Tag Archives: crochet

Gift knits

Posted on January 18, 2013 | 33 Comments

Word Lily knitsSince I’m starting to get back in the swing of blogging, I guess I’ll finally tell you about the gifts I knit for Christmas. This was a pretty slow Christmas in terms of handcrafted gifts.

• I made Mom a pair of socks. With yummy BFL yarn.
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Kind of boring to knit, but very work appropriate to wear. And the nice hand-dyed yarn helped.

• I crocheted a pair of legwarmers (and a matching earwarmer [Calorimetry], not pictured) for a sister-in-law, based on her pinning the pattern (and others like it) on Pinterest.
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• I whipped up a crown and a mask for a young niece.
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(Wow, I just realized that of those pictured here, half are crocheted and half are knit. If you count the Calorimetry, the list skews knit, though.)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday / Finished Object Friday / Friday! I’m looking forward to catching up on sharing all I’ve been making and reading soon.

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Baby knits, part 3

Posted on July 18, 2012 | 7 Comments

Word Lily knitsI’ve always loved making baby blankets, so I couldn’t refrain from crafting an abundance of them for my little one.

This one, being wool *and* lace, isn’t the most practical. And now, it’s so hot, that I haven’t gotten it off the shelf yet. Hopefully this fall. Still, it went quickly and I enjoyed knitting it.

Hemlock Ring Blanket

This one I made with cotton yarn, reclaimed from old thrift store sweaters. The photowas taken quite awhile ago, he’s quite a bit bigger than this now. Also, have I mentioned HOT?

Rainbow Mitered Crosses Blanket

This one has a story behind it. I started this blanket when I was about 6-8 years old. It was my first project after Mom taught me how to crochet. I worked on it a lot, and my gauge (and craft overall) improved dramatically over the course of the work. When I found it, still unfinished, in my adulthood, I thought it might be fun to finish it up for my future child/children. I worked on it intermittently for years and finally got it finished just before this little guy was born. I left in the parts made when I was obviously very much a beginner.
Full Circle Baby Blanket
Full Circle Baby Blanket

There’s one more blanket to show, but it’s still not done! I started piecing it together earlier this month, so it should be done by this fall, at least.

Want to see the earlier installments?
part 1 (socks and hats)
part 2 (sweaters)

So, that’s it! Maybe I’ll get back to more regular blogging here soon. But on the baby knits front, I’ve already started one project for him since his birth, and there are several more percolating in my head …

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Garland of Hearts

Posted on February 14, 2012 | 10 Comments

We don’t usually do much to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I came across this crocheted heart pattern (by Lucy of Attic24, Teeny Tiny Hearts (Ravelry link)) and just knew I had to try stringing them up.

So, I did. On Friday I pulled the Valentines-y colors from the scrap bin and started hooking. Stowing it all away over the weekend so it would remain a surprise for Paul was hard. Then, Monday, I was crocheting in earnest. The hearts whip up quickly, each one took me less than 10 minutes to complete. When I reached 50 — the number I’d estimated I would need to span the chosen space — I stacked them all up, grabbed a ball of neutral yarn and my needles and came upstairs.

I cut a length of yarn, threaded my needle, and started stringing! (Here’s my project page.)

To borrow Lucy’s phrase, ta-da!

Here’s a wide view:

So, what do you think? I thought it added a touch of fun, of whimsy. I thought the variations in the hearts (they’re not all the same size, some of them are actually duo-toned) would be more visible, but that’s OK.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I appreciate you!

Note: I’m probably more behind on telling you about my fiber arts endeavors than I am about my bookish ones, but I’ve finally got another post (or two) almost ready to go, so hooray!

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Fiber Arts Friday: Green

Posted on June 17, 2011 | 7 Comments

Word Lily knits and crochets

Greens

Stack of WIPs

green yarn

And more to come!

The Project Spectrum color for June is green. In addition to finishing my Citron (Rav link), I’m hoping to really dive in and make significant progress on this collection of designs.

Those I’ve started, above, aren’t the only patterns I’ve got planned for this collection. :)

Happy Friday!

Where are you seeing green today?

Fiber Arts Friday

Also, see the Fiber Arts Friday roundup at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what other people are crafting this week.

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Fiber Arts FO Friday: Fedora

Posted on January 21, 2011 | 25 Comments

Fiber Arts FridayI mentioned last week that I needed to work on a hat. Well, I finished it last weekend:

Grey fedora

Crocheted of recycled (100 percent cotton) sweater yarn.

This was my second time following this pattern, and it went a lot faster than the headache-inducing first time. Still, it took *way* longer than most crocheted hats take me.

Once I got that done, I spent most of the week working away on my Motley [project link] [pattern link] — I’m almost half done! I’m quite enjoying seeing how the colors work together. Also: Entrelac is not as scary as some people make it sound.

Have you crafted a finished object this week? Check out the roundup of other people’s finished objects for the week at Tami’s Amis. See also the Fiber Arts Friday roundup at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what other people are crafting this week.

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Christmas knitting

Posted on December 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

Word Lily knits

I struck a good balance this year, with a good amount of gift knitting (not too much), and with it spread out over months. No cramming and stress, yay! I’m not sure it’s exactly due to careful planning and moderation on my part, though; it’s most likely serendipity, at least in part. Happily, I think they were all well-received, too.

I knit a hat for my only niece, and fashioned a ceramic button (that I made a couple years ago) into a pin as a fastener and decoration for it. I looked through tons of patterns, but I settled on this one, which I’d seen on another babe this fall.

Pattern: Poppy
Yarn: recycled sweater yarn (wool, rayon, nylon, cashmere, angora)

Last year a certain sister-in-law received a scarf I’d made, and after Christmas she wanted a hat to wear with it. But I was out of the yarn, and I couldn’t find any to buy to barter for, either. When I found a dab of the yarn in my scrap bin, I knew it would work for her hat.

That’s me modeling it, not the recipient.
Hat pattern: Surface braid hat
Yarn: recycled sweater yarn, mostly wool

We went through several ideas for what to get my dad (he’s hard to buy for!), but this fedora is the only thing that ended up working.

Pattern: Fedora
Yarn: recycled cotton sweater yarn

I also made red and green kerchiefs for all the siblings’ pups.

The other [five] knitted or crocheted gifts were all made well ahead of time, without specific recipients exactly in mind. I don’t have decent photos of most of them, either.

Did you give handmade gifts this year?

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Christmas ornaments

Posted on December 22, 2010 | 7 Comments

Before I fell full-bore into gift knitting (now thankfully done!), I was getting into the Christmas spirit by making ornaments.

Christmas trees


Click any photo to view it larger.

These are the first ones we made. Paul shaped and slipped the trees, and I strung my handspun yarn as a garland. I especially like the bit of sparkle and variation in the yarn, as well as the highlight the edges of the trees themselves bring. I love it when we find ways to collaborate in craft!

We may iterate on this idea more in the future.

Icicles


Again, click any photo to view it larger.

I pounded out quite a few of these; they’re kind of the unifying element on our personal tree this year. They come together really quick, too; I was getting four or so done in an hour. They’re a variety of lengths.

Here’s how I made them:

With a hook size suitable to the yarn (I used a G or H hook with worsted weight yarn), Ch — loosely! — a number approximating the desired length of your icicle. I had good luck with 18 or so. Any shorter than 14 I found less than ideal.

Working in the fourth ch from hook, 3 dc. Work 3 dc in each ch to end. Break yarn, weave in ends.


Icicle B prototype

This is an idea not fully come to fruition, I think. I like where it’s headed, but I’m not sure when I’ll have more time to devote to it.

I crocheted the stainless steel and threaded a bit of undyed combed top through it.

Have you made any ornaments this year?

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Posted in free pattern, spinning

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Fiber Arts Friday: Amigurumi challenge

Posted on November 5, 2010 | 15 Comments

amigurumi, n A stuffed animal toy usually made from crocheted yarn and having an oversized head

I’ve had a couple amigurumi on my to-make list for years, but until this week I’ve never gotten around to making a softie. Now, I’ve made several.

Last Friday (on Twitter, where else?), I told Alea (@mint910) that she should challenge me to make one so I’d actually get around to it. And she did. She gave me a deadline of November 10, but I’ve already completed it.

The first one I made is knitted.

Knitted gnome; my Ravelry project

Then I made a crocheted one.

Then I made the one my husband thought I should make (also crocheted).

I’m not happy with my embroidery on either the kitty or the Ewok. Mostly on Miuku (the cat), the face should all be a bit higher, but especially the eyes. She’s pretty tipsy even though I put a few pennies in her base.

The Ewok, especially, was a TON of work. And I’m especially displeased with his mouth. But what’s done is done. I knew I wasn’t particularly skilled at embroidery; maybe I should have thought about that before I embarked on this challenge! The Ewok (also weighted) stands much better on his own than the cat.

I kind of want to make a bunny nugget next.

Bunny Nuggets, projects and photo via Knitting Zeal.

Have you tried your hand at amigurumi?

Fiber Arts Friday

Check out the Fiber Arts Friday roundup to see what other people are crafting this week.

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