Category: Knitting

Allosaurus Awesome

Summer of 2015 saw the start of a dinosaur. During the winter, the dinosaur bits lived in a box. In the spring, the completed dinosaur finally saw the light of day.

Allosaurus

This is the Allosaurus from the Knitting Dinosaurs book and on ravelry. I found some yarn in the stash that was green and red and figured it would make a good Allosaurus. It’s very similar to the one in the book apart from red vs. pink and no teeth, but I like that. The arms, legs and head can all be posed. He is a little smaller than I thought he would be when I started.

Allosaurus Allosaurus

His eyebrows also make him seem a little angry, but that’s part of his face and what makes him an Allosaur (left) and not a T-Rex (right).

Allosaurus-Images Tyrannosaurus-Rex-Images

There are a few more dinosaurs in the book that I like, so you may see more knitted extinct beasts roam around these parts in the future.

For now one last Allosaurus picture and then onto the next finished critter.

Allosaurus

Time Crunch Sweater

This sweater was actually finished on March 28. I started writing this post a while ago, and then forgot to finish it. So here it is anyway, the first two paragraphs were written in March, the rest today.

Most people have bad habits, or so I’d like to believe. One of my bad habits is going to the Wibra (local shop that also sells yarn) to check whether they have new yarn in stock. — Now, I don’t need more yarn, I have tree boxes full of the stuff and a sheep to spin. It’ll be years before I get through the stash. This however does not seem to be enough for me to stop setting foot in the yarn shop. — Three weeks ago they did have new yarn in stock. A variegated white to black, bulky, 100% acrylic yarn. I needed to have it, so I got 5 balls.

The ‘problem’ with bulky yarn is that it’s often used to make fairly warm sweaters. Spring was approaching, which meant that I had to start and finish this project quickly. I’d found an inspiration on Ravelry, namely the Eased pattern by Alicia Plummer (here on Ravelry). I thought that the yarn would work nicely with this type of project. However, I was not willing to really follow a pattern for this, so I improvised, more on that here.

Front

I figured I’d gotten enough experience with knitting sweaters in the round so the body wouldn’t be a problem. For the neckline, Eased shows some kind of join or something, but I wasn’t interested in that, so I just cast on stitched and ended up with a seamed tube. I put a shoelace through  it and continued knitting. Using a raglan increase to get the sweater shoulders/sleeves/body. Then the mantra ‘keep on knitting’ got stuck in my head, for both the body and sleeves. I knit until beyond the wrists and created a hole for the thumb. This may be the reason this sweater is inappropriate for summer…

Thumb hole

This sweater also has a new skill, the Russian join, which meant that I only needed to finish four threads (sleeve, sleeve, neck, bottom), a true revelation! The project has been worn a couple of times since, so it really was just in time. Right now it’s actually pretty warm here in the Netherlands, and the sweater is in the cupboard for the time being. It’s very comfortable and I like it a lot!

Front Back

I’ve been saving up my projects, so prepare for onslaught!

Smurf Hat

I’m slowly but surely attempting to make a winter coat, although it’s been in a corner for a while now. It will have a large white/black/blue check pattern with houndstooth within (see below). I am planing to add a yellow lining to the coat and at some point in time (October 2015) decided that it would be a good idea to make hat to go with the unfinished coat.

Fabric

This required yellow and blue yarn which I already had. While looking through Ravelry I found a free pattern for a Garter Ear Flap Hat by Purl Soho.  I knit it up in two days because it was really easy and fast. Then I put it on for something outside, and everyone told me that it looked fairly stupid. There was a pointy end which elicited comments such as a condom, a smurf hat, too bright, a minion and some other non-flattering things.

Old smurf hat Old smurf hat Old smurf hat Old smurf hat

It sat untouched upon my globe. Until yesterday, when I took out the pointy bit and finished it like a normal hat. I also finally finished the ends and it’s officially fit for wear. It may still look fairly minion-y, but I’m hoping it doesn’t look like a condom anymore..

Smurf hat Smurf hat

It covers the ears nicely but I think I used needles that were too big, and the wind does come through quite easily. If I were to try another iteration I’d only use the ear flap section and make something else for the body of the hat. For the project details (which are few) check Ravelry.

Owls, on a Hat!

Owls were promised and will be delivered!

Owl + colour

After roaming Ravelry and several blogs for some time now, I’ve seen the Owls sweater by Kate Davies a number of times now. I’ve always wanted to knit something like it, but the combination of not really liking a neckline like that and not wanting to buy more appropriate yarn has stopped me. I’d been thinking about if for some time on and off. Then one day, my colleague who also reads blogs, said something about me being the only one who she could imagine knitting it. So I explained the neckline problem and set out to find a solution.

Said solution was found in the Owl Beanie (Eulen Beanie) pattern on Ravelry.  It had the owls, in an amount that was manageable, only needed one ball of yarn, and I actually wear hats quite a lot. I had bought a ball of yarn not very long before in a grey ‘stonewashed’ look, or so it claimed. I figured it would look good in grey. I did (again) make a few changes to the pattern, namely adding a brim (from the Sam Hat), extending the ribbing and making a swirl on the top. I’ve kept notes in the Ravelry project here. The picture at the top is the closest colour match.

Front
Side

I also added a number of buttons, two for each owl that came from my stash and fit perfectly, in my opinion. And a blue one from the stash to the top, to cover and hide the hole left over from binding off. This picture shows of the button and the swirl.

Top

I like the way it looks and the way it wears, I put elastic in the bottom to keep it on my head. I had maybe 2 meters of yarn left over at the end of the project so that was very efficient too. What I find the most magical about the hat is that people don’t generally notice the owls until I point them out. I guess it’s not something others look for in hats…

Apparently I’m into knitting lately, at least that’s what the last three posts show. It’s true, I’ve restarted an old Gaia sweater that I’d thrown in a corner, I’m knitting socks on my almost weekly Harry Potter watching sessions and I’m thinking about starting a project with some blueish yarn that similar to the red, green, yellow and white that I’ve used before. I’m also still working on those jeans (finishing pockets, seaming and belt loops left to do), so there is stuff happening! Happy crafting!

Frankenpatterned Leaves

Remember those green plaid pants I made recently? I’ve worn them quite a lot since finishing them and I really like them. There was only one problem.. all my sweaters seem to be red or contain red, not green. So, I did the obvious thing, I knit myself a matching sweater. I’d had the perfect green yarn in my stash for a while, which I’d knitted up into a hideous sweater before that I’d frogged. Yarn sorted, I needed a pattern.

The obvious place to look for patterns is Ravelry, so off I went on a quest for the perfect pattern. I found the Waiting for Spring pattern, and I liked the idea of a stripe of leaves along one side. However, the leaves on that pattern weren’t very nice, so off I went again looking for other leaves. Those were found in the Provence Baby Cardigan. I also didn’t like the neckline, so I substituted the Ginny shawl collar with some modifications. At the end of the knit, there was yarn left over and I like a warm butt, so I added the flap-bit of the Eyelet Yoke Sweater. I also changed the shaping of the sweater completely, so there’s nothing left over from the original pattern apart from the number of stitches I cast on. You might get the name frankenpattern now..

Detail

This is a close up of the leaves and below you can find the complete sweater. Please ignore the very interesting pose I made. The sun was out the morning after I’d finished it, but only if I squatted in a certain way did it show. You can sort of see the flap at the back and the neckline at the front. I made monkey length sleeves such that they had the space to shrink, which they did. I like it, it’s nice to wear, the holes from the leaves are not cold, so it’s even good in winter. This was an entertaining and useful project.

Green Front Back

If you feel like knitting this entire thing, you can do so! I kept track of every stitch I did and noted down the entire pattern here. Next up will be owls…

Baby Groot

There I was, one day, browsing Ravelry’s free knitting patterns for toys, when I stumbled upon a baby Groot. I recognized it because I’ve seen Guardians of the Galaxy. I quite liked the film, but I had a friend who liked it much more, so much that they wanted to dress up as such. I figured everyone needed a knitted baby Groot in their life, and especially him. With his birthday coming up soon, it was the perfect timing.

So off I went, downloading the pattern from ‘a Shade better than STICKFIGURES’ – blogspot and grabbing some grey yarn to start knitting while traveling two hours by train to get to my parents house. A partially completed Groot, without arms, looks a bit… strange, to say the least. Anyway, I did make a few changes; he’s a little longer, has got some different hair, longer and reinforced arms and has a different smile. You can find my notes here. Here he is!

Front
Back

I went through the entirety of town to find a pot that was sort of similar to the one in the movie and that wasn’t much to big or small for the Groot. I did find one after a while, but it’s deeper than the ‘roots’ of Groot, so he’s got some additional padding on his bottom.

Bottom
Roots

The hair was the part that took the longest. I did a combination of i-cord, finger crochet and just tufts with the grey, there are some green knots in it also. His arms can move and be put in different positions. I think his recipient was pleasantly surprised. It was different in any case.

Hair!

I’m currently knitting a green sweater and sewing jeans, so hopefully those will be finished soon too.

T.M.A.K.P.E or The Dragon!

The Most Awesome Knitting Project Ever.

I have accomplished my life’s dream and made a Dragon. Some time ago I found, I don’t even know how, a free knit pattern for a dragon by writer Kim Harrison. After I’d convinced myself that I would be able to knit on multiple tiny (2 mm) double-pointed needles, I decided to go for it and buy all the supplies. I spent hours and hours knitting on what felt like something we in the Netherlands call a satéprikker, it’s loosely translated as skewer in English. Very thin sticks that you would ordinarily stick through meat to put on the barbecue. I was actually excited to come home and continue knitting..!

I followed the pattern almost to the letter, but I have no idea of what my actual gauge turned out to be. I have the feeling my Dragon is a little bit smaller than others, but I don’t mind. I think he doesn’t mind either, as he’s happily sitting on my window sill.

After knitting the entire thing, I had to decide on his finishing. This mainly concerned the eyes. I followed the instructions and initially had the treads come out next to his nose, like a sort of Oriental Dragon. However, he’s more Western in appearance, and I decided to give him a moustache trim. I think I prefer it, but here’s the comparison.

Dragon Dragon

Dragon Dragon

And the wings open and closed. For the next one (and I think that there will be a next one, maybe rainbow coloured wings?) I want to put the wings on with the purl side down, such that he can be displayed with spread open wings.

Dragon Dragon

Anyway, this was one of my most favourite projects of the year. It’s a dragon after all. For notes from Ravelry, check here, and this is where the knit-along is posted. Thanks again Kim Harrison for providing us with the nicest dragon pattern I’ve seen so far!

Colour Scarf

At some point in the past I found some Wibra Fenna yarn that had all kinds of different colours that slowly changed into each other. I really liked the combination and I figured I knew someone else who would really like it, my very colourful mom. Since it was a couple of months before her birthday, I figured I would have enough time to make something from that yarn I found. That made me convince myself that buying the yarn was a good idea.

Scarf

So I browsed Ravelry in search for a pattern. I wanted to experiment more with knitting lace, so I chose a nice easy lace-y pattern. It’s called the Wakefield Scarf from Knitting Daily and you can see my project details here, including the link to the pattern itself. It’s actually quite easy knitting, the repeat is *k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2* on even rows and purl on the odd row and then shifted over one stitch every knit row. This creates a diagonal lace pattern, which is very interesting with a horizontally striping yarn.

Scarf

I told my mother I had a present for her, but sadly I only managed to finish it in the week after her birthday. Due to the wish to work on another knit project (see the next installment of Hopefully Creative for that project). She was worried that it wouldn’t be warm enough, due to the holey nature of the fabric. However, she does love the colours and they go with everything, so she has worn it, voluntarily, and received many compliments. Especially the texture in combination with the colours seems to be interesting.

Scarf

This is it, it curls up on itself, but that’s also part of the charm. You can also barely see the areas where I had to switch to the second ball of yarn and where I made another connection. Scarf knitting takes quite a while for me, with a lace pattern especially, but I still enjoyed the process over long periods of sitting in the train and listening to audiobooks.

Beanie Bribe

Yes, I did spend way too much time figuring out a (semi-)suitable synonym for gift that would alliterate with Beanie. However, this was problematic, in the end I decided on bribe and just tell the rest of the story also. You see, last year, a friend of mine had his birthday during a larp event we would both attend. I wasn’t really sure what to gift but I think I vaguely remembered him telling me that he didn’t have or had had stuffed toys. I believe stuffed toys are necessary for sleeping, but he apparently didn’t. Strange stuff… Anyways, I’d produced a teddy bear (this one) that needed a new home and decided his home would be great. Long(er) story short, he was very happy with the bear. It apparently ended up high in the list of best presents ever.

Hat

Now, this year, we would again meet at a larp event on his birthday. You understand that I had to keep my reputation up and produce another winning present. Not just for the reputation, but also because the friend is one of the nicest I have and he deserves good things. So at some point weeks before his birthday, he mentioned that he’d worn his friend’s beanie and loved it. Clearly that was the answer. So I very subtly asked him his head circumference. It wasn’t obvious at all..

Looking through my stash of yarn, I found something black/brown/grey-ish that wouldn’t be too fluorescent to wear outside. For his protection you understand, he might have worn a hot-pink one just to show appreciation. Anyway, this is the finished item, modeled on my globe.

Hat Hat

There are some gradual colour shifts due to the yarn choice, but I like that. It’s also supposed to be a bit slouchy, which I think worked fairly well. He seems to like it too, so I consider this a win! Next, another present, also of the knitting variety.

Baby Dinosaurs

Some time ago, we did a one day table-top session in our larp. At some point I got the knitted Allosaur I was (am, it’s been thrown in a corner) working on out to show. I also had the book, Knitting Dinosaurs, with me. I then got a request for a Triceratops. Now, I didn’t feel like knitting the full size Triceratops, as that one is large! However, the book also has a pattern for Troodons, very small dinosaurs. I figured I could improv the additional features around a Troodon base and have them done quickly. That’s exactly what I did.

First, a Triceratops (purple and red). The defining elements were its four equally long legs, its collar and the horns. The legs were created by simply making four back legs and attaching those. The collar was improvised from the Triceratops pattern in the book, but smaller. It’s a little big, but who cares! The horns were short icords attached to the head, because a Triceratops without horns would just be a Cera, right!

Triceratops Triceratops

Triceratops

The second was a Parasaurolophus (white and red), which completely the normal Troodon with the addition of one horn on its head. There was some shaping involved and the person who received this Dinosaur thought it was a duck at first, when it was upside down.

Parasaurolophus Parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus

The last was a Tyrannosaur Rex (green). It’s a Troodon body, Troodon back legs and shortened Troodon front legs. I made a little ridge along its back to make it stand out a little. I also added the teeth to make it more intimidating and T-Rex-y. I don’t know if that worked.

T-Rex T-Rex

T-Rex

All dinosaurs have safety eyes with white felt behind them to mimic real-ish eyes, see the last picture for all the dinosaurs for a close-up of their faces. Their legs are attached in such a way that they can still move. That’s why the dinosaurs can both sit and stand. This was a successful project and I still have two Troodon bodies lying around that can still become dinosaurs!

All