Reiana's tie

I had some lovely orange yarn that came in a grab bag and I wasn't sure what to do with it, then it struck me, a tie would be perfect!  My daughter loves orange and the yarn was a drapey bamboo.  I couldn't find any suitable patterns online so started figuring out my own.  It took a couple tries, but the end product looks like a tie and can be worn a couple different ways.  I still have plenty of the bamboo so I'm planning to knit up more to post on my Etsy shop soon!http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fuSm60f6GnybrADGhMC_5YnWJjWkkQXruk82MMIHIIg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yQ8AQ_N61Tz6qQyb4A4dy4nWJjWkkQXruk82MMIHIIg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yWIEewZcZ6wzJMAieAiEHYnWJjWkkQXruk82MMIHIIg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SNio6eA_HcXLDVHiYh0DUInWJjWkkQXruk82MMIHIIg?feat=directlink

Hats

Recently fulfilled a couple of requested knits, both hats. The above pic is of a basketweave patterned hat requested by my son. He wanted something with a pattern but nothing too crazy. I didn't have the size 8 dpns called for so I used size 7. I didn't make any adjustments to the pattern otherwise though because it was meant for an adult and I was knitting for a kid. Plus the pattern indicated that it turned out pretty stretchy. It did feel like it was going to be too small, but I can actually fit it on my head, so it's just a snug knit.

I made the above hat for my sis after she saw the one I made for myself. Of course, I forgot to photograph mine! It's made with Lion Brand Homespun using a pattern made by Lion Brand just for this yarn.

Recycled Knits

I've got kids that wear through clothes like it's going out of style... They get stained, holey and too small all the time. As I was sorting what winter clothes would get packed and which ones were done for I remembered an e-newsletter I gotten around Earth Day that talked about knitting with recycled materials. So, instead of trashing the worn out stuff, I decided to cut it up into strips and try knitting with it.

My first project was with two pairs of holey jeans. I wasn't sure what I was making, I just had a couple ideas in mind. I tried a couple different size needles and ended up having to use my size 50 needles because the jean was too thick for anything else. I was hoping to make a bag of some sort, but the jeans I had didn't go that far. I ended up with a longer cowl-ish, necklace-ish thing. Haha... I was thinking if I add some flashy embellishments it could fit in on Etsy. So, while not what I had in mind, it's certainly not a failure either.

Next I had a pair of PJs that were too small for my daughter. I was able to make a cute little lightweight scarf for her. She thought it was hilarious because she could have people touch what they thought was a scarf and then tell them it was her pjs :-)

So, after cutting and knitting a couple of items I learned some things about working with recycled materials. The most important is to cut out all the seams, pockets, and lumpy parts. I tried working with the seams on my first two and came across two problems. The first being that, especially with jean, it's just too lumpy. Secondly, with the pjs, the seams can become unraveled during knitting and leave you with a hole.

After I cut out all the lumpy parts I start cutting my strips. I try to make the longest continuous piece possible, using the "z" way of back and forth cutting. When I have all my strips I make a ball out of it, just putting ends of strips together, not knotting them together.

I've started on my first unraveling too. The yarn is pretty thin, it was quite difficult to find a starting point, and the process itself is very tedious. I'm not sure how many more unraveling's I'll be doing because my fingers are starting to hurt!

Sneaky Snake

Ooo-hoo... I'm working TWO projects at once! Look out! Haha... so I had this green unknown yarn and thought it looked #1 great for a boy, and #2 like it should be a creature. I decided on snake and went looking for a pattern. I found one that fit just right. As I started going, I wasn't sure this yarn would work because of all the texture in it. I've done two repeats and I'm starting to think it's just right. The extra texture is working with this and you can still see the snake, it's just not totally obvious... kind of like a real snake, could be hiding in the grass or something. I might even add a little pink tongue when it's finished!