Yarn Bombing!

I've always found the statue of the girl walking the dog (located in front of Ecole Victoria School on Broadway Avenue in Saskatoon) a tad on the dreary side (no offence to sculptor Bill Epp). This fall I embarked on a month long project to provide a little colour to life of the girl and her dog. I finished everything late last night and got together a dedicated team to help me execute my plan. Here's the before and after pictures!

These are pictures of the items pre-installation.

I knit the dog sweater from this free pattern but the feature insert was taken from a different dog sweater pattern also available for free on the internet.

The sweater pattern is the Adult Surprise Jacket, a variation of Elizabeth Zimmermann's infamous Baby Surprise Jacket. The sweater is knit in such a way that the finishing seams run up both sweater arms making it ideal to sew onto a statue that doesn't have both arms available to slide on a sweater sleeve (the girl is holding the dog's leash in her right hand).  I put the sweater on the statue backwards in order to accommodate the girl's backpack. I used a crochet hook to join the sleeves with a single crochet stitch, making a short chain across the back to connect both sides of the sweater.

The hat was knit from the Slouchy Hat pattern from MelonHead KnitWear. The leg warmers were a simple k1p1 for the ribbing top and bottom, with stockinette stitch in between.

I took this photo of my team doing the installation.

Walk, bike or drive by and enjoy an extra little bit of colour on Broadway!

Knit Clary Fray doll

For this one I really had to embrace my inner young adult fiction geek.  While I was knitting my Arne & Carlos dolls, I was reading the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.  During that time, my mom gave me a bag of yarn filled with odds and ends she no longer wanted. In the bag was a ball of bright orange yarn that reminded me of the description of the hair of the main character, Clary Fray. That ball of yarn inspired me to knit a Clary Fray doll. In the books she has curly hair, so I decided to knit up the orange ball of yarn, wash it, and then unravel it to see how it turned out. It was perfect.

I knit Clary out of 100% acrylic from collection, changing colours to give her the appearance of black boots, jeans and a pink shirt. I had every intention of knitting her a more complete outfit, but other things came along that grabbed my interest, so she remains as is on my fireplace mantel for now.

Melanie

After acquiring smaller double pointed needles, I decided to try knitting a doll to the scale suggested in pattern.  I also wanted to try doing one of the more complex suggestions for the dolls, in this case, stripped tights. Using 2.5 mm needles, I knit Melanie!

I used blue and green alternately, three rows at a time, to give her striped tights. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how much the colours would blend together, obscuring the striped effect. In the future I will use brighter colours with more contrast to highlight the striped effect. For Melanie's hair, I used a ball of variegated green yarn with a gold metallic stripe running through it. I think it gives her hair a bit of an underwater seaweed look that may inspire me to knit her a mermaid outfit!

Melanie's dress is knit from a left over bit of Kertzer On Your Toes variegated sock yarn in the colour Beach Print (75% superwash wool, 25% Nylon) that I bought here in Saskatoon at the Wool Emporium.

Sasha is the Second

After my success with Nancy, I was eager to knit more dolls. For my next doll, I kept the formula the same. Same size needles, more acrylic yarn, but this time the hair was left over Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in the colour Painted Desert (100% Acrylic).  There wasn't enough left to do a full head of hair, so I attached yarn around the hairline to create a pony tail.  The result was Sasha!

Using the Arne and Carlos Knitted Dolls patterns, I made Sasha a skirt from left over Red Heart Heart & Sole sock yarn in the colour Watercolor Stripe (70% superwash wool, %30 nylon) and a sweater from random acrylic yarn from my collection.

Arne and Carlos Knit Dolls - Here Comes Nancy!

If you've never heard of Arne and Carlos, they are definitely google-worthy.  This Scandinavian duo have created some truly unique knit patterns, my favourite of which are featured in their book, Knitted Dolls: Handmade Toys with a Designer Wardrobe.  This book caught my eye when I was picking up something on the holds shelf at the library.  Not above perusing other people's reserved books, I picked it up and was immediately captivated by the pictures.  I went home and put the book on hold myself. I liked it so much that I bought my own copy and a year later I have knit four different dolls and quite a few outfits.

The first doll I knit, I named Nancy. The pattern suggests extremely small, 2.5 mm (US size 1.5) needles, but the smallest I had at the time was 3.5mm needles which resulted in a slightly larger doll.  Because I knew I wanted to make a sleeveless dress for the doll, I decided to knit her with black tights and no shirt.

I used 100% acrylic yarn from my collection with the exception of her hair.  Her gorgeous locks are the 100% wool Thick and Thin yarn I had leftover from my Slouchy Hat Kit from MelonHead KnitWear.

The first thing I knit for Nancy was a little purple halter dress.

The dress is made from Paton Stretch Sock Yarn in the colour plum.

Then using the same type of yarn, but in the colour olive, I knit a little shrug to go with the dress. Big thanks to my mom who gave me a huge collection of little buttons that are the perfect size for doll clothes!

Still taken by the dress pattern, I made another one, this time using the leftover 100% merino wool yarn that I used to make the little tunic for Fiona. It's from Tanis Fibre Arts and the colour is deep sea.

Now that Nancy had a wardrobe, she needed some friends . . .

Amigurumi Animals

After knitting a little purple bird for my goddaughter, my youngest son asked if I could make a bird for him. I'd used the Amigurumi Animal Friends knit pattern from etsy which is simple and straight forward so I quickly knit up a second bird, this time in red. I modified the pattern to knit it on four needles so that I could eliminate the back seam. Here is the creatively named "Little Reddy".

After seeing the second bird, my older son asked if I could make him something. I had recently taken Amigurumi Knits: Patterns for 20 Cute Mini Knits by Hansi Singh out from the library. I told him if he could find something he liked in that book, I would make it for him. He asked for the hermit crab.  After four false starts, I figured out the pattern.  It was by far the most challenging thing I have ever knit.  In addition to the complicated curving shell, there was the head and six limbs that needed to be stuffed and assembled.  The end result was good, but it won't be anything I'll be attempting again any time soon.  All of the animals were made with miscellaneous 100% acrylic yarn found in my collection.

Cuppow! A Mason Jar Cozy

After knitting the Sassy Stripes socks, there was a nice sized little ball of yarn left over that was perfect for a small crafting project.  I had been thinking about getting a Cuppow lid to turn one of my wide mouth mason jars into a drinking cup.  A jar converted to a travel mug was something begging for a knit cosy. It keeps my tea warmer longer and keeps my hands from burning when the hot liquid is first poured in the jar.

A friend pointed out how handy it would be to have a jar cozy with a handle on it for ease of carrying. With an idea of what I wanted, I followed the basic pattern from Miso Crafty Knits with a few slight modifications.  I started with a ribbed stitch (k2p2) for the first inch and then switched to moss (seed) stitch (k,p,k,p then on the next row knit the purls and purl the knits).  I knit the cosy shorter than suggested and didn't complete all of the decrease rounds so that the cozy went slightly under the jar, but not all the way.  For a "handle" I made a five stitch icord that I sewed onto the top of the cozy.

The handle is perfect as I can just sling it into the crook of my arm when I need to lock the door on the way out of the house or if I need an extra hand to hold onto a kid while crossing the street. I also use it while drinking so if the whole thing slips out of my hand, I won't drop it.

If you live in Saskatoon, you can get a Cuppow at The Better Good on Broadway Avenue.

The Second Socks

Knitting warm socks seems to naturally follow cooler weather. Going into my collection, I chose another skein of hand dyed alpaca-merino wool yarn from Skye at Alpacas of the Coast.  In variegated shades of blue, I could tell it would work well with the Sassy Stripes pattern from Coats & Clark Inc.  Here's Ginelle modelling her new socks!

Milo Vest and Dress

Now that we are fully into fall and school and extra curricular activity routines are established, my busy schedule is starting to seem more manageable.  I have big plans to post all of the things I knit during the summer months!

I rarely buy patterns, but when I saw the Milo vest, I decided the $5 would be money well spent. My favourite part about this pattern is the option to do a detailed insert down the front of the vest for which the author includes at least six different cable patterns that can be used.

To date I have knit three different versions of this pattern. Although I love the pattern as a vest, before knitting the pattern as printed, I needed to fulfill my knit dress obsession and modify the pattern by making some carefully placed increases.  For my first project, I used one 140g/5oz ball of Bernat Soft Bouclé in the colour Teal Twist (100% acrylic = 100% machine washable!). Because the yarn is heavier than what the pattern calls for, I was able to knit the pattern in the smallest size (newborn) and have it result in a dress that fit my 4 year old friend Freya!

Although the dress turned out beautifully, I was disappointed that the yarn I chose obscures the detailed cable pattern that runs down the skirt portion of the dress. Here's Freya in the dress with her sister Astrid wearing one of the Impress Dresses I knit.

To try and do something that would show off the cable pattern, I knit another dress version using three colours of Phildar Castel yarn that I picked up at Value Village. The colours are "loutre", "rocaille" and "jean's" (sic) and the yarn composition is 65% acrylic, 25% wool and 10% chlorofiber.

This is my newest neighbour Amelia who received the dress as a baby gift!

When a friend was moving across the country, she found a shrug she'd knit for herself using a lovely skein of merino wool. Because she wasn't happy with how it turned out, she'd never worn it and it had gotten lost at the back of her closet. She didn't want to give it away as she loved the yarn, but she also didn't want to move clothing she was never going to wear. I offered to pull it apart and make something for her daughter. For this project, I finally knit the pattern as printed, using the heart cable pattern down the front.

After knitting the pattern three times in a row, it was time to move on.  However, now that it's been a few months, I think I could go back to this one . . .

My first pair of socks

Despite not having posted in a month, I've been knitting like a fiend! Now I just need to find time to post about all the stuff I've made.  Last summer, while on vacation on Vancouver Island, I visited my friend Skye who owns Alpacas of the Coast.  I bought several skeins of her gorgeous hand-dyed alpaca-merino yarn. I decided it was time to take the plunge into sock making and this is the pair that resulted from my efforts.

I used a pattern that came highly recommended by an experienced sock making friend.  It is the Basic Sock pattern (go figure) from Patons' Next Steps Four - Socks and Slippers pattern booklet.  Evidently my tension was different for each sock (at least I'm assuming that's what created the difference in the patterns). However, the contrast isn't as severe as this pair of leg warmers that I knit last fall!

The yarn for the leg warmers was purchased from an unmarked basket at La Bobineuse de Laine while on a trip to Montreal last October.  I was assured that the yarn was wool, but there was no information on the skeins so perhaps they're from different dye lots?

So now my feet and legs will be mismatched, but totally warm, just in time for summer . . .

Dress to Impress

It's been quite some time since I've posted as this most recent project took me about 5 weeks to finish and then it took another 2 weeks for me to finally sew a button on the back and complete the project . . . The pattern, entitled Dress to Impress, was designed by Leila McMillan and can be found in the book Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting: Go Beyond the Basics by Debbie Stoller.  I prefer to refer to it as "The dress the NDP knit" as I completed a significant portion of the project while attending the 2013 Saskatchewan NDP Leadership Convention.

Because I prefer knitting in the round, I adapted the pattern to make the design work seamlessly.   It is made from 100% acrylic yarn from my closet collection. It was knit in the round with size 5 (3.75mm) needles.  The final measurements of the dress are a 22" chest circumference and it's 16" long.  

Look out Astrid, here comes your new party dress!

A Tatted Embellishment

My most recent knit baby tunic needed an embellishment of some type.  I wanted something that would not affect the ability of the dress to be machine washed and dried so I decided that something removable would be the most practical.  I wanted something bright and cheerful to complement the darker blues of the dress and I knew that a delicate tatted flower would be perfect. It had been quite a few years since I'd done any tatting, but with the handy dandy The Learn How Book, I easily picked it up again.

This booklet belonged to my Grandmother and I consider it the quintessential go-to guide when I need to remember/relearn the basics of crocheting, knitting or tatting (I've never tried embroidery or hairpin lace . . .).

I found some of my old tatting shuttles, some crochet cotton and did a little internet searching for inspiration.  I winged it and made this little daisy.

I then attached it to a large (1cm diameter) snap.  Now on the snap, the daisy can be moved to different locations on the dress!

Baby Tunic

This cute little dress was made using the Super Simple Baby Tunic pattern. I used size 4mm (US 6) needles and chose to knit the pattern in the round. The only modification I made to the pattern was to add an extra 10 rows to the straps to make them a little bit longer.

The dress was made with some gorgeous yarn I bought at Espace Tricot while on vacation in Montreal last fall. It is hand dyed yarn by Tanis Fiber Arts, an all Canadian company.  The yarn is Yellow Label DK weight and the colour is deep sea.  One of the best parts about it is that it's 100% superwash merino and therefore machine washable and dryable (which I consider a must when I give something as a baby gift). The yarn came in a 115g (4 oz)/238m (260yds) hank and after completing the dress there is enough left over for a doll dress or other small project.

I'm happy with the dress, but I think it needs some type of embellishment to make it complete.  I'll post again when I've figured that part out . . .

Variations on an Impress Dress

In my previous post, I mentioned one of my favourite baby girl dress patterns, the Impress Dress.  The first time I knit this pattern, it was for my little neighbour's first birthday and I made her this brown and pink version of the dress.

My next experiment was a blue, white and mauve version for my goddaughter . . .

Both of the above dresses were made with acrylic yarn from my collection.  I bought Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in the colour "Herb Garden" for the next dress I made.  I love the Homespun variegated yarn colours and in addition to feeling lovely and soft, it's also safe to machine wash and dry.

As a baby, Astrid wore it as a dress.

And now that she's is a little older, it's a tunic!

Entrelac

I learned about entrelac in Margaret Radcliffe's fantastic book, The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques. My first experiment with entrelac was this little hat.

I love this technique and decided I needed to take on something more ambitious.  When I heard there was a new baby girl in the neighbourhood I decided to try knitting an entrelac baby dress. I didn't use a pattern for the skirt part of the dress, but I used the collar from the pattern for this Impress Dress. I picked up stitches at the bottom to do the trim. Unfortunately I think I made some questionable colour choices for the dress . . . Luckily it was all knit with accumulated acrylic yarn from my collection (my typical choice for experiments like this one).  The outcome was a bit more avant garde than I bargained for.

I'm not sure I know the baby's mom well enough to judge if she'd think this was something that falls into the "retro-cool" category or the just plain ugly category. What do you think? Is it a knitting fail? In the mean time I've started knitting something more conventional for baby Fiona . . .

Striped Baby Dress

A friend had her first baby so this will soon be off in the mail to little Zoé! This dress could also be worn as a tunic or a vest, depending on the size/build of the child.  The skirt part was made with variegated yarn left over from a blanket I crocheted while pregnant with my first son, alternated with a random ball of blue yarn from my collection.  I used this Lanesplitter skirt pattern.  Using the ball of blue yarn, I picked up stitches at the top and made the bodice from this pattern entitled Sunshine dress. I then used the variegated yarn to do an edging around the neck.

Chunky Baby Hat

For this hat I used the leftover Sweet Georgia Yarns (summer dusk) from my Chunky Mittens for the first part of the hat, doing the ribbing pattern until the yarn ran out (9 rows).  Then I switched to an alpaca wool blend (70% alpaca, 30% wool) in a purple colour that I purchased locally from Prairie Fire Alpacas, located in Arelee, SK.

I knit the hat on size 10 (6mm) dpn and I used this free Cozy Cap - Knitting Pattern.  Because of the size of my yarn/needles/my gauge, I wound up using the size XXL cast on of 52 stitches, but followed the measurements for the infant sized hat (i.e. I knit until the hat measured 4" before doing the decrease). The top was done using the 5 stitch I-Cord suggested by the pattern's author.

Now I just need to find a chunky little baby to wear the hat!

Chunky Mittens

I recently knit my first ever pair of mitts.  I made them with a beautiful Sweet Georgia Yarns  superwash chunky merino wool I bought from Knits by the Sea while on vacation in Tofino last summer.  The colour is summer dusk.  It came in a 100g/ 120 yd hank that was enough yarn for both mittens with a little left over. Here are the before and after pictures.

I looked at a couple of different patterns and then combined and adapted them to make up my own pattern to fit my little hands. The finished size of the mitts from wrist to fingertip is 8 1/2" long and they are 4 1/2" wide.  I made them big enough to wear over top of a little pair of gloves for added warmth against the Saskatchewan cold.  I made both mitts exactly the same but wearing them has seemed to shape them naturally into a left and right.

Laura's Chunky Mitten Pattern

Gauge: 13 stitches/ 21 rows = 4" (10cm)

Needles: I used a US size 10 (6mm) set of 4 double-pointed

Loosely CO 32 stitches and divide onto 3 dpn. Place marker to indicate the beg of rnd.

Rounds 1-12 (Cuff): K2, P2 around

Round 13: K15, pm, m1, k2, m1, pm, K15 (34 sts)

Rounds 14-16: Knit

Round 17: K15, sl marker, m1, k4, m1, sl marker, K15 (36 sts)

Rounds 18-20: Knit

Round 21: K15, sl marker, m1, k6, m1, sl marker, K15 (38 sts, 8 between markers)

Rounds 22-24: Knit

Round 25 (Thumb opening): K15, remove marker, sl next 8 sts onto holder, CO 2, K15 (32 sts)

Round 26-37: Knit

Round 38: K1, K2T, K10, K2T, K2, K2T, K10, K2T, K1 (28 sts)

Round 39: Knit

Round 40: K1, K2T, K8, K2T, K2, K2T, K8, K2T, K1 (24 sts)

Round 41: Knit

Round 42: K1, K2T, K6, K2T, K2, K2T, K6, K2T, K1 (20 sts)

Round 43: Knit

Round 44: K2T around (10 sts)

Round 45: Knit

Round 46: K2T around (5 sts)

Cut the yarn leaving a 6" tail.  Thread the tail on a tapestry needle and draw through remaining stitches.  Pull to close up the top of the mitten.  Weave in the remaining thread.

Thumb: Slip the 8 sts from the holder onto 2 dpn needles. With a third needle, join your working yarn to the inner part of the thumb opening by picking up 4 stitches (12 sts).

Next 8 rounds: Knit

Next round: K2T around (6 sts)

Cut the yarn leaving a 6" tail.  Thread the tail on a tapestry needle and draw through remaining stitches.  Pull to close up the top of the thumb.  Weave in all the remaining threads.  Make a second mitten to match.

If you need to make the body of the mitt or thumb longer for a larger hand, knit more rows before shaping the top of the mitt or thumb.