Stylish Bookmarks

This day began with the frustrating realization that one of my crochet hooks has gone missing. It especially irks me that it is missing from a set so that its absence is so noticeable. I searched high and low until I came to the unfortunate conclusion that I won't be seeing it again permanently. I think the next time I'm in Wal-Mart or Michaels though, I'll just buy myself a whole new set and donate this now incomplete one to somebody who wants it. Because I woke up to the thought of crocheting, I decided to brush up on my crocheting skills. Besides the very basics of the basics, my crochet level is no where even close to my knitting level (which makes perfect sense since I only have one project that is actually completely crocheted - and only single crocheted at that. Two projects if the border of the blanket counts I suppose).

I decided to crochet bookmarks because its quick and easy, and I can focus on one specific skill at a time. If I screw up, it isn't as big of a deal, since its only a bookmark and can be easily scrapped. Also, I have these tiny tiny little balls of yarn that I desperately want to use up. They're way too small to make anything else useful, but also too big that I can't toss them without feeling guilty. (You can see my other dog, Ellie, in this picture who is looking sad because she thought I was taking a picture of her, and she hates having her picture taken.)

Well, I learned that crocheting isn't very intuitive for me. After the finish of my bookmarks, I seriously doubt I can actually follow a written pattern. I can read it just fine, but I just can't seem to figure out how they want me to do it - which is why my bookmarks all followed video tutorials on YouTube instead. I discovered I can do all the skills it requires, but I just don't know when or how to apply them when left to my own devices with a written pattern.

The first bookmark I made was a flower:

With this, I learned how to double crochet, how to make a tassel and how to slip stitch. I'm keeping this one for myself since it was the first one made, therefore, a little more special than the other ones.

 

The next one I made is this intricate lacy bookmark:

I learned how to treble crochet with this project, and how to make what the robot sounding lady in the video calls a "pekoe" (like the tea? I have no idea). This bookmark is so pretty! I gifted it to my second sister, who - lets say - was a little ungrateful, haha! She kept insisting that it wasn't a real bookmark, and just a random crocheted piece. But come on, anything can be a bookmark, right? Well, I forced her to use it anyway by sticking it in her book that she's reading, ha!

 

Edit: I'm so dumb sometimes. It was Picot! And I learned that already during the making of my border, which I obviously forgot to do since I was following along like it was my first time ..

 

The third bookmark that I made was a star!

I attached the yellow lining on the outside myself just to make it look a little more colorful. I learned how to do a double half crochet with this bookmark. This one was given to my eldest sister. Oh my goodness though, the brown yarn that I made this bookmark with just does not run out. If you remember, I've made a scarf and hobo gloves with it already, and now this bookmark. Still, I have a tiny ball left. I'll have to be even more creative I suppose.

 

Anyway, that's it for now. After these little projects, I'm thinking of doing a long term project again. But who knows! I'll see what catches my eye next!

Sweet Bonnet

So, I've had this blog for a while now and I don't really advertise to anyone that I know that I have one. I'm not sure why, but I guess I'm just not certain how people will react when they find out that I love this stereotypically old granny craft so much that I'd have an entire blog dedicated to it. Anyway, so I took the plunge, and told some people that I've been writing one (since no one in real life is interested in discussing the finer details of my knitting projects), and one friend expressed interest in actually reading it (yes, this is totally directed at you, ha!), so , for the first time, I'm a little more self-conscious about what I'm actually writing. I definitely appreciate any readers though, and especially the couple of people that stumbled into my humble little blog somehow, and yet repeatedly decide to come back for a visit.

Onto the main topic though! After knitting the behemoth which is the GoT blanket, a quick easy project seemed like the way to go. I actually went ahead and knitted the neon ski bonnet I had previously mentioned about wanting to do. And I'm so glad I did it too!

I've already tried my hand at toques, beanies, and earflap hats, so knitting a bonnet was somewhat of a new territory. This pattern is so amazing because with the cables, and decorative wraps, the hat looks a lot more complicated than it actually was to make.
 

I chose it to make it out of the Icelandic wool that my sister bought for me because I thought it would keep my head extra warm during Canadian snowy weather. However, I was a little worried about using this yarn because I've read that it can be pretty scratchy and itchy. But, I figured with all my hair on my head, I wouldn't even feel it .. and I was right! Another reason that had me worried, was that because this yarn is so... wooly and fluffy, I wasn't sure if the pattern would show up as clearly as it would with regular yarn .. and it did turn out a little more fuzzy looking than the sample photos in the Ravelry link, but as you can see, not a big deal.

 

Anyway, interesting fact, the headband is actually knit as a tube first, to give extra warmth to your ears. Then, you just pick up the stitches alongside the band, and knit the rest of the hat. I was actually thinking at that point that the hat wasn't going to turn out well because it looked nothing like a bonnet, and I just couldn't imagine the end result being put together- which obviously I was wrong. It was good practice for cabling and doing twists! I think I'm pretty confident doing those skills consistently now!

 

Also, it was my first time making a pompom! That was another reason why I chose to make this pattern, because I've never made one before, and I love the challenge of trying something new (I sure wish this interest extended to activities outside of knitting). Thanks to the power of Youtube, I learned how! Basically, making one involves having to use some cardboard discs, so I had to make my own. I just found an old tissue paper box with a pretty purple flower pattern and used that. It was really fast to make, and can be put aside for future pompom making endeavors! 

 

The first pompom I made was so ugly and small and warped though- a total failure. The strands even come out if you use the least bit of strength at pulling one. So, I had to make another one, which turned out pretty perfect (and thankfully so too, since it takes quite a bit of yarn to make, so it was a good thing I had a lot of yarn left over.

Left: failed ugly pompom Right: Awesome successful pompom

Overall, a lot of fun to make, and since it was a relatively small project, it allowed me to do something during these ridiculously long breaks I sometimes have at work! I'll end with a gratuitous picture of my dog, Yuna, looking too cute in the bonnet.

 

Sewing the back

So yesterday I went to Fabricana and bought a navy blue fleece piece that I thought would fit best with the GoT blanket to cover its ugly back. Today I got around to sewing it on early (as my dog thought it would be a good idea to wake me up at 5:30am and I couldn't get back to sleep.) Thank God my mom is a really experienced sewer (or are they called seamstress?) because once I laid the blanket on the fleece, I already wasn't quite sure what to do. Believe it or not, there aren't any good tutorials out there for how to attach a backing to a knitted piece. Anyway, she showed me how to sew the thing on, and from there I began to really finish off the blanket so I'd never have to think about it again. First, we pinned the blanket in position and trimmed the fleece so that it would only be 1 inch larger than the blanket.

Next, we had to find thread that would be strong enough to hold the back together with the blanket, and not just rip off from the weight. Again, luckily my mom sews because she had just the thread for me! I have no idea of its name, but its thin enough to be relatively invisible, but incredibly strong so that its actually impossible to rip it with your hands. Apparently, its mostly made of plastic, and thus perfect for what I needed.

It actually feels pretty wiry, but once its sewn on, it doesn't make the blanket feel any different. I sewed for probably 5 straight hrs (this is how far I'll go for my hobbies... sigh), and finally, I was done!

 

You can even see my naughty dog in that photo, who I had to keep pushing off the blanket because I'm guessing she wanted to sleep on it. As you can see, she sadly settled down just above it, ha!

 

Anyway, now I'm officially done with this blanket, and I'm going to use it to keep me warm once winter comes :)

New Beginnings

Wow, it's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of planning a new project. I've been working on the blanket for so long that I've got all these projects that I became interested in.

So, there's a Neon Ski Bonnet that looks really cute, this Angry Birds doll that some kids at work might like, this market bag that would help me be more Eco-friendly, and this dijon top that I've been interested in for quite some time now. I'm eager to knit them all at the same time! But I've made up a rule with myself to only knit one project at a time because it really bugs me when I leave things unfinished.

Before I start on all that though, I still need to buy the fleece backing for my blanket! Maybe I really do have a knitting addiction. I didn't knit at all today (giving my hands some well deserved rest), and it just feels so strange .. like my hands should constantly be doing something.

Honestly speaking, I'll probably start a new project by tomorrow, ha!

You Either Knit or you Die

It's done!! After 2 and a half months of knitting! I knit a Game of Thrones blanket :) Okay, so I'm not completely done yet. I'm planning on adding a fleece backing to the blanket to cover the ugly back. But, I was so excited to finish the knit portion that I had to share! I took the sigil patterns from here. Some sigil patterns I tweaked however because I didn't want to (and too lazy to bother to learn how to) embroider- this is most noticeable on the Stark and Tyrell pattern, but the Baratheon, Lannister, and Targaryen sigils are slightly changed as well.

For the GoT logo, I made the pattern from this neat little site that I found on reddit, but I feel so bad, for the life of me, I can't find the website again to link it here! Basically, you feed the website any picture, and it'll graph it out for you. I think it sounds like knit widget or something like that, but Google isn't showing any results. Well, here is the graph that I got (and personally made easier to read) in case anyone wants to make their own!

It actually didn't come out this neat because I couldn't find any photo of just the logo clearly by itself, so I had to do a lot of cleaning and improvising, but it did give me an awesome base to work with.

 

I also got the chance to work on my crocheting techniques, as I crocheted the sections together, as well as crocheted a border around the blanket to make it a little less curly, since stockinette stitch is so frustratingly curly. I think when the fleece backing is knit on, the curling should be even less though. Because you probably can't see the border in the main picture, here's a close-up:

It's called the Picot edging found on this Youtube tutorial.

 

This blanket will be perfect when binge watching the GoT series!

Still Alive

So I'm taking a break from knitting to inform everyone that I'm still alive! I thought I should update since I haven't in quite a while. First of all, I guess I didn't realize just how long knitting a blanket was going to be. I mean, I thought it would just take a month, but I think its been 2 months now, and still ongoing. I think I've gotten to the point where knitting the thing has become more like a chore than actually something to do to keep me happy. I have taken a break from knitting though. Last week I went to Las Vegas! When I came back however, my first thoughts were 'Ugh have to return to work' and then 'Ugh, I'm not even close to finishing the blanket yet'. Well actually, the latter sentence is not true. I think I am half a month away from finishing it! If I had to guess, I'd say I'm 80% finished.

I still think that the blanket is going to look awesome, but man, its so time consuming! I want to knit other things now! I want to knit hats, and gloves, and scarves! Anything else besides this blanket!! I won't give up though! I think the end result will be worth it :)