T-shirt yarn challenge

Ya know, not every craft idea works out.

I haven't knitted anything with my t-shirt yarn in a while and I thought I might try to work out something that was new for my etsy store utilizing this grand recycled medium. I've made bath/floor mats and trivets of various sorts and sizes with t-shirt yarn and I wanted a new knitted project.

Cup cozies sounded like a brilliant idea! Everyone is walking around with a paper cup from Starbucks or their own refillable tall cup these days and they all need a cozy, right? Right? Of course!

Time to get cracking: in an effort to eliminate seams, I first tried knitting in the round with (enormous) double pointed needles. These babies are like broomsticks, I tell you. But they are beautifully made and a pleasure to touch and use so I forged ahead.

Anyway, I thought that tube looked kinda clunky so I ripped it all out again. Stockinette stitch just looked wrong.

 So then I tried garter stitch knit from one end to the other and thus wrapped around the cup sideways. Which, of course, was going to force me to graft up a seam. Oh well.

And here is the finished product.





o_O


Gotta say: I'm not a fan. Its clunky. Its big. Its so big, in fact, that its hard to wrap one hand around it.

Uh....no.


Back to the drawing board....

Knitted rugs revisted

Remember when I first started messing about with t-shirt yarn? I made a few bath mats by crocheting ovals and a circle and was not too thrilled (I'm just not a great crocheter). Then I knit a trivit  (turned out ok) and tried knitting a bath mat but the thing was so ugly I ripped it all out again. I decided that the time had not yet come and, more importantly, the pattern had not yet been discovered that would yield the optimum results.

Well, glory be, I found that magical perfect pattern and spent a happy happy weekend cutting up t-shirts and knitting. The pattern actually calls for a cut up king size flat sheet for the yarn but I knew that t-shirt yarn would work (and I think work even better). You can download the free pattern here. This pattern is worked on flat needles but through the magic of short rows makes a semi-circular or circular rug. Here you can see I'm about halfway done. You work this pattern wedge by wedge and the pointy edging
is worked along at the same time.  A very well thought out pattern indeed!

And here's a detail of one of the edges. I knit this on my biggest needles that I had (17) and that made a nice and thick and cushy texture. Very soft to stand on. I'm pretty sure if you made this out of sheet strips that that would not be the case.

And here is the finished mat--SO cool. I'm moving in April so I think I will save this for my new master bath. I may have to make another 2 or three as well as gifts and such.

As you can see, it takes six wedges to make a mat. I used approximately one adult t-shirt for each wedge. 12 wedges would make a full circle.

I'm starting on a blue one as a gift for  a neighbor next--so fun.

I'll try to remember to post a tutorial on cutting up t-shirts the quickest and most thorough way soon. Craft stores and various etsy folks have started to sell the stuff (a little pricey), but heck, you can easily make it yourself for free!

A canine fashion plate

We've had a little cold snap here in sunny Central Florida so I quick finished up Gidget's little sweater just in time. Isn't it cute? And she really does like to wear it, too.

And I used up several little tag end balls of yarn in my stash, too.

I was also happy to receive word today that one of my pieces that I had entered into a juried show here at UCF was just accepted. Yay!

Doggie sweater

Well, its finally getting a little cool here in central Florida so us humans are donning our hoodies and maybe even thinking about a sweater (in a month or so, anyway). The corgis have long since laid down their winter fur (you'd think it was the arctic or something) so they're all prepared and then some.

But.

If you're a miniature pinscher and cold weather is a'comin, you are none too happy, seeing as how you have no fur to speak of on your tummy and not much anywhere else.

May I introduce the smallest member of our household? This is Gidget, a rescue doggie (like our other two).

She's my daughter's dog and loves to cuddle and be fussed over and wear clothes (really!). And, of course, she gets cold and is always looking for that really warm spot to curl up in and have a nap. One day, I came home and went upstairs to take her out and she did not greet me at the door when I opened it like she usually does.

I soon saw the reason why--she had found Fiona's sweatshirt on the floor, pawed at it and crawled into it until she was all snuggly and warm. When she tried to get out, she left via the sleeve and this is how I found her. Oh my, I laughed until I cried. She had wormed her way halfway across the room and had only managed to wedge herself in even tighter. Poor thing was mortified so I liberated her right away (after I ran and got my camera).

So even though she has some store bought clothes, I decided a nice custom made knit sweater would be just the ticket for this little girl. That way I could compensate for her exact dimensions and really cover most of those bare parts and use up some of the odds and ends in my stash as well. So I got out my double pointed sock needles and a variety of cotton, silk and linen leftover yard and started knitting away. No pattern--I'm winging it and living dangerously. I suppose I could have searched for a pattern online, but I'm pretty confident I can whip up something appropriate. Here's the early progress: knit in the round from the neck down, some short rows in the chest and then leg holes on some stitch holders.

Here's a close-up of the yarn. I'm knitting with two strands: a beige/white cotton linen yarn (I had 3 balls of that) and something else (one of my many little oddballs that I compulsively save). Knitting with the cotton linen yarn blends all of the oddballs together despite their varying weights and colors/values so I'm pretty pleased so far.

So stay tuned--this will be done soon and I'll post the finished product up close and being modeled as well. :)

Project # 2

Remember how I said that I was working on a couple of fun things at the same time*? Well, here's the second one. A friend of mine is pregnant with her second child and I decided that second babies deserved some nice things too--not just hand-me downs! The mat knitting got me itchy to start another knitting project so here it is. A classical take on the ever popular baby blanket. Isn't it cute?? And you would not believe how soft and cuddly this yarn is--absolutely scrumptious!

Here's a close-up of the stitches. I've used this pattern before for a baby blanket years ago. Its called the feather and fan pattern. And despite what it looks like, it is soooo easy. Only 4, count'em 4, rows in the pattern and only one of those rows is a counted pattern row. Believe me, it doesn't get much easier than that.
Here it is:
cast on a multiple of 18 st.
row 1: (RS) Knit
row 2: Purl
row 3: *(K2tog)3X, (YO, K1)6X, (K2tog)3X*, repeat from *
row 4: Knit

In a fine yarn the pattern looks a lot more lacy and delicate--all of those YO's, don't you know. But I'm knitting this in a bulky weight yarn: Bernat Baby Blanket Yarn as seen here. So I'm using size 8 needles. The combination of those two means that this is knitting up FAST! This stuff is awesome--so soft and it knits up fast (being bulky and all). And its machine washable and dryable; a must with all baby items.

I'm having such fun--I haven't knitted anything in ages and my fingers are thanking me! By the way, I got the pattern for the blanket out of my very favorite knitting pattern source book of all time: A treasury of knitting patterns by Barbara Walker. There are countless knitting pattern books out there (and I have quite a few) but none of them match up to Barbara Walker's books. She actually published 4 treasuries and they are classics. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

* can you tell I've had the week off??

Next up: "Death by chocolate" cookies. Not for the faint of heart--serious chocolate addicts only. :)