Viking Celebrations

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

We’re well into our Month of Family Celebrations now – between February 14th and March 14th we have Valentine’s Day, JSR’s birthday, our wedding anniversary, my birthday, and finally Willow’s birthday.

We usually bundle the occasions into one or two dinners out and only give presents for the birthdays, so I was superbly surprised when JSR gave me a huge box of Valentine’s chocolates last Tuesday. HUGE! Like a hat box, but full of chocolate! It lasted until this morning, which tells you a lot about the heft, as I can make chocolate disappear like a magician ;)

Then came JSR’s birthday, for which I stealthily crocheted a set of father-and-daughter Viking hats.

It took a couple of late nights crafting after he had gone to bed, but absolutely worthwhile. Look how great they are!

I used the Lael Viking Helmet pattern from mamachee on Etsy which has lovely built-in detailing and was a pleasure to work – full technical details are on my Ravelry project page.

During the photo shoot Willow leaned in for a kiss. AW! HEART MELTING! She’s fond of kisses at the moment, usually accompanied by a long, exaggerated MMMMMMMMMMMM-WAH! noise and a very firm grip on your face. It’s darling, I can’t get enough.

Willow in W’illow

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

It might be ‘just’ a baby cardigan, but this is my most complex knitting project yet, and I LOVE the result. The yarn feels beautiful, the stitch patterns and construction add texture and interest, and Willow looks so sweet in red.

The pattern is the L’illo cardigan by Susan Power, published in Knitty, and the yarn is Merino Soft 4-ply Baby Wool from Skeinz. My Ravelry project page has details of my minor modifications.

Willow + L’illo = W’illow!

The construction with saddle shoulders is not one I’ve tried before.
I promise that seam is actually straight :)

I had to hand over the lint roller to get a close-up without having the camera grabbed…

I made my own closures using i-cord, after failing to find commercial buttons I liked. Each of the buttons is a 4cm length of i-cord tied in an overhand knot and sewn down, and each loop is an 8cm length arranged in an infinity shape, sewn on one side and left free on the other. It holds together quite well and I love the look with the ribbing and the slightly raised collar.

While I had Willow corralled on the table, with a camera in my hand, I took the opportunity to cajole her into counting so I could capture her world’s-cutest pronunciation of “eleven”. Success!

I have many more videos to upload, when I get the time. Willow’s all about demonstrating her new knowledge now, and every day is a non-stop stream of numbers and letters and colours and shapes and animal noises and questions and songs. She amazes me every day with things I had no idea she knew. It’s magical, and definitely makes up for the tantrums and mischief and squashing six bananas onto the lounge floor :P

Crafty Tools Tidied

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

Yesterday I made a little roll up crochet hook case – my dear hooks have been languishing in a plastic bag for too long!

The fabric is a remnant from one of the skirts I made, and I think the ribbon came from some gift wrapping? In any case, all the materials were already in my craft box :)

I didn’t use any pattern or reference for the construction, just thought about what I wanted and folded up a scrap piece of paper to make sure all the seams would end up enclosed. I figured out how to do it with one rectangle of fabric and one seam down each side! Then I sewed the pockets and it was done. I made spaces for all my current hooks, plus three extra – two smaller ones for regular size hooks, and one big fellow over on the right, since I’m interested in the concept of making a rag rug one day out of t-shirt strips and might need a giant broomstick of a hook.

To close, you fold the top flap down, roll and tie. My one problem was making the ribbons a bit too short, so making a bow is tricky – I’m thinking of replacing them with a loop of elastic and a button.

While photographing I pulled out my freshly arranged knitting tool and amigurumi supply cases too. These are both flat plastic boxes from $3-Japan shops, perfect for keeping everything sorted but accessible at a moment’s notice.

The knitting case has (top to bottom, left to right):

T-pins for blocking – most currently in use
Safety pins
Stitch markers
Row counter, yarn guide, thimble for sore fingers
Magnifier, clip and rubber band for general securing
Smooth cotton yarn for lifelines, provisional cast-ons and holding stitches
Scissors, cable needles
Thread conditioner, knitter’s hand cream
Measuring tape
Sewing needle assortment
Pens, ruler, chopstick for poking stuffing into small spaces, pliers for pulling needles through thick materials – more important than you may think, I have a chipped front tooth from doing this idiotically!

I’ve still got several empty spots for more tools, though one thing I like about yarn crafting is that you really don’t need much equipment.

The amigurumi case is mostly safety eyes of different colours and sizes, plus some DMC perle cotton for embroidering noses and mouths, and invisible mending thread for joining delicate parts. The front row of eyes are clear, which is my preference, as you can paint the back with acrylic paint in any colour you like – they came from excellent Etsy seller 6060. I wouldn’t buy any other kind these days, but as you can see I have plenty of older coloured ones from Spotlight to use up.

That just leaves knitting needles. I have two interchangeable sets, each of which came in their own cases – a metal Hiya Hiya set with sizes 2-8 which I use for almost everything, and a plastic Denise set with sizes 5-15. The Denise set isn’t great to knit with, but I keep it around because I do need one of those larger sizes occasionally.

Mmmmmmm, the joy of having tidy things!

Wonderskirts

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

A couple of weeks ago I asked Mum if she could look after Willow while we went to see the Dresden Dolls, and she said “We were planning to go to the beach that weekend… but we could take Willow if you don’t mind her being away until Monday!”.

A whole long weekend by ourselves? Don’t mind if we do!

I was determined to take full advantage of the time – and, to be honest, keep myself busy so I didn’t miss the little scroggin-face too much – and I’ve done so much, I am very pleased. As well as seeing the Dresden Dolls concert (spectacular, as always!) we had brunch with friends on Saturday, then lots of discussion and amazing ice cream at Giapo (you must try the Sour Cherry Yoghurt, and the Butter Pecan, and the Red Velvet, and and and…), a trip through town to a new Japanese goods store (on lower Queen Street, about opposite Max), a visit to Amy’s new house on Sunday morning (with bonus viewing of sheep in a turnip field at the end of her street), and finally a 24-hour sewing marathon.

I snapped a quick picture of some of the sheep relaxing under the trees. This is only about a quarter of them! There were so many!

Historically I haven’t enjoyed sewing that much, but I really wanted some new skirts and I just don’t fit commercial clothes – it’s not even a fat thing, there are plenty of clothes out there big enough for me, but they’re all the wrong shape. Sewing patterns are no better, since they’re made for similar proportions as ready to wear, so I took matters into my own hands and had a go at draping my own skirt pattern.

I got out an old worn sheet, saved specifically for this sort of task, and made a flared tube a bit bigger than I expected the finished skirt to be. I put it on and gradually pinched out the excess fabric, sewing in little tucks and darts until it fit well. Then I pulled it apart to transfer the shapes I’d discovered onto cardboard to make a sturdy pattern, and sewed another test skirt out of the sheet to check and refine my shaping. After a few more changes to the cardboard pattern I moved onto some proper fabric and got the BEST FITTING SKIRT I’VE HAD IN A DECADE.

When I put it on it looks like a simple, swingy knee length skirt, but there’s a lot of construction to get there! My pattern has masses of darts shaping the fabric around all my curves, and a sloped waistline which crosses high in the back to prevent gaping and peeps of underwear when I bend or sit, but swoops low in the front for comfort, while maintaining an even hemline. I used flat felled seams to completely enclose the raw edges, and a faced waist and hem.

I made a second skirt this afternoon using my pattern, and it’s just as good. Now I can make a new skirt out of any fabric I like in about three hours, and the sewing really wasn’t too bad. It turns out having a dining table to cut fabric on is much more pleasant and accurate than crawling around on the floor, and it’s very motivating when I know the finished product is going to suit and flatter me.

So, can you see these wonderskirts? Well, that’s tricky… I can’t really model them because I don’t have any suitable coordinating tops in my wardrobe until I make those as well. But these are the fabrics I used; the leaf pattern is pinwale corduroy and the blue crockery-like print is cotton drill. I promise that I will take outfit photos once I have outfits!

I particularly like the skirt with leaves, which makes me look (intentionally!) like a lovely sofa cushion.

My next project will be to make a simple, well-fitting shell top. I have a pyjama shirt that’s close to what I want, and I’m going to try and ‘trace’ it to use as a starting point. I’ve saved a couple of JSR’s old t-shirts so I have some stretch fabric to use for trials and I’m all set to go next time Willow is away for a day or two. Since skirts, tops and knitted cardigans and sweaters are all I need in my wardrobe I’m well on my way to avoiding clothes shopping! Hooray! (Except for underwear, which isn’t a problem as Thunderpants cover my bottom with superior comfort, and I’ve worked out how to alter bras for a good fit. They’re way beyond my sewing skills/patience anyway. I’m also happy to buy a few items where fit is not critical, like socks, and thermal layers to go underneath my regular outfits in winter, particularly if they’re NZ-made. But otherwise I should be quite self-reliant.)

GUnit

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

I’ve recently started attending the local weekly craft group GUnit (as in gee, you knit?, though apparently a confused hip hop fan or two has tried to join the facebook group, ha ha!) It was very nerve wracking the first time as I only knew two of the others over Twitter and hadn’t met anyone at all in real life, but it turns out they are all salty sweethearts. It’s really nice to have an activity out of the house, and to meet more crafty people who understand when I say things like “I couldn’t sleep last night because I was too busy thinking about yarn” :D

I’m saving up the ‘boring’ bits of my Hobbergobber Blanket to take to meetings. I’m currently at a stage that involves lots of loooooong rows of single crochet, and it’s not unpleasant, but doesn’t require any brainpower either, so it’s perfect for being social. I’ve got all of the motifs for the blanket done, and now I’m making some zig-zag stripes to separate the rows. There’s no point racing along on this project between meetings as I have a feeling I’m going to run out of the background colour before I’m finished and will have to order more from Webs, but it’ll be a few weeks before I can afford that. Especially considering I’ll have to add some other yarn to my order to make the shipping worthwhile. Oh no, being forced to buy yarn, what a hardship!

The stripes between each row will go beige-cream-colour-cream-beige, with a different colour for each one.

Yesterday Willow’s new habit of pulling chairs and boxes around in order to climb other furniture led to a tumble off a desk, and she skinned her elbow on the way down. I had to apply her very first band aid! As I did so I found myself thinking “oooh, this is what a mother does, I am doing a mothering thing”, which is a bit weird since I am a mother, and I do various mothering things pretty much all the time. I guess I’m still not entirely used to it. She’s been climbing back onto the same desk all day today. Sigh!

Beach Baby W’illow

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

Willow and I spent last weekend in Whangamata with Mum and Coco-the-dog. To be honest I spent a lot of the time lounging about reading and taking naps – I hate the sun! – but Mum and Wil did lots of splashy water play and sandy beach play and doggy ball games and playground jaunts.

Babies in elephant-print ruffled swimming togs: TOO CUTE.

Today is JSR’s second day of a new job. He hasn’t been working since a prolonged illness last September, and Willow and I have loved having him home so much, but of course months without income have been stressful. His first day seemed to go well, and I really hope he enjoys the work.

I decided this was a good opportunity to reboot my daily schedule, so now we are all getting up with JSR’s alarm at 7.30am, as opposed to the, er, 10-11am rising Willow and I have been doing lately. We’ll have to see how this changes her sleep times, but I’m hoping for either a return to afternoon naps or an earlier bedtime. I know a time shift doesn’t really affect how many hours I have in the day, but I do feel much more productive when I get through all the laundry and chores before lunchtime!

I cast on for another toddler sweater this morning. I’m making Knitty pattern L’illo for Willow in a bright red wool. Perhaps I will call it W’illow! It’s quite a complex textured saddle-shoulder cardigan and I’m looking forward to the challenge. So far I’ve just got a little piece of sleeve but the stitch patterns are fun already. The only change I plan to make to the pattern is an alteration to the grafting at the centre back, since the half-stitch jog in alignment is rather obvious and looks sloppy to my eyes. I’ll see what other kind of join I can make when I get there – either a tidy seam, or a little strip of stockinette which will graft neatly.

Sage Acacia and Ivory Petal

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

Two more finished knits! Knitting and reading are the only things I’m really enjoying at the moment, so I’m doing a lot of both…

This top I finished for Willow last night. I started on January 1st so it’s a properly-2012 finished project :)

The pattern is Acacia by Georgie Hallam, and the yarn is Spotlight Yarn Bee Down To Earth in Sage. That’s a cotton-acrylic blend, which I would never buy now, but I’m trying to work through my deep stash. I remember getting this for $1.50 a ball on Trade Me years and years ago! And it was a little hard on the hands, but has turned out a more pleasant fabric than I would have expected, not plastic-y at all.

Ravelry project with technical details here: Sage Acacia Summer Top

The other project was finished late last year, a baby blanket commissioned by my mother for a new baby of her acquaintance. She gave me free reign on the pattern and yarn, so I chose a traditional cream colour, but in a heavier weight than might be expected in order to make a strong lace pattern. It’s a square blanket worked from the centre outwards with diagonal ribs, making four triangular lace sections, with a garter stitch border.

The pattern is Abby’s Blanket by Kirsten Kapur, and the yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8 ply in Cream. The baby is due in late autumn, so a snuggly blanket should not be a problem!

Mmmm, squishy! And so soft, I see myself using this yarn a lot in the future.

Ravelry project with technical details here: Ivory Petal Blanket

Christmas Knitting 2011

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

The hats and scarf I knitted for Christmas presents this year!

Clover Slouch Beret for niece Jessie. The yarn is Cascade Indulgence in Denim and the pattern is the Ballard Slouch Hat by Felicia Lo. Ravelry link

Blueberry Swirl Hat for niece Stella. The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Rondo in Ocean Spray, and the pattern is Basel by Woolly Wormhead. Ravelry link

Flock of Fans Hat for Maisie. The yarn is Skeinz Vintage in Wedgewood and the pattern is an improvised beanie shape with a stitch pattern from “Knit & Purl Stitches : 250 to Knit” edited by Erica Knight. Ravelry link

Blue Whisper Hat for Brydie. The yarn is Plymouth Encore Worsted in Blue Veil, and the pattern is Madison by Becca Sheffler. Ravelry link

Heavenly Cloud Scarf for SIL Anna. The yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Heavenly and the pattern is Party Lace Scarf by Lisa Sisk. Ravelry link

Weaving Through the Storm hat for Dad. The yarn is Skeinz Possum Merino in Storm and the pattern is an improvised beanie shape with a stitch pattern from “Knit & Purl Stitches : 250 to Knit” edited by Erica Knight. Ravelry link

Yes, they’re all blue! I didn’t even realise until the last one – I guess I just like to grab blue shades when I’m picking up single skeins for little projects :)

Ducks and Daisies

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

Since getting Willow out of the house is critical to maintaining my sanity, and we have Absolutely No Money at the moment, we’ve been visiting either a park or playground or the library virtually every day.

To be fair we’d be doing much the same thing if we weren’t broke, since I don’t think children need to be presented with commerce as recreation, but I feel awfully lucky to live somewhere we have plenty of opportunities for free activities when we need them!

Yesterday we had a few stale bread crusts lingering on the bench, so we went to a local park that has lots of ducks.

My first feeding spot beside the pond was not particularly successful, as Willow kept making a beeline for the water, but then I noticed a pair of handsome white ducks heading into a stand of trees and followed them under the canopy only to find a DUCK PARTY!

It was lovely and shady, and I distributed the rest of our bread to much quack-quacking. Wil was far more interested in eating the crusts herself and playing with sticks, but at least she wasn’t running for the water :)

We also spent a while on the other side of the park – away from the duck poop, hee! – carefully examining bugs and looking at the clouds and rolling about on the grass.

We play in the back yard at home, too. I made a daisy chain and managed to get Wil to wear it for a good ten minutes! So cute I could dieeeeeeee.

Unfortunately she is currently in a clingy, whiny, MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM phase (i.e. being a toddler!) which I can handle cheerfully when I’m well rested, but my reserves of energy run low in the late afternoon and evening, and most days it all goes a bit pear shaped. If she takes a nap I get some temporary relief, but then she stays up very late and bedtime is even more difficult, so it doesn’t really help the big picture. Frustrating!

On a happier subject, I’m excited about the new Urban yarn from Skeinz – it’s 100% wool, DK weight, machine washable, New Zealand made, and the initial reviews on Ravelry say it’s quite soft too. Oh, and really well priced! Those are perfect characteristics for crocheting blankets. I have a Skeinz gift voucher that expires in a month, so I’m going to order some to try out. Now, which colours to choose…

Two Hats

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Annette / Soft Like Kittens

This is the hat I made my mum for her birthday. I chose a streamlined beanie style to stay put without fuss during her active outdoor pursuits, in 100% wool to keep her ears warm. When I think about my mum I think of warm colours like reds and yellows, so I picked this coral shade of Cascade 220 yarn and matched it with the simple lace pattern of the Windy City Hat. I improvised a bit with the ribbing, using my favourite twisted German cast-on, a twisted 1×1 rib, and then my very first vikkel braid.

Otto got in on the photo shoot too. Cats and knitting, BFF!

Ravelry project with details here.

I’ve also finished another hat for Willow. This one is Basel by Woolly Wormhead, which was the most complicated thing I’ve knit yet in terms of needle acrobatics. I love the effect though, with the columns of twisted stitched swirling like a galaxy, and I’m very likely to knit the pattern again.

The Crucci Drift yarn I used is quite tufty and has a bit of thick-and-thin variation, so the stitches don’t look perfectly even, but it’s going to get mauled by a toddler so no matter :)