Yet another Christmas gift

For Christmas I made my older sister a bag.  The actual crocheting wasn't too difficult, but it took FOREVER.  I actually began making it this summer.  I didn't expect it to take me so long, but I only had it finished a few days before Christmas.  For the most part I am happy with how it turned out.  I admit, given the amount of time I put into it I had expected it to fold up larger.  Alas.  

The folding part was pretty cool - the bag itself, minus the shoulder strap, was crocheted in a single long piece and then folded to make the bag.  If I had to do it over again I would probably try to find a self-striping cotton yarn - I don't advise making switches between colors.  Or, at least, my OCD tendencies don't like how that turns out much.  

The other problem I had with this, as you can see, are that the lines don't match up perfectly straight.  This was a result, I am sure, of the fact that my stitches probably changed tension over the 6+ months that I worked on this.  So when I sewed it up, they didn't match up as well as I was wanting.  Granted, when there are things in the bag, I am sure that no one but myself will notice.  One of the issues of being a novice and not getting this done in a reasonable amount of time!

Overall it didn't turn out bad.  Sure, there are things I would have wanted to be better and things that I would have changed, but it isn't bad at all.  I am making her a little button loop to go over the top and keep it closed for her - because it wasn't long enough to make the top of the bag narrower it tends to hang open a touch too much.  So, we'll see if that helps it out like I hope that it will.

Etsy?

There are days that I would love to open an Etsy account.   But then I recall how little time I have, how many other projects I have going on, and my fear of not being able to fill or fulfill expectations and I never end up getting anything set up.  About a year ago I started thinking about making a profile to sell from - I bought the yarn for a particular pattern, the first pattern I had ever successfully completed, but the yarn is still sitting here in my home.

I did just pull out a skein, while writing this, and I would start, but I have to be at work in half an hour.  Perhaps I can at least get my beginning chain done so that when I come home I am more tempted to work on it - rather than having to start it.  Yes, I realize that a beginning chain is not really a "start" but sometimes it helps to get me motivated if I can say that I have already started something.  I know, that makes no sense either.  No one ever said I would make sense on my blog!

Spoiler: Christmas gifts!

So, this is my most recently knit toddler hat.  I used DK at the bottom and then a boucle yarn for the top to make it fluffy and soft.  My niece is currently at the in-between stage of hats - too big for a baby size but too small for an adult.  This, technically, fits over my  head.  It just looks odd and not very pretty.  However, I think that on her it will give it a nice slouch and gives room for any hair things she has going on that day! I haven't seen her since I made it, but I am hoping that it will be about the right size for her, plus some stretch for her to grow this winter.

This next piece is actually for her mommy.  She drinks a great deal of tea and asked if I could make her a tea cozy.  So I found a very cute pattern that has detail but nothing crazy.  This pattern works flat and you make two sides.  Now that I am this far in I was wondering how difficult it would be to adjust the pattern to work in the round next time.  It would save from having to seam, and it might give it a cuter look.  As well as being easier.  For now, though, I will complete the pattern as written and I should have it done in plenty of time for Christmas!

This is the chainless half double crochet that I was talking about the other day.  It has a tendency to twist and I am not sure if that is normal in these types of things or not.  I am hoping, and guessing, that as I add more rows it will even itself out and not be too much of a problem.  Anyone have experience with these and know if this is a common occurrence?  Or did I do something wrong?

And my final picture for the day.  This is just a straight double crochet piece.  I am making up the stripes as I go, mostly to add some interest.  Eventually it will be folded into a shoulder bag for my older sister.  The "Masa bag" pattern on Ravelry is what I am pulling it from.

That about covers what I am working on right now.  I have other things that I am thinking about starting, but I want to make sure that I have time to finish these items before I really get into too much else.  I would love to make a baby cardigan for Christmas, but I don't know that I am a fast enough knitter to start that now and have it finished in time.  But, who knows.  We will see where I get to on the tea cozy and the bag and I will play it by ear from there!

I need to knit and crochet faster!

So I think I have finally figured out the chainless foundation half double crochet stitch!  I think this has been one of the harder skills that I have learned, mostly because even with the great videos that are out there it is hard to see exactly where the hook is going in those videos.  I am certainly no expert at it, but I think I have a good enough understanding of it.  And if not, by the time I am finished with the 47 stitches that I will need for the flower that I am working on I should have it down pat!

I have been working my way through Christmas presents and my yarn stash.  I am in the middle of two Christmas presents, I finished and gifted one super early, and I have finished a couple of toddler hats in the past two weeks.  It is hard to see a noticeable difference in the amount of yarn I have, but reason tells me that by making these items and giving them away that I am, in fact, working through it!

I need to get myself together enough to get some more pictures taken and up.  With the number of things I am working on or that I have completed recently I have no good excuse for not having pictures!

I can't do just one project at a time!

So, here is the progress I have made so far on my socks.

Admittedly not very far along.  This portion has been very easy, though the tiny needles still vex me sometimes.  I am just doing a simple pattern - I figured learning sock techniques was enough without mixing in a fancy pattern.  So far they seem nice and stretchy - I am looking forward to getting one done.

Part of the reason I have not worked on them much is because I have been working on hats for my niece, as well as Christmas presents for various family members.  And some fingerless gloves that a friend asked me to make for her.  It was actually one of my very first projects a year ago, and I am finally getting to the second glove.

Both still need thumbs added, but I feel good in getting this pair worked on and, hopefully, completed soon.  

I am still working on whittling down my yarn stash, too.  Though I did buy some sock yarn for the socks, the gloves are yarn I have had for a year, and the couple of baby hats that I have been making are all from things I have had for a while.  So, that is making me rather happy, too.  Feeling like I am cleaning up my home while at the same time making fun and cute things that people will wear is a feeling that I like.  I didn't get a picture of the hat that I made for my niece this weekend.  I had to tear it out 3 times on Sunday and I finally finished it yesterday when I had free time again.  I think I just crochet too tightly - meaning that patterns written for normal crocheters don't fully apply to me, so I end up adding extra rows.  But, I learned that lesson well this weekend, so hopefully I can just begin adding rows sooner and making sure to measure circumference so that I don't have to rip out hats three times!  Measure twice and crochet once?  Something like that.

Pulling out projects

Well, hello lovelies!  I hope all is going fabulously in your knitting and crocheting worlds.

I have been doing my best to get back to doing at least a little bit of knitting or crocheting on a daily basis though, of course, there are days that it just isn't going to happen.  Last night I ended up completely pulling out the first about 8 rows of a lace scarf that I had started on a while ago.  It just wasn't turning out nice and evenly.  I am not sure if I was doing something wrong or if the long breaks between rows and working on it were just creating inconsistency in my work, but in either case I couldn't handle it.    I find that sometimes I have to start a project, work on it for a bit until I understand what is actually happening in the pattern, then pull it all out so that I can start again.  That visualization helps me a lot even if it means I have to pull out most projects.  Time consuming but my OCD tendencies appreciate it long term.  Plus at the end I feel like I have a better and more professional looking product.

I was thinking last night that I might try to start working on some items to sell on etsy.  I bought some inexpensive yarn last year and my very first completed crochet project was an ear warmer/headband.  It is something that is super cute and I love wearing it.  I bought more of that same yarn and I might try to make the same pattern.  It is simple but cute and warm.  I wore it when I rode my bike to class during the winter.  Doesn't mess up my hair as much but kept me nice and warm.

Mostly I have been working on larger projects that I don't yet have pictures of.  I am about half way through the baby blanket that I started months ago.  I haven't touched it in probably a month because I just needed a change of pace.  Perhaps I will work on getting pictures of it taken today, including the parts that I really messed up on.  I wouldn't mind just being done with that.  I want to see how it washes up, too.

Oh, something I did do was buy a shelf that has 9 little cubby holes.  I have put most of my yarn (it doesn't all fit) into that so that I can easily see what I have.  Plus it is up off the floor and makes for a cleaner look to my apartment.  I am working on paring down my stash because I really don't need NEARLY the amount of yarn that I have.  I have been good about not going and looking at more yarn for quite a bit - I have probably only purchased about 4 skeins of yarn in the past 6 months or so.  So at least I have stopped increasing my stash, at least!  I will get a picture of that shelf to put up here, as well.  I just need to knit and crochet faster so that I can work through all of this at a more reasonable pace!

I hope all is well in your worlds. I will work on getting some pictures taken today of the various things happening in my needle-art world!

Mindless projects

I have been making even more wine bottle carriers, I have 3.5 left to do.  Then I think I am going to quit these for a while.  I haven't worked anymore on the baby blanket, though I think I will soon.  Same with my niece's fingerless gloves.  I just haven't been feeling like actually thinking about or focusing on counting.  So I have been doing the super easy no-counting-needed wine bottle carriers.

Do you have a favorite pattern that you turn to when you don't want to think?  When you just want to feel like you are accomplishing something but don't want to work on a new pattern, or count, or whatever the case may be?  If so, list it here!  I'm interested, and I am sure others are, too!

Hooray for completion!

So, I finally finished my little shrug!  I ended up having to frog an entire row because it was just too big.  I also attached the arms slightly differently because it was still too big around my arms.  I think if I were to do it again I would stop the increases at the end of the rows earlier.  I think that that would solve the problem, but I didn't want to rip out 5 or 6 rows and have to redo it all.

The other night I was also working on the baby blanket that I am knitting.  I did screw up pretty big time on that, but I don't know how, and don't want to, frog back to that to get it to work correctly.  Luckily it is just a repeating pattern so when I have finished this section I can get back on track without a problem.  It will just have to live with being rather imperfect.  It will annoy me forever, I am sure,  but I highly doubt that most people will even notice unless I point it out.   So, I won't point it out, except maybe on here! Perhaps someone can tell me if this mess up is fixable or not.

I am also working on fingerless gloves for my older niece.  I promised them back at Christmas, and I am finally getting around to making them for her before she comes out for my sister's wedding.

A super cute basketweave-type pattern on the front.  And on the back just plain stockinette:

As you can see I am using DPNs to make them.  I am not a huge fan, and I might eventually try this in a magic loop.  The needles in this just seem to always be in the way, and I have sharps, so they often hurt my fingers after a bit.  It would be interesting to see if the magic loop makes this an easier pattern for me to complete and finish.  

Hooks and stuff!

So, I currently have on needles or hooks the following projects: house slippers (crochet), a shoulder shrug (crochet), a baby blanket (knit), fingerless gloves (knit), a wine bottle carrier (knit), and a washcloth (crochet). I think that this might be the fewest projects I have had in the works in a while, which is kinda sad.

On the other hand, I like that I can go from one project to another when I get bored or frustrated with one.  I can also go back and forth between knitting and crochet, again for the same reason.  Even within items that are all crochet or all knit they are very different projects, again giving me a lot of variety.

For instance, the house slippers are made using an J sized crochet hook, the teal colored one.  

As you can see it is larger than the hook next to it.  In comparison the shoulder shrug uses an H hook, considerably smaller (the smaller pictured hook in gold).  That means that even though I am making similar movements they are different because the size of the hook dictates the size of the loops and how much movement I have to do to make it all work.  These patterns also use different stitches.  The slippers are using almost exclusively a half double crochet (hdc) whereas the shoulder shrug uses a double crochet (dc).

The different sized hooks make different sized stitches.  The larger, naturally, make larger stitches which can be beneficial for a large item or one where you want larger holes for whatever reason.  Crochet hooks range massively in size.  The finest (which I didn't take a picture of) are used for lace and other very small scale items.  The larger ones are used for clothing items and larger items.

Here you can see the difference in sizes.  These are kind of the "normal" or most commonly used sizes for most people.  The gold one, the "H" hook is probably the most used hook just because it makes stitches that are a nice size for a lot of different projects.  However, they go well beyond this size.

It is hard to see just how much bigger the bottom hook is, but it is significantly larger.  That is an "S" sized hook - I have used it to crochet a border with 4 strands of yarn on a throw blanket.  The other two between the full metal hooks and the S hook are "L" and "M" hooks.  I have used each a few times, sometimes for a starting chain because I tend to chain too tightly (which often is what starts a piece of crochet work)!  

Patterns will almost always indicate which size hook that you should use to achieve the same look as the item in the pattern.  However, depending on each person some people crochet tighter/smaller stitches with the same sized hook than others.  So you have to check your "gauge" which is how many stitches you have per inch.  I tend to have rather tight/small stitches so I often have to use a hook of a slightly larger size to achieve the same desired look.  

When I first started all I purchased was a size "H" hook.  Once I realized that I really liked crocheting I went ahead and bought a basic set which included all of the hooks from sizes "D" to "J".  I got most of the others from thrift stores as single items because it is, naturally  significantly cheaper.  I will show off my knitting needles some other time, almost all of which I purchased exclusively at thrift stores.

In the meantime, hopefully that helps some (like my brother) who doesn't understand it when I say that I used an "S" hook to make big stitches so it went quickly.  

Knit night!

So, I have to tell you about the knitting group that I have.  They are all fabulous, wonderful ladies and I haven't been able to see them since January because I had school on knitting night.  It should have been a crime!  Alas.  Tomorrow will be my first night back since that, yay!

When I run into snags I can always go to them and ask for help and someone is always willing to show me or help me.  I admit, I got super lucky with accidentally finding this group.  I was about to head down to my dads, an hour and a half away from me, and I stopped into this store one Thursday evening around 5.  A couple of ladies were knitting on a couch there, and there were other chairs.  I asked if I could sit down and I was told absolutely.  I pulled out some stuff that I had been working on - at this point I had only been knitting for 2 or 3 weeks.  I had read about some people who were yarn snobs and who had big problems with others using acrylic yarn.  So, though I am not usually a nervous person, I nervously asked if it was going to be a problem for me to use acrylic yarn.  I said that I had purchased it and my needles at the thrift store, but I didn't want to be shunned.  Rather than that the most fabulous woman got up and said oh here, have these and she gave me about 7 skeins of yarn - cotton, wool, some acrylics, etc.  She had apparently won them (correct me if I am wrong, my dear) and she very sweetly and graciously told me to use them well.

Since that point I became a regular at the shop on Thursday nights.  I have gotten lots of help on things that I wasn't sure how to do - knitting in the round, puff stitches, and the like.  I have to say that, aside from the fact that I was quickly obsessed with knitting and crocheting, these ladies have kept me interested and seeing their fun projects and their skill is really inspiring.  They told me how some of the things that I had done, even prior to joining, were well beyond what most beginners do.  Needless to say that was a nice ego boost.  I didn't know that some of the things I had done were hard because I had taught myself through online videos and so I didn't know what was supposed to be hard or not.

There are certainly still many, MANY things that I haven't tried or that I don't do well.  I am still scared of socks and the flap thingie or whatever.  I haven't yet tried any blouses or sweaters in large part because shifting from the main body of the piece to an arm worries me. Anything that has that type of shift from knitting in one direction to another scares me. I have only just begun to use decorative yarn overs for the baby blanket I am slowly working on.  So far they have turned out really well and the blanket is going to be super cute when I finish it.  Though I have a fingerless glove made I have not yet pulled out the knitted in waste yarn to start making the finger gusset.  I have also not mastered the skills of changing yarn colors or skeins with non-wool yarns, though I kind of make due.  There are other techniques I want to try that I just haven't found a pattern to use them on.  But, all of these things will come with time, I know.  I try to focus on one new skill at a time, become comfortable with it, and then move on to something else.  I am sure that by the end of this baby blanket I will be fine with knitting yarn overs and the particular decrease that this blanket calls for.

In each of the new skills that I learn there are plenty of mistakes.  But as soon as I realize what I was doing wrong I can generally figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.  I generally don't bother going and fixing it, for a number of reasons (in the baby blanket I am worried about the yarn overs getting lost and the decreases being too difficult to get back together) but I usually figure it out after only a few rows and then the rest of the piece is just fine.  My anal side really doesn't like the mistakes, but I am learning to accept them and, because I do learn and I don't make that same mistake again, I just accept that that is part of hand knitting.

So, even with my OCD tendencies I can accept the fact that I am a beginning knitter, that I will and do make mistakes because I then learn from those mistakes and I don't make them again.  And I really like that.  It keeps my brain functioning without having to read 3 entire books in a week, ha!

Felting results

So, I had a chance to felt my purses the other day.  I learned a TON, hah!  So, lets start with the before picture, just as a reminder.

So the knit bag is on the left and the single crochet bag on the right.  As you can see the knit is just slightly wider than the crochet, but because it is felted, that doesn't matter.  They were both 10" high from bottom to top, plus the base which wasn't very wide.

Last night I put both into a pillow case, tied it up (to keep the loose fibers from getting into the machine) and put them on a hot/warm washing cycle.  This was a top loading washer with a center agitator.  The hot water loosens up the fibers so that they are open to one another, and the agitation makes the little microscopic hooks within the wool fiber catch together and result in shrinking the item.  That is what I wanted it to do.  Every few minutes I checked to check on the progress.  What I think I failed to do was check on both of them every time.  This is the final result.  The knit bag is on the left, the crochet on the right.

As you can see...I screwed up.  Apparently stockinette-stitch knit items felt A LOT faster than single crocheted items.  I should have taken out the knit bag much earlier, or I should have felted them separately.  So, that is a good thing to know.  The crochet bag isn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it is close.  I'm not positive if I screwed up on that one or if that is just how it comes out. I expected it to be slightly wider, I suppose.  The crochet bag shrunk, length wise, about an inch.  The knit bag shrunk about 3.  Either way the crochet bag it is cute and nicely sized.  I am thinking about turning the smaller one into a wallet - adding a zipper or something so that stuff doesn't fall out.  But we'll see.  When I decide I will show you that, too.

In any case this was a really good learning experience and I will take away lots of lessons from my mess up.  I am slightly annoyed, but I can't really beat myself up too much over it.  Things happen.  And honestly, I only need one bag, I only made the second because I had more yarn.  If I wanted I could make yet another because I still have plenty of yarn left over.  I will think about it!

In the same load I decided to put the new baby bonnet that I made as well.  It was exceedingly stiff and kind of rough.  I didn't add any detergent, just the hot water.  Apparently it was enough to "kill" the acrylic, because now the hat is floppy and super soft.  Killing acrylic yarn is what you do rather than blocking.  Because it isn't wool it wont keep its shape (especially in stockinette) unless you kill it.  I have heard of people using an iron over top of a piece to kill the acrylic - apparently washing in super hot water has a similar effect.  Also a great thing to know!  Now the item that I "killed" in the wash wasn't in stockinette stitch.  I am not positive that it will turn out the same way, I will have to test it some time.  But in the meantime I am really happy with how it softened up the baby bonnet, now it is super cute and soft enough for baby.  

This is where a baby head goes!

This is the opposite side view.  The circular pattern actually goes up onto the baby head, otherwise it would not come up far enough on the head.  I will try to get a baby to put this on so that you can understand a bit better, perhaps.

Lazy Sunday

Well, I am sitting here thinking about what I want to write about.  I did finish a new baby bonnet, though I used the wrong size yarn so it turned out larger than I wanted/expected.  It is still super cute.

I haven't learned any new tips or tricks today.  My inspiration (read: my niece) came to visit me today, though she was not overly thrilled at my holding her.  Little does she know that I am the favorite!  Haha.  Her momma did give me some crap today about the amount of yarn I have.  Oopsie!  I said that it was just a result of my inability to knit and crochet quickly.  So I need to work on that, obviously!

Oh!  So, I have this nifty little over the shoulder bag that is about 6"x7" with a zipper.  I can throw the strap over myself across my chest so that I don't have to worry about losing it.  Now, I tend to like small purses, but this is honestly a touch small for most things I prefer.  However, when I go out to the bar, or when I go somewhere that I wont have a place to put a purse, it is perfectly sized.  That doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it really is nice to not have to worry about keeping track of a purse.

The problem with the one that I have is that it is blue.  That is all fine and good, except that I almost never wear blue.  I want one in black or brown or off-white, or a color that I wear a lot.  So, I think I am going to attempt another pattern so that I can make a similar bag of similar dimensions in the color that I want!  I know how I basically want it to look, I just have to figure out how to get that look, as well as a lining (I think - depends on what kind of stitch I end up going with) to work.  So, at some point in the future I will have that posted up on to Ravelry.  When I do i'll let you know!  I think I will try to keep the same dimensions, including the strap length.  It appears to be a crocheted item, but I think they used thread.  I am going to probably try it with some DK, just because making an entire purse out of crochet thread sounds miserable.  I will let you know how it goes!

I think I might try to work on the baby blanket tonight some.  That will force me to learn how to yarn over in knitting, as well as a new decrease that I have never done.  I don't have much else to say, so I will just keep this short tonight.

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!

Starting out

Well, I still have a number of projects in the works, but nothing that I have taken pictures of yet, so we'll just have a picture-free day today, I suppose!

Aside from the things I have mentioned in earlier posts about why I love knitting and crocheting (read here: I love my needle arts).  I think I also like experimenting with a large variety of yarns.  I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but I am a graduate student, which means I am insanely poor.  Most of the yarn that I have purchased has come from thrift stores.  All of my collection of straight needles, some of my circular needles, and almost all of my crochet hooks have all come from various thrift stores in town.  Now, I am extremely lucky to live in a college town that has AMAZING thrift stores!  So I admit that I have gotten super lucky in finding as much as I have.  I have also brought home probably 25 skeins of 100% wool, some of it worsted and some DK, that were all about $2 a piece at the thrift store.  I have gotten baby yarn, I have gotten 1lb skeins of yarn, and I have purchased some sweaters that I then took apart for the yarn because I loved the color.  I admit to having entirely too much yarn.  I justify it to myself by buying it at the thrift store, though!  Granted, some of what I have gotten there is less than fabulous, but most is at least worth the price I pay for it.  If it hadn't been for the thrift stores around here there is no way that I could knit and crochet nearly as much as I do.

So, back to cool yarn.  As I said, I have gotten baby yarn at the thrift store as well as 100% wool.  I have gotten cotton/wool blends, cotton, DK, worsted, lots of crochet thread, thick gauge yarn, too.  A good portion of it has been acrylic, but, as I have said before, that doesn't bother me.  I have found places to use it that I think it has worked wonderfully.  Just last week I found a bag of a huge variety of beads - from seed beads up to larger than the size of a green pea.  They are in all different colors, some of the larger ones have painted decoration on them.  In any case, I am really excited about them and I can't wait to add some of them to various things I make!  The huge variety of yarn that I get this way (sometimes something I want is bagged with something I normally wouldn't pick up) leads me to try projects that I might not otherwise think of.  Pompom yarn, various types of variegated yarn, crochet thread, this baby blanket that I started the other day and lots of other stuff.  It is just a bag of excitement waiting for me to figure out what I am going to do with it!

The other place I shop for yarn (when I don't have a 50% off coupon for Joann's or Michael's) is Craigslist.  I am looking at about 15 skeins of a wool blend yarn in some really  nice colors for $10.  This is usually a hit or miss spot - either someone has nothing that I want (when it is advertised) or they have lots of yarn because they are giving up a craft.

Basically I am just a patient person when I am waiting for yarn.  I managed to hit it big at the thrift stores when I first started (I don't think many people think to go there for knitting needles, crochet hooks, and yarn,) and now I have a large enough stash to keep myself occupied until I find something else I think I can't live without.  I'm sure this is money that would be better spent elsewhere, but I love it.  It is a great way for me to relax, I can do it while reading for class or watching TV and it makes me feel much more productive.  Plus, now I am having fun trying to find ways to reduce my stash some because it has gotten a bit out of control.  So I am getting lots of really fun things made, and it is fabulous!

My amazing model

This was my very first knit hat.  It stretches quite a bit, so its really nice for babies who grow so stinking fast!

These were my little girl's Easter gifts!  Clearly she makes them look better than they were made, but she can't be blamed for that!  This first one is a shell stitch crochet hat with a super simple flower that I made for the contrast.  I think it turned out pretty well.

So, she is admittedly not in to hats right now and enjoys taking them off at the first chance she gets.  The fact that her mom got a picture in three of her hats is really quite impressive!  I love this pattern and I am currently in the middle of making a second version of this hat.  It is simple, easy to work up, and keeps sun out of baby's eyes and off the tender head.  It also provides just a touch of shade for small shoulders when necessary.

A little of everything

Sorry I didn't get a post up yesterday.  I decided to begin the baby blanket anyway.  I have picked out my pattern and I have done a single row of the border,  nothing too fancy.

I also finished another baby hat yesterday and cast one one to work on in class tomorrow.  I also made a couple of facial cleansing pads and started on another cute baby hat.  I wont be giving this hat to my niece, she isn't in to hats right now.  I don't know, some things I save in the hope that, eventually, I might have a kiddo or two of my own.  I would like to have things for said kiddo.  Or kiddos.  So sometimes I make things and just stash them away in the hopes that I will have a child one day that can wear them.  If nothing else, I can always save them and pull them out when I need a gift, right?

I am also prepping myself to make super cute things for children that my brother hopes to adopt.  I know nothing about them yet, but I am so excited!  I told my brother he has to let me know as soon as he does ages and genders of the kiddos who will be his so that I can work on quickly becoming the favorite aunt!  Hooray!  Hahahah.

So, the storm that I knitted up last week has finally showed up.  Unfortunately my university doesn't seem to think that heavy snowfall, on top of ice and 12" of previous snow is reason enough to close.  So, here I am, wasting some time at work.  They are going to have to send us home, even the major road in town was collecting snow when I came in.  Of course, I paid for parking today, which annoys me.  But I couldn't justify staying home and losing another day's worth of pay.  So, we'll see how early they close, and until then I will sit here and dread the drive home.

I don't know if you can see it here, but that is snow in the upper left hand corner, I have dusted the snow off the 2" of ice that was on my windshield

I swear, I am not complaining about the snow.  We desperately need it!  Plus, this is much gentler on the high-intensity burn areas that we have from our huge fire last year than rain would be.  I would still prefer to be at home knitting and crocheting, though!

These are the beginning of the knit bag that I am going to felt.  I have this color finished on this bag, and I have started with the second color.  I don't have a picture of the crochet bag yet, I will get twin pictures up here when I can.

Not much

Well, I don't have a ton to talk about today.  I did spend some time organizing some of my yarn - my apartment has already been taken over by it.  But every so often I go through and try to organize it so that it does not, in fact, take over everything.  I change my mind on how I think it will work best, and as I make more things and go through more yarn, naturally, I have more room.  So I am slowly working my way through the massive amounts of yarn that I have - it is both fun and I feel productive.

I think I am going to start a big project soon.  At least, a big project for me.  I want to make a cute baby blanket on relatively small needles.  I think I have the pattern I want to make, but I want to finish up a project or two more before I start on that.

So, contrary to what I said yesterday, I have been working today on a baby hat.  I wound the remainder of the skein up into a ball, and then realized that the way I had wound it gave me a bounce-around ball rather than a center pull ball, making it hard to take it to class and not be distracting.  So I am finishing it up before that and I will put another one on needles before class on Thursday.  I also did a couple of rows on the crochet bag that I am going to felt.  I will try to get some pictures up of the twin bags - the knit and the crochet, as soon as I get through the first 5" on both.  I am there on the knit bag, but single crochet takes forever!  But, I'm getting there.  I also need to finish the second of a pair of slippers for my sister.  They don't take long, I just got bored.  And I have had a fingerless glove on needles since before Christmas - I really need to finish that up and get the second one done.  It isn't a hard pattern - I think I avoid it because I have it on sharps and because I usually rest my needle against my chest, that can hurt.  Plus, my tight stitches require me to push against those sharp ends.  Oopsie!

I will leave it there for today.  Hopefully I will get a snow day tomorrow and have more time to get some fun stuff done!

Easter baby presents!

I decided that my niece needed some cute stuff for Easter a few weeks ago.  So rather than working on my thesis like I needed to, I made her a couple of hats and a new blanket!  Her mom is going to try to get her to wear the hats long enough for a picture in them, but currently she takes things off her head the second you put them on.  So, in the meantime, here is her summer sun hat and a cute blanket for her to play on.  The hat was too small for the mannequin head that I have, as it should be, given that it is for a little cute baby!

This blanket used some of the yarn called Bunny Tail.  Obviously I ran out of the yarn at the end - I was using a needle 1 size up from what the pattern called for, which is probably why I ran out.  In any case, I still like the blanket - it is super soft and cuddly for a super soft and cuddly niece!

I also made her a shell stitch hat with a flower on it, but I seem to have forgotten to get a picture of that before I took it down for her.  So, hopefully her momma can help us out and get her to stay put long enough for a picture.  Silly little girl!