Knit Vest and Felted Decoration

I knit my daughter a vest for Christmas gifting.

Vest I knit for my daughter

 I also needle felted over styrofoam forms for a decoration.

Needlefelted wool over styrofoam shapes

Got gifts wrapped and boxed and shipped.

Hand-Knit Baby Dress and Booties

I knit a dress and matching booties for my first Grand-daughter Scout. It's knit of washable variegated sock yarn.

Beautiful Little S in hand-knit dress and booties

Bootie close up

Dress close up - love the differing shoulder buttons

Christmas Hand-Knit Hats and Scarves and Sock Earrings

Handknit hats for little S and E

 For Christmas gifting I knit some hats and scarves. I used washable variegated sock yarn and a coordinating gray. The lower part of little E's hat has several purled rows, then a couple knit gray rows, so that the sock yarn would come forward and the darker gray retreated. Little S's hat every few rows, after the hat was knit, has chained gray, creating scallops. Then I added the ear flaps and crocheted an edging adding tasseled ties.

Splarah's hand-knit hat and scarf

I took into account Splarah's dark brown hair and blue eyes for her hat design. I bought several varieties of the new ribbon looking "yarn" that pulls out into a lacy effect. It's slower knitting than normal, so it's not something I want to do a lot of, but I supplied several people, including myself some of these scarves.

Little E wore his hand=knit hat all day

Hand-Knit Sock Earrings

I've posted before about these sock earrings I've knit for years. Probably all my friends have a pair now and I've sold some.

"Tapestry" Knit Shawl - Finally Done!

"Tapestry" knit shawl

I started knitting this shawl over 1 1/2 years ago from a kit I bought from KnitPicks. The circular needle was 60" long. I've blocked it and it measures 22 x 65 inches. Now for a backing material - going to get a light brown cashmere type wool. It has to be backed because of all the knotted yarn. I call it "tapestry" because I left strands of wool hanging, to be knit when coming to that place in the following rows. As in tapestry weaving, you have to twist the two yarns at each color change to prevent holes or slits. This is the hardest thing I've ever knit, and it was easiest to leave it sit by the couch we sit on as we watch movies. I finished about 2 rows per movie! So I figure the piece averages about 72 movies!!! Though I didn't totally knit it while watching movies - I like to take bigger projects as we travel. I'll knit while listening to audio books too ...

"Coraline" - Tiny Knitting

I LOVE what this lady knits (and I like the sweater she's wearing - I wish I could see all of it). For years (since 2003, since that's the pattern's copyright) I've been knitting special earrings for friends - I use US size 0000 double-pointed needles - they're like metal toothpicks. The pattern is called Los Lobe Hose by Carol's Sockery. The pattern came with the needles.

I have a basket of colored yarn - basically like string. I'd like to know what the lady is using in the YouTube clip. I don't think I'd knit what she's knitting, but who knows ... They are beautiful!

Gandhi using a Spinning Wheel in India - Gandhi video footage

I'm posting this because as a spinner, I knew Gandhi spun, and worked at getting a lot of people to spin. It's a way for people to earn an income. But it's also a very peaceful tactile activity to do.

We just went to the National Western Stock Show; here in Denver every January. I used to demonstrate spinning, and sometimes weaving, at it a lot. I've demonstrated spinning at many other places too. I should demonstrate again - a great way to get more yarn! I've knit two sweaters and a shawl from my handspun and dyed sheep wool.

Gandhi is spinning cotton. It's a very short fiber. At a weaving guild sale years ago I bought a large box of cotton. I've been scared to spin it, but now, having read about a new book coming out by Rita Buchanan - Spinning Cotton - I'm going to challenge myself to give spinning cotton a try this year. More than a try, but tackle it till I get it!

A shawl I knit from my handspun wool

December Color/Design Challenge

"TEMPERATURE" was the next classes' challenge. Heather Thomas said, "we want to feel either hot or cold when we view your piece!" Visual temperature is controlled by color. The color wheel can be divided in two halves, one warm and one cold. The cold colors tend to recede behind warm colors. Red-violet, red, yellow-green, and green are temperature neutral colors, tending to behave like their neighbors. Adding black to colors warms them. Adding white actually cools colors down. Colors have moods.

I initially printed some of Dawson's photos and photo-image-transferred a white deer with it snowing. I heavily thread painted it and it puckered. My teacher of the class, Heather, said, "when I'm going to stitch the hell out of something, I print two, cut out the heavily stitched image and attach it to the background." I still need to do that and finish it. I want to frame it and give it to Dawson.

What I did was look thru all my stash of material and lots of unfinished stuff. I chose a weaving project I did, feeling it cold. I'd previously knit and felted a black bag I didn't like cuz lint and stuff showed too much. So I attached my woven piece to the purse. I also looked thru my stash of trims and ribbons, hoping for something to embellish the purse. I found some daisy trim that could have come from my Grandmother. Over the years I've collected lots of trims and buttons from yard sales. Sometimes at a second-hand store I'll buy a shirt for it's buttons if they're cool. Then I found some coordinating material for lining and making some buttons. I wanted a brighter lining material as I've found it's hard to find things in a dark bag!

Felted purse with attached hand-weaving, trim, and homemade buttons

Knitted Dishcloths

Knit Dishcloth - a pattern from an old-timer's homestead home

In the wool felt over homemade soap bars post, I mentioned I knit round dishcloths, and the need to post a picture. So I took a picture this morning of my current knitting. An artist friend is having an ongoing open house for a week for gift shopping from a variety of artists. I've given her the felted soap bars and dishcloths, felted purses, ornaments, necklace earring sets, and tie-dye shirt sock set (I've posted about all these but the felted necklaces).

I usually use size 10 short wood needles

YEARS ago while visiting Monte's parents in Wisconsin we were in the home of one of their friends. These people, folks, were old-timers living on their homesteaded land, having come from Sweden. Much of Monte's relations still live on their homesteads and we've been handed down some of this land (I don't know if we'd ever live there! ... ). I might have been knitting something  while visiting (I've always got a knitting project along where ever I go, from small to large). Myrtle pulled out an old sheet of yellowed paper with faded scrawled handwriting for the knitted round dishcloths that I've now been knitting all these years and giving away as we visit people, and selling. The pattern is ingrained in my brain (as well as the socks I'm forever knitting).

Laid on napkin so you can see the BO3s and YO pattern

The circle is made up of 7 triangles. Starting with 15 cast-on stitches, and always knitting (no purl). It's always K3, yarn over, for the 'hole' pattern - then knit 11 and back. Once three of these are done you bind off three and begin next third of K3, YO, K8 three times. Bind off three. Last third is K3, YO, K5. Bind off three, K to end and back and start over with next triangle made up of threes from the 11 to 8 to 5. Leave a tail and whip stitch circle closed, closing center circle too.

Cotton is so absorbent and they are my favorite kitchen washcloths. Sometimes I've used the cotton yarn varied colors to dictate cotton thread colors for weaving matching dishtowels. I've got some, in a very absorbent honeycomb pattern on one of my looms now. Should finish them.

Occasionally I stick my wet dishcloths in the microwave - on high for 3 minutes - to disinfect them of any bacteria build-up. But DO regularly change out your washcloths, towels and sponges - like every couple days, depending on your usage.