Stash Knitting

2nd Project - Christmas in October

2009-10-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

So, I got my Lion Brand e-newsletter a while ago, and saw a pattern for a cute Christmas wreath. I wound up clicking on the link but was a little disappointed to find out that it wasn't knit/crocheted at all, but yarn wrapped around Styrofoam!

Nothing against Lion Brand (seriously, nothing but hugs and kisses over here), but I figured there had to be a fun and relatively easy way to make this with an actual knit pattern. So, I found some old green and raspberry colored yarn and set to work.

Using size 7 dpn, I cast on 28 stitches and divided them onto 4 needles. I knit this in the round for what felt like forever. That's the only problem with this kind of pattern - it's easy, but the repetitive task of just knitting in a circle can get a little boring after awhile. Once I finished my fabulous green tube, it was about 9 1/2" around and 38 1/2" long. Obviously the wider you make it, the longer it will have to be (dirty, I know). At this point, my husband said it looked like a virus, and that the dpn around the end looked like teeth - scary! I stuffed it with poly-fil and used my leftover yarn to graft the bottom of the tube onto the end that was still on the needles. At this point it looked more like one of those donut pillows that you sit on, not the fabulous wreath I had envisioned - but it had potential!

I then used the raspberry colored yarn I had to make 12 scallop roses from Nicky Epstein's pattern in her book, Knitted Flowers. I sewed the roses on in various places along knitted circle, but it still didn't look right, it looked kind of droopy. I wound up having to open the circle back up to put in more poly-fil to fill it out; You really have to stuff it if you want it to hold it's shape.

Once I did that, it really started to look like a cute wreath of Christmas roses! On the back I made a chain of 3 stitches for about 12 rows and sewed into a little loop so that it will hang easily on a wall or door. Now I just have to figure out who I'm going to give it to...who wants a wreath?

First Project - Laptop Sleeve

2009-10-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make a sleeve for my macbook for awhile, designed to look like an envelope. I have an abundance of Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn in emerald and white from an Irish-themed baby blanket that I made for a friend. That was a case of my deciding to "design my own" pattern without much thought and getting a lot more yarn than I actually need, and also making a baby blanket that could cover a queen-size bed. Whoops!

So anyway, I plotted out on an unfolded envelope the measurements of my laptop and the equations to knit the pieces the project would require. I knit the main panel and the top flap together, then picked-up the stitches on the bottom and knit the bottom flap. I then knit the side triangles separately and sewed them onto the main frame - all was going well.

I love lined envelopes, so I thought it would make
the project all the more fun to line my project
with some cute fabric. I cut it to line the entire project and sewed around all of the edges with more of the emerald-colored yarn and a tapestry needle.

The only problem with this was that I cut the fabric too small and it puckered the knitted frame. So, I cut the excess fabric off so that it only lined the main section and the top flap of the envelope and sewed around the newly cut edges with some plain white thread. Then I decided to sew the pieces of the frame together with some extra variegated yarn (in yellow, green and blue colors) with x's, sewed on a button and a loop and voila!

I'm so excited it's finally done! On to the next project.

Knitting My Way Out

2009-09-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

Like many knitters, I have acquired a large stash of yarn. I honestly can't remember when, or for what reason I bought most if it, but for one reason or another, it is here taking up space and annoying my husband.

For awhile now I have been promising him that I'd start trying to work my way through my stash without buying new yarn, but who are we kidding? I love to knit and I get distracted easily, jumping from project to project. Even know I'm planning a yarn outing to buy the supplies to make him a new scarf. I've been dying to visit the Lion Brand flagship store in Manhattan, and I think next weekend is the perfect time to finally go.

Anyhow, I'm getting off topic. I've decided to actually try to work my way through my yarn stash. I know that I'll definitely still buy new yarn, but I'd like to actually use some of the wonderful skeins that I already have. Plus, with the holiday season coming up, it seems like the perfect time to start experimenting with new patterns and ideas. So, this will be my project's home on the net. Hopefully a place for me to post pictures, my ideas and patterns if I'm feeling bold enough to write my own. I hope you'll also be inspired to take a look through the supplies you already have in your home before immediately running out to the store.