Not quite knitting, but I want to show it off...

Last Friday, the girls and I joined a fibre arts class held by Fiona Duthie.

She makes the most amazing things and is so talented! On top of that, we have not taken a class yet that was not incredibly fun!

http://www.fionaduthie.com/

The wall hanging on the right was made in her wet felting class. It is hard to believe that it started out as wool batting and carded rovings in different colours - suddenly it transformed into a picture, right before our eyes!

I think that this is Ally and Naevyne's dream spot. Naevyne's puppy is curled up enjoying the sun, while Ally's horse is taking a drink from the lake, but not straying too far from the apple tree.

The finished product is around 2' x 3'. Now I just have to figure out the best way to present it.

We had, also, taken a class with Fiona on working with recycled wool in February, and came home with these wonderful purses that the girls designed, cut and sewed (with a little help from me on the cutting and needle threading, but otherwise all on their own!). I am so proud of them. Even Naevyne at the age of 5 did the blanket stitch around the edge of her purse by herself!

The heart shaped purse was made by Ally. She alternated the colours for the other side. The fold-over purse is by Naevyne. She loved the idea of little pockets on it, and it surprised me a bit, but she wanted the flowers on it.

Orange Express

Orange Express

For child's size 4/5, you will need:

150 grams of a slubby cotton/ramie/viscose (or yarn of your choice)

5.5 mm round

5.5 mm dpn

Glossary:

k2tog - knit 2 stitches together

k2togtbl - knit 2 stitches together the back of the loop

yo - yarn over

m1 - pick up the loop just under the next stitch and knit into it

R - refers to rounds

r- refers to rows

Cast on 90 sts.

Join in the round, placing stitch marker to mark beginning of round.

R1: knit

R2: *(K2tog) 5 times, (yo, k1) 5 times*, repeat * * to end of round.

Repeat these 2 rounds until work measures approximately 25 cm. In the yarn I used it was approximately 25 repeats. My daughter is very standard in proportions, but I like things falling a little longer so that her belly doesn't hang out as she likes to wear her pants on her hips. What you need will depend on the torso length of the little girl you are knitting for, so measure from just above the beginning of ribs to where you want the bottom to fall.

Now we prepare for the back edging:

R1: purl

R2: purl

R3: *(k2tog) 5 times, (m1, k1) 5 times*, repeat * * to end of round

R4: purl

R5: purl

R6: bind off 35 stitches knitwise, loosely. Knit to end of round.

55 stitches on needle. You are no longer knitting in round.

r1: purl

r2: k1, k2togtbl, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1

Repeat these two rows until there are 40 sts left on needle.

Decrease for neckline:

n1: *(k2tog) 2 times, k5*, repeat * * to last 4 stitches, (k2tog) 2 times

n2: purl

n3: purl

n4: purl

n5: p2tog to end of row

n6: purl

n7: bind off purlwise, loosely

Make up:

I knitted I-cord that was very long, crissscrosses across the back, is threaded into back edge where it meets the front and then ties in the middle of the back. It would be just as nice to knit a shorter I-cord that would tie up right behind the neck, or sew on a matching or contrasting colour of ribbon as the tie for the halter.

At the right side of the neck pick up and knit 3 stitches with dpn to begin an i-cord. Knit until desired length (crisscrossing - 110 cm, tie at back of neck - 30 cm).

Repeat for the other side of neck.

Happy knitting!

Hop on the Orange Express...here comes summer!

I am not complaining about winter - I love winter! I love to see it come, I hate to see it go. I don't mind snow - snowstorms, snowy roads, snowballs... I pretty much love every incarnation of snow! I am CANADIAN!

But, something made me pull out a cardigan that I had knitted for Naevyne 3 years previous, frog it and knit a lacy summer halter. I would be hard pressed to tell you what possessed me - but I just want it understood that I have not started knitting light, lacy summer items in protest of winter.

At one point, I did know what the name and brand of this yarn was, but that was 3 years ago. All I can tell you now is that it is a slubby cotton/ramie blend with a thin viscose thread plyed in, and that it is Italian.

Naevyne chose the name for this design - and to tell you the truth, it is the perfect name for this halter! No one, and I mean no one (even someone who is colourblind!) could mistake this for anything other than "Orange". The fact that I knitted it up in an evening of TV viewing suits the "Express". The way Naevyne moves through life...well, that's in a pretty brisk manner, too!

So, all aboard the "Orange Express"!

How to make a birthday last and last and last...

I have been coveting a hat pattern for at least a year. It has a turtle on it! Who doesn't like turtles?! I know Mado likes turtles - she fought tirelessly to help preserve their habitat. Unfortunately, at the time that Mado was in the middle of her turtle-protection fight she had a big head. Okay, her actual head wasn't big, it was just hard to cover due the awesome dreads she had. But this winter - perhaps as a gift just for me - she cut her dreads! Now I can knit turtle hats to my heart's content. The fates conspired, and she had a birthday in February! Lucky me!

She's had to wait over a year to get this perfect gift of turtleness, so I certainly couldn't present it to her on her birthday - no, that would be far too easy (and require me to actually plan ahead and meet a deadline). The best thing about this hat is that it has singlehandedly managed to extend her birthday celebrations a whole 3 weeks! (It is always important to look on the positive side of procrastination...)

Isn't it true that your birthday isn't over until you open your last gift?







I got this pattern from Kody May Knits. Check her out if you absolutely love hats! She has whacks of free (the best kind) hat patterns.
http://kodymayknits.blogspot.com/


I knitted this hat with T'ika cotton from Hatcho. I have to say that I absolutely loved this cotton - it didn't come up with weird twists and idiosyncrasies in the stitches of the finished product like some other pima cottons I have used. On top of that, it is eco-friendly, fairtraded cotton - which I was sure that someone like Mado would appreciate.

ADD - or just general disinterest after the inital excitement wears off? Hmmm?

Just like everything new in my life - I am all gung-ho at the beginning, but then my interest goes the way of the Dodo...

I have been so busy with knitting over the past month, that it is actually humourous that I haven't posted anything, at all, on my knitting blog!

I just finished a bag for a bag exchange. I was wanting something original and creative to send over the pond and it was driving me crazy! The lady that I am to send the bag to is from England - wool mecca! I couldn't simply throw some acrylic worsted together in a stash busting attempt, it had to be quality!

One day there was a lady at the store who had the most interesting bag. It wasn't anything about the fabric or fabric pattern that was interesting, it was the makeup of the bag that caught my eye. It was essentially 2 pieces of fabric - a rectangle folded into a square attached to a long strip that was sewed to the outer edges of the square from the bottom to the top. The long strip essentially became the sides and the shoulder strap of the bag. "How incredibly unique - and it looks easy to knit!", was my thought - and for once, my thought was correct! I hope that she wasn't too disturbed by me following her through the store, and walking around her several times in an attempt to view the purse from as many angles as possible without disturbing her - and I do apologize to you if I did.

I made a chart for a damask-style butterfly and vines that became the centrepiece of the purse. The girls were kind enough to felt it for me - and I have decided that I will use child labour for the felting process from now on. I don't understand why I didn't use the childrens' talents of skiddling the last time I found myself hunched over a pail...?

It is now off to England for it's new owner - I hope that she likes it!

On top of that I have knitted a camera for the drama production that Ally is involved with. The script required her to throw a camera at one of the characters, but we found out (the hard way) that cameras hurt when they hit you. The brilliant Naevyne came up with the idea of me knitting a camera - and so I did!

Steph walks in and sits down beside me and glances over, "So what are you working on now?"
"I'm knitting a camera."
Pause. "Hmm, knitting a camera? What are you using for the shutter?"
I think, 'smartass', but manage not to voice it. "I'm knitting the camera, so I think you can safely assume that it will be made of yarn." See, I can be a smartass, too.
"What kind of film will it use?" Ahha. He's still thinking he's pretty smart.
"It's digital." I win!

Naevyne has been systematically throwing the camera at anyone who will come within her throwing range to test out her theory that knitted cameras don't hurt. Ally has proven it wrong. A camera in the eye - knitted or not - hurts.

Hey, you live and learn!