Utility vest for boyz

Promise I'll post something other than knitting next time. Here's a zip-up vest I knitted for my little boy! Complete with pockets! Very snuggly and practical too. I worried about how I'd attach the zip, but ended up just sewing it on using a sewing machine, as others I'd seen on Ravelry had done.  Pattern is a Debbie Bliss pattern that Mum found in a women's mag.

Ravelled here.

Mitts for Mother's Day

I've made fingerless mittens for both my mum and mother-in-law this year - these strike me as practical for cold weather when you need to actually do things with your hands. Given both these ladies are early birds and spend a bit of time at computers and handling books, and because I know they don't have these already, I decided to knit some mitts for this Mother's Day.

This first pair is for my Mum, using the Susie's Reading Mitts Pattern, and Ravelled here, and the second pair is for my Mother in Law, using the Garden Trellis Mitts pattern, and Ravelled here.

Both these projects have been great for learning new skills - basic lace, knitting fiddly bits with double pointed needles, and new stitches (twisted rib by knitting through back loop, old german cast-on). It's amazing the breadth of knitting (and crochet) tutorials that are now at your fingertips on YouTube and on the internet. Seek and

chugging to the finish(ed) line...

I'm making a zippered vest for my son, and it has pockets!. I've actually done a lot more than is in this photo. It's a fun project and it's teaching me lots of new skills - shaping arm holes, picking up and knitting, grafting, and generally just making up a garment from pieces - I've mostly knit in one piece in the round so far.

...and this tunic dress for my daughter:

Can't wait to get her in this! I just need to (learn to) crochet some button loops to finish the opening at the front. Part procrastination, part the fact that I need a smaller hook.

Finally, have started knitting my mother some study mitts, for mother's day:

I have done one, and need to do another. Again, this has been a bit of a learning process - learned the 3 needle bind-off, picot edge, and I shortened this when I accidentally made it too long in the wrist.

Ravelled here.

Blanketed with love

Well my Wrap with Love blanket is done! I sewed up the last of it two weeks ago and mailed it off. That's it being held up and also draped on my couch to illustrate how nicely it would have blended in to the decor. But it was immensely satisfying to send it off, more so because I think it looked great and I would have been very happy to keep it! Big thanks to Miss Hazel, her neighbours, my Mum, and EcoChic who all knitted / chrocheted squares for the project, and Miss SnapDragon who came over one night and kept me company during the 'stitching up' process*. One of the nice things about Wrap with Love is that they hook in with a really wide range of charities to get them out into the world, and so it could end up anywhere that people need comfort and warmth.

Once it was done I was ever so in love with it, and with the idea of making blankets. I pulled out an old project I'd started when I was 19 or so (eeek, that was a while ago now!), my very first ever knitting project, which was to make a bed-sized blanket out of squares.

A few years back (4!) I pinned them all to a double bed sheet with the help of my mum, and started sewing them into strands. But now I feel inspired to make a few more 'throw rug' size blankets out of them, and maybe even fish through the existing squares to make a few in different colour themes. I was going for jewel tones at the time - purple, dark teal blue, dusky pink; and it's also ended up with dark blue, brown, bright pink, other blues in the mix (other people have pitched in and made squares out of whatever they had). After the WWL blanket I feel more relaxed about colour themes and know that contrast and a bit of joyful mismatch can still look great.

I'm also thinking of how a bit of purposeful contrast dotted through might lift it - the colours seem dark to me these days (living now in the tropical edges of the country here in Sydney rather than my home town of Adelaide where I began this project; which has gloomy bitter winters). So I'm wondering if for example, I might make a purple/ pink one and lift it with some brighter pinks, or arrange a dark blue and brown one but add some turquoise for brightness.

The throw rug appeals because I'll get to slit the colours and play on a few different combinations, but also because it seems less extreme to have a blanket that can be a throw across a bed/ lap rug/ couch rug rather than a whole bed's worth. I was thinking I might keep one and give one to my mum.

Here are pictures of my blanket in progress for me. Note Michael is very excitedly holding the square he knitted over dinner to contribute. He hadn't knitted since he was about 8 but it came back pretty easily.





* As an aside: I notice more and more that I'm not a great 'finisher' - I love starting and dreaming up projects, and getting inputs from a team, but once it comes to the 'stitch it up and send it up' part it can linger for a very long time (especially if that bit is for me to do alone)! Trying to figure out what I can do to help myself get through these bits of projects so that things actually get finished as I know it's a good skill to learn, and satisfying when projects finish and get out of the craft box! Having supportive people joining in seems to help immensely.

stitched up soon

Sunday morning - a good time to get on the new pushbike that I bought myself as a long overdue kind of Christmas present, and cycle over to Newtown here to pick up some coloured cotton yarn to stitch up the fourth zine. Oh and to grab a coffee, as my housemate has gone camping with the coffee plunger and the little on the stove ones leaks like crazy and makes an exceptionally foul and bitter brew.

I will use green I think, as this zine was a lot to do with growth and change, plus I want every edition to have its own colour so you can tell them apart easily. I guess when I run out of colours it will be a reminder that it's time to move on to a new project!

Old projects a go go

Meririsa we must be on the same craft-cycle (surely it's like hormones where you can get in sync by hanging out?) I too am grappling with mending and the old lurking unfinished project list.

In the last week I mended a top that was just that little bit split under the arm and had been for months, made definite intentions to mend a very tricky frayed old dress, and most satisfyingly stitched the last bits of the knitted charity blanket I started seasons ago, and sewing in most of the ends. All I need to do now is sew on the tag the charity provides, and send it in to the depot. I must say it's looking rather fabulous on the couch and I am a little tempted to keep it (but wont!) just because it looks so patchy mismatched and cute.

Oh and I just printed volume 3 of my zine, and volume 4, but have only assembled #3 at this stage (it's definitely craft and it's kind of a sewing project because I use hammer, nails and coloured cotton to bind them). In fact just made a new blog to support the zine (hey, somewhat like shoes, a girl can never have too many - right? right??). It's looking plain now but will get embellished in time when I put links and pics in.

Nimble fingers

I have to say I've been finding it easiest lately to knit. It's easy to pick up something and knit for a few minutes, then put it down when the inevitable interruption comes up... "Muuuuum! She's taking my cars!".... "Waaaaaaaaaa!" "Darling - what did you do to your sister?" "NOTHING!!".  You get the picture.

So as I mentioned in my hot water bottle post, I joined Ravelry, and it has been nothing short of a revelation! Loads and loads of ladies (and men) around the world, knitting away, and sharing their work, patterns, their experiences interpreting the patterns, their experiences with certain yarns. There are patterns you can get for free, and there are single patterns that you can buy instead of buying a whole pattern book! An amazing model of IP (intellectual property) sharing, with just about every possibility available! It's a giant stitch and bitch group, available straight from your computer. Given I don't get to see many of the people I know who knit very often, this has accelerated my learning about knitting quite a lot, and I'm trying all sorts of new things.

Is my enthusiasm showing through enough?

One thing I'm short of though is "friends" on Ravelry. So if you're a member (it's free to join), look me up (under the user name "Meririsa") and befriend me!! I'm keen to have more people to share with.

So what have I been knitting? my first garments, for little baby girls! First this one for my little girl in cotton yarn:

...only it's HUGE on her. A lot of lessons learned about different yarn types (cotton vs wool, and different thicknesses) and needles, and getting your test patch right. But anyway, it'll fit in a year or two. I've knitted another one in wool for a dear little girl I know who is about to turn one - I just need to sew in the threads, block, and sew on daisy buttons.

Next up is a little sundress with a knitted cotton bodice and gathered fabric dress.  I hope to take it to my mother in law's and finish it with her while on summer holidays! Then there's a few other projects lined up - vests and tunics for the kids for winter, fingerless mittens for presents for folk in colder climates.... I'll never be idle again!

How do you wash your woollens?

Just wondering, how do others wash their woollens?

I handwash using a little shampoo and tepid water, rinse a couple of times, let it drip in the laundry for a little while to get most of the water out, then air horizontally on my clothes airer.

I have a woollens setting on my front loader washing machine, but have been too scared to try it... does anyone else use their washing machine to wash woollens, and have there been any accidental feltings?

and another one...

And then I thought while I'm on a roll, I should do a hot water bottle for my daughter, so they'll both have a spunky hot water bottle cover for next winter! Went with red, so thought I might try making up a pattern. I know. So did a 6 stitch x 8 row checker with 2k, 6k, 6p, 6k, 6p, 2k on the knit side, and 28p on the purl side, then switched around the knits and purls in the middle 24 stitches. I think this pattern is even OK when you start to shape the shoulder bits. Here's what I've done so far:

Knitted hot water bottle cover

Not being a very experienced knitter, I've stuck to babies hats knitted on the round, the odd toy and scarves for teddies. I'd rather stick to practical, small knitting projects, and then one day, who knows, I may be able to knit myself the ultimate snuggly cardigan?

One thing that we have needed for a while is a cover for my son's hot water bottle. Because here in Sydney-town, it's not really cold enough for central heating or electric blankets, and a hot water bottle and a blanket usually suffices. But we don't love the feeling of rubber bottles in our bed. We used to use a pillow case, but that wasn't really satisfactory. Then I used the cut off leg of an old pair of my leggings that were about to die, with knots tied at either end of the tube to stop the bottle moving around inside. That always felt a little desperate to me, although my son was fine with it. I thought maybe I could just knit myself one, but I don't really have the skills to make up even such a simple pattern.

Finally, I got a Ravelry account and hunted around for a pattern. I thought Plain and Simple Hot Water Bottle Cover by Amy Pickard sounded achievable. I had to improvise, as I didn't think I had a hope in hell of finding the same yarn. I also searched around my needle stash, most of which are hand-me-downs from my friend Min, and I only had a 6.5 mm set of needles, not 6.0. But anyway, I ended up using Fuel 20 ply wool from Morris, and thought I'd suck it and see. Turns out it was perfect for the pattern.

I was a really quick knit. I would have finished it in 2 days if I didn't run out of wool and have to go back for more. This was also a good pattern to learn a new skill - yo to do button holes!

Here's the finished product, with hot water bottle inside, all finished except I need to raid my button stash and sew on 3 buttons:

spring fling with crafty fun

Thought this might appeal to some:

Crafternoon with Object Gallery

When: 25 & 26 September
Time: 11am – 3pm

Where: Hyde Park North

Bring your craft project out of the closet and come along to a Crafternoon hosted by Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design, in Hyde Park. Be inspired by some of our most exciting artists, including Denise Litchfield, members of Knitty, Gritty & Loopy, Craft Cartel and Reef Knot, as you work with your own materials. Limited materials will also be available to experiment with.

Stitch and be-arch

Pics from the second crafternoon..

-Miss Nic drawing this time
- Mango Mitzu doing stripey scarf with mixed wools, using up ends of balls, knitting lengthways with great tassles at the end
- Snap Dragon knitting a great brown wool top with funky neckline
- I think I did some mending that day - nothing glamorous

One lazy crafternoon...

The girls came over for crafty fun a couple of Sunday afternoons this winter.

Here are some of the projects:

- Mango Mitzu's knitted gauntlets in hand me down acrylic rainbow yarn
- Miss Nic's refashioned summer dress featuring new adjustable fabric ring to pull sleeves in and create adjustable neckline
- My removing of sleeves and hand sewing of hem around arm holes on nice silk chiffon print dress from Vinnies







many cups of tea and much fun was had by all.

Big Softie

Now that I've finished and posted this little monster in the top right(literally posted - in the actual mail), I can post this picture of it 'in progress' on here. This one was for PJ in Adelaide.

These was the first soft toyish creatures I'd ever made. In fact it required dusting off my lovely aqua sewing machine and actually sewing - something I hadn't done unassisted for years. The fabric is soft, vintage bed linen. I did eyes and mouth in satin stitch in multicoloured silk thread (not pictured - at this stage I was still thinking buttons, but decided not to for safety). The arms are knitted from superfine Italian merino. And it's stuffed with that fluffy Dacron stuff. No bits that can fall off (hopefully) and thoroughly chew proof (ditto - hopefully!). I think she's kind of cute and looks a bit like a friendly bubble flower monster.

Knitty gritty

Having family in the northern hemisphere is handy for getting knitting projects finished in time for Christmas!
Above is: a 2x2 rib scarf (still in progress, but 3x the length) for Yugo-chan (5 years), Blue stripey hat for Tomo-chan (2 and a bit), and a pom pom hat for baby-to-be (due Feb).

Coming soon - some recently completed beading projects!

Other people's craft - Public knitting

Who said knitting was for the private sphere or just for the cooler climates?? This knitting was wrapped around a (palm?) tree in Cairns at the 'Kickarts' art centre. It's also known as the Centre for Contemporary Art, but when I asked a woman on the street ('where you going love, are you lost?' ... I was peering at street numbers) she said 'the what?'.. .'oh, do you mean the one with the jelly beans?' at which point I vaguely remembered that it had some colourful sculpture out front and said 'yes, I think so' and she said 'oh, that's too fancy for us, we don't call it that, we just call it the jellybean place'. Which I thought was funny. So, sharing a picture of the sculpture too (ahem actually jelly babies not jellybeans, but that's probably too fancy to draw the distinction).

Cat made from knitted squares!

"Andypuss" the ginger cat was a birthday present for Phoebe, who is kindly letting her 6-week-old brother "play" with the cat in this picture.

The pattern for this kitty came from "Knit a square and make a toy". Was easy to knit, not too hard to stuff and sew up. I found embroidering the face the hardest bit, because I'd never done this before, let alone with 8 ply wool onto a wonky, plain stitch knitted substrate.

Umbilical Hat comin' atcher, Poppy!

Newborn Hat for Poppy (modelled by a ball because teddy wasn't available)...

This pattern came from a great book called "Stitch'n Bitch - the knitter's handbook" by Debbie Stoller, knitted on the round. I used sock wool and 3mm needles, so I had to alter things a bit from the pattern.

Basically cast on as many stitches as needed to achieve the 16 inch circumference (104 for my knitting, wool and needles, but I had to knit a few rows, then undo it and start again to work that out...). Knit plain until you have a 5 inch tube.

Then I knitted my stitches into 4 groups of 26 stitches (or 8x13 stitches) divided onto double pointed needles. Then start to decrease each group of 13 by knitting together the last 2 stitches of each group - ie first row - knit 11 then knit 2 together, repeat to end of row; 2nd row - knit 10, knit 2 together, repeat... etc.

When you have about 16 or 8 stitches left, it's easier to go to just 2 needles, then knit 2 stitches together until you have 4 stitches left. Knit "umbilical cord" for about 6 inches or until you think you can tie a good knot in it. It's a bit tricky to knit such a small number of stitches on the round on double pointed needles, but it all evens out eventually. Cut off wool at end, and thread through each loop and tie thread off in knot. Sew ends into inside of cord.

You can make one without umbilical cord by just reducing stitches to 4 and tying off.

Very nice to knit, while doing other things, and my friend says knitting in the round is very good for buses, as your needles don't stick out too far!!

Three little teddies

These cute little guys were actually knitted by my Grandma who used to be a very crafty lady. Not being able to see so well these days she now knits by feel and counting. After Grandma knitted the teddies my aunty sent them to me to sew up. I also put their little faces on. We have lost count of how many teddies Grandma has knitted, but armies of teddies have been knitted in the last few years. My sewing up duties have been taken over my someone geographically closer to save on teddy postage.

Knittin’

So last week I had the chance to go to a friend’s ‘knit in’. What is a knit in I hear you ask? Well bloody good question – I’d never been to one before and wasn’t exactly sure either. It was seven women, several bottles of good red wine, snacks, music, comfortable chairs, and sticks and thread – knitting needles, crochet hooks, wool, acrylic yarn. For close to 4 hours we sat and chatted, got to know each other (the women all knew the host but we didn’t all know each other), nibbled, drank, told stories, and laughed. I heard about pets and career changes and life changing accidents, and neighbours and travel and good boot stores. I heard snippets of conversation about the who’s who of my industry, about other knitting projects, about boyfriends left overseas, about job dreams, about lifting weights in the gym. I saw the resident cat come and hunt a ball of wool and stalk off with it, saw other things my friend has made recently, and had my first crochet lesson (I did some! 3 stitches to two, take off the second, start again... hmm, made sense at the time)… I toe tapped to George Michael and I almost finished a knitted square for the Wrap with Love project (see below – I seem obsessed with it, every second post is about my emerging blanket at the moment!). All of the squares started that night were for the blanket project – so I got to take them away at the end because I will be going near the drop off point this week anyway. Ah, because you see, this Friday at the ABC on Harris Street in the City, there is the annual ‘knit in’ of grand proportions. Starts really early I think, and you get to knit in company, or help sew up the existing squares.



Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my mum has joined in and posted me a parcel of amazing squares she’s knitted – lovely soft, hairy, stripy, colourful squares (her knitting is so even compared to mine, not a dropped stitch anywhere!), my housemate is knitting one on the diagonal (you know, where you increase every row until you’ve made a triangle and it’s half the size you want your square to be and then decrease every row to go back to the pointy end of the triangle at the bottom) using up the scraps of wool in stripes. I was going for a pink and green theme, and had planned to stitch it up myself and give the blanket finished to the group that organises it, but I am trying different colour combos with the extra squares that other folk have made (pics below). I’m thinking I’ll be able to sew up a blanket and have loose squares left over, which other people can use in theirs for Friday’s knit in.



Funny starting something yourself and then considering how to include other people’s contributions – am reflecting on my own control-freak tendencies, and (sure completely subjective) aesthetic boundaries. I don’t mind so much exactly what colours end up in it (fibber – I kind of do), but I want it to look nice, and cared for and not too scrappy, so that whoever ends up getting it doesn’t think it was done without thought. I had been thinking it would be nice to make it the way I’d like something to snuggle up with on a cold night – but maybe this is missing the point a bit? Maybe people who are out in the cold because of loosing their homes wont care if it doesn’t look like a ‘throw for the couch’ and instead wont even notice the colour scheme because they will be in temporary accommodation and have bigger things on their mind. This is probably obvious – but it’s easy to forget that perspective when you’re choosing wool and casting on in front of the tellie ion a warm room. Mind you, one of the squares knitted on Saturday night (by the most lovely lady) was kind of scratchy, brown flecks with a thick yellow stripe up one end, and actually a rectangle. I have tried, but don’t think I can include it in my pink and green (/blue/orange/maybe fawn) project. I’m sure though, that along with some other rusty colours, or in a completely rainbow, beautiful eclectic blanket it will look great.