Saturday, May 21, 2011

Blankie Update




I've been fumbling around a bit over the last week or two. The yarns are inspiring, but the projects have been fizzling out. So I went back to the Crochet Log Cabin Blanket I started last summer, which is need of some finishing.  I don't know why I always put it off, it always goes so fast once I'm going. Anyway, I've sewn the squares into strips, then I'll sew the strips into a blanket, then I'll pick up and crochet the edge. 


Currently, the blanket is 5 squares by 4 squares, each 14 inches, so approx 70" x 56".  Buuuuut .... now I want it larger. ;-)  I'm going to start by adding 5 more blocks, which should bring it closer to a Queen size (depending on the sizing, duvets seem to vary in size).  So lets talk math: if I add a 3" border, that gets me to 76"x76". That should be good for a bed cover, or a 2 person snuggle?


As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Happy Belated Mother's Day


Oh, the things you can do with a crochet hook and some string!  For Mother's Day I made a wrap for my mom with Noro Silk Garden (colour 84, one of my faves), a 5mm crochet hook, and a Simple Crochet Ripple Baby Blanket pattern (start with a chain 58).  I used 8 skeins of yarn, but for each I cut out one shade from the colourway (black, it just didn't work the way I wanted) - so lets estimate about 755m were used (the finished wrap weighs 376g). 


It relaxed quite a bit after blocking. I washed it in Eucalan, gave it a tug widthwise, and hung it on a laundry rack to dry. When i finished crocheting it was a bit tight, but now it has a really lovely drape. If you don't want as much drape, try washing in Soak instead of Eucalan.


For a more spring/summery version, try using Noro Taiyo (4 skeins). They don't make the Noro in the same  fiery colourway, but they have some great options:

  • 20: "Stylin' Autumn" - brown, black, teal, grey, green, wheat, rust
  • 30: "Girlie Fantasy" - pinks, purples, fuchisa, teal, wheat, navy
  • 24: "Autumn in Paris" - yellows, greens, magenta, cream, rust, wine
  • 1: "Neutral in Pink" - pink, black, brown, grey, cream
  • 31: "Double Rainbow" - yellow, moss green, pink, fuchsia, magenta, sky blue, apple green, orange, cream, grey, royal blue
  • 23: "Starry Night" - blues, greens, brown, touch of mauve
  • 29: "Fiesty Fire" - pinks, oranges, peach, fuchsia, violet, brown, black

For a lighter version, try using 4 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Sock  (or when it arrives, Noro Taiyo Sock), and a 3.5mm hook, and more sts (like a number from the actual pattern):

  • 269: "Au natural" - cream, beige, grey
  • 241: "Purple Fantasy" - purples, olives, browns
  • 313: "North by Northwest" - spruce, azure, rust, yellow, black, brown
  • 322: "Lake Tahoe" - greens, black, bronze, turquoise, white
  • 264: "Spring Cleaning" - turquoise, blue, apple green, purple,  aqua, pink, brown, dark blue



As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Friday, May 06, 2011

Jewy-Gurumi


What have I been up to? A little of this, a little of that. Above is the Passover Seder Plate (aka. Jewy-Gurumi) I made for my parents for passover this year. I didn't finish it up completely in time for the unleavened week, so my mom sent it back home with the leftover chicken soup and briskit. She was also adamant that I show it to all of you!  Proud mommy. Despite the fact that we're a pretty secular family, she gets a kick out of my knit & crochet judaica, especially the foods. Of course, it bridges our strengths, as my mom's medium of choice is food while mine if fibre (not bran).  

I've labelled the different pieces, I had to use a little poetic license in my choices to make them recognizable. The Z'roa/shank bone and Maror/bitter herb aren't really recognizable as gurumis, so they became a chicken drumstick (it's a legbone, right?), and a raddish (it's bitter enough).  I was originally going to give them little black safety eyes, but the eyes did not arrive in time to add them. Maybe I'll make another set with eyes. I appropriated most of the patterns, but listed everything in Ravelry. I made up the celery, so I'll definitely get around to posting that.


As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Berroco's Kiama Cardie - Done!


Our Kiama cardie is Done! And it looks AMAZING!  And I really like how it feels when I'm wearing it!  It's kinda cool to the touch, perfect for summer. YAAAAAYYYY!  :-)  The drape is faboulous, the colour is fabulous, and the texture is interesting. We used 9 skeins of Berroco Origami in 4362 Whale Watch, and the pattern is from Berroco Booklet 294 (available in store).



Here is the sweater upside-down. It's one of those flexi things, you can wear it either way. Cool, huh? Fitted in one direction, deconstructed in the other. Reminds me of that scene in Six Degrees of Separation, where they're talking about the two sided Kandinsky painting: one side is chaos, the other control. Just flip it to express how you're feeling. 



Sorry about the sad pic, you would not believe how hard it is to take a decent picture of yourself on a timer. But it's hard to see what a garment will look like when it's on a hard, petite mannequin. Now, keep in mind I'm 5'9" and do not have big shoulders. If I did it again, I'd make the arms longer, just a couple inches on each side. The size is a small/medium. 


As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!