21 posts tagged “finished project”
I knitted this doll using the same pattern as Loofah, only on the large end (8 peg) spool Knifty Knitter instead of the flower loom. She's very tiny, about 4". I think if I were going to make these dolls to give away, I'd have to find a way to keep the stuffing in place. As it is, you can tell the gaps between each row are so large you can see the polyfill. One idea I had is to use a child's sock as a way to stuff the doll. I can also use a tighter stitch like I do for the head.
One more problem I'm having is with the hair. Right now, it looks okay, but it's not durable and wouldn't stand up to much playing. I separated strands of Lion Wool Ease but as they come apart, it's easy to tear off sections. I need to research a way to make decent hair.
When we were visiting family over Thanksgiving, I knitted this ball with the flower loom. My plan was to make three of them, print out a "How to Juggle" tutorial, and give them as a gift. However, the little dog of the household got one look at this ball and decided it was hers. How could I refuse that face??
Meet Loofah!
I made this loomed dolly on the smaller (12 peg) flower Knifty Knitter. The pattern is Lulu the Loomed Dolly, and it's Bev's from Cottage Garden. She loom knits Lulu Dolls for charity.
When I saw her dolls, and I saw the Lulu that American Girl in Italy made, I had to give it a try. I used Lion brand wool (worsted weight) for the head and some left-over medium-weight wool for the body.
I didn't have the 18 peg loom that Bev uses, so I used my brand-new flower loom. Compared to the smallest loom in the KK round loom kit, this one has 12 pegs vs. the 24 peg blue loom; however, it's still large gauge.
It took me awhile to decide what stitch to use, because I knew I wanted the head to look different than the body. After starting four times, I ended up using a 1-over-3 wrapping and just the basic knit stitch. How I do this is I single wrap each peg, and I go completely around four times total. I then knit the bottom loop over the three remaining loops, and I do this for each peg. I then wrap just one strand around all pegs and continue.
I made the head this way by knitting 24 rounds. (If I was using thicker yarn it would have been many fewer times around.) I then switched colors and started the body. I used two strands here, plus I choose the garter stitch. I knitted Loofah's body to be twice as long as her head.
When I neared the end of the body, I decreased by putting one existing loop on the neighboring peg and knitting off. I did this all around so I was left with six loops. I then gathered them all together just like a hat. I stuffed the doll with polyfill, and gathered the head.
When Loofah was at this stage, I decided the garter stitch wasn't exactly attractive. It was, in fact, sorta odd looking. Although I had played around with some cutsie names like Magnolia, in the end, she most resembles a loofah gourd, so that's her name: Loofah.
I knitted a little scarf on my other new KK loom: the spool loom. It makes two different sizes of i-cords. I used the smallest side, and I even added some tiny tassels. I then knitted Loofah a hat, so I went back to the flower loom and knitted about two inches. I decreased the top of the hat and gathered it off. The brim curled up on its own.
Finally, I decided Loofah needed some personality, so I had a try at stitching a face. She has a tiny pink mouth, two blue eyes, and some wild hair. You may notice one of her eyes is crooked--looks like I need some practice!
Because she's wool, I wonder if she'd felt at all if I washed her. I'd have to de-stuff her first, but it may be a cool look. At this point, though, I'm a little attached to her, and I'd hate it if something bad happened to my lil' Loofah.
I think Loofah was a great first doll. She's pretty much a tube with a scarf and hat. Now that I have these smaller looms, it'll be fun to knit her new things once and awhile like a blankie, shawl, and maybe even a couple of snazzy tube dresses!
By the way, it's sure nice to have the kitties nearby. Whenever I need help choosing a color, they're right there to lend a helping paw.
It's a little bit crooked! And the edge that I ended on looks square instead of rounded. Oh well, here it is in all its glory: my very first knitted-with-needles FO. I enjoyed it, even with all my mistakes. The funny thing is that I see this particular dishcloth pattern everywhere now that I made one. I saw two for sale yesterday, and we even have one in our own house, something that was left behind from the previous owners.
What should I make next on the needles? I've always wanted to make a calorimetry and also a Kitty Pi but both of those take some expertise. We'll see. Maybe another dishcloth!
I realized I never posted a photo of my ziggy zag scarf even though I finished it last spring. I've been wearing it a lot this fall, and it's just the right weight for not-so-cold days. I'd like to make a matching headband with the same yarn, but since it's a little bit scratchy, I'm not sure if I'd like it.
I posted instructions on the ziggy zag stitch earlier. The scarf is about 55" long. It curls a lot, but I don't think blocking it will help because it only has a small amount of wool.
Final thoughts: cool pattern, nice color, but it curls in everywhere but the ends. I'm please because this was my first fancy item, but I'd choose a different yarn and probably do a border along each edge the entire scarf.
How cool is this? A loom-dedicated online 'zine called, appropriately enough, The Loom Knitters Circle. Featuring patterns, articles, and a forum, this great site is just what loom knitters have been asking for. Visit it today!
As far as my own projects, I didn't take any pictures but over the weekend I knitted four little hats for my nieces' American Girls dolls. I used the blue loom, two strands of Moda Dea yarn, and invented a slightly different pattern each time.
I also finished my ziggy-zag scarf. In the end, I probably used 1.5 skeins of yarn. I'll post a picture, soon!
So, what brought yarn kitty and yarn dog out of the house on a winter day? In the past week we've had 30" of snow, and yet there they were, both staring at something.
Could it be? Could it really be that they spotted Big Bubba, the harbinger of spring?
The kitty peered cautiously through an icicle. The dog bounded, but Bubba was too fast and got away! And least I think he got away.
Okay, enough silliness! What I really wanted to say is knitting bunnies is a good way to trigger spring. Even with all the snow, the sun is shining and the ice is melting the day after a winter storm. So, never again doubt the power of a pink, knitted bunny named Bubba.
I made this bunny using the same pattern as before, only this time I made him much bigger. I cast on 24 stitches on the blue loom and knit back and forth to create an 8.5" square flat panel. I used the flat stitch and two strands of yarn--one Bernat Softee and one Moda Dea Dream. Because this bunny is so much larger than the other two, I had to guess how much bigger to make his ears. I cast on pegs 1-6 and purled the two middle pegs. I added two additional rows, and that's all it took to make the ears. I did sew them on backwards so they had a floppier look.
Bubba is a little bit big, and although he's cute, he's no where near as cuddly as the little bunnies. Plus, his back legs look a little distorted.
But if Bubba can bring about spring, who can complain?
And what does yarn dog think about it all? Can she complain? "Nope," she told me. "Bubba was delicious!"
(Just kidding.)
What better way to spend a snowy weekend than knitting a couple of cute bunnies? We may have had 20" of snow this weekend, but these little, cute, pink, fluffy bunnies didn't seem to care. I used the blue loom and the free pattern (PDF) from the Loom Knitting store. These bunnies knit up in about an hour. You start by knitting a flat panel using 15 pegs. Then, you knit two ears, a tail, and you sew it and stuff it.
For my first bunny I used two strands of Bernat Softee Chunky. When I started the ears, I accidently read the pattern wrong and knitted at least two rows too many, but it looks sort of cute that way, more like Amigurumi than a bunny. For this bunny, I kept the "knit" side facing out.
I then did another one using two strands of Moda Dea Dream (Color: Blush). It's very soft and fluffy. I probably should have used three strands because they were so skinny... Next time, maybe. This one I followed the ear pattern more closely and they turned out pretty cute. This bunny has the "purl" side facing out.
These bunnies are very small--no more than six or seven inches long. I'd like to knit a bigger bunny, maybe using the blue loom but instead of just 15 pegs, I'd use all 24 pegs. I'm guessing I'd have to knit at least 40 rows. If it keeps snowing, maybe I'll do just that!
P.S. Hey, all you Vox-ers. Did you know you can now customize your banner? B designed this new one of my yarn lovin' cat!
I've always wanted to try to knit mittens, so I bought yet another skein of Lion's Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick and gave it a shot. I tried this pattern which uses the blue loom and knits the mitten in one piece, thumb included. The only sewing is the top and the sides of the thumb. I chose the flat stitch so the mitten wouldn't be loose, and I think they ended up okay. Not great, because I changed the top of the mitten. The pattern called for a gathered top, like a hat, but I decided to do decreases and stitch the top like a flat panel.
Did it work? Yes and no. For one thing, using the flat stitch made me have to guess the number of rows--I needed more than the pattern called for because the flat stitch is so tight. Also, I have a lot to learn about decreasing because the mittens look a little off on the top, plus my stitching is bumpy. They work, though, and I was able to toss snowballs for my dog to chase while my hands stayed warm. These would be even better if I could line them with flannel, but until then, they're just fine.
My other cat, the one who doesn't bother me when I knit unlike this one, just had to take a look. I think she was impressed. I can always tell when she likes something because she lies down on it, and that's just what she did.
Denise Layman designed the April Showers dishcloth, and I couldn't resist giving it a try. I used the blue loom and less than one skein of Peaches and Cream cotton yarn (two strands), and followed the directions on the Knitting without Needles website. This was fun and fairly easy (all you need to know is knit and purl), and if you can see the picture clearly, it should look like a flower. I now have the bug to make other dishcloths, and although it worked fine on the blue KK, I'd like to try them on a fine gauge, loom, too. All you really need is a dollar's worth of yarn, a pattern, and an hour or two.
I bought this hank of Henry's Attic 100% organic cotton a few weeks ago, and as always, whenever I get "nice" yarn, I have trouble deciding what to make with it. I'm considering a pullover vest, but I have yet to find a KK pattern for one I like. (Matter of fact, I can't find any loom patterns!) I'd like to use the mock crochet stitch, which is very delicate and pretty. Here's Isela's movie on how to knit it on a loom, plus here's Brenda's lacey scarflet, a pretty example of the stitch.
I came across this website with links to a ton of loom-knitting blogs and patterns. Maybe I'll find a pattern for my cool yarn!
It always bothered me that the hat I made never fit quite right. This was one of the first things I made with my KK set. It was too short and a little tight, so this morning I frogged it and made a new one. I wanted to do a knitted pattern for a long time, and this was my chance. I used a single strand of Lion Thick & Quick on the green loom and created this spiral-ribbed hat. I used the non-loopy cast-on method, and then made a ribbed brim by alternating K2, P2 for four rows. I then started the spiral ribbing. This is super easy to do. The green loom has an even number of pegs, so I chose an odd number in my pattern so that it wouldn't end and start at the same spot each time around. I did K3, P2 for about 25 rows. I cast off a little differently, too, because I'm not fond of the lumpy top that results in gathering 36 loops into one bunch. The final row of knitting consisted of pulling the loops from the odd numbered-pegs, and putting them on the even-numbered pegs. Then, knit off the loops. At this point there's just one loop on each even-numbered peg, and you simply use the same removal method that's in the KK directions. (Thread each loop through the tail of the yarn and pull tightly.) It's still a little bunchy on the top, but it's better than before.
I like the look of this hat, plus it fits! And with -20 degree windchills today, I'm happy to have it.
This week, I also finished my bag. Alas, I fear I'll never actually make the bag I set out to make, but I do like it. It's more like a purse, and it's got a retro-1970's feel. To make this, I used the green loom and three strands of yarn (yes, three!). I chose three different weights and colors. One strand was Lion Brand Jiffy (I think) in an olive green color, the second was a flecked beige from Red Heart, and the final was Cotton Twist in a metallic orange. I made a flat bottom (Crystal describes how to do this in her blog). After I finished the bottom, I knitted around until it reached the right height. (I can't remember how many rows--maybe 40?) I wanted the top to curl over like a brim so I didn't do any special stitches. I then made a strap by knitting three pegs into an i-cord with two of the colors. I also braided three strands of the green yarn, and wove it in and out near the top to make a pull string. I had some wooden beads, so I tied them on all the ends for a final, groovy touch.
I wasn't happy with this bag for many days and I almost frogged it, but at some point I realized I liked it. I'm not sure why. Maybe I just got used to the idea I hadn't made a bag--I made a purse, although I think it's big enough to carry around the blue KK and some yarn. So there's a little lesson--don't frog something right away, because it just may grow on you. I would still like to put a fabric lining in this little purse. I think it'd make a good gift for a girl who's into wearing bell bottoms.
I've been a little bit proud of the fact that I don't really have a yarn stash. When I want to make something, I head out and buy the yarn for the project, only giving into temptation once in awhile. So, what happened to me last night? My head is still swimming. I ventured into Goodwill, wondering if I could find a sweater I could salvage, when I happened to notice this Moda-Dea yarn for $1 each. I have no idea what came over me, but I walked out of the store ten minutes later with nine skeins! Okay, it's only nine dollars, but still... What am I going to do with all this?
EDITED TO ADD PATTERN LINK (4/26/09):
