Felted Knitting Bag Update

Here is the work of the week. I found the incorporating of the two colors to be a bit tedious, but it sure does look great! I started with the yellow which will be along to top (lean you left ear to your left shoulder to follow along with the picture)) of the white diamonds which are starting to appear. I have just switched to green which will be along to bottom border of the white diamonds.

I am so needing this knitting bag! Our puppy sure does like to find every opportunity to get any yarn she can find and pull it all over the house! Here she is being peaceful on green grass!
Does anyone remember what that looks like?

Procrastinating on the Corn Wash Cloth!

OK, this is a problem. The longer I ignore the rolled up edges on the wash cloth I made from the corn yarn, the more rolled up they get!

My research for tonight is going to be reading up on what do people really do with items made out of corn? The texture is very soft and the look is similar to 100% cotton yarns.

I love the colors and the feel, I'm just not sure in the purpose of this one. Corn generally does not seem to be a high maintenance item! It is used in so many everyday items like food and fuel. Why not wear it? Because it rolls up to half its original size.

I'll keep you posted!

If anyone has some great ideas for me please share!!

Dishcloth yarns comparison

Here is the latest picture of my combination dishcloth. At this point I would say they are wearing about equally. They appear to be fading at about the same rate. The texture of the two is also equal. I'll keep using it and keep you posted on the progress.

A few notes to self. The judge at the Minnesota State Fair made a great and honest observation. My casting off is a bit tight. Can't hide from that one! Also, I need to do a better job of sewing in my yarn ends.

On another note, I am half way through the diamonds on my knitting bag!! Yeah!!

Felted Knitting Bag Update

Valentine's Day is pretty low key at our house. We started the day with pink pancakes and Valentine cards for all. Then in the afternoon kid #5 and I made and decorated valentine cakes for everyone for dinner. That left plenty of couch time for knitting by the fire.

I did it! I made it to the top of the diamonds. Now my progress is quite slow while I figure out how to wrap the two colors as I knit. I am getting the hang of it. Row 2 of the diamonds has gone faster than row 1. Once I finish the diamonds I am home free!! Remember I started knitting at the top of the bag and I am working toward the bottom. I keep reminding myself of this too.

Here is a picture of what the pattern shows for the finished product. I changed the stripping pattern a little bit. My confidence is growing as I feel like the bag is still going to look great and I did not have to be a literalist for this one!

Felted Knitting Bag Update

Here it is, as promised...here is my knitting bag after a week of knitting.
I was knitting every chance I got:

• while watching The Bachelor, and the View. Thank you God for the person who invented the DVR!
• (Yes, I secretly watch the Bachelor, well not anymore! I am so intrigued by the whole scenario.)
  
• when I got to school early to pick up kids.
• in the doctors office waiting room.
• while watching the View.
• during swimming lessons.

I really lost out on time last night. I forgot that today is the day to celebrate St. Valentine's Day at school. With some elementary schoolers in our house we had a lot of Valentine's to write out!!

This weekend appears to be rather empty of plans, let's see if I can get to the bottom border by Sunday night!

Knitting with Corn

I finished knitting a piece with my corn yarn. I started with the hank above and then started knitting...


I started knitting with my favorite size 9 bamboo needles. The knit is a bit too loose, so this was ripped out. I began again with size 7 needles...
Here it is on my ironing board. I will need to figure out how to block it. I know that blocking can be important...just not sure exactly how to approach this one. Laura, from 3 Kittens told me that one of her customers said that her project melted on the edges when she ironed it!! I didn't know corn could melt. Did it smell like popcorn?

Anyway, the feel of this piece seems more appropriate for a wash cloth than a dish cloth. The curly edges are bugging me, so I will need to look into this one!

Knitted Valentine Ideas

I receive newsletters from many different yarn shops and yarn sellers. There were some super cute Valentine ideas in the Lion Brand newsletter this week.

Some of the things you can make are socks, cute little envelopes, heart string mittens, a valentine pouch, love birds, etc. There is even a no knit or crochet pattern for kids (probably grown ups too) http://cache.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternFinder.fcgi?search=Search&store=%2Fstores%2Feyarn&resultPageTemplate=ResultPage.html&resultItemTemplate=ResultItem.txt&noResultPageTemplate=NoResultPage.html&case=no&primaryServer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lionbrand.com&minPrice=0&noBoolean=1&searchText=valentine&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&sT=1 Yes, that's the biggest link I have ever seen!

If you have a few moments for some creativity this week give them a try! I will be continuing to work on my knitting bag to see how far I can get by Friday!

It's time for a Knitting Bag

When I knit I have gotten into the habit of using the bag the yarn came in to hold it. Usually, not the best choice! A. It is so full there is no wiggle room to grab a color from the bottom. B. The scissors and stitch markers get lost in the shuffle. C. The needle points poke through the bag. Can you see the rip in the really thin plastic? I'm not sure that this bag will make it through the project. I am posting a challenge to myself to see how far I can get by Friday...I'll share with you on Friday. What I didn't realize when I started this project is that I am knitting the bag from the top down. Here is what I have so far...

This looks like a huge bag. The last step is to felt it. Ok, I must start knitting to see how far I can get my Friday!

Handknit Dishcloths

I went to visit my mom Sunday afternoon for a movie (The Changeling) and knitting time. I made a lot of progress on my knitting bag, more on that later.





When I arrived, my mom showed me what she had been working on...

Dishcloths are so versatile. You can use any color you want and you can make any pattern you want. They are a great way to practice a new stitch before moving on to a larger project! And who doesn't appreciate a new dishcloth?