Tag Archives: recycled

Second verse, same as the first, a little bit longer …

Posted on February 20, 2013 | 7 Comments

Word Lily knitsAKA WIP Wednesday (I first talked about this blanket here not all that long ago, at least in number of posts.)

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Like I said yesterday, I should finish knitting the stripes themselves in the next week, hopefully sooner. But even when I get to that point, I’ll still have ends to weave in and a edging to add. I think I’ll decide how deep to make the border as I go. I’m hoping to counteract the curling at least a little. (I know I can’t eliminate it completely, and I’m OK with that.)

I’m still enjoying this blanket, but it’s pretty heavy on my lap (not a problem on snow days, of course) and I’m looking forward to being done with it at this point (I seem to always get to this point with projects). I do think I’ll love the finished product, though.

What are you working on today (crafty or otherwise)?

See other WIPs at Work In Progress Wednesday.

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WIP Wednesday

Posted on January 30, 2013 | 25 Comments

Word Lily knitsI don’t often get around to posting about projects while they’re still in the works, probably because I usually knit in the basement, where the lighting’s bad for photography (but fine for knitting).

But this week, I hauled the current work in progress upstairs to the good, natural light and snapped a couple pics.

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Two-inch stripes, in a two-color stripe sequence which then switches to a different two colors, over and over. In this photo, the blanket-to-be is folded in half, it’s about 5 feet wide. It will, when it’s done, be about 8 feet long, I expect. So at this point, three weeks into the project, I’m about 1/3 done with the knitting. I’m planning to crochet a thin border when the knitting’s done. The colors in the photo aren’t completely accurate, but they’ll work for now.

Oh, I’m working in cotton, reclaimed from old sweaters.

If I keep up my current pace, I’ll be finished in about 2 months, but that’s a big question mark. And then there are all the ends to be woven in … So yeah, definitely a longer-term project for me.

What are you working on today (crafty or otherwise)?

See other WIPs at Work In Progress Wednesday.

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Baby in Red (sweater)

Posted on November 30, 2012 | 12 Comments

Word Lily knitsYay, I finally tried the sweater on the babe and even got photos, all in the same day! Let’s pretend it isn’t nearly a month after the last end was woven in …

The pattern is Gavyn.

While I didn’t love everything about the pattern, or the knitting, I do think I quite like the finished sweater.

Baby in red

This was my first bottom-up sweater, my first non-raglan sweater. I made the 12-month size and added an inch to the length of the body of the sweater and about 3/4-inch to the sleeve length, because my boy is tall and long-torso-ed.

It doesn’t look as big on him (at 7 months) as I thought it was, as I was aiming for, but it will still hopefully fit him all this winter.

I used recycled sweater yarn, in 100 percent cotton; tripling the yarn gave me gauge on the recommended needle size.

I’m linking up with FO Friday and Fiber Arts Friday; visit these places if you want to see more projects! :)

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Blanket of Many Colors (WIP)

Posted on November 21, 2012 | 9 Comments

Word Lily knitsApparently I started knitting this blanket in May. It’s still a very long way from completed; I think it will be one of those projects I work a few rows here and there on, between other knits.

I was inspired by this 64 Crayons pattern, which I originally found at the designer’s [Amy Swenson, aka Indigirl] blog.

I fell in love with the idea of all the colors! Stripes! And I reasoned to myself that the strips would be less annoying to piece together than smaller things, like squares. (I don’t like seaming.)

But of course I took it my own direction.

Blanket of Stripey Colors

That’s one strip completed, about 6 feet long. The second, narrower, strip, is still in progress. I’m using recycled sweater cotton, in as many colors as I can find! And oh yes, I am definitely dreading all those ends to weave in. I envision this as a blanket that’s cosy to curl up under, that can be draped over the couch, that will hopefully be used to make tents indoors in a few years. (Hey, it’ll take that long before it’s finished at this rate, anyway!) And then when it’s seen such love, I can throw it in the washing machine, and even dryer, if need be.

Am I alone in my love for ALL THE COLORS?

(I’m linking up with Tami’s Amis for WIP Wednesday.)

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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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Baby knits, part 2

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 10 Comments

Word Lily knitsI knit two sweaters for Sprout while he was in utero. They’re both still too big for him, so no modeled shots today. Hopefully they’ll fit him well once we get back to cooler weather this fall/winter.

I knew I wanted to knit something from handspun for the little guy, and this is it, so far (I’m sure there will be plenty more handspun handknits for him in the future):
cardigan
I spun the main yarn used for this Baby Beau several years ago, with no particular use in mind. The blue is Lion Brand wool and the green for the button bands is Cascade 220.

This sweater is made from cotton yarn reclaimed from an old store-bought sweater.
hoodie
I knew I wanted to make a cotton sweater. When stash-diving, I found this yarn and decided I wanted to use it for that piece. And then the pattern hunt began. I first tried a sweater vest, but I couldn’t get the gauge to work (it had an animal on the front, using intarsia, so I couldn’t just fudge the gauge). After abandoning that vest idea, I had some trouble. But eventually I found this pattern that included the hood option. I modified it (as many others before me) to be a pullover rather than another cardigan.

Just one more post of baby knits left: blankets! And speaking of baby, he just woke up.

Ta!

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