What comes after Socktoberfest?? or "I felt your presents!"

My daughter thought if October is Socktoberfest, then November should be Knitvember... But what to knit in Knitvember? How about Feltvember?

The socks were done, and I didn't feel like another pair of socks right away. Not that I don't still have plenty of sock yarn sitting around the house.

I also still have some Lion Brand Wool left over from my very first felting project. It was a water bottle cozy that supposed to be done on a "Knifty Knitter." I bought the instrument in question, got started on the project and didn't like it. So I returned my not so "Knifty Knitter" and decided to crochet the water bottle cozy instead.


As I said, this was my very first felting project, so I didn't really know what to expect. And if you know me, you know that I am not good at following instructions. Not because I can't, but because I usually have some other ideas (call it ADD), and then things often turn out rather unexpected.

Anyway, I am not sure if you are still supposed to see the stitches after you felt something, or if that's because I crocheted rather than knitted, but...


So, I thought to test my own theory (that crocheting is not for felting), I will knit something with the same yarn (did I mention that I still had lots of yarn left over??) this time around to see what happens.

I found all kinds of really cool ideas on Ravelry and started knitting. The pattern I liked the most was Angela's Fabulous Felted Bag. But don't expect a perfect copy!

So here is my version:

Anita's Amazing Afelted (AAA) Tote

(of course you can use whatever colors you like and in whatever combination--be as creative as you like--I am just telling you how I made this one...)

I cast on about 80 stitches in black wool.
Knit back and forth for about 5 inches.
Then I picked up stitches all around my little rectangle and started knitting in the round. It's a little tight at first, but gets easier, as you get away from the bottom.
About 2 inches up from the bottom,
I changed to color #2 (in my case pink). Knit 2 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 4 rounds.
Switch to color #2 (pink). Knit 4 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 1 round.
Switch to color #3 (gold). Knit 2 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 4 rounds.
Switch to color #3 (gold). Knit 7 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 12 rounds.
Switch to color #2 (pink). Knit 2 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color #2 (pink). Knit 10 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color #3 (gold). Knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 8 rounds.
Switch to color #2 (pink). Knit 6 rounds.
Switch to color #3 (gold). Knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 2 rounds.
Switch to color #3 (gold). Knit 14 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color #2 (pink). Knit 6 rounds.
Switch to color #1 (black). Knit 12 rounds.
Bind off.

Create one cord of the same length in each color represented in your project (or just pick three, if you used more than three) either with a knitting spool (Strickliesel) or using an I-cord method.


Braid the three cords together and sew the braid onto your bag, starting on the bottom of one side, looping all the way around (the loop handle of your bag will be as long as you made your cords--keep in mind, though, that you will loose some length by felting) and going down the other side of your bag.


Voila! Done! Well, you got quite a few loose ends to weave in (the inside of your bag, of course). Oh, and you still have to felt, i.e., wash your bag in hot water and dry.

And here is a picture of mine after the first round of felting. I think I will do a little more...




I really like the way mine came out. I might make some more... I definitely dig felting! I am going to change my blog title from "What comes after Socktoberfest" to "I felt your presents!" Because that's what I am going to do this year. Felt my friends' presents...

I still had wool left over from the bag. So here are some more felting projects, inspired by Leigh Radford's Felted Bowls (note: this link is from Ravelry, but the pattern has been published in her book One Skein):

Cast on 64 sts
Knit for about 2 inches in the round on four dpns
Start decreasing as follows:
Every other round start each needle with ssk and end each needle with k2t, thus reducing by 8 sts every other round until you have no sts left.



And another one:



Cast on 100 sts
Knit in the round for about x inches
Start decreasing as follows:
Divide sts by five
Every other round start each set with ssk and end each set with k2t, thus reducing by 10 sts every other round until you have no sts left.



Then I started felting them. Hmmm. They just did not quite come out as bowls...

So, I tried shaping them by placing them under some kitchen canisters:



This still did not quite produce the desired results. I must be doing something wrong. I should buy the book...

Meanwhile, I kept knitting, using up the remainder of the wool I had. The next round (haha) I made rectangular (pun intended).

The first one I started with the pumpkin, aka burnt orange, color.
I made the "base" about 50 sts wide
and knit about 60 rows in seed stitch.
Then I picked up the sts all around
and continued in seed stitch in the round in black for about 10 rounds (roughly--I just used up all the black I had left).
Switched to pink and knit another 20 or so rounds, also seed stitch.
Then I bound off.





And started another one to use up the rest of the pink.
Also rectangular.
Cast on 40 sts
seed stitch for about 45 rows.
Picked up sts all around and continued seed stitch in the round until I ran out of yarn (about 10 rounds.)




Okay, and then I washed them...

Finally getting frustrated enough with the felting process, I went to the bookstore... And read the book... And learned a thing or two about felting...

One of the big things I did wrong was putting them in the dryer. Apparently, you wash them (with as much "agitation" as possible), then stretch them into the desired shape, then let them dry in that shape. And that worked much better! So, voila:


I am so excited!!! Aren't my four felted pieces beautiful?! I am off to the yarn store to buy more wool... A-felting I will go...

More Totes

After my first market tote (with a limited amount of yarn) I had made from this inspiration...

















...I decided to make a couple more, slightly larger. I had bought a large skein of Lily Sugar'n Cream Super Size Green and started my first tote with that yarn. I didn't really follow any particular pattern, but rather just kind of winged it.


















I was pretty happy with the final product (this is my daughter modeling the tote):






















And a few more pictures (sorry about the strange lighting, but this really is the same tote with the same yarn):






As you can see, this tote has a relatively large opening and two handles. Since there still was lots of yarn left, I decided to make another tote. This time with a tighter opening and only one handle:



The yarn is pretty sturdy and makes for strong totes. Should hold some heavy groceries. And since the yarn is 100% cotton, the totes can be tossed in the washing machine.

I am putting both totes in my secret stash for presents, I think.

Crocheted Market Tote

Since my last market tote was knit, and I was not completely satisfied with the end-result, I thought I would crochet one this time. I found this Crochet Grocery Bag on Ravelry and gave it a try.

I have never crocheted anything following instructions, so it was a bit of a challenge. Unlike knitting, though, it seems that when you crochet, it's a lot easier to muddle through on your own. At least for me. And I usually don't mind if things don't come out exactly the way the pattern says. I have another skein of Knit Picks Cotlin (this time the color is Desert Turquoise) I will use. And I have a tad left-over from the other market tote I could use for the handles, maybe, if I run out of yarn.

It starts out looking very much like a doily:


I don't know if I made any mistakes with the increases, or (you guessed it, I am not much of a gauge person) the yarn just ran differently from the original pattern, but in any case, this turned into a very small bag. It certainly looks much smaller than the picture that came with the pattern. Oh well...


I used up one skein of the turquoise, then used the little bit of blue I had left for the handles. I love the pattern, and the shape and everything, it's just way small. My daughter immediately snatched it. I definitely want to make another one and just make it bigger.

Market Tote (again...)

Okay, so I made yet another tote bag attempt. This time, I followed the advice of "naturallyknitty" on Ravelry to knit in the round. She suggested Judy's Magic Cast-On, which I tried for the first time and totally fell in love with!!! I will use it on all my toe-up socks from now on. It's so much easier and tidier than what I have been doing.

Since one of the things I didn't like about my two prior attempts was the sloppy sides, knitting in the round with no seams on the sides or the bottom should take care of this problem. One of the things I read, though, about knitting this bag in the round, is to make sure the top opening is large enough.


By the way, I also changed needle size and am now knitting the tote with size US 7. I am using my beloved Knit Picks Harmony needles. Since I only had one skein of the lime green yarn, I had to switch to blue when I ran out of green. I tried to make a nice transition.


As you can see in the picture, the lime green is about 7 inches long, then I did a set of pattern (i.e., 4 rows) of blue, then another set of green, and back to blue for good. I had a little bit of green left. By the way, the Cotlin blue is called "Nightfall." At around 11 inches, I divided the stitches in half and worked the two sides separately, so the opening of the tote would be a little wider. I made the two sides about an inch or a bit more. Then cast them off.

And my next challenge started. What is an I-cord???? Or an applied I-cord? I had no idea. I read the instructions, played around a little, went online for more instructions, and more instructions, found this nifty little tutorial, and finally found this online tutorial for I-cord (scroll down). I later found another tutorial on YouTube, I think I would have liked better. I will try that next time.

I started the I-cord over several times and am still not quite happy with the end result. But I wanted to finish, so I let the sloppiness slide this time around. So, I used the applied I-cord along the two cast-offs and then the regular I-cord for the actual handles. Since I had a little bit of the lime green yarn left over, I used that for the applied I-cord, which probably added to the sloppy appearance, since the lime green stands out a little more. Oh well, you live and learn. I definitely want to make this bag again, and I will do better next time. So, here is the finished product:



I was also a bit messy in joining the ends of the handles with the beginning of the applied I-cords. I wanted to make sure I have a sturdy connection and in the process probably overdid it a little.

Overall, though, I like how the tote came out. Here is my husband sporting it:




He said the handles could have been a bit longer. I was afraid to make them too long, because I didn't know how much everything was going to stretch out once the tote is in use. I will have to see about that. If it doesn't "grow" too much, I might make the next tote a little bigger.

Another "FO" (finished object)! Yeah for me!!

Nests and Nets and Knots

I have been working on "Elisa's Nest Tote." And while the pattern is/was relatively easy, I am struggling a little bit with how "loose" everything is, especially on the sides. I have already opened up the whole thing once and am now working on my second attempt. I found that on Ravelry a lot of people have made the bag, and none looks like the other. Everybody has put a personal spin on the bag, and I have a feeling, I will, too.

Here is the original pattern from "the purl bee:"


MATERIALS

· One skein or approximately 175-200 yards cotton yarn. We used Rowan 4-ply Cotton in Tutti Frutti.

· One pair straight needles a few sizes larger than recommended for your yarn. We used US size 9 needles.

· Double pointed needles in the size recommended for your yarn. We used US size 3 needles.

· Crochet hook in the size recommended for your yarn. We used a 3.5mm hook.

· Tapestry needle

NOTES

· k2tog decrease; knit two stitches together

· psso pass slipped stitch over

· ssk decrease; slip, slip, knit

· yo increase; yarn over

Step 1: Knitting the Bag

Cast on 41 stitches.

Rows 1 and 3: Purl.
Row 2: K1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4: *Ssk, yo, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.

Repeat Rows 1 - 4 until fabric measures approximately 24 inches, or twice desired length of the finished bag.

Bind off loosely.

Step 2: Join Together the Sides

1. Fold the bag in half, right sides together so that the cast on and bind off edges form the top of the bag. You will join together the parallel long edges of the bag using a crochet hook.

2. Using a 1 yard length of the same yarn that you used to knit the bag, make a slip knot on the hook. Leave a 6 inch tail of yarn.

3. Insert your crochet hook under the loops of the first edge stitch on the front side, at the corner with the top edge of the bag. Then insert the hook through the first edge stitch on the back side.

4. Wrap the yarn around the hook, then draw the hook back through the two edge stitches. You now have two stitches on the hook.

5. Wrap the yarn around the hook and draw it through both stitches on the hook. You have just one stitch on the hook now.

Continue joining the front and back edges of the bag, repeat steps 3 - 5 along the length of the bag. When you reach the bottom of the bag, where the knitted fabric is folded in half, draw the remaining yarn all the way through the final stitch to secure it.

Weave in your ends using a tapestry needle or your crochet hook.

Repeat for the second side of the bag.

I will post any changes I made to this pattern, once I am finished and can show pictures of my own.

Endless Knots

I finally finished the Endless Knot Socks! Yeah! They are cute, sort of. They are a little tight where the pattern is. The second one is a little looser, because I had the first one to practice on. What matters, though, is that my daughter loves them. She thought they were a little scratchy. Since the Felici yarn seems to get softer with every washing, she told me to wash them, so these would get softer, too. Haha, little does she know that these are wool! And, if you have ever had the joy of receiving a pair of socks my sister made (she is the sock queen, old style), you know the feel of wool socks!

So, after I finished the socks last night, I found myself without a project I wanted to work on.

Since I could not continue with my daughter's shrug until she came back home, and I could measure her back, and since I didn't feel like working on the "ugh" project (more on that some other time), I started my first tote bag. I have this Knit Picks "Cotlin" yarn I got a while ago, and I was looking what to do with it, and I thought a tote bag would be perfect. And since they kind of look as if they are made from lots of knots, I thought this would be a good next step for me :).

I found Elisa's Nest Tote published in "the purl bee" and really liked it. Mine is going to be lime green. I was surprised at how easily I grasped the pattern. I have never made a tote before, and I am curious to see how sturdy they are hand-knit. If I like how this one comes out, I have two more skeins of "Cotlin" in two other colors. I can mass-produce them and stash them away as gifts, maybe.

I took my tote project on the bus today (I take the bus to work every day). But the pattern requires me to pay quite a bit of attention, which I don't like to do on the bus. I get car-sick when I read on the bus or have to pay too much attention to what I am doing. That's why I usually just listen to music. It's just lately that I have had the urge to bring something to knit. But it has to be an easy pattern, where I can knit mostly without looking down. Maybe as I get more and more comfortable with the pattern, I don't have to look as much.

Well, that's it for today. Back to my tote...