Warm Ewe Up: Blog Question #5

I've been slacking on my blog entries for the "Warm Ewe Up" swap. Here's the current topic: What knitting/crochet pattern have you worked that you could see yourself making over and over and never get tired of?

I'm someone who doesn't tire of doing things over and over if I enjoy them. I find them comforting, I guess.

I'm happy to eat the same thing for several days in a row. I can make a big pan of veggie lasagne and eat it for days.

When I used to do the Ann Arbor Art Fair, I always read Pride and Prejudice while I sat in my booth. Every year.

So I think I could handle making one pattern over and over. Probably a felted bag. When I participated in The Big Bag swap, I made the first bag and then right away made another for a swapper who didn't get her package. I didn't mind it, but I wasn't in love with the pattern so I probably won't make more. But if I found a pattern I absolutely loved, I suspect I could make many of the same bags.

And then there's the Kringle hat from Hip Knit Hats. I've made 7 -- 5 for nieces, 1 for a swap partner, and 1 for Warm Woolies. I could make more if I had more victims. :) They're easy, colorful, and awfully adorable!

The Big Bag

I got word from my "spoilee" that she received my package for The Big Bag KAL & swap. So now I can post about it and not spoil any surprises!

I had a lot of fun with this bag. Of course, it's right up my alley -- a bag that's felted. One of my favorite things to knit.

The only problem I ran into was running out of yarn. I ran out of 3 out of the 4 yarns. I'm a loose knitter, and I'm sure that's part of it. But the yarn I used (Cascade 220) has 20 yards more per skein than the yarn in the pattern. So you'd think they'd even each other out.

Anyway, I was so low on the 3rd color (lime green) that I ended up adding a 5th color (yellow) so the bag would be tall enough. I think it worked out fine, but I'm glad I happened to have a color in my stash that looked good with the others.

My "spoilee" gave me lots of leeway with the color choices. She just said that she likes bright colors. I looked at her Ravelry profile and found that she had knitted with a lot of blue, so I decided to use blue as the base color. And... of course.... I love lime, navy, and aqua together!

One of the nice things about the pattern is that it narrows at the top a bit. This seems to take care of the problem with so many felted bags -- the top felts wider than the rest of the bag.

Roses in January

I love all kinds of felt, but my favorites are felted knits and felt made with recycled materials.

My newest felt projects are roses made with recycled felt. At this time of the year it's pretty easy to find 100% wool coats and sweaters at thrift shops. A tired winter coat is transformed into fun felt treasures.

You start with a long strip of nice felt. Edge it with machine satin stitch (I do about 3 layers of stitching) in machine embroidery thread. Do the same thing for the leaf, then straight stitch veins on the leaf.

Roll up the strip of felt starting with a wider end. Double it back upon itself and gather bits along the way. Hand sew it all together, sew on the leaf, and then end up by sewing on a pin on the back.

Ta-da, roses in winter! Aren't they fun? They'd be great pinned on a winter hat, coat, or to soften a suit or to individualize a little black dress....

Look for them in my Etsy shop.

Knitting in Winter

Here's the topic for week #2 of the Hot Cocoa Swap:

Now that we're in the thick of 'Winter'... has your knitting changed to match the season? Are you moving on from dishcloths, and tank tops to afghans, hats and mittens? Has your yarn changed from silk or cotton to wool, superwash or heavier cottons?

My knitting always tends to be a bit seasonal. It's not particularly comfortable to knit with hot wooly things in the middle of the summer, and I tend to want to do that in the winter...

However, I try to look ahead a little in my knitting. I'll probably slow down on the winter-related items soon. I don't want to get started on winter stuff if it starts getting too late to use it this year...

What am I currently knitting? I just finished this adorable felted bag for a swap partner (you make a bag and fill it with goodies for your partner), it's from the Vogue "On The Go" Felting book I received from my SP11 partner (thanks!). It's meant to be done in four different colors. But my partner really likes green so I thought I'd do it with two greens. I may make this again -- it's very cute and easy. And what's on the needles? [Not including old UFOs*].... the grown-up version of the Harry Potter baby hat I keep promising to Tommy (better get it done while the weather is still cold) and some quick wristlets/fingerless gloves for another swap package.

*UFO - unfinished object

Felt

I love felt... all sorts. I like making little hand-sewn doo-dads with wool felt yardage, I like felting old sweaters and using the fabric to make stuff, and I like knitting and then felting bags and other goodies.

Recently I finished a cute little felted bag for my partner in the August Bag Ladies swap. The theme was brown + a color. The photos here show before and after felting.

I've made this bag before, in fact I made several for my nieces for Christmas two years ago. It goes pretty fast, has some nice details, and is a good size.I hope my partner likes it!