My New (Almost) Reversible Winter Hat

I knitted this hat last Tuesday evening. I say it's almost reversible because I didn't think to flip over the knittng for the hem. Anyway, here are pictures:

 

 

 

My New Kitchen Floor!

This is my new kitchen floor. When we first moved into this house there was carpet in the kitchen and dining room. YUK!!!! Anyway, after my husband exploded an entire 2 liter of Pepsi on it he decided it was time for a change. This was installed on Thursday. Tarkett Style Brite beige roman tile.

My Favorite Sweater

While I was getting dressed this morning I was thinking about how much I really like the sweater I'm wearing today. In fact, I think it may be my absolute favorite sweater. I love almost everything about it.

 The colors are perfect, it's super warm, and it's knitted in double jacquard so there's no floats in the colorwork.

The only drawback is the length. I like my sweaters almost tunic length; and as you can see from the first picture, this sweater falls waaay short of that.

Still, I really, really like it. I'm thinking I may knit one just like it only making it the length I like. I've got a Brother machine now, so the Birdseye backing will be no problem. Now, I just have to find the perfect yarn.

Color Changer

I'm so excited! My new color changer is due in today on UPS. I'm just itching to start the ski masks for my husband's Academy Class. The color changer is going to make the process much faster and easier. In fact, I was reading the manual, and it looks like the Brother color changer is set up to allow for 2 yarns in the carriage at at time. One main yarn that doesn't change, and one contrast yarn that can be traded for anyother yarn in the changer. I'm really hoping I read that right, because that would be a VERY welcome change from what I'm used to with my Studio machine. With its color changer I can only knit with one color at a time. It's still helpful, but makes for a very lengthy knitting process.

Pictures of Kh-965i

MSATA Class 171

My new project: ski masks for Missouri Sheriff's Association Training Academy Class 171. My husband is a member of this class and he thought it would be nice to have some ski masks for weapons training which is in December.

This is my preliminary design:

The stars will be grey, the MISSOURI SHERIFF will be black and Class 171 will be white. I plan to knit it 2 layers for warmth (and to hide floats) with ribbing on the bottom.

Items Posted to Ebay!

Yay! I finally figured out how to post an item to Ebay. The knitting machine and garter carriage from the previous post are now listed. You can find them here.

For Sale: KH 836

I have for sale a Brother KH 836 punchcard knitting machine and KG 88 Garter Carriage. I'm asking $1000 or best offer for the pair. Anyone who is interested can post a comment here, email me at emfashions at yahoo dot com, or look for this listing on ebay. My ebay name is emfashions09. I will have this posted on ebay as soon as I determine appropriate shipping costs.

Finally Finished! and Other Updates...

I FINALLY finished the demo scarf for my uncle's club. It took forever in the planning and swatching stage. However, now that I've got the design down it will knit up very quickly; especially with the help of my motor.
In other news: I found a great deal on some knitting machines on craigslist. I'm getting 2 Brother KH 965's, a Brother KH 836, a Studio SK 155, and most excitedly, a Brother KE 100 motor drive! All for $1400. Also, I've finished knitting a hat and booties for my aunt's forthcoming baby. Just have the blanket to go. I hope to have pictures up tomorrow.

First Baby Present

Finally finished my first present for my aunt's baby. Now I need to knit a matching hat and booties. After all, this will be a December baby.

Success!

This is a silverfox rabbit. (well, sort of. I accidentally had a setting wrong and I cut his head off) Anyway, despite being headless, this little bunny has met my uncle's approval. Big thanks to Susan for suggesting I wind the two yarns together. (duh!) Next step is making a prototype scarf. Pictures to follow soon!

Baby's on the Way

My Aunt just recently let us know she is expecting. The baby is due December 3, so she's known for a while and just didn't clue us in. Anyway, she just found out this week that the little bundle of joy is a boy. Yea! She and her husband are dairy farmers so they were really hoping it would be a boy.

Now I just have to decide what to make for the baby shower. A baby blanket is a given; I'm thinking a full-needle tuck-rib of some sort. I have the most gorgeous Navy Blue yarn that will be perfect. Booties are another must. I'm still debating though if I want to attempt a onesie and rompers or knit a couple of raglan sweaters.... Any ideas? Pattern suggestions are also welcome. I do have Knitware, so I pretty well can do whatever, but I always have trouble making up my mind.

Maybe I'll just do one of each?

Husbands and UFOs

Isn't it amazing the lack of understanding a husband can have of the crafty personality? For example, today I was knitting a slipper when my husband comes into the room and says, "Don't you have other projects you need to finish?". Well, duh! Of course I do! Seriously, I can't be the only one who operates this way. I seem to always have at least 3 or 4 projects that need finishing; and yet I can't resist casting on something else. I always seem to have an idea in my brain that just can't wait to jump onto the needles. Oh well, I guess I'm incurable.

Two-by-Two

This is the two-by-two sweater I posted about earlier. Finally finished, washed, and worn. It fits Deanna perfectly; just in time for rain and cooler weather this fall.

Silver Fox Rabbit Continues...

This is a swatch I pile-knit this morning. This is the look I am wanting for the rabbit, with the black & grey appearing to be randomly dispersed. Anyone have any ideas how to achieve this look without pile-knitting?

Picture of Silver Fox Rabbit

This is what the rabbit in the previous post is supposed to look like. I got the color combination right, but I can't figure out how to knit him so the colors all show up correctly without ending up "stripey" like my example below.

Help! Suggestions, Please

This is supposed to look like a Silver Fox Rabbit. My uncle breeds them and he asked me to knit him a scarf with one on it. I'm having trouble with the colors though. Basically, it's a black rabbit with grey ticking. As you can see, I tried knitting with black and grey together. This didn't work as well as intended. I am looking for ideas. Any suggestion at all is welcome.

Work in Progress

I've been really busy lately, no time to machine knit. But I have managed to squeeze in some time for knitting. This is my current project: a sweater for my daughter. It ought to fit her right around Christmas time. As you can see the body is finished. (I just couldn't resist knitting the neck-line and sewing the shoulders. He, He!) All I have left is to knit the other sleeve, sew them on, finish the side seams and hide all the ends. Sounds extensive when you write it down; but other than the knitting, the finishing ought to only take a half hour or so.

Project Idea

Ok, so my cousin Alex asked me to knit him a pair of slippers. I am planning on using Diana's slipper pattern, but I want to make his unique. He's in a band and is going to be a senior in high school this year. I'm thinking black with guitars and music notes for the slipper proper and red for the lining. I think I'll knit it in a fingering weight yarn so it's not to hot. Pictures to follow soon, I hope.

Addendum to Annoyances Post

My sister reminded me this morning of another pattern annoyance that I had forgotten. Patterns with charts that leave out information. Specifically, what I am talking about is a pattenr she and I were crocheting with a star pattern, the pattern started out with 24 sts, but the chart only showed 22. We later figured out that the extra two stitches were selvedge, but they weren't on the chart, nor was there any mention of them in the written instructions. Finally, after following the chart there was one row of background color to stitch. One entire row that was not mentioned in the instructions! Talk abou infuriating!

Changes

Hey, I just noticed that my comment settings required people to sign in with a Google account to be able to post a comment. I certainly don't want that. So, I fixed it so that anyone, including those who wish to remain anonymous, may post comments.

Also, you may have noticed, I finally updated my followed blogs gadget (to the right). It now contains my complete list of the blogs I read. (well, until tomorrow when I find more to read!)

Posting Notes

A note to my loyal readers (both of you, lol). From time to time you may notice that my blog posts have a tendancy to change formatting a little bit from when they are initially posted. This is because I typically post from my cell phone then go back and fix the formatting later. The main reason I have a blog is so my ideas don't get lost in the moment; posting by phone allows me quick access to my blog and the ability to record my thoughts quickly then move on with life!

Annoyances in Published Patterns

I've been doing some hand-knitting lately and I've decided that their are some definite annoyances in modern printed patterns. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Patterns that start on one page, but finish elsewhere (newspaper style)- This annoys me in newspapers too. But at least there they have a somewhat legitimate reason for it. In a magazine or book there is ABSOLUTELY no reason to split a pattern up like this.
2. Patterns that don't tell what weight yarn they use. I very rarely use the yarn the pattern calls for; I guess I could be the Queen of Substitution. I just don't see why I should have to pay for designer yarn when there is a yarn at half the price one shelf over. Substitutions aside, in as little as 5 years from when the pattern is written the particular yarn can be discontinued. Without a weight specified, how can you knit the pattern?
3. Patterns with guages that are impossible to obtain on the size needle or hook specified.
4. Patterns that use multiple sizes of needles/hooks to do shaping. Occassionally, this is fine, but for a small project- like a hat- it is really annoying to have to carry six sizes of needles with me. (maybe I'm the only person bothered by this?)
5. Garment patterns that don't give finished measurements AND a diagram. (this is one of my major peeves; I think everything else can be preposterous with a pattern, but as long as you have a diagram with sizes I'm fine)
6. Patterns that tell you to knit or crochet for a specified number of inches. Seriously? What's the point of specifying a row guage if you're not going to use it. Come now do some math with me 5 in X 6 rows per inch = 30 rows. Wow, now that wasn't so hard! Now I realize that magazines have space limits; but it takes much less space to say continue in pattern for 30 rows, than to say continue in pattern until work measures 5 inches from beginning ending on a wrong side row.

Blanket for My Husband

Ok, so here it is, I used this fabric to make a crib bumper for baby girl's bed and my husband- who is a HUGE Peanuts fan- insisted that I had to make him a blanket with the left-overs. This is a throw blanket about a 5ft square. Would have liked to make it bigger, but that's all the fabric I had.

Tuscaloosa Tornado

As I mentioned briefly in my last post, I was in Tuscaloosa for the tornado. The gentleman behind the desk (Ian) at our hotel was kind enough to let me link to his Photobucket stream for pictures. Click Here. There are a lot of pictures here. Most of this is just a block or two from the hotel we were staying at.

Our hotel wasn't harmed (Praise the Lord!). And Cynthia- the hotel lady that was working that night- was an absolute Godsend. She made sure we were all in the laundry room safe when the storm hit; she also made sure we all had glow sticks and flashlights. If you are ever in Tuscaloosa, AL stop by Microtel Inn and Suites on 15th st and see Cynthia- she'll take good care of you.

Massive Updates

Ok, so it's been a while since I posted, lets see if I can fill in the gaps. I finished a set of curtains for my son's room. (look closly, they're Charlie Brown) I was in Tuscaloosa for a computer class just in time for the tornado. (my hotel was on 15th street) BTW, I'm fine. Made a trip to Corpus Christi to see my father-in-law who had a stroke on Valentine's Day. I'm working on another Mizzou blanket. This one to take to Columbia for approval. And... I think that's it. Will repost if I remember anything else.

Finally finished!

It's finally done. I gave the blanket to Becky last Sunday; and baby Reece arrived today.

Almost Done

Just have to bind off the ends and sew the pannels together. I think it really turned out great. The electronic machine really makes doing double jacquard soo much easier. I knitted the entire blanket without a single dropped or misknit stitch. Yea!!! I will post final pictures as soon as I finish the blanket. I'm hoping that will be as early as tomorrow night.

Baby Blanket

Gotta make 2 side pannels; it's not wide enough. Do you think it will make a good blanket for Becky's baby?

Blanket for Becky

This is the blanket I'm working on for my friend's new baby. I was stupid and didn't notice til halfway through that I had swapped the background and foreground colors. So, I reversed the polarity on my phone so you could see the design better. What do you think? I am in no way affialiated with University of Missouri. This image is used soley for the purposes of illustration and not for any gain monetary or otherwise.

Updates

I have updated the completed projects page to include my most recent projects. I have a feeling that soon I'm going to have to make a second page for them as the current page will soon be taking to long to load all the pictures.

Also, I added a new page th the blog. Are you 100% sure that if God were to end your life today that you would go to heaven? The Bible tells us how we can know for sure that we will go to Heaven when we die. If you don't know Christ as your personal savior; I urge you, get saved today. Christians, please feel free to copy this page for your blog or other social media. Let us use this wonderful resource God has provided for us to reach the world for Christ!

Birdseye Backing Method Discovered!

A while back I was speculating on a method of doing birdseye backing on a Studio machine. Well, I ran across these nifty instructions while I was looking for something else and thought I would share my findings.

This really is an awesome blog, so much awesome and useful information! I urge you to check it out.

BTW. Birdseye backing can be made automatically on a Studio machine with the use of an RJ-1 ribber carriage. However, since these carriages are no longer being made and the people who have them are unwilling to part with them; the rest of us will just have to do it the long way.

9/21/11 Update:
When doing birdseye backing using this method be sure to have the ribber carriage set to tuck not slip. Also remember to change it back to slip when you are finished or your next tubular cast on will be a mess.

Check This Out!

I didn't knit this sweater; I found it at a yard sale last summer. I got it out recently while I was sorting out my son's clothes. Isn't the wrong side interesting? Best as I can tell, whoever knitted this worked a chain stitch with the floats on the back side after the sweater was finished. What a great way to keep baby fingers from getting tangled!

Anyone know what copyright laws are for college logos? I'm working on a baby blanket with a certain school's logo on it for a friend of mine. I'd like to post a picture of it, but I don't want to get in trouble for violating copyright laws.

Shell's Hat

I made this hat for a co-worker of mine who absolutely freezes in winter. I wanted a hat that would be warm, but would still breathe. I used a thin yarn at tension 3 on my standard machine. Basically, the hat is a long tube with both ends gathered and one tucked inside the other. The pattern follows:

• 
  CO 45L to 45R both beds. T3.


• K 50R full needle rib.


• K 250R English Rib.


• K 50R full needle rib.


• Cast off circular on waste yarn.


• Sew smiles-and-frowns cast off.


• Sew side to make tube, gather ends. Nest one in inside the other to form hat. Sew to secure.

I used English Rib for the body of the hat to make it warm and dense. The full needle rib on both ends helps to draw in the top of the hat so it's not as bulky on top of the head. I made a second one for her in black, but it doesn't photograph very well.

Mama's Blanket

This is a Knee Blanket I made for my mother. She has bad knees and always carries a blanket with her to keep them from getting cold. This is a tuck rib pattern called "Hearts and Cables".

Chain Stitch

 This is one of the letters on Adam's PJs. They were too plain in straight white so I'm working a chain stitch around them. For this I am using a tapestry needle and actually "embroidering" the chain stitch. It's exactly the same stitch as if I'd used a crochet hook and drew up loops through the fabric. (which, by the way, I tried) This, in my opinion, looks waay better. Using the tapestr needle gives me better control of the tension on the yarn so my stitches come out more even. Plus, working a crochet chain through a fabric is really awkward. It's difficult to see what you're doing and where the yarn is.

You can see the difference in the two pictures. The "E" I made with the tapestry needle for the "G" I used the crochet hook. Notice how th stitches are much smaller and tighter. It's hard to tell from the picture, but those tight stitches are actually causing the fabric to pucker a little bit. I'll have to take it out and redo it later. For now though I'm going to bed. Good night, all!

Lace!!!

Singer 560 Lace- simple lace on bottom, fashion lace on top

Finally! I made a lace sample that didn't jump off the needles or transfer wrong. This was made on my Singer 560 electronic. Previous attempts were made on a Studio SK280, a punchcard machine. I don't know if the electronic "brain" vs the punchcard is what made the difference or if I just am more experienced now. Either way I'm excited to finally be able to knit lace.

Adam's PJ Pants

These aren't completely finished yet, but I couldn't wait any longer to share them. I still need to work in all the ends and work a chain stitch in yellow around all the letters (maybe). And, of course, they need to be washed. They are a lot baggier than I envisioned them; nut this was my first time using the knit contour, and I had to make my own pattern. Next pair I'll taper the legs instead of making them straight.

Soo Bored...

It's snowing in Missouri, again! I am so tired of snow. My boss makes me stay home when it snows, so I'm stuck at the house with nothing to do. I'd much rather be at work; dealing with people's flooring issues is so much better than being stuck at home with nothing to do. Luckily, Blogger supports mobile blogging, so at least I can rant about being bored.

PJ Pants & My Knitting Machine

Front, Left leg of PJ pants

This is one of the front pieces for my husband's PJs. The "G" is a little wonky, but believe me it's the best looking one I could make in this font.

On a side note I am absolutely loving my Singer 560. The patterning capabilities are amazing because it's electronic; and the built in knit contour makes garments incredibly easy to knit. Also, the electronic "brain" is built-in, so there's no need to buy a pattern controller or any software. What's even better is that if I ever want to invest in DAK this machine will work with it!

New Fonts

Have you noticed? Blogger has added new fonts. 77 to be exact. Soo much better than being stuck with Arial and Helvetica all the time.

Brett's Slippers

My son is 17 months old and absolutely refuses to keep socks on his feet. The last week here in Missouri we've gotten a lot of snow, so it's been kinda cold in the house. I determined that Brett needed a pair of slippers. The pattern is from Red Heart and is actually supposed to have a bunny on top. Of course that made them to "girly" for my little man. So the bunnies made a quick exit. I added some extra height and a button around his ankle so he can't pull them off.

Birdseye Backing

Studio machine birdseye backing by setting carriage to slip, then pulling EON out to D every row? Time consuming, but worth it? And will it work?

Weekend Projects



Hand Knit Elephant



Ok, so maybe they were weekday projects; but when you're snowed in what else are you going to do?

To the right is a hand-knit elephant I've been working on since before Deanna was born. She's only 4 months old, so I guess it's not been that long. 



Hem

 
This is the hem on a pair of PJ pants I'm working on for my Husband. I'm really excited about them; this is the first thing Adam has asked me to make for him. I'm hoping they turn out good.; I haven't had much practice with the knit contour. 



The picture below is the actual back piece of the pants. This picture was taken right off the machine; after they have been sewn and washed the curl should go away. (Yes, those are my toes holding the hem down for the pic!)

Back Right PJ Pant

Pictures (Finally) of Swirl Cable Doily

Doily

 As promised, I am finally posting pictures of my completed doily. Here it is to the left. As you can see I used Diana's Swirl Baby Blanket pattern and added cables every other panel. I made this on a standard guage machine over 31 needles. To finish, I added a sew-as-you-go cable border instead of using the "worm" border Diana used.

Cable Border

To the left is a close up of the cable panel and cable border. The border turned out a little "loopy". Next time I'll add another stitch on the edge next to the doily and see if that helps.

Pile-Knit Bear?

The other day I was thinking about all the teddy bears I made in Jr. High and High School and how I haven't made any in a while. Then I used fake fur or just plain fabric for the pieces, which were sewed together. I have been looking for a machine knit teddy bear pattern, but have been unable to find one that I liked. Then, I had a thought, what if I made a basic pile-knit fabric and used it to make a cut-n-sew bear. That would give me control over the fabric color and density, as well as letting me make a "furry" fabric that is washable. By using Cluster Stuf for the stuffing, I would have a machine washable bear that wouldn't bunch up; which wolud make a great present for my messy children.

Work In Progress

This is the doily before washing. Isn't it pretty?

Isn't She Adorable?

Deanna wearing Diana's Short Row Baby Hat.