Jaded Dreams but Warm Hands

Another pair of mittens finished! I once again used the Wool-Ease Mittens pattern by Stephanie Taylor. This was knit with 100 yards of Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Bulky yarn with size 10 double point needles. These are really warm and the fit is perfect. If anyone wants the details on my project pop on over to my Ravelry page. (I did very minor mods on the pattern - the pattern is pretty much perfect just as it was written!)

I keep making mittens in an effort to stop my hands from cracking and bleeding so much. Sadly - it's not helping too much. I am still struggling with chapped and bloody hands. BUT I will keep trying to wear mittens and moisturize in an effort to stop this.

 

Temperatures are well below normal here in the Twin Cities. It's been cold and the roads have been awful to drive on. Every year I wonder why we live here. It's just bitter cold and miserable. Maybe I will have to look at pictures of my garden from this summer. Summer in Minnesota is awesome. 

Number 15 in Mulberry

Project Name: Number 15 in Mulberry
Pattern Name: This is pattern #15 from The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs by Linda P. Schapper
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Mulberry Merino 2 skeins = 198.0 yards (181.1m) in color 8783
Hook: 6.0 mm (J)
Size: 6" x 64"
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

More stash busting. More experimenting with stitches from my crochet stitch dictionary.

I had never worked with this yarn before, and although it's SUPER EVIL to rip out, I love how it worked up in this stitch. It's really soft and squishy.

The pattern was addictive to work. I found myself working on it all the time. You can go miles in no time. Very happy with the results!

Another Sheep(ish) Hooker

Project Name: Another Sheep(ish) Hooker
Pattern Name: n/a (Just Double Crochet)
Yarn: Caron Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) 2 skeins = 334.0 yards (305.4m) in Magenta(ish)
Hook: 10.0 (N) hook
Size: 72 inches x 5.5 inches
Love: ♥♥♥♥

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

More stash busting and lunchtime crocheting. I held two strands of this yarn together and chained 12 stitches, then worked double crochet until I ran out of yarn. The last one I made was really warm and I found myself wearing it all the time. (January in Minnesota = Lots of knitwear!) Very pleased with this. It worked up fast and even though it's a holey stitch the scarf is still very warm. Can't wait to wear this!

Azalea Hat

Project Name: Azalea Hat
Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat

Yarn: 50 yards of Lion Brand Hometown USA Tweeds in Phoenix Azalea
Needle: US 15 (16" circ) for the body and US 13 Double Points for the last bit
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ Hard to donate this one - TOO Cute!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

 

I know my blog is turning into a hat parade! But this pattern is really easy to knit in bed at night and since I am donating most of them to the Pine Ridge Reservation I feel like it's ok to hog up my blog with the same hat over and over. Also - It's about all I am knitting these days. All my other time is spent studying for the A+ certification and trying to figure out Ohm's Law and fun stuff like that. **Yawn**

This hat is so cute I had a hard time putting it in the donation box. It really tried to make it's way into my hat drawer! But I was firm and told it NO. I can't tell you how warm and wonderful this pattern is. Easy as pie, cheap yarn, and machine washable and dry-able. Love it!

Pasture & Sky Hat

Project Name: Pasture & Sky
Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat
Yarn: Lion Brand Hometown USA in Washington Denim & Lion Brand Thick & Quick in Grass. Hat weighed in at 110 grams so I used 64 yards approximately.
Needle: Us 15 for most of it and then 13 Double points for the bind off
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥ Lots of love. It's not my favorite I have made of this pattern (that would be the red/gray/black from earlier this week)

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

Another charity hat for the Pine Ridge Reservation. This is #2 and I am looking at my stash so I can cast on another!

This hat I had intended to be shorter, but I ran out of the green yarn on the last three rows! So I improvised and added a final blue stripe and then bound off in the blue. I think the result is pretty good. When you put it on you can raise and lower the brim to cover your ears better if it's needed. I forgot how nice that option is - too many beanies knit lately I think. You just don't get the same ear coverage with the shorter beanie style.

I may have to knit more like this!

A Hat!

 

This was almost an instant hat and I am so happy I did it!

I have been admiring this pattern on Ravelry for a while now. The pattern is for Spud & Chloe and was created by Susan B. Anderson and is called "Slope Hat". I had avoided it for awhile because:

 

* It's not available as a download.

* Spud and Chloe charge kind of a lot for their patterns. $8.00 for a hat pattern is a little hard to justify for me.

* The yarn for their patterns is also expensive. Outer runs around $16.00 and you get 60 yards. Ouch.

 

So I kind of resolved myself to just admire the pattern and never make it. Then I clicked on a link for kpixie on Ravelry and found out I could get the hat and pattern for less than the cost they normally charge for just a ball of the yarn. I ordered it almost instantly! I didn't have a choice in the color of the yarn, but I was ok with the Hedge Green. I really liked the deal I got from kpixie, the yarn came very fast and they offer some great deals on their site. (I will be shopping there again!)

 

So I cast on with size 15 7" circulars and would have finished it in one sitting if I hadn't been so darn tired. I made myself stop when I got to the point I needed to switch to double points and finished it off the next morning.

 

I really like the yarn! It's superwash wool and cotton and it felt almost soapy to me when I was knitting (I can't find any other way to describe the texture - Soapy was how I described it to my hubby.) I love how it lays in the pattern, the cable looks really nice. The hat fits really well and I know I will wear it a lot this winter.

I am already looking through my stash for more yarns to work this pattern in. It only used 50 yards of the Outer! I have a fantasy of making several more in outer and then making something out of all the left over 10 yard chunks. We will see. I am pretty sure my yarn budget is already destroyed for 2013.....

A "Quick" Eyeglass Case

I admit - I am terrible with my sunglasses. I pretty much abuse them. I throw them in my purse with no protection and allow my keys and miscellaneous flotsam to drift around them. Shockingly I recently discovered all my sunglasses look REALLY bad. (I wonder why?!?!) So I had to get a new pair. And since I didn't want my new sunglasses to look like my old ones, I decided to whip out a really quick sunglass case to carry them in my purse.

I don't have a picture of me crocheting the case, but I pretty much just chained until the length felt right and then made a large rectangle. For the length I just crocheted until the case held my glasses and had plenty left over for a long flap to cover the front of the case. This will make sense if you look down a couple pictures, but I pretty much folded it in thirds and crocheted the first and second third together to make a pouch - and the third fold was the flap. I made this in Lion Brand Cotton and crocheted it with 5.00 (H) hook.

After I had my case all together I decided to go one step further and line the case to protect my new glasses even more. I had some scraps of flannel in my fabric bins, so I just grabbed a chunk of flannel and did a really quick sloppy stitch job on my machine.

Here is a picture of the Flannel pocket inside out . I did a little top seam on each top and then did a side seam on each side. I had washed and ironed this a long time ago - which is part of why I chose to use this scrap. And since the outside of the case is cotton - this is in theory machine washable and dryable if I ever spill on it.

I flipped my crochet case inside out and then flipped my flannel liner right side out. I inserted my crocheted case inside my flannel liner and did a simple hand stitching around the edge of the liner to attach it to the case. I used a thick nylon thread and held it double to get a really strong attachment. After the liner was sewed in, I simply flipped it around and then sewed a little button on. The crochet is open enough that I don't have to worry about a button hole. And the liner protects the glasses from the scratching of the button.

And Ta Da! Finished eyeglass case!

The case is slightly larger than  my glasses - so I think it will adapt well to different glasses. The Black cotton should keep pen marks and finger smudge appearance to a minimum. And the flannel liner will probably rub my glasses clean for me as I carry them around.

Here is a picture of my glasses in the case. As you can see the button is at the limit. I should have put the glasses in the bag and then decided where to sew on the button, but it still works.

I really was just going to "quick whip out" a glass case and was not trying to create a masterpiece or anything. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed by projects and it will prevent me from doing things sometimes, so I really went into this with a light heart and little planning. I am pleased with the results!

Nimbus Cowl

I came home tonight and my Nimbus Cowl was done blocking! Yay! Another finished object!

This cowl is a free pattern on Ravelry called the Stacked Eyelet Cowl. I knit this out of Zitron Nimbus (you see now where I got the name, yeah?) and I used about 1.75 skeins of yarn. The pattern was very easy and the eyelet rows keep you from snoring. Love how it blocked out.

Here you see Emma modeling it. It looks really good on her - but she would just destroy the heck out of this - so..... I guess I will just have to keep it for me!

This is actually really perfect for wearing with my black pea coat. It covers up that open neck perfectly - giving just a really nice pop of color. Another happy project!

More detailed notes on my Nimbus Cowl can be found in my Ravelry Project Page.

Wonder Twin Powers - ACTIVATE

I am trying to slowly work into a crochet-capable existence. I am improving and I can mimic uTube videos, but I cannot read the language yet. I decided recently to use up some of my scrap from my Treadmill afghan and knit up a couple headbands.

I am pretty pleased with the results! The first one is in Purple and the second is a pretty Teal. They are both in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky and I used just over a half skein on each of these.

I had the thought that I could give these as Christmas gifts, but then I thought....No. Too scratchy for your average Joe. So, alas, I will have to keep them all to my greedy self! (yay!)

I am fairly sure these are single crochet. I used an (h) size hook and chained 13 for my foundation. Then I just hooked and hooked until it went around my head. Then I crocheted both ends together and that was that!

I love how fast crochet is. I love the freedom of just whipping out a quick headband. Sadly my wrist is now KILLING me from making these, so I can't see doing much crochet in one sitting in the future. Maybe I can work up to it - but pain is a pretty big motivator to NOT mess yourself up.

Pocketbook Slippers

I finished my Pocketbook Slippers and I love them! They are a free pattern on Ravelry, and they used just under 1 skein of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Yarn (stash buster!)

I knit these up thinking it would be wonderful to have a tiny pair of slippers to throw into my house when I go to friends houses this winter. We get a LOT of snow - so we generally take our shoes off when we go into someones home, and then I spend the night sitting on one foot and then the other because my feet are frozen! So this will help keep me warm without having to haul giant slippers with!

You can see the seam on the center of my foot as well as where I seamed the center strap as well. Very clever construction. These are knit flat and then you seam up the ribbing areas for the front and the back of the foot - and then the two tabs on the ends become the strap over the foot. The pattern is so easy! I cast on for Thanksgiving because I wanted a really simple project to work on and just couldn't face another scarf or hat.

We are already in snow season so I suspect I will be getting some serious wear out of these. I think that is why the Knit Picks was a good choice too - it's a tougher wool than say Malabrigo. (Malabrigo would be pretty and warm - but I suspect they would have holes in them pretty darn quick!)

They fit like a dream and will tuck in my purse with no problem. I was tempted to put embellishments on them (buttons or flowers) but in the end decided they should be plain for me. I had visions of my headphones wrapping around buttons or flowers and really just wanted neat and simple for purse rides.

Wonderful pattern! Love them!

Wine about Winter Mitts

I do a lot of knitting with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky yarn. Both of my Tread Mill afghans have been knit from this yarn and I use the left overs from these afghans for lots of fast projects. I recently came across this free pattern Easy Half Mitten 106 on Ravelry.

This is a great pattern! It used up slightly more than a half skein of yarn (under 70 yards) and the mitts fit wonderfully. The yarn is really thick so I know these will keep me warm while I work on the computer this winter.

 I really like the thumb on this pattern. It's worked in pattern so you don't end up having to do some complicated gusset. It's very simple and yet very clever. I really like it!

I am fairly pleased with the length of these. The top ribbing stops just under my knuckles, which is pretty perfect for working on the keyboard. You don't want it going too high or it constricts motion in the pinkie finger.

If I made these for myself again I might be tempted to go down a needle size in the body - but for speed and simplicity of pattern - maybe not. Whipping through the whole thing on one size of double points is pretty easy.