Summer Wrap Up

I was trying to keep up with weekly posts, but just dropped off over the summer. So instead, here’s a nice little summer recap from the past 10-ish weeks:

I’ve started work on what was originally going to be two different patterns, but now I am thinking it will be one with two different options for the top of the instep:

I also made another Patchwork Throw Blanket in Bernat Softee Chunky yarn because the original yarn was becoming hard for some people to find:

I sewed my first swimsuit:

And made messes with a 3 year old:

Really jumped down the amigurumi rabbit hole again with a self-patterned rainbow:

A sifaka and axolotl from the Amigurumi Wildlife Adventure:

And Horace the Stegosaurus designed by Irene Strange:

I dabbled in DIY electronics repair:

And learned a new knitting technique:

I took myself to the beach:

And started a new self-patterned knit tee from stash yarn:

Now school is back in session and I generally know what day it is again, so I’m going to hold myself to a more regular posting schedule.

What did you do this summer (or winter if you are in the southern hemisphere)?


Spinning Quite a Yarn

I was super excited when Lauren McElroy’s Crafter’s Box collaboration was announced. I love her Instagram content and have always been interested in learning to use a drop spindle, so it was a perfect box to spend some birthday money on.

There was a small bit of a learning curve, as you can see from the progression in that photo, but the video class was so easy to follow. I even started incorporating some color with some roving from Ganxxet.

Once I had a good amount of two-ply yarn, I wanted to create a project with it. I swatched a bit in crochet and knitting to decide which looked better. The crochet showed off the variation in the thickness (which we will pretend was intentional), so I started a hat.

The yarns I used were about 4-5 WPI, and I roughly measured the smallest amount to find out that I had about 6.9 yards per 10 grams. This hat used 58 grams of the all-white yarn and 41 grams of the blue/purple/white yarn. Really rough estimates mean that I used around 68.31 yards in total.

I’ve also started experimenting with chain plying the yarn (the two small skeins in this picture), which is a lot of fun. I don’t have enough of it yet to do much with it, but I’m thinking maybe gloves.

If you are looking to learn drop spindle spinning, I’d definitely recommend this kit. It’s still available through The Crafter’s Box Marketplace, and they have some accessories you can also pick up through the marketplace to create even more yarns.


A Simple Set

Yesterday I released these washcloth and soap saver sets on my Etsy shop, as well as the free patterns for each in my Ribblr Shop.

Today I have also listed the PDF patterns for free download on my Ko-Fi shop: Washcloth pattern and Soap saver pattern.

The washcloth is knit and measures 8 inches by 8 inches. The soap saver is crocheted and measures 6 inches total length, 4.5 inches inner length where the soap goes, and 6.5 inches around. It’s even large enough to fit my 8 ounce brand new bar of soap with a small bit of work.

The best part about these is that you can make them in any 100% cotton yarn you choose. These samples in particular are made in Premiere Yarns Just Cotton which is available exclusively through Dollar Tree. I have also made the washcloths in Lily and Cream and Peaches and Cream yarns.