're trading pattern books. She sent me 3 knitting pattern books and 2 pairs of 16" circular knitting needles, and I'm sending her several of my crochet pattern books in return. :) I just love the books she sent me!!

Now that I have 16" circular needles, I can make the Booga Bag that I've been saving my Noro wool to make. I have knitting class tomorrow morning, and I plan to have the rectangle bottom of the bag done so that I can pick up stitches and begin knitting around at class tomorrow. :) It will be my first felting project.

My Fun Fur scarf had to be started over again. No...I didn't mess up. The baby found it and thought it looked fun to play with. By the time I noticed he had my knitting, he had pulled it off the needle and was attempting to eat it. Ever tried to completely unravel a Fun Fur project?? If you can avoid it, by all means do. I managed to unravel most of it except for a bit at the very end. So I just cut that off and made a cat toy for our cats. I have restarted the scarf and am about 7 inches into it, so it's going back together relatively fast.

I saw this cute quiz on Karla's Blog and just had to try it:

WHAT SORT OF YARN ARE YOU???


You are Shetland Wool.You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a
little on the harsh side. Though you look
delicate you are tough as nails and prone to
intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are
widely respected and even revered.

> What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Wax On, Wax Off.....

You are a MASTER of the English language!

Huzzah. While your English is not exactly
perfect, you are still more grammatically
correct than just about every American. Others
admire the way you speak and could learn a lot
from listening to you. Still, there is always
room for improvement...

How grammatically correct are you? (Revised with answer key)
brought to you by
Quizilla

Got yarn?

Got yarn??

Yes, I do!!

The postman was a real sweetie today and brought me a box from one of my Crochetville yarn swap partner!!

Lookie what Bron sent me!



I got 4 skeins of Red Heart Wiggle. Two skeins of Bernat sox yarn. 6 balls of Rio cotton. A pretty variegated color of Yarn Bee "Frosting'' called Frosted Gold. And a ball of Chunky Cotton Fandango in Jamboree. She also sent me a bag of potpourri, some sticky notes and frog soap.

The baby latched onto the Fandango yarn. I've been planning to make him some bean bags to play with, so I think I'll use that yarn to make them. He was patting it since it was soft, so I think he'll be happy having some toys made from it.

Thank you Bron -- the yarn is fabbbbulous! :)

I also got my CLDCX2 exchange puffy today. Kathleen sent me the cutest dishcloth shaped like an ice cream cone.



Isn't that just so cute?? Thank you also for the postcard, chatty note, pencil and candy! :)

What a great mail day!!

Today I enrolled in the knitting class at the local community college here for another go-around. The first class was just great! It's for beginner's and more advanced, so I can take the class as many times as I want to. Since it's summertime, the class is on Tuesday mornings instead of evenings this time.

Still working on getting my various projects finished. I'm going to make tonight a UFO work night to try to get some things finished off before I start class on Tuesday morning.

Hugs!!

Fightin' the fur.....and paintin'!

I fought the fur...and the fur won. Well, it almost won....lol. My MIL wanted a red Fun Fur scarf to wear to her Red Hat Society meetings, so being the good DIL that I am, I bought the yarn. Last night I finally pulled out the 2 skeins and thought I'd quickly knit up her fuzzy scarf.

Wrong!!

That fur didn't want to be knitted into anything but a tangled non furry mess. The "fur'' was getting caught in my stitches or sticking out in funky looking wonky clumps. I kept knitting two rows and ripping them out. My husband thought I was having a fit because I was growling at the yarn after about six times at frogging it out.

Finally though, I figured out that the fur wasn't going to look furry until I got a few rows done. I was being too much of a perfectionist and expecting a fuzzy poofy look in 2 or 3 rows. After I got over being obsessed with where every little piece of fuzzy hair was going, it actually started to look really cute.

So....in the Battle of the Fur, I am victorious!

Here's the scarf in progress:



I also like to paint metal miniatures and got some painting done this weekend. My husband and teenage son play a war game with some of our friends that uses metal miniatures. Here's a couple that I finished this weekend. The miniatures are anywhere from 2 inches to 5 inches tall. I took some closeups with the camera so the detail would show.





Isn't that model nasty looking?? I actually had a great time painting it as gross as I possibly could. My teenager was truely impressed. :)

So, I've gotten a lot of crafting done in the last couple of days! Still working on finishing all my UFO's -- 1 scarf done. Quite a few rows added to my shawl in progress. And the Fun Fur scarf is started. I am working on 2 scarf patterns of my own. Going to work up the patterns and put them out on the blog next week hopefully. Plus I have an idea for a knitted potholder.

Anyone interested in doing some pattern testing for me???

UFO attack!

I have a large collection of UFO's at the moment -- I just haven't gotten much knitting or crochet time lately. My plan is to NOT start anything new until I have all these plastic bags and ziplocs filled with unfinished projects all done.

I finally bought the two balls of Eros I needed to finish my boucle shawl that I've been knitting, so I'll finish that project first. Then I have a scarf to finish for my MIL using red fun fur. She wants to wear it to her Red Hat Society meetings. I have another scarf on #15 needles right now -- Homespun in dark green with blue flecks. I have a drawstring purse in progress, and a few rows of the bottom of a felted purse started. I need to frog out the wool though and start again. The circulars I'm using are just too long. My kingdom for a 16" set of 10 1/2 circulars! I'll have to order a set online I guess -- I can't find the short ones anywhere.

I came back from a weekend in Charlotte to find a great package waiting for me. I received my scarves from the Crochetville summer scarf exchange. Michelle sent me two very pretty scarves in yellow and orange.



Thank you Michelle!

Hugs! Juli