2011

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Pink Bunny Slippers!!!

Lizz December 23, 2011 1

27 years ago on Sunday, Benita became a part of my life. I opened her up on Christmas morning and she became an almost constant companion for the next few years.

With Benita, came a wardrobe of outfits for her to wear. Including a nightgown made from leftover material from one of my nightgowns and matching pink bunny slippers (she’s wearing a different outfit in the photo above that also matched a dress Mom made for me).

What I didn’t realize until I saw Tiny Owl Knit’s Hopsalots pattern, is that all these years I have wanted a pair of bunny slippers like Benita’s. And for some reason I wanted to wear them on Christmas morning. So once my essential Christmas knitting was completed I cast on these slippers using Patons Classic Wool held double in Magenta and Aran.

I started them on Wednesday the 14th, finished the knitting on Saturday the 17th, felted them using Mom’s top loader washing machine on the 18th, and then did the finishing on them last night after all my non-essential Christmas knitting was complete. I had to add a little length to the slippers in order to get them to match the approximates given in the pattern. They took 15 minutes in the washing machine to felt to the right length. I spun them dry in the washer and then formed them to my feet before letting them sit to dry. For the finishing I used button eyes and commercial pompoms for the noses and tails so they would match the features on Benita’s slippers.

I’m so happy with these slippers. They are warm and fuzzy and just perfect.

December 2011 Project Roll Call

Lizz December 15, 2011 0

Almost all of my Christmas knitting is finished!

Arachne Cardi

The Arachne Cardi is still waiting for me to seam it together. Occasionally I take it to my parents to try to finish up, but I seem to work on other things instead.

Fast Baby Cardi

A new second cousin has arrived and he needs a sweater, so I’m making the Fast Baby Cardi for him. It’s living up to it’s name (after numerous restarts). I will post the details soon.

Pink Bunny Slippers

I started a pair of Pink Bunny Slippers for myself yesterday. I have a whole post planned about them for next week, so all I’m going to say is that I couldn’t wait to start them.

Bill’s Skull Scarf

I haven’t been concentrating on Bill’s Scarf. I don’t see this one being finished any time soon.

Podster Gloves

I’m plugging along slowly on the Podster gloves. I still need to write up a post on these soon.

Anya’s Stocking

Anya’s Stocking is ready for hanging by the fire with care.

Knit Boobie

The Knit Boobie is still waiting for the finishing to happen.

Celtic Tote

The Celtic Tote is still a bag in a bag, waiting to be picked up again.

Boot Covers

The Boot Covers have not been thought about let alone worked on.

Secret Projects

Of the 4 Secret Projects I have started, I have finished all 4. I have 1 or 2 small things that I would like to make, but selfishly the priority is finishing the Pink Bunny Slippers. More details will be provided on the Secret Projects after they have been gifted.

Anya’s Stocking (11 Down, 1 To Go)

Lizz December 13, 2011 0

There is a new puppy in the family. My brother, Erik, now has a Miniature Schnauzer of his own. Her name is Anya and she is just a darling. She’s about 3 months old now.

With Christmas on the way we needed to make Anya a stocking. Looking in the Christmas yarn stash, Mom and I came up with some blue Red Heart Holiday yarn with silver sparkles and I used Fidget’s stocking as a template to make a new one. This is my 11th project for the 12 in 2011 challenge.

Now Fidget has a red stocking, Anya has a white one, Charlie has a green one, and Anya has a blue one, and all the puppies are set for Christmas morning.

Hey Teach After the Grosgrain Ribbon Application

Hey Teach Now Wearable

Lizz December 8, 2011 1

So I finished Hey Teach and then realized that it had a gaping problem. See photo below for reference.

The sweater fit around, but the cotton/acrylic yarn didn’t want to hold it’s shape. So to fix it I used Jasmin and Gigi’s (aka the Knitmore Girls) Grosgrain Ribbon Buttonband and Couture Button tutorials.

I tried only doing the grosgrain ribbon on the button band, but there was still pulling, so I sewed buttonholes into another piece of grosgrain and added it to the buttonhole band.

Hey Teach Buttonhole Band Grosgrain Ribbon

I wanted buttons that blended in on this neutral cardi, so that it remained truly neutral. On the inside though, I went colourful with turquoise grosgrain ribbon and purple shiny backing buttons.

Hey Teach Button Band Grosgrain Ribbon & Backing Button

November 2011 Project Roll Call

Lizz November 15, 2011 0

Lots of knitting has been going on this month! I feel like I’m back in full swing.

Arachne Cardi

The Arachne Cardi is still waiting for me to seam it together. Hopefully I will get to this soon.

Hey Teach

Hey Teach’s gaping problem has been solved by grosgrain ribbon button and buttonhole bands and couture buttons, so I can finally call it officially finished. Post coming soon with the details.

Baby Baseball Tee (Secret #1)

The Baby Baseball Tee is finished and has been gifted.

Bill’s Skull Scarf

I’ve had another couple evenings to work on Bill’s Skull Scarf and it’s progressing, just slowly.

Podster Gloves

I started the Podster Gloves as a carry along project, but I think there are too many instructions to use these as a purse project. More information on these later.

Knit Boobie

I finished the knitting on the boobie, I just need to sew it up and stuff it.

Celtic Tote

The Celtic Tote is still waiting for me to come back to it.

Boot Covers

The Boot Covers have not been worked on again.

Secret Projects

I have finished 2 of the Secret Projects (including the baby sweater) and have yet to start anymore. More details will be provided after they have been gifted.

Secret #1 Revealed (10 Down, 2 To Go)

Lizz November 8, 2011 0

Secret Project #1 was not a Christmas gift, it was a baby shower gift for Carrie, one of the ladies in my knitting group. Carrie is expecting a little boy sometime between now and the end of November. There’s a possibility he might be later than that, but it would be nice for Carrie if that option isn’t mentioned.

To welcome Carrie’s new arrival I knit her the Baby Baseball Tee from Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark’s Knit 2 Together. I used Sidar Snuggly DK in blue/white Mix for the body and khaki green for the sleeves. This is project 10 for the 12 in 2011 challenge. I used the pirate rules a little for this project, since I bought yarn. Originally I was going to use two colours, the blue/white mix and a dark brown, of Snuggly that I got at the Fibre Festival in Victoria a few years ago. Looking at them again I realized that the dark brown was too dark with the blue/white mix. So I bought the khaki green which will go with both of the colours I already had.

I made one adjustment to the pattern. Instead of starting with a small number of stitches for the sleeve and increasing, I made a straight sleeve by casting on the total number of stitches after the increases. It seems to me that straight sleeves would be easier to get a baby’s arms through than tapered ones.

Bill’s Skull Scarf is Started

Lizz November 3, 2011 0

Last year, sometime before Christmas, my brother’s best friend Bill asked me to knit him a scarf with skulls on it. He told me that there was no rush, which I obviously have taken to heart. In May I sent him an email with links to some potential patterns. He chose Iris Schreier’s Skull Scarf. Knowing it was double knit, I purchased some Red Heart Comfort Sport in Black and Off-White, so that it wouldn’t be too thick. Last week, I finally started this scarf.

I’m using the pattern Bill selected as inspiration, since I have not bought the required yarn to get the pattern free. I charted my own skull pattern made of parts from a few different skull patterns that I found. I didn’t think to keep track of what patterns I used parts from though. The pattern is close to one of Bill’s tattoos, so he should be pleased.

I would like to get it finished in time for Christmas, but I’m not going to pressure myself into it. As I mentioned in the last post, scarves can feel unending. I like working double knit, but I need to look at what I’m doing, so I am not able to work on it if I want to pay attention to the tv. I’m re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer on evenings where I have time by myself, and since I’ve seen it before I know that this time can be dedicated to working on this project.

Wavy Scarf Finished (9 Down, 3 To Go)

Lizz November 1, 2011 0

The Wavy Scarf can now be called complete. I took my time on this scarf, because scarves can often feel unending. This is project 9 for the 12 in 2011 challenge.

I completed the knitting at the beginning of June but I didn’t get around to blocking until September. Once again I borrowed my Mom’s blocking wires and “my” bed at her house.

The next weekend I wove the ends in and wore it to a hockey game where I got a few compliments. The finished project turned out soft and cushy but with great drape. It’s all that I hoped it would be.

Blue Fabel Socks (8 Down, 4 To Go)

Lizz October 27, 2011 0

The Blue Fabel socks are completed. I started these socks in August and they were finished by the end of September. Garnstudio’s Drops Fabel is one of my favourite socks yarns, the socks end up just stretchy enough to be super comfortable without completely losing their shape. Like with Dad’s 14th Socks, I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On for the toe and my regular short-row heel. Normally I attempt to make matching socks, but the Fabel colurway patterns are quite long and can be painful to find the matching spot on the next ball, so I made fraternal socks instead of identical this time.

The Blue Fabel socks are my seventh pair of socks knit this year. At this point I don’t think I’m going to make my very loose goal of 12 pairs in the year. Maybe I’ll try harder next year.

Dad’s 14th Socks

Lizz October 25, 2011 2

For Dad’s birthday in August I knit him a pair of socks (I know big surprise, he’s always getting socks). These are the 14th pair I’ve knit for him. I used Knit Picks Stroll Sport in the Mink Heather colourway with the Wendy’s Generic Toe-Up Sock pattern.

I did make one change to these socks though. I tried out a different toe. Instead of my usual short-row toe, I figured out Judy’s Magic Cast On and worked from the tip of the toe. I really like this method, and I might have a new go to way to start socks. It’s less fiddly than the short-row toe and easier to put down and pick up again later.

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