Crafts Update

In which we have - count them - TWO finished objects!

Michael's Felted Bag

There is a bit more stitch definition than I would like, but for a completely off-the-cuff project, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The strap is a belt from a pair of shorts he got this past summer and the lining is some recycled denim from an old pair of jeans. The only thing left to do really is to do a single crochet over the white elastic closure so it blends better with the rest of the bag.

Pumpkin Hat





This is an adaptation of Crazy Aunt Purl's Reversible Knit Halloweenie Beanie that I adapted for a newborn. I used Dale of Norway's Baby Ull (superwash wool) for the hat and some superwash fingering-weight for the stem with US size 4 (3.5mm) needles. I started with a CO of 80 sts, worked the 4x4 rib for 8 rounds (about 1 inch) before switching to the k7 p1 pattern. I worked the pattern stitch until the hat measured 5" from the bottom and then started the crown decreases - k6, p2tog etc every other round until only 10 sts remained, broke the yarn and drew it through the stitches and secured it. I did up two corkscrews with the green yarn on size 6 needles and a CO of 15 sts using the instructions from the original pattern and then about 2.5" of 3st I-cord for the stem and secured everything to the crown. It took me an unconscionably long time to complete it (the same for the felted bag), but I can claim the whole pregnancy thing.

NaKnitSweMo
I started this month with such high hopes - but my pregnant body had other ideas. I did finally settle on The Simple Knitted Bodice done up in the HPY Colonia 140 in Persefone that I ordered. Here's what's doing from my Ravelry Project Page:

• 11/12 - Cast-on last night and just finished my first ball of yarn. Doing the pattern mods for the deeper neckline as per the Stitch Diva Studios website. Counting down the minutes until I can start knitting in the round. Love the yarn - not quite as soft as Malabrigo but definitely softer than Manos, very thick and thin like the Manos though. The color is beautiful - a charcoal gray/black that looks as if it's been overdyed with dark purple.


• 11/18 - Still wading through endless stockinette. The babe has been sucking up all of my energy, so there hasn't been a ton of progress although there are only 6 more rows to the sleeves. Hope to get pics up tomorrow.


• 11/21 - Tried it on last night and realized that working the HPY at the required gauge for the pattern was not going to work - the resulting fabric is way too tight and I have a sneaky suspicion that it will hug me in all the wrong places. With a heavy heart, I swatched it on some size 8's and did the math and figured I can use the directions for the XL without having to do a whole bunch of rewrites.

Here was the progress I had made by 11/20...


...and here is what it looked like on 11/21


Thankfully, I'm almost back to the same spot I was on 11/20 and the drape of the fabric is so much nicer. I'd love to have this finished by the weekend, and if I wasn't pregnant, I could probably pull it off. We'll see what happens. I only have another 14 rows of stockinette before I can remove the sleeve stitches and then just a bit more before I can start knitting in the round. Once I don't have to purl anymore, it really should fly. Writing long, picture and HTML heavy posts is taking away from precious knitting time, so it's back to work I go. TTFN!