Striped Stockings

This pattern assumes you can work in the round and know a little bit about knitting socks, but that you are not so set in your ways that you can't break the rules a bit :)

Size 7 double point needles or circulars
Gauge:
8" wide x 11" tall = 2"x2"

Top of the stocking:
Your needles are 1,2,3,4 in that order as you cast them on. You should have 15 sts on each needle and use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of your round if you like.

CO 60 sts and join in the round

Work 1" k1p1 ribbing

In stockinette stitch, work stripes that are 3 rounds tall each. To avoid jogging stripes, slip the first stitch of the new color when you come back around to it, and continue knitting around. You can find more details on tech knitting right here http://techknitting.blogspot.nl/2007/01/jogless-stripes.html?m=1

Work the leg of the stocking for 49 rounds. This means you will begin the heel after working 1 round of white in round 49.


Heel
Knit across needle 1 sts

The 30 sts on needle 2 & 3 will be your heel, ignore needles 1 and 4 for now.

With white, work 8 rows stockinette, slipping the first st of each round
Move all sts to one needle
(When slipping,
Slip first st, K14 k2tog k1 turn
Slip first st p4 p2tg p1 turn
Slip first st k5 k2tog k1 turn
Slip first st p6 p2tg p1 turn
Slip first st k7 k2tog k1 turn
Slip first st p8 p2tg p1 turn
Slip first st k9 k2tog k1 do not turn
You should now have 23 heel sts

(I know we didn't finish the heel here. It's ok.)

Now we are going back to working in the round.
Pick up 5 sts along each side of the heel flap as you knit one round even

Needle 3 is now needle 1 and the start of the round (it begins in the middle of the heel flap). Divide the heel flap and gusset stitches evenly onto 2 needles 16 on one and 17 on the other (doesn't matter which needle has more, in my uneducated opinion)

K across needle 1 until 3 sts left, then k2 tog, k. K across needles 2 and 3, k1 ssk, knit across needle 4.

K around

Repeat these 2 rounds three more times

Knit even for 15 rounds

Now for the toe decreases:

Knit across needle 1 until there are 3 sts left. K2tog, k, ssk next sts, knit across needle 2 and then needle 3 until there are 2 sts left on needle 3. K2tog, k1, ssk and k across needle 4

Knit even

Repeat these toe decreases 6 more time or until you have a nice rounded toe. Trim your yarn leaving a long tail, then use this tail to cinch up the toe by threading it through all of the stitches and pulling tight. Knot it and weave in all ends.

For the loop, you can use fabric, an I cord, or a crocheted piece to stitch onto the inside. I crocheted a piece for the loop by chaining 24, and then sc two rows.

Finishing:

If you are using acrylic yarn, I recommend "killing" it for nice drape and shine. This means you will pin it out how you want it, cover it with a clean wet towel, and press the wet towel with a hot iron. Iron in short spurts because you don't want it to melt the yarn completely, just a bit. This will make that yarn really open up and be the shape you want it to be.

Ravellenic Games

So as you know, the Olympics are a little under a week away (yay!) and that means it is also time for the Ravellenic Games! This is a contest on Ravelry where teams compete in many various events. Each person is urged to expand their own personal limits in the spirit of the games.

I am participating in Baby Dressage and am going to make an Aran Cabled Jumper by Eileen Casey, I'm also going to make a Crocodile Stitch baby afghan which will be my own pattern. That will be for the Afghan Marathon as well as Baby Dressage events.

Finally, I'm going to attempt to finish the ugly afghan. Do you remember the ugly afghan?

I've been working on this since 2005. Yes. This blanket is 7 years in the making. My son has finally fallen in love with it, so when I finish it, It will be his. More likely, it will be a throw for our couch because it is SO thick and warm. 

It is made mostly with Red Heart Super Saver held three strands thick and dc across.  Fast and such a yarn burner!

Wish me luck as I train in the next week :)

Tyrannosaurus and Volga Viking Hat/Beard

I've had the tyrannosaurus pattern for a long time, but it was one of the first patterns I wrote and it was not as clear and organized (and pretty ^_^) as my patterns now. SO I revamped it! Check out the new pictures that includes the new picot stitch option for the spine.

So fun! I love making these little guys and my kids love them. You can get your hands on the new pattern on Etsy here or on Ravelry here. The pattern is being tested as well so any kinks will be thoroughly worked out!

Another upcoming pattern and hat for the shop is this:

The picture is of the ever-elusive Mr. Bowrene and the hat is the Volga Viking Hat!  The pattern is being tested by 5 wonderful geniuses and it will be ready within a week or so.  Once that is all done, the hat is being shipped to my baby brother. He has promised me that it will live a good life with him :)

Tour de Fleece Team Kromski 2012!

So as you may or may not know, the Tour de France is going on this month. On Ravelry, I participate in a tribute to the Tour called the Tour de Fleece. Yep. Spinning time! The goal is to spin every day of the tour and I have done pretty well so far. Since June 30th, I have spun 610 yards of laceweight singles from the Black and White mill ends I got from the Sheep Shed Studio. They are really lovely and easy to spin. They have a pretty long staple length and the fibers separate very smoothly. The black is a little courser than the white, so together, they make a beautiful yarn.

I just finished the first bobbin during my morning spinning session. To make the singles "stick" and not untwist, I kept them on the niddy noddy (my PVC homemade one) and dunked them in hot hot hot water in the bathtub. I sort of slapped it in the water, still on the niddy noddy, several times. Then I took it off the niddy noddy, being careful to keep it in a big loop and moved it back and forth between cold water in the sink and hot water in the bathtub. Finally, I squeezed the yarn out and thwacked* it against the bathtub wall pretty fiercely. 

*Thwack: v. to take a large wet loop of yarn and whack it hard against something so that it makes a thwacking sound

I am going to spin about 200 more tonight. You see, this is not just my typical "spinning for the heck of it." I have a PLAN!

I am going to use this yarn for the "Winter's Thaw" shawl by Hedgehog Fibers

Here is a pattern inspired by Harry Potter--the Golden Snitch!

Enjoy!

Materials

Gold and White Acrylic Yarn

   (Red heart or similar)

Size G hook

Tapestry needle

Abbreviations

ch=chain

sc=single crochet

sl st= slip stitch

st=stitch

Snitch Body

ch 2

Round 1: 6 sc in 2^nd ch from hook, do not join

Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around

Round 3: *sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc* Repeat ** around

Round 4-6: sc in each st around

Round 7: *sc in next 3 sc, skip next st*  Repeat ** around

stuff with fiberfill now

Round 8: *sc in next 2 sc, skip next st* Repeat ** around

Round 9: *sc in next sc, skip next st* Repeat ** around

Round 10: skip 2 sts, sl st in next st to close up the hole.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

Wings (make 2)

ch 12

Row 1: Sc in 2^nd ch from hook and in next 3, skip 2 stitches, sc across, ch 2

Row 2: Sc on other side of beginning chains ( don’t turn your work over, but rotate it 90 degrees clockwise so the beginning chains are up so you can work them ), 5 sc across, ch 1, turn

Row 3: Sc in each st across, 2 sc in final sc, ch 1 fasten off pulling the last ch1 snug with a long enough tail to stitch it to the ball.

When you stitch the wings to the ball, stitch them over the first and last stitches.

Hi all!

I have decided to upload a new pattern just for you! It is an adorable pumpkin hat and here are the directions:

This hat makes a newborn sized hat, but you can make it however large you want by either going up needle sizes, or increasing the number of knit stitches between purl stitches (read through the pattern and this will make sense)

On size 3 or 4 DPNs with orange worsted weight yarn,

Cast on 56 stitches and join in the round using your preferred method
Complete about 4" of K6 P1 "ribbing" (I put "ribbing" in quotations, because the result does not really look like your traditional ribbing)

Now for the decreases

After each purl stitch, K2tog, knit the other knit stitches and purl the purls

Work the next round in the pattern (knit the knits and purl the purls)

Next round of decrease: before each purl stitch, SSK, work all the other stitches in pattern

Work the next round in pattern

**Now we are going to do both methods of decreasing. After each purl, K2tog, before each purl, SSK, knit and purl all other stitches in pattern***


Work the next round in pattern


Repeat the red rounds, above, once more so that you only have 18 stitches left on your needles.
K2tog for the remaining knit stitches and purl the purl stitches

You should have 12 stitches left. K2tog around so that there are 6 stitches left on your needles.

Drop orange and join with light brown.

Knit all stitches until the stem measures about 2" then do the following:

K1, K2tog, K1, KFB

Knit

Repeat these two rounds twice more. This increasing and decreasing within the round will help make your stem curl over. The amount of curl depends on you, if you want less, only do it once. If you want more, then keep going until you get what you're looking for.

Knit around for another 1-2" or until the stem is your desired length. Use a cinch bind off to close up the opening. This means you should pull up your most recent stitch so there is a very long loop. Snip it, and pull it through the other stitches using a crochet hook or your fingers or a darning needle and pull tight to close. I like to knot it off as well before weaving in the ends.

For the leaves, make 2 and follow along below. Each line is a row.

With green, cast on 8 stitches

Knit across

Purl across

K2tog, knit to last two stitches, SSK


Purl across


Continue these last two rows until you are down to two stitches, bind off and stitch to the top of your hat using a darning needle.

Enjoy!

Hi!

I know I've been gone wayyy too long. I've been spinning, knitting, crocheting and learning about becoming a speech-pathologist. I'm SO busy its hard to find time to update, I'm hoping to show off what I've been spinning very soon as I'm starting to get better at it and less ashamed of my finished products :)

This is what I'm getting ready to dive into. It is 4 pounds of awesome from the Sheep Shed Studio in Encampment, Wyoming.

And this is Annie, my Kromski Minstrel. I stained her myself with Danish Oil in Golden Oak. I'm hoping someday to make her a red head with the red mahogany Danish Oil, but the color is sort of difficult to come by and shipping for it is not cheap!

The wool here was dyed by me in my crockpot with Wilton's Black Food Color Paste

Knitting Conquest!

I have never really done serious colorwork on a sweater. I saw this pattern hanging up at hobby lobby from Bernat Studio. It was cute. I needed it.  So I grabbed some super soft cotton (I love this cotton! is the brand) and got to work. I had also never made a sweater before. OR altered a pattern before.

As you may be assuming...this was quite a conquest for me. Sweater + colorwork + scaling 4T pattern down to newborn size=

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Sorry for the shoddy photo. My camera is on the fritz from being left in the rain last summer. Its never been the same :sigh:  I'm hoping that hat season will provide me with a new one!

I also want to show you guys my first ad purchase! I purchased ad space on this blog http://www.froggyandthemouse.com/  and I think it looks absolutely great!  My good friend over at Ruby Dorcas Designs did the work for me. She's great. Super great. She does my son's birthday invites every year and she did the graphics package for my etsy shop.

Next on my agenda is finishing my ripple scrapghan and perhaps starting a shawl for this fall. (shawl for fall....that rhymes!)

I'll be out of commission for a bit July 1-10th ish as we'll be camping in beautiful Wyoming. I am SO craving that mountain air!

You all should know

I am a Harry Potter fanatic.



I made this and will be taking it with me to the midnight showing of Harry Potter!
I would love to make more http://www.etsy.com/listing/76079395/golden-snitch-amigurumi

I am also going to be stocked up on gear from my good friend at Quirk Shop

Mainly this:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74915427/the-weird-sisters-tee-love-for-tonks

I'm so excited and yet sad that it is all going to be over soon.

Sorry I've been spacey lately--my little guy broke his arm yesterday and I've been applying for day jobs and getting ready for our big move next month (that is the move that will give me enough room for a spinning wheel!). Writing cover letters takes a lot of time. Time that I'd rather spend knitting/crocheting. Hope you're all having a great summer!  Vacay for me in a couple of weeks!

November Socks!

I finally FINALLY finished these socks this weekend.

\

The yarn is serenity sock weight yarn--I got it at Hobby Lobby and this colorway was on sale. Being a child who loves all things vintage--this colorway of gold, olive green and rust orange was right up my alley.

The pattern is easy to do if you are a learning knitter such as myself and I highly recommend it if you're still waiting to get your feet wet in knitting. (no pun intended)

I had made some simple socks before, but I used worsted weight yarn and it was a very simple pattern so the lace weight sock yarn was a challenge for me but well worth it. These socks will actually fit in my shoes!

Now it just needs to stop being 96 degrees outside....

Here is the link to the free pattern on ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/november-socks

 If you are not on ravelry.com, I highly recommend it if you are a fiber artist :) Its a website just for us!

Summer fun! Off to Wyoming

What are you all doing for the summer? Big trips?  Projects?

We have a lot going on this summer. Over the 4th of July we are going up to see my inlaws in historic Fort Laramie

    

Although you may have seen it like this:



At the fort, we walk around and look at all the historic re-enacters, the Calvary, they cook bread in this giant stone oven that you can taste and you can go to the bar to get old timey drinks like Sarsaparilla and Root Beer and stick candy.

On the fourth, they have games for kids including a greased pole climb (hilarious to watch), a potato sack race for all ages (also hilarious), and a penny find where they dump a bunch of pennies on the ground and all the little kids run around like hooligans looking for pennies. Its a good time. The first time I went three or so years ago, I was majorly pregnant with my son (like 37 weeks) and it was HOT.



Then last two years it has been COLD! (yes we were roasting marshmallows on the 4th of July)

And stormy!



This year we are extending our stay and are going to bop up to Yellowstone National Park for some camping.  I have my sights set on a campground near Mammoth in Yellowstone:



Isn't it beautiful?  So needless to say, I will be in the car a lot. It is about 10 hours to the inlaws, and then maybe another 6-8 hours to Yellowstone.  I will be doing a lot of knitting and crocheting. I am going to start with a scrapghan for my new niece or nephew coming at the very beginning of August. If I get that done... I have some other things in mind that I will share in a new post :)

The scrapghan I'm thinking of doing is a ripple afghan like this http://crochetme.com/media/p/89937.aspx



But I will rotate offwhite with other colors in my stash. It is the time of year that I need to stash bust in preparation for my busy season this fall!

Sooo what are your plans for the summer?

FINALS WEEK AHHH

So here at KU its finals week. Yay......um not. I have been a graduate student for three years and am finally graduating with my master's degree. Now, that is an accomplishment and I'm thrilled, BUT as a graduate student, finals week usually consists of turning in papers and projects that you've been working on the whole semester. Not one big exam that determines your whole semester's performance.

This semester, however, I started taking classes in Speech-Language and Hearing so I can pursue a second master's and a career in that field. All the courses are undergraduate courses and EVERY class has a final. I have FOUR finals. I haven't taken four finals in probably...ohhh....hmmm maybe 5 years when I was a sophomore in undergrad!

So with that said, wish me luck and then get ready for some super awesome new projects! I may even post some cooking stuff and some yarn reviews and stuff. I have lots of plans for the summer :) But first! Tackling exams.

Adventures in Dyeing

I decided to try my hand at dyeing wool roving for spinning. You can really come up with endless color combinations when you're dyeing and spinning your own yarn. My husband chose the colors for this go round. Half the roving is purple and orange and it will be plied with yellow. I used Kool-aid to dye the yarn because it works, the color is bright and it is safe to have in the house around my son and I can use the same pots that I use for cooking.

Here we go, lots of pics!

So this was the final product, the splotches are unexpected, but appreciated. I call it In the Koi Pond

The first thing I had to set up was my music. I chose Ben Folds for this particular project

This is the 1 lb ball of roving I bought. It is mysterious wool top according to the shop lady. They didn't know what kind of lamb it was from! I was intrigued. Its very soft.

I set a big roaster on the stove to heat to about 200 degrees and in the meantime poured 5 or so packs of Kool-Aid into recycled Kimchi jars and a couple inches of water (If you're as fond of kimchi as I am you probably have many of these)

We've achieved the heat! You want it to be hot enough to make the dye stick to the fiber, but not boiling as the boil may agitate the wool enough to felt it.  Throughout the dyeing process I kept turning the burner on a bit to warm it up.

I added half a pound of yarn and turned the burner off.

Then I poured the dye in specific spots of the yarn--purple on the sides, orange in the middle.

TA-DA! I let it set for 45 minutes turning on the burner intermittently to keep the water above 150 degrees. You'll know its done when the water is clear after 45 minutes. If you have the time, let it chill overnight until it gets to room temperature. It can sit just fine.

For my second round, I decided to tie the yarn off. so it wasn't as hard to remove from the pot. It turned out much better.

The end result!

Things I would do differently:

• Dye smaller amounts at a time
• I want to try dyeing premade yarn, because I'm not sure how well the purple and yellow will hold once they are spun
• Different colors!
• Buy more kool-aid. I thought I was being generous, but apparently not!  Use lots and lots and turn the yarn lots.
• I want to try this in the crockpot as well. 
• Basically, I want to do more and more and more! :)

Even if you don't knit or crochet, I recommend giving this a shot! There are great tutorials out there and its just fun to mess with! You could even dye your own yarn and I will knit something out of it for you :)

Wool Lover's anonymous

This was the kind I always had as a kid :


I loved the blues as well


Alpaca is WARMER than wool







And angora is beautiful







These are just some of the types of animal fibers available to make yarn from. Maybe I'll do a plant based post as well--but lets face it, plants are not nearly as cute.

Going Green Part Deux

You all had such great ideas on my last post, that I wanted to compile those in their very own post.

Two things happened while I was reading the comments:
1. "Oh! I do that too, but totally forgot that I do it!"
2. "Oh! that's a really great idea, I should do that!"

So here is a compiled list of all of your green doings:

• Recycling
• Using cold water in the laundry
• Using halogen or curly light bulbs
• Reducing car usage--taking public transportation
• Shopping the local farmer's market (I LOVE doing this one--have you ever had an emu burger? They're delightful)
• Energy efficient appliances
• Composting
• Reusable shopping bags
• Cloth Diapering
• Using cloth wipes
• Repurposing old items (another one of my faves--we got a great rocking chair for my first son this way)
• Gardening (another thing I love--growing up on a farm, you learn a lot :)) 
• Green cleaning products (I use vinegar and baking soda when I can)
• Turning down the heater and water heater (I do this when I can stand it!)

I love it all! As I said in the last post, I have been making t-shirt yarn for quite a while and hope to crochet a rug from it very soon. I'm really excited for that project to be under way.   There are many many wonderful projects that anyone can do to repurpose old materials. Have you done a repurposing project lately? I'd love to hear about it!