Entrelac Bag

It’s Friday!!  The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day!!

I recently finished another bag pattern that we did in the Bag A Month Group on Ravelry.  Once I got over the initial beginning of doing something new, I enjoyed it.  The pattern is Felted Entrelac Clutch by Meg White, this is a free Ravelry download.

I used Patons Classic Wool in various colors, mainly leftovers that I had from other projects, and a size 10 needle.  The only modification I did was to leave out the gap for the handles.  I knit straight up so I could add my own handles.

This is prefelting

From 2009 Projects

After felting – mine measures about 10″ tall and 10-1/2″ wide at the bottom

 

 

The lining

From 2009 Projects

Finished with a little flower button

From 2009 Projects

A close-up

From 2009 Projects

I have been using this bag and so far really enjoy it.  It holds all my stuff

Nature

Some of the deer that frequent our yard. Something tastes good over there.

From Just Because

From Just Because

A scene not too far from my home.

From Just Because

Hats for the Guys

I have been knitting, I just haven’t been posting about it.  Takes away from the knitting time.

This time of year with the weather getting cooler just wants to make my needles sing.   I’m still working on my blankets, but I just have to sneak in some small projects.

So here are a couple of hats that I’ve recently completed.  I would really like to get one of those “heads” it would show off the hats so much better.

From 2009 Projects

This pattern is A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole.  I used Red Heart Yarn in the colors Coffee and Banana Berry and size 7 needles.  I made two of these the same for my grandkids.

I co 80 stitches to make a smaller hat for a child. Added 4 rows of striping with 5 rows of solid in between. Worked to 6” before starting the decreases – they can always roll it up if it’s a little too big.

From 2009 Projects

This is the ever famous Turn a Square by Jared Flood, which is a free Ravelry download.  I so enjoy making this hat and I think it looks so nice on.

I used Patons Classic Wool Merino in Black for the main color and Universal Yarn Deluxe LP in Caffe Latte for the stripes.  I used size 6 needles for the ribbing and size 7 needles for the body of the hat.  I also didn’t to the increases, and worked to 6″ before starting the decreases.

Both of these hat patterns are ones I’ve made before and will probably make again.  They’re easy and can look different depending on the yarn used.

Happy Knitting!

Fall has Arrived

From Just Because

Fall is here and the leaves are starting to change.  This picture was taken today.  Look at the same tree last year.

From Just Because

The leaves were so much fuller when they started to change.

I think it’s interesting to see the difference.  We had quite a bit of rain this year but the leaves just turned brown and started falling.

It’ll be interesting to see what Winter brings.

A Squirrel and a Fence

It’s Friday!!

A little story about a squirrel and a fence  :)

From Just Because

This is a picture of part of my back yard.  Sorry no actual pic of the squirrel (he was too fast) but that little blob is one of my cats.

A little background, the cats go under the chain link fence all of the time.  I was looking out the window and saw a squirrel coming up to the fence.  Notice the 3 chain link panels on the left.

The squirrel was going back and forth between those 3 panels looking for the way to go under them.  I’m sure he had seen the cats do it and just wanted to try it for himself.

Back and forth he went poking his head at the fence.  While I was watching him I couldn’t figure out why in the world he didn’t just go over it.  Then it occured to me that he was determined to do what everyone else was doing.

He finally made it through and promptly went to the post (1st one on the right of the corner) climbed over the fence and went on his merry way.

A job well done and satisfaction complete.

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend.

I Steeked!

I did it, I bit the bullet (so to speak) and did my first steeked project.

From 2009 Projects

I’m a chicken at heart.  I didn’t want to do a large project and then be disappointed so I picked something small.  If it didn’t turn out or I royally messed it up, no harm.

The pattern I “loosely” followed is Mushroom Pulse Warmers which is a free Ravelry download.  I used size 0 needles and Brown Sheep sock yarn and a mix of size 6 seed beads.

I didn’t really want to spend the time doing color work so I substituted random placed beads and just made a small cuff to be worn like a bracelet.

  It did want to roll, so I had to block it .  Another quick project to experiment with.

Where does the time go?

Where does the time go?  That’s what I should have named my blog!  Then when I haven’t posted in a while you could say “she lost it again” (time, not my mind because I lost that a long time ago).  I guess I can take some comfort in the fact that I’m not the only one.

I hit a bit of a knitting/crochet slump.  I finished all my wips and then just couldn’t get going again.  When I did it was with large projects.  Therefore, not much to say on the crafting front.

Recently (except for yesterday) the weather has been cooler and now I can’t work fast enough and it’s all I can do not to cast on 50 projects!  At the same time I want to throw open all the windows and deep clean every nook and cranny of my house.   I’ve also been working on cleaning out (I hope) the last of the summer weeds from my flower beds before winter sets in.

Then, of course, there are all those nice books waiting to be read. sigh

Still working on two blankets, but in the mean time here is a small project that I have managed to finish.

From 2009 Projects

I’ve had some Noro Silk Garden (color # 87) in my stash for quite some time so I finally decided to make a pair of Fetching  fingerless mitts.  I used size 6 needles and did an extra set of cables on the wrist and 3 extra ribbed rows on the thumbs.  I did them two at a time on two cabled needles.  Very quick.

I hope you all have a happy Friday and a safe and enjoyable weekend!

Babies Everywhere Babies

That’s how I feel, it seems like in my life they all seem to come at the same time.  I have four babies in the friends/family group coming by the 1st of the year and I need to get busy!

I made the crochet basket to hold diapers so I’ve moved to a cute little baby sweater that I found while cruising Ravelry the other day.  The pattern is called SLK Baby Sacque by Susan Kraus.

I used Bernat Softee Baby in the colors Her Jeans Ombre and Pink.  I used a size G hook and added a picot border.  I also did knit cuffs on the sleeves because I think they’re fun. For the cuffs I used size 6 knitting needles to do 1” of 1×1 ribbing after doing 10 rows of dc on the sleeves. Decreased on rows 4, 7, 10.  I added a little flower button.

From Projects

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a happy and safe weekend!

Stash Baskets

I saw a lady on Ravelry named likerussel make this basket pattern larger and use it for baby diapers.  I have a baby shower to attend in September and I thought it was a perfect idea.  The colors of the nursery are pink and green with a touch of red.

Crochet Stash Basket by The Purl Bee

From Projects

I used a J hook and two strands of Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the colors Med Thyme and Candy Print.  I followed the directions for the bottom but only did 3 repeats of the side.  I mimicked the side loops for the handles, only I did the two loops over 11 stitches.  The basket is 10″ tall and has a circumference of 41″.  This should hold a whole package of diapers.

Since I have all of this Red Heart in my stash from making tote bags, I decided to make this next basket. 

From Projects

 

I did up to 11 sc between the increases and then did one repeat on the side.  I may put some dishcloths in this and give it as a gift.

This last basket I did the same 11 sc between the increases but I did sc rounds all the way up until I did a row of the loops.  I may use this one for my slippers.  This is a fun versatile pattern.

From Projects

Just for fun here is my latest pair of stitch markers that I made for a Rav friend.

From Beading

I  hope you all have a wonderful, safe and fun weekend!

Dashing

I had recently purchased some yarn by Plymouth Yarn Co. called Suri Merino.  It is a light green with a bit of heather to it.  It’s very soft with just a small amount of fuzzy.

I started to make a scarf with a lace pattern got about 30% of the way done and realized that the lace pattern just got lost.  I stretched it to see if blocking would help and the pattern was just not noticeable, so I sent it to the frog pond.

One of the wonderful things about Ravelry is I was able to do a project search for all projects using this yarn.  Several people made Dashing with two skeins and I liked how it looked.  So here are mine

From Projects

I used size 6 needles and only did 18 rows of ribbing after the 3rd cable.  I made these in about 3 evenings.  A nice quick project and my hands and wrists will be toasty warm this winter.

I have enough yarn left over that I may see how far I can get on a top down hat.

Update:

I decided to use the Karlchen hat pattern.  It’s top down and has a nice chart to tell you how many stitches to increase based on your stitch guage.  I had just enough left to make the hat.

From Projects