Textured Stripes Knit Scarf

There is an overabundance of scarves in my house and so when the weather started turning cooler and I donned a scarf, my daughter insisted that she have one as well. I brought out my bushel basket (yes, I literally have a full sized bushel basket full of scarves and mittens etc.) and told her to pick one out.

This one? No, too stripey. This one? No, too fuzzy. This one? No, too pinky. This one? No, to ruffly. Yep, she actually said “ruffly”. So what’s a knitter and a mother to do than to custom make the kid one.

She picked out her own yarn color and I made a small swatch first to make sure she approved of my pattern and within a week her new scarf was born.

Not too stripey, fuzzy, pinky or ruffly.

It was super easy and super quick. See below for the pattern. Well actually it’s just instructions. I don’t have much skill/experience with writing good knitting patterns.

You'll need:

Yarn – I used Threads and Loops - Aqua
Knitting needles – size 8 US or whatever size works well with your yarn and desired size.

Cast on 25 stitches

Row 1 – 10: Stockinette stitch (alternate rows of knit and purl) you’ll start with a knit row and will end on a purl row

Now you’ll reverse your stockinette so that the purl side is on the front and the knit side is on the back. This creates the bumpy stripe.
Row 11: purl
Row 12: knit
Row 13: purl

Reverse your stockinette stitch again. This will make the mini knit stripe
Row 14: purl
Row 15: knit
Row 16: purl

Repeat until you have 3 textured strips on the front side of your scarf and then do 10 more rows of stockinette stitch and then start your stripes again.

Continue until you reach the desired length. Here's what the top side will look like:

And the back side:

I hope that makes sense. It's a really cute textured scarf and a great project for a beginning knitter to practice their knits and purls.

Hanging Circular Knitting Needle Holder - a tutorial

I have a lovely knitting needle carrier. It's one of those roll-up types and it's great for when I'm on the go, but I rarely need to take all my needles with me and then there's the problem of my circular needles. I try to wind them up in such a way so that they won't get kinked or tangled but it never works out very well and they're just a mess.

I wanted something that I could use at home to keep my circular needles from becoming a tangled mess, and to keep my other needles within easy reach. Where to go for inspiration? Google of course and I saw some great projects and tutorials. Some of them involved binders and plastic pencil cases which looked nifty but still involved folding up the needles. Then I stumbled upon this one made from the leg of an old pair of jeans and this one made from a tie.

They're both brilliant ideas and great upcycling but I wanted mine to look a little prettier so I used some cotton prints that I had just picked up at the fabric store, and came up with this:

Here's how I made it.

Supplies:

2 fat quarters of coordinating fabric

fusible interfacing (optional but recommended for lightweight fabrics)

general sewing supplies


You'll need two pieces of fabric 8" by 19". I used different fabric on the front and back of mine to make it reversible but you could certainly use the same fabric on each side if you prefer.

Two pieces of fusible interfacing 8" by 19". If you're using a heavier fabric such as Home Decorator fabric or denim you might not need the interfacing.

Cut two pieces of fabric, 9" by 2" for the handle.

Iron the interfacing to the wrong sides of your fabric.

Fold over and press a 1/4 seam on both long edges of each large fabric piece. Sew along this seam.


For the handles, place right sides together and sew the long edges with 1/4" seam allowance. Turn right side out forming a tube. Press and stitch again along the long sides.

Place the handle on the right side of one of the large pieces of fabric, as seen below. Lay the other piece of fabric right side down on top of this; sandwiching the handle in between the two larger pieces of fabric.


Sew along the top and bottom seams. You now have a large fabric circle. Turn it right sides out and press the seams.


Top stitch along the top and bottom seams. Mark lines approximately every inch from the top to the bottm seam. These will create the "pockets" for the knitting needles.

Stitch along the lines, load up with knitting needles and you're good to go!

This is just a basic design and could be altered and improved upon anyway you see fit. Add numbers on the pockets to identify your needles sizes, make it larger or smaller, whatever works best. It would make a great gift for the knitter on your gift giving list too.

As always if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments or shoot me an email at pinandpaper@q.com.

She's a Maniac, Maniac on the Floor

Finally - I've got a new item in the shop!

Isn't she just adorable? She's made from the Sammie the Sock Monster pattern from Danger Crafts but I thought instead of socks she could rock out some awesome leg warmers instead.

I am a child of the 80's you know and her little leg warmers remind me of the heyday of legwarmers - and my introduction to them in the movie Flashdance. Every time I look at her it's like I'm reliving scenes from the movie all over again. Except of course that she's not a welder supplementing her income by choreographing and performing elaborate shower scenes at a local strip club all while harboring dreams of enrolling at Julliard.

She's just a sweet little monster with long cold legs that need some covering. Maybe I should have fashioned her a little sweatshirt with the collar cut out so one shoulder would be exposed. Nah, that would have been overkill.

Those aren't raisins

It all started so innocently. I had a little bit of yarn leftover from a project so I made this little cutie.

And then I thought he might get lonely, so I made him a pal.

And they quickly formed a strong bond.

A couple days later I came home to Neil Diamond on the stereo and an opened bottle of Boone's strawberry wine. I think you all know what came next.

And then things really started getting out of hand.

I can't keep the cupboards stocked. They really like cookies - I'm buying Chips Ahoy in bulk!

And I'd really like to watch somehting other than GSN. I mean I enjoy Press Your Luck and old episodes of Let's Make a Deal as much as the next gal but 24/7? Everytime I try to change the channel thought things get ugly.

So I'm shipping these little guys off to my husband's mother who will find good homes for them with the children that come through the social service office she works for.

If you've got a surplus of cookies around you can make your own bunnies too. I used this fabulous free pattern from one of my favorite Etsy sellers; Rebecca of Danger Crafts.

A knitting milestone, and Name that Monster

This weekend marked a momentous occassion in my life. I finished my first ever knitting in the round project. And what did I choose? A nice simple hat? Nope. I chose Penelope, the Empathetic Monster:

She was as easy to make as she is adorable, after I got the hang of double pointed needles that is.
I got the pattern on Etsy from DangerCrafts whose business name I adore so much that even if all she sold was ceramic coiled rattlesnake sculptures I'd probably still buy something from her. Thankfully though she sells absolutely adorable knit monster/animal patterns instead.

Even though the pattern is for "Penelope", I'm not sure that my reincarnation of her really looks like a Penelope. I was thinking she was more like a Margaret, or maybe a Mathilda.

What do you think? What should her name be?

Tawashi Knot - hold the sour cream please

For the past couple weeks I've been knitting some scrubbers to use around the house, tawashi knots, to be exact.

I had been looking for a quick and easy knitting project to give me a sense of accomplishment and these fit the bill nicely. I used this great little pattern I stumbled across one day online to make these cute and functional little scrubbers.

They're constructed of a long narrow strip of knitted fabric that's folded into this cute little knot. My husband, who had repeatedly asked me what I was knitting (he didn't quite get it when he saw this long strip of knit fabric, and I told him it was a scrubber) was in awe when I showed him the finished project.

"Oh" he said, understanding finally dawning on his face. "It's a crunchwrap supreme!"

And well yes, yes it is.

I'd call it the Shawly

We've all seen the infomercial - and even though it's the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen you know you secretly want one - and it comes with a free booklight! Yep, it's the Snuggy - the blanket with sleeves!

But why settle for this cheap fleece version when you can whip out one of these?

So much more stylish and practical really. I mean you couldn't wear the Snuggy to the supermarket but you could wear this. Though I might suggest you wear something underneath it besides just the wonderbra that this gal is sporting.

This is another one of the patterns in my knitting pattern desk calendar. It's a shawl (or a wrap) with sleeves. And while you can't deny that the yarn is lovely, I just wonder how many people could pull off a garment such as this? We don't all have freakishly long and flat torsos like this woman. I mean is it just me or does it look like the length between this womans chin and her hips is comparable to the length of a tennis court? Maybe it's an optical illusion caused by that incredibly low cut pair of pants. What do you think the length is on that zipper - about 3/4 of an inch?

I just can't imagine a normal person wearing this item with any outfit and not looking like she wrapped an afghan around her shoulders and cut out holes to put her arms through. But perhaps I'm being unfair. Perhaps the garment itself is more stylish than I give it credit for. I think I'm really just thrown off by this woman's freakishly long torso. Plus at first glance I swore it was Shania Twain, and I was thinking "good for her to be doing something, I haven't seen her in ages" and then I realized it wasn't her. You know you see a brunette and exposed midriff and well you just assume Shania.

What do you think? Is it stylish and cool or should it be sold with a free booklight?

The Good, The Unkempt and The Freakish

For Christmas I got a daily knitting pattern calendar. I keep it on my desk at work as a reminder that I need my job in order to afford yarn.

Now so far it's been great. The patterns are simple, mostly useful items and I've saved quite a few of the patterns for future projects, like this lovely hat and scarf pattern. Plus having this male model staring back at me made January 12 a little more tolerable.

Hello. If I thought he'd magically materialize if I knitted that scarf and hat my co workers would have heard nothing but the clicking of needles from my cubicle!

Anyway, on Monday this pattern popped up and I thought it was slightly odd. I mean who really wants to knit a sweater for a 6 inch doll, and what's up with this poor doll's hair?

AND THEN . . . I flipped the calendar over on Tuesday to see this:

I seriously had to turn the calendar around! This little doll was freaking me out. I couldn't quite pinpoint the source of the freakout factor. Was it the fact that someone had skinned a hedgehog to make his hair? His deathly pale skin and black lifeless eyes? The fact that he was wearing lipstick? And then I figured it out - it was the variegated knit pants. I hate variegated yarn!

Finished project satisfaction.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as finishing a project, expecially one you've been working on for over a month. I started this shawl over the New Year's holiday and just finished it yesterday.

It's nothing too exciting but I loved the color of the yarn (antique teal) and the open weave areas of the pattern made the project go quickly while still resulting in a warm shawl.

I plan on taking it to work with me to combat those cold corporate office breezes. If I can get it away from Gwen that is.

The second best thing about finishing a project is the excitement of beginning the next one. Right now I'm flipping through my newest knitting pattern book. I got it on sale at JoAnn's and Aaron has already requested a dinosaur and a snake and I'm kind of eyeing that elephant for myself!

King Me

Time to share another item that I made for gifts this year. This checkerboard scarf.

I made two actually. One in this lovely green which I felt would compliment my sister-in-law's red hair perfectly, and one in cream for my mother in law. They loved them as much as I loved making them.

It was knit in Jiffy yarn and with a smaller needle so that they are very dense and cozy. The pattern is from a Quick to Knit Fabulous Scarves book.

They can't all be masterpieces

I'm busy knitting and sewing away to make all the holiday gifts I have on my list. In my haste I decided to choose a nice chunky yarn and an easy knitting pattern to bang out a scarf to give as a gift.


I chose Homespun yarn which is very soft and wearable and I chose a color that I thought would be neutral enough to coordinate with any coat color, and . . . well . . . it came out looking like a macrame plant hanger.


Now a couple people I've shown it to have thought it was lovely, however to me it is too completely reminiscint of the plant hanger my mother made in the 70's with jute twine that is still hanging in her living room. Nothing against macrame. It has its place and purpose just not around someone's neck. Even though this scarf is completley soft, I can barely stand to touch it because it looks like itchy jute, nor can I bring myself to give it to anyone. I might as well ask them to hang something like this around their neck:

I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Knit-stravaganza!

It never fails that as soon as I start going on and on about how I never have time to finish a knit project, that I would then all of a sudden complete a whirlwind of projects and prove myself wrong.

After I finished my first cowl Aaron was very depressed that I had not yet knit anything for him (I had crocheted a sweater for Gwen a couple months ago) and so I could not let the poor boy down. He picked out this yarn himself from the store and requested a hat and scarf, "with stripes, Momma!"

Only after I'd started knitting it did I realize that he'd picked colors that almost exactly matched his winter coat. And considering that at the time he chose the yarn his coat was still in storage, he's either a fashion guru, or just plain lucky.

I also recently finished my second cowl from the fabulous bargain yarn I found at Big Lots. This time around I opted for a simple garter stitch and just made a simple tube rather than the fancy button closure like I did on the first one. It's my favorite of the two, mostly because it's a lot easier to put on and fits a little better.

I've been getting quite a bit of use out of it now that the temperatures are dropping.

I didn't have much leftover yarn. I thought it might be enough for a small scarf for Gwen but I ran short. It made a perfect little scarf for her teddy though.

Cowl or double chin cozy? You decide

I recently finished my first ever knitted cowl project with the fabulous bargain yarn I purchased a few weeks ago.

I didn't really follow a pattern, I just pretty much knitted a short version of a scarf, made some buttonholes (which really was a big accomplishment for me since I'd never done buttonholes before) and Bob's Your Uncle, I have a cowl.

I absolutely love this yarn. It's a wool blend but not 100% wool. I felted it ever so slightly after knitting it just to tighten it up a little since I made it a little too large. I kind of half expected it to be a little itchy but it's really not.

I think it looks quite nice actually and nothing like a double chin cozy as I had feared. On a separate note, it's really no fun taking pictures of yourself. I mean first of all you can never get the right angle. My nose really isn't as large as it appears in the following picture and I'm really popping my eyes open here because the previous 10 shots I'd taken made me look like Courtney Love before rehab - or even after rehab really - is there a difference?

Look below, do you see the seemingly half asleep/half conscious eye situation going on? And this is one of the better shots. I think I was squinting to see the camera. You see I had an elaborate set up which involved a mirror in front of me so that I could see the reflection of the camera's viewing screen so that I could try to frame myself in the shot. And man, maybe my nose is that big?!

Anyway, sorry I got off track. I still have a little yarn left which I think will be enough to make a skinny little scarf for my soon to be 2 yr. old baby girl. Plus I have two skeins of the pink/rose colored yarn that is destined to be another cowl. I think I might try a more textural tube-like cowl for that one.