Katie's Crafts

Yarnapalooza

2009-03-11T14:16:00.001-07:00

So Mike got his bonus a few weeks ago and he bought some things for the car. Since he got some things, it was only fair if I did to :)

So of course, I bought some yarn

From left to right:

Shetland Cobweb Wool-Natural (when I went back to link this, it old me that people who purchased it also purchased : 3 of the other yarns I purchased-I wonder if I'm the only one who has bought any)

Tilli Toma Elsie- American Beauty

The Alpaca Yarn Company-Singin' The Blues

Lorna's Laces-Navy (to be the heel and toe of some socks)

Mama Llama Original Sock-Vegas (I couldn't link this one since it was on closeout)

Dream in Color Smooshy- Ruby River

Fiesta Boomerang-Poppies

Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock-Fiona

Blue Sky Alpacas-Pumpkin, Fern, Espresso (these are for Jen and Hal's Little Pumpkin's Pumpkin Hat) This is my favorite baby yarn.

I'm so excited about all of this, that I'm not sure where to start first.

Hat, Hat, Blanket

2009-02-12T12:05:00.001-08:00

Some projects that I recently completed.

A hat for baby Jacob,

A hat for baby Haylee,

A little lovey for Lilly,

Do You Believe in Magic?

2009-01-17T13:23:00.001-08:00

Just so those of you who read the blog don't think I'm a speed knitter, these are the needles I used for that white scarf. The yarn was held doubled up and it was already bulky yarn.

Here it is in correlation to a dime

They are a size 36 needle. Which unless you know a lot about knitting needles doesn't really tell you anything.

These are a size 2 needle that you would use for socks. The smallest size they make is a 0-which you could probably substitute a toothpick and there wouldn't be much difference.

That picture is pretty close to actual size. Think a toothpick on steroids.

So those lovely size 36 needles are what allowed me to finish a scarf in one evening :)

Stay tuned for some more hand dyed yarn :)

Big Bulky Super Warm Scarf

2009-01-14T07:25:00.001-08:00

I made this scarf the other night watching a movie. I love this yarn, if only it wasn't so expensive.

Just Keep Swimming

2009-01-07T17:33:00.001-08:00

I made a fish for Jersey and so far she isn't playing with it

Pre stuffing and felting

Post stuffing and felting-however, it didn't felt real well. Isn't it cute?

Too cute

2008-12-30T06:25:00.001-08:00

Alien Invasion

2008-12-23T18:52:00.001-08:00

Well, if an invasion is just one alien.

I've been working on this for my Dad for a year and I just finished it tonight. He's not perfect, but neither are any of the aliens I have met

Record Clock

2008-12-07T17:40:00.001-08:00

I made a clock..from a record...only it doesn't keep time correctly...but here it is anyway :)

And we hung some pictures today. yay!

I was standing at a weird angle to get that photo which is why the bottom picture is cut off

Chicago Scarf

2008-11-17T17:01:00.001-08:00

I made this scarf on our road trip to Chicago over Halloween. It turned out perfect and the colors matched the sky while we were there.

Here it is being blocked. I didn't do the two toned towel look on purpose-they were the first two I grabbed.

Some up close pictures.

It's very squishy and I love it. I've never had a long scarf and this is perfect for winter. I wore it today and it's nice and toasty and not itchy.

More Yarn...YAY!

2008-10-28T07:56:00.001-07:00

I ~~think I might~~ have an addiction.

Hi, my name is Katie and I'm addicted to buying yarn.

*Hi Katie*

The first step is admitting you have a problem right?

But this time I didn't just buy yarn because I liked the way it looked (which is how I ended up with this) Which I know have 6 balls of and NO clue what to make with it.

No, no my friends...this yarn has a purpose *other than sitting in my yarn cubicles in the craft room*

This is going into a little Victorian style hat for K-Tell's Little Beansies

And this is going into EJs baby blanket *Which I'm hoping to have done before the shower..or at least before he arrives*

I finished a hat for Mike last night. Wahoo. More imporantly, it fits!! It's a wool/mohair/silk blend and he better wear it until...well forever

Cat In A Bag

2008-10-24T07:43:00.001-07:00

I decided to see if Jersey liked to be carried in a bag. The answer is a big fat No, but it was funny to try. My grocery bag could have other uses, but carrying cats isn't one of them

Dyeing Yarn

2008-10-10T08:46:00.001-07:00

I found some yarn yesterday that was 50% off and since I can't resist a sale, I bought 2 skeins (although I wish I bought more-oh well). As soon as I saw them, I thought "Ooohh, I can't wait to dye this." I dyed some yarn before but it was a solid color. I wanted to try for variegated yarn this go around. I took pictures to document today's adventure. **that means that this post is going to be long :)** **also means this may be boring, but I wanted to document the process**

Starting point- Loft Classic Yarn by Zitron

Unwound on the swift

Soaking in the sink-it kept creeping out from under the plates

The dyes ready and waiting. I use Wilton Cake Icing in the following colors:

Teal, Royal Blue, Sky Blue, Black, Kelly Green

I mixed up different colors until I came up with something I liked

The measuring cup that looks the fullest will be to color the white parts sticking down below

Sittin' in the pot

Sittin in the pot to cover up the white

Drying (in my awesome guest bath shower)

Reskeined to show the stripes

Wound into a ball

Once I figure out what on earth to do with it, I will post a picture of the FO (Finished object)

Things I learned during this dyeing lesson:

1. Wet yarn really really stinks (I knew this but had apparently forgotten)

2. I tried to make navy blue with the Wilton's cake dye. I thought, oh I will put some of the royal blue and added some black. Only the black Wilton's cake dye turns everything PINK. like hot pink. So the Dark blue parts of the yarn actually have like pink fuzzies. My kitchen sponge is pink, the gloves were pink, and even the stainless steel to hold the handle to the pan is pink!

3. If you don't completely wash the dye out, when you hang it up to dry it will drip turquoise water in the bathtub.

More knitted stuff

2008-10-08T11:23:00.001-07:00

I bought some more yarn (of course) and finished a few more squares. Mainly, I like to take pictures of the yarn :)

Eco-Friendly Grocery Bag

2008-10-06T16:58:00.001-07:00

I finished my grocery bag. I made it with hemp/cotton yarn. It will stretch when filled and now we don't have to get plastic bags at the store

I also started a blanket for a secret Christmas gift and I finished 1 square. The pattern calls for 80 squares, but I'm not making it that big

Up close of the square

This made me laugh

2008-09-25T20:06:00.001-07:00

Only because it might just be true. I am working on the blue and white baby blanket-that I have since ripped out and started over again. Luckily, the baby isn't due for awhile. I just can't find anything that I like..arrghhh

Knitting that I am currently working on

2008-09-11T12:58:00.001-07:00

Otherwise known as: Knitting that is on my needles that I have stopped working on until I get motivated again

A baby blanket (actually working on this one)-it's blue and ivory and possibly green. I cast on something like 220 stitches, so it's taking me a long time and quite possibly will be huge when done.

The Infertility's Common Thread Irish Hiking Scarf. I really should finish this one

Another baby blanket-lots of pink in this one. Anyone having a girl.

An Alien for my Dad. He's missing feet and eyes

What will be my first item in my Etsy Store. Which after I took the pictures, I realized that it looks alot like the scarf I made for Maria, but it's different yarn.

The Song That Never Ends

2008-08-26T15:57:00.001-07:00

That is how I feel about my hat pattern I keep making. It goes on and on and still doesn't.fit.my.head.

Yep, I made another hat and I thought I solved the problem. Nope-I need to cast on more stitches. I have 1 skein of this expensive yarn left. oye vey.

Check out our Mr. Bill in the table :)

In other knitting news, I finally finished Julie's Happy Uterus. I liked the cotton yarn I used for this alot better than the yarn I used last time. Maybe I should remake Newt's uterus. It's called Stork, so maybe it will be a good luck charm for Julie.

Other yarn purchases I have made:

The angora yarn I bought that is FABULOUS! and I might have found the perfect pattern

The scarf I'm working on:

And just because I think it's funny:

Pictures on the Wall

2008-08-10T16:59:00.001-07:00

We got these picture frames and pictures at Ikea and Mike had the brilliant idea of painting the inside a shade from the picture to make them look better. What a great idea! Here is the finished look

One of our wedding gifts was our invitation on a piece of old looking plaster

Curtains!

2008-08-10T15:49:00.001-07:00

I decided that we needed some curtains for the back blue/black/white guest bedroom. I wanted to make them myself.

I have never made curtains before, but how hard can it be. So I hop in the car and go to JoAnn's Fabric (which I love) and find me some black and white fabric. I wanted to back them with white and put a layer in the middle to block out the light.

Only I got insulating material instead of sunlight blocking material. And I didn't get enough. Anyways, I forgot to bring the window measurements with me so I just guessed at how much I could need. I figured I could always go back and get a coordinating color to make a stripe or something.

Jersey wanted to help me with the cutting.

I got them all sewed last night (well except one---I was laying them on the floor to measure and Wilson peed on the floor, stepped in it and then walked across my fabric). I sewed that one today.

And here they are finished waiting to be hung

And here they are in the room. (If you look close enough you can see where the insulating fabric stops. It's lighter at the bottom than the top, but I'm not remaking them.

Hats!

2008-08-10T15:22:00.001-07:00

So I found a pattern for a hat that I love. Cashmere Beanie from Knit-A-GoGo. Cute website and they do knitting classes for parties and such.

Anyways, I saw this pattern at a Knit Happens and just had to make it. So I bought myself some gorgeous slate blue yarn and some darker blue because I knew I would make 2. The pattern is pretty easy and it didn't take me long to finish. I finish the hat and try it on and it doesn't come down over my ears since I have a big head.

Rat Patooty

So when I'm at the store again I get a skein or off-white and red because these hats will make great gifts. So I make the white one last Wednesday night while Mike was at darts. I got to the point where I needed to start my decreases and I measured to make sure it was longer than the other hat. It was. I finish it up and sure enough, it doesn't fit my head either.

I got the wooden buttons at the yarn store down the street from my house.

So I have 2 hats to give away for Christmas and it's only August

Here are my hats:

New Blog

2008-08-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

I decided to start a blog of my crafts and knitting. That way I can keep a little record book of the things I'm working on :)