KnittyOtter

Giftie Socks and a Hazy Saturday Sky

When I was seeing Cookie last Saturday I finally gave her the socks I knit for her last year. Plus the ones I knit for her during the current year.

I had some mailing trauma last year, that's why she didn't get them sooner. o.0

Here are the socks I knit for her last October during Socktoberfest. I think I finished knitting them a day or so after it ended. I took my sweet ol' time weaving in the ends though. I believe I did that in January or so.

Clickety Biggety!

Both pairs of these socks were knit with lots of love and respect for my best friend. The ones above are in fact my second attempt at knitting her socks. You may recall the overly tight twisted stitch socks I knit for her in 2006 that were my very first socks. When I knit her these socks I wanted to make sure they fit her and were super comfortable. I hope I succeded. She tried them on in front of me and I think I got the first part down pretty well. :D

Pattern: Hiiumaa Socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I didn't do her color changes, just used the basic construction of the pattern and made contrasting heels &Toes. This is the perfect basic cuff down sock pattern. :D This is the same pattern I used for my Honey Socks.
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, 100% Superwash Merino. The variegated colorway is Country Garden and the solid color is Mulberry.
Yardage: 420 yards/4oz per skien. I have enough leftover of each yarn to make myself a semi matching pair with a solid sock with contrasting toes & heels in the variegated yarn. :D
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony DPN's US 2 / 2.75mm
Again? Of course. I love the round toe and the eye of the partridge heal on these socks. They are easy to fit anyone and rather snazzy if I do say so myself. ;^)

These next socks I started knitting in January around Cookie's birthday. Everything but the toes on these things were finished in April or May. What can I say my knitting had been hit or miss for a bit of time there. Life ate my head. o.0 I finished the toes, wove in my ends and washed/blocked them the evening of June 20.

Clickety Biggety!

Pattern: My Own Dizzy Otters Spiral Ribbed Socks. It's just a basic spiral ribbing along with an eye of the  partridge heel and a round toe. Though I considered doing a different type of toe. But seeing as I completed these socks the Friday night before we were going to get together I went the simplest route.
Yarn: Seacoast Handpainted Superwash Sock, 100% Superwash Merino Wool. The colorway is Cherry Fizz.
Yardage: 560 yards, There is a bit left as I didn't want to make her super tall socks since I don't think she likes that sort of thing.
Needles: My beloved  Bryspun Double Points - US 2 / 2.75 mm. I love these needles SO MUCH. I wish they had a 2.25 mm, but they don't go down that small. *sigh*
Again? Heck Yeah, I need to write up the pattern while I'm at it.

The yarn for both of these socks came from Deluxe Yarns here in Reno. :D

Didn't Cookie do a great job modeling and photographing those socks?! Those are super faboo photos. When I grow up I wanna be able to take a good modeled sock photo.

In other news the California fires are still going and their smoke is still here. While it is not as bad as Cookie is dealing with, we had blue skies today and yesterday, it is still a pain in the ass. Or the lungs as the case is.

Here's my Saturday sky photo taken around 10:30 or so.

Clickety Biggety!

That doesn't look too bad at all in comparison to Cookie's Sky. o.0 It just looks weird because normally you can see the mountains in the distance and everything in between.

Here's what our sunset look like on Monday. The honey called me over to have a lookie. It was very odd, looked like the sky was on fire. The photo really doesn't capture how eerie it looked.

Clickety Biggety!

Well off to go get some ice cream with the honey before I get back to knitting on my Cookie Cutter Toe Up Short Row Socks. I am loooooooooving these!! :D

Entrelac Scarf & The Time Warp

I finished my Entrelac Scarf last month or so. Due to the time warp I keep finding myself in who knows. It may have been December. o.0

Anyhoo I finally finished it. The holdup on this project was caused by bad yarn management. I had 4 balls of the Trendsetter Tonalita #2349. Somehow one of my balls got away from me. Heh.

When I was cleaning up the yarn cabinet last month or so I found it so I could finally finish my scarf. Wheeeee!! I really liked knitting this up. I sure hope so considering I went so far as to make a Tutorial for it. ;^)

I've worn it several times and like it very much, although the colors don't so much match anything. It's very dreamcoaty that way. Which is fine because unless it's a Cookie Creation I rarely wear matching knits... because I've yet to get around to knitting a matching item.

I do like this scarf lots though. George looks Faboo in it as well. :D Clickty Biggety!

The actual knitting time wasn't much for this project. My inability to stay monogamous to a single project and bad yarn management is the real time suck here.

I think I want another one of these in more sedate colors. I really liked the way the greys flow in the scarf Cookie made a while back. Not sure about Grey... a few weeks ago or so this asshat of a woman told me, as I was wearing my just finished and proudly completed Duckie Hat, "I Hate to tell you this, but grey isn't your color". If I'd had any sense I'd have asked her why she felt the need to give out her unasked for opinion if she hated doing it so much. Feh. I very adultly ignored her... I think. I may have beaten her to death and blocked it out of my memory. You never know these days. I blinked and we went from the 4th to the 13th. o.0

This time warp shit has got to stop. I know life is happening in the blackout areas. I have knitting proof that I was awake during the missing time. But damn, how the fuck is it the middle of February already.

Last month Florrie mentioned a Leftover Sock Yarn Knit Along she was going to start on February 14th. It's here tomorrow and I still need to get my yarn leftovers together. There is also a contest with the Knit Along. It's a Crazy Socks Contest! :D If you like the idea of using your sock yarn leftovers to knit up a fun pair of socks and the possibility of winning some super nifty knitting swag why don'tcha give it a check out and knit yourself some Crazy Ass Socks. :D

I think I'm going to try to finish the socks I'm knitting on now before I start my Crazy Leftover Socks. I just started the feet on both socks yesterday when TKK and I were sitting outside enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. I was even wearing Shorts and a Tank Top. Today it's raining and it might snow later. That's okay too. ;^)

Red Scarf Project, George and TKK Oh My!

I finished my Scarf for this years Red Scarf Project. Well this Autumn's Red Scarf Project as it's not really 2008 yet. Either way it's fantabulous and benefits the Orphan Foundation of America. :D

Just think some College kid will receive my handknit scarf as modeled by the lovely George here. George is as high fashion as it gets, Baby! Clickety Biggety!

George was petting TKK when I took this photo. (Yes, the scarf was washed after it touched the kitty.) TKK said she wanted to be in the photo, but you know how models and their egos can be. So we had to take another photo of her without George or the scarf to show off just how vivacious and fuzzy she is. Truly the cutest kitty ever.

She knows how to work the camera. That and she was trying to lick it. :P

Some details on the scarf:

Cast On: August 17, 2007
Cast Off: September 21, 2007
Pattern: My Own "Not a Real Pattern Pattern" - Simple Alternating sections of Garter, Seed & Basket Weave
Yarn: Universal Yarn from the Moods line color 1505 - It's a Worsted Weight Wool/Acrylic blend that has colors that blend between Red and Black. - I had two balls of the yarn when I started and I still have 3/4 of one of them. I'll use that to make Hats for the Charity Box at Deluxe Yarns for the local homeless & needy.
Yardage: 247 yards
Yarn Source: Deluxe Yarns
Needles: Clover Takumi -  US 10.5 / 6.5mm 16" Circular
Again? YES! It was a fun easy knit and the honey liked it so he'll likely get one in the Blue and Black Colorway. :D Nothing like some mindless knitting to make you all nice and relaxed when things are kinda stressy.

Notes: This was my first Completed Scarf using Garter Stitch as more than a border. *L* The scarf is 6 feet long and 5.5 inches wide. This scarf was started with some friends when I was too brain dead to knit on the socks I had with me at the time. It's been knit on in four states and through several drinks and travels. Heh.

Random Observation: It just occurred to me that George kinda looks like Jerri Blank's Father, Guy.

George on the left, Guy on the right

Twins Separated at Birth! o.0

I'm glad I finished the scarf in time. Now I just need to get a gift certificate, write a note and care instructions and mail it off.

In other news I finished another pair of socks... *happy dance*

Entrelac Scarf Tutorial

I am so in love with entrelac I can't get it out of my mind. I've dreamed about knitting entrelac every night this week... well what little sleep I've had. It's hard to sleep when you can't make your mind be quiet about your most current love. That and there was a cat licking my eyebrows. Very hard to sleep through that. o.0

Can't sleep. Can't eat. Must Knit. :D

I love this knitting technique so much I made a Tutorial for it for any of y'all that aredn't sure what it is and wanna give it a try. :D There is PDF of the tutorial/modified pattern at the end of the post. :D

I modified Alison of Freckles & Purls Entrelac Scarf pattern (PDF), with her permission, and will share it with y'all today. Plus a little tutorial I wrote up to go with it. Alison's Pattern is based on 8 stitches per section and came out to 9 inches wide for me when I knit it. Great Pattern, but just a bit too wide for me. I altered the stitch count per section to 6 and now it comes out to 6 inches wide. Whether you use Alison's Original 8 Stitch Pattern or my Modified 6 stitch pattern you will love it. It's a great pattern for anyone new to Entrelac or anyone who just wants a kickass cool entrelac scarf. :D

Here is a comparison between Alison's Pattern and my Altered 6 Stitch Pattern. Mine is the smaller one on top. It's the same number of sections. The only thing different is the number of stitches per triangle/square. (well the yarn is different, but you know what I mean. :P)

6 Stitch Entrelac Scarf Pattern & Entrelac Tutorial

Yarn: Trendsetter Yarns - Tonalita Example here in color 2349.
A very similar yarn to the Tonalita is Lang - Mille Colori
Needles: US9 / 5.5 MM Inspired by Allison LoCicero’s Entrelac Scarf @ http://www.frecklesandpurls.com/

Stitch Guide
k = knit
p = purl
k2tog = knit 2 together
p2tog = purl 2 together
kfb = knit into front and back of stitch
ssk = slip slip knit
sl = slip
m1 = Make 1
psso = Pass slipped stitch over

Base Triangles 

CO 18 Sts

Row 1: (RS) k1, turn
Row 2: and all WS rows – purl all sts in this section, turn
Row 3: sl 1, k1, turn
Row 4: Purl sts in this section, turn
Row 5: sl 1, k2, turn
Row 6: Purl sts in this section, turn
Row 7: sl 1, k3, turn
Row 8:  Purl sts in this section, turn
Row 9: sl 1, k4, turn
Row 10: Purl sts in this section, turn
Row 11: sl 1, k5 – Do Not Turn – end of base triangle one of three – start next base triangle on next stitch

Photo of first triangle in the base triangle section of your scarf.

Repeat Rows 1 to 11 two more time to complete all three base triangles

Photo of completed base triangles

Tier 1 - 2 Diamonds & 2 Side Triangles

Left Side Triangle

Row 1: (WS) k1, turn
Row 2: kfb, turn
Row 3: k1, p2tog, turn
Row 4: k1, m1, k1, turn
Row 5: k1, p1, p2tog, turn
Row 6: and all RS rows – knit to last st, m1, k1 turn
Row 7: k1, p2, p2tog, turn
Row 8: knit to last st, m1, k1 turn
Row 9: k1, p3, p2tog, turn
Row 10: knit to last st, m1, k1 turn
Row 11: k1, p4, p2tog, turn - end of left triangle - Do Not Turn

Photo of completed left side triangle 

Now work the two middle diamonds of Tier 1.
Two Middle Right Slanting Diamonds

Row 1: (WS) With wrong side facing, pick up and purl 6 sts along the selvedge edge of the next triangle. Sl last st picked up onto the left needle and p2tog, turn.

Row 2: k6, turn
Row 3: sl 1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 4: k6, turn
Row 5: sl 1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 6: k6, turn
Row 7: sl 1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 8: k6, turn
Row 9: sl 1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 10: k6, turn
Row 11: sl 1, p4, p2tog, turn - end of Diamond One - Do Not Turn

Repeat Rows 1 to 11 one more time to complete all both middle diamonds. Once both diamonds are done began working the right side triangle in the next section.

Photo of completed center diamonds

Right Side Triangle

Row 1: (WS) With wrong side facing, pick up and purl 6 sts along the selvedge edge of the next triangle or diamond, turn.
Row 2: and all RS rows – knit all sts in this section, turn
Row 3: sl 1, p3, k2tog, turn
Row 4: knit sts in this section turn
Row 5: sl 1, p2, k2tog, turn
Row 6: knit sts in this section turn
Row 7: sl 1, p1, k2tog, turn
Row 8: knit sts in this section turn
Row 9: sl 1, k2tog, turn
Row 10: knit sts in this section turn
Row 11: k2tog - Turn and transfer this st to the right needle.

The remaining stitch will be counted as the first st picked up for the first diamond in Tier 2.

Photo of completed right side triangle & Tier One
Tier 2 - 3 Diamonds

Three Left Slanting Diamonds

For the first diamond only, the remaining stitch from the last tier counts as 1 picked up stitch

Row 1: (RS) With right side facing, pick up and knit 6 sts along the selvedge edge of the next triangle or diamond. Sl last st picked up onto the left needle and ssk, turn.

Row 2: p6, turn
Row 3: sl 1, k4, ssk, turn
Row 4: p6, turn
Row 5: sl 1, k4, ssk, turn
Row 6: p6, turn
Row 7: sl 1, k4, ssk, turn
Row 8: p6, turn
Row 9: sl 1, k4, ssk, turn
Row 10: p6, turn
Row 11: sl 1, k4, ssk, - end of Diamond One - Do Not Turn

Photo of first left slanting diamonds

Repeat Rows 1 to 11 two more times to complete three middle diamonds. Once the three diamonds are done you will start tier one again.

Photo of completed three diamonds in tier two

Continue working tiers 1 and 2 until the desired length is reached.

Before you begin the bind off triangles the last tier you work is tier one. Keep that in mind when you start thinking about coming to the end of your scarf.

Photo of Tier One completed, your project should be on this tier when you are ready to begin your bind off triangles.

Bind off Triangles

 Row 1: (RS) With right side facing, pick up and knit 6 sts along the selvedge edge of the next triangle or diamond. For the first triangle only, the st remaining counts as the first picked up stitch.

Slip last st picked up to left needle and ssk, turn.

Row 2: and all WS rows – purl all sts in this section, turn
Row 3: k2tog, k3, ssk, turn
Row 4: purl sts in this section, turn
Row 5: k2tog, k2, ssk, turn
Row 6: purl sts in this section, turn
Row 7: k2tog, k1, ssk, turn
Row 8: purl sts in this section, turn
Row 9: k2tog, ssk, turn
Row 10: purl sts in this section, turnRow 11: sl 1, ssk, psso, do not turn.

The remaining stitch will count as the first stitch of the next triangle.

Photo of first triangle of three triangle bind off

When all three triangles have been worked, bind off last stitch and weave in ends.

Block if Desired.

Photo of completed bind off edge after blocking

Additional Notes:

Turn unless otherwise noted

You should have 6 stitches for each triangle at the end of each section with the exception of the right side triangle at the end of tier one – at that time you will have 19 stitches on your needle. There will be three sections of 6 stitches plus one which is the start of the three diamonds in Tier 2.

When you are getting close to starting the bind off triangles keep in mind that the last section you will knit before starting the bind off is Tier 1, not tier 2.

To create a gap free seam, count the stitches you intend to pick up from the bottom before you began to pick up. Most gaps are caused when you pick up at extra stitch at the top and skip the most important stitch which is at the bottom.

Once you do a few section repeats it will all seem much easier for you. You won’t need to count each row as the pattern construction and logic will become very clear for you. Don’t give up if you feel like it’s too “thought intensive” at first. Entrelac is fabulous mindless knitting once you get the hang of it. ;^)

Here is an easy to print off PDF of this Entrelac Tutorial:
Download 6_stitch_entrelac_scarf_tutorial_by_knittyotter.pdf

 

The Making of My Bitchin' Bondage Mittens - An Original Otter Design

My mittens didn't end up as I intended them to be, but I am happy with them.

Here's what I went through to get where I ended up.

Back when Dave first mentioned the Bitchin' Mittens KAL I knew what I wanted to do... in a rough way. I knew I wanted to to use leather along with some really soft wool and metal as well. I did that, although not as I imagined it.

Here is the original drawing I did and what I was planning on doing. My Bitchin' Bondage Mittens.

Top down, lace cuff at the top, leading into some sturdy leather cuffing with metal loops to connect the mittens to the chains, red and yellow, with some white intarsia flames on a background of black, another bit of black leather cuffing with more metal chains and then a solid black mitten. The drawing makes it look longer than I intended, btw. It was to start just below the elbow.

A few weeks ago I did a swatch in leather in straight needles and it was cool looking. It was a small swatch though and I didn't get the magnitude of how hard this would be on my hands to knit the amount of leather cuffing I wanted. In the last ten days or so I tried different needle sizes from US 00 all the way up to US 10. I've learned that knitting on straights is much easier than  knitting with leather in the round on DPN's. Unfortunately I didn't allot myself enough time to work on this and thought I could whip them up in ten days or so. This was not to be. During the last ten days of the competition I tried everything and no matter how I did it my hands were just getting beaten. Thursday of last week I went to Tandy Leather to look for softer leather lacing to work with. The hard tight shiny leather I had been using was causing my hands to feel bruised and burnt as if I had been holding a rope that slipped very fast through my hands. I had freaking rope burns from the stuff. o.0 Not cool. Plus my hands were just aching and stiff.

Here is a picture I took before I ripped the metal chain out so I could use it. Black is hard to photograph. Black leather is ridiculous to photograph. Sucks all the light up into a black pit of despair. My eyes are fucking killing me from working with the stuff. o.0

At Tandy I picked up a spool of softer suede leather in back to try out. I also grabbed a big piece of black treated leather. One side was soft suede and the other a shinned supple leather. I got that with the intention of sewing the hand portion of the mittens. I figured the soft suede would be good as it was another interesting sensation that the wearer (me) would feel when wearing the mittens. It was Thursday and the mittens were due by Monday and I knew I likely wouldn't have time to knit the hand portions as well as doing the intarsia flames I intended to do on the arms. (hello I'm so delusional I thought I still had time for that *L*)

Friday was still dead and my hands were basically cramped claws so I didn't do much other than worry and plan.

Saturday I knit some cuffing with the new softer leather. Not easier on the hands. The suede was basically a fine grade sandpaper to work with. But I pressed on anyway. The finished product was so painful to wear and rubbed my skin raw from just putting it on that I knew it wasn't going to work. I went to bed without making any progress and now my hands were killing me even more.

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early and got to work on the mittens. First I drew a few mitten tracings around my hand onto tissue paper to see about the sizing. Once I had a shape I thought would work I cut it out and pinned it to some scrap carrot material I had leftover from my KSKS bag. The first one I made was mostly find, but the cuff was a bit tight. So I redid the pattern making it a little wider at the cuff. I also made it overall a little larger so that it looked better. Once that worked out I used that as my actual pattern for when I cut the leather.

The left mitten in the image was the first one I tried. The second mitten was used as the actual leather mitten pattern. (I of course used in turned inside out)

I broke a lot of pins trying to pin the pattern to the fabric... so I had to get creative and used some office supply clips as I went along. They were GREAT for when I was doing the actual sewing up.

This is the soft inside when I was sewing them up.


Didn't hurt the leather and kept it all in place. I didn't use an Awl or hole punch as Dave mentioned in a comment, but rather a leather piercing needle. It's a needle with 3 razor sharp edges that comes to a wicked ouchie point at the end. I only did more damage to my thump and index finger of my right hand with that thing. I had a leather thimble, but it just slowed me down and by the time I was onto this portion of the mittens it was Sunday afternoon and I didn't have time to be screwing around. My hands were getting numb kinda so it was okay. >.>

<.<

My shoulders and arms were killing me by this point too as I had been going nonstop at this. *L* It counts as a workout!

shut up

Okay so by Sunday night I had two mitten hands and the very tops of the cuff. I still had hope though.

Here is my Sunday night progress and when I was trying one on. (hard to take a picture of your own arm like that, btw)

At this point I decided to go with some simple stripes and set the Intarsia flames aside for another time.

Here is a shot of my Sunday Evening Sky when I was taking a break.

At ten I decided to call it a night and start fresh the next day... the last day.

Monday, the final day of Bitchin' Mittens dawned and I was tired and bleary eyed. I was a mess over here. *L* Many cups of tea and I was on my mitten making way.

I finished the complete cuff of on mitten sometime in the afternoon. I then discovered a new problem. How to sew the mitten cuff onto the leather portion of the mitten. After trying a few things that didn't work out I grabbed a bottle of wine... and used it as an arm form to hold the mittens while I sewed them up. *L*

And yes there was drinking going on during this process. :P

There is still leather in the mittens cuffs. It's in with the black portions to reinforce the knitting so the chains and locks don't pull it out of shape or hurt the wool. Cookie asked if the locks would hold. Yes, they do. ;^) If anything they are one of the strongest pieces of the mittens, along with the chains. That is why I needed the leather to add strength and durability to the cuffing. Very sturdy and usable.

Here is a picture of the sewing up on the wine bottle. Hard as fuck to get a shot of this. Weird light and the black just sucks the light away. My eyes they are DEAD. o.0

I finished the mittens off at 8:30 and the deadline was 9:00 (midnight Eastern). One cuff is slightly shorter, but not really noticeable when wearing them. I had camera uploading issues and then wordpress logging in issues so that half an hour to photograph the mittens and post was very stressful and rushed. It was like that TV show 24 over here. *L* Every minute counted. There near the end I just closed my eyes to finish up the knitting because it was faster, plus my eyes were killing me and it was blurry anyway.

I had planned a really cool photo idea for the mittens, but alas time was short and my patience and sanity were shorter. I tried to get my honey to take a picture of me wearing them, but he couldn't get what I was saying and they weren't right. So in the actual pictures that I posted he is wearing the mittens. Doesn't look right. *L*

At 8:59 I sent Dave a desperate email explaining how I couldn't get into TypePad. Then they sent me a new password and I could get in.

Here are the final pictures I posted: (The leather is what makes the black sections pop out a little)

I'm very pleased with my mittens, although now I wish I hadn't spent so much time messing with knitting that leather. The knuckles on my index and middle fingers of my left hand was a puffy swollen stiff place. Sunday when I was done I couldn't unclench my fingers. Probably not the best way to go about knitting some mittens, but there you go. :P My fingers are sore, cut up in a few places and in general very ouchie. So I've taken the last two days off from knitting. My hands are still sore, but much better now. I'm going to start my Red Scarf Project next. Need to have a think about the yarn. I may be doing a dye over later today.

I'm also taking a break from the black and hot pink kitty blankey as I don't want to knit with black for a while. o.0

There were tears, blood/bruises and several hundred curse words during this process, but I did it. It wasn't what I had planned out, but it still works. I think I'll make the pair I had intended to make at some future date. *L* We'll see. Maybe I'll make them without the leather bits and just make them mittens you know for like wearing in the cold. :P

FO: Carrot Stripes Zipper Pouch

Pattern: An Original Otter Design
Yarn: Cascade 220  In Grey 8401 & White 8010 & Dalegarn Tiur (60% Mohair and 40% New Wool) In Green 7562 & Orange 3436.
Yardage:  I used the leftover bits from the Bunny Bag and I still have enough of the orange and green to make that Pumpkin Bag I'm thinking about.  So Yardage used = ? *L*
Yarn Source: Deluxe Yarns 
Needles: Clover Takumi -  US 9 / 5.5mm 16" Circular
Gauge: 9 Stitches Per Inch
Other Items Used: I used a Coats & Clark 7" All Purpose Zipper. I had to shorten it by an inch. That was the smallest size I could find. The Carrot Fabric was by NorthCott, called Is it Spring Yet. Guttermann durable thread in a creamy off white color. Assorted Sewing Needles & Pins. I broke a lot of needles and pins sewing this and the bunny bag. o.0

Notes: I started knitting this tool pouch on July 21 and I finished it a few days later. Then I let it sit until this past Saturday August 19th before I started sewing the lining and attaching the zipper. I finished last night. :D I'm muchly pleased.

I knitted it up in the round like a big sock without a heal or toe decreases and then I grafted the ends together like the toes of a sock. *L* Pretty simple. Just decide what you want and find whatever way works to do it. That part was super easy and no big deal.

I made the mistake of trying to hand felt it though. I figured if Hot water was good for felting REALLY hot water would be even better. All that did was make the orange yarn color run. Then I finished it off in the washing machine like a normal person.

For the pouch I just figured a simple envelope fold over piece would be fine. So I measured, Ironed, cut & sewed up the lining. Leaving some overhang flaps so the part I sewed the zipper onto would be double thick.

Then I sewed the zipper onto the pouch, after pinning it into place that is.

Once that was done it was a piece of cake to sew the zippered lining onto the knit felted pouch. :D

Things Learned: Making smaller stitches when sewing make it look much neater even if it does take longer. :D Don't use boiling water when hand felting without first doing a swatch test of the yarn you will be using to see how it reacts. Have LOTS of extra Pins and Needles on hand. I must be stronger than I thought cause I kept breaking the damn things. :/  A good pincushion too. You can't have that thing blowing away with the wind should sew outside at all. o.0 I also learned I think I want a sewing machine. I think it might be a lot faster than sewing by hand. *L*

Biggest lesson learned. Stop being afraid and JUST DO IT. I was so damn scared to cut the fabric and that wasn't so bad. Then I was scared to cut the zipper and that wasn't so bad. Then I was scared to sew the zipper on and that was nothing. :D Sure it's not perfect, but I tried!

Here is the Bunny Bag & the Carrot Stripes Pouch Together!

I also made some matching Stitch Markers to go with the kit. :D

The Carrot beads are the ones Cookie was able to find for me at her LYS. :D Thank you, sweetie!

I'm mailing off my KSKS Package today. It was supposed to have been out Friday, but I needed a bit more time. I've been in communications with my person though so they know to expect it a bit late. After they get their package I'll post a piccie of all the goodies I sent them. :D *happy dance*

Until then I leave you with this:

This is a theme kit designed especially for my person if you're wondering what's up with all the carrots.  She is a bunny and I hope she likes it. :D

FO: Bunny Bag

This is my Bunny Bag. :D

What does every bunny need? A bag to hold heads in of course. :P The bag I first envisioned was going to be a Bunny Head complete with Big Bunny Ears.

Right. No that didn't work out. I was running out of the lovely soft grey yarn and couldn't get any in the same lot. So instead of making a Bunny Head Bag I made a Carrot Bag. Cause that's the way Bunnies roll. Good for me my KSKS person listed these colors as her Fav. Makes sense. Bunnies do like carrots afterall. ;^)

So I present to you the Bunny Bag. An Original Otter Design. ;)

Pattern: My First Original Thought Out To Completion Knit Design :D
Yarn: Cascade 220  In Grey 8401 & White 8010 & Dalegarn Tiur (60% Mohair and 40% New Wool) In Green 7562 & Orange 3436.
Yardage:  Total of the four skeins I'd say I used roughly 310 yards. I have just a bit left of the white and grey Cascade and at least half of each skein of the green and orange Dale. The Dale was thinner than the Cascade so I double stranded it for knitting. Which was cool because it made the carrots be a little raised and it looks super neat.
Yarn Source: Deluxe Yarns - Reno's Friendliest Yarn Source! This is the store I currently consider my Home LYS.
Needles: Clover Takumi -  US 9 / 5.5mm 29" Circular
Gauge: 9 Stitches Per Inch / Aspect Ratio 1.368

Notes: I wanted to use my own design for this. I've never knitted a bag from a pattern before, but it seemed like a good idea to jump in feet first. I've learned a lot and my next bag will be even better. :D I got the idea for how I wanted to do this from a knit bag Cookie sent me months ago so I could see what felting was like. It looked like the bottom was a knit and then the stitches picked up. So I decided on a shape for my bottom piece and went from there. The shaping was a simple enough thing to reason out. I just did some simple decreases where it seemed logical for them to be. This bag has it's flaws and is by no means perfect, but it's fun and made especially for my KSKS person who I'm hoping will love it muchly.

I started knitting this bag with the idea of the Bunny Head on July 4th. That's why the bag has a Triangle bottom. I was going to make the bag have a rounded shape with a side that was the face forward end. Plus it would open up the bottom of the bag with room to keep yarn and all the sock kit stuffies. Later that day it became painfully obvious that I was not going to have enough of the grey yarn to make it as I was picturing it. I wanted the bunny ears to be big and floppy and grey, a grey that was a perfect match. So the next day I went to My LYS and looked around at the Cascade. By this point I had the idea for doing Intarsia carrots in my head. They didn't have any orange though. Then I thought maybe I'd just do some embroider carrots on it with some really cool looking shiny silky cotton stuff I saw, but it wasn't really what I wanted to do and I was on a deadline to get my yarn and get out of there. I was also taking a flight in the next few days and needed to get my project stuff together so I'd have something to work on to stave of the insanity of air travel. *L* The lovely proprietor who is ALWAYS helpful and friendly asked what I was looking for and I told her, then she went to another room of the store and picked out the lovely soft Dale. :D Perfect. The store is 4 rooms of Yarn and knitting/crochet goodies, by far the biggest selection of yarn in one place here in Reno. :D Next to the orange was a perfect matching green so I grabbed those and the white cascade along with some Bobbins to help me with working with the multiple colors and headed home to finish packing and get started on the carrots.

It was then that I decided I better chart out what I wanted these carrots to look like. I looked online to remind myself what a real carrot looks like. It's been years since I've really looked at a full size carrot. Now all I ever have are those Baby Carrots. I think that's kinda sad. I remember having big old fashioned carrots when I was a kid and pretending I was a bunny. What's up Doc? ;)

So after deciding what  general shape and size I was going for I drew a few rough carrots and decided I wanted it to be a slanty carrot and not just an upright carrot. At this point I needed some knitting graph paper. So I went to Google. TO THE GOOGLE_MOBILE!!!

I love Google. I'd have Googles Babies if I could. :P

Okay not really. That's just weird, but as this is how my day/week/life has been going lately, why not. Embrace your inner weirdness! But only if it's cute, cause otherwise go clean your bathroom instead or something. :P

(I think I need a Pepsi. I've been craving one all morning... I think it might calm me down. No, Really. o.0)

Anyway on Google I looked up knitting graph paper and came up with Knitter's Graph Paper at Needle Pointers. I played around with drawing some carrots on the graph paper until I decided on my general shape and size and then I plotted it out with colored markers and that was that. (Click image for a better view. It was all squished at the smaller size.)

Here is the chart if anyone who might happen upon this should ever decide they want to knit carrots for any reasons. *L*

It took surprisingly no time at all to finish the knitting portion of the bag. I was done with everything except the iCord by the time my plane landed in AnnLand. I didn't knit the week I was there, but I did go shopping at a yarn store there. *GRIN* I got some lovely sock yarn for my KSKS Person as well as some cool needles and notions and even the pattern.

Side Note: On the flight back I worked a little on the second sock. I was also reading Hugh Laurie's "The Gun Seller". Very Good Book. Go Get it! :P

Y'all know I think he is the sexist bitch ever right? Okay well now you do. :P (But only when he's HOUSE and all grumpy n' shit. *L*)

(See need a Pepsi, this is a public blog for fucks sake. o.0)

While in AnnLand I also went to a store there and FINALLY found some fabric with carrots in it. I had to go to 5 stores between Reno and AnnLand to find that stuff. None online either. o.0 Crazy! I was getting desperate at that point and was thinking I'd have to get some white or cream fabric and rubber stamps with carrots and some real dyes to make the stuff. Not Kidding.

I also went to a bead store there looking for carrot beads. Nada. None here in Reno either. The lovely and talented Cookie found those in her neck of the woods for me. Three States and the Internet explored to find carrot beads. Either nobody wants carrot beads or they are rare and valuable and should be coveted at all costs. o.0 Precioussss?

Okay so after I got back to the land of the sane I finished the iCord and washed it to felt it like 4 or 5 times. It was slow going. I hate my energy efficient washer. I'm going to beg Cookie to felt the next thing I do. That or go to a laundromat. o.0

I blocked it with plastic bags and packing peanuts. When you squeeze the air out of the bag you can pretty much mold it to whatever shape you want kinda like clay. So neat! :D

Then I let it sit for the last month as I was terrified to cut into the hard to find carrot fabric. During this time to do anything but face the cutting of the fabric I started a kitty blankey and finished the socks as well as knit and hand felted a matching pouch to go with the Bunny Bag, sans carrots this time though. Just stripey.

On August 6th it couldn't be held back any longer. I HAD TO START LINING THE BAG. o.0

It wasn't so bad as I feared. I've never sewn anything before, well that one time in the 7th grade when they had us sew a crappy heart shaped pillow, but I never finished that... but I digress... again... so having no idea what I was doing I just did what I thought seemed reasonable. Well that and I went through anything I had that was sewn and looked at how it was done. No real help there as it was all machine sewn. I even got a book on sewing. Can you say lost? Oy.

But I made it through. It's functional if not pretty. *L* I had to drop the idea of the pocket as it would have taken up too much space and made it lumpy.

I have no idea of this was the right way, but it's the way I did it and as there aren't any sewing police I figure it's all good. Right. So I made the lining and sewed it up into a pouchy thing and then sewed it to the bag itself. I worked on the sewing part again last night, so it took two nights for me to do that. Plus I put the last inch of stitches in this morning to finish it up. So the actual complete date is today, August 14. ;)

Things Learned: When picking up stitches for the base of the bag, make sure you get them all otherwise it will bunch up kinda weird after felted. o.0

This bag is a lot of firsts for me. My first Intarsia (well I made a small swatch with a circle once), My first original creation, my first iCord, my first knitting with more than two colors of yarn, my first chart creation.

Basically I just kinda figured it all out as I was going along. I had an image of what I wanted in my head and then I just had to make that happen.

I think I'm going to make myself a bag similar to this in the next month or so. Only instead of carrots I'll make it with Pumpkins and vines, like my Pumpkin Patch. :D It should be a fun  Autumn Knit as well as a cool Autumn Bag. Or I might design a spooky Halloween bag. I haven't decided yet. I think I want Both! *L* 

I'm really proud of myself for this. It may not be much, but I made it from nothing inside my head and that's pretty damn cool. :D