I love quick projects and this past week I casted on Arroyo by Sarah H. Wolf using my stash yarn of Wisdom Yarns in Poems, a very light fingering weight sock yarn.  This took me a total of five days, including the time for blocking.  If you are a beginner lace knitter, this is a very easy pattern and would be perfect for you to try.

Pattern: Arroyo
Yarn: Wisdom Yarns Poems Sock in Ivy Trails.
Needles:   US 4 (3.5 mm)
Modifications:  I added beads on rows 10, 18, and 26 of the lace pattern, and I added an eyelet row at the very end before binding  off.
Start Date: May 23, 2012
End Date:   May 28, 2012
Ravely Project Page: Arroyo

This will look great as a scarf for this fall!

Showing a close up with the beads.

I’m looking forward to wearing this as a scarf this fall and can’t wait!  This evening I’m casting on a beautiful project, the Double Leaf Saroyan by Liz Abinante and I’ll be using my stash of Malabrigo Rios in the colorway of Zarzamora.  This will be another quick knit project that I should be done with in less than two weeks!

What quick knit lace projects do you enjoy?

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

The cardigan is a very basic piece with no fuss but looks a bit “plain Jane” in my book and I kept looking at it trying to think of something I could do to dress it up a bit.    At first I thought about adding vintage crochet pieces to it for a “retro look” but didn’t really like how it would end up looking.  After going through my collection of books, I pulled out Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray and realized that I could add just a little embroidery to change the look of the cardigan and give it a bit more “pizzazz”.

Like my yarn, I also have a stash of embroidery floss, cotton and wool, that I keep in my lovely vintage crystal vase next to my desk.   Just like my yarn, I tend to gravitate to very earthy colors in embroidery floss too, and when I see a great sale or colors I must have, I pick up a few to add to my growing collection.

I found a very simple embroidery design on page 65 of Doodle Stitching that only requires two colors.  I have chosen to use DMC Pearl Cotton in a gold for the stem and a lavender for the dots.  I will be lightly drawing this design onto my sweater using  a non-permanent fabric marking pen or pencil. 

Note: Be sure to do a test on your garment in a spot that will not be seen before tracing to insure that the non-permanent fabric marking pen or pencil  is “non-permanent”.

Before starting, made two copies of the design and placed them on opposite sides of the buttons to see how it would look to have mirrored embroidery.  I decided that was a little too much, so with my non-permanent marking pencil, I hand drew the design onto the sweater.

I decided to use to strands of floss for this project and a small darning needle to make it easier to work with the knitted fabric of the sweater.  Using a simple stem stitch, I embroidered the stems using the gold and then using a satin stitch, embroidered the berries in lavender.  I decided to free hand my initials on the opposite and add a couple of lazy daisies.  I’m quite pleased on how my project turned out and look forward to wearing my cardigan this fall.

You can find easy stitch diagrams for embroidery online at Stitch, the magazine for the Embroiderers’ Guild and great How to Videos, patterns and monograms online at Needle’n Thread.

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well.  So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?  ~ Ginny from Small Things

 

I finished my Oaklet Shawlette last week and I love how it turned out.  This was truly a fun knit that worked up fairly quickly.   I’m still working on my Vodka Lemonade and hope to separate the sleeves in the next few days.  This project has been slow going, but I really don’t mind.

I also finished my books, the  Poyson Garden by Karen Harper and  Knit with Love by Lisa Bogart .  I really enjoyed them both and have now moved on to The Fellowship of the Ring  by J.R.R. Tolkien.  I’ve never read any of J.R.R. Tolkein’s books and with the upcoming release of the Hobbit this fall, I thought it would be fun to read the entire series.

Happy knitting and reading!

Compared to the others in the KAL in the MadelineTosh Group, I’m way behind but that’s ok, I’m knitting at my pace and was told not too long ago that “knitting is not a race”, and I so agree!

As I mentioned in an early post, I’m taking Laura Nelkin’s online Craftsy Class, Knitting with Beads.  I loved it when she mentioned that our bead stash would grow like our yarn stash, and she’s right!

As I go through Laura’s class, I am already planning projects to incorporate beads and recently purchased two tubes of Miyuki Beads size 6 online from a great Etsy shop, Edwards Jewelry Supply.  This shop has a lovely collection of Miyuki beads in a wide array of colors.

I chose a tube in Metallic Matte Silver Gray to go with my stash of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk  in colorway Silver Moon and a tube in a Teal mix to go with my stash of Malabrigo Sock Yarn in colorway Indiecita.

I haven’t quite decided on what pattern I will be using or if I’m knitting both as shawls, or one shawl and one scarf.  I do know that I love how beads look on knitted pieces and think I have found yet another technique to enhance my knitting.

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

I followed Mimi’s process and for my very first attempt, I have to say that I was happy with the way my clay creations turned out.  I ended up with four shawl pins and since I didn’t want to waste the extra clay that was cut away from each pin, I make a few buttons too!

I wasn’t sure what I was going to use for the pin part and thought a DPN might work, but my hubby came to the rescue with a great suggestion.  He had a small piece of 4.50mm dowel rod out in the garage that he cut into 5″ pieces and created points for each piece by simply using a pencil sharpener.  After sanding them a bit, they were ready for the polymer clay tops that I created to match the shawl pin.  Everything went into the oven for the required baking and once cooled, I used an acrylic spray to seal and finish them off.

I had enough clay left over to making four matching buttons!

Now I have shawl pins that I can use for my scarves, shawls and more, as well as a few great decorative buttons.  This was  a fun project that was very affordable and left me with enough clay that I can make more pins or buttons, or even pendants !

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

Courtesy of the Ravelympics 2012 Group

The 2012 Summer Olymics , starting less than 71 days in London, has quite a few folks excited and ready to watch the summer events.

To get into the Olympic spirit, Ravelry is hosting the 2012 Ravelympics .  With over  5,000 members already signed up, interested fiber enthusiasts will find teams made up of  Harry Potter lovers, countries, cities, podcast listeners, shawl knitters, and is open to those who knit and crochet, who are beginners to advanced and who are ready for a fun loving competition.

During this seventeen day event, Ravelry members will challenge themselves to complete projects they’ve never done before.  While some may complete an entire sweater,  others may choose to tackle smaller projects or even WIPs.  This competition starts the very moment the Olympic games kick off in London, July 27th at  7:30pm (BST) or your timezone, and will end at the closing ceremony on August 12th at approximately 11:59:59 (GMT) or your timezone.  You can find more about the basic rules online in the Ravelympics Group.

For projects to count, tags are crucial.  Make sure to tag all your projects with special tag  ravelympics2012, then choose your event and team tags.  Remember,  every project needs it to be counted, so make sure to tag correctly as the tag (ravelympics2012) gets you into the stadium and officially adds you as a participant.

Even though the Ravelympics Committee is still hammering out the complete listing of events, here’s a sneek peek at what can be expected:

• afghan marathon
• baby dressage
• bag-n-tote backstroke
• balance beads
• british cricket
• cable steeplechase
• cast-on trap shoot
• charity rowing
• colourwork crosscountry
• cowl jump
• double-knit boxing
• felted freestyle
• frogging trampoline
• hand-dye high dive
• handspun heptathlon
• hat dash
• holiday hurdles
• home stuff hammerthrow
• lace longjump
• mitten medley
• modular relay
• rhythmic machinastics
• scarf hockey
• shawl sailing
• single skien sprint
• sock put
• swatching coxswain
• sweater triathlon
• synchronized stash busting
• toy toss
• weaving vault
• wips wrestling

Not only does Ravelympics provide an intense personal challenge to all those who participate,  but an extreme team challenge as well.   Ravelympics is open for all Ravelry members to participate, just pick a team, sign up, enjoy watching the Summer Olympic events and let the games begin!

Two of my favourite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well.  So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?  ~ Ginny from Small Things

I’m very excited to have started the lace border for my Oaklet (design by Megan Goodacre, a.k.a. the Tricksy Knitter).  This project should be off my needles by Friday and hopefully I’ll be able to get it blocked over the weekend.  I have to admit that my shawl project has been my main focus so I haven’t been  knitting too much on my Vodka Lemonade.

As far as reading,  I’m still reading the Poyson Garden by Karen Harper and I totally forgot I received a copy of Knit with Love by Lisa Bogart at TNNA in January.  Lisa was so much fun to meet and I’m truly looking forward to reading her book.

Happy knitting!

First, my Oaklet is coming along nicely and I really love the deep dark browns in the  colorway, called Dark Chocolate.  Each time I look at my progress, I seem to have a craving for chocolate covered caramels!  I’m just about ready to start the lace portion, so the following photo is about three days old.

Progress photo of Oaklet

My Vodka Lemonade is coming together as well but I have neglected it terribly!  So far I’m still working on the increases in the sleeve section.  I really do like Thea’s design for the sleeve section, gives it details with a bit of texture.

Progress photo of Vodka Lemonade

I’m hoping to get both of these projects completed by the end of the month so I can concentrate on my two Craftsy classes – Knitting with Beads with instructor Laura Nelkin and The Perfect Fit Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan with instructor Myra Wood.  I have two lace projects that I want to attempt this summer, and one has beads!

I have found quite a few cardigans and sweaters that I want to knit this year, as well as years to come.  One brand new design that caught my eye today incorporates two elements I love, knitting and crochet.   Evelyn Siatra‘s new release, Silk Knitted Jacket with Crochet Embellishments, is quite stunning and shows how we can use crochet as a lovely edging to any style garment.

Courtesy of Creations by Eve

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

Please remember you can find more of Julia’s designs online at Ravelry and on her website, Moth Heaven.  You can also find her online at Twitter.

Photo ©Caro Sheridan – Used by permission by Julia Farwell-Clay

And the winner is …… Entry#11, Rachelle of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.  Congratulations Rachelle, you will love this pattern!!!

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

Since one of my goals is to knit a few more shawls this year, I decided to enroll in Laura Nelkins Craftsy class , Knitting with Beads, the same online class as Bonny.   Like all the Craftsy classes, you can start and go at your own pace, which I love!

Courtesy of Craftsy.com

A Note from Laura Nelkin, Instructor of Knitting with Beads

Beads add texture and surface interest to your knitwear, making this class perfect for anyone looking to add some sparkle to their knits. In addition to my exclusive patterns for a dynamic cuff and two multi-sized shawls in both lace-weight and fingering-weight yarn, my online class, Knitting with Beads, shares with you the techniques you will need to incorporate beads into any of your projects. With these new skills, you will become the independent knitter you’ve always wanted to be. Join me in this class, get my patterns, and enjoy a whole new level of knitting!

Last year I attempted beads in a hand-spun shawl and I really love how it turned out but haven’t done anything since.  I knitted Multnomah by Kate Ray and added beads on the right side row with 181 stitches before the increases. So, I did this:  k5, k1 w/bead and repeated up to 2 stitches before marker.  I then repeated this step on the 2nd half and loved it!   To me, beads just make your shawl shine and by adding a special touch, it becomes very unique. 

You can find out more about this project on my Ravelry project page and on my project page with Craftsy!

My Sea Colored Multnomah

I’m very excited about this class and think it will hone my skills not only in using beads, but in knitting shawls. Do you enjoy knitting with beads?  If so, what projects have you made incorporating beads?

If you love learning new crafts and more, be sure to check out Craftsy other classes to!

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!