Showing posts with label Caron Simply Soft Eco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caron Simply Soft Eco. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

WIP Wednesday

Ok, I know it is cliche to do this but I really do think I need a recurring post theme or I'm not going to get my butt in gear to keep posting on a regular basis. I love to write I just need to do it.

So, here goes my Works-in-Progress post. I actually took this photo on Friday last week, but since then I've done very little so there's not much change.

I laid out all my works on the round glass table in my living room. You can barely see the cool sculptural base, but it's there.

Let's start at the top and go clockwise, shall we? This is a skein of Lion Brand Homespun sitting next to a pile of the simple fingerless mitts I mentioned in a previous post. I've waited to seam them as Alex is so curious about how on earth a rectangle becomes something that can be worn as a mitt. I tried explaining it, but as we all know, some things just need to be seen to be understood. Needless to say, I haven't taken the time to sit with her and show so I have at least three pair waiting to be sewn. The mitt that is on the needle in this picture was later torn out as I realized the cable I was trying wasn't coming out as planned because I'm a dingbat. Still learning about cabling afterall. *sigh* At least these are quick and I frogged and restarted and finished the mitt all on Friday night while my girls were at the bounce house for an hour. All is well and I've cast on for its mate. The color may or may not come through well on your screen but in person it is a rich coral and these are actually being made for a co-worker who is just a tiny young woman who is always shivering in the office. She was sick for at least two weeks recently and I though this might be a nice thing for her to come in to one day. Can't hurt, right?

Next up is what was supposed to be the Valentine's Day doll sweater. That's one ball of Paton's Cha Cha in a bright red and one of Lion Suede in a bright red. I wasn't sure I'd have enough of the suede to do the whole sweater so I added stripes of the Cha Cha and will add it to the collar and cuffs as well. So far so good, but it isn't making it to Cher in time for this Valentine's Day. Sorry! :(



This rainbow colored puff ball is yet another fantastic doll sweater made from Paton's Cha Cha. This stuff is the most incredibly soft yarn to work with. Its sad that it is discontinued. Cher was kind enough to buy out her source and send me a box full of different colors so this is just one of many that will be popping up as works-in-progress and finished items. Yummy yarn to work with and this color does the striping all by itself!






 




Next up is another doll sweater in one of my favorite yarns, Caron's Simply Soft Eco. You may remember that I adore Simply Soft in all its colors but the Eco brand is even more a favorite as I'm kind of a hippie chic and this speaks to that side of my personality. This cornflower blue sweater is one of my "signature" sweaters that I've got a little dress to match and will pack away for a Fall/Winter launch on my Etsy shop.
Next up are what were to be Summer socks for my girls. We were at the local yarn store (Spin A Yarn) and I let the girls pick out what colors they'd like. I spent many a day knitting row after row on the tiny needles as the girls played in my parents' yard or rode bikes or scooters. Still, I did not finish. Carebear's are the pink and yellow and one is complete. The picture shows the beginning of the second one. LexiLoo's first is pictured and is now off the needles but its mate has yet to be cast on (I think...better check on that actually). I'm hoping to have these done for their March birthdays. Wish me luck!

I was stressed and well, as knitters I'm sure we can all relate to the call of a yarn shop within walking distance. One of my favorite bosses stopped by my desk in the morning, rubbing his hands together making comment that there was no heat in his office. Oh really? Well, he is one of my favorites and has even passed along knitting and sewing supplies from his deceased wife. I think he deserves some fingerless mitts to warm those hands, don't you? Of course they must be made of some great wool, and of course I had a lunch break to wander to the store. Hunter green and ivory and I've charted a pattern for our company name and...oy! I'm using this pattern from Mary Keenan at Hugs for Your Head so I can get the basic stitch count and the length. I've never done a twisted rib and find it so soothing.

Last, but not least, is the hat I'm working on for me. This is the Rainbow Boucle Patterns yarn that was given to me by Alex and Spike as a Christmas gift. I've struggled a bit with it as cables don't appear, nor do some simple knit/purl patterns. So, I'm just knitting along in the round and thinking it may be a very long toboggan type hat when I'm done, which will be quite some time from now as I have an ever growing "to do" list that piles in ahead of this one. Still, it is there and waiting patiently with one of my favorite markers on it.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Busy Bee, that's me

I guess it's only appropriate, as my name does mean "bee", that I've been buzzing around knitting crazy the past few days. I'm so glad to have finished the cabled skull cap, but I had some of the Simply Soft Eco left and it was too good to pass up. So, I cast on another (88 sts on sz 7 bamboo needles) and came up with this one (Eco for the grey and regular Simply Soft for the black):

(another good photo by my little one)

Then, I started a sweater for my eldest daughter. I'm making it up as I go, so we'll have to see how that turns out. The white was purchased months ago with the intent to make shrugs for the girls to wear on cool summer mornings, with their dresses for church. Silly me...nope, never made it to the needles. So, now I'm looking toward Christmas and toward using some yarn from my stash so I grabbed a skein and cast on. Seeing as it is almost Winter now I thought I'd add some colors to the white to make it more versatile for all seasons. It has a picot detail at the bottom, garter stitch "side seams", stipes of dark and light shades of the same color, and it will be a cardigan of some sort to be thrown on over any t-shirt. So far so good:

Last, but not least, I finished the first gift mitten. The yarn is a blend of wool and soy. Strange sounding to me, but it is remarkably soft and great to work with. The outside of the Patons SWS (soy wool stripes) isn't very soft, but once it is pulled off it unwinds a bit and is much nicer. I hope the person receiving these will think so, too. The yarn is self-striping (subtle in the middle of the mitten). I purchased two skeins (on clearance, I think) without checking how much I'd need. I was worried I would run out, but when I pulled out my reliable two-needle pattern (Many Mittens by Mary Lamb Becker) it showed that I may be able to make the pair with just one skein. Bonus! Maybe I'll get a pair, too. I've modified the pattern just slightly, to make the cuff a half inch longer for any size. I found that if I use the printed measurements the cuff isn't long enough to stay inside a coat sleeve,which in winter here is important. Who wants to play in the snow if you constantly have to adjust the mittens? I love to play in the snow!

 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

FO: Cabled Skull Cap

This past weekend I took some "me time" and finished this hat. I need a few to wear in the office so I started by crocheting a chain so I'd know it would fit around my head. From there I guessed at a good cable and just knit for fun. It turned out to fit tight to my head like a skull cap and I like it that way. It is perfect for throwing on as I work on the computer.

The yarn is Caron Simply Soft Eco. I actually thought I was going to run out as I had used part of the skein for other projects, but it turned out that I still have enough left to incorporate into another hat. It is soft and washable which are two of my favorite attributes. It didn't hurt that I used my bamboo needles to knit with either. They are straight size 7s so I don't use them much at all.

The picture is horrible, but the webcam is all I have right this second.


11/3/10-better pictures, thanks to my four-year-old. Good Job little one!