Done: Mesh Scarf

After I had my professional tester make sure the scarf was comfy....

How our animals know how to pose!

 I finished it off:

I really like the color changes in it. 

It is just a basic double crochet (treble in the UK) mesh scarf.

WIP: Mesh Sea Scarf

I love the colour way of my Manos yarn for this scarf. I am doing a simple dc (tr for those in the UK) scarf.

Doesn't that just remind you of the sea?

PS -- Stroganoff for dinner. Only 10 WW points! Go home cooking!

WIP: Acrylic Scarf

You remember that acrylic yarn I was using to make a scarf? No? Let me remind you.

Priscilla has the exact face I made. She is laying on it as I am knitting.

 Remember now? Ok, so 350ish stitches was WAY too many. The scarf was 10ft long! So I sewed it together. So what to do with the end where it folds? Well any inexperienced person would cry a little and just sew it up. What do I do? I cut it. Yup right down the middle. It started to unravel from there. Quick thinker that I am I put my tunisian crochet hook into a row and prayed the row I created would stop the unraveling. You know what? IT DID!! So I unraveled to the row then tied the string ends together to make sure they created a nice fringe. I will just do a mock version of this on the other side. The scarf is stitched down the middle with a mattress stitch. Since I did not do 5 rows of knit before I casted off this worked out well when I seamed it together!

Done: Mom's Presents

I have one more not shown here but I will get a photo of it later. It is a small cord for her angel pendant that I made using my french knitting doll (spool knitter).

Here are the ones I have pictures of:
Using the Manos Del Uruguay Maxima, colorway 6411 Valentine

This Bobble Hat, adapted from a pattern.
I figured out how to do a seamless decrease and tailored it to fit her head.

I call this the Bobble-Mesh Scarf

Want the Pattern? Why not, it is Christmas.

This was done with Manos Maxima using a 6.0mm hook

I have UK terms as (UK: )

Puff Stitch: Yarn over (YO), put hook through stitch indicated, YO, pull loop through (3 loops on hook) *YO, put hook through same stitch, YO, pull loop through* x2 (7 stitches now on hook, for a bigger puff do it one more time for a total of 9 stitches on hook), YO, pull loop through all but the last loop (2 loops now on hook), YO, pull through the 2 loops. 

Sounds complicated but it is easy when you do it.

Pattern:

1. Chain even number of stitches until desired LENGTH. Mine was probably 150 stitches for a nice wrap around scarf. (Foundation row)
2. Ch-3, puff stitch in last chain from foundation row (4th ch from hook at this moment), ch-1 *skip 1 ch, puff stitch in next ch, ch 1* repeat until end. TURN.
3. Ch-3, dc (UK: tr) into ch-space (chsp), ch-1 *dc (UK: tr) in next chsp, ch-1* repeat until end, then dc (UK: tr) into the chsp at the end (the space created by the ch-3 instead of the top stitch of the ch-3). TURN.
4. Repeat Step 3 until desired width.
5. Repeat Step 2. Finish off and weave in ends. Fringe is optional but looks nice.

Next is the gift made with Manos Del Uruguay Lace, colorway 8597 Ariel:

This is my ALL THE TECHNIQUES I COULD THINK OF Scarf.

In this one picture is knitting, lace work knitting,
tunisian crochet (the top and bottom of the picture in the scarf),
filet crochet (the heart), and crochet half-basket weave
(the bottom near the fringe) and fringe. Phew... a lot of techniques.

This is a one off. You can see the other filet crochet
that spells "MOM" and that end attached using a mattress
stitch to the knitted scarf.

Do you want the pattern for this? No... I don't blame you. How about the filet crochet? How hard could it be? I will work on that for a later post!

Injuries: Can't slow me down!

So I FINALLY am on my last revision of my mother's scarf (see pattern details below) and I started a thread amigurumi. Well... I will not name names, but we were trying to put a cat in solitary for peeing on some furniture and it was my job to grab her. Well... This cat HATES pills and knows when she will get one so she bites. HARD. She got me on my right hand which with my throwing style of knitting really hurts. AND the thread uses a 1.25mm hook so grasping it was made impossible as my had swelled.

BUT, the scarf is still going and I use both English (throwing) and Continental knitting style.
Basic Pattern:
Knit 5 rows
K5, *yo, K2tog*x6, K5 repeat row until fed up with "like lace" then
K5, P12, K5 (I find that purling first is a better method then knitting this row)
Knit one row, then *K5, P12, K5* one row (aka stockinette stitch window) until a nice "band" forms (about 6-8 rows ending with a Knit row)
Then do the "like lace" until fed up again and make a stockinette stitch band ect until finished.

I used 22 stitches, you can use ANY number of even stitches and ANY number of buffer stitches so long as their combination is an EVEN number, I used 5 (or 10 in total) because I wanted the "like lace" stitch to look like a peek-a-boo window.
Pictures will be coming soon...



LOOK AWAY if you are of the squeamish type or scroll down if you want to see three cat bites:

No I am not bleeding that is some redness due to the scraping of the tooth.
No, my hand is normally not this puffy... or so I think it normally isn't...
Bite 1: Deep puncture with barely visible second one
Bite 2: The two bite in the web of my hand.
These are the ones affecting my gripping power.

Bite 3: The two punctures on the other side that lay exactly in line
where my knitting needle lays for my Continental Style.
In case you're wondering that is a Wii board as background.

Done: Red Bobble Hat

So... I made this hat for my mother! I started it and finished it in one day. It is a simple bobble (puff stitch) hat with a headband of ribbed stitch. I had many fun things with this hat, from decreasing in hook size, to decreasing with the puff stitch, to redoing a too large head AFTER the piece was finished. Enjoy!

I decreased the hook size as I went along. I started with a 6.5 and went down to a 3.5 hook. Then increased it to a 6.5 in the last few rows of bobbles and I did a decrease in the puff stitch by skipping 1 ch-1 space until the end. I ended with 1 puff stitch at the top which does not show the “last round” of the hat.

I had made the headband too big for my mom’s head. So after the project is done I took out the rows in the headband, the puff stitches stay in place surprisingly. I took out over 12 rows! then I sewed it back together and sewed the puff stitches that were loose on the wrong side and with the slouchy style of the hat it hides the alteration completely.

So if you need to to alterations it is possible and it isnt too hard!

RAVELRY PAGE FOR PATTERN

New Plant, is that my yarn holder?

So... yeah that is one of my yarn holders keeping my new plant warm! It is Sempervivum calcareum or Alpine Rosettes or House Leek. It is not Hen-and-Chicks, different genus, but works the same way.

Got this at the Farmer's Market! I love the purple tipped leaves.

WIP: Owled

This is my own take on an owl. It is all crocheted up but not embellished yet.

I love this owl with its ruffles in the front and smart wings. I will show
better views once it is done.

WIP: ???? -- Revealed!

I am making my own pattern for my very own skeleton! This may seem small but it will be hard going with small yarn and hook size. Plus I will be making up my own pattern as I go along! This is the top part of the humerus... should look a bit like the ghost head from the sample piece.

For all my US readers that is a Dime underneath that.

For my UK readers that is a 20p coin.

WIP: ????

This is the yarn for my new project that I am keeping under wraps. It is going to take a LONG time but next time I will reveal the first part and give it a name!

This is my new project yarn! Soo pretty.