Watch Dragon Paused

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Heather

Sometimes a design doesn’t grab you the first time you see it. But, after looking at it for a little while, you know that you absolutely have to stitch it. For me, that was the case with Enchanting Lair’s Watch Dragon. I was lucky enough to see the model at the Needleworker’s Marketplace back in April, and it was fabulous.

The model is stitched on Enchanting Lair’s own dyed fabric in the colourway Sunset (she uses Zweigart, so you know it is nice stuff). It uses three colours of Dinky Dyes, and has a border surrounding the dragon’s face. Well, I just had to be different. I’m stitching mine on 28 count black Lugana using the newish Dinky Dyes colour Quicksilver, and I’m leaving off the border.

Watch Dragon by Enchanting Lair (WIP)

This is as far as I’ve gotten with one skein of Dinky Dyes. Laura told me she only used one skein of each colour, so clearly I am a much  more wasteful stitcher than she is. Thankfully, I will be getting another skein of the same dyelot shortly.

When I’m all done stitching (by the end of next week, possibly!), it will finished into a banner. I’m not sure how or where I will hang it yet, but I’m so pleased with how it is turning out that all those details don’t really matter. The silverly silk just about glows on the dark fabric. It is glorious. 😉

But, until I can get another skein of silk, the Watch Dragon is paused and I’ll work on Summer Keep by Jennifer Aikman-Smith… or maybe the Chocolate Humbug Purse I picked up from Northern Pines…

4 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Using Up Yarn

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Heather

Four months down, and I am still managing to make a fairly good dent in my yarn stash. I will freely admit that I have bought some yarn (and a friend of mine has bought a fair little bit of yarn on sale with the idea of me buying it from her. hehehe). But, I’ve also traded away a whole lot (I mean, a lot) and given some to Darlene over at Craftkitten, as she does a lot of charity knitting.

So, without the yarn from my friend (hey, I haven’t paid for it and it isn’t in my hands yet), I’m down 1427.1 yards. Not bad at all! (I think once I get all the yarn from here, I may actually be at 0 or worse!)

To help with my numbers, I made a couple of projects last month that used all the yarn in the skein. First up was Dicey, the socks I’ve been working on since March. The second sock actually ended up a row shorter than the first sock, but I’m pretty sure no one is going to notice. The yarn is Crystal Palace Panda Cotton that was originally their Caribbean Blue colourway, but which I over-dyed with some grey Ritt dye.

Dicey from Sock Madness 2012

The pattern was from Sock Madness 2012, a sock knitting contest on Ravelry. I was knocked out in the first round because I wasn’t able to finish the socks to the directed length since I ran out of yarn. I took my time with the second sock, and finished them up about two weeks go. (Yes, I’m super lazy about taking pictures.) The cables on the socks look all wonky because they are random. Their placement was determined by the role of a die, hence the name. I reversed the direction of the cables for the second sock.

Dicey's crazy cables

I also crocheted myself two new dishcloths from some Lily Sugar n’ Cream cotton in colourway Urban Pastels. The second one is a bit large because I wanted to use up all the yarn in the skein. I still have a metric craptonne of kitchen cotton, so I think a secondary goal this year is to knit and/or crochet it all into dishcloths and washcloths. Guess what everyone will be getting for Christmas. lol! Seriously, though, I find my handmade dishcloths to be so much better than store-bought ones. They are thicker, scrub better, and wash like a dream. And I’ve never had trouble with any of them getting smelly or having to bleach them. I will never go back to store-bought dishcloths or sponges.

Crocheted Dishcloths

If there is any interest, maybe I can do a little draw for some dishcloths so those of you who don’t knit or crochet can give them a try. Let me know in the comments if you’d be interested in that.

2 Comments | Posted in Crochet, Knitting | Tagged , , ,

Theme-a-licious

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Heather

May! My favourite month, and not just because it is my birthday month. (I’m pretty sure I say this every year, so I’ll just skip to the good stuff.)

Last month’s Theme-a-licious theme was Amazon April, where we were to work on our largest projects. I did haul out 12 Days of Christmas a few times, but it has been put into hibernation as I pursue another plan for my mom’s cross stitch gift this year. I  haven’t worked on it since I posted this picture last week.

12 Days of Christmas by Joan Elliott (WIP)

This month is May Memories, where the focus is on pieces that hold some significance (like a special class) or commemorate a significant event. My plan this month is to dig out Summer Keep/Winter Keep, designs from Teresa Wentzler and Jennifer Aikman-Smith which I took at the Creativ Festival back in 2008 (I think…). They also fall under WIPocalypse, since at least one of them is started.

I’m also hoping to work on Enchanting Lair’s Watch Dragon, which is about 60% done, but I’ve run out of silk. 🙁 And moar socks!! (Surprise!)

That still leaves some stitching time. I’m not sure what I will work on. This morning I hauled out all of my craft stuff from the closet, so I’m a little overwhelmed. Maybe once I have everything better in hand I’ll be able to make a decision.

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , , ,

…And Its Head Popped Off

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Heather

Several times last year I wrote about how much easier tasks are when you have the right tool for the job. At that time, I was mainly talking about getting the right feet for my sewing machine and serger. The cording foot for the serger made making a pillow for the little man a breeze, and the 1/4″ for my sewing machine has helped to make so many sewing projects look much neater.

When it comes to my knitting, I’ve got a whole lot of tools. I’ve got a forest of knitting needles since different yarns and different projects are all better done with different types: metal dpns for top-down socks in cotton yarn, wooden circulars for toe-up socks in bamboo yarn, plastic circulars for sweaters in blended yarns, etc. I’ve also got piles of stitch markers, stacks of scissors and there must be some tape measures around here somewhere… (I’ve lost two this week alone).

Terrible webcam picture of broken ball winder

While not in regular use, I couldn’t knit many of my projects without my handy ball winder. I had (past tense) a lovely purple and grey one from Knit Picks. I bought it back in April of 2009, about six months after I learned to knit. It has probably wound enough sock yarn to go around the Earth at least once, and I’m sure I’ve wound some other kinds of yarn on it too. 😉 (Honest, I do knit things other than socks.)

This morning it died. The entire top part of it popped off and I just can’t reseat it properly.

And you’ll never guess what I was winding… sock yarn. lol!

Update: Knit Picks has agreed to replace the ball winder for free! How wonderful is that? This isn’t the first time that I have received wonderful customer service from them. I am most definitely a happy Knit Picks customer.

 

1 Comment | Posted in Knitting | Tagged

Followin’

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Heather

As you may or may not know, Google shut down Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger blogs back on March 1st. Personally, I think this was a terrible decision, but there isn’t anything I can do about other than either switch to Blogger or find another solution. Hosted blogs like Blogger are a really great option, but I like the freedom of a self-administered blog (and I love WordPress a whole lot).

So, that leaves me with the need to find another solution. If you like following my blog through your Blogger dashboard, you can still do so by adding my blog to your blogroll manually. Just go to your Dashboard, scroll down to Reading List, click on the big Add button and enter my URL (https://stitchinglotus.ca). You can also follow me through one of the widgets on my sidebar (you might have to scroll down a little). One is Networked Blogs, which works a bit like Google Reader, and the other is my Google+ for the blog (not my personal page). And, of course, you can always read my blog here or through any RSS aggregate reader (like Google Reader).

1 Comment | Posted in Site News |

Small Stitches

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Heather

Petit point, why did I wait so long to try you? You are only needlepoint on a small scale. You are half a cross stitch, so you are twice as fast. You are lovely.

Tea Time petit point (WIP)

Unfortunately, you are also tricksy. Before I started filling in the background, you were even and lovely. Now you slant. Not much (yet), but I see you leaning.

Well, no worries. I’ll whip you into shape when I finish you. Maybe a magnet would be a good idea. I’ll lace you tightly to some card stock, and that will take care of your unsightly slant.

Now, to look for another petit point project…

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Duuuude

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Heather

I just love knitting toys!

Duuuude the Sea Turtle by Cheezombie

This cute little guy is Duuuude The Sea Turtle, designed by Cheezombie and included as a free pattern in the Summer 2011 issue of Petite Purls (an online knitting magazine specializing in childrens’ patterns).

Cheezombie patterns definitely have a distinct look. Giant eyes, cute little bodies. It is funny how they look almost normal until you add the crazy eyes.

This guy was knit from some yarn who’s label I have now lost, but it is a rayon blend of some sort. I thought the colour was just right for a crazy little turtle. Hopefully the recipient agrees.

4 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged ,