Saturday, April 17, 2010

Elephant Shoe- I love you!



: Elephant Shoe- I love you!
Pattern: Elefante by Susan B. Anderson
Knitting
Jim for Valentine's Day 2010
January 25 2010
January 28 2010
: US 3 - 3.25 mm
: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool
9477 Tutu Pink
Pink
Purchased at The Wool Bin in Oakville, Ontario
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solids & Heathers
0.42 skeins = 82.7 yards (75.7m)
151 Grey Heather
Gray
Michaels
See this project on Ravelry!


Maybe I’m biased, but isn’t he adorable??! Modifications:

  1. Knitted ears. I followed Susan’s instructions which can be found here. I used kfb to increase instead of m1. I also slipped stitch the first stitch of every row.
  2. Sewed the elephant’s head a bit higher up so it looks cuter in my opinion. Also, I think the elephant looks happier and more optomistist than looking at the ground. Plus I think this makes him look like he’s a baby elephant.
  3. Curly tail! I cast on using the long tail method (leaving a long end so I can use it later). Knit i-cord for about an inch, and then cast off. Sew cast off side to the elephant’s body. Then using the long leftover end of your cast on, threat that through a needle, thread the needle through the icord that you just knitted, then pull so that the tail shorters and then securely sew it to the body.
  4. Just used grey and pink for the elephant. Made a solid elephant instead of a stripey one like the pattern.

Made this for Jim for Valentine’s Day 2010 because of a special memory we have. I mouthed out “elephant shoe” to him once, and then he said “I love you” for the first time because he thought I mouthed out “I love you”. Haha I’m such a trickster! Of course, I said “I love you too!”. We also have another inside joke about elephants, but that’s a whole other story!

The pattern was very easy and simple to follow. I made the elephant with using just grey and pink instead of doing multi-coloured stripes. The pattern is provided for free by the generous designer. I highly recommend this pattern because it is a quick knit and it produces a very cute result!

I used Wool-Ease Solids & Heathers for the first time. I was very pleased with it for this project. It has a bit of fuzz to it which I love because I wanted the elephant to be a tiny bit fuzzy and did not want perfect stitch definition. I think it’s great for a project like this, not sure if I would use it to make a sweater. Maybe a hat or mitts.

Used scraps of Cascade wool for the pink part of the elephant’s legs. Funny that this Cascade wool was given to me last year by Jim for Valentine’s Day to make this, and now I’m using it to make his Valentine’s gift! I love Cascade wool :)




Strawberry Jam



: Strawberry Jam
Pattern: Boo Berries Wave Blanket by Minh Hoang
Knitting
Alba
37 inches by 43 inches
July 7 2009
January 19 2010
US 6 - 4.0 mm
: Bernat Baby Jacquards
5 skeins = 1730.0 yards (1581.9m)
06435 Strawberry Jam
Pink

Mmm garter stitch goodness! Nice relaxing knit for my commute to work and watching tv. It only look so long to knit this because I had to put it into hibernation while I worked on Christmas gifts. I absolutely love Baby Jacquards yarn! This one is a delicious blend that reminds me of Strawberry and Cream ice cream with some colourful sprinkles sprinkled on top! The first few pictures are very accurate of the colour in real life. The last few picture are a bit off because the sun was rising. I highly recommend this yarn and this pattern (although I’m biased with the pattern because I wrote it up)!

Booties with Blanket Stitch Detail


: Booties with Blanket Stitch Detail
Pattern: Booties with Blanket Stitch Detail by Debbie Bliss
: Knitting
Baby Jayden
3-6 months
January 4 2010
January 6 2010
US 2½ - 3.0 mm
: Bernat Softee Baby Solids & Marls
0.3 skeins = 136.5 yards (124.8m)
Michaels

Pattern: Decided to make this project because I wanted something fast and quick! Very easy pattern to read and follow. Just make sure you read the pattern correctly- I made one boot and realized that I k36 instead of k36 rows and I was missing the cuff part of the boots! Oops! Really happy with how it turned out. I wish there was instructions on how to do a blanket stitch (which is something new to me since I’m not good with sewing), but I found this youtube video and it was very helpful!

Yarn: My first time knitting with Bernat Softee Baby and I am very impressed! Even though it is acrylic, it is super soft. It also has a very nice sheen to it. My only concern about this is that it might get a little fuzzy with wear and tear, but this is not such a huge issue so I will definitely be purchasing and knitting with this yarn in the near future!

Modifcation: No real modifications to the pattern. Used US 2.5/3.0mm because I don’t have the US 2/2.75mm needle. No big deal!



Burridge Ocean Aran Afghan


: Burridge Ocean Aran Afghan
Pattern: Burridge Lake Aran Afghan by Anna Dalvi
: Knitting
: Jim for Christmas 2009
: Cuddle inducing size (67 inches by 83 inches, which fits over a double size bed nicely)
January 11 2009
December 24 2009
: US 7 - 4.5 mm
: Red Heart Ltd. Comfort
3 skeins = 6144.0 yards (5618.1m)
: 7031 Gray
WalMart
See it on Ravelry!

Pattern: When I saw this pattern on the internet (for free!) I knew that one day I would have to make this blanket! I love cables, and this was definitely a dream blanket to make. This pattern is awesome! I can’t believe that I was not bored with this. Even though it’s huge and it took me almost a year to knit (because I was working on a million projects in between), I always look forward to knitting this blanket! I think I might have to make this in a cream colour as well one day, just not this very second...

Yarn: I found these 1 kilogram balls at Walmart and bought three for this blanket! 3 kilograms of yarn for $39! AWESOME! I was really pleased with this yarn. It wasn't very plastic-y (although I am sure others might agree with me because it is acrylic). I found it nice and sturdy to work with. No fuzz at all. I think this yarn has durability and will last for years (if not decades) without looking used! With the amount of effort I have put into this blanket, it better last!

Modifications:

  1. Making 5 strips instead of 3. I wanted to ensure that this blanket is big enough for the both of us to snuggle under while we watch movies on the couch or snuggle underneath it to read a book. I wanted to make sure it was big enough to cover us well and allowed plenty of room to cuddle. What good is a blanket if it only covers from your feet up to your knees?
  2. Cast off on row 1 of 28th iteration for panel A for a longer length.
  3. Cast off on row 1 of 19th iteration for panel B for a longer length.



Brûlée Scarf/Cowl


: Brûlée Scarf/Cowl
Pattern: Brûlée Scarf by Cirilia Rose
: Knitting
Me :o)
December 30 2009
January 3 2010
US 15 - 10.0 mm
How much? 2 skeins = 212.0 yards (193.9m)
: 138 Cranberry
Michaels
See it on ravelry!

Pattern: Quick + simple mindless knitting = LOVE! My first time knitting with really bulky wool and size US15/10.0mm needles, so it was pure bliss in garter stitch! It took me about 1 day to finish half the scarf. It only took me so long (4 days) to finish this scarf because I went away to ring in 2010. I really like the crochet edging, it's such a cute touch! I also like the big buttons, you can wear this as a scarf or a cowl.

Wool: It's been awhile since I worked with this yarn, but I don't really remember anything bad about it. I didn't keep any notes about how I felt, but I think I was happy working with it. I remember it being really soft and fluffy to work with. I think there might have been a small amount of fuzz, but nothing too significant or would stop me from working with it again.

Modification: Cast on 22 sts and used US15/10mm needles.





My favourite hat this winter!


Name: Ash
Pattern: Ash by Kim Hargreaves
: Knitting
Me :o)
December 28 2009
December 30 2009
size: US 3 - 3.25 mm and US 2 - 2.75 mm
: Classic Elite Yarns Fresco
1 skeins = 164.0 yards (150.0m)
: 5319 Lot 802
: Pink
: The Purple Purl in Toronto, Ontario
: Classic Elite Yarns Fresco
1 skeins = 164.0 yards (150.0m)
: 5301 Lot 802
: Natural/Undyed
: The Purple Purl in Toronto, Ontario
See it on Ravelry!

Pattern: Knitted this in round. The instruction was to knit the hat in rows, who does that? Very easy pattern, this would be a great pattern for beginners. I really like how the hat turned out- nice and slouchy! This was really warm to wear during the winter. It was nice and casual and went really well with my grey peacoat and pink Burberry scarf! I wore this combo all the time this past winter.

Yarn: I was in love with this yarn when I first used it. It’s oh so soft with the right amount of fuzz. However, after knitting it for awhile I was really annoyed with the fuzz (I assume it was the angora because it was my first time knitting with angora). I was surrounded by a cloud of fuzz as I was knitting and felt that I needed a lint brush for my face. At first, I was in love with this yarn and couldn’t wait to work with it again, but now I’m not sure.

Modifications: Used bigger needles than what the pattern asked for, which is fine because my knitting is tight. I didn’t check the gauge, but I’m happy with how the hat turned out!