White Beard

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Heather

February just seems to drag on and on, doesn’t it? Have you ever thought that it would be a nice idea to switch Valentine’s Day and Christmas? Wouldn’t a nice turkey dinner, some gifts, time with family, and a pretty Christmas tree be just the perfect things to perk up dreary February?

Speaking of Christmas, I’ve started a new project. Yeah, I know that I shouldn’t, but this one was planned for this year and isn’t an impulse start (seriously). It is Santa’s Journey from Dimensions, designed by Peggy Abrams. (If my mom is reading this right now, she just got really excited.)

designed by Dimensions (WIP)

Santa’s Journey, designed by Dimensions (WIP)

I decided to stick with the aida that came in the kit. The last time I stitched a Dimensions stocking I did switch out the fabric for linen. But, my too-large fabric stash is actually really lacking in plain white linen. Hopefully I won’t regret my decision. 😉

I have two more Dimensions stocking kits to stitch after this one–one for the husband and one for my dad. I would like to get a fifth one for me, but nothing has caught my eye. Well, I would love to get my hands on the discontinued Windswept Santa kit but it is selling for a silly amount of money on eBay. I really don’t like it when things sell for so much more than their original price when they really aren’t special. 🙁

And speaking of looking for things, would anyone happen to have Just Nan’s Wee Pumpkin Pockets that they would like to sell or trade? 😀

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Little Bags

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Heather

I’ve made a couple more bags from the kits I bought from Quilt-A-Bag. The first is a cute little clasp purse.

Clasp bag

Clasp bag

The little bunnies on the outside are very cute. (The picture makes it look lopsided for some reason.) I’m so happy it turned out nicely. The last time I attempted this pattern I messed it up, partly because the twill fabric provided for the outside unravels terribly. But I took my time with this attempt, and used some Fray Check at a few different points.

Here is the interior fabric. I would love to get a hold of more of it. I think it would make a super cute box bag.

Super cute girls playing fabric

Super cute girls playing fabric

I also sewed up this snap pocket. It is meant to snap around a belt or apron string and provide you with an extra pocket.

Snap pocket bag

Snap pocket bag

It is made from “Japanese Canvas”, and the interior seams are bound with cotton tape. This fabric frays as well, and I had to be really careful with ripping out a mistake, but I am really pleased with the finish product. (Although it could stand to be ironed.)

I still have a couple more Quilt-A-Bag kits to finish up, but I am already getting excited about the spring Creativ Festival. I’m really hoping they will be there again, and that they will have some great new ideas. I may also pick up some of the pieces needed to make a few more the smaller “doctor bags”, since I think they will make nice gifts.

3 Comments | Posted in Sewing | Tagged ,

A Little Irish Green

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Heather

As I’m sure most of you are aware, I tend to get a little bit behind. I mean well, really. But, once in a while I do actually get things done ahead of time.

Lucky Day by Mill Hill

Lucky Day by Mill Hill

This is Lucky Day, a Mill Hill kit from the 2010 Spring Bouquet collection. It is stitched as per the pattern, except I attached all the beads with half cross stitches instead of using full stitches for the petite beads. (Yes, I am that lazy.)

The original plan was to finish it as a pin for the little man to wear to school on St. Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a bit too big for his little chest. It does come with a magnet, but my new stainless steel fridge isn’t magnet! lol! I think I might just put it away to use as an ornament when I finally get around to creating a year long ornament tree.

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Baby Surprise!

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Heather

No, there isn’t another baby coming here. (The thought makes me want to faint!) I’ve knit another Baby Surprise Jacket, the classic pattern by knitting genius Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Here it is off the needles:

A big blog of a thing

A big blog of a thing

And after a fold and seaming the shoulders, here is the finished jacket:

A sweet little baby sweater

A sweet little baby sweater

Amazing, isn’t it? The style might not be to everyone’s taste, but the pattern is such genius. I honestly think that every knitter should make at least one, just to experience the crazy things you can do with knitting.

The yarn is Araucania Ulmo Multi in the enchantingly named colourway 709. It took about 320 yards, and I figure it is about a 6-9 month size, possibly bigger. I did the increases as yo,k1,yo just to be different. And the buttons are “Counting Sheep” from Dress It Up.

Buttons, garter stitch, and yarn over holes.

Buttons, garter stitch, and yarn over holes.

The pattern itself is available in several places. You can order the ABC Surprise Jacket (adult, baby, child) pattern directly from Schoolhouse Press for US$12+shipping (in my opinion this is the best version of the pattern since it has line by line directions rather than the “pithy” directions in the other sources). The pattern for just the baby version can be found in the books Opinionated Knitter and The Knitter’s Almanac, among other places.

Now that I’ve knit the Baby Surprise Jacket twice, I’m not sure I would knit it again. It is really cool to turn a knitted blob into a little sweater, but the miles of garter stitch are just plain boring! 😉

5 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged ,

Finishes, Colds, and Stolen Credit Cards

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Heather

Well, goodness, I didn’t mean to disappear for so many days. The cold that has been lurking around our house for the past couple of weeks really knocked me out, and I’ve spent a few days trying to sleep it off. I’ve just finally started feeling more like myself. I still have a nasty cough, but at least I am able to function again. 😉

I have just a few bits of news and whatnot to share today. First, thanks for all the comments on my scarf and other posts. I’m sorry that I haven’t been keeping up with replies. Blame it on the cold, resting my arm, and being a bit lazy. But, the arm is good again and I’m working on being less lazy. 😀

Next, I had a question about the finishing for ornaments for the Ornament SAL. Yes, you can absolutely finish them however you like (cards, ornaments, nothing at all) and they will still count! The idea is just to stitch a small design that could be reasonably called an ornament and to have fun. The more the merrier, as I’ve been saying. 😉

Lastly, Knit Picks (an online yarn retailer) finally admitted this past weekend that they left sensitivity data accessible on their servers for over a month. This data included names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card numbers. They claim the affected numbers are only from website sales between late 2012 and early 2013, but in a strange bit of coincidence, I had a card number stolen this week that was used at Knit Picks in early 2012 (and very rarely used elsewhere). If you have purchased anything from Knit Picks, please check your credit cards. There is more information in this thread on Ravelry and here at the Knit Picks blog.

More pictures of new projects will be coming soon! But for now I’m off to bed.

2 Comments | Posted in Crochet, Knitting, Site News, The Outside World | Tagged , , ,

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Heather

May you day be sweet, and may your stitching be as smooth as silk.

Vintage Valentines

Comments Off on Happy Valentine’s Day! | Posted in Site News |

Temperature Scarf

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Heather

One of the big knitting trends so far this year is to knit a scarf that shows the temperature of your home everyday.

Temperature Scarf

Temperature Scarf

Here’s my start so far. The few rows of green are the days when it was very warm, and the few rows of light purple were the days about a week and a half later where it was very, very cold. The scarf is 40 stitches wide, and it knit in linen stitch. Each day is two rows. The temperature information is based on the mean temperature for Toronto as reported by The Weather Underground at the weather station at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.

It is going along well, except for one problem… I’m not supposed to be knitting until the end of the month. It seems I have developed epicondylitis in my left elbow, and I need to rest my arm. (I’ve mentioned resting my arm a few times, and this is the reason why. Thankfully, I’ve discovered that stitching doesn’t really hurt. Knitting does.) Thank goodness for The Weather Underground’s historical data section. I will have no problem getting caught up once I’ve been given the okay to start knitting again.

Yarns for temperature scarf

Yarns for temperature scarf

For the scarf I’m working from stashed yarn. (Yay!) Most of the yarn is Bernat Satin; I will probably switch that red to Bernat Satin too. The grey is for the borders, and it is Mary Maxim Starlette. It is a little thicker than the Satin, which I think I like.

Colour Temp. Range
Red 32°C and above
Sunset (orange) 26°C – 31°C
Fern (dk. green) 20°C – 25°C
Soft Fern 13°C – 19°C
Spring (pale green) 7°C – 12°C
Lapis (pale blue) 1°C – 6°C
Teal -5°C – 0°C
Lavender (dk. purple) -12°C – -6°C
Star Dust (lt. purple) -13°C and below
8 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged , ,