Craft projects: update

These last days...

I've rediscovered by love for knitting, and my love for the knitting community!!! I'm combining all sorts of social media (but primarily Pinterest, Instagram and Ravelry, of course) in order to get in contact with all the wonderful people who provide a ray of sunshine into an other totally grey world: craftsy people!  From their podcasts, I learn all the news, from Instagram I drool over the many, many variations of hand-dyed yarn, which I then see in FO in either Pinterest or Ravelry.  Perfect!!!

I'm participating in the #23HarryPotterKAL, and already I can proudly present my first FO for this KAL:  the HermioneheartsRon hat.  An easy knit, it proved to be the right project to ease me into the world of Harry Potter (of which I know nothing...)

I used two different stash yarns (this is actually my theme for this KAL, get all the stash out!) the Regia Aquarius Color 6 ply and the Schachenmayr nomotta Cotton Eco in blue-green hues and knit the pattern interchanging them.  No one can actually see that there are two different yarns.  The experiment worked beautifully, and I intend to try it again in another project...

I'm taking a break from this KAL for the time being, as I have a planned surgery, so I needed a project that would be super-super easy and would take my mind off things.  This is what Calla is:  a nice-little poncho with a twist. I'm already at 20 cm, and I just enjoy knitting away...  I'm using SMC Select Belisia in black and I'm thinking of adding little pearly thingies towards the edge between the knits and the purls.  We'll see...

Not much going on, I know, but plenty for my needs and desires.  Which is what counts, right?

Knitting: Inside #23HarryPotterKAL

Yes, it is that time of the year - time for a KAL!

Lovely Katie from MissLavellia is organising a mega-KAL on the Harry Potter theme.  And the response is massive!

... Which means I could not NOT be a part of.  Without further ado, here are my intentions:

(caveats first:  I plan to use stash yarn wherever possible.  Which may mean combining more than one skein...)

1.  Hermione hearts Ron:  this is easy enough, so it should ease me into the spirit of the KAL.  I plan to use a combination of blue and blue-green yarns, probably in alternating rows.  We'll see how it turns out...

2.  Severus Mitts:  I just love those... Have plenty of black yarn lying around, my more pressing question will be - which colour to contrast?  white? grey? red?  decisions, decisions...

 

3.  And now to the unchartered waters:  Snape's Stockings.  I've never knit socks, and that's why this will be at the very end.  I will be counting on Crafty's Knit-along 2016: Socks to get the knowledge that may help me succeed in this mission.  Wish me luck!  (oh, and it will be in red yarn, more than one skein - again)

Interested?  Go over to the Inside Number 23 Raverly Group for more info (spoiler alert:  there will be prizes!!!)

Knitting: mens' scarf

My nephew has a knack for choosing the most intricate designs.  I know that, and, on purpose, when I give him options about a project I (almost) always make certain that there is nothing elaborate.  How I end up with yet another pattern that will test my abilities, I really have no clue... Case in point:

I wanted to knit him a scarf, as I did for my niece.  No problem so far.  I gave him two alternatives, he chose one of them. Again, no problem.  Once I started reading the pattern in detail, it dawned on me -- I had no idea what was going on...

Enter the search for a similar pattern that could provide a way out of this problem: the Array scarf seemed straight-forward and looked fairly similar to the original design.

I cast on 75 stitches, knitting it flat so that I would get the scarf I wanted.  On I went knitting and ... after 18 rows I discovered I was doing it all wrong.  Scratch everything and start anew.  The second time was a charm and I was content.

What I was not content about was the time it took - because each row is basically knit twice (once in black and once in white), it eventually took double the time to finish.  Note to self:  think very carefully before committing to such projects...

The end result is wonderful however:  a great little scarf, perfect for the young man!