Can I buy yarn yet?

So, in a couple of weeks I am graduating with my master's degree.  I have one 20 page paper left to write and I have about 100 final essays to grade.  And then I am done.  Needless to say, I am super excited.

I have applied for a couple of different jobs out at Interweave - I think it would be amazingly fun and very exciting!  I unfortunately haven't heard back from either position, though I think I meet all of the desired qualifications to a T.  I will keep my eye open on more job openings down there, though.  It would be a blast!

I am hoping that as I, hopefully, find a grownup job that I will also be able to afford more fun and exciting yarns!  At work yesterday I was playing around on Ravelry, of course, and found a couple of very ambitious dress patterns that I wanted to try.  The yarn for one is discontinued so I was trying to look around for other options.  They are, of course, more expensive than I can afford now, but it would be fun to make these dresses sometime in the future when I can afford them.

I had a post much earlier on about not being a yarn snob. That is still true.  I will happily knit with acrylic or a variety of other man-made yarns.  I happen to love some of my professional made nylon and rayon items.  So why wouldn't I use that in my knitting?  However, when I am able to afford other types of yarn, the slightly more expensive items, I have no objection to using those for items that I am willing to spend more money on.  So, hopefully something will come through and I will have a job that allows me some money for fun things.  I can only hope, keep your fingers crossed for me!

I have finished the first fingerless glove of a pair that I started well before Christmas.  I am not a huge fan of working on DPNs, which is why it has taken me so incredibly long to finish just the first glove.  However, I am now moving onto a second pair, without finishing the first pair, so that when my niece visits in June I can give her a pair I promised.  I am making this pair with some yarn I "spurged" on, some DK Cascade superwash.  My niece asked for a pair in red, so I come some pretty deep red yarn for this pair of gloves.  I think they will look super cute.

Other than that I have just been working on a second draft stopper so that I can use that needle for another project I want to get done.  So just knitting along for now.  I had some friends ask me last night to teach them to crochet, so I will have to figure out something to teach them with.  I know of a flower that uses just about every basic stitch their is.  So perhaps that!

Pictures and fun things!

So, I finally got a bunch of pictures taken today!  Here they are.

 These are the twin bags.  They did come out differently, the knit one is much stretchier and wider than the crochet. But my guess is that it will shrink more, too, because there is more open space.  It is fun to experiment, though!  I apologize for not having anything in this photo for scale, but each is 10" tall.

This I just couldn't help but make.  It was super simple, but I think babies should all have a Yoda hat!  It is pretty awesome.  I added the ties because I know that some babies (read: my niece) like to pull their hats off.  Foiled!

This is that same pattern that my niece is wearing in green and white with a red flower.  This one is, obviously, a lot more pink.  I haven't yet added a flower to it, I can't decide what color to go with.  I thought about purple, but I am afraid that that will just take it over the top.  So, until I decide, this is it!  I really do love this pattern!

After I made my sister her washcloths for Christmas I had just enough cotton from that skein left over to make this washcloth.  It is an easy pattern, but the pattern gives it enough design in the knit to still be interesting.

These were just some super quick facial cleansing pads that I whipped up, also made from absorbent cotton.  I only have the two at the moment, I want to try them out and see if I like them before I bother to make lots.  I just like the idea of having reusable items for things like this.

This is the bottom edge of the baby blanket I am making.  The green rings are stitch markers so that I don't have to count to 145 every time I go across to make sure that I am making the right stitches in the right place.  This is being made from a ball of yarn that I got from the thrift store.  I decided to use it because it isn't so typically PINK, though I do love my pink!  A nice peach color I thought was relatively neutral, and even if it isn't, it will be something that most people aren't giving to a baby.  

This is all on one long circular needle - part of an interchangeable set that I got as my Christmas present this year.  I love the needles!  They are all super nice to use.  They are Hiya-Hiya brand and although the cable tends to curl up, the needle tips are absolutely amazing.  Good choice to ask for them and a fabulous gift!  I use them a TON.

This is the pre- and post- felted version of my door stopper.  The colors did change some, though the lighting exacerbates the change.  This gives a sense of just how much a felted item shrinks - that is a quarter sitting on both of them.  The bottom one is filled with beans now, too, so that distorts the shape some, but in any case, it shrank dramatically. I apologize, it looks like I took the pictures in opposite directions.  If you look at the large purple section on the top photo that is on the left-hand side you can see that same section on the right-hand side in the second photograph.  Either way, it shrank A LOT.  Which is kind of the point.

This is the necklace that I mentioned earlier today.  As you can see it is not attached to a chain or other necklace, but this is the crochet portion.  I use crochet thread or floss and a very small sized hook to crochet around plastic rings.  I then just sew each of the rings together in whatever pattern I like, use a small bead to hide the thread from the front, and voila!  I am excited to play with this with a lot of different colors and different combinations of the rings.  They are relatively quick and easy, and once I figure out how I want to attach a necklace to it, I should be able to make them for both myself and for friends.  

 

Well, this very wide variety of items that have been recently started and completed hopefully show some of the range of items that I like to do.  I am far from an expert.  I notice a lot of mistakes in my work and imperfections.  But, over all, I don't think I do half bad considering that I have been doing this only about 9 months, give or take.  I enjoy finding new projects to make and then playing with them until they really become my own.  I like the exploration that is possible with all of these types of projects.  It is a freaking blast!

I love my needle arts!

There are tons of things that I love about knitting and crocheting. I love seeing a project start at nothing and turn into something fun and cute.  I love seeing nice orderly stitches creating patterns out of nothing.  I love the sense of accomplishment that I feel when I have learned a new skill or when I have finished a project.  I love having people ask if I have made something and being amazed when I honestly say yes.

What I really love, though, is being able to knit or crochet anywhere, almost any time.  I have long dreamed of living outside of the US for a period of a number of years.  Whether or not that will ever actually happen, I'm not sure.  But, if it ever does, if I ever decide to go down that road, I will be able to knit and crochet wherever I am!  Though the world over has different types of yarn and different types of things they like to craft, it exists everywhere.  So as long as I take my needles and hooks, I will be set!

I have started on my third baby hat to send with my sister.  I am not getting them out crazy fast, but I think I started the first one last Tuesday or Wednesday, so that isn't half bad considering I haven't been doing this even a year.  When I have some more done I will get a picture up here of the various colors I will be making to send with her.  I am going with just plain but bright colors.

Lets throw some pictures of other projects in here, just for the heck of it!

This is my first personally designed pattern.  You can find the pattern for purchase here: Bedside Rug  There are some better pictures up there as well.  The scissors are there for comparison in size.  It isn't horribly fancy, but it is nice and fluffy and relatively simple!

I made some house slippers for myself, too.  They are nice and cozy and another easy pattern.  The yarn was multi-colored, I did not change colors for it, but I think they turned out well with that particular yarn and striping colors.  Now, if only I could figure out where I put them in my apartment so that I could wear them again.  Damn!

This is the back side of a washcloth that I made for my younger sister.  You can tell it is the backside because almost all of the stitches, except the cup itself, are little bumps.  That means they are purl stitches, and typically, though not always, purls indicate the backside of a work.  But, this is supposed to be the Tri-Wizard cup.  All four of the washcloths that I made for her had a Harry Potter theme.  26 or not, she loves her some Harry!  I figured by doing them in purple and brown, which most of her decor is in, they were subtle enough that most people wouldn't immediately notice, so she could use them as actual cloths rather than just decorations for herself.  She loved them.

Well, I think that is all I have for today.  I will work on getting together more pictures to post 'cause I have done lots since these projects that I have already shown.  In the meantime happy knitting or hookin'!

Not a yarn snob!

Well, I called Children's Hospital in Denver yesterday to double check and make sure that the website I saw was correct which said they needed hats for kids.  I asked if they took hand knit items, and the lady said no.  All items that go into Children's have to go through their laundry system.  That makes sense, they are sick kiddos.  She said that knitted items, though, don't make it through the wash.  That makes no sense to me.

My only guess as to the reason for that is that people were probably sending in wool items assuming that they would be warmer for the kids.  That is true.  However, wool can't be washed in hot water or in a washing machine except on a very gentle cycle.  Wool is a natural fiber that has little hooks at the end of each fiber.  The fibers of wool get weakened when wet and the hooks grab together when agitated too much.  That causes a process called felting - it is what happens when you put that fabulous sweater in the wash and it shrinks.  It shrinks because it has felted together.  In some cases you want an item to felt together.  For instance, I made a draft stopper for my door that I felted.  It makes it less penetrable and stiffer.  It is not so great for clothing items, unless you create the item specifically for that process.  My guess is that people were sending in wool items and they were shrinking in the wash and, as a result, Children's has decided just not to accept any of them.

In the world of yarnies there are definite yarn snobs.  Some people refuse to knit with acrylic or any other man-made fiber.  I heard one woman argue that because soldiers in the Middle East are given wool because of its flame-resistant properties rather than acrylic that melts at high temperatures that to put a child in acrylic was child abuse.  I didn't say anything because there is no rationalizing with some people.  The melting point of acrylic is very high.  It can be slightly melted at lower temperatures, which is why you don't want to iron acrylic items.  But the fact is is that if the acrylic in a baby's clothing was hot enough to melt onto the skin of the baby, the child is already dead.  Melted plastic yarn would be the least of their worries.

I, on the other hand, think that there is a use for all yarns.  I knit mostly in acrylic, in part because it is significantly cheaper to buy.  It also doesn't need special care - if a baby throws up on it, or soils it, it can be washed without a second thought.  I don't know about mothers of young children that you know, but the ones I know don't have time to be hand washing poop out of all of the items of a baby's wardrobe.  And if the baby's you know are like the ones I know, sometimes they even get it into their hair and hats.  So yes, I typically use acrylic or rayon or other man-made fiber.  Also, I use acrylic for blankets that I don't need to be exceedingly warm.  I like being snug and warm but I don't like my blankets to make me hot, either.

Certainly there are times that wool and cotton and other fibers are very useful.  Both are great for items for adults who are able to pay attention to how items need to be washed.  They are also good for when  you need something to be really warm.  There are what are called "superwash" wool out there that are washable.  Overall I hear that they are really good, though I have read from some people that they have had trouble with it.  But those skeins (the rolled up amount that is purchasable) are generally $8 a piece.  Compare that to a similar amount of acrylic yarn that I can get on sale for $2.  If I need more than one skein for a project it adds up really quickly, and I currently can't afford that.  But I also just don't see the need in the projects that I am making.  I do think there are times and places to use more specialty wool.  Especially in felting projects.  But I don't feel bad for using man-made yarns for most of my items so far.

Cotton has its benefits when you need a more breathable item.  I just made a hat out of cotton for my niece (I will post pictures later).  But cotton doesn't have any stretch to it.  So either it is made the perfect size or it gets out of shape.  I do use this for cleaning items - washcloths, a cover for my swiffer, facial cleaning pads, etc.  I need the absorbency of cotton for those items and the fact that they don't stretch is not a problem.

So, I am no yarn snob.  I think there is a place and a time for each.  When I post items on here I will do my best to include yarn information.  However, I do sometimes get my yarn from the thrift store and so I don't have much information to go on - I will give my best guesses, though.