Sunday, September 28, 2008

Autmn Hats and Socks

I do crochet, I swear I do, just not in the mood to crochet even though I do have a Tapestry Crochet Project on the WIP, it is my own pattern. I will have to be in the mood and in the space to work on it.
My Noro Sock was wonderful and I even put it in the washer in warm water, it did well. Talking about socks I have done a lot of research and will continue , I am working on a pair of Ankle hi socks right now. This is what I am working on and I will have some links for you later. There are a lot of very helpful people that now a lot about the building blocks of socks, I plan to be one of them. I will have to say that about 2 years ago I bought all this yarn to make socks and until now I have not been able to grab the yarn and go for it. I will have to say that I feel the experience I have gotten along the way have prepared me to make socks. I have some great Noro for myself for a Christmas Gift to myself.

Cervinia is a very interesting yarn for socks and I bought different kinds of colors. I am hoping to make the ankle hi sock with this skein. I manage to do 64 stitches and have a nice relax gauge. We shall see how the sock wears once it is blocked. Talking about blocking socks, people are crazy they want $11 to $20 for a piece of plastic. The only set I would say I would not mind spending money on is a pair of Acrylic Sock blockers that are also gauge meter, they are hand made. I may show you later how to make one out of a plastic covered hanger.
Along the yarns for socks, or that I thought I was going to use for socks was this Lopi Lite, very rough, I am using it to make the Alfie Hat from the Woolly Wormhead Hats. In the meantime I am finishing the Reverser in Mission Falls 1824 Wool. The color is nice, the wool is soft, but it is super wash merino. I originally bought this yarn for socks as well, it is worsted weight and I don't think it will felt , we shall see when I put the hat through the washer, lol, first I will block it decently. Here is a picture of the WIP. Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

First Noro Sock Pair


My first pair of Noro Socks and it will not be my last. I have to learn more about making socks and about blocking them. The Wool feels very nice on my feet and I will tell you that I was able to fuse part of the yarn to have a no weaving at one area. It worked, Noro may be fused with a bit of work on the hands. My next Noro Project may be two socks on two circulars and I don't know if I want to make them with short row heels or not. I figure you can do the Heels until you need to turn a point and then put one of the socks on double points or on another pair of two circulars and work both heels the same way. I will make some like that just to see how they are made.
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I am going to put this through the washer in cold water. To tell you the truth I went ahead and put them in the dryer for 7 minutes just to give them a shock, it went fine. I am working on creating or modifying short row heels in stockinette. I just don't like the look of garter stitch short rows on the heel of a sock. Maybe when I make one pair like that I will be able to appreciate the heel. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Welcome To Fall 08, WIP



I want to welcome you to fall and share a video with you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Brilliant Award goes to !

I was given the award because of my Videos, lol. I really enjoy to make videos for the World. In my humble opinion it feels very Star Trek like. So without delay and without prejudice, I apologize for not giving you an award, but that does not mean you do not deserve one. I read a lot of blogs, about 30 but people who touch me in different ways, in a personal way, in a technical way are the ones I am mentioning here.
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My brilliant award was bestowed by Deneen who in her own right has a brilliant blog herself. I always admire Deneen's creativity and sincerity, so I am giving this back to you as well. My other recipient will be Queer Joe, very creative man ! Very creative man that has been able to blend a very Interesting Blog that mixes Real Life and his Craftiness. The other Recipient will go to Lady Linoleum for the most Creative Crochet on the Web at her MonsterCrochet , this Lady is an inspiration for the Craft. Another recipient of this award is Wendy from WendyKnits.net, Wendy has constantly inspire me to learn how to knit socks, I will say she is The Queen of Sock Knitting on the web. One site that I will bestow this award is TechKnitting, for the wonderful techniques and ideas that this lady posts. This site TechKnitting is the site to go to look for inspiration and techniques you thought of and did not, The Visual s are outstanding. I have learned a lot from coming here time and time again.
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Thanks for stopping by and go and visit these blogs that you will find interesting, I know I do. Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

One Noro Down One to Go


What a great experience it has been to make my own socks. I had to modified the original pattern a bit, just because it is a bigger pattern. The pattern was for 64 stst and I did 72, because my feet are big and I knit tight. The Kitchener stitch ended up with 10 stitches on each side instead of 8, and I did two double decreases which the pattern does not call for. In the end the sock is about 90 percent a copy of the pattern suggested by Nenah Galati. I did have the opportunity to watch the DVD two or three times as I was turning the heel, and doing the toe decreases. Nothing like having a teacher in your living room. I started the second sock right away, because I know how hard it is for some people. Here is the profile of the Sock, the heel is gorgeous and I am waiting to get some sock blockers (if they are plastic) to block the socks, otherwise I won't really care. My next Sock project will be to make two socks at a Time with Nenah Galati , Noro and my Addi Turbos, One of the needles is gold and the other is Silver, really big help when you are dealing with four needles. Sometimes is hard to see which needle belongs to what, but when they have two colors it is very easy. Well I am very proud of myself. I want to thank Bill Jones for his encouragement. I want to thank Wendy for her continues inspiration knitting socks, Wendy You Rock! thanks for stopping by!

Friday, September 19, 2008

In Between Seasons Cap


This hat is made with the same left over yarn from the skein that I made the Reverser Cap . I was very pleased to see that it was possible o make two caps with the same yarn. This is the first time I used Cascade Yarn and I will tell you that I love this yarn. I cut the yarn too short in one area to do the Kitchener's stitch, so I cut another piece and fused them together. I love good Wool!
The cap was a bit longer once it has was blocked. I was able to cable without a cable needle (Thanks to Krystopher). Some of the wonderful techniques that you will get to practice with this pattern here are:

LT Left Twist
RT Right Twist
ssk slip (as if to purl) slip (as if to purl), then knit two together
K2 tog knit 2 together
Kitchener Stitch
Picking up stitches
Cables

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

3/4 Noro Taurean Sock

By the time I am done with this posting it will be 3/4 of the way to start the decreasing rows. Some people say to do the sock until it reaches to about 1 and 3/4 from the toes and some 2 inches from the toes. In my case since my second toe is longer is from that toe that I measure. I have lots of Works in Progress and I am giving each One Hour. Yep I am timing myself that way I can finish them all at once lol! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Fall 2009 Hats

Knitting and Crochet have changed my life in a lot of ways. I am starting my Fall Hats and the Christmas / Holiday Season' Hats. Some of them Crochet, most of them Knitted. When doing two Colors or doing color stranding I have to go one or two sizes up my regular needles so that the gauge is relax enough. Once I am about 3 inches making the hat, from the bottom up I try it on, just to make sure it fits me and the stitches look relaxed. The picture above is not the current gauge. I did have to go up another needle size to make sure the hat was sitting on comfortable.
I got a lot of inspiration from this Lady on Ravelry from Denmark , I bought a little booklet e-book from Ruth's Sorensen Website Her patterns are great and she even includes charts in the back for you to create your own charts for hats. I love Color stranding and Tapestry Crochet, it is such a creative Art form. I found her through Ravelry as I was looking for Patterns to get inspired by! I tell you she is an inspiration and has Cardigans and more.
Needless to say I already have some Charted Graphs for my Christmas Hats before the fall hats lol!. Now is the time..., but I will be working on some Fall Motif Charts, Inspired By Ruth. I can't wait till I can show you the designed Hats. I am hoping to have more for you as the week goes by. I am also Thanks for stopping by

Friday, September 12, 2008

As the Heel Turns


Finally since May 08 and now is the time I turn the heel, I think the other sock will go a lot faster, I will not allow second sock syndrome to attach me lol! Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Heel Flap


So here I am at the heel flap and doing it without much fuzz. I did not know how easy this flap is to make. Actually making other things have helped me understand what is going on. I have many things on the needles, some on the hooks, let's see when I will have time to post more pictures. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

The Limerick Moss Cap Free Pattern ©


© Crafty Andy 2008 For personal Use Only, not for Resale If you like to use the pattern just give me credit, lol!. You may make as many as you like for charity and for gifts! This pattern is mainly for men, but may be used as a woman's cap. Avaliable as PDF Download at Ravelry!
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It is a moss stitch variation,
what a clever combination,
even in the band
Easy on your hand
No need for vacillation!
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Limerick Moss Cap! Crafty Andy 2008©

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Materials: 1 Skein of Malabrigo Kettle Dyed Pure Merino Wool, 216 yards or 200 meters.

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Needle Size : Size Size 8 US = 5 mm Straight Needles , 2 pairs of Size 8 Circulars 16 inch cable each or DPN as well.
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Darning Needle
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Gauge for me 12 rows = 3 inches & 30 Stitches = 5 inches
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Provisionally Cast on of 23 stitches or multiples of 2 stitches plus 1, on straight size 8 US needles.
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Main Pattern
Row 1 & 3 (RS) Knit
Row 2 P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end
Row 4 K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end
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Continue Rows 1 – 4 for about 20 to 21 inches, then remove provisional cast on. Using the Kitchener’s Stitch assemble the band without twisting it, you now have a circular band. You may choose to weave the ends or allow them to be inside the fold that will be created. Fold band in half (wrong sides Together) and pick up 117 stitches through both edges dividing the work equally on two or more needles. Whatever side you Pick the stitches out of is the Right side. Remember that you may have more or less stitches depending on your gauge or hat size.
Continue Pattern until Cap measures 5 to 6 inches from bottom. Before you decrease choose what you want the crown to look like? Is it 5, 6, 7, 8 partitions with decreases? You need to prepare your hat. I had 117 stitches so I increased 3 to a total of 120 then I decreased accordingly.
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Crown decrease for 10 partitions
Row 1
Knit 10, K2 Tog all around
Row 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12,14,16,18 and all even rows Knit all stitches
Row 3 Knit 9, K2 Tog all around Row 5 Knit 8, K2 Tog all around
Row 7 Knit 7, K2 Tog all around Row 9 Knit 6, K2 Tog all around
Row 11 Knit 5, K2 Tog all around Row 13 Knit 4, K2 Tog all around
Row 15 Knit 3, K2 Tog all around Row 16 Knit 2, K2 Tog all around
Row 17 Knit 1, K2 Tog all around
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After Row 18 is done make sure you have even numbers of stitches on each needle and join with Kitchener’s Stitch, weave in the ends. You are done knitting! You can now block your hat! Protected under United Federation of Planets © and the Gods of Kobol.

Please let me know of any errors!

Friday, September 05, 2008

Reverser Quay Cap FO

The Twins are at it again modeling the cap on each side so that you can see both sides. I was impress with my Kitchener Stitch, I can't find the Union lol! I am sure is there ,but it was a great accomplishment to make it almost non existing. This was a very fun pattern and I learned wraps, how to pick up wraps and practice my short rows. This is such fun and I am happy to share it with you. Here is the Reverser Cap! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Between Seasons Limerick Cap

This my friends is the beginning of a new hat with the old yarn. The yarn is not that all just changed hats sort of speak. This is my first Knitted Hat design, it has a very interesting pattern. This hat is done in two pieces, it has a provisional cast on, Kitchener's stitch, straight needles and circular needles. It is a lot of fun and it will have a little limerick to go with it later on lol. This will be my first hat design in knitting. In the meantime here is a limerick:
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Some men sitting at the barn
taking straw into gold spinning
A scarf a hat we are seeing
the wonders of needles and yarn,
it is the wicked art of knitting
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The first line of a limerick traditionally introduces a person and a place, with the place appearing at the end of the first line and therefore establishing the rhyme scheme for the second and fifth lines. In early limericks, the last line was often essentially a repeat of the first line, although this is no longer customary.
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Within the genre, ordinary speech stress is often distorted in the first line, and may be regarded as a feature of the form: "There was a young man from the coast;" "There once was a girl from Detroit…" Legman (xliv) takes this as a convention whereby prosody is violated simultaneously with propriety. Exploitation of geographical names, especially exotic ones, is also common, and has been seen as invoking memories of geography lessons in order to subvert the decorum taught in the schoolroom; Legman finds that the exchange of limericks is almost exclusive to comparatively well-educated males (women figuring in limericks almost exclusively as "villains or victims," according to Legman). The most prized limericks incorporate a kind of twist, which may be revealed in the final line, or may lie in the way the rhymes are often intentionally tortured, or both. Many limericks additionally show some form of internal rhyme, alliteration or assonance, or some element of wordplay.
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Thanks for stopping by!

Almost two years without blogging August 2020

Life can be a bowl of strawberries when cheries are not available.   It has been almost two years since I have been in this blog.  I have s...