Mini Project Weekend

This weekend was a perfect storm of tiny projects for me. Having just finished some larger projects and not yet ready to start some others that I had in mind, I ended up testing out a lot of smaller things that I had set aside for scrap yarn. Scrap yarn is a bit of strange term in my mind when the leftovers are often half skeins or more from projects that used multiple colors, etc. so some of these projects could be repeated another half dozen times before I actually use up that yarn.

So, from what appears a whirlwind of activity but was just a lot of little things:
Frankenbear, completed:
I can't decide, he may still need a mouth or something to make him look a little cuter/cuddlier. He definitely wins points for bright colors, but isn't quite as cute as the photo for the pattern.

Whale Cat Toy:
I had more than enough leftover yarn to make several more Frankenbears, but didn't have the ambition or a list of who to give them to. Instead, in an effort to make a sleeping cat wake up and run around the house a bit, I whipped up this quick cat toy and loaded some catnip into it before stuffing it and sewing it shut. The catnip must have been fragrant enough because it did cause said sleeping cat to wake up and start throwing the little whale around the house. Of course, I'm not sure it will see much more play now that the initial catnip smell is gone, but we'll see. It took so little effort that it was worth it either way.

Neon Baby Monkey Socks :
I don't know any monkeys, let alone baby ones, but Monkey is the name of the original sock pattern that was adapted for this pattern for baby socks. I don't know who might want to dress their precious little one in socks this bright, I just wanted to try out the pattern and see how baby socks compared to adult socks. Turns out they're crazy fast... and I had way too much knitting time on my hands that night. For now, these are just sitting around waiting for the right person or a possible future gift.

A little knitting knowledge...

This weekend I realized I probably have just enough knitting knowledge to start getting myself in trouble. Much like following some recipes in the kitchen, I found that for one of my latest projects I had to convince myself to stick to the pattern the first time through. At least mostly. Sometimes recipes, and apparently projects, seem... well sometimes I just want to modify them to my own techniques right away without trying the official, written instructions.

Enter Frankenbear. I thought the pattern was really cute, and although I like the variegated yarn they chose I wanted to use up some of the leftover bulky acrylic yarn from my stash. Since my Jiffy yarn was pretty colorful, I thought I could make a fair representation of the bear in a more patchwork fashion with lots of different colors. All of that sounds reasonable, even knowing that all of the color changes would mean lots of tails to work in later. Then I started reading the actual pattern that called for making the front and back of the bear separately and sewing them together at the end. Surely I could somehow convert the pattern to work in the round to avoid all of that seaming and... wait, Wait, WAIT. Danger, brain! Incorporating nine different colors and rewriting a pattern... clearly I'm at least a little insane.

So I backed off. I (somewhat) made my peace with lots of seaming, which I'm terrible at. I've seamed some and pulled it back out already because it looked terrible. So really, I suppose this is mostly a test bear. Maybe he'll teach me a magic secret to seaming. In reality, I expect I'll be disappointed with the rough edges and maybe just sew over them with a contrasting color to look like an actual Frankenbear. I decided that worst case, he'll be a sloppy but cuddly and washable toy that some future child might take pity on when he's finished. And having finished the knitting for him, next time I won't be able to resist modifying the pattern for an attempt in the round. At least I can say I tried it the way the pattern author intended at least once.

All I want for Christmas...

And now my birthday. Look at the present I got from my parents. It's YARN! Gorgeous yarn that I think I will turn into some sort of mitten or potentially a hat. I printed out a hat pattern from ravelry (Banana Republic knockoff - I'll see if I can find it and post link). That has just been waiting for the right yarn. I think maybe the green with a funky cool button. My only issue is that with the sock hat type format, my hair will get squished before work and it can only handle so much. Maybe I can make it a little slouchier or something so it's not so smushy. Needs a little research, but now I have the inspiration.


As I have a little coffee (in my Edna Mode mug - which I love so much). I decided to take pictures of everything that is on my needles right now. When you start looking for things that you forgot about, you remember how much you like all of them.














These Michelle Obama socks are distracting me from the other stuff on my needles. The yarn is fingering weight and it's on size 0 needles and I just keep going around and around and around and around...















Here is sock one of the flat feet (it's really cute, the other one has the heel turned, almost done).





But then I forgot about THESE, which I LOVE. This jitterbug yarn should be renamed "Sarah" because it was made for me. I love the way it feels. I love the way it looks. It's right up my alley.

















So that is full disclosure of everything that is on my needles. I think I want to finish the flat feet and the Michelle Obamas so I can be alone with the jitterbug.

New Blog Template... Again

OK, people, check out the new blog template and let me know what you think!

I know sariebeth changed it once already, but I couldn't help playing with colors and styles. I'm sure I'll be perpetually tweaking (if we keep it), but let me know if you like it, hate the colors, hate the arrangement, etc. I wanted it to look a bit more polished after I started adding things to the sidebar.

Mittens of Love

Ah, mittens so soft they practically reach out and offer to snuggle things with their cushy comfort! Though possibly bulkier than the pattern called for, the yarns for these Convertible Mittens/Glittens/Moves was a luscious combo of Merino Wool, Alpaca, Silk, and Baby (yes, baby) Llama.

This was definitely my most ambitious project to date with lots of steps and methods I hadn't tried before, including colorwork, casting on several places mid-project, and knitting in waste yarn to be removed later. They are by no means perfect, but they're exceptionally comfortable and quite a step for me as a knitter. The creator of the pattern for these is a genius and I'm very thankful she shared so much knitting knowledge for free! Thanks to the detailed pattern and instructions, I spent many hours working on them (I am still a slow knitter), but it wasn't difficult and I'd happily make another pair.

These mittens of love were road-tested in Chicago this weekend, and there were points where my hands were so warm that I flipped the mitten portion open to cool them off a bit. Carrying the yarn along for the colorwork means that they're essentially doubled for the mitten portion, so they're very solid and warm. I think sariebeth set aside some yarn to make something similar, so I look forward to seeing her version someday!