happy new year!

January 4, 2025 by 2 Comments

Hello everyone, it’s been a while!  I have lots of life updates but I’ll put those at the end, cuz I have craft updates, too!

Firstly, I made over 30 crocheted hats in a week and a half as a Christmas present for the patients on my lodge at the hospital where I work, and I think they really liked them!  Now the staff are asking for them too, though, so I still have a few more to make and tbh I’m a bit tired of hats. 😅

I am therefore just futzing around making random stuff.  I started a crocheted doily from some leftover yarn but that’s not gotten far, however I was inspired by a good friend to knit some simple fingerless gloves!

This is me wearing them at work with my pretty keyboard setup (which of course I made because I have 5,000 hobbies), and unfortunately you can’t see the pink donuts on my sweater that the gloves match perfectly, but they’re there!

I’m using a leftover wool-blend aran weight yarn from my brightly colored ripple blanket, which is perfect for these gloves, but I made up the pattern and there are some tweaks I wanna make for my second pair, which I have started:

The completed gloves with the new one

I’m casting on the same # of stitches (36, because that’s my current age and because I have small wrists so it works) and using the same needles for the ribbing (4mm) and the body (5mm), but I did a long-tailed tubular cast on in 1×1 rib for the second version because it’s more stretchy (and I just love the way it looks, it’s my favorite cast-on even though having to do the setup rows is frustrating sometimes).  I’m gonna do a few more minor alterations, like changing where I put the increases and making a slightly larger thumb hole, but really I’m just winging it.

I did start trying to do the same with some Felicini sock weight wool blend yarn from KnitPicks, but I didn’t know how many to cast on and overestimated, so I had to do it again.  And now it’s still too large compared to the neon ones, so I have to do it again.

I know the neon one will fit, so the brown/orange one will be too big, I think.

I’ll keep going on it though after I finish the neon ones, even though it’ll take a lot longer since it’s sock yarn instead of aran, because it matches a blanket hoodie I got for Christmas from my partner’s mom:

It’s so cozy I’d live in it if I could.

And that brings me to the life update parts, which I’ll try and keep brief: I’ve been dating a new partner for a little over 7 months, and she just bought a lovely old home so we’re gonna move in together (as long as my dog doesn’t try to hurt her cats, so I’m quite nervous about that cuz I have no idea how my dog will do with cats).  I’m excited to get out of this tiny, dark apartment (not to mention it was kind of an emergency move to get out of a bad situation with my ex-husband, so it has some negative feels attached to it), and I’m thrilled to be able to slowly decorate my own home and make a place that’s really my own.  And guess what?  I’LL EVEN HAVE A CRAFT ROOM!  My crafts will all have a nice space and won’t have to be scattered all over the whole house, making things look messy, and I’m so excited about it.  I may do a post about that, assuming I get to that point without any issues with the fur babies.

Another update: I’ve been diagnosed as being on the spectrum and also having ADHD, and it’s been the best thing for my life in a long time.  It explains so much about me, which is helpful in terms of me accepting myself for who I am and understanding why I do the things I do and struggle sometimes with certain things, and I’ve gotten on medications that are making a world of difference.  It’s not quite perfect yet, but I feel better than I have in a long time.  On top of that, I’m going to therapy weekly with a therapist who is absolutely amazing, and we’re even gonna work on some of the ex-husband related trauma/issues before I move into the new house so this can really be a new start for me, and I couldn’t be more excited.

So yeah, my new year is starting off pretty freaking awesome, and I hope it is for you as well!  Did you make any resolutions this year?  I never do anymore but I love hearing about other people’s goals, so feel free to share below!  And as always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you again in hopefully a short time! ❤

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punch needle experiments

March 22, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Hello hello! I hope ya’ll are doing well — it’s been a while!

I’ve been up to a low-to-moderate amount of crafting lately, and I just finished a project I’d like to share with you! It’s not from a pattern or anything, so it was a bit of an experiment and it’s certainly not perfect, but I’m happy with how it came out overall. Here it is:

Looking at the picture I might have to go back and adjust the fabric to get it to lay a bit more flat in the frame, but that’s okay. And the stars are actually made up of that plastic shimmery embroidery floss, it’s just hard to tell in the photo.

Punch needle is really fun for me. All I really had to do here was use a water soluble pencil to sketch out the luna moth and the moon, then I just had fun filling it in with color! It took much more floss than I expected — just the darkest yellow in the moon was like 4 or 5 skeins of floss on its own — but since floss is so cheap it wasn’t a huge problem to go back to the store and pick up more.

Have you ever tried punch needling before, and if so, how was it for you and what did you make? I’m curious to hear if people usually use patterns or just kinda make things up as they go.

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a finished project and a new one

August 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all staying cool this summer (if it’s summer where you are) — the temperatures here are in the 100s and I’m staying inside as much as possible.

In an effort to be more comfortable in the heat, I made a new linen shift using the historical method that includes only squares and triangles. I used this method on my brown one last year, but this one is entirely machine sewn to save time and I also gave this one short sleeves instead of long ones.

It hits just above my knees and is pretty comfy. I may use it as part of a ren faire costume if I decide to do something other than the swamp witch this year, although I think I may just do the same thing as last year and maybe just make a better skirt.

Anyway, I’m also in a redecorating mood, and I’ve recently bought some new household items to fit the dark cottagecore theme I’m going for in my bedroom (think lots of dark greens and teals and browns, with a few lighter accents here and there). It’s a good theme for me because I’ve already got a ton of old dark wood furniture, and I like the cozy, sleepy atmosphere.

I decided I need a new throw blanket for the bed, though, and I already have a ton of Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran in the shade Vintage Pink so I decided to use that for a crocheted blanket (yes, it matches the shift, and that was completely unintentional but kinda cool). I think it’s a good accent color with everything else, and I chose the Fenya Blanket pattern to use. It costs money and is very similar to the free Popcorn Blanket pattern, but I was willing to pay the small price to get the chart, which I often find easier to follow than patterns that are written out. Here’s my first square:

It’s only got 11 rounds but it’s larger than I expected it to be. Not that I’m complaining — that means fewer ends to weave in and fewer squares to connect at the end! I do wish the yarn wasn’t completely acrylic because acrylic blankets make me sweat at night, but I’m probably just gonna keep this at the foot of the bed for decor, and because of that I might not even need to make the recommended 16 squares — I bet I can get away with a smaller size blanket just fine.

I’m also working on sewing a cute linen summer dress with a strawberry and floral print, but I’m incredibly frustrated with it at the moment — I picked my size so carefully and even combined areas from 2 sizes to make it fit me perfectly, and the whole thing turned out too big. I’ve got to undo a ton of work and trim some of the pieces, but I’m worried it’ll look weird so I’m just kinda staring at the half-finished dress sitting on my sewing machine, not wanting to mess with it. I need to finish it though — the fabric was ridiculously expensive.

Sorry if this was a kind of boring post — I just wanted to share my projects and there’s not really anything else going on in my life to talk about right now. I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe and healthy, and I’ll try and come back soon with something more interesting!

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Another new (to me) old craft: nålbinding!

June 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

We’ve looked at medieval fingerloop braiding, now who’s heard of nålbinding?

There are about a bazillion ways to spell it, and very few good tutorials online (that I’ve found so far, at least, and if you know of some good sources please share in the comments), but this ancient art seems worth exploring! And when I say ancient, I mean it’s speculated that it’s older than knitting and crocheting. Wow.

The word nålbinding I believe is Danish in origin, but artifacts have been found all over the world from Scandinavia to Egypt to Israel to Peru! These artifacts include accessories such as socks and mittens and hats and range from very delicate small stitching to chunky and thick. One constant, however, appears to be that they’re often made of wool, because the spit-splicing method is used to join new lengths of yarn.

So, of course I had to try it out. Take a look at my first pathetic attempts. They kinda just look like tangled clumps. 😂

After a bit of practice, however, I managed this:

I’m not entirely sure I’m doing it right (I’m trying the Oslo stitch but there appear to be quite a few types of stitches) and I know I haven’t counted my stitches properly, but it’s at least the shape it’s supposed to be.

As you can see, there are loops on my thumb, and you use those loops along with the large needle (I’m using a bone bodkin type thing ’cause that’s what I had on hand) to make your stitches. I’m trying for a hat here, and the way you increase in each round seems much like how you increase in crochet (2 stitches in each stitch of the first round, 2 stitches in every other stitch of the 2nd round, etc.).

So, why bother trying to learn this if you already know how to knit or crochet? Well, if you’re like me then learning new things is just fun, and if you’re into historical dress or historically accurate re-enactments this could be very helpful. Aside from that, though, apparently the fabric this technique makes does not unravel like knitting and crochet do and it’s therefore optimal for making things that may require steeking or that may get lots of wear.

Had you already heard of nålbinding? Have you tried it before, and if so, what have you made? I’m very interested to learn more about this, and I hope this post was interesting for you, as well! If I can finish the hat I’ll post about it again.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you’re all doing well!

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hats galore!

January 28, 2023 by 2 Comments

Hihi! Hope ya’ll are safe and healthy and that your 2023 is starting off positively!

I just wanted to hop on and share some knitted hats I’ve made or am currently working on, starting with a couple I made as Christmas gifts for some of my fellow BTS ARMY. They live in Canada, so I figured wool hats would be a practical gift, and I used sockyarn dyed in colorways based on BTS’ music videos & albums from Hawari Bazaar, which I absolutely love!

This first one is the Barbotine pattern ($4 CAD), worked up in the “Love Yourself” colorway of the Nova Sock yarn. I used the chain plying technique to triple the strands, and I’m quite happy with how it turned out visually (the colors in real life are nicer — the peach is more pink), but I had a bit of trouble with the pattern. I began the brim with the recommended needle size, but it was way too tight, so I frogged it (which is a nightmare when you’re chain plying something) and tried again with the next needle size up. I completed the hat, but it’s still too small, and I don’t have a giant head. It’ll fit on my head but it just feels a bit tight and won’t pull down over my ears as much as I’d like. I’ve never met my friend irl so I’m just hoping she has a small head.

The second one went a bit better:

This one is the Violet Waffles pattern (free), worked up in the “Ddaeng” colorway of the Nova Sock yarn with 2 strands held together. I struggled to get this picture to turn out right, too (but the pattern was fine and the hat fits!). It is a waffle patterned hat and the stripes actually kind of coordinate with the waffle pattern, and I can say it looks better irl, too.

Now for some WIPs:

This is the Le Bonnet de Rosalie pattern (free), and I’m just using some mystery yarn that I think is acrylic (gasp!) It’s going well so far — I did an extra row of knit stitches between the 2nd and 3rd sets of cables, but I don’t think you can really tell unless you’re looking for mistakes, so I didn’t go back and fix it. You can see I did a provisional cast on, which is not called for in the free pattern, but I plan on going back with another yarn (a different mystery acrylic in blue) and making a lining so that the hat is extra toasty!

This may not look like much yet, but I’m always so pleased with long-tail tubular cast-ons so I figured I’d share those foundation rows now hehe. I’m working with Purl Soho’s free Classic Cuffed Hat pattern, although I’m going to alter it a bit, first by not doing the longer fold-up brim. For the cast-on I’m using a pair of plastic needles from this delightful candy-colored set that I think I got off of Amazon a while ago, and I’m actually going to use them for the whole ribbed brim because I’m not going to connect to work in the round until the main body of knit stitches begins. I’ll switch to circulars at that time, and I plan on turning this into a cat ear hat so I’ll just keep working the tube without decreases until the hat is around 7in.(18cm.), and I’ll do a three needle bind off or something along those lines and then invisibly tack down the ears. It’s hard to explain without pictures so I’ll take more as it goes along and share.

One note on the pattern, though: it says to use the larger needles for the ribbing and the smaller needles for the main body of the hat, and that seems contradictory to every single thing I’ve ever read about ribbing — I believe you’re supposed to use the smaller needles for ribbing because the stitches are typically so loose and stretchy — so I’m doing it the other way round. I also sized up the needles, since apparently I just knit tightly.

So that’s what I’ve been doing lately! I did finish my swamp witch costume for the Renaissance Faire, so I’ll share some pictures of that and talk about the different components I made in a future post. I think it turned out really well for my first costume!

That’s all for now, though. Thanks for stopping by! See you soon! 🙂

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