White Cowl for Kids

I knit this cowl in one day for my son's "best friend who is a girl". Her birthday was at the end of November and little man wanted me to make her something handmade in addition to her gift. I used the gaptastic (like this one I made this past March) and modified it for a child.  I cast on 93 sts this time for a slightly smaller fit.

It's hard for me to believe that it's snowing now and it was snowing 8 months ago when I knit my last one.

It was such a fast knit and while I was knitting, the kids were reading the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  It's funny how their sense of humour has changed over the last couple of years and they are no longer reading "cutesy" books.  We now do silent reading where we read the same book and giggle at the funny parts.

My children's newfound independence gives me a bit of a break too and I can knit guilt-free in the daytime!!

This is the card that hubby chose and it's the cutest!

Here's what it says on the inside

Now all I have to do is wrap it up, add a gift card, and I'm done!  I love fast knits! 

Knitting Club 2016-2017

Knitting Club is on again!

There was so much learning from last year that this year's club has already gotten off to a great start!
One of the first things we did was number the needles so that we could ensure a better sign in/sign out process.

Last spring, I sewed a pouch for my knitting partner and we both had the crazy idea to make sewing pouches for knitting club instead of using ziploc bags.   

This was my prototype.  Because my partner in crime and I are kinda like the same person, neither one of us realized how long this would take.

Hence, we had to revisit the idea of a box pouch and make flat pouches.  Both have advantages but either way, it's still better than a ziploc bag!

Fast forward to the start of school.  And a job opportunity fell into my lap.  Suddenly the idea of making all of the bags became overwhelming.  It wasn't really the bags, it was the whole thing... going back to a traditional work environment and not being the stay at home Mom who bakes and sews.  Time for an identity crisis!

Thankfully L pulled through and once I showed her how I made the bags, she pretty much took over, sewed them all, and even stenciled them!

And here's where I appreciate her even more... she designed the new blanket and came up with a much better way to sew together the squares.  (More on that when the blanket is done!)

While I am (at this point) finally used to being back at work, I do miss the girls from knitting club.  There was no way to be able to work from home and help run the club.  So I am taking a big step back this year and doing lots behind the scenes.  I gotta say, it's not as rewarding being behind the scenes.  I loved talking to the girls while we knitted.

There are parts of me that really miss being at home and running the house.  However, my brain is so happy to be challenged in a different way and turns out the whole family has survived my return to work.   

Going forward you may start seeing "different" types of projects as my brain shifts back to work-related things...

Knitting Club Update

Wow, I cannot believe that we are at the end of May and I haven't yet given an update on knitting club.  If the picture above is any indication, I'd say we did a pretty good job!

If you remember, we started knitting club at school towards the end of March.  We met every Monday and Wednesday and the kids picked up knitting the garter stitch so fast!   Our knitting project was pretty ambitious considering a half hour two days a week isn't really that much time.  Overall, this blanket has 81 squares - mostly done in garter stitch and a couple of heart squares for detail.

I got really excited about the finished product as well and was so happy when we finally finished stitching up all those squares (so many squares....).

But the job wasn't done until I crocheted a border.  As we all knit with slightly different tension, I had to crochet a single chain around the whole blanket first.  I tried to keep an even count on all sides.

Then it was a half double crochet around the whole blanket to finish it off.

The blanket ended up being bigger than 36" x 36" due to stretch and the border.  Next time, I think we'll try 8 squares x 8 squares.   Other lessons we learned:  1) Divide the yarn amongst the kids vs giving them a whole skein  2) Work on one blanket at a time  3) Use neutral colours.  4) Consider an all-white blanket with a coloured trim.  

I really enjoyed teaching the kids and learning from them.   The kids were amazing to watch and are asking for a club again next year :o)

I designed a label because it makes the project so much more professional looking.  It also lets the new parents know what's in the bag, the care instructions, and who made it.   Once we have washed all of the knitted items, they will be packaged in clear ziploc bags and the labels will be placed outside the bag to keep the items clean.

Here's a last look before we package it up and deliver it to the hospital(s).   This picture makes the blanket look a little wonky on the sides but it reality, it isn't!   It's hard taking a photo of such a big item.

I am so glad we finished the blanket.  I love the portability of knitting as I can do it anywhere!  But I am a sewist at heart and it's time to go back to the machine before school lets out.   

xoxo

Knitting: Garter & Seed Stitch Cowl

A month ago, my MIL asked me to knit her a cowl.   There was no rush... just whenever I could find the time.  Then last week, one of my best gal pals invited me to a weekend up north to do nothing. And nothing is what we did. We slept. We ate. We watched TV.  I read a book.  I knitted a cowl!

There's a lot of joy in doing absolutely nothing.   It was such a nice and lazy weekend.  I brought up my needles and some yarn so I could knit a bit while we lounged.  My gal pal is great... she is used to me doing my crafty stuff and didn't mind that I totally geeked it out while we watched TV.

This was my knitting spot.

This was the view that constantly distracted me.

It took very little time to finish.

As for the details...  I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Wheat.  It took about 1.5 skeins using size 13 circular needles.

Here's me trying it on for size.  I just gave it to my MIL this past weekend but she probably won't be able to use it this year as it's gotten too warm for cowls.  However, she'll be ready for next winter.

While I was gone, the kids tried to enjoy whatever snow was left on the hills and in our backyard.

The snow is gone now and it's rainy... gotta love the promise of springtime!

GAPtastic Cowl for Kids

A GAPtastic Cowl for kids.  You knew it had to come to this because I've got the knitting bug.   After making several GAPtastics for adults, I wanted to make one that was kid-sized.  When my son was invited to his friend's 8th birthday party, I decided to add a cowl to her package of presents.

I cast on 95 sts and did a seed stitch.

Last time, I said I wanted to do a stretchy bind on and bind off.  So I did!  If you don't know how to do this, here is a YouTube video that shows you how to do a stretchy bind on and here is one for the stretchy bind off.   As you can see the pink Gaptastic has a straighter edge as a result of doing the stretchy bind on/off.

When it came to weaving in the ends, I decided to split the yard so it wasn't as noticeable.

I ended up tying a knot at the base before I weaved in the yarn tail.

I used one skein for this project and only had a small handful of yarn left.

The day we gave her the cowl, it was -25C.  Although it was beautiful outside, it was very very cold! 

Birthday girl loved her cowl and wore it to school the next day.  She was so cute in it!

Unfortunately, no one was around to model the cowl when I made it, so I decided to put it on.  Seems like the kid size can fit an adult too!



On another note, I am learning how to design my own personalized sloper set through BurdaStyle Academy.   When I finish the class, hopefully I'll have something to share!  In the meantime, more knitted cowls to follow.

Until next time,

Knitting: GAP-tastic Cowl

It's the GAP-tastic Cowl and it's all mine!!

When people ask me, "what have you been doing?", I think "what haven't I been doing?"  I have a lot of time consuming hobbies - sewing, baking, cooking, knitting, home improvement, gardening, photoshop design, this blog, etc..    I've always got multiple things on the go.   Those who know me, know that sewing is my #1 stressor and stress reliever.  But, lately I've been turning to knitting.  I made the Katy Cowl twice - one for my sister and one for a friend.  While I really liked both of those cowls, I also wanted to try knitting in the round.

I decided to knit a cozy cable cowl designed by Purl Soho.   So pretty.  But in hindsight, not very practical for me.  This cowl was my downfall.   But unfortunately I didn't know it until I was more than half way through.

As I continued to knit, I noticed that the cowl was getting very big.  I tried it on and this is what it looked like and I was only half way through the pattern.

I began to wonder if I should stop.  I even made hubby try it on (which he did - xoxo).  It was hard to wear under my coat, but also hard to wear above my coat since I have a hood.

I decided to undo the cowl after I had a nightmare about it.  #2 got his hands on my yarn and left me this yarn snowman.  That gave me the push I needed to find another pattern.

Enter the GAPtastic cowl.  It's one of the most popular cowl patterns on Ravelry and the designer made it available as a free download.  Thank you!

Again, I used the Wool-Ease in grey marble with size 13 needles.  I used 10 less stitches than the pattern called for as I wanted my cowl to be closer to my neck.  I cast on using the long tail method with a 150" tail (24" left over after cast-on).

It was easy doing the seed stitch and it wasn't boring at all!

I was done very quickly and bound off using a regular bind off.

I do regret not doing a super stretchy cast-on/off.

My join in the round needs work, but my bind off in the round was well hidden.  I followed this tutorial on how to neaten the last stitch.

So there you have it.  A cowl for me!

It was perfect for our day outdoors at Winterfest this weekend.  Check out this cool ice sculpture!

Feeling cozy,