Did you watch the Gilmore Girls on the new CW tonight?? they were knitting ALL over the place i'm soooo excited! must go finish watching tuesday night, my new fav show Veronica Mars is next. Just thought you'd like to know.....
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Tube Knitting ALERT!!!
Did you watch the Gilmore Girls on the new CW tonight?? they were knitting ALL over the place i'm soooo excited! must go finish watching tuesday night, my new fav show Veronica Mars is next. Just thought you'd like to know.....
Thursday, November 23, 2006
TURKEY DAY!
So last Wednesday for awana's the bub was supposed to dress up as a Indian (native American?) or a pilgrim. We really didn't have much of either. So we improvised. We found some pink moccasin like slippers and some feathers and leather strip/lacing. And there she is standing nicely. Not the best costume but still cute. 
so I thought it was an appropriate pix to start out today withI don't know about you but as it gets colder I get moving more and more. I find my knitting and crochet goes faster and I finish more. (or maybe I'm picking smaller more faster projects) the season gets me to cooking and baking and canning can you tell what I was making the other day?
it's yummy and tangy and sweet. I love it. It's great on
toast...I snapped a few pix that I thought I would share. The steam from everything is pretty neat. Look though the mist.. LOLok so I tried my hand at some apple butter. Though I didn't really follow one recipe I followed 2 or 3 different recipes so it's a
little tangy. But that can be the result of the, apples I used along with the ingredients. But I still think it's good. I'm planning on using it for presents for teachers and co-workers for Christmas. So what are you guys thinking for making for Christmas presents. I've been researching easy "mass produced" type of gifts. I'm always up for ideas. I found this site that someone had mentioned making chocolates and putting them in origami boxes for gifts.. YUMMO! Of course b/c it's chocolate I may have problems giving it away. Well not that people wouldn't want it but that I would want it. *sigh*well that's just one of my ideas... I'm always open for more. Share share! Well it's time for the Tday parade!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
A pattern for you
Today was a rather crappy day for me today, so I thought I would share a pattern with ya'll. That should cheer someone up! I wrote it up for a sock knitting technique class I teach at my local Michaels. I was thinking that I wanted to teach how to knit socks but they don't sell sock yarn at Michaels so it just kinda hit me when I was walking down their isle and found the paton's classic wool why not knit big socks and then felt them for slipper/socks. This is a teaching pattern so it's written for the novice and may be really boring for you if you already know how to knit. It's how I knit my socks from the toe up using a short row heel and toe. Anyways I wanted to share it with ya'll. I also submitted it to the 2008 pattern a day calendar and it was accepted. whoo hoo I'm excited about it. I figured since it's just teaching a technique and all I would share it with everyone.. So ENJOY! Also if you make a pair or two LMK by leaving a comment and I'll come check it out.
Toasty Tootsies
Toe up felted slipper socks
By Allena Williams
Basically these are just huge socks that may actually fit an ogre before felting. I created this pattern to teach the technique for toe up short row socks. Using worsted weight yarn and bigger needles, help to teach this technique. By using wool and felting them, you still have something wearable (and a lot of practice) when you are done.
Materials
k crochet hook
10.5 Knitting needles (set of 4 DPNs or circular needle 32 inches or larger)
Patons Classic 100% wool in any color you would like. Worsted Weight 200 grams.
Yarn needle.
Gauge 16 stitches = 4 inches before felting.
Notes:
K knit
P purl
YF yarn forward
YB yarn back
W&T wrap and turn (directions in parenthesis in #3 and #4 for knit and purl respectively)
Provisional cast on use spare/scrap yarn of the same weight of the yarn you will be using for your project.. Using a crochet hook chain a few more chains then you need stitches. Then using your needles and your sock yarn knit into the bumps or the wrong side of the chain. (The right side has v shaped stitches.) This cast on is used so you can unzip, the crochet stitches placing the knitted stitches on a needle and work in the round with out seaming.
This pattern was written for a women's size 9 to adjust the cast on for your foot size here's an equation: Take the number of inches of your foot diameter (around the ball of your foot) divide it by the .6 , the number you get, multiply it, by the number of stitches per inch (from your gauge) that number (round up your number for an even number) divided in half equals your cast on..
For this pattern I used my foot, the diameter of my foot is 8.5, here's the equation worked out
8.5/.6 = 14.16666667
14.16666667 x 4 = 56.66666667 rounded up to 58
Half of 58 is 29
Toe
1. Using a provisional cast on, cast on 29 st. ( using a K crochet hook, chain 35 finish off by pulling the tail of the yarn through the last chain make a small knot or bow at the end of this side. Knit into 29 of the "bumps" or wrong side of the chain.)
2. Turn and Purl back across the 29 stitchesSt
3. Knit 28 st (to the last stitch or last unwrapped stitch) Wrap and Turn (YF and slip the stitch to the right needle and YB slip the 1st stitch to the left needle and turn. )
4 keeping the wrapped stitch on the right needle purl 27 sts (to the last stitch or last unwrapped stitch) Wrap and Turn the last stitch (YB slip the last stitch to the right needle YF slip the same stitch back to the left needle and turn. )
5 Continue in this manner (repeating the last two rows) until you have 8 wrapped stitches on each side (16 total wrapped stitches and 13 unwrapped stitches)
6 knit across the 13 unwrapped stitches and when you get to the 1st wrapped stitch slip to the right needle and with your left needle lift the wrap up onto the right needle fish out the stitch so it's in front (closest to the tip) of the wrap and then place both of them onto the left needle and knit together through the back loops. (this is done so there will be no holes in the toes) W&T the next stitch (there will now be 2 wraps on that stitch.
7 purl across 14 stitches. When you get to the 1st wrapped stitch slip it to the right needle and lift the wrap up on to the needle fish out the wrapped stitch (so it's in front of the wrap) and slip them both back to the left needle and then purl them together as you would normally purl. W&T the next stitch.(there are now 2 wraps on that stitch)
8 knit across until you get to the 1st wrapped stitch and then slip it to the right needle lift both of the wraps together on to the needle. Fish out the wrapped stitch (so it's in front of the wrap) place all 3 stitches on the left needle and then knit all 3 together through the back loops. W&T the next stitch.
9 Purl across until you get to the 1st wrapped stitch slip it to the right needle lift both wraps on to the needle, fish out the wrapped stitch (so it's in front of the wraps) place all 3 stitches on the left needle and purl all 3 together. W&T
10 continue rows 8 and 9 until there are no more wrapped stitches left. You now have a toe and it's time to unzip the other side of the to toe begin knitting the foot of your sock
To unzip the provisional cast on. Pull out the tied off end of the crochet chain. Very gently being to pull the chain stitches out. While you do this place the knitted stitches on to your needle.
Begin to knit in the round Pick up and knit though the back look 2 to 4 stitches between the two sides so that you can eliminate holes. Knit these picked up stitches 2 together on the next two rounds.
You should have 58 stitches total. Divided equally over the needles.
To make these slippers fit you the best measure the length of your foot from toe to heel. And multiply it by 1.69 (for the model sock that is 9 inches times 1.69 is 15.21 we'll round that up to 15 and ¼ inch. ) From that number subtract 4 (for the model sock 11.25)
This is the number of inches you need to knit for the length of your sock before starting the heel.
Heel
Once you reach the length you need, it's time to start the heel. It is worked similar to the toe with fewer wrapped stitches.
Working with 29 stitches
Row 1 knit 28 stitches W&T the next stitch
Row 2 purl 27 sts W&T the next stitch.
Row 3-14 Continue in the same manor as until you have 7 wrapped stitches on each side (14 total wrapped and 15 unwrapped stitches)
Row 15 knit 15 slip the wrapped stitch onto the right needle pick up the wrap put it on the right needle fish out the wrapped stitch knit them together through the back loop W&T the next stitch (there will be 2 wraps on this stitch)
Row 16 purl 16 slip the wrapped stitch to the right needle lift the wrap, fish out the wrapped stitch purl them both together W&T the next stitch (there are now 2 wraps on this stitch)
Row 17 knit across to the first wrapped stitch slip the double wrapped stitch to the right needle lift both the wraps and fish out the wrapped stitch knit all 3 together through the back loop. W&T
Row 18 Purl across to the first wrapped stitch slip it to the right needle lift both the wraps and fish out the wrapped stitch purl all 3 together. W&T
Repeat rows 17 and 18 until all the wrapped stitches are not wrapped anymore.
Pick up and knit through the back loop 2 to 4 stitches between the needles. Make sure you decrease them on the next 1-2 rows. You need to have 58 stitches when you are done with the decreases. Now you're working on the cuff. Knit for 3.5 to 4 inches depending on what you want. cast off
Felting the slippers.
This is a very easy process there is NO need to complicate it. Your new best friend is now your washing machine. It saves you hot and your hands from extreme hots and colds and you really don't want your whole house smelling like wet wool do you?
Some people like to use a zippered pillow case b/c they say it saves their washer from the fuzzies. The choice is yours to make. I throw in a few pairs of jeans for added agitation. If you're using a darker color make sure they're older pairs so if the color runs. Also CLEAN OUT those pockets!! What's in the wash will get felted into it. (no little papers are wanted in our slippers) Set the washer for the Hot cycle and add a little detergent and turn on your washer. Since this is the first time you're using this yarn you will want to check your slippers every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure they're felting. Once your slippers start to shrink you'll need to check them more often b/c you want to make sure they're the right size for your foot. You can always make them smaller to fit you. Once they're the right size wring them out. Get a towel and wrap them up in it to blot out the excess water. Try on your slippers, they're wet but you want them to be the shape of your foot. Then stuff them with plastic bags and set them up to let them dry it may take 1 to 2 days to dry completely. If you want you can sew on leather soles for traction or use some "puffy" or fabric paint and paint the bottoms. Enjoy!
**NOTE** Though this pattern teaches a technique, I did write this pattern and took the time to test it. Please do not sell this pattern as your own. You may sell the slippers you've made from this pattern as long as you say where you got the pattern from. And send any questions about them my way. www.starknits.blogspot.com or ullena at yahoo dot com
**also if you'd like this pattern to teach a sock knitting class I have it in PDF and can email it to you. Just drop me a line**
Toasty Tootsies
Toe up felted slipper socks
By Allena Williams
Basically these are just huge socks that may actually fit an ogre before felting. I created this pattern to teach the technique for toe up short row socks. Using worsted weight yarn and bigger needles, help to teach this technique. By using wool and felting them, you still have something wearable (and a lot of practice) when you are done.
Materials
k crochet hook
10.5 Knitting needles (set of 4 DPNs or circular needle 32 inches or larger)
Patons Classic 100% wool in any color you would like. Worsted Weight 200 grams.
Yarn needle.
Gauge 16 stitches = 4 inches before felting.
Notes:
K knit
P purl
YF yarn forward
YB yarn back
W&T wrap and turn (directions in parenthesis in #3 and #4 for knit and purl respectively)
Provisional cast on use spare/scrap yarn of the same weight of the yarn you will be using for your project.. Using a crochet hook chain a few more chains then you need stitches. Then using your needles and your sock yarn knit into the bumps or the wrong side of the chain. (The right side has v shaped stitches.) This cast on is used so you can unzip, the crochet stitches placing the knitted stitches on a needle and work in the round with out seaming.
This pattern was written for a women's size 9 to adjust the cast on for your foot size here's an equation: Take the number of inches of your foot diameter (around the ball of your foot) divide it by the .6 , the number you get, multiply it, by the number of stitches per inch (from your gauge) that number (round up your number for an even number) divided in half equals your cast on..
For this pattern I used my foot, the diameter of my foot is 8.5, here's the equation worked out
8.5/.6 = 14.16666667
14.16666667 x 4 = 56.66666667 rounded up to 58
Half of 58 is 29
Toe
1. Using a provisional cast on, cast on 29 st. ( using a K crochet hook, chain 35 finish off by pulling the tail of the yarn through the last chain make a small knot or bow at the end of this side. Knit into 29 of the "bumps" or wrong side of the chain.)
2. Turn and Purl back across the 29 stitchesSt
3. Knit 28 st (to the last stitch or last unwrapped stitch) Wrap and Turn (YF and slip the stitch to the right needle and YB slip the 1st stitch to the left needle and turn. )
4 keeping the wrapped stitch on the right needle purl 27 sts (to the last stitch or last unwrapped stitch) Wrap and Turn the last stitch (YB slip the last stitch to the right needle YF slip the same stitch back to the left needle and turn. )
5 Continue in this manner (repeating the last two rows) until you have 8 wrapped stitches on each side (16 total wrapped stitches and 13 unwrapped stitches)
6 knit across the 13 unwrapped stitches and when you get to the 1st wrapped stitch slip to the right needle and with your left needle lift the wrap up onto the right needle fish out the stitch so it's in front (closest to the tip) of the wrap and then place both of them onto the left needle and knit together through the back loops. (this is done so there will be no holes in the toes) W&T the next stitch (there will now be 2 wraps on that stitch.
7 purl across 14 stitches. When you get to the 1st wrapped stitch slip it to the right needle and lift the wrap up on to the needle fish out the wrapped stitch (so it's in front of the wrap) and slip them both back to the left needle and then purl them together as you would normally purl. W&T the next stitch.(there are now 2 wraps on that stitch)
8 knit across until you get to the 1st wrapped stitch and then slip it to the right needle lift both of the wraps together on to the needle. Fish out the wrapped stitch (so it's in front of the wrap) place all 3 stitches on the left needle and then knit all 3 together through the back loops. W&T the next stitch.
9 Purl across until you get to the 1st wrapped stitch slip it to the right needle lift both wraps on to the needle, fish out the wrapped stitch (so it's in front of the wraps) place all 3 stitches on the left needle and purl all 3 together. W&T
10 continue rows 8 and 9 until there are no more wrapped stitches left. You now have a toe and it's time to unzip the other side of the to toe begin knitting the foot of your sock
To unzip the provisional cast on. Pull out the tied off end of the crochet chain. Very gently being to pull the chain stitches out. While you do this place the knitted stitches on to your needle.
Begin to knit in the round Pick up and knit though the back look 2 to 4 stitches between the two sides so that you can eliminate holes. Knit these picked up stitches 2 together on the next two rounds.
You should have 58 stitches total. Divided equally over the needles.
To make these slippers fit you the best measure the length of your foot from toe to heel. And multiply it by 1.69 (for the model sock that is 9 inches times 1.69 is 15.21 we'll round that up to 15 and ¼ inch. ) From that number subtract 4 (for the model sock 11.25)
This is the number of inches you need to knit for the length of your sock before starting the heel.
Heel
Once you reach the length you need, it's time to start the heel. It is worked similar to the toe with fewer wrapped stitches.Working with 29 stitches
Row 1 knit 28 stitches W&T the next stitch
Row 2 purl 27 sts W&T the next stitch.
Row 3-14 Continue in the same manor as until you have 7 wrapped stitches on each side (14 total wrapped and 15 unwrapped stitches)
Row 15 knit 15 slip the wrapped stitch onto the right needle pick up the wrap put it on the right needle fish out the wrapped stitch knit them together through the back loop W&T the next stitch (there will be 2 wraps on this stitch)
Row 16 purl 16 slip the wrapped stitch to the right needle lift the wrap, fish out the wrapped stitch purl them both together W&T the next stitch (there are now 2 wraps on this stitch)
Row 17 knit across to the first wrapped stitch slip the double wrapped stitch to the right needle lift both the wraps and fish out the wrapped stitch knit all 3 together through the back loop. W&T
Row 18 Purl across to the first wrapped stitch slip it to the right needle lift both the wraps and fish out the wrapped stitch purl all 3 together. W&T
Repeat rows 17 and 18 until all the wrapped stitches are not wrapped anymore.
Pick up and knit through the back loop 2 to 4 stitches between the needles. Make sure you decrease them on the next 1-2 rows. You need to have 58 stitches when you are done with the decreases. Now you're working on the cuff. Knit for 3.5 to 4 inches depending on what you want. cast off
Felting the slippers.
This is a very easy process there is NO need to complicate it. Your new best friend is now your washing machine. It saves you hot and your hands from extreme hots and colds and you really don't want your whole house smelling like wet wool do you?
Some people like to use a zippered pillow case b/c they say it saves their washer from the fuzzies. The choice is yours to make. I throw in a few pairs of jeans for added agitation. If you're using a darker color make sure they're older pairs so if the color runs. Also CLEAN OUT those pockets!! What's in the wash will get felted into it. (no little papers are wanted in our slippers) Set the washer for the Hot cycle and add a little detergent and turn on your washer. Since this is the first time you're using this yarn you will want to check your slippers every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure they're felting. Once your slippers start to shrink you'll need to check them more often b/c you want to make sure they're the right size for your foot. You can always make them smaller to fit you. Once they're the right size wring them out. Get a towel and wrap them up in it to blot out the excess water. Try on your slippers, they're wet but you want them to be the shape of your foot. Then stuff them with plastic bags and set them up to let them dry it may take 1 to 2 days to dry completely. If you want you can sew on leather soles for traction or use some "puffy" or fabric paint and paint the bottoms. Enjoy!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Should I be annoyed?
I've been trying all week to upload these photos, and for some reason blogger wasn't working with me. I wanted to share with you the gifts I made for a friend. She's due any day now and Tuesday was her baby shower. I crochet'd the red hat and knit the purple and white booties and hat. The hat is cut off I was quickly taking pix as I was wrapping up the present to get going. I was running late (but what else is new?) The hat is a pattern my sister made up and she's going to submit it to the Pattern a Day calendar. I'm glad! It's cute pattern if you go to her blog and look at the pix of her daughter has one on.. Go a head check it out!anyways so seeing that I can knit and crochet such cute little numbers for friends one would think that I would make the same type of things for my own children. (Which I have done and still do from time to time BTW)
So the question I have for you (if you chose to answer) Should a gal who's able to (or potentially able to) knit such fantastic things, be annoyed when people buy (perfectly cute BTW) knitted hats and things from a store for her children? It does make me wonder, why I get so annoyed though...Is it rational? Probably not but am I the only knitter who does that?
Friday, November 3, 2006
Slow I know!
Last weekend I got went to my grandma's to visit. Ok I know it's almost this weekend... I said I was slow about posting things. I kept meaning to to post it but I just haven't gotten around to it. A lot has been going on here
, but we won't get into it. It was good to see her and also sad. She's now in a nursing home, she's having a hard time getting around and falling a lot. While we were there we helped my parents clean up her house a bit. While I was there I found her cook book! I'm so loving this. It's something I've wanted a long time. Just having all that wonderful knowledge at my fingertips. I'm sooo excited. so here's a close up of a recipe and why I'm loving it.. See all the notes! It's awesome not to mention all the hand written recipes shoved in there. It's awesome I've written a letter to my grandma thanking her for it so that she knows it is in a good home now and will be used a lot.anyways just wanted to share my find! I'm off to get ready for work.
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