Saturday 28 January 2012

Cabled Nantucket Jacket

I finished knitting this cardigan last night, I am so jazzed about this one.







I could not be more thrilled with how this turned out after being very worried about how it would fit, and what my modifications would look like.  The fit is fabulous, the drape is wonderful, and the modifications turned out better than I could have imagined.

Pattern: Nantucket Jacket by Nora Gaughan
Yarn: Berroco Love It in Sage - dyed by hand to a darker green

Needle: Circular 4.5mm and 4mm

More detailed information can be found on my Ravelry project page.Did I mention how much I love this sweater?

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Laptop Sleeve

I made this laptop sleeve for Justin because his laptop is an irregular size, and let me just say that it kicked my butt every step of the way.  It's a wonder I have a finished product.

There were measurement issues that taunted me and forced me to put everything away that I had just hauled out because the laptop was with the kid who was in class.  Then there was a matter of pattern measurements being wrong which meant ripping out work and making me feel like I needed to stab things.

When I got all that sorted out I realized that I had no clue which side of the fabric was up since I don't read Chinese and that forced another delay while I took a photo, sent it to the kid by email, and sat around waiting for a reply so that I wouldn't have to put away everything I had just hauled out again. Augh!

I am pretty sure I would have died inside a little bit if I just went ahead and sewed it up only to find out it was upside down later on. 


I finally got my answer via a return email in which he said it took him a while to get back to me because he had been in class, learning Chinese, which is only going to be funny to me when I've forgotten my angst over sewing this thing. 


It turned out that my guess was right about the writing, so I'm not that much of a cretin after all.

I am still twitching over this thing because I'm pretty sure that I need to do boxed corners before the world goes spinning off its axis. 

Anyway.


The tutorial for this sleeve is here.

I ended up doing boxed corners on the bottom edge.

 

Sunday 15 January 2012

Shabby Flower Pillow


I made this pillow a while ago and put a tutorial for it here.

Friday 13 January 2012

General Gift Wrapping

I very much like to make a nice presentation when I give a gift, and I have come to love simple rustic wrapping.  Using general kraft paper and jute from the dollar store is inexpensive, gender neutral, and gifts can be decorated for just about any occasion.


I wrapped this gift today for my young niece's birthday, using an idea found on Pinterest.  The bird was cut from card stock with a page of a book glued down using a glue stick, and the twig was compliments of my lilac tree.

Thursday 12 January 2012

Canadian Maple Leaf Mittens

I knit a pair of these mittens for myself when they became all the rage during the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics.  The Bay is still selling them in acrylic but they look shabby after a few wears. My niece asked for a pair so I knit them again in pure wool.

 

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Bunny Slippers

I knit these yesterday and hand felted them.  One of them is still drying but I thought I'd put up a post showing the one that's finished.











You start out knitting a piece shaped like this. Your cat will most likely want to supervise you.

 

You sew your seams together and end up with this.


 You wet your piece and felt the heck out of it for about an hour and end up with this.

You can buy the pattern, Hopsalots for $5.50 at Tiny Owl Knits

I used one hank of Plymouth Homestead yarn and 8mm needles.