This weekend the boys and I made some felted beads. We used this tutorial from knitty, and it was really fun. Essentially you roll the roving loosely in your hands, then you can add more and more pressure as it starts to felt. Not all of them felted completely, but that's okay. Now I just need to get some more colors of roving to make some more. :)
And of course, with a title like "fun with fiber," this post ought to contain a roundup of what I'm knitting. I AM KNITTING WAY TOO MANY DIFFERENT PROJECTS. Apparently I get a little crazy when I only have little projects going, nothing big like Baby Sister's jacket or my sweater. So here is an abridged version of the current projects. First, Roza's socks. I am loving the Socks that Rock yarn - the colors are gorgeous, and the sock is knitting up nice and tight. No way these will stretch out of shape, as my monkey socks are threatening to do. These are the gift socks, but the other skein of STR I bought was for me, so now I am extra excited to knit with it. In January, of course . . . sigh. I'm nearly done with the first sock:
Second are some plain stockinette mittens for J. I knit him mittens last winter, actually I believe they were the first project I blogged about, but it was when I was first learning Magic Loop and knitting on circulars with really crappy cables, and I put in some ill-advised colorwork, and well, they kind of sucked. These are much better. I'm using chunky wool/silk/cashmere yarn (sounds more expensive than it really was) and size 9 Addis so the fabric is very dense. No breezes getting through these on his morning run - which he does all year long. The man needs warm mittens. One down, one to go.
Next up is yet another Montego Bay scarf. What can I say, Christmas knitting is all about repetition. You find the simple project you like, and everybody gets one. This year it's scarves, although I probably won't do lace ones for the guys on my list. I did scarves a couple of years ago, the first year I learned to knit, and I really need to atone for those scarves. I knew nothing about gauge, and while I realized using bulky yarn would make the projects go faster, I did not realize I should use bigger needles to go with it. Bulky yarn, size 8 needles. Those are the scarves to be wearing if you are ever in a car accident - your neck will not move an inch. And then you can lend them to your friends who did get whiplash to use as neck braces.
And, lastly, I've been working on a bunch of hats for the craft fair. To avoid going insane with boredom, I've been experimenting a little with knitting them sideways. I think this hat is knit that way, although I didn't use a pattern. The first one, in garter stitch, came out, um, a little big, but I did a second in stockinette and I kind of like it. The second picture is blurry, but you can still see how the top looks. The next experiment will be to see if I can get rid of the seam by using a provisional cast-on and grafting it at the end. Hopefully that will work out.
Second are some plain stockinette mittens for J. I knit him mittens last winter, actually I believe they were the first project I blogged about, but it was when I was first learning Magic Loop and knitting on circulars with really crappy cables, and I put in some ill-advised colorwork, and well, they kind of sucked. These are much better. I'm using chunky wool/silk/cashmere yarn (sounds more expensive than it really was) and size 9 Addis so the fabric is very dense. No breezes getting through these on his morning run - which he does all year long. The man needs warm mittens. One down, one to go.
Next up is yet another Montego Bay scarf. What can I say, Christmas knitting is all about repetition. You find the simple project you like, and everybody gets one. This year it's scarves, although I probably won't do lace ones for the guys on my list. I did scarves a couple of years ago, the first year I learned to knit, and I really need to atone for those scarves. I knew nothing about gauge, and while I realized using bulky yarn would make the projects go faster, I did not realize I should use bigger needles to go with it. Bulky yarn, size 8 needles. Those are the scarves to be wearing if you are ever in a car accident - your neck will not move an inch. And then you can lend them to your friends who did get whiplash to use as neck braces.
And, lastly, I've been working on a bunch of hats for the craft fair. To avoid going insane with boredom, I've been experimenting a little with knitting them sideways. I think this hat is knit that way, although I didn't use a pattern. The first one, in garter stitch, came out, um, a little big, but I did a second in stockinette and I kind of like it. The second picture is blurry, but you can still see how the top looks. The next experiment will be to see if I can get rid of the seam by using a provisional cast-on and grafting it at the end. Hopefully that will work out.
By the way, are you getting sick of looking at the inside of my bathroom? I know I am.
And that's about it. Not entirely it; there are still some more boring craft-fair hats, but I'd hate for you to doze off at your computer. You'd end up with the keyboard imprint on your forehead - not attractive.
And that's about it. Not entirely it; there are still some more boring craft-fair hats, but I'd hate for you to doze off at your computer. You'd end up with the keyboard imprint on your forehead - not attractive.
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