Loony Lovegood

This was a rather well-traveled project.  I started working on it while still in California a little while before moving with the intent of wearing it for the HPDHII release (which we still haven't seen, yet).  I then knit in the car from California to Texas.  While in Texas, I worked on it a little bit more.  I tried to work on it in the moving vehicle from Texas to Idaho, but the ride was a bit too rough.  Things got busy, though, and the scarf was mostly set aside in the chaos.  Earlier today, I finally finished it after working on it for... about a month and a half? 

I started with my existing simple house scarf pattern and modified it to make it longer, in-the-round, and worked on smaller needles.  As is visible in the picture, technically I worked this flat and then stitched the edges closed when finished rather than working the scarf in the round; my circular attachment was longer than my desired scarf width.  I considered the DPNs briefly, but then remembered that I was going to be working on this in a moving vehicle and abandoned that idea.

There are a few changes I will make in the future.  The seam, while clean, is a bit unsightly, so I will be sure to work any future scarves in-the-round.  I would also make future scarves 2-3 sections longer, I think.  This scarf is still very long, but not quite as long as is ideal for me given what it is.  I decided when I was done with the length because I was getting frustrated with how long the project was taken vs. how little time I now have.

Project Details

• Needles = Size US 8
• Yarn = ~1.5 skeins of Caron Simply Soft Dk. Country Blue (9906) and ~0.5 skeins of Caron Simply Soft Gray Heather (9907)
• Worked in StSt (in-the-round or stitched closed along the edge)
• 62 stitches wide, 439 long: 13 sections of 25 rows Blue (starting and ending the scarf) and 12 sections of: 3 rows Gray, 3 Blue, 3 Gray
• Fringe is 2 - 5 inch pieces of Blue , doubled up at end of each row.  Length of attached fringe: approx. 2.5 inches. (stitch closed the ends of the scarf before attaching the fringe if desired--I found that easier since the ends were curling so much)

Go Team Hat Pattern

I finally got around to finishing off the Go Team Hat Pattern.  I had notes all over the place for it, and after a few different approaches, I finalized the method.

Click here for the PDF

 

Slytherin House Bag

I've been wanting to make these Harry Potter House bags for a while!  I finally got around to making my first one: the Slytherin House Bag.  It took me about a week and a half to complete, but I imagine it would have been done sooner if I hadn't been preoccupied with other things.

Here is how it turned out:

I followed the grid pattern exactly, and then I realized, for some reason, the Slytherin patter actually seems to be backwards!  I wish I had realized that before I started it, but it still looks okay.  I have to admit from what I've seen of the Slytherin logo, it doesn't always form an S.  It is supposed to, though.  Oh well!

I finished it in my own way rather than following the finishing directions provided.  The strap is knit in i-cord.  The problem is that it's very stretchy, even though I reinfoced it, so the bag sags dramatically when there are heavy things in it.  For future bags, I think I will do the strap differently--perhaps I will buy some canvas webbing to sew in or something.

The bag is lined with a stretchy jersey knit cotton that I recycled--it's from an old cami (I have other old camis that I will be recycling to line the other bags as well).  I created a pocket in the liner, as well, because I wanted to separate my cell phone from the other contents of my bag for easy access and to prevent scratching.

I spent most of today pondering some type of closure method for the top of the bag, and I finally decided on buttons and loops.  The loops were knit in i-cord as well, but with fewer strands than that of the strap (3 instead of 5).

The materials I used for the project:
Set of US8 (5.0 mm) DPNs
US8 (5.0 mm) circular needle
Caron Simply Soft - Grey Heather (9907)
Caron Simply Soft - Forest Floor (9950)
tapestry needle
scrap olive green jersey-knit cloth for liner
sewing needle
olive green thread
2 large wooden buttons

Pokéball Hacky Sack

For my husband's birthday this year, I made him a Pokéball Hacky Sack.  It took a few attempts to get it right.

The first one was too big:

The second one was too rushed, so the shape was not right:

The last one worked out:

The problem, however, is because the yarn/needle gauge is so big, it doesn't hold the beans very well when it's being played with.  I am going to have to make him another one, later, when I get some finer yarn.  I just wanted to make him something that was a surprise, and it would not have been a surprise if he was running out to buy more yarn for me.

Here are the instuctions I wrote as I worked it out:

Using US8 (5mm) DPN set
Remember to fill with beans before the opening is too small and before closing the top.

Row 1: K7   WHITE    (use tail to close end tightly at about the halfway point)
Row 2: K1, Increase1 (repeat until end - 14 sts total)  WHITE
Row 3: K14  WHITE
Row 4: K2, Increase1 (repeat until end - 21 sts total)  WHITE
Row 5: K21  WHITE
Row 6: K3, Increase1 (repeat until end - 28 sts total)  WHITE
Row 7: K28  WHITE
Row 8: K28  WHITE
Row 9: K13   WHITE,  K2  BLACK,  K13  WHITE
Row 10: K12  WHITE,  K4  BLACK,  K12  WHITE
Row 11: K13  BLACK,  K2  WHITE,  K13  BLACK
Row 12: K13  BLACK,  K2  WHITE,  K13  BLACK
Row 13: K12  RED,    K4  BLACK,  K12  RED
Row 14: K13  RED,    K2  BLACK,  K13  RED
Row 15: K28  RED
Row 16: K28  RED
Row 17: K2, K2toG (repeat until end - 21 sts total)  RED
Row 18: K21  RED
Row 19: K1, K2toG (repeat until end - 14 sts total)  RED
Row 20: K14  RED
Row 21: K2toG (repeat until end - 7 sts total)       RED
Row 22: K7   RED

Cut, use tail to work to weave in ends.

It was simple and didn't take long.  My husband loves it, but I must still make him a proper one later on.  It is normal, of course, for a bit of the stuffing to fly out of a hacky sack.  The problem is, this loses beans much too quickly.

Oh, and the yarns I used were all Lion Brand Vanna's Choice.  Like I said, it was just what I had on hand.  The white and black were left over from Totoro.  The red was left over from the Gryffindor scarf.

Neighborly Gift

I have been meaning to post this for a while, but I delayed the posting because I didn't want my sister-in-law to happen upon this before her birthday and spoil the surprise.  After her birthday passed and she loved the gift, I have to admit that I forgot about posting it here.  I finally remembered, though, and I edited the date to the date-of-completion.

Last fall, I came across this project and knew that I had to try it out once I felt comfortable with my knitting skills to try something as complex as a plushie (and also once I had some sets of DPNs).  My sister-in-law is a fan of Totoro, and when her birthday was approaching, my husband encouraged me to at last tackle this project and present it to his sister as a birthday gift.

Since I had only tried to use the DPNs for small finishing details on a hat once previously, I had a bit of a hard time getting started.  For the first few hours, I was repeatedly knitting about 2 rows, then pulling it out and starting over because a stitch had been dropped, twisted, or something else disastrous.  Once I finally understood how to keep things straight, the project flew across my needles with relative ease.

I did make a couple of changes from the original pattern to my implementation of the project:  1. Rather than using a plastic lid, I created a beanbag "hockey puck" to weight the bottom down.  I felt this would make the plush feel more like a loveable toy and less like something just to sit on a shelf and stare at.  2. I knit the eyes rather than crocheting them.  It doesn't look quite as interesting as it did in the pattern, but I'm no good with crochet.  3. I put a bit of fiberfill behind the eyes and tummy circle to make them stand out a little more.

Here are the pictures of the project (I forgot to get a picture of the "hockey puck" before I put it into Totoro):

Tasty Scarf

I know I post a lot of scarves, but it seems to be one of the things I get the most requests for from friends.

This is a scarf I made for my dear friend Emily.  I knew that her favourite colour is green, and I picked out the brown to match it because I thought it complimented the green nicely.  The colours reminded me of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, which I had an intense craving for the whole time I was working on her scarf.

This scarf was knit with Caron Simply Soft yarn in the colours Limelight (9504) and Chocolate (9934).  It was knit on US11 needles.  The pattern was K20 Limelight, K6 Chocolate.  It's 306 rows long.  The fringe was in Chocolate and measured a generous 7.5 inches, I believe (2x15 inch pieces doubled over through each stitch at the bottom).

Homemade Beaded Stitch Markers

I got frustrated by using my scrap yarn stitch markers that I've been using since I first started knitting on circular needles.  They're incredibly simple and a great way to make use of scrap yarn trimmings, but they wear dreadfully.  When I would split the yarn markers, they would stretch out.  When they would stretch out, they would split easier, so it would get to be worse and worse.

After a frustrating afternoon of trying to knit a hat, I decided to pull out my beading supplies.  It had been a while since I'd put it to use, and I had several small bits of scrap beading wire which I was saving for "bracelets and anklets" that never came to be.  I pulled out some interesting looking glass beads, some seed beads for spacers, my little bag of crimp beads, and got to work.

This is what the end result was:

set of 5 markers with too-big but still functional loops

these will be useful if I ever get needles with a 

large gauge

set of 5 carefully measured stitch markers

these will fit on needles up to size US15

one more carefully measured (fits up to US15)

stitch marker that's not as interesting looking

but served the purpose of using up the

extra piece of wire I had left in the scraps

If you're interested in making some of your own, it's easy.  Pick out your favourite decorative beads and a few seed (or other small spacer-like) beads that match the decorative beads.  Get yourself some coated beading wire of the proper gauge for the selected beads (someone will probably be in the store that can help you if you're unsure) and some crimp beads/crimp tubes of the proper size for the wire (the wire package generally tells you what size crimp beads you're after: you will need 2 per marker - one at the top and one at the bottom).  You will also need some wire cutters and pliers, but most people (or their fathers or husbands) have those available already.

Take the biggest knitting needles you intend to use the markers with as a size guide, and loop the wire over the needle.  Holding the wire on the needle, take a crimp bead, thread it through both strands of wire and tighten it down around the needle, then crimp the bead firmly into place with a set of pliers.  Now remove the needle from the loop, thread your beads in whatever pattern you wish through both strands of wire (you probably won't want more than about 6-8 beads or your markers will be heavy and awkward).  After placing the last bead, grab another crimp bead, thread it through both strands of wire, and push it snugly against the decorative beads.  Finally, crimp down firmly on that bead with your pliers and use your wire cutters to cut the wire flush with the bottom of the last crimp bead.

Juliana's Giraffe Hat

Ever since I first started learning to knit, I had it in my mind that I wanted to make something giraffe themed for my husband's youngest sister.  She is rather giraffe obsessed, and as her birthday was drawing near, I decided that I wanted to make her a giraffe hat!  I searched the internet for free patterns, and after weeks of coming up with nothing, I finally decided to invent a pattern myself.

This is how it came out:

I am pretty sure she likes it! ^_^

This was made with Caron Simply Soft Chocolate (9934) and Sunshine (9755), white buttons, green buttons, scrap chocolate and sunshine yarn bits for fiberfill, and a lot of time and love.  The pattern is coming soon.

Click here for the PDF!

Hats and Scarves

Since my last update I've made... uh...

4 hats and 5 scarves in different 3 colour patterns

At least, I think that's the right count.  They have all been for other people, and all of the basic "Go Team" pattern.  Which reminds me... I should upload the hat pattern at some point.


Anyway, here's a picture of a couple of them (not a very good picture, and I apparently failed to get a picture of the other palatte before giving that away):

The first is made with Caron One Pound Sunflower (549) and Iris (550), the second is made with Caron Simply Soft Mango (9605) and Blue Mint (9505), and the unpictured one was made with Caron Simply Soft Country Blue (9904) and Bone (9905).