Final Secret Pal Gift!

My Secret Pal is Theresa!

This is my very awesome final gift.  On top is a hat she made for me to donate to Warmer Winters.  I think it’s perfect and exactly what they need.  Under it is a box from Bath and Body Works.  It contains a collection of Japanese Cherry Blossom scented items.  I love the Cherry Blossom items they have there.  Behind the hat is the yarn she sent: 3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas’ sport weight in purple.

A side note, I am looking over the colors in the yarn’s collection and I am thinking it may be perfect for my Trogdor scarf.  I have to go through it to match some of my ideas on color.

Ok, back to the gifts.  The flowerly looking thing is a handmade bag for me to stash my knitting in.  I love to have small bags for each project.  In the bag was a small collection of goodies: a mini-sharpie, a sheep sachet of peppermint and eucalyptus, felted stitch markers from Jelby, and pompom makers.

It is an awesome gift box and I am very excited to use all of it.  I will post the projects I make with all my yarn!

Secret Pal Gift 2 picture (finally)

Secret Pal Gift 2

I have been meaning to post this picture for the past few weeks.  To the left is my second gift from my Secret Pal.  She got me two scrabble charms.  One is Strongbad and the other is Trogdor.  I think they are pretty awesome.  I am going to figure out how to make them into stitch markers.

I am here!

This is just a quick post.  I have been in NYC for the past few days.  I was suppose to see the Daily Show, but that didn’t happen because they overbook the show and we were about 15 past the cut off point.  Even though that fell apart, I had an amazing time.  I did not focus on knitting that much while I was there.  I did get back to my final secret pal gift.  I had time to pick it up, but not open it.  I know, right!  That’s how crazy busy it has been for the past few days.  I am going to open it when I get home from work today.

My final secret pal gift went out and has been received as well.  My pal was Jen from Learning to Walk in Stilettos.  I had a great time spoiling someone and am going to do Secret Pal 15.  I have a few gifts left that I didn’t end up sending along.  A few were knitting items, some were not.  Who spoiled me?  I have an idea, but I am not 100% positive.

Soon the secret baby project can be revealed.  Once I am done with the baby stuff I am focusing on a few projects for me.  It’s time for me to be a bit selfish with the knitting again.  With all the lovely stuff I got from my secret pal I am sure there will be a few things to take on.

Trogdor the Burninator Knitting chart #3: Rather Dashing

Trogdor the Burninator Knitting chart #3: Rather Dashing,
originally uploaded by librarygurl.

I got back to work on designing my Trogdor scarf. The scarf body has been posted and, for those who missed it, the Trogdor end has been up for a while. I made the other end with Rather Dashing and his thatched roof cottage. Rather Deshing will be interesting to knit. I based him on the actual pixelated version of him. The colors are those in the video. You can barely see his body in chart and the color of his body, hair and clothes are very similar.
The cottage is going to be really easy. I think I can sew the thatching on at the end… embroider it I guess.

Between Trogdor and Rather Dashing is an expanse of grass and sky. You can see that chart on Flickr. I am going to add lettering to it for the quote: “And the Trogdor comes in the niiiiiiiiiight!”

Now that the charts are almost done, it’s time to pick the yarn. I am going to the LYS for that. I know I need to get expert advice and see if I can touch to know what I want. Also, I need something with a really good variety of color, but isn’t too expensive.

Warmer Winters @ the Johnny Appleseed festival in Leominster MA

Warmer Winters @ the Johnny Appleseed festival in Leominster MA,
originally uploaded by librarygurl.

Here is one of the few shots I got from the Johnny Appleseed festival in Leominster, MA. Warmer Winters (my charity of choice) had a booth where they sold some of the donated items to the public. A few items I donated were sold. My ribbon shawl and a scarf and the same patter were there, but did not sell. I know why, don’t worry. The shawl was very difficult to display so most people did not even see it to know to buy it. The scarf was displayed well, but it was more expensive than other scarves ($10 instead of $5) so it was not pushed as much as the less expensive scarves. It was more money because it was nicer yarn and was almost twice as long as the others.
What did sell well? I missed the morning shift, but I do know that she brought some baby bibs I made. I saw one boy bib and one girl bib. Both were snatched up as soon as I got there. I wish I knew what else had been there from my small group of sell-able donations. I am going to find out tonight when I go to the knitting group.
It was very interesting to see what people really wanted. We had a hard time selling sweaters. In fact, anything big was difficult to sell. The small, less expensive items were what we could get rid of without a problem. These bears, the mascot of the organization, were pretty easy to sucker parents into buying for kids. We had the cutest penguin, piggy and duck toys. The penguin was gone almost as soon as we brought him out. The pig got easy attention, but we had to drop the price to get him sold. The duck we couldn’t sell no matter how often we dropped the price. My initial reaction was that it was just too big. You can see pictures of it on Flickr. We had a hard time selling washcloths. Someone donated washcloths wrapped around lotions and other bath items. We couldn’t get anyone to buy those, but the single washcloths were pretty easy to get rid of. I had donated a lion washcloth, but I don’t know if it made it to this sale.
One thing I am going to focus on is scarves for boys. We had a ton of fun fur and novelty yarn scarves. They sold to girls pretty well. We had to really push them on people though. What I heard some people ask for were hats for boys and scarves for boys. We didn’t have any hats and there were no real items for boys (other than the toys and a few clothing items). Families with boys bought teddy bears. I donated one snake scarf and I think I will make a few more to be sold at the next local festival.

More on Troy’s Pirate Sweater

It’s cool enough in NYC that the puppy needs to keep warm.  This is why I made him a pirate sweater!  He has his present and he is already wearing it.

Troy in his sweater

Yes, I have been knitting

I have been MIA for the past few weeks.  I am taking a moment now because it’s my birthday!  I have a few moments before more celebrating to give a few updates:

- My secret pal sent me a small and awesome gift.  I have to unload the picture from my camera…

- I have been knitting.  Mostly baby bibs and lion washcloths.  I did make a hat for Z that I have to take a picture of.  I have also started scarves for holiday gifts.  A few items are for gifts while others are being donated to Warmer Winters.

More updates coming soon though… I hope to have a chance to breath this week.

Boy Baby Bib 1

Boy Baby Bib 1,
originally uploaded by librarygurl.

Half-Moon Baby Bib

I created this pattern based on Leigh Radford’s petal bib in One Skein. When I first made the petal bib for friends I got complaints from mothers who had little boys. They wanted a bib, but the flower didn’t seem right. I tried a variety of solutions to my problem: jester style for example. I ended up with the idea that half-moon shape would work. Again I tried a variety of ways to make it. One looked more like a trapezoid than a circle. Suddenly, it dawned on me…. I was working too hard on this and trying to reinvent the wheel. The petal bib was all I needed. I just needed to take the petals off the bib.
Thus, this is not really my design, but an adaptation of another design. Leigh’s pattern made this possible in every way. I am posting this not to take credit, but because I suspect there are other people out there who want this type of pattern. The petal bib pattern remains the best bib pattern I have ever found. This is to get an alternative version out there for little boys or those who don’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl and want to have a gift.

If you don’t have Leigh Radford’s One Skein book get that. This pattern will only address changes. I am doing this due to copyright.

Yarn:
I like the cottons- Sugar and Cream and Peaches and Cream are my favorites for this pattern.  I think they are durable and easy for new mothers to deal with.  They are good for everyday use.  Cotton-ese and Debbie Bliss Cotton DK are also nice if you are making one for a special occasion.
Just mare sure your weight is medium/ category 4. This is a change from the petal bib pattern, which calls for a fine/2 yarn.
Pick a shade that works for you. I have done both solids and prints.

Needles:
I use the six 6 called for by the petal bib pattern.

Gauge:
I stink with gauge… do what you feel is right. The petal bib calls for 24 sts and 31 rows= 4” (10 cm) in st st. The cotton I uses says 20 sts and 26 rows. I think it’s about the same.

Pattern:

For the Half-Moon shape start by casting on 70 stitches and knit 3 rows. I think the garter stitch helps keep the bib from curling too much.

Row 4, 6: knit 2, purl 66, knit 2
Row 5, 7: knit

From here, get out your copy of One Skein and turn to page 57. Row 7 of this pattern was row 1 after the ‘Join Petals’ heading.
You want to follow the pattern from this point on. The purled decreases make a nice detail to a design that would be a little plain.

Changes to connecting the I-cord:
To make this bib a bit more secure for coverage, I made a few changes when I connected my i-cord. I felt it would be a little too… floppy otherwise.
When you begin to connect the cord to the bib, pick up 7 stitches before the stitches on your stitch holder. I then follow the pattern again and, at the end of the stitches on the holder, pick up another 7 stitches and connect them as well.

Secret Pal Challenge: Baby Knitting

I happen to start knitting as my cousins were having babies.  I have developed a standard set of gifts for all the babies in my life.  I am currently knitting for an upcoming baby so I can’t reveal too much.  All the babies get a secret baby gift.  This is the main gift and is something I pick out specifically for the baby.  My first was Anna’s baby blanket (which was personalized).  I loved this blanket, but it was not easy for a beginning knitter.  It was seed stitch so I kept messing it up.  My second was Z’s Baby Blocks, which became my first design when I couldn’t find a pattern I liked.  Third, was Eth’s baby jacket, which didn’t actually fit him.  I replaced it with the doggie hat and scarf, which still may be too big for him.  Ben, Anna’s baby brother, got his own blanket when he was born.  I loved that pattern because of the green.  I don’t like pastels colors, I would rather do bold colors for babies.  This was the pattern that made me realize that.  My friend’s daughter Elizabeth also got some blankets: a no sew and a circle of friends.   Z would eventually get a blanket and a snake scarf himself.  My current baby project has not yet been revealed.  It is 95% complete, but the baby is still about 2 months away.  I want it to be a surprise for my cousin and his wife.

Yes, these are lovely things, but all the babies get my two favorite things to make: a bib and a washcloth.

The bib has two versions: boy and girl.  The girl bib looks like a flower and the boy bib looks like a half moon.  The petal is from the One Skein book and the boy bib is a variation of that of my own design.  I should post it here…  Look for the next post.

The washcloth is by far the child’s favorite gift.  I have never given one to a newborn due to the timing of finding the pattern, but it’s a Knitty pattern for a Lion washcloth.  It’s the loops the kids love.  I think they would care less if it had a face on it.  I have to admit, the loops are fun to make.  The washcloth is by far my favorite thing to make… for babies… yeah, babies.

Ribbon Shawl

Ribbon Shawl,
originally uploaded by librarygurl.

When I began knitting I took a lot of my grandmother’s knitting supplies and yarn. Noro’s Shabon yarn (now discontinued) was one of the yarns I found in her stash. She had not finished a sweater she had been making with it. Based on the pattern and the pastel colors in this yarn, I am forced to assume it was from the 80s, but my grandmother swears she was making said sweater in the 90s.
I disliked the sweater, but I was not above taking the yarn for myself when my grandmother insisted and said she wasn’t going to ever knit again (which has been true so far). I unraveled the sweater and waited to find a project for the yarn. I found the project when I started knitting for Warmer Winters. I knew they needed nice projects to help with their fundraising efforts. I found this easy shawl pattern after one false start.
I made some changes based on what I wanted to do. I didn’t un-do any of the stitches at the end. I added tassel instead. I felt this looked finished compared to the original pattern.
The shawl is huge so this picture is only one a portion of it. I will try to take a picture of someone wearing it. You can see the detail at Flickr.