Mom's Old Patterns

I looked on Ravelry for slipper patterns, but I didn't find any that impressed me. Not free ones, anyway. However, I did find some that were almost as good as the ones my mom used to make. Eventually, I realized that I might as well follow Mom's pattern instead of these Johnny-come-lately Ravelry ones. (No offense to anyone - I'm just amused that what's old is new, etc., etc.)

So I dug up the old notes that Mom gave me several years back, typed them up in Word, and then thought I might as well take some pictures of the old notes because, hey, mimeograph. Ancient typewriter. And an excellent glove schematic which really, really helps, because I can't read the shorthand her actual notes on the gloves are written in.

Forthwith, pictures for posterity:

Good Fingerless Mitts

I decided to do something easy to recover from the bad slippers, so I made a pair of fingerless mitts. I plan to give them to JV at work, since I saw her typing while wearing a pair of borrowed gloved a few days ago. Shocking.

Behold!

This is how they look when nobody's wearing them:


From the front, when worn:


And from the back, when worn:


I used this pattern here. More details on Ravelry, as usual.

Bad Slipper

Last night I finished a slipper for M. (Like these: Xmas Slippers.)

In a fit of wisdom I had him try it on before I started the 2nd one. It was too loose. Why??? I used the same yarn and needles that I did for his Dad's slippers, and those fit him just fine. Arg!!!

My current plant is to chop up this slipper with an axe, burn the remains, find a spiffy new slipper pattern, and start a brand new pair for M. Humph.

Another Pumpkin Hat

And here's the next one, modeled by a very well-behaved peanut butter jar:

Pumpkin Hat

One pumpkin hat done! Pictures to follow as soon as I get more batteries for the camera...

Now, pictures!

Boog Bag, Part 4

Done! Check it out:





And here's how I poked the holes for the strap:

Skull Hat, Part 3

Here's the final version:



I like the skull pattern. I'm not too pleased with the size/shape of the hat. And I don't like the extra thickness from the inner earband - it's too visible. Mind you, it's being modeled on a HUGE head, so it may look better on someone else.

At any rate, I'm going to make another one with blue skulls and a black background and see if it's better. I'll skip the earband on this next one, and make it out of a wool/acrylic blend instead of pure wool. We'll see how it goes...

Skull Hat, Part 2

Progress! It's way cool. And there's an extra layer behind the skulls to keep one's ears warm - neat technique.



(Pattern is from here: Skull Hat.)

Booga Bag, Part 3

Here it is, blocking. I don't have a box that's exactly the right size, so I put the (small) box that I have in the bottom and stuffed the rest with crumpled up plastic bags.

Front view:


Side view:

Skull Hat

I got bored waiting for the Booga Bag to dry, so I've started one of these hats: Skull Hat. I'm doing mine with a black background and red skulls. I'll put up some in-progress pics when I get home...

Booga Bag, Part 2

I've put it through the wash about eleventy-billion times now. It's looking pretty spiffy.

It's on its last go as I type. After this, I'll find a box of appropriate size, wrap the box in a plastic bag, and then stick it in the bag. That way it can dry in that shape. Drying may take a day or two.

Then I'll poke holes in it (maybe grommets?) and run the cord through it. I'll put up pics of each stage. Oh, the suspense!

Booga Bag

I recently traded a knitting book for some blue and purple wool. I don't know much about it except that it was from a local (to the person I was trading with) source. It inspired me to try my hand at this pattern: Booga Bag. I've done hand-felting before, but this is my first try at doing some in the washing machine. Here's a pic of the bag before felting...



The bag is in the washing machine right now with a couple of pairs of jeans. I'll post more pics after it's felted enough and is ready for blocking...

FYI, I did more rows than the pattern calls for just to use up the yarn. Since I don't really have any idea what size it will be when I'm done, I figured what the hell...

Update:
Ran it through the wash a few times last night - 3 or 4 times, lost count. It was getting fuzzy, but not shrinking. So I went to bed. Running it through again now. The pattern said it could take several times, so no worries yet.

Moebius Knitting - Cast On Video

Good stuff!

Cat Bordhi's video

Excellent Knitty Board Quote

"...feel free to ask anything without being judged... If you doubt, just read all the questions in this supernewbie SUPPORT room. You will notice no one belittles themselves! If you are a knitter, you ride a large black horse with steel hooves, not a little Shetland pony."

Yarn Mystery - Solved

M. and I were at a yarn store this last weekend, and I spotted my mystery yarn.

This:


Is this:
Ornaghi Filati Luna Park 202
Content: 100% superwash merino wool
Made in: Italy
Size: 50g/200m - 1.75 oz/210 yards
Gauge: 33 sts/4" using needles #3-4US, for sock you might want to use #1-2US.
Care: machine wash gentle/dry flat

Ravelry link: the yarn.

Yay me! Still working on the little scarf I'm making out of it.

Puzzle Mat

Check it out. We bought a puzzle mat. Why? Partly because, hey, puzzle mat!



But also because it's an effective and cheap blocking mat. Resizable too! I can use it to block a shawl...



...or a scarf...



...or even a sweater.



And also to play with, obviously!

Clapotis!

The Clapotis shawl is done and blocked using my blocking wires for the first time. (This is the one done from the recycled sweater.) While it was on the wires and pinned out it was approximately 60" by, oh, say, 21". I'll have to measure it again after it relaxes. We'll see. I'll also have to get a photo of it being worn, but for now, here it is!





And a closeup:

It's Walrus Time

I can put the Walrus pictures up now that E. has her gift. So here they are:









Applause to A. for making the bucket (bukkit?) and fish, without which no walrus would be complete!

As usual, I've put more details on Ravelry.

Fingerless Mittens

Of late, I've been starting new projects. Not finishing them, mind you. Just starting them. I've decided that's OK. Now, to my surprise, I've both started and finished one! Behold, fingerless mittens (from this pattern: Basic Fingerless Mitts).

They don't look like anything when nobody's wearing them:

But they look like this when they're on:




I'm pleased with them. As usual, the details are on Ravelry.

After Blocking

Well, it didn't block too badly. At first I thought it looked about the same, but comparing the two pics, I can see it's a bit 'tidier' after blocking. I don't think the size changed much. Alas, I forgot to measure it before blocking, but after blocking it's about 10.25" x 6".



I think I'm going to go ahead with it. After all, it's not as if this is the only Clapotis I'm ever allowed to make. And I enjoyed knitting the sample, so that's good too.

Sweater Becomes Clapotis?

I've been playing with the yarn from the sweater I took apart (sweater vivisection link). I think maybe I'll make it into a clapotis. Here's a sample I did on US 7 needles:



I think it looks all right and it has pretty good drape, but I'm concerned that this yarn won't block well. So I'm going to try blocking this mini-clapotis. If it turns out ok, I'll probably make a full-sized one.

What the heck is this yarn?

Drat. I think I threw away the ball band. It's 4-ply, feels like wool, and would be the right thickness for sock yarn. Oh well. I only have one ball of it, so I'm playing around with crocheting a little scarf.

Here's what the yarn looks like:


Update: Aha! It's Ornaghi Filati Luna Park 202:
Content: 100% superwash merino wool
Made in: Italy
Size: 50g/200m - 1.75 oz/210 yards
Gauge: 33 sts/4" using needles #3-4US, for sock you might want to use #1-2US.
Care: machine wash gentle/dry flat

Ravelry link: the yarn.

Beginner Scarf

A couple of weekends ago, J. finished her very first scarf! I helped her with some of the basics, but the work is all hers.

Here she is weaving in the ends:


And here she is showing off the final product!


Yay for J!

Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes

What a fun book! It's by Daina Taimina and features crochet, non-Euclidian geometry, art and science history, and so much more! I love it in a way that may be illegal.

Check it out here: Amazon link.

And check out some of her pictures here: Daina Taimina pictures.

Paris Yarn

E. from work got back from his Paris vacation a couple of days ago and brought me this spiffy laceweight yarn! It's called Mohair Caresse, and the label says it's 73% mohair, 25% laine and 2% polyamide. What's laine? Heck if I know. But it's lovely yarn, fuzzy and soft. I would say it's pinkish/purplish/reddish with faint bits of black and even fainter bits of orange. I'll be researching this yarn to see what else I can find out about it and what I can do with 2 skeins of it.

Bracelet

I have a fair bit of yarn left over from the Daria purse, so I made a bracelet using this pattern. It's hella easy. It took maybe 10 minutes to knit and then I just attached the clasp. It took more time to choose the clasp at the store than to do the actual project. So far I've made 3 of these. And I might make more. At least one of these will be for A. since it's her yarn. :-)









Update - I made more!