Frog

I have finished knitting Frog!  I'm thrilled with how he turned out.  I learned a lot about shaping--although the shaping is accomplished pretty easily (increases, decreases, a few wrap-and-turn short rows), the way they are used to make him was really interesting.

I didn't cut/steek for the eyes--I just picked up stitches and then knit the eyelids.  I followed the directions for his left eye (stitching the eyelids together, then placing the eye inside & securing), but for the other eye (his right eye), I put the eye in and stitched the eyelids around it, and I like the way it came out better.

I'm really looking forward to knitting his clothes next!

Frog and Toad, the kit arrives!

To celebrate my birthday this year, I ordered a present for myself--the Frog and Toad kit from Kelson Goods. I ordered it at the end of February, and it arrived!

It's full of goodies--everything needed to make Frog and Toad with their little clothes!

The pattern by Kristina Ingrid McGowan is available in a knit and crochet version, and I'm planning on making the knitted version.

From a worn out undershirt

Inspired by the wonderful instructions and video at Upcycle Stitches, I made my first zokin (cleaning cloth) from scraps of tshirt fabric:

It's so handy and a pleasure to use, so I wanted to make some more.  I also had a worn out undershirt in the mending box, so decided to make a produce bag from some of the tshirt, and zokin from other parts of the shirt.  So first I cut off the fabric for the produce bag:

Then I folded the bottom piece along the long edge, and pinned two sides to sew together, to make a double-sided bag; since the fabric is a stretchy, cotton knit, I wanted two layers of fabric for the bag sides so it wouldn't stretch out too much (and possibly tear) when filled with produce.  The bottom of the tshirt became the top of the bag--the finished edges were easy to fold down and secure with a buttonhole stitch to make a channel for a drawstring (a piece of leftover ribbon).  I then weighed the bag, and used a laundry marker to write the bag's tare weight on it:

Then I cut off the sleeves, and put those in my "stuffing bag"--a bag of small fabric and yarn scraps that can be used for stuffing for stuffed animals, toys, etc.  I then cut the remaining top of the tshirt in half vertically:

I pinned the two remaining pieces of the top together (wrong sides facing), on three sides, to close up and sew up the seams, before turning it right side out and sewing with running stitches to make into a zokin:

They are irregularly shaped, but they work great!

Felted pocketbook

I've been going over some of the projects that I finished last year, and I'm enjoying this little purse far more than I thought I would--it's very handy for heading out with wallet, phone, pen, lip gloss--just a few bare essentials.

The bag part of the pattern is Felted Pocketbook by Bev Galeskas, and then the flap is from Flaps, by Laura Kochevar, both in the book Bags: a Knitter's Dozen.  After knitting the strap, I didn't like the look of it with the little bag, so used the leather strap salvaged from another project, and the button was one from my button stash.  I cut a pocket from a worn out coat and used some leftover fabric with a zipper (again from my stash of leftover supplies) to make the pockets inside:

The colors in the bag come from using up some yarns in my stash--I stranded some lovely, fire-toned handspun with the leftover Meridian Jacobs 2-ply silver, with the red on the bottom of the bag being leftover Rowan Harris Chunky.

 A very satisfying stashbusting project that resulted in an item that's far more pleasing and useful than I thought it would be!

Vests

After using up most of my leftover yarn in the blanket, I needed to start some more projects to use up stash, and also generate some more leftover yarn to finish my blanket!  This winter I fell in love with vests.  I hadn't worn vests for decades, but had just the right amount of cotton yarn to make the Peace vest by Kim Hargreaves:

I found that I wore it all the time--it's a great added layer.

Paul then started thinking about having a vest, and liked the Adrienne Vittadini Martina yarn in my stash, and the Red Cross Pattern for a Man's V-Neck Vest--I can't praise this pattern enough!  It worked up easily and well, and fits beautifully:

Next, for colder winter days, I worked up some elann.com Peruvian Highland Chunky yarn that had been a gift into the Patons' Button Front Crew Neck Vest.  I altered the pattern a little by making the buttonholes smaller (only one yarnover instead of two) to accommodate smaller buttons:

This pattern was also wonderful to work up--very well written, and I'd recommend it for beginners since it's written so clearly and even includes illustrations.

Now, of course, I've generated a lot more spare yarn for my Mondrian-inspired scraps blanket, but I do need a little purse, I'm using some of my stash for Bev Galeskas' Felted Pocketbook:

Blanket progress

Although I've worked up a few small projects in the meantime, I've made great progress on my Mondrian-inspired scraps blanket:

(Photo by Paul)

I'm not only happy to be using up so many spare skeins and partial skeins, but am delighted in how it's looking--it's so much fun picking out the colors, and I'm enjoying the surprise of how they look together, and how the black borders set off the colors.  There is also the joy of remembering the projects that used the rest of the yarn--the lavender was a vest, the bright orange baby pants and a baby sweater, the dark brown a hat for a friend...

Happy memories, happy knitting, and much stash reduction!

Mondrian-inspired scraps blanket

I have lots of odd skeins and partial skeins of yarn, and had begun to think about doing a scraps blanket.  We could use another blanket, and while thinking about how I might go about creating a scraps blanket, I came across some of the Mondrian-inspired projects on Ravelry--dresses, pillows, and, of course, blankets.

But could I create a Mondrian-inspired blanket without buying yarn?  This is a concern, since I'm enthusiastically participating in the Lord of the Rings Group's StashQuest to work down my stash.  So could I create a scraps blanket out of different weight yarns, of differing colors, and differing fibers?

I had a brainstorm:  what have I got to lose?  If I don't like it, I can frog it and start over.  If I like it, then I'll have a blanket!  I pulled out all the candidate yarns, selected the blue wool, and knitted horizontally, putting in a black stripe of cotton, then choosing the green wool...then the red cotton...then I picked up along the long edge, knit more black, and used the white wool (the black stitches at the bottom are all live, on a string of yarn serving as a stitch-holder).  So far, it's a long strip, and I like it!

Filet crochet pillow cover

I finished a filet crochet panel:

That I used for a pillow cover:

I charted a pattern adapted from Ouvrages de dames... edited by Jule Trigoulet (see the top design on page 9).  A .pdf is available of the chart that I made--I used DMC Cebelia cotton size 10 in ecru, with a 1.4mm steel hook.

I love how it turned out!  I had started the crocheted panel to be a curtain, but then tossed it on the bed...next to the pillow that had a cover which was wearing out...

Now I'll look for curtain ideas!

Bus vs. home knitting

I'm currently working on Joan McGowan-Michael's "Racer Back Tank with Mesh Side," and I was able to notice the effect of bus knitting vs. home knitting:

I'm thinking that knitting this project on the bus may not be the best idea!  I'm hoping that the blocking will even everything out!

I think I'll start crocheting on the bus.

Satchel rather than purse

What started out to be a purse has ended up as a wonderful satchel, the perfect size to carry around my netbook, or magazines, or books, or knitting project, or quite a combination of any of them:



The lining fabric is one of the Miyabi fabrics from Sentimental Studios for moda, and I sewed a tube to sew into the strap to line it:



Since I wanted to see nothing but the beautiful right side of the fabric, I took my time sewing two pockets, one large one with a zipper, and a smaller one for pens & pencils:





I just love it. It's a bit larger than my other purses, for when I'm taking along a knitting project, or my netbook, but smaller and more comfortable than larger satchels and backpacks.

It's the second project from the birthday yarn that Paul got for me so long ago, before all those hand injuries, and I'm really excited about starting the next project with the warm gray Karabella DK Merino Silk--I'm swatching for the Essential Cardigan--we'll see!

Hexacomb Cardigan

It's finally finished--my Hexacomb Cardigan. I made it with two inches of positive ease, out of Rowan Handknit Cotton (seven skeins), because I wanted a loose, boxy sweater for hot weather--not for wearing outside when it's hot, but for when you walk inside from the hot weather into an overly air conditioned building, and need a little something over your shoulders, maybe even buttoned up at first against that chill. Also, I think it will be perfect for when the breeze first comes up at nightfall after a hot day, and you need just a little something over a tank top to prevent that slight chill.

So bring on the hot weather. I'm ready!

February Hat

I call this my February Hat, because it's still so cold out that I want a warm, wool hat, but it's also the month that the plum blossoms emerged in the garden, looking glorious, and there are still winter winds coming through, causing the "snow fall" of their petals.

The pattern is "Tigress Hat" by Kim Salazar, but I wanted more of a cloche, so I added a row of stockinette before the crown, and two more rows of stockinette before the brim, and it fits down over my ears, keeping them warm. The yarn, Rowan Harris Chunky, is much softer after a cold water soak and blocking. The hat used almost all of the skein, 75-80%.



The flowers are crocheted in DMC Cebelia cotton thread size 20, with a size 11 hook, with pink embroidery floss around the center to evoke the look of the plum blossoms. The pattern is the flower part of “Narrow Violet Edging,” from Rita Weiss’ Crochet Edgings.

A shawl, a scarf

I started out knitting the Vine Lace Shrug (free download on Ravelry), aiming to use up some stash yarn, Classic Elite Bam Boo. The pattern is based on Barbara Walker's "Vine Lace" (from her Treasury of Knitting Patterns) and looks gorgeous in the Bam Boo.

As I knitted away, using up the stash, I realized the length wasn't quite right to sew up the shrug--it's a gift for a dear friend who's shoulders measure the same as mine, but her arms are shorter, since she's only ten years old!

So I made a fastener, so she could wear it as a stole, sewing a covered button and a long, tube "button" together, and inserting them into one of the lace holes:



It slips in and out without deforming the lace, so if she wants, she can take the fastener out, and wear it as a scarf:

Art or craft?

Episode 2 of Y Knit, Art or Craft? is asking a fascinating question. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their interview with Sabrina Gschwandtner, and a lively discussion is going on in the Y Knit Ravelry group about what people think of their own handwork: is it art, or is it craft? (Send them your opinion and enter the contest!)

Since I'm not really interested in the contest prize (sorry guys--I have really limited bookshelf space, so I'm big on using the public library!), I thought I'd ask the question that I think of whenever the "art vs. craft" question is raised: why do you ask? We inherited this distinction from Victorians who were compelled to classify everything into hierarchies. Is even asking yourself this question useful? Are you engaging in the marketplace, so need to think to think about whether to sell your creations in a boutique (craft) or gallery (art)?

I spent untold hours considering this question until I gained a little historic perspective by reading Rozsika Parker's history of women and their embroidery, The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine. Why do most women give their handwork away? Why are female-dominated creative endeavors usually seen as "craft" rather than "art?" If these questions interest you, read this book. And if you haven't heard it, Philosophy Talk's What is Art? is well worth a listen.

Of course, Timson doesn't care about such distinctions. He has a more Eastern approach. Rather than if his knitting is "art" or "craft," he asks himself if he's finding joy and fulfillment in the work.

My friend, Failure

Ever since Knitting Daily declared 2008 the year of fearless knitting, I've been thinking about failure. My favorite columnist, Jon Carroll, wrote a brilliant column about failure and why we need it in our lives. These thoughts weren't far from my mind when we went to see the Mythbusters, who were inspiring in their discussion of the value of failure.

When it comes to handwork, I consider failure before beginning. Especially with sewing; there is very little to salvage when the pieces are cut incorrectly. But with knitting, there are great opportunities to learn from failure. The garment can always be frogged and the yarn reused. Or, in the face of total despair, innumerable charities would welcome a durable, hand knit garment. There is nothing to lose, and so much to learn.

So why do I hesitate in the face of failure? What is there to fear? The uncertainty concerning my ability to learn. Before I embark on a project I have no fear of failure; I fear not understanding what I can learn from failure. I fear not learning from the mistakes I've made.