Monsanto

Why is Mexican coke better than US coke?

Time for a Tam

     I went to a local yarn store to check out their stock in search of yarn for flowers. Once I had the yarn, it sat in my room for awhile. I decided that the yarn was too pretty to be just a decoration so I decided to make a hat out of it.  I used

my boyfriend's tam for a guide. I think it took me two or three days to finish it. I wish I had a few more yards to make more of a brim. I'm working on another tam out of a thinner, black cotton yarn and I will put a larger brim on it. Perhaps some little change pockets or something in it as well.  The only thing about working  with the thinner yarn is that it takes longer to make things. Also the design for the black one is much larger so it will take me quite awhile to finish. Especially since I'm engaged in the sampler project as well. I've gotten about thirty samples done. I've tied the squares to a longish piece of yarn so I can hang it up and easily see my options.

Summertime, and the Livin's Easy

    Finals are over, summer is creeping in. Time to knit, crochet, and hammer. Sitting in my mother's house, I must admit the view from the porch is breathtaking. If only I felt at home here.  I think this will always be a visiting place, not a home place. I've made several things over the semester, after the heart for my beloved. I will post a project every day or so.

     I am currently working on a stitch sampler. I'm making little squares of each stitch, starting with crochet, and making a list of what each stitch is plus any additional info that is needed like turn rows, number of stitches and rows used in the sample.  I am using some cheap acrylic yarn, like Redheart or something, to make my samples. It's actually this kinda gross looking blue. I love blue normally, but it's like a grungy-grayish blue that I won't ever use to make anything, so stitch sampler it is. 

     I started it a bit ago when I was bedridden with an illness. I got discouraged when syrup was spilled on the paper I had written the list on, then something was set upon the syrup mess so the paper got ripped right in the middle. I finally started the tedious task of coping the information onto a new paper last night. 

     I've wanted to have a stitch sampler for a bit now. It's an excelent way to see what the stitch looks like in person. Sometimes the photos don't accurately show what the stitch looks like.  I think that this project will allow me to design projects more quickly, especially with the aid of the list which includes the pages of the books in which the design can be found. this is a rather complex project, pero vale la pena. 

Corazón para mi novio.

Finished Heart Bag

    I love making things, especially with someone special in mind.  I finished this project fairly quickly, though I don't know exactly how long, I'd estimate about 1-2 weeks.  The first step was deciding what to make.  He said he liked red, so I decided heart bag.  I knew immediately which yarn I wanted to use.  I had several skeins of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn I have been itching to use, one of which was red.  I have tried to make a heart without a pattern before and I didn't like the result, so I scoured the internet for inspiration.  It came in the form of an amigurumi heart by Diana Knits.  My plan was to work her pattern and then modify it for my purpose.

Heart before closure

    I finished the first section, cup A, and of course, I ended up ripping out everything I had done after I finished the first cup, due to my dissatisfaction with the size, and starting over.  I made half a circle, similar to DK's pattern, and set it aside to join the rest of the heart bag later.  Since I was making a bag, not a stuffed piece, I left the top of the other cup open.  I followed the general idea of the pattern, but not the actual number of stitches etc.  I finished the base of the heart with and edging which allowed for yarn to pass through to create a drawstring.  I crocheted a closure for the bag's string too.

Open Bag with Drawstring

Closed Bag with Drawstring

     Now, I didn't want him to have a girly heart so I added veins. The veins I crocheted to the surface of the heart.  The yarn I used for the veins was a skein I had lying around without a label so I'm not sure what it's called but it's made of mostly, if not entirely, synthetic fiber.  Most likely acrylic.  I used a basic illustration of an anatomically correct human heart to decide where I should place the veins. The most dreaded step, weaving in all the ends wasn't as horrible as I feared it would be and actually made everything look a lot cooler because I used the tail to add little capillaries coming of the veins. 

Veins and beginning of Ventricles (Back)

Veins and beginning of Ventricles (Front)

     The ventricles were a last minute decision that I think turned out exceedingly well.  I used yarn from an old half finished project for the ventricles.  The most challenging part of this step was to ensure the bag could still be used despite the ventricles.  The last step was the shoulder string.  I crocheted the red, red and blue together, and the blue yarns with a larger crochet hook and wove the ends in to create a gradual change from red to blue.  

Finished Side View

Open Heart (Top View)

Finished Back

New Yarn, New Year

     It's been awhile since I've posted anything, and yes I realize it's March, but to be fair, I drafted this post in January and proceeded to forget about it.  I've been busy with the baby and the school and such. With the new year comes a new semester and a new attempt at being organized.  I've moved my room twice since summer and am finally getting to the point where I'll have space and time to get some things made and maybe even sold. That would be nice.

     I received a skein of yarn for Christmas called Sashay by Red Heart. This yarn presented a challenge in that it is already a crocheted piece.  You work the edge opposite the fancy edging.  It took me about two or three days to finish the scarf I made. I made one for my sister later with the same yarn, but in a different color, a month later. My first scarf I crocheted a chain, using about a third of the yarn, then I did a row of single crochet finishing with a row of slip stitch which did not go all the way around again.  I then sewed the ends of the scarf together to finish the scarf, making sure to twist it several times to give it a fuller appearance.  The finished measurement of the scarf is 42 inches from end to end.
     The scarf I made for my sister I approached a little differently.  I crocheted this one in a circle to avoid integrity issues with the seam, a flaw I recognized in my first scarf. The blue and green scarf was considerably smaller around as well, giving the scarf a much fluffier look than the first one.  I tried to construct the scarf using the color variation as a measuring guide.  There are three complete cycles of the color pattern in the yarn for each row of the scarf.  I also crocheted this scarf in a tube with the last round being slip stitch to close the first and last rows together.  I believe I got 5 rows out of one skein of yarn plus the slip stitch row. To finish, I separated and fluffed the frills. I like to twist the scarf several times before putting it on.

   I'd like to make something like a skirt, or a bag or some shorts out of this yarn.  This yarn is certainly interesting to work with, though not overly difficult to get the hang of.

Baby Sack

Today I finished the cuff of the first fingerless glove for my cousin. I had a mini disaster while making it. My knitting needle fell out of the work while it was in my bag, and I had to figure out where I was in the pattern and fix my dropped stitches. Now I am starting on the hand of the glove.

The first thing I made for my son was a knitted sleeping bag. I used several yarns, it's mostly Lion Brand Homespun in various colors. The body of the sleeping bag is double ribbed. I used reverse sockinette for the casing to the drawstring, I used an eyelash in addition to the blue to make it look like a mane. Finally, I crocheted the drawstring. I was originally going to line the sleeping bag with an old t-shirt, to keep my little guy's fingers from getting stuck in the holes of the yarn, but I decided that since he wears little outfits with hand coverings so it doesn't matter right now. I still might line it, but not until he's bigger.

It Begins

I started classes today, only one class today, so it wasn't that bad. I've been working on the fingerless gloves I'm making for my cousin. I'm half done with one cuff. It's going well, I'm using the pattern on knitty.com called Kingdom. The only difference is I won't finish the fingers.

I made several of my cousins, and my sister, headbands. They chose different yarns, but I used the same pattern. I let them choose the number of petals in their flowers as well. 5 or 6 petals works the best. 

Scarf Status: Complete

Today I finished my mother's Birthday Scarf despite screaming babies and other distractions. I think it turned out well. Nothing overly fancy, but pretty nice none the less. I'm including the basic pattern, not including the specific birthdays I used for my mother's scarf.

Crochet cast on work sockinette stitch (will also work for garter stitch)

CO 20 sts

Rows 1-12: Knit odd rows, purl even rows

start number pattern (7/10/1856)

Row 13: dropstitch

Rows 14-20: Knit odd rows, purl even rows

Row 21: dropstitch

Rows 22-31: Knit odd rows, purl even rows

Row 32: dropstitch

Row 33: Purl

Row 34: dropstitch

Rows 35-42: Knit odd rows, purl even rows

Row 43: dropstitch

Rows 44-48: Knit odd rows, purl even rows

Row 49: dropstitch

Rows 50-55: Knit odd rows, purl even rows

At this point you can either add other dates or repeat this one. I used my mother's birthday, followed by my birthday and finally my little sister's birthay.

Note: for numbers using 0, you can either use 2 consecutive dropstitch rows, or knit that number of rows, as with 10 in the example. Alternatively you can ignore the zero and omit it all together.

I ended the scarf with a few inches of sockinette.