"Why did Bluebell have to die, Dr. Stapleton?"

In case the post title up there didn't give it away, I'm back to working on my Sherlock blanket like I said I would (finally!)

From the Hounds of Baskerville episode of the show, this square was for the Bluebell and the lab where a little genetics tinkering made him glow.

 

I used the same grey here that I did for the background on the wallpaper square, and I think it worked well. In the light there is almost a stainless steel work table look to it. I really wish I had been able to find some glow in the dark yarn for the cables, but other than that I think the square is perfect.

I love how almost all the members of the group have stepped up designed squares, and that people keep throwing ideas out. This one was designed by Rav member Sadbhyl back in October - I am so behind, that isn't even the earliest one I'm missing! There are now so many great patterns now that my blanket would probably triple in size if I made them all.

As if all those werent enough to keep me busy, I still have a few square ideas in my head. I'm trying to work on catching up before I actually plan/write them out though. I think the current TV series is being pretty well covered, and there is at least one pattern in progress for the Granada series (yay!) but I would still like some more book related squares. Possibly add a couple of stereotypical Sherlock symbols like a pipe or magnifying glass too.

For now though, it's back to the existing patterns - next on the needles is a Mrs. Hudson inspired lace square.

 

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...And sometimes my pants are on fire

Quoting from the end of my last post over three weeks ago -

"As busy as I've kept myself, there are still too many neglected WIPs in the basket. The two getting to me the most are my Sherlock blanket (so many awesome squares just begging to be knit) and my nieces' playmat (after such good progress starting out I have totally stalled over the past month)

I'm promising myself to give them both (along with my other WIPs) a little more attention before starting anything else new."

Soooooo that ended up being a lie. Mostly unintentional, but still...

Instead of doing either of those things I started two entirely new things. Whoops?

 

For a done-in-a-day project I sewed a WIP pouch using the easy-peasy idiot-proof tutorial here.

I wanted to make the most of the materials I had stashed, without wasting any or running short. This tutorial shows how to lay things out and where to sew them together, while leaving the exact measurements up to you. It might be a no-brainer for someone who sews a lot, but for a fraidy-cat beginner like me it was perfect! While I feel reasonably confident winging mods on my knitting, I'm not a great sewer and fabric still scares me a little.

I used the fabric leftovers from the two box bags I made a while back - used every bit of the lining, but I still have some of the outer fabric left over. I'm sure I'll find something to do with it (Pinterest is always good for finding ideas, even if it is a major time suck LOL) The zipper had been sitting in a drawer for as long as the fabric. I had bought it because I liked the color, but it was longer than I really wanted for those box bags. This style of pouch has a large opening, so I was able to use it and ended up trimming off only a small amount.

I wanted this pouch to coordinate with that box bag, but wasnt trying to just make a larger duplicate. I didn't make the corners stand up by themselves, but I did round them off to 'fancy it up' a little. I top stitched (I think that's the term?) by the zipper. Still not exactly straight, but I'm getting better!

Here's some pictures, the first including my box bag for size comparison. The new pouch is about 10x15 inches, pretty good sized for an average project.

So now I have a lovely lined project bag that I can use when I start up some of those Sherlock blanket squares like I said I would.

I also started knitting a new project. Not something small either, another short sleeve cardi - the heathered hoodie vest. Well, it might be hooded when I finish, I'm undecided. I've seem some projects where people have replaced the hood with a 2x3 ribbed collar, and I'm considering doing the same.

I've had the pattern and yarn for this project since 2011, so it's not like I started on a whim BUT it definitely doesn't go along with my goal of wrapping up WIPs at all! That said, I'm glad to finally be working on it, and am looking forward to when it's finished and I can wear it. Starting it now means there is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't have it done by fall, right? Right?! As of now I'm 2/3 of the way done with the back panel, moving right along.

The color has been tricky to capture, but is more true (maybe still a little too dark) in the close up here -

Just a warning if you get the pattern from the Best of Knitscene book like I did - There is some very important errata you can find here. Four out of the six cable instructions were wrong, and I had to find out by looking through the comments, because it wasn't on the Rav main pattern page notes. Even though people in the comments had suggested it be added. Yeah, you can probably guess that irritated me a little. Still, I like the cardi so it's not like I'm going to let a few typos keep me down for long.

 

Oh, and then BFs nephew and I put some time into doing this knitting themed puzzle. I say we did it, but once the border was done, he pretty much was too. I couldn't walk by without putting a few pieces in though, so after a couple nights it was done. I developed a sock yarn crush on that green at the top. And the pink towards the middle. Yarn in puzzle form isn't nearly as much fun to pet though.

(Ignore the scrap of material on the gingerbread man bit,

I didn't realize it was there until after the puzzle was taken apart so no chance to resnap a pic)

 

The only attention my WIPs have gotten lately is the 5 inches I added to my gypsy scarf and the few leaves I've done on the embroidery project. Neither one is far enough along to even warrant updating pictures, so instead I'll (once again) close a post by promising myself to do better next time. Who knows, maybe this time I actually mean it!

 

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The Catch of Having a Crafty Blog

Either I'm in a creative slump, have tons of time to write a post, but no projects to talk about. Makes for very regular posting, but not all that exciting reading

Or

I'm keeping myself so busy I have tons I could talk about, but no time to string together the words and pictures it takes to make a post.

 

Since it's been over a month since my last post, I'm pretty sure you can guess which applies to me right now.

I'm taking the time now though, so scroll down and see what I've been up to.

 

First, some of the WIPs from last time have become FOs. I think all the links are in the last post, but if not let me know and I can point you towards the patterns.

 

My fancy washcloth - Soft and Sproingy, still loving the Dishie.

 

 

The HurlyBurly was finished in time for BFs nepjew's birthday and he loved it.

Edit - I forgot the picture!

 

Flower power - A test knit, will be a gift for my younger niece. I think it looks like it could have come from the Plants vs Zombies game, so I borrowed BFs little zombie doctor for photo time.

 

Baby Surprise Jacket - which now has a baby-to-be in mind, BFs older nephew and his GF are expecting. I'm calling it finished, but I'll still have to sew on the buttons once I know whether the baby is a boy or girl. Once that's done, I'll take the final project pics and then gift. For now, you can have my preseaming pics -

Lumpy-looking mess

And all folded up, front and back

 

And for my last FO, Charlotte's sweater. This one wasn't a WIP on my last post, in fact I finished it in three days. This is the second wurstwärmer I've knit, and that helped it fly by a little quicker. I knit the size small again, but at a tighter gauge and longer length. After a year of wear, the last one was starting to be both too saggy and too short, so hopefully those changes will help the new one fit her better for longer. I also went from Hikoo Simplicity to the (sadly discontinued) Felici Sport. I love how the striping turned out, and was happy to see it has a higher nylon and still feels just as soft.

Here's a picture of it laying out, to show the short row shaping that works perfect for these types of dogs

And a shot of her modeling it begrudgingly. Charlotte just isn't the camera hound that Sadie is.

 

Now to the continuing WIPs -

My gypsy scarf is still moving along. After a mishap where I had to reknit it several inches, I decided to play it safe/smart and throw a lifeline in at the halfway mark.

 

 

Related to that little mishap I just mentioned, I decided something more mindless was needed for knitting while watching Walking Dead. So, the hexiflats for my barely started BeeKeeper's quilt are now not just for car rides anymore.

Here's a recentish picture of what I have so far -

 

 

Aaaaaaand for brand new WIPs -

Because I have almost zero willpower when it comes to New Things I picked up another couple of craft books and a few supplies to get me started with them (three cheers for tax refund time!)

 

Doodle Stitching Embroidery and Beyond by Aimee Ray

I know this sounds crazy, being that I constantly whine about hating sewing but when I saw the cute little mushroom pincushion on the cover I got drawn in. By the time I peeked inside the book knew I had to have it, and that me and sewing were going to have to make friends just enough for me to get the hang of this style of embroidery. Seriously, if you are at all crafty, and need a high dose of in your face adorableness, you need to check this book out.

Being that I'm an absolute embroidery newbie, with far more enthusiasm than skill, I'm not expecting all that much out of myself right away. I picked up some plain white fabric out of the remnant bin, one of those handy 100-some odd colors of floss packs (which was only $2 more than a 30 pack - huh?!?). I still had a couple of the hoops I got at the thrift store back at Christmas time, so once I transferred the pattern to fabric using the super high tech technique of tracing against a window (flashback to elementary school days there!) I was ready to start.

I decided to start with the family tree. Not because I particularly want to make a family tree (in fact I plan to leave the name circles off) but I loved the tree scene and it seemed like a good sampling of stitches to practice.

 

To say I'm slow going at this would be an understatement, but in my defense I just barely started working on it. Another month or two ... or three and I might actually finish!

 

Slow moving, yet awesome brings me to the other book I bought

 

Extreme Double Knitting by Alasdair Post-Quinn

I've done a few double knitting projects before- a potholder, bookmark and a panel for a tote bag. I wanted to learn more though. How to make nicer edges, do some shaping stuff like that. This book should help me with that and more. More colors, cables, different patterns on each side ... So much packed into this book.

Warning is that these patterns look like they are concentration heavy. I'm planning on using it for when I want a challenge, definitely not chatty-knit-group or TV watching friendly (at least not yet!)

I've starting knitting a trivet using one of the exercises on two pattern double knitting and some cotton from my stash.

 

I'm only a little ways in, but you can already see the pattern coming out. I'm not sure I like the idea of twisting the stitches on purpose, but I'm trying to reserve judgement until I'm done since I'm not going to switch partway through! After all, a trivet is a pretty easy thing to experiment with, it's not like looking imperfect would really hurt anything.

 

I had a few other things going, including spinning and a dye experiment. I'm going to save that for my next crafty dry spell though, because this post has gone on long enough (in fact, I feel like I should offer a gold star to anyone that reads this far!)

 

As busy as I've kept myself, there are still too many neglected WIPs in the basket. The two getting to me the most are my Sherlock blanket (so many awesome squares just begging to be knit) and my nieces' playmat (after such good progress starting out I have totally stalled over the past month)

I'm promising myself to give them both (along with my other WIPs) a little more attention before starting anything else new.

 

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Is there a such thing as Craft-Centric ADD?

Quite a change from last week, when I only worked on one thing. This week I flitted from project to project, with an attention span no better than a fruit fly.

 

Seriously! There is no reason a washcloth should be a WIP after a week, especially when I'd already cast on for it before then...my only excuse is that it's a fancy pattern, that counts for something right? Nice looking and it's sproingy.

 

 

I got this skein of Knit Pick's Dishie for Christmas, and I like how it doesn't hurt my hands to work with like some of the cottons. I like the bold color (it's called Kenai), and feelwise I would compare it to Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton (a plus in my book, it's quite soft)

 

I worked on two toys this week, one is the Hurly burly I'm making for BFs nephew for his birthday. He picked put the pattern, and it's an interesting one that you can turn inside out to change the look on.

 

 

I'm not even half way done, so it isn't much to look at now BUT having it done by his birthday next month shouldn't be a problem.

 

The other toy is one I just started, so (again) it isn't much to look at yet - test knitting a hugable flower doll designed by Kimberly Gintar that I'm pretty sure I'll be giving my my younger niece.

 

 

The pattern should be available soon after testing is finished, and I've heard there will also be a pattern coming up for a cute little watering can.

 

Then there's the lace scarf I started right after Christmas. I'm using the Noro Sekku I got as a prize after the Ravelympics Ravellenic Games. Love the yarn and love how it looks in this pattern. I've already knit far enough that it's too long to lay out flat and still be able to take a good picture.

 

 

The Gypsy Rose Scarf is a simple two row repeat pattern that shows off the yarn well and is a great beginning lace pattern. I'm hoping to have enough yarn for a nice long, loopable scarf. I think I should have more than enough yarn but I've misjudged amounts before. Not July am I new to working with lace weight, thick and thin yarn can be tricky on guesstimating.

 

And I started another new project. One of my favorite Ravelry groups is doing a Baby Surprise KAL. I'm told that through some sort of folding magic this oddly shaped blob of knitting will eventually turn into a baby sweater.

 

 

No, there isn't a particular baby, or baby to be, that I'm knitting it for. It is just that there have been too many times when I've wanted to give a hand knit gift to an expecting friend, but have run out of time before the baby comes. Those 9 months just fly by when you aren't the one pregnant (I have heard that is NOT the case when you're the expectant mom!) I'm planning a couple gifts like this sweater that I can stash away, and have ready for giving so I'm not running to the store and buying whatever at the last minute.

There are some really cute mods for this pattern out there, but right now I'm keeping it simple and just knitting as written since this is my first one. If I like the pattern enough to make more, I will probably branch out and try some of the things I saw on other knitter's projects.

 

I am worrying about the size. I know everyone says it seems big at first, but... It looks really really big! I have a feeling I'll be ending up with a one year size instead of 6 months. Oh well, the good thing about there not being a planned recipient is that there's no such thing as a perfect fit, right? My next one might be fingering weight though (and not in generic baby pastels, I want to work with some color!)

 

In an attempt to clean up my craft room so I can find things (like missing DPNs) and get back to other crafts (spinning, scrapping and attempting to learn how to sew better) I've been spending at least 15 minutes every day in there setting things to rights. Since the first of the year. And I'm not done. This should give you a clue about what a disaster it was.

I'm making progress though, and when I was able to find the top of the main counter I found a scrapbook page started when I was first learning to spin (May 2012). I figured it was well past time I printed the pictures so I could finish it.

 

 

Please excuse the not-so-great scan if the page. We bought a new scanner since the last time I did this, and I haven't worked out how to keep everything in focus with a 3D heavy page. That and unfortunately it still cuts off the edge.

 

The reason I wanted to scrap this - besides the fact I think crafting about crafting is kind of funny - was that everyone says you should keep your very first yarn spun to look back at and see how far you've come. Being that my first attempt was with the tiny bit of fluff that came with my spindle, I was afraid I would lose it. Solution - I stuck some of the unspun, some of the yarn and some of the yarn knit into a swatchlette on small pieces of cardstock. Also, I coiled some of the yarn into a ball and glued it on the page to dot the I in my title.

 

 

Last but not least - Just so you don't think I entirely abandoned the playmat, I still did work on it some.

 

Here is last week again -

 

 

And now this week -

 

 

I filled in the lower road some more, the path near the pond, and the grass above the field. Sadly, not much progress at all.

On the bright side there was all the other crafting and cleaning I got done...

We won't talk about how I discovered there is now a Temple Run 2, and that sucks way more than its fair share of time away...

 

This coming week, I'm going to try to make at least one of my WIPs into a FO. That way the week after I can focus on the playmat again.

 

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A week with only one project? Practically unheard of!

This past week I only worked on the playmat for my nieces. Mostly because my motivation was still running high on it (new project and all) and also partly because my brain didn't want to focus on any complicated patterns due to having a cold/flu/horrific-alien-plague.

 

Flashback to my post last week - here was the playmat with the areas drawn out and a few borders stitched

 

And here we are a week later -

 

I think I've made a good amount of progress. All the outer and main borders are done, and even started filling in the road and part of the grass by the fields. The lower row has been widened and had curves added since last week. I've decided to shrink the fields a little to leave more room for the barn and animals I want in that section. The roads and water will all be outlined in the brown (think dirt on the shore and shoulders on the road) and I've already done over half of that.

The bit of progress I'm happiest about is the latchhook grass.

On my first playmat I used one main color for that section with just a couple clumps of different colors. It looks okay, but it is a little too dark and not ... Fun

 

This time around, to make it look more interesting, I am using three sets of three colors - middle greens for the main grass, lighter greens for small bushy areas, and then a dark green with red and pink for a flower look.

 

Some of the colors are from a latch hook set I picked up cheap at the thrift store, but most came from the giant bag of odds and ends scrap yarn given to me by a couple of the ladies in my knitting group. Those pieces I cut to size myself using a template made from plastic canvas. I wind the yarn around it and then cut along one of the long sides. It isn't perfect, but the small variation there is in sizes makes the grass look more natural.

And here is how it looks when the colors are all put together. It might be less realistic, but it is much more interesting to look at.

 

I really like how it's shaping up. Almost enough to make me want to redo that section on the first mat. Almost. I will definitely do something similar if I ever get around the making the castle set.

 

So, that was my week. I still plan on working on the playmat some more this next week, but don't expect quite as much progress next time. I have some neglected WIPs that are calling out for attention.

Plus there's this blanket kit I got for my birthday practically demanding to be cast on ...

 

 

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Knit a fantasy story - take two

I haven't finished my own playmat yet, but I've made a start on the one for my nieces anyway.

Now I know that nobody is ever going to accuse me of being tall, but you do have to admit that a playmat nearly my height is BIG.

For a little bit more reference - here is a picture of my (now seemingly small, and still unfinished after 8 months!) playmat sitting on top of the new one while I drew some of the placement lines on -

 

... I'm thinking it's good thing I've already started the new one, because it's taken a week just to get the layout planned and this little bit of edging/outlining done! It might not be a technically difficult project, but it is very time consuming.

My original plan had been get the mat done this spring (between their birthdays) and send them extra pieces at Christmas time. But then I started thinking how that would be months of waiting for the animals, people, houses etc that would actually be what made the playmat fun. I talked to my sister and ran a change of plans past her - Saving the mat till Christmas and dividing the animals and whatnot up advent-calendar style. She agreed it would be a good idea.

Now that I realize exactly how much bigger this mat is (I'm terrible at judging size based on measurements. Terrible!) I'm glad I've bought myself those few extra months. I'll need them!

I really really want to get this done by the end of the year, and so hopefully motivation will keep me moving along on it.

 

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Everything is so Hush Hush lately!

The problem with having a crafting blog and having friends with a better than average working knowledge of how to google you is this - you can't really feel comfortable posting about any of your gift projects before the holidays for fear the surprise will be ruined.

Even now, there are a few things I can't post about because they're secret and it is killing me. Seriously. You have no idea.

What I can post about are the projects that have safely made it to their new homes, and are already being enjoyed.