Bewbs for Charity

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Heather

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which means it is a great month to knit bewbs!

Knitted Bewbs!

The blue two are knit using Classic Elite Bam Boo (100% bamboo rayon) and the large one is knit from the left over Araucania Ruca (100% sugar cane fibre) from my Clapostis.

The pattern is a modified one-piece version of Tit Bits from Knitty. My bewbs were knit as part of a KAL on Ravelry and will be donated to Knitted Knocker program run by the Knit Café.

If you knit (or crochet), why not knit a knocker or two for a woman who has lost her’s because of cancer?

And don’t forget, Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween are still running. You can enter today’s draw over at Missy Ann’s blog.

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Making Progress

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Heather

Halloween is getting closer, and I still haven’t finished up Ink Circle’s By the Full Moon. I am getting close though:

By the Full Moon by Ink Circles (WIP)

It is stitched on another piece of fabric from that sampler package I got from Ayrloom (through eBay), using DMC treads.

I’ve also been working on another pair of commissioned sock. These are Kai-Mai from Cookie A.’s fabulous book Sock Innovation. The yarn is Crystal Palace Maizy (a corn fibre and elastic mix) in a very bright purple (too bright for me, surprisingly).

Kai-Mei from Sock Innovation by Cookie A. (WIP)

That’s them stretched on my homemade sock blockers. They do a surprisingly good job, but I should have made them just a hair larger. If you’d like to make your own, here’s the directions I used.

And, I have been able to fix the sleeve of my Top-Down Shoulder Warmer! I had to decrease from 72 stitches to 62! That’s pretty substantial, for those of you that don’t know much about knitting. Consider that I am getting approx. 19 stitches to 4″ (not quite guage, but not far enough off to account for the huge sleeve), I took out about 2″ from the sleeve size. Right now I’m working on the second sleeve, and then I can try it on to be sure the back isn’t too big. Wouldn’t that be funny?

And don’t forget: today is day 17 of Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween giveaway. (Aren’t they super generous!) Head over to Annette’s to enter today’s draw.

I’d also like to say thank you so much, ladies, for all the comments lately. 🙂 I know I don’t get out there to comment very much, and I really do need to make more of an effort, but yes, I really am that shy.

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Is That For Both Arms?

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Heather

As I’ve mentioned before, overall my October goals are going well. However, the little shrug/cardigan that I would like to have made to wear next weekend is quickly becoming a disaster. The yarn, Estelle Cloud Cotton Eco, is soft and lovely to work with. I like my needles too, which are from my Denise interchangeable set. What I don’t like, however, is how the pattern has had me make a sleeve that I could almost fit two arms through!

Top-Down Shoulder Warmer

It the picture above the sleeve looks  a little bit, but not too bad. But when I try it on…

Top-Down Shoulder Warmer (sleeve)

you can see what should be a slim fitting sleeve is far from it. I suspect that the pattern wasn’t test knit in the larger sizes, and if I had been smart and read through the notes in other Ravelry projects I would have known to  make the sleeves smaller. I’m going to have to rip back the entire sleeve and try decreasing it a few stitches to see if that helps. (The extra-large size has 72 stitches for the sleeve, the large has 70 and the medium has 68. Since I am knitting the sleeve in the round instead of flat, as the pattern is written, I will try decreasing the sleeve down to either 68 or 66, depending on some tricky math I will attempt this evening.)

I will be overjoyed if I can get this done for next weekend, but at this point I think I won’t rush. I  love the idea of this garment so much I want to make a second one out of another colour of yarn, so it is more important to me to get it right than it is to get it done for a self-imposed deadline.

In happier news, today is day 15 of Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloweeen. Head over to Annette’s for today draw and go to Missy Ann’s for the start of the scissor crypt tutorial.

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Playful Kittens

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Heather

Another October goal conquered! This morning I but the final stitches in Teresa Wentzler’s Playful Kittens.

Playful Kittens by Teresa Wentzler

It is stitched with the given DMC threads on 28 ct hand-dyed if some sort from Ayrloom (brought from seller
abracraftdabra09 on eBay, but it looks like all the listings ended yesterday).

I’ve gone back to working on By the Full Moon from Ink Circles, which I may have done in a couple of days. I don’t know if I’m going to have time to get it and the pumpkin ornament I finished earlier made into ornaments. The days just seem to be getting away from me, especially since I have so much work to do in the evenings after Baby Man has gone to bed. Thank goodness for the Creativ Festival next week. It will be a nice break from the regular routine, and will hopefully help recharge my creativity.

Oh, and don’t forget to enter Missy Ann and ANnette’s 31 Days of Halloween. Today is Missy Ann’s turn and you can enter here.

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A Little Bag of Boo

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Heather

I started off the month so well, posting fairly regularly, but somehow I managed to get sidetracked again. I have been fairly productive, however.

Yesterday morning I finished seaming up the little trick-or-treat bag I’ve knit for Baby Man. The pattern is a freebie from Bernat: Boo Bag. (Registration is required to see the pattern.) I used Bernat Satin in Ebony and their discontinued Glow in the Dark yarn in Glow Worm White. (I wish they would bring this yarn back. I’d stock up on a few colours of it.) I stitched the “Boo” on both the front and back of the bag, and I’m going to be lining it with a cute Halloween fabric as soon as I get a chance.

Boo Bag by Bernat

I also managed to finish off the second pair of Grown-Up Booties that I was knitting for charity. The yarn is Vanna’s Choice.

Grown-Up Booties by Ysolda

Grown-Up Booties by Ysolda

I really liked the pattern. It is a very easy knit, but also fun with a little bit of decreasing going on to keep you interested. The slippers are nice too. If I wore slippers, I would be making a pair for myself.

Lastly, don’t forget to enter Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween giveaway. Today is Annette’s turn and you can enter here.

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Gold and Slippers

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Heather

October is already speeding away, and I feel like I’ve hardly gotten anything done. Being sick with a nasty cold for a week did a lot to set me back. And with the rush of Thanksgiving, Creativ Festival and Halloween, I feel like the month will be over before I know it.

I’ve hardly had a chance to put needle to fabric this month. All I’ve done is make a small start on the outer border of Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessings. I really like the look of the dark gold for the inside border and the lighter, brighter gold for the outside. The light gold is the same colour I used for the characters in the centre, but I am using one strand of silk for the border and I used two for the characters.

Kitchen Blessings by Enchanting Lair (WIP, border close-up)

I have finished the second pair of slippers I was knitting for charity. The pattern is Grown-Up Booties by Ysolda Teague. (It used to be a free pattern, but is now part of her Whimsical Little Knits 1 booklet.) Here’s what they look like before being sewn up and all finished. The yarn is Vanna’s Choice in colour Dusty Blue.

Grown-Up Booties by Ysolda (one finished and one not)

And, lastly, it is busy around the Internet today. You can enter Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween Giveaway over at Missy Ann’s today. You can enter to win a fabulous prize package from Mel over at Epic Stitching. And, lastly, you can enter to win the book Stitch Sampler over at Needle n’ Thread. I’d like to win all three, so maybe you shouldn’t enter. 😉 Just kidding! Best of luck to everyone!

And one very last thing, Lindsay over at Caring Stitcher is hosting a PIF giveaway. Head over here to read all about it.

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Warm Shoulders

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Heather

Just a quick post today. I’ve set myself a lofty goal for this month: knit this cardigan using this yarn in the natural/white shade 115 before October 23rd. Wish me luck!

And don’t forget to enter Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween. Today is Missy Ann’s turn, and you can enter here.

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