third time, really?

December 9, 2012 by 3 Comments

Yep, I started the mitts over, again.  This time, due to the discovery of lovely mitts with no thumb-holes at all over on Häkelmonster.  They looked so toasty, I just had to make some, too:

newmitt

 

Yes, it’s basically just a tube, but it’s a toasty tube!  I just whipped up some ribbed rows on size 6 needles and switched to seed stitch on size 7 needles.  This is my first time using the seed stitch, and I’m really pleased.  I wanted a texture that would be very warm, elastic, and easy, and this fit all three.  And if I want to use my fingers, I just roll the top down:

newmitt2

 

I love it!  I’m thinking about adding some sort of crocheted lacy border on the top edge of the mitt in a cream colored bamboo thread, just for looks.  What do you think?  Would the edging restrict the elasticity?

I’ve also been crocheting.  I’ve got quite a few baby hats to donate now:

babyhats

 

I’ve got tons more yarn, but I may take these to the hospital for donation before I leave on my trip on the 18th.  I’m doing most Christmas present exchanges before we leave, as well, so I only have 9 more days to get everybody’s presents!  I still don’t have anything small for my wonderful parents, who are taking me on this trip to England.  I’ve got lots of big things to give them before we leave, but nothing that will fit in my suitcase so that they can open something on Christmas day.  I just keep seeing big or heavy things that they would love!

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

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second time great!

December 4, 2012 by 1 Comment

My fingerless gloves are coming along!  Well, glove, in the singular, because I re-did the one I showed you last time and whipped up this instead:

mitts1

 

As you can see, I still have to add the thumb part, but thanks to your wonderful suggestions and tips on my last post, I don’t think it should be too troublesome.  I changed the design a bit, making one stitch ribbing instead of two stitches.  I added some length, too, because my fingers are quite prone to freezing and becoming all stiff and raw.  You may ask why I didn’t just make mittens for better finger protection, but these are for my England trip and I need my fingers to take pictures on my phone!  I don’t have a camera anymore, so all my pictures, even on this site, come from my phone.  To use the phone camera, I need heat conductivity, blah blah science blah, so my fingertips have to be readily available.

mitts2

 

I think it looks good so far!  I think I’ll make the second mitt before attempting the thumbs — that way there won’t be a break between them and I won’t forget exactly how I did the first one.

By the way, the yarn I’m using is amazing.  I mean, fantastic.  It’s Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca, and the softness is so luxurious!  The only problem with it that I can think of is that it’s so silky that the knots I made at the beginning and end of the mitt had to be reinforced by lots of weaving and more knots, because just one knot kept slipping out!

OK, I’m going to go and start the second one now, I think.  Thank you for stopping by!

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progress on my fingerless gloves

December 1, 2012 by 7 Comments

So instead of using this fancy pattern, I started this simpler one.  The first was too difficult for me at this time.  Here’s what I’ve got so far:

mitts1

 

I’m about to start the ribbing at the top — these are going really quickly, which is great!  I’ve made a mistake, though.  I’ve never done an actual gusset before, and something went wrong, leaving a hole in the work:

mitts2

 

Since I’m not sure how to go back and fix it, I decided that when I connect my yarn to do the thumb, I’ll just use a tail to sew it up.

That’s another thing, though.  Do you know how to pick up stitches like on this thumb hole?  Please help if you know — I’m stumped!

Thanks for stopping by, let me know if you know how to pick up those stitches!

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leftovers

November 28, 2012 by 4 Comments

Not only am I full of leftover Thanksgiving food, I’ve also been using my leftover yarn:

 

I’m crocheting baby hats out of the leftover Stylecraft Special DK to donate to the hospital for the newborns.  I’ve got quite a few shades of blues and pinks, but that’s just what I’ve got so far.

Dad reminded me today that we leave for Dublin in exactly 3 weeks, so I started knitting some fingerless gloves.  I’ll post pics when I get done with one of them.  I’m not sure that I will finish the Weasley Sweater I’ve been working on in time for the trip since I’ve only just started the back of the sweater, but we’ll see.

That’s all I’ve got for today, thanks for stopping by!

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ripple #2 ta-dah!

November 19, 2012 by 22 Comments

 

I’ve finished my second ripple blanket!  Using the ripple pattern from Attic24 and Stylecraft Special DK yarn, I completed this in just under two weeks, with plenty of yarn to spare (perhaps enough for a baby blanket).

Here you can see how wide it is:

 

And how long:

 

So it would certainly cover a twin bed.  And here’s the the skinny purple border up close:

Two single crochets along each row of the ripples made a nice even border.  I followed it with another row of sc, then a row of dc, then a row of ss.  Here’s the back of the border, which I also think is neat:

 

And to make the border flat, on the wavy ends instead of that first row of sc I just made a sort of inverse ripple with sc, hdc, dc, and tr stitches:

 

So that’s it!  I’m really proud of this blanket and I hope to get lots of good use out of it.  Hopefully it can withstand me, my boyfriend, and my dog…  I’m just glad the yarn was cheap and the pattern easy!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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