All of a sudden my creative juices are flowing and I have more ideas than I have time. (Thanks Pinterest!) Had to get some out of my head so I'm posting here.
Wreath of fall colored fabric flowers.
Fabric covered beaded necklace.
Fabric flower accessories.
Halloween costume (already got invited to a party and I can't wait).
Knitted lace bib necklace. Have seen some cool crochet ones, but not really knit ones. Need to chart out some stitch patterns from my old Vogue Knitting Stitch dictionary and play on paper before I can even consider casting on.
Lightweight knit sweater for B--yes, I think I'm finally ready to tackle that one. If I can only find the right yarn and afford a B's sweater amount of it.
Knit lace cowl. A long skinny continuous circle made up of a variety of lace/textured stitches. Probably in fingering weight. Lots of planning before I can do anything about this one.
Doubleknit coasters. Need to find or create a pattern. Never done doubleknitting, but it sounds interesting and I think the double thickness would be good for a coaster. I just started using a gauge swatch as a coaster because it was handy, but I think one made for this purpose would be even better. Maybe in grellow (gray and yellow <3).
Still want to knit a striped pullover with yarn I bought almost a year ago. Still need to design it. Trying to decide on neckline shape and stripe pattern. Here's my inspiration.
Just cast on for Folded. This is the perfect mindless knit so I can think of all my other ideas while knitting it :).
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Movie Monday: Zoo Babies!
Apparently summer time is baby time at the zoo. We made a quick trip to the Dallas Zoo before the heat hit too badly yesterday and saw these little cuties.
Baby warthogs (Toby and Teddy) born June 13th:
Baby girl giraffe born in July:
She's five weeks old and already 6 feet tall.
Baby flamingo:
There are actually two baby flamingos (easily visible with their gray feathers).
Baby Colobus monkey born July 13th:
If you watch closely, you'll see the little white baby playing around the black and white adults.
Just had to share a little zoo baby cuteness this Monday morning. Happy Monday, everyone!
Baby warthogs (Toby and Teddy) born June 13th:
Baby girl giraffe born in July:
She's five weeks old and already 6 feet tall.
Baby flamingo:
There are actually two baby flamingos (easily visible with their gray feathers).
Baby Colobus monkey born July 13th:
If you watch closely, you'll see the little white baby playing around the black and white adults.
Just had to share a little zoo baby cuteness this Monday morning. Happy Monday, everyone!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Boys will be boys
My boys have two baby dolls. One was given to J by my mom on his first birthday. The other one J picked out at the dollar store when I was pregnant with N.
Every so often the boys will pull them out and play "baby." Since we don't have doll furniture, they have to be creative.
Here is the baby bed:
Here is the baby's hamper:
Got to love it!
Every so often the boys will pull them out and play "baby." Since we don't have doll furniture, they have to be creative.
Here is the baby bed:
Here is the baby's hamper:
Got to love it!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Lemongrass Island: AFTER
I took my Rock Island shawl and gave it bath in warm water and Eucalan (no rinse wool wash).
Rolled it in a towel to get out excess water. Stretched it out and pinned it in place with blocking wires and pins.
And now, in less than 24 hours, this:
Has become this:
But to really appreciate its beauty, you have to see the outside shots where you can really appreciate the pretty color of this yarn and the delicate nature of this shawl.
Pattern: Rock Island by Jared Flood
Yarn: less than one skein of Sunrise Fiber Co. Lace Silk Merino in Lemongrass (80% Merino/ 20% Silk/ 50g/ 656yds)
Needles: Size 7
Finished size: 48" (at widest point) by 22" (at deepest point) [relaxed after blocking]
Mods: I wanted a smaller shawl--so I might actually wear it. I only did 61 repeats of the lace edging and thus only had 248 YOs to create 251 stitches. Then I only did 4 sets of garter stitch decreases to get to 235 st to start the Rock Island lace chart. For the chart, I only did 14 repeats (instead of 17) of the six stitch repeat. After the Rock Island chart, I followed the pattern as written until I had 13 st. I then did this as my final decrease row: K2, K2tog, K1, SSK, K2, SSK, K2. This left me 10 stitches. I grafted them together (5 and 5) using the Kitchener st.
On Ravelry here.
Rolled it in a towel to get out excess water. Stretched it out and pinned it in place with blocking wires and pins.
And now, in less than 24 hours, this:
Has become this:
But to really appreciate its beauty, you have to see the outside shots where you can really appreciate the pretty color of this yarn and the delicate nature of this shawl.
Pattern: Rock Island by Jared Flood
Yarn: less than one skein of Sunrise Fiber Co. Lace Silk Merino in Lemongrass (80% Merino/ 20% Silk/ 50g/ 656yds)
Needles: Size 7
Finished size: 48" (at widest point) by 22" (at deepest point) [relaxed after blocking]
Mods: I wanted a smaller shawl--so I might actually wear it. I only did 61 repeats of the lace edging and thus only had 248 YOs to create 251 stitches. Then I only did 4 sets of garter stitch decreases to get to 235 st to start the Rock Island lace chart. For the chart, I only did 14 repeats (instead of 17) of the six stitch repeat. After the Rock Island chart, I followed the pattern as written until I had 13 st. I then did this as my final decrease row: K2, K2tog, K1, SSK, K2, SSK, K2. This left me 10 stitches. I grafted them together (5 and 5) using the Kitchener st.
On Ravelry here.
Well, I finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined Pinterest. For people who don't know about Pinterest, it is a place to create and save virtual pinboards. I have been avoiding it because I was scared of how much time I might spend on it, but I finally gave in. It's great. Now instead of bookmarking every knit pattern, inspiration piece, recipe or cool crafty idea, I can just "pin" them on one of my Pinterest boards. I love how easy it is to use. I love having access to the cool things I have found and the cool things others have found.
Anyway, being on Pinterest has made me want to do lots of crafty things. Two types of crafty things I've been seeing everywhere are felt and fabric flowers. I found and pinned a few tutorials and started playing. Here are the few I've done so far.
I found a really cool tutorial for felt flowers and made this one:
This flower was SO easy to make and I think it is quite cute.
The person who made the tutorial, also made a really cool wreath covered in these flowers. I was thinking it would be fun to make a fall wreath. Then I remembered some cool fabric orange and white fabric I have and thought the fabric would look cool on a fall wreath. So I tried to use this method to make a fabric rose. My first attempt was a total fail--the fabric was too thin and one-sided. Then I tried gluing two circles of fabric together and that worked a little better:
I'm still not 100% satisfied. I decided to try a different technique for making a fabric flower. I looked at this tutorial and this one. I didn't follow either of them exactly, but ended up with this on my first try:
Besides the fact that this fabric is boring (didn't want to use up any good fabric while I learned the ropes), I think this turned out pretty cute. Not sure if this method will really show off the cuteness of the fabric I wanted to use. Will have to play more with size of fabric strip I use (width and length). I also need to decide if I want to use the glue method or sewn together method. Mine right now are just folded together but not held together with anything. I did one last attempt with a more interesting fabric and here it is:
I only folded my fabric in half once because I like a little bit of the raw edge to show. I think it adds interest.
Anyway, that is my craftiness for now. If you are on Pinterest or decide to join, let me know so I can follow you and be inspired by what inspires you :). You can follow me too if you want.
Anyway, being on Pinterest has made me want to do lots of crafty things. Two types of crafty things I've been seeing everywhere are felt and fabric flowers. I found and pinned a few tutorials and started playing. Here are the few I've done so far.
I found a really cool tutorial for felt flowers and made this one:
This flower was SO easy to make and I think it is quite cute.
The person who made the tutorial, also made a really cool wreath covered in these flowers. I was thinking it would be fun to make a fall wreath. Then I remembered some cool fabric orange and white fabric I have and thought the fabric would look cool on a fall wreath. So I tried to use this method to make a fabric rose. My first attempt was a total fail--the fabric was too thin and one-sided. Then I tried gluing two circles of fabric together and that worked a little better:
I'm still not 100% satisfied. I decided to try a different technique for making a fabric flower. I looked at this tutorial and this one. I didn't follow either of them exactly, but ended up with this on my first try:
Besides the fact that this fabric is boring (didn't want to use up any good fabric while I learned the ropes), I think this turned out pretty cute. Not sure if this method will really show off the cuteness of the fabric I wanted to use. Will have to play more with size of fabric strip I use (width and length). I also need to decide if I want to use the glue method or sewn together method. Mine right now are just folded together but not held together with anything. I did one last attempt with a more interesting fabric and here it is:
I only folded my fabric in half once because I like a little bit of the raw edge to show. I think it adds interest.
Anyway, that is my craftiness for now. If you are on Pinterest or decide to join, let me know so I can follow you and be inspired by what inspires you :). You can follow me too if you want.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Lemongrass Island: BEFORE
Finished knitting my lace shawl! Here it is:
My Lemongrass Island!
Okay, so it doesn't look like much yet. But just wait to until I block it. Then the magic happens.
AFTER pictures coming soon.
My Lemongrass Island!
Okay, so it doesn't look like much yet. But just wait to until I block it. Then the magic happens.
AFTER pictures coming soon.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
WIP: Rock Island
Although J's starting Kindergarten has been the focus of our household this week (and the last few to be honest), I am still knitting when I get a chance. I've been getting up early and thus heading to bed early so not doing as much knitting as I would like. However I am still making progress on my lace shawl, Rock Island, or as I've renamed mine Lemongrass Island.
This is where I am now.
I am making mine on Size 7 needles to meet gauge. But I wanted mine slightly smaller than the original pattern, so I did 61 instead of 71 repeats of the lace edging. Picking up stitches into YO loops took much longer than I expected. Some of my loops were obvious and some were not. Had 248 YOs [2 + 244 (61 x 4) + 2] and picked up 251 stitches (increasing 3 in middle 4 stitches as suggested). I realized that I needed to do just 4 sets of the two garter stitch rows (a total of 16 stitches decreased) to get the correct stitch count to start the Rock Island chart. After these rows I had 235 stitches to start Rock Island chart. I followed the chart as written except did the 6 stitch repeat 14 times (instead of 17). I messed up the Rock Island chart a few times early on and had to redo those rows. I then highlighted the SSKs and soon memorized the pattern. After that, it was smooth sailing. I have since finished the Rock Island chart and am slowly working my way through the garter stitch decrease rows. I have about 40 more rows to go. Can't wait to finish and block. This shawl is BEAUTIFUL after blocking.
This is where I am now.
I am making mine on Size 7 needles to meet gauge. But I wanted mine slightly smaller than the original pattern, so I did 61 instead of 71 repeats of the lace edging. Picking up stitches into YO loops took much longer than I expected. Some of my loops were obvious and some were not. Had 248 YOs [2 + 244 (61 x 4) + 2] and picked up 251 stitches (increasing 3 in middle 4 stitches as suggested). I realized that I needed to do just 4 sets of the two garter stitch rows (a total of 16 stitches decreased) to get the correct stitch count to start the Rock Island chart. After these rows I had 235 stitches to start Rock Island chart. I followed the chart as written except did the 6 stitch repeat 14 times (instead of 17). I messed up the Rock Island chart a few times early on and had to redo those rows. I then highlighted the SSKs and soon memorized the pattern. After that, it was smooth sailing. I have since finished the Rock Island chart and am slowly working my way through the garter stitch decrease rows. I have about 40 more rows to go. Can't wait to finish and block. This shawl is BEAUTIFUL after blocking.
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