Weekend Knitting

I can't believe it took me until Christmas Eve to get into the full-blown knitting mode. Hours upon hours of blissful knitting. Other than going to church on Christmas Day, we spent a quiet time at home. More knitting and watching DVDs. This morning, we got up really late with no snow on the ground...yet. Sleepy-eyed, we ventured out for some breakfast.

Here's what I have on my needles, the Listado cowl/head cover in Renata Tebaldi colorway. I thought I was going to knit this in Julia Child, but at the last minute I changed my mind and went for the contrasting colors.




My beautiful hank of yarn went from this:



To this cake of yarn:



I spent time winding some yarn this weekend. Very therapeutic I must add:



When hubby asked what I wanted for Christmas, I should have mentioned a new Swift. For now, my homemade swift will do for another year. I've had to add a few cans of tomato sauce to my "swift box" to add stability when my swift is spinning so fast. Here's my last year's post of my Tilta Swift and a link on how to make your own.




I had a last minute knitting request from my hubby. He wanted me to knit him a hat. So, I've started to knit a watchman cap using Berroco Vintage in brown. This pattern is from the "Knits Men Want" book. I have to say this book is wonderful. There are classic style sweaters and projects for men and includes different gauges and yardages to complete a project. Here's the beginnings of the cap:



Here's the cover of the book:




I hope my fellow knitters are enjoying their holiday weekend. I know I am.

A Chance to Felt...Knitting Projects and Other Things

I had the opportunity to felt my own knitting projects. My Vintage Bubble Bag and the Brown Bowl are drying. So far the Bag is taking 2 days to dry. My fault, I forgot to swap out the damp towels inside the bag for dry ones (overnight). I used small hand towels and stuffed them inside the bag to help shape the bag. I found a "lint shaver" at my local fabric store on sale for 50% off. I used it to shave the long pieces of lint/fuzz off the bag. The fuzz was not as bad as another felted bag I saw a few weeks ago.

The felted bowl came out beautiful! I wasn't too sure about felting with Plymouth Galway yarn, but I'm extremely happy with the results. I can now start knitting more bowls for gifts.



In the end, my bag took about 35 minutes to felt and the bowl took 25 minutes. I will be back to post a review for each of these items and my thoughts about felting.

CPH Status:
I've managed to work on CPH for a few hours. I'm getting ready to shape the front right neckline, do the decreases, and hopefully bind off the shoulders sometime tomorrow. I hope to start one of the sleeves this week.

On the Sewing Front:
I've been going through my pattern stash, looking for a needle case to sew. I'm in dire need to store my DPNs. I don't care to wrap them in rubber bands or dump them in a zippered case. I found a Butterick pattern that looks promising. It's for straight needles, but with some modifications I'm sure it will work to store my DPNs. Unfortunately, I can't start this sewing project until I finish my Christmas gifts. I'm hoping, maybe, Thanksgiving weekend I'll get to sew it.

Oh, I made a comment about being at my local fabric store and catching their 50% off notions sale. I also found a beautiful home dec remnant to make a simple tote bag to carry my knitting projects. That was also 50% off. I enjoy finding fantastic bargains.

I have a lot of projects to tackle as well as a lot of blogging to do over the next few days and weeks. Stay tuned!

DIY-Swift...Look at What I Made

(Warning: double post today)...enjoy!

As mentioned in my previous post, I ordered a ball winder and needed a swift. I did some research on the Internet and found the swifts to be quite expensive. In my search, I uncovered some instructions on making my own swift: from PVC tubes to coat hangers. I chose to go the coat hanger way. Here's my first DIY project, my lovely swift.

My very own swift


I found some of the items at my local Walmart. The Lazy Susan is made out of bamboo and there was a red tag on this item...big price reduction. The bag of 50 clothespin was $1.34. The 5-pack of heavy duty beige hangers was $1.50. I bought the 3 items for $9.84. I found the small box, the elastic, and the gripper pad in my sewing room.


Another view with some of the pieces. Notice how everything matches in color

As you can see I should be able to use different size hanks on my swift:

Another view with some bright yarn

My cardboard box was actually 2 inches too large. I ended up cutting slits in the corners and letting the coat hangers drop into the slits and resting on the box. I may have to put some "weights" into the box to anchor the swift down. I guess that's what metal washers are for and I'm sure I can find some in the basement.

Another angle of my swift

Now for those of you who are interested in making your own, there are wonderful instructions at webecca's blog where I got the idea from.

Enjoy!

What I've Been Up To

I have been splitting my time between sewing and knitting. I've been able to sew some simple tote bags to carry my knitting projects with me to work. I'm also sewing some clothes to wear at the LYS. Comfy is the key and nothing black as I have found lint is the main attraction at the end of the day.

I'm also trying to find some block of time to start up some beading projects. When I bead, I need to spread out my tools and vast variety of beads and then let the creativity begin. So, I've found a corner of my dining table for my beading activities where I can leave this hobby sitting and don't need to pack up everything when my block of time is up.


Here's a stitch marker I put together.

My stitch marker...Floral Bling

My friend, Sabine, came over last night and we had a great time knitting and chatting and knitting. I am really impressed with Sabine's knitting skills and her ability to jump in and start knitting again. She is adventurous. She is knitting a lace scarf and I'm sure she'll be finished before I see her again in a few days. Sabine...I'm cheering you on.

I've made extraordinary progress on my pink weekend cardi. I should be ready to separate the sleeves sometime today and start working on the body.

Weekend Retreat Cardi


I've also taken my Thick and Think Cardigan out of hibernation. The weather has been cooler and I've found the yearning to continue knitting this project. The yarn I'm using for this cardi is Blizzard. The ribbing will done using Cascade Superwash 220 in a similar blue color.

My version of the Thick and Thin Cardigan from the Fitted Knits book

Close up of the raglan area. I love how this was knitted


I've been working on the Plymouth Cotton Kisses baby sweater. Still knitting the back piece and progressing towards the neckline. Still not used to knitting with smaller size needles. I have to keep at it as I want to start working on some lace scarves in the near future.

Plymouth Cotton Kisses baby sweater

Just like some of you, storage has been an issue at my house especially with the many hobbies & interests I have. For those of you who don't know this...DH & I also have a third person living with us, my mother. So space is very, very limited.

I've ordered a ball winder from KnitPicks. I plan on winding all the skeins and hanks of yarn I have into balls of yarn. I can stack my "cakes" of yarn and store them better than the current system I have in place. Instead of purchasing an expensive swift, I'm making my own. Nothing fancy. Right now, I need to go and collect the parts that I have laying around the house and then visit my local Walmart for the other pieces. I will be back later with pictures. :)