Category: Designing

basket, Designing, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, shopping basket, Yarn

Combined Knitting and Simplisity Post

Olof

I´m back from my vacation trip to Pennsylvania. I did some knitting but not as much as I thought I would because I brought the wrong size needle with me. Stopped at an amazing yarn store in Bethlehem, PA and bought a set of needles to support breast cancer research and after that I was able to start knitting. 

See and feel blanket with the new needles that I bought in PA
Knitting a shawl off the top of my head. Will write up a pattern if I end up liking it.

Knitting robot mittens for my little boy. The pattern was made for adults but I used sock yarn and size one needles to make it little boy size.

And my living simple multipurpose tool this week is this amazing basket that I found. It’s a picnic/shopping basket. This week I used it to keep our snacks in the car on our trip, I took it to the farmer’s market to keep our purchases so that we wouldn’t need plastic bags, I just packed it with our snacks for our trip to the splash pad today. It also collapses really nicely when you are not using it so that it doesn’t take up too much room and I could see myself using it to keep a knitting project if I had a spare but I use it too much on a daily basis for everyday sort of things.

What do you have on your needles?
Find anything amazing that you use all the time to reduce and reuse?

I guest blogged for a friend that is working on similar issue of reducing and reusing. Here is the very personal post that I wrote for her on personal growth and being happy with what one has.

Designing, Faraway, feel and see blanket, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, knitting, Snowbird, so Close, sweater, trip, unfinished projects, Yarn

Monday Knitting Update- Travel Knitting

Olof

Consensuses were from last week´s post that for the Ravelympics I will be knitting Snowbird and I chose the yarn that I was wondering what to do with the week before that to knit it with.

This way I am staying true to my reduce and reuse and not bringing anything new into my house and using what I have. I believe I will be the first to knit Snowbird it in stripes though.

OK again I am going to need your help on deciding on something. Next weekend my AMAZING in laws are taking my kids for a whole week! Yes I know I am pampered. Well, my husband and I have decided to take a road trip to go visit a friend and check out Pennsylvania. I´ve driven through there a few times but not really looked around. Might even take a day trip to NYC which is only an hour´s car ride away. 

Here is where I have a problem making up my mind. What should I take with me to knit? I have some works in progress that I might just finish (what a concept) but which one?

Should I finish my Faraway, so Close shawl?

Finish designing my Feel and See Blanket?

Or something else from my Ravelry Unfinished Patterns?

What are your favorite projects to take with you on trips? I have plenty of yarn, lots of sock and lace weight yarn so maybe if you guys come up with good suggestions then I might start something new as long as I wouldn´t have to buy any more yarn.  

cleaning, cooking, Designing, house keeping, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kids, Parenting, Personal update, trains

Late Saturday Personal Update

Olof
O enjoying the fact that we were home for the morning.

We are enjoying a long weekend this weekend. My husband took Friday off so that we could enjoy 4 days. Yesterday we went to the park and to the store to shop for the weekend. Now we are stalked up and ready to get stuff done around the house. We mowed and cut back vines today. Will do some more weeding later to finish getting the front beds ready.

M LOVES his trains

I´ve been knitting this week, working on a new design. Will show some pics on Monday. I´m pretty proud of what it looks like so far. More of a manly design this time around. Something you can make for your man.

I went to my first book club meeting yesterday. We discussed what we will be reading and so on but we couldn´t come to a conclusion. It was amazing though to get out of the house by myself for the first time in 3 weeks.What are some of the books you have read lately that you just couldn´t put down?

Waffles made from scratch this morning.

My husband’s grandmother’s old waffle maker

I did not get as much decluttering done this week as I wanted to. I should head up to my bathroom and do an overhaul of my cabinets there. I also have a linen closet that is busting at the seams but I only use half of the stuff in there. I´ve just been trying to keep up with the normal stuff. I cleaned the bathroom, changed sheets and took the boys to the park and cooked our meals. I´m still spending around 100 dollars a week on groceries. I need to get my veggie garden going so that we can save even more. I cleaned the beds out this week and need to get more dirt in the beds. O is old enough to really get into the whole picking veggie process and watching stuff grow. I want my children to know how to garden and how things are made.

What were your simple living accomplishments this week?

2KCBWDAY2, Designing, second anual knitting and crocheting blog week, skill level

Skill + 1 Up

Olof
Day two of the……

And today we are talking about skill level and how my skill has changed in both my knitting and crocheting this past year.
I know after knitting all of these toys and not having ever knit toys before that my skill in toy making has much improved.

You get the point.

My crocheting got a lot better since all I had made in the past was purses and here are the shoes I made for M. They were a real learning experience.

I tried my hand in designing

I never thought I would call myself a designer but here I am. I was even laughing at the thought of it last time me and my husband went out for lunch. The last project is still in the works and I’m enjoying the process of designing it. It’s a fun way to learn a lot of different stitches. I hope to have it for sale some time in the fall.

How have you evolved this year?

2KCBWDAY2

Designing, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, winner

Itty Bitty Update and Winner of Yarn!

Olof

This week I was working on the Princess and the Pea toy. I had finished the doll and part of the blanket last Monday. This week I finished the blanket and started knitting the mattresses. This toy is a lot of knitting and I am wishing that I had a knitting machine for the mattresses. I’m just going to have to make myself knit them.

I’ve also been knitting on the shalom sweater. I’m about 5 inches from finishing the body and moving on to the sleeves. I love how quickly this knits up. I also contacted DellaQ about that project bag that fell apart the first time I closed it. They were nice enough to send me a new one in a color of my choice and it arrived 2 days ago. It´s a lovely red and the Shalom lives in it when I´m not working on it.
I also knit this in 2 evenings.

It is a collared cowl that I will have the pattern written and for sale here and on Ravelry tomorrow. I will also have a giveaway with this pattern and the yarn to make it tomorrow. And so you know, there will be more than one winner. Not the best photos but you sort of get the gist of it. Hubby is going to take some nice ones tonight.

OK now to what most of you have been waiting for,
The winner of last weeks giveaway of 2 skeins of Balance was chosen by random.org  is ………………………..

Lucky number 15!

Rachel said…
OOO some O-Wool! I haven’t used this yet and would LOVE some Lapis and Butterstone. Such pretty colors. So hard to pick.

I will contact you and get your mailing address and if you would like a skein in each color or both skeins in one color. Congratulations!

Designing, finger food, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, pool, sick baby

Itty-Bitty Update.

Olof

I got a little sidetracked this week. I finished the doll and her hat but I ran into a problem with the children´s hat and, well, got sidetracked by my tea leaf cardi. I did get the wrap me up puppies started but not finished so for this month I am a little behind on my itty-bitty knitting.

The doll was a large project though with a lot of knitting. there was the doll, the undies, the dress, and the 2 hats involved in that one so I think it should count as 2-3 projects. She is amazingly cute though and going to a great home on the 28th of this month.

The Wrap me up puppies are started. Well, I have finished the body, ears and two back legs. I haven’t attached the legs yet. It sort of looks like a guinea pig right now.

The Tea Leaf is coming along. It is way to hot to be knitting on this but I really want to finish it so that I can start on the Shalom. I’m really wanting to have some amazing sweaters this fall.
I’ve been told that 2 of my sponsors are sending me yarn for some projects this week so keep posted. I’ll have to really start knitting when I get them there will be some giveaways you guys! I’m super excited.
I think I have a bit of knitting block. You know when you have a deadline on a project but all you can think about is another project. All I can think about right now is designing and knitting these sweaters but I have other things to do. I’m sure as soon as I get this yummy yarn in from my sponsors that I will just melt and knit up a storm in the toy area. What do you do when you have knitter’s block?

My garden got a bit dried up this last week. I forgot to water it since I haven’t had to water since spring because of all the rain we have been having. Well it didn’t rain much for over a week and lets just say my garden was very SAD in the 100+ degree weather. I watered well on Saturday after this amazing harvest but then it rained cats and dogs on Sunday. I’ve started ripping things out but have a ways to go to get my fall plants and seeds in the ground.
This weekend was a bit fun. We got the pool going for O and we just hung out and played.

The only thing that was not fun is M has had an ear infection for a week now and we have had to give him meds which in return have given him diaper rash. Makes for a not so happy little man. Oh, and want to add M is 6 months today!!!

Poor little dude is getting his first cereal from his daddy. Most of it just came right back out but he liked the way it tasted.
Well, wish me some knitting right a long vibes so that I stay on schedule. I need to knit up 3 toys this month. Keep me on track.
Oh, and I actually sold my pattern to some people. I’m so excited. I’m a designer!

Designing, finger food, Giraffe, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, Yarn

Finished objects this week.

Olof

I was a good little knitter this week and finished some objects. Like the Giraffe. I’ve had it finished for a while but I wasn’t very pleased with it so I wasn’t in a hurry to take or post a pic. I need to redo the mane and the face and add some more dots.

These are quick knits. They are the Finger Food from itty bitty toys. I’m working on the grapes. I’ve been using the Palette yarn from Knit Picks.

I put buttons in M’s button loafers. I made the 9 month size and they are a tiny bit big but that is how I wanted them to be. That way they might last through the fall. These were fun and easy.

I’ve started designing the blanket for my boys out of the Julia yarn that I got from a give away on Never Not Knitting. I will post the pattern on here and on Ravelry.com when I am done.

I also knitted the Cedar Leaf Shawlette until getting to the edging and figured out that I didn’t have enough yarn to finish it on a size 8 needle. I had to unravel the whole thing. This made me very sad. Then I cast on my cheap size 7 needles and cast on too few stitches and too tight and when I went to pull them off I broke my needles! At this point I just looked at my yarn and needles in disbelief wondering if this was some sort of sign. But I went ahead and ordered new needles from knit picks and I am going to try again. I needed them to knit the Tea Leaf Cardigan anyway.