warming weather

the weather's warming up, but nick is still enjoying his handknit headwear.

no, i haven't disappeared altogether.

I just haven't been blogging...

I have been working and knitting, reading and taking walks and just enjoying the winter as it winds to an end. I also don't have internet at my apartment, so it makes a lot more difficult to update. But next month I am moving! a lot will change! I've got to get ready!

...be back soon.

Sick day.

I stayed home sick today because of my plague-like symptoms. I started knitting my boyfriend another hat and am trying not to cough all over it.



Its a lot like the other ribbed hat I made, only it will only have ribbing on the brim and will continue with larger needles in the stockingette stitch... and hopefully this one will fit on the first try! I know it looks very small here, but the ribbing is supposed to be tight around the head and stretch out a lot.
I also realized how much more I prefer knitting round objects, like hats, on straight needles. Its a lot easier to decrease at the top as well as make an alterations on your piece while you're knitting it. Whenever I have tried to take out stitches in the round I get sooo confused. Not that I should be planning to take out any stitches, but sometimes you never know when you may change your mind with a pattern.

my favorite online stores.

With all this exciting talk about sites like etsy.com and the craft collective that my friend rachel is building, I can't help but peek at all the other cool stores on the web to get ideas, inspiration... and do a little shopping.

i like:

day-shift.com

rosiero.net

buyolympia.com/queenbee

antifactory

and for supplies : reprodepotfabrics.com

feel free to browse and share with me any others!

more available spring 2006.

This is one of my favorite patterns I've created thus far.
I free-styled and like it so much I am trying to make another in denim blue and a purple furry one that might look cooler than it sounds.


I started with 40 + stitches and once I started knitting in the round, I decreased every 10 stitches or so. The handle is sewn on where the button is and the button was just added for detail. The green is a perfect compliment for the spring ahead.

snow?

i'm staying in today and making valentines. happy snow day!

sew sew

Before I ever learned to knit or even had an interest, I rocked the sewing machine and made a cute dress from some rather ugly pants and a floral tapestry coat from the old curtains in my high school's auditorium. I had a sewing teacher who wouldn't let us create anything unless it was perfect -- all seems HAD to line up, no hand sewn hems could show, loose threads snipped, etc. This taught me a lot about the craft but also earned me a barely-passing grade in the class since I spent more time taking stitches OUT then putting them into my fabric. I've always had a sewing machine, but since I picked up my larger needles and learned to knit, its gathered quite a bit of dust. Today I decided to bring back the old times and play around with sewing on test swatch of felt.



This time I knew I could go crazy and leave threads hanging wherever I wanted! I am liking the results. Here are some pictures I took before I even finished.



(sorry the photos aren't too clear. when I sell enough stuff I'll get a real digital camera.)

Here's the final piece, glowing in the afternoon light.

taking shape

here's a sneak peek at my next creation.
(purple couch not included.)

coming soon...

I'm in the midst of putting together a line of colorful, handknit bags! So far you have seen the workings of only 2, but I have a few stashed away and many designs and patterns still to conquer. Inspired by purses and totes I saw online, in books and hanging from the shoulders of trendy gals, I have began knitting up original creations in my own style. Of course there's a lot of trial and error, but I am mainly very pleased with my results. I hope to unveil the entire line this spring and will have several bags for sale on The Craft Collective as well as stores on the island. Right now I am still working on names, prices and all that fun stuff.... and knitting every chance I can get!

Knitting as contemporary art... and craft.

i am so intrigued by the work or J. Meredith Warner. I love the idea of commenting on culture and society through the techniques and pasttime of knitting.


visit her site knittingcommunity.org!

The Craft Collective -- online store!

This is a message from my friend rachel. hope it sparks some interest!!


hello!
i am in the process of building the online store for what i am calling the "The Craft Collective" if you are interested, please send me a picture of yourself, along with a bio to my email address: rachel.person@gmail.com. i am going to build the site with sections according to the person who made the products. this may change if this gets really popular and there are a lot of different people contributing. we will see.

also: if you have a band or you make tshirts or have ANYTHING worth selling, please contact me, i would love to include you. if you have a website, i would like to also cross promote so we can exchange banners if you are interested.

the launch date for the new site is going to be march 1. i will need pictures and prices of all of your products by then. you can keep your products where you are or you can bring them by my house were i am setting up a little stock room closet. :)

email me also if you want to be a part of the mailing list. thanks!

PLEASE REPOST OR FORWARD TO ANY ONE YOU THINK WOULD BE INTERESTED.

thank youuuu!
-rachel.

Orange baggin' it

We went for a walk on this overcast Sunday afternoon and I took my bag out for a spin. I must say I like it and it makes a terrific purse, even if it's incapable of properly toting my computer. I added a pin made from vintage scarf material that I bought because it also has my favorite color... orange.

click the picture if you wanna make it larger!

it shrunk!

...a lot.

I mean, I knew it would shrink a bit, that's part of felting. I measured my last bag before and after so that I would get an idea of how much it would shrink. I didn't take into consideration the double strand of yarn I used here and stuff like that, but somehow it shrunk to half the size of the pre-washed piece. It's still makes a cute book bag, but I don't know about toting around my laptop! But this is only my second bag. I have a lifetime of felting ahead of me.

the 'wifi tote'

It must be bag season! Rachel's making mexican totes and I am whipping up a line of felted bags that I hope to complete by the spring. Here's where I am so far...
I'm calling it the 'wifi tote' because it's made to hold my computer (once it's finished a felted of course) Actually, it can hold anybody's computer. If you'd like, it to hold yours. Just email me and we can talk about price!

The bag looks flat but actually has a base of 1 1/2" x 14" (pre-felting) designed to slip my laptop inside. The inspiration came from always getting dirty looks when I toss my powerbook into my purse with all my other shit. I have a feeling that even though I am designing bags I hope to sell, that I am going to end up keeping this one.... just because it's orange.

I made it, again, by knitting the base of the bag first then picking up stitches with circular needles all around and knitting in the round for a bag slightly larger than what I needed. I am now waiting for more yarn to arrive so I can finish the handles and toss this over my shoulder! To make this bag sturdier than a regular purse, I used two strands of the same color yarn knit together on size 13 needles. This also helped the project knit up pretty quick. I can't wait to make a few more!

today = chaos

I had a bad experience with double pointed needles last night. My knitting actually came out ok and the top of my hat looks normal, but knitting with the needles was a total confusion and I will try to avoid them forever.... even though the results were better than when I don't use them.

I think I want to knit one of these shrugs (left). That is when I finish the bags, hat, scarf and zillions of other projects I already have started around my livingroom floor.

the temperature outside -- can we get a recount?

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here it's 14 degrees with just a little sun. I really would rather not get off this couch. Here's a start to my "seedling" scarf. 16 sts in an endless amount of rows in the seed stitch.

brrrrr! I am going to need this scarf.

cable ready

It was my birthday two days ago and (I'm such a geek) between going out celebrating and unwrapping graciously given gifts, I taught myself how to do cable stitches! I was up late the other night studying a book from the library and found that they are pretty easy. I'm almost done with a little purple newsboy cap.



When I was downtown the other day I stopped in the local yarn shop and bought myself a cable needle (woo hoo! $2! big splurge!) and also a very cool button that I don't need right now but am sure I will find a use for. It was a whopping $2.50 (more than the cable needle) for, COME ON, a BUTTON!! But if you saw it you would have to have it too. And it is after all my birthday!

Walking home I was thinking about buttons and various ways make my own so I don't have to spend $2.50 everytime I finish a bag. When I was looking in the shop for a wooden toggle the woman working there recommended using a small branch or stick with two fine holes drilled in it. That's innovative! But my bags are a bit funkier and the outdoorsiness might not go. Plus that was her idea, I needed my own. Suddenly my booted toe kicked a piece of metal and I had it.

Looking down at my feet I saw a Heineken bottle cap. Red star in the center, rusted around the edges. Perfect. At home nick and I save a jar of bottle caps from just about every drink we've had in the past year for god knows what reason. When I got there I went straight for the jar and got out my hammer. I started flattening the caps and pushing the rough edges underneath. Taking my awl I poked two small holes in the center. Perfect. A funky little recycled button and it didn't cost a thing....

rachel's scarf.

Rachel is a photographer, designer and all around crafty girl. She has just added knitting to her repertoire of cool stuff and completed this gorgeous scarf as her first official project. Together we are plotting ways to turn knitting and crafting into our self-employment and become rich and famous!

oh

ok, now THIS is a knitting blog! www.yarnharlot.ca Way geekier and over my head. I love it!

Making the Bag 2

I'm back home now from my travels and my bag is all finished. It really was easy to make -- knit all in one piece and fit conveniently in my carry-on while I was working on it. I actually stashed my working yarn in the bag as it began to take shape.

To begin, I cast 36 sts onto 10 1/2 needles and knit in the garter st for about 16 rows. (ok, nothing is ever exact with me, most of my measures are approximates! But I give you these as guidelines to construct what you want in your own size.) Switching to circular needles I picked up sts around the edges of the rectangle (16, 36, 16) placed a marker in between each group and then joined them and knit in the round for about 8". Then I switched to a different color and knit for and inch.

To shape the handles I continued to knit in the round, binding off the 16 sts between markers on each of the sides. With a separate pair of same size needles I continued knitting up the front and then later did the back. After knitting another inch I bound off 15 sts in the center of the row and then cast them on again in the next row to shape a very large button-hole like handle. When felting this comes out looking way neater than it did in the floppy stockingette stitch.

I repeated the same for the back of the bag and when I got home and threw in my laundry (jeans and sweatshirts are best) I tossed in the bag for 2 cycles.

Happy knitting!