Felted Bag

Ta dah! Here it is. I finally finished my Functional Felt Swap item. It’s boxed up and ready to go. As you can see it’s a bag. I knitted it from a pattern in One Skein by Leigh Radford. Although most patterns in the book call for only one skein of yarn, this one called for one skein plus left over yarn in your stash. As my wool stash is practically non-existent I went out and bought some yummy Malabrigo worsted weight merino wool for it. Little did I realize I would need a total of three skeins. The pattern also calls for stripes for the top half but I decided on a more subtle mottled look. Besides, changing yarn every few rows tends to drive me wiggy. For the most part the pattern was easy to follow. The only exception was sewing the gussets. I really didn’t get the directions and needed to put a call in to my sis to figure it out. Thanks Ellie! The bag is a nice size for either a large purse or a small book bag. Would even make a lovely bag to tote around a knitting project. The top edge rolled during the felting process. I liked the effect so much I left it to dry that way and found that it gives a nice firm edge. I wish I had gotten a picture of the sides for you but I’m not willing to pull the tape off the box. They fold in so that the bag can expand by about 4 inches deep.

As I can never leave well enough alone and I had a bit of leftover yarn I decided to make a coordinating key chain. I really wanted to make a matching coin purse but I didn’t have THAT much left over. The key chain is a knitted i-cord and I attached the hardware prior to felting. On the inside of the bag I added a d-ring (pre-felting as well) for attaching the key chain. I like to add as much hardware prior to felting as possible because I believe it gives it more strength and a seamless appearance.

I love it so much I want to make a second one for myself. (Although Leigh’s Circle Tote is looking awfully tempting.) But first, I really must use up all this yarn I succumbed to at the last sale at my LYS. I tried to hide the 2nd bag from the husband but he got home too early.

I really hope my swap partner likes her new bag and isn’t too miffed at it being late. Sometimes life just gets in the way. We don’t always hit our deadlines and that’s ok. If you’re part of the swap and haven’t sent your item out yet just drop us a line to let us know how it’s going a functionalfeltswap {at} gmail {dot} com. Obviously, I will understand. Jen wrote a great post on things to keep in mind as we try to wrap up this swap, please take a moment to check it out if you haven’t already. And keep posting those pictures to the flickr group. We just love seeing everyone’s work.

Wool Dyeing Party

I spent a lovely Sunday with a lovely group of women playing with wool. We learned how to card with this hand cranked gizmo:

I’ve only ever used carding paddles so this was heavenly. Next we dyed the wool:

My mom even tried her hand at spinning:

For a more detailed description of our fine day see Jen’s post or Kristin’s. A big thank you to Jen for organizing the event and to Birdie for being a fabulous host. I hope to come out and play again soon!

Why, you might ask, is Anna posting several days after events are occurring? Well, that would be because I accidentally threw my camera down the front cement stoop. I froze and watched in horror as it bounced down all 4 steps. Therefore, I’ve had to beg, borrow and steal other’s cameras and photos. A big thank you to Ellie and Kathryn for their donations! Sadly, it’ll cost almost as much to fix my camera as buy a new one. Although I’m normally all for fixing to avoid more junk in the landfills the camera is a different story. So, any camera suggestions out there? I’ve been very happy with my Canon PowerShot but am being tempted by Olympis’ Shockproof camera. Shockproof being the optimal word here. And Budget is a concern here. No SLRs for me. A good family point and shoot is what I’m looking for. Any words of wisdom?

Lastly, on a totally unrelated note - Eleanor took her first steps!!!!! I’d love to show you but apparently flickr doesn’t accept mpg videos yet. I’ll look around at converting or using another service.

Ta ta for now!

Swap Update & A Giveaway!

I got a bit antsy waiting to start my swap project before the partners were handed out so I started what I thought was a little something to keep me occupied.  In my normal fashion I neglected to read the directions all the way through before hand and by the time I realized I would need to knit three six foot i-cords I was already too into the project. The above headband is the result. You can see another shot here. I had to run it through the washer 6 TIMES to get it to full how I wanted it. By the time all was said and done I had left over felted i-cords. What to do? Well a Functional Felt Swap giveaway, of course! Here’s what I came up with:

A lovely (in my opinion), light as air bracelet. This giveaway is open to all Functional Felt Swap participants. (Sorry to my other wonderful readers - but don’t fear I have another giveaway planned for the nearish future.) In order to qualify for this giveaway all you need to do is comment about your progress to date on this post, Jen’s update post,  or upload a shot to our flickr group by end of day Monday, May 19th. It could even be simply about the materials you plan to use. If you take a look at the flickr group it’ll be pretty obvious that some go getters are already entered into this giveaway. But don’t let that stop you from commenting. We want to hear what you think of the swap so far. As for me, here’s my progress. I should have put a quarter in there for scale. If I had it would have been about the size of you mouse pointer.

Keeping Centered

There are three major things keeping me centered while I attempt to come to grips with my sister’s passing:

1. My husband - he’s taken on most of the home front responsibilities thereby giving me the time to grieve.
2. My children - I just can’t go to pieces, they need me.
3. My knitting - I don’t seem to have the energy or desire to do a lot right now. But I can knit. It’s tremendously therapeutic. I go into a zone - it’s relaxing and safe there.

So, much of my weekend was spent knitting. I started on a potential swap item using yummy Malabrigo yarn and my first pair of Addi Turbo circular needles. I may never be able to go back to regular knitting again. The needles work so smoothly and the yarn is so soft and luscious. I think I’ve been spoiled forever.

A lot of the rest of the weekend was spent laughing at Eleanor. See why here and here. I have no idea where she gets her musical preferences or dance moves. But I must say, it’s highly entertaining.

I-Cords

I’ve been having fun with i-cords lately. I-cords are basically knitted tubes and have many uses such as handles on bags or ties on headbands. I found a felted project with i-cords that I wanted to try and started working on it last week. I thought a felted project might be an excellent first i-cord as it will hide mistakes and loose stitches. Therefore giving me practice without wasting yarn. I didn’t really think about the fact that I would need to knit twice as much as normal to give room for the shrinkage that comes along with fulling the yarn into felt. Oh well, more practice, right?

Further more, the instructions in the book (which will remain nameless) neglected to mention that I should use double pointed needles. It also forgot to tell me what size needles to use, but that’s beside the “point”. So there I am, trying to figure out how to make an i-cord with regular needles. If you’ve ever made an i-cord before your probably already laughing. For the rest of you, the reason it’s so funny is that after knitting a row you are to slide it to the other side and knit off that end. Well, if you have a knob on that end it’s pretty darn hard to knit off of it. Luckily I remembered the good old internet and found a lovely tutorial to help me out.

In the end I’m going along strongly with my i-cords. I still think felting them will be great. I also now think that i-cords would be a wonderful introduction to double pointed needles. Usually double pointed needles are used in sets of 4 or 5 and enable one to knit in the round. In the case of i-cords it’s still only 2 needles but it’s a baby step toward using the whole kit ‘n caboodle . I wish I had tried i-cords prior to jumping in with both feet to the awkward knitting in the round that a whole set of double pointed needles provides. Instead I made this plush for Eleanor (it’s also very lightly felted). I love it and enjoyed the challenge but would have appreciated breaking my teeth on something a little easier.

Assuming I pull this first i-cord project off I may try a Knitting Nancy next time to see how it compares. I found the idea through a thread of posts starting with the Crafty Crow’s mention of Zen Crafting’s Knitting Ned kid version. Has anyone out there used a Knitting Nancy and have any comments on them? Also, what do you do with i-cords? Better yet, what can you imagine doing with i-cords?

Note to Functional Felt Swapers - You should be receiving your swap partner within 24 hours. Please email Jen and I at functionalfeltswap {at} gmail {dot} com if you don’t get an email by end of day Wednesday.

Gardening

What a weekend! Saturday was filled with taxes and knitting but Sunday, oh Sunday! The sun finally came out!!! It was very exciting and we spent a good chunk of time in the yard. For some reason I had a hard time getting myself out of the house, but once I did I couldn’t go back inside. My sis got me going clearing out some of the garden beds. All of the south side of the house, herb garden and much of the patio edging was cleared before dinner was on the table. After last years debris was cleared away it was exciting to see new green shoots poking through!

I did come to the conclusion that I will need to look into how to split a rhubarb plant. Assuming that’s even possible. Ours it a bit on the mammoth side and as the little leaves poking out of the ground already cover several square feet I know I need to do something this year. Any suggestions Dad?

Sis arrived with a lovely new hat for Eleanor knit by Grandma June. I never get tired of her knitted surprises. Each one is cherished.

The hardest part of the day has been deciding what macro shot to upload into the 30 day challenge flickr group. We’re suppose to do one a day. But on beautiful days like today I take so many that narrowing it down to just one seems impossible. So I decided to make a macro challenge set where I could put my favorite macros and then only one (or two) of those will I link to the actual group. Somehow that satisfies me.

Eleanor’s dress

Anyone out there wondering what happened to Eleanor’s dress that I was knitting? Well, I finally finished it. I had to remove the neck and painstakingly reknit loosely. I say painstakingly because I do NOT knit loosely. I’m happy to report that not only does it now fit over head it still fits her all together! Granted only for about a month, maybe two but still! I was so sure that I had procrastinated so long that it was now too small for her. Thank goodness I was wrong.

Now I just have to figure out how to re-motivate myself when I make a mistake in my knitting. When I realize something has gone amiss I tend to put it aside for a long, long time and work on other projects. Lessons learned: 1) Must knit all necklines LOOSELY 2) Don’t wait so long to fix the problem/jump back in sooner.

Felt Inspirations

My mother was given a bunch of yarn not that long ago. Many were single skeins and some were missing labels. She thought some trial run felting would be fun and these oven mitts are a taste of the result. She’s an excellent knitter and they took her no time at all. It was lucky too that they knit up quickly as one of the three did not felt. This shot is of one that did felt and one that didn’t, kind of a before and after effect. The best part of it was the laugh we all got at seeing the giant mittens. Lesson learned? You must know that the yarn is at least 90% wool/animal fiber. Also, it simply cannot be washable wool. She did end up with a pretty cool oven mitt though, didn’t she? Add a pot holder and I think it would make a nice set for the swap. She’s currently deciding whether or not to join the swap. I think she should, but I’m biased.

Are you deciding whether or not to join the Functional Felt Swap too? Maybe you need some inspiration. Try these on for size:

Books – browse your local bookstore or library to get those creative juices flowing. The online world is great but there’s something about crisp pages and large format photography. Here’s a few I’ve been perusing lately:

• Warm Fuzzies by Betz White – upcycle used sweaters into tote bags, scarves, book covers, craft aprons or blankets. Ellena (a FF swapper) has apparently already discovered Betz as evidence by her great hats. Don’t be deceived by the cupcakes, there are plenty of more functional items in her book that would be appropriate for our “functional” requirement.
• Felt Forward by Maggie Pace – knit and felted items like a bobble & Icord bracelet, wonderful boots and a hoop purse that loosely reminds me of Martha’s stone purse.
• Simply Felt by Docherty & Emerson - Just the lovely free form wet felted vases on the cover would make me happy.
• How about a collection of little sewn travel items from Felt Accessories by Taylor Hagerty? Luggage tags, passport holder & journal cover?
• I also can’t wait to take a look at Shibori Knitted Felt.

Flickr - Check out other swap members pics or take a peek at some of these flickr groups. There are plenty of others, just try a search.

Blogs & Websites - too many to mention. Here’s a couple but once you start looking you may not be able to stop. (we’ve all been there)

• Pick Up Sticks
• Craftzine (specifically I’ve been wanting to do something like this but I can’t find the tutorial I found once before)
  
• Knitty
• Gleason’s

Etsy - do a search on etsy to see what others have done or find materials for your project. In particular check out Eileen’s roving and hand dyed yarn, another fellow FF swapper.

Sewing pattern books/sites - if your thinking of upcycling an old sweater or using felt fabric try perusing sewing pattern books at your at your local craft or sewing store or even online. I saw this one beautifully recreated from old sweaters in Knitting Never Felt Better.

• Amy Butler
• Betsy Ross
• Favorite Things
• Butterick/McCalls/Vogue
• Simplicity
• Deb’s Recycled Sewing Patterns

Magazines - pick up a knitting or felting magazine such as Interweave Felt.

Any other suggestions out there? Have a project on your blog you want us to look at? Leave a comment.

Side note - If you’re already signed up for the swap you should have received a confirmation email of some nature. If you did not, please check your junk mail folder!

Felted bowls

This time change has really thrown me for a loop. I know it’s all in my head. I’m not missing out on any sleep, I just hate waking up in the dark.

So in lieu of my own post today I’m just going to point you in the direction of a wonderful post on making your own felted bowls.  They look super easy and super cute.

Photo Montages

Photo montages are just plain fun! This is a silly little collection of scarves I’ve knitted but you could make one using any kind of subject matter your interested in. I’ve posted before using these types of little collages here and here. Below is a link list of a few mosaics by others I adore:

• Seals
• Trees
• Orange
• Artistic portrait
• Kid’s art by The Artful Parent
• Dogs

To get started you need photos uploaded onto Flickr. Once you have enough photos for your chosen theme (4 to 36) go to the Mosaic Maker on fd’s Flickr Toys. Choose a layout and set to work choosing photos from your Flickr photostream. You’ll need to give Big Huge Labs permission to pull your photos in, but once you do it will be smooth sailing.

Got that mastered? Try creating a mock magazine cover, trading cards or go extra fancy by using Warhol or Hockney effects on your pics. All can be found at Big Huge Labs. For more inspiration browse other folk’s projects on fd’s Flickr Toys group.