Knitting from my Stash (via I am addicted)

Made some updates to my Stash Busting efforts. Added the Fossil Neckwarmer to finished projects

Okay, I'm going to keep a score card of things I'm knitting from my stash.  I have to admit… I need to focus on using what I have. The first step to dealing with any addiction is admitting that you have a problem. I just knew that I had to stop when I found myself engaging in the behav … Read More

via I am addicted

Walking and Knitting

 

Found this lovely image and the very nice blog I listed below.

For the ultimate multitasker… some tips for walking and knitting safely…

• If you have a track for laps or walking near you in a park or some other place… that’s a good place to practice. And you’re not in any danger of being hit by cars. I do the walk around my neighborhood which is extremely pedestrian friendly and residential… so there isn’t a lot of traffic.
• Wear good safe shoes… make sure your laces are tied, everything fastened I’m such a dork I forget. Also make sure you wear comfortable shoes.
• Having a walking small tote that has a handle that fits around your wrist is a must. I use the zippered pyramid bags or Knit Walk bags.
• I usually work on relatively simple stockinette projects… unless the knit purl or lace is very repetitive and easy to memorize. Avoid excessive increases & decreases

If you’re going to walk on the street: (sorry if these seem really basic)

• Always stop before getting to a cross walk.
• Be very aware of your surroundings.
• Again avoid busy areas.
• If you’re just getting used to it… don’t take your pet on a walk with you… getting tangled with Fido and sockyarn is not fun

More resources:

• Knit Walk bags.
• Knitting and Walking Webring
• Fun with Fiber (where I found the beautiful antique photo above – a very nice blog)

He goes out for a walk with me:

I’ve discovered felting

Right, when the last thing I needed was another needle & fiber-craft. I took a two hour course on felting. I went in completely ignorant of how to shape wool fiber or roving into all sorts of forms, came out being able to put together cute little animals and creatures.

The ingredients needed for a successful felting are the following:

1.) Felting mat (usually made of a thick piece of foam or a wide flat brush with thick bristles).

2.) Wool roving or fiber (that is washed, combed and processed).

3.) Felting needle.

That’s it… no glue, no wires unless you’re creating an armature or skeleton to make your felted creation bendable and pose-able… though this sounds tricky & fiddly and perhaps a bit dangerous. Because essentially when you’re needle felting you’re taking the felting needle and jabbing it over and over again into the roving bits to shape them. For example in both the owl and the Totoro figures below, the body is simply just a rolled up wad of roving that has been poked and shaped into a body form. The ears on Totoro and the owls’ wings are smaller clumps of roving shaped into the appropriate form. I didn’t cut those pieces out. I basically poked and prodded at them until the wool took the shape I desired.

This is such a simple yet rewarding craft… even children (who are responsible and responsive to safety instructions) can master this skill within an hour or two.  It’s a great introduction into fiber-craft.  Looks like I may not have to knit or crochet everyone a present this year.

Want more ideas for felted cutestuff?

• Check out this flickrpage.
• Some incredibly realistic looking felted miniatures

My 2nd Totoro - completed in less than 1 hour

Almost 25 Ways to Get Rid of my Sock Yarn

What do I do with all of this?

Two years ago, I didn’t buy loads of sock yarn at the Sock Summit, because I already had a serious butt load of sock yarn… including a bunch of Drops Fabel and Regia Sock Yarns which have become my fast favorites because of their durability and dependability (I sound like a commercial from the 50′s). I do sometimes struggle with making socks.  You can see the sweater most of the time… socks you’re the only one who knows you’re wearing a work of gorgeous Aran artistry and cablework. So I decided to use Ravelry and my websearching skills to compile a list of things I could possibly create with the multliple boxes of sock yarn I have stashed away. I’ll try to post more as I find them.

Crochet:

• Fingerless Mitts: Look quite warm and snuggly for your hands.
• Chihuahua Sweater (double stranded):(though I’d have to make a lot of these just to get rid of my KP Imagination.
• Vera (gorgeous shawl pattern that eats up to 2000 yards of sockyarn) -  I’m linking to a photo fo the pattern here to entice you.
• Snowflake Christmas Ornaments: forgot about fabric stiffener. These look like great fun.
• Reusable Tampon (Oy, not for the faint of heart) – I probably will abstain from making these… unless, of course civilization comes barrelling down around me and I can’t buy what I need from a store.
• Eyeball with Nerve Endings: Make a bunch of these for your Halloween party. Then through them at your guests… then they can say they had the unique experience of being pelted with eyeballs.
• Monkey (OMG this monkey is so cute)
• Naalepuder (flower-shaped pincushions): Really cute especially with variegated or rainbow yarn. Original pattern in Danish.

Knitting:

• Some Very Long Socks: I could do this with the 5 skeins of Fabel I have!
• Parisienne Beret (from Sock Pixie): Uses two colors. Could also look nice in self-striping. She also has some gorgeous yarn.
• Cowl for a Man (from This Boy Knits)
• Basque Hat in Fabel (from Garnstudios): Another beret/tam, but that’s okay I never get sick of them. Here’s another Tam as well: Springtime in Philadelphia.
• Beaded iCord Jewelry: Doesn’t get rid of much yarn, but still it’s a neat idea.
• Smiley the Worm Fingerpuppet
• Ferret Sweater: I don’t have a ferret, but if I did, I think he’d look smashing in this.

This ferret looks smashing in what appears to be Noro Kureyon Sock

Pirate Mittens (Available on Ravelry as a free download):

Pirate Mittens

The Beanis (warning may offend… what is it? It rhymes with ‘beanis’… you figure it out. No I’m not posting photo here.)

• http://www.theanticraft.com/archive/imbolc07/beanis.htm

Honorable Mentions:

• Pirate Eye-Patch for your cat. I couldn’t post because the pattern/website no longer exists. But one could easily use their imagination to create one of their own.

Knitting from my Stash

Resolving to use my creative energy to figure out what to do with all this yarn

Okay, I’m going to keep a score card of things I’m knitting from my stash.  I have to admit… I need to focus on using what I have. The first step to dealing with any addiction is admitting that you have a problem. I just knew that I had to stop when I found myself engaging in the behavior of buying plastic tubs on a regular basis. To be honest, I only started thinking about this because a current project necessitated me looking for a long lost (perhaps even mythical) cone of Artfibers yarn leftover from a sweater I knitted last year. I realized I had way too much stash when I literally couldn’t sort through what I had to find the damn cone of pink and purple yarn.

I’ve decided that I’m going to keep a score card of all things knitted from the stash. For many people keeping lists is what separates them from devolving into mindless and chaotic animals. Since I’ve been a rather lame blogger as of late. I’ll just return back to this post to relate my progress or not post to share my lack of. I could research some fancy knitting widget or plug in, but… screw it. I’m just going to do things the old fashioned way… bullet by bullet. Besides I know myself well enough to understand that if the list gets too long or complex I’ll just run away screaming. Sorry, I probably let you into my psyche a little too much there.

Finished:

• Tam from Silky Wool (3/4 skein teal green)
• Fossil Crocheted Neckwarmer (from Kim Werker’s Crocheted Gifts) – 100% in Di’Ve Autunno 3 balls
• Fossil Neckwarmer in Elsbeth Lavold Silky Flamme 2.5  balls
• Baroness Beret – 1.5 skeins Elsbeth Lavold Angora
• Exfoilating Washrag (crocheted) – .5 skeins of Fibranatura Flax

Started (includes percentage complete:

• Branching Out Scarf from SIlky Wool (1 & 1/4 skein teal green) – 40%
• Black Cavern Cardigan from Panda Bamboo (10 skeins of black) – 90%
• Crocheted Market Bag – 1.5 skeins of  Fibra Natura Flax
• Tunisian Crocheted Scarf – Universal Poems 3 skeins

<<<<Crap, my list isn’t very long… need to work on this>>>>

UFO (previously discarded unfinished objects) recently picked up:

• Lace Top from 5-6 balls of Knitpicks Palette (From Scottish Highland Knits) 75%
• Dr. Who Scarf out of 18-20 balls of Elann Peruvian Highland Wool(commissioned by a friend) 70% This thing is supposed to be 27 feet long… yeah right… I’m stopping at 20.
• Kilamajaro Sweater (in Cascade Pastaza): 45%

Lace Top -been hibernating for at least a year or so