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Finished: Hansel and Gretel Set

ColorPlay and the Creative Spark will return soon!

Yay! This set is finished! A little more than a year after I got it, it is finished, signed, sealed and sent off.

The quilt in this set was probably the easiest part. I did a pillowcase binding and then sunk the threads. It is a pretty basic quilt, but the small amount of quilting I did on it looks nice, I think.

I don’t think I will make this brand of panel dolls again. The good thing is that everything is all on one panel. The bad is that the seam allowances are really small and the seams tend to blow out after play. My little niece plays with these dolls, a purpose for which they are intended, and I don’t want her to be disappointed. I have another pattern – not a panel – with lots of zippers and buttons so she can learn to dress herself (we had a doll when I was a kid with the same concept called Dressy Bessy). I hope to get started on that doll soon-ish.

More Hansel & Gretel Progress

As I said the other day, I got the kids partially stuffed. They are going to be able to sit and bend their arms. I actually understood the directions and how to get that done. Both of the previous dolls, Coral the Mermaid and Little Red Riding Hood. had stiff legs.

To me, this means I am progressing in my skills. It also means more work. I couldn’t just stuff and finish the dolls. I had to stuff, then sew, then stuff some more before finishing. It worked fine, though it took more time.

The skirt for Gretel is the last piece of this set. It is mostly made, but I needed Gretel to be done, so I could finish the skirt to fit Gretel’s waist. I plan to finish this last bit and send the set off to my niece soon.

Hansel and Gretel Progress

I am making progress on Hansel and Gretel. The pillow, bunny and bear are done, as is the quilt.

The kids are stuffed partially, but since I am making them sit down this time, I have to do some intermediate sewing before I can stuff them some more. I also had to buy more stuffing.

Yes, I did quilt the quilt myself. I used the pillowcase method of binding. I didn’t have much trouble with bubbles, which was a relief.

These are part of my effort to clear things off the to do list.

Finished: Knight Scarf

Just in time, I have finished the Knight scarf. This will be a Christmas gift for the YM.

It is very long, which is great since he has been hinting around for a very long scarf for Christmas.

The yarn is a combination of merino and silk.

Knight Scarf Begins

My knitting needles were barely cold before I cast on a scarf for the YM. I want him to have one as well. Almost as soon as I finished the Cosmic Wonder Dust scarf, I started his.

He thought the Madeleine Tosh yarn was a little rough (he is very kinesthetic and also very tuned into the way things feel). At PIQF, I bought some wool and silk yarn from Thread and Ewe. It is Avalon yarn by Round Table Yarns – 50% superwash merino and 50% silk, DK weight. Even though I was annoyed at the “DK weight” – clearly designed for experienced knitters – I was eager to try it out.

The fibers are not as tightly wound (spun???) together, so I have to be careful not to knit only part of the strand as I progress along the row.

Like the Monarch scarf, this yarn is slippy, so the stitches tend to slide off the needles if I am not careful. While I cast on to straight needles, I am knitting with some circular needles and the line between them is a bit short, so I have to be careful.

I really hope this yarn is soft enough for the YM.

Cosmic Wonder Dust Scarf COMPLETE

I finished the Cosmic Wonder Dust scarf last Thursday! Yay! Now I have all of the scarves finished for the kids uh, young adults who helped the YM during his cast phase. They are not wrapped or boxed or mailed, but knitted is a good place to be.

This was made with Madeleine Tosh Chunky yarn. This yarn was a little different than the ones I used for the Lichen and Nighthawk scarves. it is Madeleine Tosh Chunky. It knitted up faster, though I didn’t have as much time to work on it. Good thing it was chunky yarn. The unexpected part is that it is not as long as the others. I should have bought three skeins, but didn’t. C’est la vie.

New Knitting

This is the new project. The yarn is called Cosmic Wonder Dust. I think it looks like a party. I really love the colors in this yarn.

I really wanted this yarn. They didn’t have the weight that uses n.6 needles. These particular skeins use n.9 needles and it feels really thick. Still, it knits very quickly. I started this project last night and already have a lot completed.

Before this morning, I had just a few rows of the scarf done. Three conference calls and I have a lot more done.

Also, my process must be progressing, because I only ripped the cast-on off once. I was happy with my progress after the second cast-on.

This might be the last scarf I need for Christmas gifts for the YM’s friends. We’ll see. He has roommate who wasn’t there, but found the house and I may make one for her just so she doesn’t feel left out. I think I will have the time.

I want to make one for the YM as well, but I have to find some yarn that is even softer than the merino wool.

Lichen Scarf

I finished the Lichen scarf. It was finished yesterday, a little later than I wanted, but I didn’t carpool last week, so I didn’t have as much time to knit.

The deadline was because I went to the knitting store on Monday and bought yarn for the next scarf. I don’t want to stash yarn.

The tightness of my stitches was a little off at the end, but I am pleased with how the scarf came out.

Lichen Scarf To Be

I know the Nighthawk Scarf was barely cold in the box of gifts when I went and bought more yarn. There are not many yarn shops near me, so I have to take advantage when I can.

There is one near my hairdresser and since I was getting a cut, I stopped and bought yarn as well.

I bought two skeins of the yarn shown, which is Madeleine Tosh Lichen. The person receiving this scarf-to-be likes dark green. I couldn’t find an all dark green skein, so this is what she is getting. I am not a huge green fan, so the purple and grey will relieve me a little bit.

This is knit on size 6 needles, but I cast on to size 7s and then purl on to the size 6s to keep the curve from developing, like on the Nighthawk scarf. I really wanted to get started, but forgot my size 6 needles, so I haven’t gotten to it yet. Soon.

I was tempted to buy two additional skeins as well, but resisted. I really don’t want to start a yarn stash. I have a fabric stash and that is my limit.

Finished Nighthawk Scarf

I am pleased to say that I finished the Nighthawk scarf. I started it just about a month ago and finished it over the weekend. I wove in the ends at Craft Night, so done and dusted.

As I almost always say, I am pleased with how this scarf came out. I was also pleased with the size and feel of the yarn. As I said in a previous post, it has a kind of springy feel.

The finished scarf is rather heavy. It is also long, but I wanted it to be long. This scarf, the Monarch scarf and the next few scarves will go to the YM’s friends who helped take care of him this summer.

More Knitting

Since I finished the last scarf, I have started another one. Since I took TFQ to some knitting stores a while ago, I have been wanting to try some Madeleine Tosh yarn.

Since I bought the bamboo yarn and started that scarf on a whim, I didn’t try the Madeleine Tosh yarn then. I couldn’t find any Madeleine Tosh yarn that appealed to me at Monarch Knitting, so I bought some other lovelies.

Finally I found some Madeleine Tosh yarn that I felt like knitting and started in. I don’t remember starting my first projects (about a zillion years ago), but my process now is to knit, rip out everything, knit some more, rip a bit, then get a handle on everything and knit like a crazy woman.

My first issue was that I didn’t like the curve (left sample in photo). I cast on pretty tightly which created a curve. I didn’t want to rely on the weight of the rest of the knitting to straighten it out. My SIL suggested casting on with larger needles. I did that and the next sample was great.

I made up the pattern, which was to purl 4-5 rows to keep the edges from curling, then to purl 5, knit 35 and purl 5, again to keep the edges from curling.

I really like this yarn and will definitely use it again. I like that it doesn’t stretch much, but is springy. I also like that it doesn’t have any acrylic in it.

Another Scarf

While I just posted about a scarf I had finished, I am posting about another one. I have a very strict policy about not stockpiling yarn. I buy 2 skeins at a time, I make a scarf, then I buy two more. I finished this scarf last week and finished the Bamboo Scarf about a month before that. I like to knit on planes and I had a lot of flights in April, May and June.

I bought the yarn for this scarf in Monterey at Monarch Knitting on a break from the Grand parlor crazy.I like the way the scarf came out, but I wasn’t crazy about the yarn. It had some acrylic in it and I didn’t like the way it stretched while I knitted it. It wasn’t springy just stretchy. It made larger spaces between the stitches. This isn’t a bad thing; I just don’t like it.

One thing I learned was to play around with the needle size. On my newest project I used a larger sized needle to cast on and then I switched to a smaller sized needle to do the knitting. We’ll see how it turns out.

One of the YM’s friends really liked the colors, so I made the scarf for him.

Bamboo Scarf

Occasionally I knit.

I learned in Austria when I lived there and have made a sweater, a vest and a scarf that I can remember. Now I just knit scarves, though I am tempted to knit a skull cowl for the YM.

I haven’t for awhile, but when I saw the colors of this yarn, it drew me in and the softness sealed the deal.

It ended up that the different widths of the yarn were really a pain, but I am pleased with how the scarf turned out. Knitting and listening to audiobooks is a great activity for airplane trips and you all know I had enough of those in the past few months.

Once I got the hang of knitting again, I went to town and was able to finish this scarf in a few months. I found that I liked purling better than knitting, which my SILs think is a scream, so the scarf I am working on now is all purling. I think I will do the next one with 4 purls on the edges and knits in between.

I might enter this scarf in the Fair. I made it for me, so it will be around the house. I may, however, make another that is better. We’ll see.

More New Projects

Yes, I have lost my mind.

Yes, I have started another project, a small one, but another project for which I have to find time.

EPP Travel Kit - Bright and Cheerful — EPP Travel Kit – Bright and Cheerful

I am making another EPP Pouch like the one I made for Mary. I intend for this one to be much brighter and more cheerful. I also intended for it to be at the point where I could do the hand sewing while I was away, but that didn’t happen.

The photos shows my intended layouts.

Another Paper Wreath

This is the fourth paper wreath I have made during the last few months. I really like making these, though I find making one rather than three at once is a lot easier on my hands.

This was another door prize for the Ladies Luncheon at Grand Parlor (that was one of Monday’s events). I have a tutorial so you can make your own.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30