Backyard-y Things

I’m currently working away on my first custom order since my big break of awesome, and it’s nice to be sewing again! I am, of course, also being creative in other ways, or I would surely go nuts. Mostly this consists of weaving, knitting and writing.

My latest adventure in knitting was looking at a mitten I knitted three years ago and try to figure out the pattern, because I forgot to save it and I’ve used those until they pretty much pilled themselves to bits. It was a bit of a challenge, and I think the finished mitten turned out slightly bigger, but in all I am happy with them.

That is the old one to the right, knitted in Malabrigo Worsted (colourway: Violetas), and the new one to the left, knitted in Manos Silk Blend (colourway: 4635).

I almost never indulge myself in really exclusive yarns, so I think these two are the fanciest yarns I’ve ever knitted with. So worth every last krona too (even though I bought the former in the U.S. and the latter in the U.K.!). They are simply amazing, and £11.99 for 300 yards is so worth it when the yarn in question is as gorgeous and soft as this one. It really is.

Pattern: Backyard (Semi-Convertible) Mittens

Ravelry: link.

Yarn: Manos Silk Blend (30% silk, 70% merino, 270 m or 300 yards); green aka 4635, 1 skein.

I’ve looked at a lot of convertible mittens in my days, and it seems like most of them require you to button the flap down, as they have a rather big hole to allow for flipping back the top.

A few years ago I saw one that simply had a hole in the palm, though I can’t remember where (the now defunct MagKnits, maybe?), and thought the idea was great, but that they would be even better if they had a bit of overlapping fabric, so the hole wasn’t there all the time. Because Sweden is cold. Seriously.

So I knitted the first version of this mitten (my first mitten ever, actually), with a cable down the back, to go with the scarf (which I lost) and the hat (which came out too small), a simple afterthought thumb, because it seemed like the least scary option, a hole backed by an extra flap behind it, sewn down only on the sides, and used them every single day for two winters and actually half of a third.
…

So, when I came across this yarn and figured out it was enough for a Backyard Leaves Scarf and then some, I decided to do a repeat. Since it came out so awesome the last time.

I kept them plain this time, because the yarn was more variegated than I’d expected, and also, because there’s plenty of lace and patterned knitting in the scarf. I quite like mittens that doesn’t have a rounded top. The last pair didn’t end in a point, but I decided to do that part just a bit differently (possibly cos I knitted for too long before realising that I was supposed to be grafting…

As for the whole reason I made these mittens:

Pattern: Backyard Leaves Scarf (Ravelry link)

Ravelry: link (to my version).

Yarn: Manos Silk Blend (30% silk, 70% merino, 270 m or 300 yards); green aka 4635, 2 skeins. Or more like 1.5.

It came out wicked long; it was the prescribed 200 cm before blocking, and then each half grew with about 25 cm, so it totals 250 cm. That is 98.5 inches. I’m only 173 cm long, so it’s… long. Even on me. I can wrap it twice around my neck and there’s still some over.

This post is far too long already, so I will not post a close up. Click on the pic and it will zoom in for you. If you want.

For something else altogether: Do consider going to Ravelry.com (if you have an account) and filter patterns through the “Help for Haiti” tag, and buy something! I wanted to offer my patterns for sale like that and give the proceeds to that, but realised that I really don’t write out instructions well enough for that (my patterns have a lot of “gauge – erm, what was on the ball band. probably.” and “size – big. ish.” in them), and besides, what does it help if everyone offers their patterns for free if nobody buys anything?

So I’m going to.

Edited: January 17th, 2010

Needle Case and Zippered Bag

I always forget how hard it is to photograph black fabric until I try. This was the best I could do, under the circumstances (which was crazy snow storm, no sun in sight outside and thus lots of flash washing out the details). The background to this Christmas present is that my mother’s knitting corner is a disaster area consisting of two baskets, four paper bags, a lot of tangled yarn and no measuring tape or yarn needles. She has about seven crooked knitting needles of each size, none which match. At all. So I decided to make her this needle case with a small zippered bag for the small stuff, to help with the organisation of it all. I used this tutorial for the needle case and this one for the bag. I followed the latter to the last detail, but freestyled my little heart out with the former, as usual.

Here it is with the lid folded down. The lid piece was juuuust an inch too short, so I improvised a contrasting edge with the fabric I used for the inside. You want a lid that goes down over the lower edge of the pockets, or the needles WILL fall out every time you pick the damn thing up. Trust me on that one.

Slightly open. Should’ve opened it more for a better effect, shouldn’t I? Yeah. I should have. I didn’t, though, so you have to trust me on that there is in fact two rows of pockets – short ones for double pointed needles and tall ones for straight needles. I hate them, personally, but my mother uses nothing else.

All rolled up and ready to go. And yes, blurry. Sorry about that.

I love the birds on this fabric. It’s Ikea, by the way, and rather thick for this project, but it worked okay, since the lining fabric was super thin to make up for it.

I like this bag even more than the needle case – definitely easier to make all professional looking.

Edited: January 1st, 2010

Coming Back From the Dead

I think I have made things confusing again. See, when I revamped my website I didn’t know how easy it was to get a static page for my main URL, and then a different one for my blog (you simply make a page and name it “blog” and that’s it), so I installed Wordpress twice, once for my pages and once for my blog. The reason I haven’t been blogging much was the whole logging in and out when I switched from one to another. And then I realised how ridiculously easy it was, and changed things around, but of course that means that my feed URL is now different. It used to be http://procraftination.se/blog/feed/ and is now http://procraftination.se/feed/. And I can of course not alert people about the switch, since I removed the files installed under the “blog” folder.

Erm. Does this make your head spin too? Good. Then it’s not just me. Anyway, I hope that people will still find their way here, despite my sneakiness! We shall see about that.

During the last few months I’ve been spending most of my times playing with new medications and writing a lot, and in all trying to take care of myself. There hasn’t been a lot of pads for sale during this time, but I do have news! I feel better and will from here on out accept custom orders again. It will be a bit different than before, a middle way if you will, but you can visit this page (if you’re Swedish) or this page (if you’re not) for more details on the matter.

And as a Christmas presents to all the knitters reading this (which may not be many, but hey…) I have put up a felted bag pattern, which you can find here.

It is fairly small, 9.5 x 8.25 inches after felting, and I made it for a friend as an utterly impractical gift to receive after just having given birth (as it doesn’t fit any baby things whatsoever). Each side consists of four mitered squares and it’s exactly half of two colours, as you switch it around from one side to another. Follow the link for more pictures and all that, and if you knit one, let me know!

I have so much more stuff to blog, from the slippers I made my grandmother, by way of my present to my mum to two dolls I’ve done up for two little Australian girls that I love to bits despite never having met them. That is a story for another day, though, as I am halfway out the door.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Edited: December 29th, 2009

Weaving Up a Storm

I really need to get some new stock made and posted, preferably before the madness that is NaNoWriMo. That gives me nine days. Should be doable, provided that I don’t get sidetracked by a) kitten, b) other crafty projects, c) the unpacking of the last two boxes.

I hate moving. I really, really, REALLY hate moving. Which is why it makes little sense for me to take a full month to unpack, but there you have it. At least I’ve only got one room to go now!

Knitting is easier than sewing, because I can do it when I’m out and about, so I finished a pair of socks despite my relative business.

Pattern: Minerva’s Tower.

Ravelry: link.

Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 50 grams, 211 metres/231 yards), 2 skeins burgundy.

I bought this yarn probably three years ago, knitted one sock, was rudely interrupted by a break up that made me not want to touch anything I had been working on prior to it, and stuffed it in the closet for an eternity and a half. When I was going to Edinburgh at the end of October I looked through my stash for a suitable solid sock yarn and found it.

Ripping that lone sock out and reknitting it into something like this was oddly liberating and just what I needed to do.

The pattern is written by my dear friend Corrina of Picnic Knits, and I love it to pieces, especially the fact that there is a small/medium and a medium/large size, of which I knitted the latter. I did not follow the directions for the toe, which I regret, but can’t be arsed fixing.

Wool socks are necessary when I weave, because you cannot wear shoes while doing it, and the weaving room is in the basement of a church with concrete flooring. It’s always freezing down there, and I lovelovelove having proper socks to keep myself warm!

Speaking of weaving… It’s a new thing of mine, and I love it. It’s very meditative and I put music on and get to work. The rest of the women taking this class are ranging from 55-85 in age, so I’m the young one, but I’m okay with that. I especially like that I can go there any time and work without having to talk to anyone. Why yes, I am a bit of a hermit.

And while we’re on the subject, a few weaving related pics:

In the last year I have gained a ridiculous amount of weight because of meds that are essential for my well-being. This of course means that none of my clothes fit anymore, and cleaning out my closet of all these shirts that were too short and too tight and just made me sad was amazing. So, when I started weaving I decided to take all these too small clothes and cut them into strips and make a long memory rug from it.

I have a lot of different colours, but red and green are the ones reoccuring the most often. So, to use that as a strength rather than trying to hide it, I sorted everything by colour before starting to weaving.

The second pic shows my loom all set up and ready to go. It takes quite a bit of time to do the warping and other stuff, but once you’re done, it’s so satisfying to sit down and weave.

I’ve woved almost exactly a metre at this point and used up all my reds. Between each one I have 10 cm of navy blue, to break up the different colours and bring them together. The little old ladies were dubious at first, but seem to be more convinced after I’ve done a few stripes…

I really like the result produced by striped strips of fabric! Most of them are red and white, but I also have a red and black one, and some in several green and purple shades coming up.

I can’t weave without music on, so my ipod always accompanies me. The others chat or listen to the radio, but I weave the best (and the fastest!) when I turn the music up and get going. Here it is The Indelicates that are accompanying me.

Edited: October 21st, 2009

Moving House and Running in Circles

Okay, let’s see. I am moving house and a wee bit scattered at the moment, so I have temporarily gone on hiatus, pad selling wise. I’m doing moving things this weekend and next, visiting with relatives in between and should be back in business by the first. Well, I am moving in on the 19th, so I damn well hope so!

A small re-done project of mine for while I drown in boxes:

Pattern: Cinnamon Swirls, one of my very simple patterns.

Ravelry: link.

Yarn: Tuva by Marks & Kattens (100% wool, 50 grams, 55 metres/60 yards), 1 skein red and 1 skein brown.

I first knitted this one months ago, wasn’t happy with it, still gifted it to a friend, STILL WASN’T HAPPY WITH IT, agonising, and finally snapped and knitted another version, reversing the spiral colouring and choosing a better main colour.

At Ravelry I have both the first version and the second up here, and as you can see the colour change makes all the difference in the world!

I have chosen Backyard Leaves Scarf as my OMG-ALL-MY-YARN-IS-PACKED-WHAT-DO-I-DO-project. I look forward to it!

Back in a fortnight-ish.

Edited: September 9th, 2009

Luna Moth Shawl

Edited: September 2nd, 2009

Last Minute Rant, or: Busy, Busy Bee

I have been a very busy bee lately. I’ve been filling up a parcel for a friend, constantly finding new Stuff to put in it, but today I actually sealed it and tomorrow I’m sending it off, hooray! As soon as she has received it and can no longer be spoiled, I will blog at length about one of the things I have made her.

Also, I have in one gigantic batch finished all my custom orders but one (and that one is just two little pantyliners). Which means that from here on out you have to actually email me and ask if you want a custom order. The reasons for this can be found here or here (first one in English, second one in Swedish). I am hoping that it will give me some more time to a) fill up my shop with ready-to-ship-items, b) sew things that aren’t pads, c) knit, d) return to the much coveted, much elusive sanity that I hear some people possess.

On Monday morning I went to the mailbox with these two envelopes. I also managed to email the people receiving them saying that I had shipped their order. I space on that even though I really appreciate it when other sellers email me to let me know that my purchases have shipped. It’s on my list of Things To Improve. I love these envelopes, and am sad to say that I only have one left.

Today (Tuesday) I have this pile to mail. Yes. The very next day. What can I say? I have been sewing like mad! The bottom one is not an order, though, it’s the Parcel of Doom and Hand Knits that I’m sending to a friend of mine.

What is in these padded envelopes, you ask? Well, I wish I could say that I had a picture, but my phone mangled that particular image so you will have to live without seeing it. I am currently down to a camera phone with 2.0 megapixels. Yes. Seriously. The only place where I can get decent pics is absurdly on the stove. So, yes, I cannot say how much I am awaiting the arrival of the camera I bought a few weeks ago. It was shipped to my dear friend Jenn(cakes), and when I see her on Friday (for the first time, OMG), she will give it to me!

(This means I will no longer have to scan my pads in one by one and then spend hour upon hour on Photoshopping them to something halfway decent.)

I am not sure what I look forward to the most. Sorry. I do. Of course look forward to a weekend of Scottish accents, Amanda Palmer singing, hugging one of my best friends, finding yarn shops and having high tea (a request of mine, I want to see what it’s all about) more than the arrival of the shiny camera with which I will document it all.

I did get a pic of these pads. They are the thickness of my day pads, but in the size of pantyliners; 20 x 6.5 cm, and were requested by one of my returning customer, whose daughter had just started menstruating, and wanted cloth pads of her own. Nothing makes me happier than hearing about girls who go cloth right away instead of, like me, being ashamed and hiding their Always super pads (at least six for a school day, I bleed a lot less these days) in their pockets, nearly DYING when a small corner was visible as I pulled my keys out.

I am putting these pads up before I go. If you purchase before Friday afternoon I will ship before I leave on Friday night, if not, I’ll be back by Monday, and ship them out promptly as soon as I catch up on my sleep. Check them out heeeere.

Edited: August 18th, 2009

Procrastinating and… Not.

Okay. Project procrastination is done (for now). Tomorrow I am mailing off … a million things, but most importantly, and craft related-ly, the following stuff.

For little sister:

Pattern: Daisy from Knitty.
Ravelry: link.
Yarn: Paton’s Grace that I somehow acquired for a dollar a skein.
Notes: First I used this yarn for a Tivoli, before promptly gaining twenty kilos. Thus, I only wore it once or twice and spent the next two years gazing longingly at it. Then I got over myself, ripped it out and made this. I like to call it the Sunshine Jacket, even though its more mandarin oranges than sunlight. Check out Ravelry link for close up of OMG adorable buttons.

…
…

Pattern: Seamless Baby Booties from Pickin’ and Throwin’ Blog x 2, Converse Booties from Alley Kat and Mary Jane Booties from How Stuff Works.
Ravelry: Seamless #1, Seamless #2, Converses, Mary Janes.
Yarn: Gjestal Bomull Sport in black, red and white. I bought three skeins and knitted until I ran out of yarn.
Notes: Am very dubious about the Mary Janes, they are so tiny that I think big sister will use them for her dolls instead. The red ones are Arsenal Booties and the Converses I converted to work in the round instead, because I believe that even babies (especially babies!) have a right not to have seams running down the sole of their feet!

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For big sister:

Pattern: Kate from Knitty and Pitter Patter Socks from Ravelry.
Ravelry: Kate, Pitter Patter.
Yarn: Qualitas Sock, small amounts of all three, for Kate, Sock It To Me in two shades of purple for the socks.
Notes: Because I had limited room in the parcel and/or am insane I made this one with 2.5 mm needles and sock yarn. She’s just 6.5 inches tall, when the original is a full 12 inches. The socks look… dis-proportional, but will have to wait for the verdict from the five-year-old before I decide if they were successful or not. Books by Astrid Lindgren. Every girl needs some Lotta in her life! (Yes, I like her more than Pippi.)

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Finally, I spent all day in close proximity with these babies. Soakers done, channels sewn on, backs cut out and pinned to the tops. Tomorrow I’m turning and top stitching (yes, really).

And mailing lovely Japanese print and cute little snowbirds out.

I believe that is all from the department of the clinically insane. (Unless you want to know the amount of anti-anxiety meds that I am needing just to THINK ABOUT my trip to Scotland next week.)

Edited: August 13th, 2009

Boobs!

I got a tiny bit sidetracked by my last batch of custom orders – the last one before the cut off, after which I will only do them rather sporadically – by the arrival of a New Baby. One of my best friends grew a whole human being, and I am so impressed. I so wouldn’t be able to do that. (I can’t even keep my plants alive for more than a week at a time.)

So, I have been putting together a parcel for my friend, New Baby and Big Sister (dad does not get presents, I can’t knit/shop/give gifts to men to save my life!), and in the midst of them all there is a small stack of breast pads. You know, the ones you stuff in your bra to not sport wet blotches on your shirt when the milk comes in? Yes. Those.

I have never made anything of this sort before, so I decided to go all out and try three different shapes and three different backings. They all have a single layer of terry in the center, making them the same thickness as my day pads. I am personally a bit suspicious about the square ones, but perhaps if you stuff them in diagonally, with a corner pointing down, they could work.

The ovals are my personal favourites, but they may be too small. (I have small boobs, I can’t even imagine having a chest that needs something bigger, but that’s just me.) The green ones on this pic are empty, with a small hole left in the seam. The thought is that my friend will fill them up with rice or dried beans, sew the small hole up and then they can be tossed in the freezer or microwaved. For when breast feeding HURTS. Although I have been told that CABBAGE works better… I made a heating pad of my own this way, but didn’t get a picture. It works great for cramps, and the rice I poured into it keeps the heat for a surprisingly long time. I shall post a little something with directions for how to make your own tomorrow, or as soon as I have an actual picture to show you!

This pic shows you the backing of each set; from left to right you have a PUL backed pad, one that is just flannel, no proofing layer and to the right, one with fleece. I don’t know how much protection you need against your own breasts, but after I read a blog post about, um, spraypainting walls with milk (heee!) I decided to try all the methods I normally use for my menstrual pads. I will demand some feedback from my friend once she has used them all, and then, I suppose I could sell some. If there’s an interest and all.

Tomorrow I will get back on turning and topstitching the pads I have waiting! They’ll be in the mail before you know it. (I hope.)

Edited: August 12th, 2009