a hat for a friend

August 23, 2013 by 10 Comments

Today I started knitting a hat.  A couple hours in and I’m still working on the ribbed band because I had to start over — the pattern writer stated that she knits very loosely, and since I knit tightly I had to go back add 8 stitches (even after switching up a needle size).  The hat is for my friend Tara, who is the girl I work with on the food truck most often.  She’s been very kind and patient (not to mention fun and hilarious), and she’s the one who pushed the big boss to hire me in the first place, even knowing that I’ve had very little food service experience.  I like to think that we’ve also become good friends, which means I have TWO close friends that are girls that live within an hour and a half’s drive.  This is exciting for me, even though I’m probably moving soon about an hour down the road in the opposite direction from them both.  Because I have so few friends, the ones I have mean a lot, and so I want to show them that I appreciate their friendship.  Hence knitting the hat for Tara with no particular occasion in mind.

Although it’s averaging a high of about 87 degrees Fahrenheit most days, that’s pretty cool for a South Carolina summer.  Many weather experts agree that this means we’ll be in for a colder winter than normal.  I am grateful for this because last year I barely got to wear any of the items I had knitted/crocheted because anything more than a light scarf was too hot.  The impending cold season, however, will not be so fun for Tara when she has to work on the food truck (or me, if I’m still here then) because the truck doesn’t have heat.  This means when we’re not cooking but just sitting waiting to open between shifts, it will be incredibly cold.  Tara had said that she doesn’t have a warm hat that will stretch down to cover her ears, so I’m making her one out of 100% alpaca yarn that will.  I hope she likes it!

That’s all I’ve got for today.  Thanks for stopping by!

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CAL: week 12

August 17, 2013 by 8 Comments

Hello everyone!  I want to say welcome to all the new CAL participants that are still joining in — it’s great to have so many people still starting!  Are you ready for week 12?  Doesn’t seem like we’ve been going that long, does it?

Before we start, I wanted to let you know that a new button has been added in the sidebar along with the individual CAL weeks.  This one is CAL FAQs & links.  It’s mainly for the people who are just joining us, since they haven’t read all the details because they’ve been scattered throughout the CAL posts.  Now they’re all in one place!

Alright, on to this week’s rows.  Remember, we’re using US terms, and last week we ended with row 86:

cal92

row 87

With new color, hdc across.

rows 88-90

For these 3 rows, do the bobble stitch rows (original instructions here).  Here’s a pic so far:

cal93

row 91

With new color, hdc across.

row 92

With new color, dc across.

row 93

With new color, hdc across.

row 94

With new color, dc across.  Here’s a pic:

cal94

This week I got a picture of the whole blanket, although I’d already started row 95 when I took it, so you get a bit of a spoiler if you can make out the top row.

cal95

I think it’s looking pretty good!  My edges are a bit wonky — I guess my stitches have gotten tighter as I’ve gone along because it seems to be getting slimmer; or perhaps the bottom is just stretching out from all the moving around it’s done or something.  In any case, I think it’s going well!

It’s delightful to see everyone’s progress on facebook, where most of the progress pictures are being posted.  Don’t forget about the Instagram hashtag #nyaccal also!

I guess that’s it for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Filed Under: CAL

a hat for Chris

August 14, 2013 by 20 Comments

Chris’ birthday is today!  He’s turning 28 and he says he feels old.  As you know, I don’t have a job, so funds for a present are pretty much nonexistent, but luckily I have a nice yarn stash and could make him something:

spaceinvadershat

It’s a Space Invaders hat!  For those who don’t know, Space Invaders was/is an old arcade video game (probably one of the first ones).  Since Chris loves video games, I figured he’s probably played Space Invaders, and since I found a handy chart by Arne & Carlos here, I figured I could make him that.

To make the hat:  using worsted yarn (Berroco Vintage) and a US6 circular needle, I cast on 96 sts and did some rows of k2 p2 ribbing.  Switching to a US8 circular needle, I used the chart from the free PDF, and did the decreases at the top like this (switching to DPNs when it became necessary):

k10, k2tog.  Knit 1 round.  k9, k2tog.  Knit 1 round.  k8, k2tog.  Knit 1 round…. etc. until I got to the last three decrease rows, where I didn’t do a regular knit row in between them.  When 8 sts were left I cast off and secured the ends!

I hope it fits him — it fits me but might be a little tight for him around the colorwork area — I did the floats without really factoring in stretch.

Also, my sprained foot is feeling much better — I’ve been taking it really easy and I think it’s going to be just fine.  The swelling is almost completely gone, the big bruise has stopped spreading, and I’m walking almost normally again.  Thanks again for all the well-wishes — ya’ll made me smile!

I guess that’s all for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

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foot update

August 12, 2013 by 29 Comments

Thanks everyone for the get-well wishes!  You all really cheered me up, for sure.

My sprained foot was feeling better yesterday so I thought I’d try to work a short shift on the food truck (standing didn’t hurt and of course I need the money).  I should not have gone — this morning it was sore and more painful to walk on because of it (also, driving was a bit slow; it’s good I didn’t have to go very far).  Chris is making sure I keep my foot iced and wrapped and elevated, and right now it’s alright.  I don’t think over all that it’s getting worse, I just shouldn’t be working on it.  While it doesn’t really feel worse now, it does look worse; Chris says the discoloration and swelling are results of the natural pooling of the blood and that it’s not anything to worry about (I’m glad he used to be an athletic trainer).  I think it looks fascinating — wanna see?

foot

You can see where I’d had my little brace thing on, which helped with the swelling so it’s not as obvious here.  The discoloration looks so weird, doesn’t it?  This was this morning, and the dark patches have spread a little, but it’s pretty much the same.  Sorry, you probably don’t care about the details of my foot, haha.  I’m just fascinated because I haven’t really seen anything like this in person before (that I can remember clearly).

I have not ruled out going to a doctor if it starts feeling worse, but I feel like right now as long as I do what Chris says, it’ll be OK.  He said I can’t wear flip-flops for at least a month, which really irks me because I love my Rainbows sandals and it’s really hot to wear sneakers all the time (not to mention mine are dirty and falling apart).  But he says sneakers will give more support, and since I can lace them up tightly it’ll be extra good.  *sigh*  I’ll do what he says.   Maybe it’ll just be an excuse to get a cute new pair of sneakers… 😉

Well, thanks for stopping by.  I’ll take it easy from now on and not try to over-do things, so the crocheting is ON!

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felting in the wash

August 11, 2013 by 18 Comments

I’m no expert on felting, but the general process seems to include agitating your wool (by hand or machine) in warm/hot water.  Easy enough to do on purpose, I suppose, but inconvenient to avoid if you’re in a hurry to thoroughly wash your woolens.  It seems that you can even “felt” acrylic yarn over time, to an extent:

felt2

This is an acrylic blanket (Red Heart, I believe) that was made by my boyfriend Chris’ great-aunt.  It’s a full size blanket made with US single crochet stitches, and I can only imagine how many hours it must have taken her to complete.  It seems that she was very wise in choosing her machine-washable materials and denser type of stitch, for the blanket has held up very well indeed (you’d be very impressed too if you saw how my boyfriend and our dog abuse blankets, and you’d also understand why I generally try to keep my handmade items away from their regular use).  The blanket receives much wear, accompanied by many washes and dries.  It has “felted” a bit over time, as well, which has come in handy.  In the picture you can see the stitch definition pretty well, but if you try to tug on part of a stitch, the yarn doesn’t budge because enough fibers are interlocked.  Our dog’s claws (or Chris’ toes) therefore are extremely unlikely to catch and pull.  It’s perfect, and the chevrons are still in style!

My first ripple blanket, made back in 2011, I’m afraid to say hasn’t seen much use because I’ve been too worried over it’s immediate destruction.  It’s a twin-sized blanket and was made with Berroco Vintage Chunky yarn, which is 40% wool and not exactly cheap.  Inspired by the above blanket’s indestructible-ness, today I decided to try and get my lovely ripple to felt a little bit.  Here’s what happened:

felt3

The stitches did indeed begin to sort of “glue” together, although the navy stripes acquired some of the fibers from the other colors and now look a little rough.  That’s OK though — it’s fixable and the experiment gives me hope that with a couple more washes, I may be able to let go of the fears attached to the use of my treasured blanket!  It would be lovely to see it being enjoyed instead of just sitting in the linen closet.

For comparison, I’ve taken a picture of my most recent ripple, which is also a twin-sized blanket made with Stylecraft Special DK (acrylic).  It has not yet been washed because it, too, has seen almost no use:

felt1

Of all 3 blankets, this one has the best stitch definition.  I’m planning on washing it a bunch of times in a row the next time I have extra change for the laundromat so that hopefully it, too, can be indestructable and worry-free!

Have you had any experiences with felting that have turned to your advantage?  Or have you accidentally felted something against your intent?  If you have any tips or pointers for me on what to do or what to avoid while attempting to further felt my wool and acrylic blankets, please do share!

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone!

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