Guest blog: Cathy's knitting, crocheting, and jewelry

Today's post is brought to you by Cathy.  She's a new friend from Ontario, and her name is in the antique Fenton bowl along with Carol's to win a Xuron 4 in 1 Crimper tool.

Here's what Cathy sent in (with a little bit of editing on my part so the two e-mails blend together nicely):

Hi Traci!

Love your sites!  And your FB page!  I sent you a friend request - we have a lot in common!  I love to bead and I do everything needle-crafty under the sun!  I've always crocheted, but then the knitting bug hit, then macramé back in the day, hand embroidery, quilting, sewing, beading, now silversmithing and lapidary - it never ends - I hope.  I love it all - there's not enough time to learn it all.  I just get happily into one thing and "poof" something new catches my eye and I'm off trying something else.  My poor husband.  We downsized last year from a two-story, 4 bedroom, full-basement house to a 43' motorhome and 2 storage lockers!  What a mountain of crafty stuff I sold and gave away. ((BIG SAD FACE)) That was hard.  But I still knit and make jewelry, etc. etc. to my hearts content - I just don't carry so much stuff around with me while I'm doing it! 

So, having rambled on, I'll share some pictures with you.  Last year, my nephew-in-law and his wife had a new baby and so did a good friend of ours, so I knit and crocheted a plethora of stuff to send to each.  Here's some of it:

I asked what the big round things were - they looked like enormous doilies to me, and she replied:

The big round thingies are shawls to wrap baby in or lay him on.  The purple one actually went to my friend to use as a comfort shawl for her - she lives in Northern Ontario and was cold all the time, so she was pleased to get that.

The orange things were knitted bibs. One for each baby - one bib I had enough yarn so I made a quick pair of baby booties to go too.  There was one blue blanket with the chevron ends on it - that was just a small crocheted blanket - good for the buggy.  There was a bib also that was knit with the back strap already knitted on so the bib would have to go over the head - probably not be good for too many months, but interesting to make.

I also made a couple of sleep sack combos - one for a nurse who works in the nursing home where my mom is - she had a girl a year or so ago.  Here it is:

And one for my girlfriend who had her baby 8 months ago:

She said he quite enjoyed being inside it.  This pattern was found on Ravelry - Laura Nelkin if I remember correctly.

I knit a shawl with one of Laura Nelkin's classes on Craftsy - Skywalker.  It's here:

Goodness, has she been busy!  That's not all, though:

Plus, last winter we spent three months in Arizona.  The store in Casa Grande where I've been learning great things about jewelry is called Pink Pear, and Bonnie Light is the proprietor.  She is absolutely amazing - I can't wait until we go back again in October!  These were some of my class projects:

Cathy, thank you for sharing so many of your lovely projects with us!  Good luck in your future endeavors, and I hope to share some more of your projects in the future!

Just like Cathy, you can send me some pictures and enter my Xuron 4 in 1 Crimper giveaway!  Click here for all the details on how to enter.

Baobab baby pullover #3 - Trunk progress

Today will be very quick.  I don't have anything new to report on the design I talked about Friday and Saturday.  We went to the movies last night and saw Divergent.  I really liked it.

Today we watched the first Captain America so we can go see the new one next weekend.  While doing that, I made progress knitting the Baobab baby pullover I'm testing.  If you know nothing about this sweater, you can catch up here, here, and here.

I have a few more rounds before I start adding the tree's branches.  I'm looking forward to it, but I don't think I'll be able to watch TV while knitting.  There are a lot of different stitches, and I'll have to pay close attention.  Hopefully I'll be able to listen to music, but I'm prepared to knit in silence if necessary.

Here's what I have so far:

Really exciting, isn't it?  :)  It's just about 3" long, which means I have a long, long way to go, just like the triangle bangle I've been talking about.  A few of the testers are finished or almost finished, so I feel bad lagging behind.  I can't knit in marathon sessions, though, so I'll have to plod along as I've been doing.  The designer said it's fine, and that's all that matters.

It ain't pretty, but it works... sort of

You may recall I'm pattern-testing a baby pullover.  If you missed that, you can catch up in part 1 and part 2.  You may also recall that I came to knitting kicking and screaming (see my Stop me post).

While I'm getting a lot better, there are a number of things I still have problems with.  One of those is holding the yarn.  Many people (if not most) intertwine the yarn in their fingers which helps guide the yarn and keep a uniform tension.  I've tried that, but it feels contrived to me, and I can't get the yarn to move.

Flipping through yarn catalogs (primarily Knit Picks, because that's the one that comes to the house now), I've seen rings that help keep strands of yarn separate while doing colorwork.  Knit Picks has two versions - a plastic one and a metal one.  When I knit the Choo Choo train hat, I could have used one of those, but at the time I thought it would confuse me more than help me.  I still think that.  I dropped the yarn I wasn't using when I wasn't using it, and somehow I ended up with a hat that looked like the picture.

Back to the baby sweater.  For the most part, I have a rhythm down for knitting but not for purling.  In knitting, the yarn is behind the needle, where most of my fingers are.  In purling, the yarn is in front, where most of my fingers are not.  In general, this wouldn't be a problem, but the vast majority of this sweater is purling.  All the "cool" stuff is knits and cables, but all the non-tree stitches are purls.  That means I'm stitching much slower than I would prefer.

Here's how I hold the yarn in between stitches:

And here's how I end up holding the yarn while stitching:

If I drop the yarn for whatever reason, I (obviously) have to pick it up.  It's really not all that efficient.

When I woke up this morning (well, one of the first times I woke up this morning - I may have mentioned I don't sleep well), I was thinking about this dilemma, and I thought about those rings.  I also thought about my quest to not buy tools if I can make do or just plain make.

Ideas started floating around in my head, and I was unable to go back to sleep until I had a plan.  It started with me making my own ring using wire, then I remembered that I have a large number of adjustable ring blanks from Rings & Things.  I took one of those and a spool of black wire:

twisted loops around so I could put the yarn in and take it out again:

and I have a theoretically functional knitting ring.  No, it ain't pretty, but does it work?

Here it is in action:

Steve wanted to take an aerial shot:

It's not perfect, as I'm still having trouble with tension.  Also, it feels like I'm moving the yarn around just as much as before.  I'm sticking with it and am getting a bit faster, so maybe there's hope.

If this turns out to be a good solution for me, I may make a polymer clay version.   It won't be as pretty as this one on Etsy or work with multiple strands of yarn like this one, but it will suit me just fine.

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The third cat (Fe) found her way to my clean desk and was sniffing and rolling around all over it:

I had to move my iPad to give her more room.  Based on her maneuvers in the second picture, I believe this to now be her desk.

Baobab baby pullover #2 - Procrastination pays off

Before I tell you how procrastination paid off for me today, I have sad news.  You know those ads in the sidebar that I said finally reached the threshold for payment?  Those ads I asked you to click but only if you saw something interesting?  Those ads that were going to help me continue to blog and would have paid for the challenge prize if there had been one?

Well, my account has been disapproved.  I was stunned, because I have been very careful to not click my own ads and to only ask folks to click things they were interested in.  I guess when I signed up I didn't read the rules carefully enough, or maybe it's been so long since I signed up that I forgot them.  My act of asking for clicks invalidated my account.  I just looked it up - I put my first ad on my blog in July, shortly after we got Frisco, our bush kitten.  I requested clicks then, and I have a few times since.  I guess they didn't really pay attention until it was time to pay out, over 8 months later.  Maybe it was the sudden jump over the last month that did it, or maybe it was my saying that the funds would help support the blog and the challenge prize.

In any case, I essentially had free advertising for God-knows-what crap products and websites on my blog, and I'm out $100.  I'm a bit mad at myself for not catching that policy, especially since I remember reading everything to make sure I didn't screw it up.  It's not a new policy because there's a thread in a forum from 2007 discussing it.  Based on what I've just read, they're so particular about everything to do with the ads - no buttons or menus or content heavily requiring the mouse can be near it so people can't accidentally click the ad.  It's almost as if they don't want the ads to be clicked.  I guess that makes sense.  If the ads are clicked, they have to pay.  I can understand them not wanting to pay out thousands of dollars a month per account due to automated or accidental clicking, but it took me over eight months to earn $100.  People like me are not a threat.

But policies are policies.  There's no way to appeal it or reopen my account, so you'll no longer be bothered by ads or my requesting a measly click every now and again.  So much for me making money from this blog.  If anyone has any ideas, please e-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.biz.

Sorry for the rant - back to our regularly scheduled blog post...

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I was all set to cast on for the Baobab baby pullover (See my first post if you missed it.  Yes, I know the link spells "Baobab" incorrectly.  That's a hard word to type, even if you're looking right at the correct spelling.) but spent a fair amount of time going over the pattern - looking for things I didn't understand to ask the designer about (since I'm a test knitter), circling the numbers for the size I'm knitting, getting the feel for the basic construction, and stuff like that.

Part of that time was also dithering over the size of circular needle to use - the short one seemed too short for comfortable knitting, and the next longest size seemed too long for the size of sweater I would (eventually) be knitting.

This morning I threw the gauge swatch down the laundry chute so I could see how the yarn holds up in the wash.  While I was still going over the pattern, Steve walked up and said, "Don't decrease the needle size," and handed me the machine-washed-and-dried swatch.

Here's how it compares with the hand-washed, dried-flat swatch:

Before

After

I just looked at the care instructions on the Knit Picks website, and it says machine washing is okay, but it should be dried flat.  My guess is that the recipients of this pullover will not dry it flat.  I wouldn't for a baby pullover.  I decided to use the original size needles.

When I cast on, I always have a problem keeping track of the number of stitches I've put on.  I'm watching TV, listening to music, talking to Steve, or thinking about random things, and I lose track.  I count and count and count the stitches over and over again while I'm casting on, then I count another few times when I'm done.

I read somewhere a tip about putting stitch markers every so often to make counting easier, so I did that.  I am confident in my ability to count to ten (most days :D ), so that's the number I chose.  I still recounted stitches, but it was only to ten, then I counted the stitch markers.

That made it so much easier, and I didn't feel like I was losing my mind.  I'm going to do that every time I have a large number of stitches to cast on.

The stitch markers came from Knit Picks, and I like them very much.  Each package comes with two sizes and two colors of purple (not the reason I bought them, but it was nice bonus).  They're thin, lightweight, and as unobtrusive as stitch markers can be.  The best part is that that there are 30 markers total with a nice storage pouch for only $1.99.  If you're buying yarn from Knit Picks anyway, you might want to pick up a pack.

You know who should be paying me for advertising - Knit Picks.  :)

After casting on, I had to make the "circular needle" decision.  There's a technique called Magic Loop, where a very long (40" or longer) circular needle is used and things are curved around to do the actual knitting.  I don't know how to do that.  I could learn, but I don't have a very long circular needle I could use.  I'm trying really hard to not buy new needles for every project.  I have that interchangeable knitting needle set I've talked about before, so I shouldn't need to buy any more needles.  However, like I said above, the shortest one is too short to knit comfortably - I feel like I'm wrestling two cats into the same carrier at the same time with every stitch.  The next longest one is so much longer that it won't work for this sweater.

I really wanted to use a circular needle, so I agonized and calculated and rearranged and agonized some more.  Here's how both of the circular needles look next to each other (the short one has size 5 needles on it so I could tell the full length):

The stitches are stretched just about as far as they can go.  I decided that even the short, cat-wrestling circular needle is probably a touch too long, so without buying a new, very long circular needle, I was left with one option:

AAHH!  The medieval torture device (otherwise known as double pointed needles - DPNs)!  At this point I'd like to thank my mother and stepfather again for the DPN set they gave me for Christmas, which allowed me to start knitting today instead of going to the store tomorrow.

As I started working on the ribbing to start the sweater, I made a startling discovery:  I no longer have problems working with DPNs and, in fact, am comfortable using them.  GASP!  I still don't like that I have to "see through" the points of unused needles from time to time to get to the stitches at the end of the needle I'm working from, but it's practically effortless now.  That's good, because now that I'm done with the ribbing:

all of my concentration will be needed for the cables that make up the beautiful Baobab tree.

Baobab baby pullover - gauge

I mentioned recently that I am going to test a new pattern for a baby pullover inspired by the Baobab trees in South Africa.  I've gotten permission from the designer to blog the process.  I haven't done much yet, but I thought I'd show it to you.

Here's the picture of the finished sweater that I hope mine will eventually look like:

It's so cute with an owl in the tree and on the sleeves.  I just loved the owls in the Owl and Pussy Cat baby hat I knitted, so I'm looking forward to knitting more of them.

So far all I've done is knit a gauge swatch.  I've written about gauging before.  It's not the most fun thing to do - once you're done, you don't have a finished product (other than a potential cat toy).

It is necessary, though.

Here's my gauge swatch for this baby pullover:

The yarn I'm using is Knit Picks Swish DK in Squirrel Heather.  I'll review it once I've worked with it more, but so far I really like it.  It's very soft.  When it gets wet, though, it seems to be really stretchy.  So once I hand-washed it and pinned it to dry, it ended up being bigger than it was supposed to be:

As you can see, 22 stitches is a trifle bigger than 4".  Since it's too big, I need to decrease the size of the needles.

I don't think I'm going to knit another swatch - decreasing the needles one size should take care of it.  Besides, I really want to get started on knitting the sweater.

That will have to wait until Sunday, though.  Tomorrow, Steve and I are going to be in a Settlers of Catan game tournament, then we're going to Illinois to have dinner at Tsukasa with my mother and stepfather to celebrate Steve's birthday.  I'm not sure what I'm going to blog about, but I'll think of something.

Upcoming knitting projects

The deadline for my Iliad-inspired earring challenge is fast approaching!  You have until 3/31/2014 at 11:59:59p to send me your pictures.  Click the above link for all of the information.  Remember... there's a $25 bead gift certificate for the winner!

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I am 2/3 of the way done with that "Cobblestone Path" bracelet I've been talking about since packing for the LBS retreat.  I was hoping to finish it this afternoon to show you, but a nap occurred.  I should be able to show it to you tomorrow.

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So since I have nothing finished to blog about, I'm going to tell you of a few upcoming projects I'll be starting soon.

The first one is a baby sweater by the same designer as the Owl and Pussy Cat baby hat I showed you at the beginning of the year.  I'm on her testing group now, so this baby sweater is newer than new.  It will be exciting to test the pattern out and give my feedback.  You might recall the designer is from South Africa, and this sweater is inspired by their Baobab trees (the second picture on that page is closer to what the sweater will look like).  When I'm done with the sweater I'll post about it.  I'm also getting a new kind of KnitPicks yarn, so I'll be sure to review it.

The second project is for Steve.  I made the mistake of asking him last night what he wants for his birthday, which is next week.  He said that what he wanted could be done by next winter... A Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) scarf!

I lifted the picture from the Wertzone.

As soon as Steve said that, I groaned.  First of all: scarf.  Scarves take forever.  Second of all, this scarf will take five forevers, as even the short version is really long.  Finally, though, I agreed to make it as long as we can find a suitable pattern.

Then just as I was starting to blog today, Steve pops his head in and says, "The scarf can be for Christmas.  I just thought of something else I'd like for my birthday."  He's lucky I wasn't holding any knitting needles.

I haven't forgotten that I still need to finish the damnable hooded cardigan.  I'll be a very busy knitter this year!

Grown-up looking scarf

When I showed you my grown-up looking hat to go with my grown-up looking coat, I mentioned that I was making a matching scarf but had to frog it because it was rolling.

Oh - on Sunday I mentioned that my new coat was mistakenly taken by someone else at lunch earlier that day.  Last night when I was about to leave for the Loose Bead Society meeting I couldn't find my keys.  I panicked that I had put them in my coat pocket and that the woman would keep them when she returned my coat.  I don't know why I would have taken my keys because Steve drove, but I couldn't find them anywhere in the house.  They always go on the hook, and they weren't on the hook.  Fortunately, both coat and keys were safe at the restaurant, and I felt so relieved I stayed for lunch.

Here's the scarf stretched out before I took it apart:

This is done in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl the next).  I really liked how it looked with all the little Vs and the zig-zaggy pattern the variegated yarn produced.

Left to its own devices, it looked like this:

Since I haven't knit anything flat in such a long time, I forgot stockinette did this.  I didn't do anything wrong - this is normal for this stitch.  It's because knit stitches (the little Vs) are wider than purl stitches.  When I show you the back of the redone scarf, you'll be able to see what that looks like.

I did some research on what to do with a rolled up stockinette stitch scarf and came across a blog post from TECHknitting on that exact subject.  There were four posts, actually.  The first one was a background and explaining why the two plans I had (blocking and edging) weren't going to work.  The other posts discussed methods to fix a completed curled-up scarf.  I looked over the methods, and I decided it would be faster to remake the scarf than to fix it afterward.

As I thought about it, I kept knitting, and I got increasingly distressed.  Steve said, "It's going to be around your neck, no one is going to notice."  I said, "If I wanted a two inch wide scarf, I would have knit one."  He said, "Fair point," and pulled the scarf back then watched it inch its way back toward me as I unraveled, then he pulled it back again.  It amused him.

On the second attempt at the scarf, I thought I'd do all garter stitch (knit each row) because that shouldn't curl at all.

When I first decided to make the scarf, I didn't want to do any fancy cables or patterns or anything because the yarn was variegated.  I had planned on having the ends taper so there was something interesting about it.  So I knit my tapered end in garter stitch and decided I missed the "knitted" look.  Also, it looked like the zig-zaggy pattern wouldn't come back.

Since I wasn't doing garter stitch, I needed to figure out what I was going to do.  Based on when I read on part 3 of that blog, I could intersperse purls in with the knits, and it should result in a flat piece.  Granted, the information on that post is for fixing a scarf, but it theoretically should translate.  If I do the ribbing as I knit instead of manufacturing it after, it should work.

They included a chart for figuring out the ribbing based on the number of stitches, and I followed that.  I knit 3 and purled 1 all the way across in one row and purled 3 and knit 1 all the way across on the next row.

Here's how that looks stretched out:

For my non-knitter readers, the purls are those little indents.  I was happy to see the zig-zaggy pattern was back, especially when it's not stretched out:

However, left to its own devices, it still curls:

It's not as bad as before, but I thought for sure it wasn't going to curl at all.  Since I have three knits on the ends, I think it's curling there and just keeps going.

Maybe it's because it was loosely knit.  I used size 11 needles with regular worsted weight yarn (Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice).  I would think that wouldn't make a difference.

Here's how the back looks stretched out a little so you can better see how much wider knit stitches are than purls:

The irritating thing is that I didn't notice it was curling until I had a lot of it done.  I was already sick of it because knitting a scarf feels like the most interminable thing in the world (next to my damnable hooded cardigan), and I didn't want to take it out again.  Besides, it's really cold out there, and I really needed a scarf.
 
So I kept knitting.  And knitting.  And knitting.  Then I had to stop knitting for a few days because my wrist hurt.  Then yesterday I sat down with the recording of the new "Flowers in the Attic" movie (it was great!) and my favorite 80's Science Fiction movie, "Krull", and finished the scarf.  It could still be longer, but I was ready to be done.  Either I would finish the scarf, or the scarf would finish me.

As an aside, I've heard of people suggesting a scarf as a first knitting/crocheting project.  Yeah, you'd really get good at the stitches, but only if you didn't poke your eyes out with the knitting needles/crochet hook or murder your husband with them when he said for the tenth time, "Are you still knitting/crocheting that scarf?"  Fortunately for Steve, he never said that.  He just said, "It needs to be longer!"  I think that's why I finished it while he was at work.

When I showed you my hat I promised that I would show you the whole coat/hat/scarf ensemble when the scarf was done.  I'm planning on making mittens, and I was going to wait until those were done, but Steve said, "No, you promised to show the hat and coat when you were done with the scarf."

So, as promised (and as a number of you have already seen on Facebook):

Here I am brighter and closer up:

In case you're wondering, I have Transitions lenses.  Love them!


Whew!  Now that the scarf is done, I need to make lots of jewelry for my next show, the Gardens and Gears Steampunk Show at the Mitchell Park Domes!  Get ready to see lots of keys and gears!

Craft magazine review: Piecework Magazine

Today is the last day to enter the contest for the free Owl and The Pussy Cat Hat pattern.  E-mail traci@creative-pursuits.biz to enter!

I'm still working on my grown-up looking scarf to go with my grown-up looking hat.  I am much happier with how it's turning out now, and hopefully I'll be able to show it to you soon.  I bought a pair of 99 cent black "stretchy" gloves (the only kind that work for me) to replace the lavender ones I've been wearing with my new coat.  Steve said, "You're becoming a fashion plate."  That makes me laugh.

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In the last 10 years or so I've found myself fascinated by the origins and backgrounds of things like words, phrases, and foods.  I used to be a frequent listener of the "A Way With Words" podcast.  In their own words:

A Way with Words is an upbeat and lively hour-long public radio show about language examined through history, culture, and family. Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett talk with callers from around the world about slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well. They settle disputes, play word quizzes, and discuss language news and controversies. The show is heard by more than a quarter-million listeners each week over the air and by podcast.

I don't know why I stopped listening.  I need to start again, because I do find it fascinating.

When I started knitting I found myself wondering how people figured out how to do all of these stitches with just two pointed sticks.  When I started circular knitting I wondered how people invented double pointed needles, and when I made my first cable I wondered who invented that and how they thought it up.  I've also wondered how things have changed over the years.

I subscribe to a number of the Interweave e-mails including Jewelry Making Daily and Crochet Me.  Of course I get advertising e-mails, too.  One day I got an ad for Piecework Magazine.  It said they had "a perspective on historical needlework you won't find anywhere else!"  I was intrigued and read on:

Do you love history and needlework? Are you interested in vintage techniques and patterns, stories of needleworkers past and present, and heirloom-quality projects you can make? Then you need to take a look at PieceWork.

PieceWork is the only magazine for those who adore historical embroidery, knitting, crochet, embellished clothing, and exquisite lacework—all made by hand. With beautiful photography and well-researched accounts, every issue explores the life and work of traditional needleworkers, takes an in-depth look at needlework techniques, and gives you instructions for making heirloom-quality projects of your own.

I said, "Oh?  I am interested in all of that!"  I looked up how much it was in print ($24 for 6 issues) and digitally ($21.95 for 6 issues), and I chose the digital option for my Zinio app on the iPad.  The free gift that was offered for print subscriptions didn't seem to apply for digital subscriptions, but I'm okay with that.  I prefer to not have more clutter in the house and to save a few dollars.

My first issue (November/December 2013) arrived in my Zinio library very quickly after subscribing, and the current issue (January/February 2014) came about a week later.

I was enthralled from the first story I read: "The Roosters in the Gore: A Connecticut Mitten Mystery in Two Museums".  It was about the mittens shown on the cover:

The article describes how extraordinary this child's mittens are for around 1875.  For example, there were no stranded color work mittens in the era's periodicals, so these were likely designed by the knitter.  It also shows a matching pair of mittens knitted for a boy that they found in a museum in another state!  The author does some digging and found that the recipients (Clara B. Barrows and Robert Mason) were related.  How neat is that?  The pattern for the mittens follows the article with a few modifications to smooth out the decreases at the top of the fingers.

The next article is "Big Lessons from Little Stitches: Needlework Magazines and the Education of Young Girls in the Early Twentieth Century".  That gives some historical perspective on needlework in the 1920's and 1930's and even has snippets from the actual magazines.  I loved reading the actual words written to little girls about how to make the outline stitch, which is "quick and easy to do, once you have learned just how to do it, and practiced a little - which is true of other things besides stitches, you know."

The rest of the magazine was just as interesting and was a trip around the world and through time.  The articles include: Flappers' beaded dresses, a fox traveling bag inspired by an afghan pattern from 1862, a Chinese silk baby carrier to knit, and First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley's 4000 pairs of crocheted slippers.  Many of the articles had companion projects, and the instructions seem very easy to follow.

Here's the cover of the most current issue:

Aren't those gloves gorgeous?  The pattern, along with information on where they're from, is included!

As this issue says, it's all about knitting.  A number of the articles talk about how little we know of a workman's attire.  When pieces of clothing are found, either in an archeologist's dig or in a shipwreck, it's a monumental task to not only figure out how it was made but with what kind of fiber.  In the first article, a grave was found in a bog in Shetland, and they found a hat in perfect condition.  The research team "plied, spun, knitted, and fulled several different wools until they began to understand their behavior, trying to duplicate the original inner fabric of the man's hat to determine if his belongings were made with Shetland wool."  There is a picture of 9 different swatches tagged with yarn information and knitting needle sizes.

There's also an article about excavations in Magdalena de Cao Viejo in South America and the stockings found there.  They might be the oldest knit garments in the New World.  There's a companion project of socks inspired by the two knit stockings they found.

Other projects are two men's hats recreated from those worn on ships, those gorgeous Sanquar gloves from the cover, Lithuanian wrist warmers, a Spencer jacket (think Jane Austen), and a baby sweater that is a tribute to children imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Remember when I talked about Paracord?  One crafty woman in Crete took apart the cords from parachutes abandoned by Germans in 1941 and made a wedding dress!


I can't recommend this magazine highly enough.  In just the two issues I've read so far, I've learned so much and appreciate even more how vast and important handicrafts have been throughout the centuries.  The articles draw you in with pictures of original objects, illustrations or photos from the time period being discussed, how the excavation sites look now, and more.  The projects are all very pretty and updated for currently available materials and with any irregularities like pattern repeats worked out.

Each issue is no more than $4 when you subscribe for a year, which is an unbelievable price considering all of the research and history included, not to mention the number of projects.

If you're at all interested in the hows and whys and whens of handicrafts, please consider subscribing to Piecework Magazine.  If you don't like it, I'll knit the General Carleton Cap and eat it.  No, I won't really do that, but I do hope you find the magazine as intriguing and fascinating as I do.  Click here for more information and to subscribe.

(In case you're wondering, I'm not affiliated with Piecework Magazine at all.  I just really, really, really like it!)

My grown-up looking hat

Happy Wednesday!

My giveaway for the baby hat pattern, Owl and The Pussy Cat Hat, is still going on.  E-mail traci@creative-pursuits.biz to enter!  I'll choose a winner on Friday.

Today will be a short post to show you my grown-up looking hat to go with my grown-up looking coat.  Unfortunately, I'm frogging the grown-up looking scarf because of rolling.  I'll talk about that more when the scarf is done.

Since I'm not good with figuring out sizing and all that for hats, I wanted a pattern for a very simple, straightforward, no nonsense hat.  I found just what I wanted on Ravelry (no surprise there - they have everything).  It's called Basic Knitted Hat.  It's perfect.  It has ribbing for a brim, then stockinette stitch for the main part of the hat and basic decreasing.  It's perfect, and it was free.  Yay!

It gives instructions on how long to make it for a regular hat and for a slouchy hat.  I don't think I'm cut out for slouchy hats, so when I was about halfway through the suggested number of rows, I tried it on:

It was at the perfect spot to start the decreases!  You can see that I used DPNs.  It was just a bit too small for circular needles.  I'm getting a lot of use out of the DPN set Mom gave me for Christmas!

The rest of the hat went very quickly, and here it is:

I used Vanna's Choice Charcoal Print.  The striping is nice, but look what happened at the top of the hat:

I love the spiral!  The scarf had some nice zigzag patterns going, and I hope those come back when I remake it.

I'll model the hat when the scarf is done.