A Commissioned Sweater

Well, I missed WIP Wednesday (again). I really was planning to be on the ball this week! But somehow, the days caught up with me. I think part of the problem is that when I work on Wednesdays, it's hard to find time to take decent pictures, let alone get a post together in time.

Anyway, I figured I would share my current WIP anyway. I briefly mentioned before that my grandma commissioned a toddler sweater from me. It's for a friend's little one (who's currently about a year old I think). She wanted it bigger because he's a "big baby." So I'm making the 24-month size, figuring that he'll be able to grow into it at the very least. She's concerned it won't even fit him! I'm not. I'm sure it will be fine!

She chose these colors because she wanted it to match his future school colors. I just finished the second sleeve a few days ago! Now all that's left is the hood (which will be yellow) and the button band (also yellow). She wanted a small "W" for the school's name (and also the boy's name) on the upper left front section, so I might duplicate stitch that onto the sweater also. In case anyone is interested, I'm using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off (which can be found here) for the edges. My bind-offs already seem to be tight, and I wanted this to be super stretchy since it's ribbing! I've used this bind off several times and it's fantastic!

I'm really excited about it though, because it's recently started to look like an actual sweater! I'm also working on a special surprise that my grandma doesn't know will be coming with the sweater. I'm making one of these teddy bears and a mini matching sweater for it to wear! Except that the sweater will be a pullover. I'll be modifying this pattern to make a smaller sweater for the bear. I don't have any pictures of the bear yet, because I think most toys look ridiculous until they're fully assembled. But I should have pictures soon because it's coming along! I also won't be starting the mini sweater until the bear is finished so I can get measurements.

-CH

Cleveland Zoo

Well, once again I haven't posted in a while. I wasn't able to get pictures and a post together after work on Wednesday for WIP Wednesdays and the weekly Yarn Along. I was upset about that, but oh well. I've missed two weeks now! I am working on so many projects at the moment, and I wanted to do a long post about all of them.

I also missed FO Fridays this week because my friends and I took a trip to the zoo!

We had a blast! It was in the low 80s, but I was happy because it could have been so much worse!! I went with three of my friends and their kids. There's another baby that isn't in the picture (the blue-shirted one's brother) who's only about three months old. Regardless, I made zoo themed presents for the boys! They got to pick right after we had lunch. (No need to make hand-made toys all sticky)

More pictures of these three toys can be found on their respective Ravelry pages: Alligator, Penguin, Hippo. They are all patterns from Vanna's Choice Easy Crochet Critters. I love that book! I wasn't able to time myself for the hippo, but the penguin took about two hours, and the alligator took about two and a half.

Has anyone been on any fun summer adventures so far?

-CH

It's My Birthday!!

Today is my birthday! I'm officially 22. I wanted to share the book that my sister got me for my birthday! She got me the left-hand book, Crocheted Softies by Stacey Trock. The right-hand book was kind of a gift for myself. I can't wait to make some of these toys!!

Also, I attempted to do birthday candles on my nails... But they didn't work out as well as I had hoped. I followed this tutorial. I've used that tutorial before and I know that it works. I think it was just the polish I chose (it smeared when I tried to do the clear coat over it, even though it dried overnight!), and the fact that the designs were too small. I should have just painted them directly onto my nails. Anyway, here's a picture! I was going to draw small wicks on with a super fine-point Sharpie, but never got around to it. Oh well. They're fun anyway!

-CH

A New Teddy Bear

Well, I wasn't able to get any knitting done on the bus ride back. So I wasn't able to take part in FO Friday. But I'll make sure to work on something for next week! I'm currently doing a Crochet Along with the FreshStitches group on Ravelry to make an adorable crocheted cow! I don't have any of the pieces done yet, but I'm really excited!

(Why yes, this CAL is in addition to the KAL and the CAL I'm doing with my sister!)

While I don't have any finished projects to show you, I do have something exciting to share! When I arrived home from my trip to Chicago, I had a package waiting for me! The teddy bear I had ordered from Mad Man Knitting came! He's so cute and I'm so happy with him!

Make sure you check out his blog! He's a fantastic writer and really inspiring. Also, you should order a teddy bear because they're super cute and cuddly! And one of a kind.

-CH

A Trip to Chicago!

Well, I was able to get some days off of work to visit my boyfriend in Chicago! I'm here until Thursday afternoon. There are supposed to be some storms today, so I'm not sure what we'll end up doing.

I took the MegaBus here yesterday morning. I ended up sitting next to a lovely woman who knits! We sat and knitted and talked for the four to five hour bus ride. She was working on a baby blanket for her newest grandchild. I started and finished a dishcloth!

I'm not sure that I'll be able to link up with the weekly Yarn Along and WIP Wednesdays since I'll be here. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again before I get back. But I'll be back by Friday, so hopefully I'll have another dishcloth for you by FO Fridays!

Have a great week!

-CH

FO Friday

I wasn't sure that I would have a project for FO Friday this week! But then I remembered that I had finished another Swiffer cover that didn't have pictures yet.

So here is my second Swiffer cover for my aunt! More pictures and information are on the Ravelry page for my project. This is a cover for a regular-sized Swiffer. I have at least one more regular-sized one to make before my aunt's birthday on the 28th! But these small ones go so much more quickly than the extra-long ones. It only took me two days to make this. I made the whole base part in only a few hours! It's a lot more motivating to work on it too, since it isn't as big.

Anyway, I started a new project! Along with the KAL that my sister and I are doing over the summer, we're going to do a crochet along! We found some of the larger skeins of Bernat Pipsqueak on sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics yesterday, and have started to work on a Star Blanket! I've only worked on it for a little bit this afternoon, and it's coming right along!

This yarn is so soft and fuzzy! It's a little hard to see the stitches though. So sometimes I'm not sure if I'm going through the right places, but it's working out! The only change I'm making is doing two rows of each color instead of only one of white and two of blue. So far so good!

-CH

Yarn Along and WIP Wednesday

I'm running a little late today because I had to work. But I wanted to make sure I shared with you the new knit-a-long that my sister and I are going to be starting tonight! We're going to be making the Seed Stitch Baby Blanket with some yarn from our stashes. So I have a picture of my yarn and empty needles for you (since I won't be able to start it until she gets home in an hour or so). If you're interested in doing this knit-a-long with us, we would love to have you!! Just let me know and I'll add a link to your blog on my posts.

Also I'm still working on Owen. I actually haven't read any since last week's post... There hasn't been any time at all! I want to get back into it soon though.

Also, in case anyone is wondering, I'm still working on the sweaters and the leg warmers.. I keep bouncing around between projects, so there doesn't appear to be any measurable progress on any of them.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday and the Yarn Along!

-CH

A Summer KAL

So, if you follow my sister's blog at all, you know that she's leaving for a mission trip in Chicago for this summer. She'll come straight home from college, leave for this trip, and then go straight back to college for the fall. I'm going to miss her a lot!

We decided last night that we wanted to do a knit-a-long for the summer as a way to stay connected. We're going to use stash yarn for it, so we won't need to buy any. I'm pulling some pictures of mine from my Ravelry stash so you can see.

The yarn Jenn will be using is a green version of the same yarn. It's a bulky weight acrylic, but it's so super soft. Our plan is to do baby blankets. The problem is that we bought them as part of a sale, and we each only have one skein of our respective colors. That equals 615 yards. So we're looking for a simple baby blanket pattern for bulky weight yarn that doesn't call for more yards than that. Also, we definitely want to knit and not crochet this one.

I would love to find a pattern that features stockinette, since variegated yarn looks so lovely with just a simple stockinette stitch. But I want it to be a little interesting too. Here are a few of the contenders so far:

Seed Stitch Baby Blanket
Cabled Baby Afghan
Sand Cable Baby Blanket

I've made the Seed Stitch Baby Blanket before, and I know that I like working the pattern. And I like the way it looks too! There's something about working stripes that makes a project go faster.. As for the other two patterns, Jenn has never cabled! I'm sure she's willing to learn, but on such a huge project? I'm not sure.

Do any of you have any ideas for a pattern that would show off the beautiful colors of this yarn? Also, anyone that wants to is more than welcome to do this knit-a-long with us!!

-CH

FO Friday

I wasn't sure if I was going to post today, but after I took some pictures of a project I just finished, I decided I had no excuse. So, as part of FO Fridays, I wanted to share a Swiffer cover I just finished!

 My aunt has a large kitchen with a wooden floor, so she loves Swiffers! I made her a cover for her birthday last year, and she requested more this year. She says they work better than the store-bought refills. And she uses an extra-long Swiffer for her kitchen. It's hard to find the refills for those, so it works better to have a few reusable ones.

 I had these buttons in my button jar. Luckily I had two matching ones! I think they work well with the orange.

 Sorry that picture is blurry.. I was trying to take pictures at her house quickly before she came home! I wasn't sure how long I had.

Here's a close-up of the dust-collecting side. It's reversible also. The other side is smooth so you can use it to mop. She's never used that side I think, so I didn't think to take pictures of it! I also don't have a review for how well that side works.

I'll be making two more for her birthday (June 28th) in the regular size. I hope they work out!

-CH