Category: Crafts

A Minty Hat

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Because doesn’t that pattern in those colors make you think of mint leaves?

This is the Zooey by Cassandra Dominick. I made it from doubled fingering weight superwash wool yarn I picked up in Paris this summer. I used US size 9 needles for the body and size 6 for the ribbing.

Okay, technical stuff out of the way, this hat was super easy and quick to knit. Also the yarn I used was super soft, so that’s a plus. I actually “turned the pattern around” by knitting from the top down because I wasn’t sure if I would have enough, but I only used one ball of the main color and about a fifth of the ball of each contrasting color. I’m thinking matching finger-less gloves out of single weight may be coming about soon. Well, soon-ish. I have a ton of other things in line in my mind before I can start yet another project.

Now I only have to wait another two months for it to be cold enough to wear this…

Swatching Up A Storm

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I’ve got to admit, I was not very good about swatching before starting a project for many years. Most likely because I was using cheap worsted weight acrylic yarn that doesn’t really change gauge much for so long that I didn’t think it was necessary. Using real yarn has taught me the value of doing a gauge swatch first. That and reading the book Custom Knits Accessories by Wendy Bernard. I rarely follow a pattern to the letter, so swatching is pretty important.

I’ve even started washing the swatches to see how the yarn does in a normal wash cycle, so I know whether or not it will be okay to wash the final product. Much better to find out that a small square shrinks than having an oddly misshapen hat or glove at the end of laundry day.

I’m casting on two projects this weekend:Starry Stole (swatch 1) and Zooey (swatch 2). I knit the swatches Wednesday, hand-washed them yesterday, and now I am ready to measure once more to be sure and cast on.

Oh, and my other swatch project is still going strong. Up to 297 out of 400 right now according to my Google+ Photo Album. Only 103 more to go.

Snug and Cozy

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Well, my camera is anyway. It is way too warm still to be thinking of snug and cozy for anything else.

Speaking of my camera, I have a new one that takes awesome pictures and doesn’t run on a pack of AA batteries a week. This camera, if you happen to be so interested. It was on a good sale last week. I’m not taking a picture of my camera. That is just too weird.

You know what I did take a picture of? The cover I made for my camera. A few pictures, actually. Like this one of the front:

And this one from the side:

And this one of the soft inside:

I used a plain cotton for the outer part, and some faux fur on the inside to make it nice and cushioned. I added a button and some suede thread for a looped closure. The way the flap covers the top, I can use the wrist strap of the camera to carry it in the case. A quick and easy way to have a camera case that didn’t cost anything and is much brighter than the cases offered at the store.