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Sooo I’ve started swapping again. I signed up for an Alice in Wonderland swap and I’m doing ows again. I claimed A2K for some plarn and an ewok pin cushion.
Plarn is a portmanteau of plastic bag yarn. I used this tutorial to make yarn from the collection of plastic bags I’ve got kicking around.
I got a total of 202 yards in two skeins. I used my rotary cutter to slice the strips and it actually went pretty quickly. I keep forgetting to bring my reusable bags when I go grocery shopping, so I’ve got quite the collection of plastic bags. I might make some of this yarn myself and use it in weaving.
The other thing I made for the swap is an Ewok.
Pattern: Wicket the Ewok but I mostly just winged it
Yarn: Scraps. Cascade Eco and wool recycled from a sweater with a bit of colorwork.
Hook: 3.75 mm
Mods: I mostly made things up as I went, so there are a lot. Plus I used fabric for the hood and stitched it in place.
Once I finished all the pieces and stitched him together (mostly just the arms since I made the legs, body, and head all in one piece), I used a hand carder to brush out the yarn and make him fuzzy. He’s stuffed with yarn scraps from weaving, so he’s wool all the way through.
I’m particularly pleased with the hood. I played with the fabric and draping for a while before I stitched it down. I tried to crochet the hood, but I kept running out of whatever color I started it in. I guess it takes way more than I was allocating. Oh well. The fabric hood came out really nicely.
There’s a good chance that by the time this posts, the little ewok and the plarn will have made it to their destination. I hope A2K likes them!
Okay, first off: I’m fine, my folks are fine. We’re in DC and just got some rain. Never even lost power. My heart goes out to those in NY and Delaware (including the boy’s folks and my aunt) and everywhere else and I hope everyone’s okay or at least doing the best they can.
In lighter knittier news, I knit a scarf. It’s for Ongoing Wish Swap, which I got around to rejoining. It’s a super simple scarf–just knit length-wise in garter.
Pattern: I CO like 175 and worked garter stitch
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Yarn: All the leftover bits from shark mittens. As you can see, shark mittens have been many shades over the years.
It has fringe. I’m pretty chuffed with it. Sort of displeased I have to send it away, but I think I’m going to make a similar one for myself with the various other wool scraps I have kicking around. I’m thinking rainbow colors. Fun.
I took a picture of this the other day intending to do a WIP post of everything I’m working on, but I realized I was only a couple of rows from the end, so I just finished it and photographed the finished scarf. I will have a WIP post up soon as even though I’ve been remiss about posting, I have certainly been knitting and working on lots of things.
If you’re on the East coast, stay safe and dry. I know I got super lucky but a lot of people didn’t.
I made some things for a swap. They are not particularly ground-breaking, but I quite like how they turned out. : ) I claimed Craftster user SciFunk for felted nesting bowls and something else I had yet to determine. Here are the felted bowls:
I used Lamb’s Pride, Lion Wool, and some orange wool (I think Cascade 220?). And another color of Cascade 220. I like making these little bowls. They’re super quick and a great way to use up small bits of wool. Crochet a bowl, throw in the washer and dryer and hit it with some steam and an ironing and you have cute bowls.
After much dithering and pouring over SciFunk’s list, I finally decided what else to make for her. Dog toys was on her list, so I whipped up three rope toys:
I used strips of t-shirt fabric from some left-over sleeves (from the university shirt-quilt I’m making and will show pictures of eventually). Cut off the hem, cut the sleeve open, and cut across for a straight strip. Tie a knot in the top, braid, and tie a knot in the bottom. Voila!
The thicker ones used both sleeves of each shirt (so there were six strips) and the thinner one used one sleeve (three strips). They took about 10 minutes to make all of them and that’s only because the bottom knots in the thicker ones were a little difficult to tie. If my dog actually enjoyed this sort of thing, I’d make some for him, but he doesn’t.
One of my OWS partners recently received what I sent her, so it’s high time I showed it here! I’m pretty pleased with how everything came out. I claimed her for a minion ami (from the movie Despicable Me) and some felted nesting bowls.
I used some acrylic I had kicking around. I didn’t really follow a pattern but I looked at a couple crochet versions and sort of made it up as I went. I think it came out pretty well. The eye is made out of felt cause I didn’t want to crochet a little circle (it would have been too thick). I think he came out pretty cute!
The yarns used for the bowls, all leftovers from other things, are, from outside in, Lion Wool Solid, Berocco Alpaca Ultra, a different color of Lion Wool, and Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride. I crocheted them and chucked them in the washer then steamed/ironed them to smooth out the wrinkles.
My partner (LuckDragon on Craftster) seemed to like what I sent her. : ) I’ve just claimed someone else for a set of nesting bowls, so expect to see them again here soon.
So I finished a thing for OWS. I actually finished several things but like a dummy forgot to take pictures and this one I haven’t sent off yet (so if you’re Quaggy on Craftster, you should probably not look).
Anyway, I made a totebag, based off of this one on her wists. I tried to copy it at least in spirit, though I’m pretty pleased with what I came up with:
Pattern: I made it up as I went. Might put together a pattern. Might not. It’s pretty simple. Make hexagons. Sew them together. Make handle.
Yarn: Acrylic from an estate sale (which I suspect to be Red Heart Super Saver). The purple multi is Jo Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle, which I actually bought at Jo Ann’s a few years ago. Cause I’m classy.
Hook: (yep, this is crochet! Gasp!) I/9 5.5 mm. I crochet kind of loosely though.
So I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve got going on here. It was pretty quick to make (I made up a couple of hexagons per day in between other things and crocheted them together as I went). I haven’t made any large-scale crochet projects in a while (and I don’t usually, as I prefer knitting). It was nice to use different hand muscles, though I must admit I overdid it on a couple of days and make my hand sore. : /
I lightly steamed the body of the bag to make it less stiff, but the gauge is tight enough that I don’t think it needs a lining. I didn’t steam the handle because I wanted it to be stiffer/more sturdy, and I think I accomplished that.
I also finished another thing, knitted this time. I made a shorter version of my Leah vest to work out the shaping (and also cause I wanted it). I still have to take proper pictures of it, so I’ll leave that for another post. In the mean time, I’ve cast on for a hat with a nice big brim for shading my face from the sun.
Also, there’s that graduation thing happening on Saturday. You know, no big. : )
I received today what is posssibly the greatest OWS thing ever. bergman claimed me for oven mitts and a wisty surprise. The oven mitts are super pretty, and will get lots of use:
The wisty surprise she included is the greatest thing in the history of ever and something I’ve had on my wists for a while:
Dear Bergman,
Here is all of my love.
– Brinn
I recently finished another OWS claim:
Pattern: None, but I think I’ll write it up.
Yarn: Let’s see… From bottom to top, Cascade 220 Superwash, chain plied wool from a thrift store sweater, Soy Wool Solids, and vintage wool I bought at the thrift store.
Needles: US 6/4 mm dpns
So these came out a little big for me, which is fine because I have small hands and I realize normal people have larger hands than me. Regardless, I really like them. I love the garter stitch cuff and the overlap (onto which I’ll probably sew a button when I get around to re-knitting them for myself and also so I can write down the pattern this time) and the fingers. I’ll knit my finger cuffs a little shorter so my fingers don’t feel quite so squished cause my fingers feel a little squished in worsted weight knit cuffs.
Currently on the needles is something I’ve been planning for a while (it’s one of the first designs on the knitting design page of my notebook (used for sketching/school notes/fiction/poetry scribblings), and I think you guys are gonna like it when I show you pictures. It’s not my usual style–instead of chunky and whimsical, it’s more dainty and feminine, but still. I think you’ll like it. : )
I finished a hat for an Ongoing Wish Swap claim. For those who aren’t familiar with OWS, it’s basically a chain swap–person A posts a listC B makes something on that list and posts their list; C makes something from B’s list and posts their list. The swap on Craftster is on it’s 62nd round (there’s a new round every month), so it’s been going on forever. I’ve been participating off and on for about a year and a half, and it’s definitely my favorite swap. Usually, you know exactly what to expect.
In this case, I claimed Burgz for a Vortex hat:
Pattern: Vortex, from Knitty
Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Wool (in Deep Teal) and Plymouth Galway (in grey)
Needles: US 9/6 mm I think. Possibly 6.5mm.
Mods: None. Knit as written.
So let me tell you about this hat. It’s… odd, to say the least. I for one could not pull it off even a little bit. It is not my style. The regular, non-point version? Sure. Yeah. This? Not so much.
But it’s not for me. It’s for Burgz, who specifically requested it via her OWS list. And even though the pattern was kind of a pain in the ass and I was glued to it for the entire construction of the hat, a hat is a pretty small thing so it worked up quickly and came out mostly how it’s supposed to.
Anyway, I hope Burgz likes it!
So my first week at school has been pretty busy, hence the lack of posting. That isn’t to say I haven’t been crafting–I have definitely been crafting. And organizing. My craft area sort of looks organized (which if you know me at all is something of an accomplishment). I’ve been busy knitting for swaps (and as I mentioned before, I started a sweater for me). I recently finished two items for an OWS claim:
Pattern: Mary Jane Slippers for what seems like the hundreth time.
Yarn: Vintage wool, which I’m trying desperately to use up since I’m not crazy about it.
Hook: 3.75 mm (f)
Mods: I don’t think any.
I’ve made this pattern so many times I sometimes forgot it’s not my pattern. I don’t usually repeat patterns and certainly not to the degree of this one, so I sometimes forget I’m not just makin’ it up. : )
Pattern: None; I knit the brim flat and picked up stitches for the top part of the hat.
Yarn: More of that vintage wool. I’m down to less than 50g I think.
Needle: US 7/4.5 mm
This yarn frustrates me (nothing wrong with it; I just don’t like the color and I had a lot of it), but I like how the hat came out. It’s cute. I love seed stitch. : ) Not much to say about it; it was pretty easy to make.
In other crafting news, I recently received a crap ton of fabric from an OWS claim, but I’m waiting on one more OWS package, so I’ll just show you all at once. I’m also knitting up some swatches for a WWYF swap (one in linen stitch ❤ and one in stockinette) for which I received a lovely shawl pin. I'll show you that when I show you the OWS stuff. I also recently finished a thing for a friend's birthday, which I will try to show you on Monday. It's super cute.
So I also recently claimed puzzler for some slippers and some notecards. I turned to my trusty slipper pattern and…
Pattern: Mary Jane Slippers from Oh My Goodknits
Yarn: Lion Wool in Dark Teal or somesuch
Hook: 3.75 mm/F
Mods: Made them longer to fit a US size 9/10ish foot.
This is possibly the fourth or fifth time I’ve made slippers from this pattern. It’s a good pattern and it consistently produces good slippers. Also, it’s HELLA fast. Like, two hours for the pair maybe. Very fast. One of these days I’ll make a pair for myself maybe, but in the meantime, they’re great for swaps. Everyone likes slippers, right? : )
Anyway, I also made notecards, as I mentioned above:
I stuck with simple cause that was Puzzler’s request and I really like how they came out. Especially the turtle. I love the turtle. The next time I have to congratulate someone via card, I’m totally making another one. : )
PS: Don’t forget about the giveaway to win a copy of one of my patterns!
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 