Kelley's Yarns: January 2007

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Jumping Right on This Bandwagon

After seeing Elaine's post on the Mason Dixon KAL this morning, I just had to make one of these coasters for myself. It's such a clever idea, and it turns out great! Very squishy and absorbent. Good timing too--one of our two remaining terra cotta coasters got broken on Sunday, so we really need some new coasters. As quickly as these babies knit up, I'll have a whole new set in no time.

Yarn: Sugar and Cream, Dark Pine (small amount of scrap yarn)
Needles: US size 5
Pattern: Modified Baby Genius Burp Cloth from Mason Dixon Knitting. Cast on 25 stitches and work the pattern until the coaster is square.
Finished size: Approx 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches
Time to complete: 45 minutes, with breaks to move along the laundry

Labels: coasters, Mason Dixon

Monday, January 22, 2007

Some Pics of FOs and WIPs

My Curly Purly scarf in action. Doesn't it look nice against my black wool pea coat? It's pretty, but the texture of the fuzzy acrylic doesn't feel that great against my skin. There may be another scarf in my immediate future, once I get through my current WIPs.

My current WIPs: socks for me and some Elizabeth Zimmermann longies for T

T's slippers. Yes, there are two of them again! Can you tell which one is new and which one has been worn constantly since October? I sure can!

Woozy Cloth. I love this cloth. It was really fun and quick to knit, and it turns out so fab and funky. Plus, it's on the small side, which I really like. I don't like huge dishcloths. They just take up too much yarn and are too bulky for me to handle.

Labels: booties, dishcloths, scarves, socks

Monday, January 15, 2007

Warm Little Tootsies, Take Two

Remember these? Recently, while getting groceries, I looked down and noticed that one of T's slippers was missing--bare little tootsie hanging down from the cart seat. I backtracked and looked, but I couldn't find the slipper. I checked the lost and found a couple days later, but they didn't have the slipper. So I have no choice but to make another slipper. Sigh. At least I still have some of the yarn left (not really what I wanted to use it for, but . . .). So that's my knitting mission for today; then I'm back to my regularly schedule projects.

Labels: booties

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Mason Dixon Baby Kimono

Yarn: Red Heart acrylic, light yellow
Pattern: Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason Dixon Knitting
Needles: US 6 Knitpicks Options, US 5 DPN for the I cord closure

This turned out pretty well considering I used acrylic rather than cotton. (I'm trying to use up my old acrylic on baby clothes and such.) It does seem a bit stiff, so I'm considering "killing" it to see if that improves the drape. This is a quick, fun pattern, and I think it turns out really cute!

Labels: kimono, Maxon Dixon

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Introducing My Bookmarks

Some of you have already noticed the long lists of links I posted yesterday. The bookmarks on my browser were getting really, really crowded and disorganized, so I decided to move them to my blog to make them easier for me to find--and to share them with you in the process. I've added a "My Bookmarks" section to the sidebar. The links in that section link back to the posts containing all the patterns, resources, etc. I'll keep adding to the lists, but we can always access them just by clicking on the links in the "My Bookmarks" area in my sidebar. I've still got lots more sorting and transferring (and inevitably more organizing into categories withing categories) to do, but I feel so much better already!

Labels: links

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Labels: links

National De-lurking Week

It's National De-lurking Week! I just read a post about comments on Abigail's blog, and it pretty much sums up how I feel about comments, so read here!

I have some WIPs going, but nothing really worth posting pics of yet. I decided that I'd like to try to find some ways to use up my stash of acrylic (from back in the day when a) I had no money and b) I hadn't yet become hooked on natural fibers). There are some patterns I'd really like to try, but I don't have the extra money at the moment to buy the yarn I'd really like to knit them up with, so I think I'll use my acrylic for some test pieces. They're mostly baby items, and I'm sure I know some moms who would appreciate the easy care of acrylic, so it's all good. I get some knitting time in, I get rid of my acrylic, and friends and family members get some handknits they won't be afraid to use (hopefully). On that list of test knits is the Mason Dixon baby kimono (already in progress in pastel yellow Red Heart acrylic) and the February baby sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac.

Labels: comments, de-lurking

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Well, It's Done, Anyway

After much mind changing and frogging and sighing, I finally have a finished scarf. I must've started a new pattern and then decided I didn't like it, for whatever reason, and frogged it about half a dozen times. I think this yarn would've been pretty useless if I'd frogged one more time. It was starting to get really uneven and bumpy--so the scarf looks a little wonky in places too. The scarf is nice, but I'm not in love with it. It's pretty, it was easy, but most of all--it's done. I needed a scarf, since it's finally starting to get chilly here in Michigan. (It's about time!) There was a distinct nip in the air when I stepped onto the porch this morning to get the paper. I ended up doing the Curly Purly dropped YO scarf. I cast on 23 stitches and used size 10.5 needles.

I decided to keep the mistake rib ear warmer/headband I made back when I thought I'd have a mistake rib scarf to go with it. The headband and the scarf won't match, but hey, I like the headband, so I'll just deal with it. (Plus, I'll probably wear the headband only occasionally anyway).

In other knitting news, I'm trying to learn to knit continental. I've been a "thrower" ever since I learned to knit as a small child, but it seems, according to many of the people in the message boards I frequent, that continental is faster. After trying it, I think it also seems more efficient, with less wasted motion. I'm all for that! Sounds like continental makes colorwork easier too, so if I ever want to try colorwork--which I probably will someday--this will be a nice skill to have. I tried knitting continental every so often on the Curly Purly scarf, and I'm beginning to get comfortable manipulating the needles, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to hold the yarn to keep the tension even. I have trouble with the yarn either being too loose or with it all of a sudden not flowing off my finger at all. I'll keep trying.

Back to my socks. Last night I also cast on a Mason Dixon baby kimono just for fun.

Labels: scarves

Kelley's Yarns

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Jumping Right on This Bandwagon

Monday, January 22, 2007

Some Pics of FOs and WIPs

Monday, January 15, 2007

Warm Little Tootsies, Take Two

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Mason Dixon Baby Kimono

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Introducing My Bookmarks

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Links: Knitting Resources, Tutorials, Etc.

Links: Places to Buy Yarn Online

Links: Items for the Home and Accessories (Free Patterns)

Links: Grown-Up Knits (Free Patterns)

Links: Baby and Kid Knits (Free Patterns)

National De-lurking Week

Loom Knitting Links

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Well, It's Done, Anyway

My Free Patterns

Craft Blogs I Read

Other Blogs I Read

Links I Like

Crafty Charities

My Bookmarks

Blog Rings

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