Water Bottle Holder/Carriers and Some Knitting

I've haven't been doing a lot of crafting lately.  The Christmas cookie plates have finally cured and I gave Dear Daughter three of the four that I made.  I kept the red snowflake plate for myself.


I dug into my fabric stash and pulled out some bigger pieces to make water bottle holders/carriers.  I already have some water bottle carriers, but I wanted to make some in different colors and bigger sizes to fit a larger bottle.  It was nice to find a good use for this fabric and the insulbrite.  Here are the sizes of the fabric pieces to put this together.

I made these five carriers in the last couple of weeks and I'm loving the bright happy colors just in time for spring and summer.

My waiting room knitting  has been dishcloths.  My daughter and I have enough dishcloths for the foreseeable future, but I need to knit up my cotton yarn, so I continue to make them.  I will store them at my house until they are needed.

New Yarn For Knitting

  I'm still knitting ear warmers.  I knit up three for dear daughter in the last few weeks (gray, red and teal), but now all the rest will be for me.  I'm doing them in all the colors of acrylic yarn that I have that I like.  I will have a whole wardrobe of ear warmers in different colors.

     I was playing on Amazon one night and found these yarns, so I had to have these to make more ear warmers for me.  I love the idea of the neon colors popping up with the neutral, I just hope it knits up as cute as it looks in the skein.  Of course it's Red Heart, the gray is called Rock Candy and the black is called Licorice.

    I'll let you know how they knit up after I get to them.  I have about three colors in front of them.  I'm knitting up a light blue ear warmer right now.

Three More Ear Warmers Done

   I knitted up three more ear warmers in the last couple of weeks along with the turquoise one from the last post.  I picked out yarn for two more and I'm halfway through the first of those two.    I knitted a white one, a mulberry one and a dark blue one.  I'm really loving how I made these.

Double Yarn, Bigger Needles - A Knitting Experiment

   Okay, so I had to try this out.

    Last week I wondered what the ear warmer would be like with double worsted weight yarn using bigger needles.  I took some lovely turquoise acrylic yarn (I'm pretty sure it's Red Heart Super Saver), wound up two balls of it.  I used size 11 - 16 inch circular needles and I cast on 60 stitches.  This is what I ended up with.

 

      I did not double this up like I did with the other ear warmers I made because the yarn was already doubled, but it's not exactly what I thought it would be or what I want.  Now I wonder if I should do this with my size 8 needles or I may need a size 9.  The size 11 needles made the fabric too loose.  I'm not loving it, but this would be helpful under a hat.

     And I have just the hat.

More Knitted Headband/Ear Warmers

   I knitted two more headband/ear warmers.  These are so easy to make and it makes great T.V. knitting for me.  I even took this project out and about shopping with daughter because we had to get her flu shot and I wanted something to do while we waited.  I even knitted while we roamed around the store.  I got a bunch of rows done that day.  I have two more colors of yarn picked out for this project to make a couple of more.  I'm currently knitting this on a size 8 - 16" circular needle.  I wonder what it would be like to knit it on bigger needles with the yarn doubled?  I may have to try that idea.

Secret Birthday Sewing and Gifts Revealed.

   I made my dear daughter several things for her birthday.  They included three shopping bags.

   Two made with this fun pineapple fabric with a fun lining on each outside pocket.

  

    One made with this fun blue and white plaid and I gave the outside pocket a wonky look with a fun lining.

 

    I also made her a 16" pillow cover with snowflake fabric in a star pattern.

     front

     back

    Lastly, I made her a 16" pillow cover with the fun snowfolk on it.

   

    I bought her some needle nannies from etsy sellers, some cross stitch needles, a set of steak knives, a book about aprons called "The Apron Book" by EllynAnne Geisel, and I also made her six white wool dryer balls.

    We went out for dinner the day of her birthday and had a lovely meal at a local owned Italian restaurant.

A Few Little Fall Decorations

I went into the Dollar Tree the other day to look for Halloween decorations.  Someone I know is going to make their own Harry Potter Wizard Wand using a Youtube tutorial.  The person doing the tutorial used some skeleton decorations that you can find at Dollar Tree and I had to get some of those exact skeletons.   Here is a link to the wand tutorial.  It's a really good tutorial and lots of fun to watch.

While I was in the Dollar Tree I took some time to look for Halloween and Fall greeting cards to frame.  I ended up picking up three cards,  the Home Sweet Home card and the Happy Thanksgiving card were inexpensive and look great in a frame.  These cards were $.50 each and the frames were cheap frames I found at Walmart.

This pumpkin is a free image I found on the internet.  I printed it on regular copy paper, cut it out and  placed some burlap looking scrap book paper (on sale at Hobby Lobby for $.29 a sheet) behind it.  I set it in a 8 x 10 clip frame.  I'm not crazy about the frame and I will probably re-frame this at some point, but I love this.

The one Halloween card that they had that I like is this one.  I painted a wood plaque with purple paint and decoupaged it onto the plaque.  I already had the paint and the Mod Podge, the card cost me $1.00 and the plaque cost me $1.99.  I love this.

I saw a few pumpkins in Hobby Lobby over the last few weeks that are a teal/turquoise color.  I love the idea of adding that color into my fall decor so I bought a small pumpkin at JoAnn's for about $2.50 (used a coupon) and some turquoise paint which cost me $1.99, I think.  I did prime the pumpkin with a coat of white paint (which I already had) before I painted it blue.  Love this.

I also found a beautiful Youtube tutorial on painted pumpkins.  She does such a good job layering paint and she tells you exactly how to do it.  Someday I want to try to make the silver leaf pumpkin.  Here is the link:  Simply Handmade Pumpkin Painting Tutorial

One more project that I will be taking care of is cleaning out my old hand sewing needles.  I have some hand sewing needles that have eyes that are too small for a wire threader to fit in.  At my age, I don't need needles with eyes that small.  I will be donating them to my dear daughter.

Dishcloth Update

So here is an update on my dishcloth project.  I didn't commit to making one dishcloth a week, but I have been knitting dishcloths pretty regularly.  I have 11 dishcloths made, although the ends need to be woven in, I'm considering them finished and I have two more on the needles.  I will have plenty of dishcloths to share with DD at the holidays.

The Scarf I Couldn't Finish Is Done.

   I had an awful time knitting this scarf.  I started knitting this back in late May.  I have been trying to finish the scarf since then but I kept making ugly mistakes and having to rip it out and start over.  I started over about five time.  It was completely worth it to get it right because it's done now and I'm super happy with it.  This was knit with KnitPicks Brava worsted yarn in the denim colorway.  It's approximately six feet long and it took about 1.25 balls of yarn.  I knit this on size 11 knitting needles and the lacy fabric is very drapey and pretty.

White Lacey Scarf - Finished.

   I finished my white lacey scarf.  I love this scarf.  It's about 6 feet long.

 I'm starting a new one right now with the same size 11 knitting needles and a skein of KnitPicks Brava Worsted yarn in Denim colorway. 

Another Lacey Scarf Started

   I had to take my car in for service today.  I always wait for my car when it's just an oil change and tire rotation so I needed a easy knitting project.  I decided to start a new scarf ("One Row Lace Scarf") so I could knit while I waited for my car.  To make this project I'm using white Red Heart yarn that I found in my stash and a pair of size 11 - 29" bamboo circular needles (I think they were made by Boye) which were perfect for this yarn and this pattern.  I'm loving how this scarf is knitting up.

Knitting Project and Confession

    I've been enjoying my knitting lately and thinking about sock knitting.  My One Row Lace Scarf is coming along nicely.  It's 5 feet long now and I want it to measure 6 feet.  This scarf is being knit with KnitPicks Brava Worsted in Silver colorway on size 10 circular needles.  I knit one ball of this yarn and got a little over four feet of scarf with one ball which is great to know.  A one skein scarf would make a nice handmade gift. 

   

  Here is the knitting confession portion.  I started to knit a sock last year, I think it was February.  And this is how far I got before I put it up and promptly forgot about it until a few weeks ago.  This is KnitPicks Stroll Fingering yarn in the Make Believe Hand Painted colorway on KnitPicks US size 1 (2.5mm) nickel plated circular needles with a 40" cord.

 

    I've been trying to figure out why I didn't continue with knitting this sock.  I have decided that this yarn is too dark and I can't see my stitches.  Whenever I knit a round I can't see if I'm knitting the ribbing right and I feel like my stitches are all messed up.  I will be taking this cuff off these needles and try again, but with a lighter color yarn.  I just ordered some bright yellow sock yarn and I'm hoping that will help with getting me through knitting a pair of socks.  I also bought two books to help me with my sock knitting. 

     I already have "Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes and I love this book.  I made a sample pair of socks two at a time with this book and they turned out pretty good, but I want to explore all the different ways to make socks.      

Everyone Needs A Simple Knitted Lacy Scarf

    I definitely need one.

     I have made myself a few crocheted scarfs over the last few years, but I really like this scarf and the pattern is so easy.  I found this free pattern on Ravelry several years ago and I've made two of these for gifts.  The pattern is called the One Row Lace Scarf by Turvid.  It's very pretty and very easy to knit, which is good for me because I'm not the most accomplished knitter.  You don't have to be a Ravelry member to get the pattern.  Here is the link to the blog with the pattern.   Link here.

    This would make an awesome travel knitting project because it's a simple pattern to memorize and it makes such a pretty fabric.  It's almost as small to carry as a sock.

   I'm making my scarf with size ten Sunstruck (by Knit Picks) circular needles (larger size needles are suggested to show off the lacy stitches and I think the 10 is perfect) with a 24 inch cord.  I tried a 16 inch cord would but it was too short for me.  I would rather have too much cord than not enough.   This is a back and forth project so you can certainly knit this on straight needles but I like the circulars for keeping my project secure. 

    I'm using Knit Picks Brava worsted in the silver colorway.  This yarn is acrylic, which I like.  It's soft and indestructible.  I like that I don't have to worry about bugs eating it and it's washable.  The pattern writer used alpaca yarn to make hers, so feel free to use a natural fiber.  There was also the perfect amount of yardage in a skein of this yarn.  The pattern calls for 175 yards of yarn and this yarn comes with 218 yards.  I'm using two skeins on this scarf because I want this one to be extra long, but one skein of this yarn would be enough for a scarf according to the pattern.

  Here's a picture of my pretty progress so far.

      I bought a lot of Knit Picks Brava in different colors (there are lots of beautiful colors) earlier this year and I think all of it would be great in this pattern.  I picked the grey because, well, it's grey.  I like grey.  I will probably make more of these in some of the other colors, like currant (burgundy) Dublin (dark green), solstice heather (bright navy blue), and white.     

    Knit Picks also has a worsted weight yarn called Mighty Stitch which is a 80% acrylic and 20% super wash wool.  I bought a few skeins of this as well in January to try it out.  I like a good acrylic/natural fiber blend.   The Mighty Stitch comes lots of colors and is a 208 yard skein.

   This blog post turned into a complete Knit Picks commercial.  Sorry about that.  I just like Knit Picks.  I buy a lot of their products and I use them.  

The Christmas Stocking Cap Is Finished.

  I love this hat.  It fits well.  It's 54" long and I can use it as a hat with a scarf attached.  So much fun.

 

Fixing My Knitted Christmas Hat Problem

    I'm knitting another Christmas stocking cap.  The last two that I knitted did not fit right and were too big.  On the other two hats I used a 3 x 2 rib on the white cuff then I switched to stockinette in the red section.  When I switched to stockinette it stretched out the ribbing and made it way too loose.  I even reduced the number of stitches I used on the second hat I knit, but it also stretched.  I'm blaming the stockinette stitch.  I was constantly pulling the hat back onto my head.  Annoying. 

     It is time to replace the poorly fitting hat.  I looked on Ravelry for a pattern and and I found the perfect pattern which should make a great stocking cap for me.  The hat is made with the ribbing for the entire hat until you start to decrease.  Why didn't I think of that.  I love to knit ribbing.  The pattern is in a book called "Holiday Boutique Knitting" by Mary Jean Daigneault.  I found the book used on Amazon.  The stocking cap is actually a child's pattern so I just used the ribbing pattern from my favorite knitted hat pattern which is a 3 x 2 rib.  I'm going to make this about 4.0 feet long all in the lovely rib until I start to decrease after the 3 foot mark. 

     I started this project a couple of weeks ago.  I couldn't resist because I was ready for a knitting project.  I haven't done any knitting for quite a while.  I should have waited until I finished my poncho but the knitting needles were calling.   I even bought new needles to make this hat.  I bought a pair of Knit Picks size 7, 16" Sunstruck fixed circulars.  They are lovely.  I also bought two pair of interchangeable needles (same size in the Sunstruck material) and 32" cords to use when I start the decreases.  I use two circular needles to do decreases on my hats.  I never got the hang of double pointed needles, I was always worried about dropping stitches, so two circulars is the easiest way I have found for me to work decreases on my hats.  I learned this technique from a youtube video. 

     I knitted the white cuff with Knit Picks Brava Worsted in white and the red yarn is Lion Brand Pound of Love in the Cherry colorway (that is over a thousand yards of red yarn.  Yes, that ball of yarn is huge).   All acrylic.  I made the cuff 6" wide which is enough to be able to turn it up.  I'll be knitting the red yarn for a while.  I figure if I do a couple of inches every couple of days, I will have it done in a few months. 

  I do use a lot of stitch markers on this rib pattern.  The stitch markers make it easy to keep track of which stitches are where on my project.  There are ten stitches between each stitch marker, 3 knit, 2 purl, 3 knit and 2 purl.  I always know what I'm doing as long as I can count to 3.
   

Another Knitting Project

    I cast on my dishcloth shawl a couple of days ago and I'm loving this easy, easy knit.  It's all garter stitch with a yarn over on every row to increase.  I'm using Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn in the Linen colorway with my size 8  40" Harmony circular needles from Knitpicks.  The pattern is essentially a half of the Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth pattern which is a perfect triangle for a shawl.

     I've been wanting to make one of these for awhile and I actually started this shawl a couple of years ago with some lace yarn held double but I didn't finish it because I made a few errors that just looked awful so I pitched the project and the yarn because I couldn't stand to look at it anymore.

   I took this picture in the middle of a row because I love the classic look of the needles with the knit fabric stretched between the two needles,




 

Packaging That I Can Recycle To Hold Needles and Pins

   I've been trying to find a decent container for my used sewing machine needles and bent pins.  I had a pill bottle that I filled up over the last four years which I disposed of last month.  I currently have two pill bottles that I prepared and are ready to fill with old needles and bent pins.  Today I found some packaging that would work really well for this job.

   Burt's Bees makes a tinted lip balm that comes in a plastic blister package.  The blister package holds a cardboard tube that then holds the separate plastic tube of lip balm.  I bought the lip balm because I wanted to try it.  I had no idea that the packaging would be this cool.  The cardboard tube is closed on both ends and is the perfect size to store old needles and pins or you can even use it for your traveling sewing kit.

  The lip balm was $6.62 at the store.

   Here's a picture of the tube.

Replacing Old Hand Sewing Needles

   I have had my collection of hand sewing needles for years and I think some of them are older than me because I inherited some from Great Aunt Margaret's sewing box.

   It's time to get new, sharper hand sewing needles.  Funny, I never thought of them getting dull like a machine needle does.

   I just purchased a large variety of hand sewing needles from Amazon.com including some self threading needles.  Amazon.com carries a nice selection of brands and I ended up getting several different sets, but the one I'm most happy about is the John James 100 needle assortment.

My Sewing Notions Tool Box

   This tool box is my favorite place where I stash miscellaneous notions like my extra scissors, old broken sewing machine needles (they are in the orange pill bottle), my seam rippers, new sewing machine needles, serger tweezers, porcupine quill stillettos,  sewing machine brush, a tracing wheel, measuring tape, silicon finger protectors, needle threaders, and a couple of seam gauges.

   My favorite part of this tool box is the accordion trays that open up but they stay on the box, you don't have to lift them out.  I can't find a tool box like this anymore.  I wish I had three more just like it for various sewing supplies.

Knitted Hat - Done

      I finished knitting my hat this afternoon.  Those last rows went by very quickly.  Here is a picture of the hat after I had done 4 of the decrease rows.  There are 60 stitches left on the needles (30 on the pink set and 30 on the gold set).  The needles I used are 29" size 8 Boye Circular knitting needles, one pair in pink and one pair in gold.  I'd like to say that I planned the different colors to keep the sides straight, but I didn't, those were the only colors available in that size at either JoAnns Fabric Store or Walmart (can't remember which one).
   
      By the way, I learned to knit with two circulars from a Youtube video done by Cat Bordhi.  Ms. Bordhi is a very well known knitter/teacher and she has a lot of videos on Youtube.  This is the link to the first part of the video.  Link to Video Here.

Here is a picture of the last 5 stitches left to weave the end through to secure them (you can almost see the sparkly bits in the yarn in this picture) and a picture of the hat finished with both ends woven in, ready to wear.  I had just a little bit of yarn left at the end.  

   Time to find a new project to work on while I wait for my batting.