I need a knitting-free day

My fingertips are soar and it feels like I have small parts of wool in my throat. The yarn does wear off small threads/pieces when I’m working with it, I think I’m inhaling it or it could be something my mind made up. Not sure yet.

Anyway, the knitting is going very good! I’m half way through the first scarf  and my fingertips feels like they used to when I practiced playing on my guitar 15 years ago.. I think it’s getting better the more I knit but hopefully I’ll be able to let my fingertips rest today at least. Knitting is very addictive and my boss said “it looks a bit manic Therese…”, I laughed and put the knitting away.

Yesterday I got another package with crafting stuff! YAY! I have been waiting almost three weeks and it was full of goodies!
Some scrapbooking items, some jewelcrafting materials, something for sewing and a few other projects I have to create.
I noticed ten bolts of acrylic yarn and I remembered what my needles were for, I’m going to knit a shawl. I put up 58 stitches and started knitting a few rows stocking stitch.

It will be about 50 cm wide, not sure how to finish it, if it’s going to be a long scarf or if I’m going to sew two pieces together and make it a V or so.. I’ll figure it out later on!

When I knitted the first rows I realized the shawl will be very warm! Just by holding the yarn made my fingers warm and cozy, the white scarf makes my fingers colder, but that could be because of the metallic needles.. the other ones are made out of plastic. I hate them.

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Let the knitting begin!

I received a package yesterday containing four bolts of yarrrrn, one pair of needles and one pair of circle needles. I can’t remember what I’m supposed to use the needles for, but I guess I’ll figure it out one day when my memory is willing to work with me.

The yarn is called Raggi and is 70% wool, 30% nylon. I’m very sensitive to itching yarn so I usually go for cotton but this yarn is soft and nice. I think it’s perfect for a scarf, or two..

I haven’t knitted in about a year so I was very keen on getting started! The scarf is completely without any advanced patterns. It’s good old ribbed knitting all the way! I started with putting up 120 stitches and will continue going row by row until my yarn is finished. I will knit three knit stitches and three purl stitches, three knit, three purl and so on.

As a newbie knitter I don’t know the best way to mark the stitches when I put the knitting down for a break, but I guess I will figure it out somehow! Last time I knitted I didn’t use any markings and unfortunately there were some minor mistakes. But I was quite satisfied with the result anyway!

It was the first time I knitted on my own. Nothing too advanced, it wasn’t too hard changing colors which I was afraid of, he he. Just plain ribbed knitting and tassels (can’t stop thinking about Maria Montazami when I hear/use that word) at the ends.
It was a gift for my cousin and I think he liked it. I know his dad did because the colors are same as his favorite soccer team :P (I didn’t know that when I started but my cousin looks good in blue).

And here’s a bad picture of a scarf my beloved granny made me. She’s the one who taught me how to knit. My mom helped me getting started with the blue scarf since I had forgotten how to begin :P

It’s basically the same model as the one I made, but bigger! I had a pair of matching gloves (in the picture) but I lost one of them last winter… But soon I might be able to knit a new one!
One of the goals with my current project is to practice on making looser stitches. Last time I made my stitches very firm and it was a bit hard to work with. When I watched my granny knit, I noticed her stitches were very loose and looked easy to work with. According to my mother, my other granny used to knit with firm but even stitches. Mine are firm and uneven.. haha. Practice makes perfect so I guess I have a few hours of knitting to do!

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Hamabeads

When I was a kid, six years or so, I loved making necklaces and stuff out of hamabeads. Some were glued onto pieces of wood and used as saucepan mats or wall decorations. Tacky, I know, but I guess my mum liked them even tho they were ugly :) I remember I had pegboards in shapes of butterflies, hearts, stars, animals, squares and circles. Some needed ironing or glue and some were done immediately. I still loved it. When I got older I tried to make nice earrings, bracelets and necklaces but I was never satisfied with the result.

Now I’m back with the pegboards and enjoy the pixel-like art I can make. Mostly well known figures such as Bub & Bob from NES or a KoopaTroopa on request by my brother. I also made the warlock class icon from World of Warcraft (the trickiest so far) and the Commodore logo for a friend.

Not sure what kind of function they have, but using them as table protection (for glasses and saucepans etc) should work fine. As these are better looking than the ones I made in my early days I might even use them as decorations ;)

Shopping bag bonanza

Shopping bags are lovely! Easy to make and personalize and good for the environment if it helps you purchase fewer plastic bags!

I made the first bag back in 2004, a dark and cold winter and I needed some crafting therapy!
I found a lovely curtain fabric with black and gray flowers. It was love at first sight and I still use that bag every now and then. I had to replace the handles and made the second pair of a stronger fabric. Plain and thin cotton is not recommended!

Anyway, my mother also wanted a bag and a friend of mine too and even my granny got jealous of my pretty bag. She loves shopping bags (not plastic ones) and has lots of them. They are getting quite worn out now and she wanted something more fancy.
All bags are made of at least two layers of fabric, which should be enough to hold for heavy groceries as well.

The first picture is of my bag, the first one. Second picture is the one for my mother, third is my granny’s and the forth is the latest bag to the collection! All are made of curtain fabric and cotton on the inside. I couldn’t find any pictures of the one for my friend but it was white with gray and purple chickens, she loved it :)

I have plenty of fabric waiting to be used for bags. Whenever I find a suitable fabric I by a meter or two for future projects. I’m sure there will be more shopping bag posts here later on!

iPod case

About three years ago I got an iPod nano, it was back then when the 3rd generation still was hot (it got replaced a month later by the 4th gen.). Me and many others don’t like scratches and marks on our precious electronic devices so I decided to design and make me my own iPod case before I had used it too much. Scratches usually appear when the device is brand new…

I found a violet colored manchester fabric and some silk ribbons. I thought the orange worked best with the purple and the rosette gave it a cute touch!

It was very easy to make, I just measured the iPod’s width and height, cut out a piece with margins for the seams. I used my zigsag seam around the edges, folded the top edge and sew the ribbon (& rosette) before folding and sewing the piece together.
Since I didn’t use a button or strap to keep the cover on the iPod I had to make sure the iPod fit perfectly. The cover is slightly smaller than the iPod and it doesn’t fall off. I recommend using a fabric that won’t stretch out.

I havent made any more covers, but it was fun and easy. The only limit is your creativity!
One tip: Avoid making too large knots on the inside as the thread itself can scratch or mark the iPod. I place the shiny side towards the rosette to avoid worn of marks on the click wheel and display. I know the newer iPods have nicer backsides so keep the inside soft to avoid unwelcome marks!

A felt ball for the younger ones

My youngest cousin celebrated his first Christmas and all of us gave him presents, who can resist buying toys or tiny clothes?

Of course I bought clothes too but I also wanted to give him a ball that reminded me of one I had when I was a kid. A soft and colorful ball with a bell inside. I have heard that kids like bright colors and at the time he was almost hypnotized by bright, red colors!  He just loved the red cow on our milk packages.

My idea was to make a nice and colorful ball of some sort of fabric.
I went to my local crafting store and found figures and sheets of felt. They did feel quite weak and I was afraid he would be able to tear the ball apart. Later on I heard he did, but apparently he loved it!

I found a pattern at the shishi girl, which I used, I just made the pentagon a bit smaller.

I chose to use two pieces of each color, none of the same beside another and the figures were stitched by hand. I’m quite satisfied with the result but next time I might use a better fabric or strengthen it with a cotton layer or vlieseline!