Finishitis!

Wow, after finishing my Magic Loop socks last night, I decided to finally finish up my blue cabled purse. I just had to sew in a lining and sew on a button!

Ta-da!
Of course, Loopy had to check out my latest FO (finished object).

Here's a close-up of the button. I found it at Wal-mart and actually got two of them for less than $2 - what a deal!

Here's a better look at the inner lining:

And a picture of the completed purse:
I think this is an FO that I will actually use!

I lucked out and found this perfect piece of fabric in my fabric stash. The pattern called for a piece of fabric that was 7 1/2 inches by 20 inches. This piece was about 7 1/4 X 21!! I used 1/4" seam allowance instead of 1/2" to compensate and it worked out beautifully.

This was a really fun project!

Magic Loopy

Loopy wanted to model the Magic Loop technique. It's pretty cool! As you can see, I am just about done with the leg. I think it's about 6" long now. I usually don't make very long sock legs, but it seems that I have plenty of yarn with the Panda Wool, so I may be able to make these 7" legs.

I'm really enjoying the Magic Loop techinque! Here's a close-up of the Panda Wool:
If you click on it to make the picture bigger, you may be able to see the variations in the yarn. There's a lighter shade of pink and a darker shade twisted together. It's so pretty!

I didn't take a picture of the Brigit sock, but I did finish the gusset decreases last night, so now it's just round and round on the foot until I get to the toe section. I hope to make progress on that this weekend because I won't start the heel of the Magic Loop sock until my next class!

Of course, I could always cast on ANOTHER pair of socks so that I can prolong the Brigit socks even longer! It's just those tiny stitches and the bamboo needles... too delicate for me! But I will persevere!!

SOS08 update!

Why is Loopy so excited?


Because I finally finished my first pair of socks for Summer of Socks!! Hooray!

The Fall Herbs socks are off the needles!!

Pattern: slipped stitch rib from Sensational Knitted Socks book
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Cotton
Colorway: Fall Herbs
Needles used: US 3 dpns

I'm really happy with how they turned out! They were actually a pretty quick knit, but since I was knitting the Brigits at the same time, it took me longer.

I did start the foot decreases on the Brigit today so hopefully another completed pair will soon follow by the end of this week.

another mosaic and a sock update

I had so much fun making that mosaic the other day that I decided to make one out of pictures I had taken. I probably should have planned it better, but I just randomly picked 9 pictures from photos I have taken of my various projects and yarn.


Hi Loopy, do you have some finished socks to show everyone???

Loopy is modeling the first socks, but the matching socks are still in progress...
Loopy is wondering "Will these socks ever be done???" So am I...

I am making progress and plan on knitting more tonight. The start of my Magic Loop class was postponed for a week, so that will start next week now. I still would like to finish these 2 pairs by the weekend so that I can cast on a new pair for SOS08!

That's not knitting!

Last night, I got out my boxes of fabric stash for a project. These are the fabrics I chose:
This morning, I got out my sewing machine and started assembling:
What could possibly be more important than knitting? More important than finishing my monkey sock?

Well, making some extra knitting bags for the Summer of Socks, of course!
Aren't they cute? The only thing missing is the drawstrings, because I need to buy some nylon cord. I'm thinking either red or navy blue!

I, of course, can't take credit for the design of these. I used the AWESOME drawstring bag tutorial from yarnmonster's blog. This tutorial was really easy to follow and I am so happy with how the bags turned out. And, I haven't sewed anything in probably a year! And only a few things in the past 5 years or so! I just don't sew much anymore (since I'm obsessed with knitting!) but I'm glad I have my sewing machine and fabric stash for instances like this. It was a fun Saturday morning project! The first bag took me about an hour, as I kept referring to the directions for each step. By the second bag, I pretty much knew what to do and it took my only about a half hour!.(I had cut all the fabric pieces last night, so this morning was only sewing.)

This tutorial makes a great little bag! The bags are reversible because you make two identical pouches, line them up and then turn it inside out. It also has this brilliant, "fully lined drawstring channel", which I never would have come up with on my own, but it is so easy to do, and by following her instructions it just works like magic! I will definitely be making some more of these bags. What a great excuse to use up some of my fun fabric stash that has been sitting in my closet.

I made the smaller version of the bag, but she also gives dimensions to make a slightly larger version. And, I'm sure if you did a little math, you could adjust it to make a bag of any size!

So, as soon as I buy some nylon cord (or something suitable), these 2 bags are ready for me to throw some sock projects into! Woo-hoo!

I even used my little crochet donut pincushion because I needed to pin the fabric for a few steps:
This was another fun project I did a year or so ago and it is really handy! The pins fit in it perfectly and I love how the pins look like sprinkles.

Loopy, what are you doing in there???
Loopy thought these bags might make some cozy little places for him to hide:
Almost, Loopy, but your little red shirt gives you away!!

Instead, Loopy decided to model how the bag might look when it is cinched with a drawstring:
And, he also wanted to point out how the bags look reversed:
Thanks, Loopy!

Loopy's Summer Vacation

Loopy is vacationing out on the deck this summer so he asked me to make him a hammock. I decided to crochet it since I figured this would be quicker than knitting and look more hammock-like.

Of course, it had to be red!! I used Lion Brand Microspun that I had in my stash and just did a pretty simple filet crochet grid. You could use any yarn. I aimed for a hammock that was approximately 5" X 10" so that it would be Loopy-size. It probably could even be a couple inches wider than 5" to fit better. I did jot down some notes in case anyone wanted to make one.

I used a G crochet hook and started by making a chain of 28. Then double-crochet into the 6th chain from the end. Chain 2, skip two stitches and double-crochet into the next stitch. Continue [ch 2, sk 2, dc] until you get to the end. Then chain 5, turn, skip 2, dc in next dc, and [ch 2, sk 2, dc] to end. Make sure you get to the very end to keep it rectangle shape instead of decreasing. It's always a bit tricky to get that last double-crochet into the right spot.

You could also knit a rectangle of the same dimensions or even use a lace pattern to make it a little more airy.

If you make your own Loopy hammock, be sure to let me know! I'd love to see it!
For anyone who is not familiar with The Loopy Ewe and Sheri's blog, she is having a summer photo contest where you can submit pictures of Loopy on summer vacation.

sock progress

Loopy wanted to show off the progress I made on the Sable Panda Cotton socks this weekend:
He thinks the socks are a little big for him and suggested I check my gauge.

How do I explain that they're for ME not for HIM?

I think Loopy may need his own pair of mini socks at some point!!

a little loopy

My favorite place to shop for yarn online is The Loopy Ewe. Pictured above is part of my order that arrived yesterday! (I ordered Tuesday night - they have GREAT service!) I just had to buy one of the "Little Loopy" stuffed lambs. Isn't he adorable? His red shirt says "a little loopy". He is sitting on the knitting bag I bought so I can start knitting on the go (if I decide to do that). I haven't taken that plunge yet... I always knit at home.

Loopy also wanted to show off the new Panda Cotton yarn I bought:
This color is Periwinkle. Also, check it out, his arms/legs are one continuous piece so you can make him have long arms and short legs as above or...
He can stretch out his legs with my Panda Cotton yarn in Sable, which you can see I already wound into a ball last night so I could start a pair of socks:
That is the progress I made last night. I am following the same basic 6-stitch pattern instructions from Sensational Knitted Socks that I used for my blue Panda Cotton socks. But, I am trying a slightly different rib stitch. I am using "twin rib" as opposed to "slipped-stitch rib", which I used on the blue socks. I don't think this dark yarn will show off the stitch much anyway and I wanted a pattern that was easy to remember so I didn't need the pattern in front of me when I worked on it.

Also, the lace scarf knitting is complete, but I haven't blocked it yet or taken pictures. I will try to take pictures before, during and after blocking so you can see the change. This will be my first major blocking so I'm not sure how I'm even going to do it! I just want to make sure I have rust-free pins!