Tag: knitting

Startitis

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

Well, that was fun! I usually have only one, maybe two projects on my needles, but sometimes I just have to give in to the urge to start more. And so I did.
I have no less than four projects going right now and I’m actually thinking about casting on for just one more…

The first one I cast on for was Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise Jacket. No, there are no (grand)baby’s in my immediate future, but I’ve always wanted to make one. And I figured I’d better start practicing before I’ve got baby’s to knit for.  Or something like that. I just wanted to try this.
I have to admit though, that I almost gave up on it. I had to start over a few times because I didn’t read the pattern right. But now I’m well on my way and enjoying seeing it grow.

My second project will hopefully turn out to be a swimsuit (or bikini) cover-up. I’m winging it, so I hope I get this right. It is a lovely soft cotton yarn though and I love knitting with it.

Next project in line is a simple shawl, knit in a lovely shiny (but slippery) cotton on needles that are a size or two too big, to create a light and see-through fabric.

And then, of course, there’s a hat. This was actually the first project I started after finishing the cowl, but then I got distracted with all my other ideas. I was going to do something creative with that ribbing and I hope I remember what it was when I get to it.

So, two out of four projects that I can actually use myself and around here. Not too bad, isn’t it? The baby jacket is knit in cotton too, so I may find myself a baby on the island to gift it to.
I am running out of project bags, by the way (must make more), but luckily my knitting bag is big enough to handle them all and even more (yes, I always keep a book I’m reading in my knitting bag too, don’t you?).

Current Cowl

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

I’ve loved this cowl/showl from the first time I saw it on Chris’ blog, and I was so happy when she send me the pattern (it’s not available online yet, I think). But of course, life got in the way of making it right away. And then I started, but let it sit for a while.
That was all my fault though. The pattern is written well and the instructions are quite clear. It’s also not the most difficult lace pattern to remember. I kind of had a hard time with all the counting for the increases, but that’s my problem completely (you know, headaches, sinusitis, knitting in company).
When I finally took some time to sit down and concentrate, it knit up like a dream.
I made the biggest size (V.3) and even though I think it’s supposed to be a bit larger, I love how it sits around my shoulders and I’m looking forward to wearing it, though that will probably mostly be when I’m in The Netherlands since this is acrylic yarn and it will be too hot most of the time.
Now I want to make one in cotton, so I can use it here.

Three things that make me happy

~ Maggie ~ 6 Comments

(continuing this series, because focusing on what makes me happy is always the right choice)

1. being bitten by the knitting bug again.
I’m almost done with the Current Cowl and I’m about to give in to a serious case of startitis. Fun!

2. seeing T. being all excited about the new business he’s starting.
He’s always been very interested in solar installations. Reading about them, contemplating installations and working out the kinks has always been a hobby of sorts for him.
We had solar panels in The Netherlands for years and we have them here too. We’re even still off-grid here and though we’d like to be connected to the net for back-up power, recent islandwide outages have made us think we’d better invest in more solar panels and batteries. A lot of people we know are also very interested now (these outages last whole days!), so he decided now was probably the right time to start selling and installing off-grid solar installations. We’ll see how it goes.

3. looking forward to a shift in my workload.
That new business means there will be more administrative work to do for me (I already do all the bookkeeping and taxes and other occurring tasks for T.’s other businesses).
I’ve felt overwhelmed by work for a while now. Sometimes it’s slow, but when it rains, it pours. I often feel like I don’t have any time and/or energy left for household tasks and gardening, let alone writing books or sewing and things like that. And, to top it all off, it doesn’t pay very well (an hourly rate that is so low that I could never make a living out of it).
So we talked it over and decided that I’ll quit (or at least pause) the editing work I do for my publisher. If our new business is a success that won’t necessarily mean less work, but there will be fewer deadlines and it will mean work that is easier for me to plan and shift around.
Of course, taxes do have deadlines, but I won’t have to wait for others to decide when those will be (taxes have fixed deadlines) and I also don’t have to wait for others to do their jobs. No emailing back and forth with the publisher, authors, and graphic designers will save me such a lot of time (and stress)!
I will have to finish the editing jobs I already accepted though. One down, two to go.
Oh, the things I plan to do when I’m done!

Linking up with Carole’s Three on Thursday

A hat!

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been browsing the blog to make sure, but this seems to be my first finished knitting/crafty project this year. Oy! No wonder I feel off…
Anyway. This simple hat actually took me a while to knit, but it turned out just as I wanted it to be, a simple k2 p2 ribbing, followed by garter stitch. I love it! If we had the right temperatures for it, I would be wearing it a lot.
Now I’m secretly hoping the beginning of May (when we’re in Holland again) will be chilly enough to wear it (nah, not really! – I’ll safe it for December).

What I did:

CO 80 st.
K2 P2 to end of round
repeat until desired height

switch to garter stitch (alternating K rounds and P rounds)
repeat until desired height

start decreases:
SSK to end of round (40 st left)
P
SSK to end of round (20 st left)
P
SSK to end of round (10 st left)
pull thread through remaining stitches, weave in ends

Crafty goals

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

I didn’t have much time for crafting last week. But that’s okay. There was swimming, talking, laughing, reading and other good stuff instead.

Last week’s list:

/ work on the cowl -> just a few rows. Need to concentrate a bit on the pattern. Not that it’s that hard to follow, but with D. here, there’s just too much distraction. Oh well, it can wait.
/ make covers for the top of our chair cushions. They get greasy really fast (from sweaty and salty hair) and washing the cushions is not that easy. They dry slowly and it costs too much electricity each time -> Started simple granny squares, but it’s going slowly.

This week’s list:

– work on the cowl
– work on covers for the top of our chair cushions

Let’s see how far I can get…

Crafty goals

~ Maggie ~ 2 Comments

This week was… well, busy. Mostly in a good way, but I am at that point again where I know I need to plan better or I will feel overwhelmed. Or actually, I’m already past that point, which is why I always get stuck there. I’m already at the phase of “just get it done and I’ll think about how to plan better later”. And when later arrives, I’m just too tired, or I think it wasn’t all that bad. Until I get two editing assignments, a writing project and a lot of bookkeeping on my list again. Besides that big house and giant garden and a daughter visiting.
Anyway. Mostly fun and I will get through eventually. But if you know an easy and free but brilliant way to plan these things (lots of different jobs for only one person), please let me know!

Anyway, on to the crafting. I keep telling myself these lists are for fun and so far, that works. They do help me to focus on just a few projects instead of making myself crazy with all the possibilities.

Last week’s list:

✔ start the cowl – I did and I love it so far! It’s going slowly though because I don’t have that much time to read and follow a pattern.
✔ make a headband – finished it this morning.
X start the doll (or one of the other toys)

This week:

– work on the cowl
– make (crochet? – I have to think about it) covers for the top of our chair cushions. They get greasy really fast (from sweaty and salty hair) and washing the cushions is not that easy. They dry slowly and it costs too much electricity each time

What are you making this week?

2019 :: knitting

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

2019 wasn’t my best knitting year. Well, it wasn’t my best year whatsoever, but I am writing a post about knitting because I already wrote about finding home and I didn’t want to get too deep into the other things that happened this year.
Still, there was some knitting and I did find comfort in that. Looking at this list, it’s funny to see that I have been winging it most of the time. The house slippers were made from a (very simple) pattern, but other than that, I just knitted away.
That explains why this isn’t the most interesting list of knitting, but I had fun making each and every one of these items and that’s what counts.

In 2019 I knit:

:: the sunset shawl (top picture)
:: a rectangle 
:: two headbands
:: eleven hats (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,, eight, nine, ten, eleven)
:: giant potholders
:: a poncho (or large cowl) (second picture)
:: four dishcloths (that were supposed to be potholders)
:: a sweater dress
:: a green cowl
:: a little circle to put under our tiny Christmas tree
:: a pair of simple house slippers

 If I have to pick a favorite, I guess it would be my sweater dress. I wore it (paired with a long sleeve shirt and leggings) a lot during our time in The Netherlands, it was just perfectly warm and comfortable.

(p.s. yes, I know I’m a bit late with this post, but I wrote it last week and then I forgot about it.)

Crafty goals

~ Maggie ~ 5 Comments

So here we are. A new year. So much time to make so many things.
I’d like to join other makers and list all the things I want to make this year.
But to be honest, I’m feeling a bit uninspired. I love making hats, cardigans and sweaters, but I really want to shift my focus to making things I can use or donate here on Curaçao (donating to charities overseas is an option, but really expensive).

I did buy a lot of cotton yarn when I was in The Netherlands, both new and thrifted, so that limited stash I used to have to deal with is no longer a problem. I also bought some acrylic yarn that would be lovely as a cowl or shawl (those jelly rolls in the middle of the picture), so I think I will start that cowl/showl pattern soon.

But other than that… I don’t know.

There’s a whole lot of that blue cotton and I think I want to make something (a wide sweater or a kimono) to wear over my swimsuit at the beach, but I don’t think I can handle that much lace. This page gave me some ideas though. Drop stitch! Brilliant.

I’d like to try and make some stuffed animals (lots of children here to give them too), but I’d have to use patterns that you need to follow row by row (I like mindless repeats) and dpn’s. Those are both things that scare me right now. Dpn’s for finishing a hat are okay though, so maybe I’m just being silly. And well, I have to get used to shaping and tight knitting and things like that before I can try to figure things out for myself (my favorite way of knitting).
I did a little search and here are some patterns that I like: owl, fish, doll, sea creatures, teddies (not on dpn’s – ha!)

Oh, and bags. I could try to knit bags. Those are shapes I should be able to figure out without a pattern… And of course, I could use some headbands. I never made any more than the two I originally made, because I didn’t like the yarns I had for that, but I do have some great options now. And if I want easy knitting it might be a great idea to start knitting some placemats, because I have some not washable store-bought ones that are getting gross.

Ha. I guess the best solution for feeling uninspired is to write a blog post about it. Kind of like thinking aloud.

Here’s my list for this week:

– start the cowl
– make a headband
– start the doll (or one of the other toys)

Sewing? Not going to happen this month. Our oldest daughter will arrive Tuesday for a four week (!) stay and I don’t think I will have any time to sew.

The last two hats

~ Maggie ~ 2 Comments

… of 2019, that is. Although I want to try to knit more things that I can actually use throughout the year, I don’t think I will ever not knit hats. I just love them too much.

The first one I made for my father to match the beret I made for my mother. Just a very simple hat, using up every last bit of that skein.

After that, I was still itching to knit, but not feeling capable of anything remotely complicated, so I cast on for another hat in the yarn I made that green cowl with.

Simple, but warm and soft. I think I’ll keep this one, to wear with the cowl when we’re in The Netherlands for the holidays. It doesn’t get that cold there (usually no snow, just lots and lots of rain), but to me, it felt very cold. And they sure can use some extra green in winter…

I feel like Goldilocks

~ Maggie ~ 2 Comments

Not that I’m house crashing with three bears, though. That would be… weird. To say the least.
But the hats I’ve been making for my mother did get me thinking about that fairy tale.
Remember? The first beret I made for her was too small. The second one was better, but actually a bit too big.
But now… I think I’ve got it. This one is juuuuust right 😉

(not posting pictures with my face showing today. Goodness, I’m suddenly all wrinkled up. Must be the cold or something.)

What I did:

CO 72 st., join in the round, k2,p2 – 6 rounds
Increase: K b&f 3 times, k1, repeat till last four stitches, K b&f 2 times, k2 (132 st)
K 15 rounds (stockinette stitch)

start decrease: 
(the decrease is done in 6 sections, knitting less stitches before ssk each time)

K 20, ssk – repeat till end of round
K entire round
K19, ssk – repeat till end of round
K entire round
etc.

keep alternating decrease rows and K rows until you did K10, ssk
Then stop the K rows and keep decreasing (k9, ssk; K8, ssk etc.) until you have 12 stitches left.
Use a darning needle to pull thread through remaining stitches and pull to close. Sew in ends.