Some new stuff...

Here are a couple of projects I worked on lately... the first is my attempt at dying. I knit a double seed stitch in a light grey cotton yarn and wanted it to have a tint of purple. Obviously, that is not what happened! I used mostly grape with a touch of fruit punch "drink mix" and this picked up and held all the red tones. It is not horrible, just not what I was going for. I still need to do another vinegar wash to hopefully retain the color since this is cotton. It's too short to be a good scarf so I'm going to have to put some buttons on it or something.

The second and third pics are the scarf that I knit up using ribbon yarn. It's very slinky and fun. Not sure yet if this one will be a keeper for myself or if I'll put it up on Etsy. So, it will sit here for now :-)

Matcy matchy 2

I couldn't get all the pics to post in one, so here is the scarf that goes with the hats and the wristwarmers I just posted about.

Recycled Knitting Pics

2 pairs of kids jeans cut into strips and knit into a scarf and then ends weaved together; worn by an adult above; worn by a girl below

Jean Scarf with better coloring above

Recycled pjs, knit into a light scarf, above

This is as far as several hours painstakingly unraveling a sweater has gotten me!

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!

Windy City Twist... FInished

Finished this scarf for myself after taking a brief hiatis to do some christmas projects. Ended up liking the pattern and the way it worked out very much as the scarf took on some length.

Sneaky Snake

Sneaky Snake is done and Jonathan is happy! He decided on adding the eyes and tongue and I think that makes it extra cute!

I think this yarn worked so great for this project... at some angles you don't notice the cables and some you do.

I improvised on the end of the pattern a bit so that both sides would match. After finishing row 24 of my last set of the pattern I followed the pattern backwards starting with row 9. Once I had cast off I found some black yarn and knotted two pieces on for eyes and a bit of pink yarn was knotted on for the tongue.

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!

Windy City Twist

Finally starting to twist, might work out well after all... This twisty scarf was not an easy start. I began using a pattern that worked the length of the scarf, but I didn't have large enough needles. I tried to compensate by doubling the cast on stitches and was at 800 stitches on the circ needles when they broke! I then had a knotted mess of yarn... I took two days to get started and another two to unknot the mess!

I'm now two days into this version knitting across... I was a little worried as I didn't see how this would start to twist, but I've gotten to a point where I'm seeing it now. I'm just hoping I can finish it in less than a week so I'll have it for my trip to the Windy City!

Poinsetta in December

This is the take two on Mums in November. Since I made this one in December I renamed it for a common flower this month, the poinsetta. I followed Mums in November pattern-wise, except for length, as that was requested a bit shorter. Using just one skein I got this to my waist, my aunt is taller, so hopefully it'll be long enough. If not, I'll have to get creative as I don't know where I'd find more of this yarn.

The photo on the left turned out better showing off the color of the yarn, while the right was better on the pattern. Hotel photography is so touchy...

Mum's in November - Take 2

My mum's been wearing her scarf and I've gotten an "order" to make one for my aunt. She asked for it in teal, a little shorter, but everything else the same. I found the perfect color in an awesome little yarn shop here in the Seattle area for a great price... but only one skein. Hoping that it will work out since she did want it shorter!

After I finish the cabled scarf, hopefully tonight, I will cast on my aunt's scarf, hopefully tomorrow. Kind of exciting since it's the first thing I'm making for someone that actuallly asked for it!

I also picked up a bunch of other unique yarns at the shop that I'm trying to decide what to do with, so those will be sure to get featured soon...

Cabled Scarf?

While searching for one last skein of yarn for my cabled purse I started this scarf to keep me busy and practice my cables. I had some yarn left over from mum's scarf so I cast on 26 using size 10's. I followed basically the same theme as the purse's cables but with a little more pattern... I p1, k4, p1, k4, p1, k4, p1, k4, p1, k4, p1 on the "right" side and k1, p4, k1, p4, k1, p4, k1, p4, k1, p4, k1 on the "wrong". Every other time I was on the "right" side I cabled, p1, set 2 aside, k2, move 2 back, k2, p1, set 2 aside, k2, move 2 back, k2, p1, set 2 aside, k2, move 2 back, k2, p1, set 2 aside, k2, move 2 back, k2, p1, set 2 aside, k2, move 2 back, k2, p1.

Right now it's looking short and as you can see in the picture, not much yarn left to work with. Maybe it'll be more like a neck warmer :-)

Satin Ripple

I've started on my next scarf... I had found a pattern that called for lace weight so I was searching for that and ended up with Bernat Satin in Plum Mist Heather. When I went to find my pattern again, I couldn't! Hahaha... oh well. I just searched again and came up with http://www.numei.com/knittingpatterns_scarf_catrip1.htm

So I started it a day or two ago and have a few hours into it now. I've taken some photos of the progress as well as a close up to highlight the pattern. I'm not sure how long this will end up, but I'm leaning towards the shorter side. I think this pattern calls for it, too long will loose the punch.

Mums in November - Finished!

Finished!

The Mums in November scarf, gift for my mom's November birthday, is completed! I was able to get it done thanks to an unexpected 4 hour layover in Detroit this past week.

On 5"3' me it goes down to my knees, my mom is 5"7'. I'm debating about the fringe edging. Normally I don't do it and didn't plan to on this one, but for some reason I'm feeling it on this scarf.

Doing the photography of this scarf at the hotel, so using interesting pieces as models...

Mums in November

Knitting a scarf for my Mum's birthday at the end of November. I found this pattern for a daisy stitch and set to work with Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted Weight in Oxford Grey. Since daisy's aren't really in season, I named the scarf for a fall flower and the recipient.

I cast on 25 and have done the repeat about 5 times so far. This is what it looks like now...

From Knitting on the Road

Waterfall Scarf

I had some fairly thin purple yarn that I wanted to use up so I found a skinny scarf pattern that didn't utilize to much yarn and got knitting. I finished in about half a day and then blocked it a little. First time doing that! Just soaked it for about 20 minutes and then laid flat to dry. I found the pattern here: http://cosymakes.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/waterfall-scarf/

From Knitting on the Road