Tech knitting and Oh boy I am a bad blogger.

Not even going to try and make any promises about blogging now. I can't believe it's been over a month.
I did get obsessed with twitter for awhile, but hopefully, I think, I may be over it.

Not to obsess with being away, but to post something...

I found this blog a long time ago, I should have shared it then. TECHknitting is an amazing little website.
A lot of the stuff is such common sense, but when you have the problem, it's usually these things you don;t think about.

If you machine knit or hand.. even crochet, I really recommend this blog.

Ideas that don't work (or need tweaking)

I haven't posted in so long I thought I better post something.

One idea I had was for a double thickness beanie. It was to be one layer of lacy material with the second layer of just regular stocking stitch in a contrasting colour.
That way, it would be reversible, but also the contrasting colour would show through the lace fabric and creating a different effect.

Well, it's my fault! I have to start swatching.
here are the failed pictures:

This is why you need to swatch!

Trying cut and sew to trim excess.

Ready for sewing up

I did make the hat, though it would be better for a child than my head. You can also see the problem I had with the ribber (which didn't matter as I was only writing the pattern), I was going to cover it up with a flower or butterfly adornment.

I haven't given up, just haven't had the time to get back at it and have something else I want to do now.

I really need to make myself a roster so I can find the time to do all these things I want to do.

So here is me sharing a failure :)

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Elastic in socks

I got this idea forever ago. It was from my dad, he used to use little elastic bands that he would hide in the fold of his socks to keep them up.

I was going to do this with the first socks I made but incorporate them in; Then I ran across this blog post and thought it might just be easier to put a link here, being that I am not the best of getting ideas across right.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Socks falling down? Consider elastic

Socks won't stay up? You're not alone. Socks are a very popular item to knit but recurrent discussions on Internet knitting forums show falling-down socks are a problem to many.

There are many, many ways to solve this problem, but one of the most direct is elastic. Here are four different methods.

Elastic garters inside the sock

Click on the test to be taken to the website. There is a whole  post about it, and while your at it, look through the rest of the blog, she has some great ideas for knitters... I love logical thinkers :)

Hand exercises for knitters

Just a quick link to some hand exercises, beneficial to hand knitters.
I know I don't hand knit, but I just wanted to file the link incase one day I needed it :)

Your most important knitting tools

Microscopic fibre

This link is to a post in Portuguese, however if you look at the title of each section it's not hard to determine what it is.. Vegitata? he he

I find this really interesting and want to check it out further, hence posting it here for future reference, and for anyone that likes to know "how, what, where and when".. lol Hey isn't being "here" what it's all about, learning? :)

As usual, just click on the picture to be taken to the blog :)

PS: this is Nylon, neat huh? And now knowing what it looks like you have an idea of what project it would be good for :)

       

Horde Intarsia Chart

Remember this? My first thing on the knitting machine. Well I finally posted the daggy intarsia chart I made for it. It was done with DK yarn. Just inacse any relatives like World of Warcraft like we do :)

You can click on the picture for the link. :)

I would love to post links to anything you make using this chart for others to see, so if you do, it would be really cool if you could send me a pic or a link (email in side bar or just a comment). :)

Yarn burn test or Is it Wool? OR Why NOT to wear acrylic; especially for kids

I finally got out all the un marked yarn I had and tested it... I just happened to have the video camera with me.
Sorry up front for the quietness of my voice, I had to keep quite otherwise next doors dog would have started barking and you would not have heard a thing.

From You Tube description:

I have a whole heap of different yarn and don't know what it is made from.
I read plenty of different posts from around the interenet and tried to combine all the information into one and test some of the yarn I have.
Some say to smell, but I found some that burnt like acrylic and left the oil residue that acrylic is made out of still smelt like hair burning, but there are lots of different mixes and spun yarn available.
I certainly didn't like the way the acrylic burnt and can't even imagine being near an open flame wearing it... don't let your kiddies wear acrylic! As you can see...

This is what I had written down:

• If it acts dead it is a natural yarn
• If it acts alive it is a man made.
• If the yarn smells like burning hair - it is a natural fibre from an animal - it is also easy to put out- the residue will be an ash you can crumble (I found some that smelt this way, still had the left over oil residue, so I assume that there are plenty of "mixes" out there).
• If the yarn smells like a bonfire = it is a natural plant fibre -if it burns slowly after you take it away from the flame  you probably have silk
• If it practically ignites itself you have a rayon, rayon is made from wood pulp
• Acrylic and Nylon are man made fibres, made from petroleum products. They burn hot, smell like chemicals and melt like plastic, and hard to put out.

Links kept that I found some of the above information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EeYdvDm4zE
http://jemajo-knitting.blogspot.com/2010/02/burning-issuebuyer-beware.html
Oh no! there were a few others but I don't know where I put the bookmarks.. sorry :( There is more information out there though :)

Here is the Video if you are interested to see the different yarns burn... In the end I was still unsure of a few, all I can put them down to is that different yarns had been spun together?






As always, would love to hear any further information/input :)

Finally!! The freaking scarf is "finished" - the curly (now..UN)WoW Horde scarf

haha and I have learnt my lesson... I think. Will defiantly try something different next time, the curl was driving me bonkers!

Washed and pegged across the washing line

Close up

After... STILL curled

So I got all "I don't care if I wreck it", and decided to try ironing it again.
With a little bit cooler temp and lots of steam....

My hubby loves it, not sure if he is just being nice to encourage me, but it is a little bit of a novelty. It's the symbol of a faction from a game called World of warcraft. I must admit, if you see my other tries with loom and hand knitting, this one came out a gazillion times better!
I was going to post the chart I made on my Created by Jokowlo site, but no one really reads it anyway, so just keep it in a folder for other ideas :)

Acrylic wool does not iron... for me anyway

So.. another fail! or for lazyiness.. hey at least I am making mistakes so others don't have to :p haha
The rolling scarf or snake scarf as my hubby calls it, had another fail.
I tried to iron it out flat as I did with a loom knitted wool one, (which worked) and the iron not only stuck and made holes in the ironing helper thing I use, but also left a hard spiky burnt feeling to the scarf.. luckily you can't see it that much but you can feel it.

I am a little confused also though, because it doesn't usually burn my ironing thing, which it did without the scarf ( I checked), maybe the iron was wrong? /shrug.

The scarf is now in the washing pile to be washed and dried flat to see if that helps... oh boy.. the saga!

Here are some pics to look and laugh at :)

I have some cleaning scrubbing to do!

Maybe I should make a new label "things NOT to do", but then, that would take up the whole blog haha!

Lazy Days(y), mending and finishing

This is why I don't get all the ideas in my head done! Rainy, cold days of which you are still so tired from hubby working night shifts... anyone else out there stay awake all night when hubby works of a night? I mean that wouldn't be so bad, other than your always too bloody tired to make useful of the time when you are awake so you sit at the TV all zombiefied.. eating :(

Anyway.. I haven't started anything new, just fixed some thing in my mending pile ( I really need some more at home trakky pants), and finished off all the loose bits in the Horde scarf.
Ok enough talking.. pictures!

This is one of my favourite, everyday type skirts, but became unwearable when I was cleaning with it on one day and spilt bleach on it. I just removed the layer the spill was on. The skirt is now shorter, just means I will have to make sure I have proper shaved legs when I want to wear it :P

Oooo, also I am such the slacker... the skirt is  layered and an A shape, which means that the next tier is always longer (because it is supposed to be gathered), I cheated (as I always do) and just folded little bits of fabric as I guided it through the serger. The crafty spirits must have been helping me because it worked out at exactly the right length!! What a fluke! hehe

I haven't tried ironing it yet, but look at the bloody curl, I think I might have crochet around the edge or something, we will see. I hemmed it to see if it would stop curling... FAIL

The backside of my intarsia. I know all seasoned knitters out there are going to cringe, but I don't have the patience for weaving, I knotted. Do you remember how many little tails there were? well it took me all of about maybe a hour or less for the whole thing. I will do a post sometime in the future about "my way" of finishing it off.

Is it really that much different knotting to weaving? Does this look extra messy compared to what I "should have" done? :)

Ok that's just a little update, as I like to try and post a little more regular like (HAH!).

Un tested Horde insignia pattern and chart for hand knitting

It's untested!
I just can't be bothered to knit it again properly to check that I wrote down everything ok, not when I have the knitting machine!
At least this gives you a little bit of an idea how it should turn out when knitted properly.
If you want to give it a go, you can click on the picture or here:  Created by Jokowlo

If you do use it, I would love to know how you went, for others also :)

My set up for knitting on the treadmill or Multitasking to the max!

I have talked about this before; How I do my knitting on the treadmill. This is just a quick pick and vid of how I set it up. It's hard to do bits of the knitting where you have to read the pattern etc, but for the big mundane work it's great! Though.. I suppose if you just walked slowly you could still read a pattern, will have to try that one.
I listen to an audio book, while knitting and walking, the time just flies by and multi tasking, I like that muchly!






     

Things to do with ribbing from the knitting machine...

or... I couldn't think of a catchy title because it's too bloody cold! hehe

ok, as you know from my previous posts I have just gotten a knitting machine and am so excited about it. Not only did it come with all the extras like the books, attachments and wool, but also little bits of half knitted things.
I did frog ( I hope that is the right word) a few, but kept this little band of ribbing and also half a knitted lacy top (which will be for another post when I figure out what to do with it).

It's a cotton and such a lady like colour, which I thought would go nice with my hair colour, so I made it into a little headband. Because it's ribbing it is stretchy, so no need for any elastic at all! :)

The lonely unused band of ribbing (haha look at the time on the bottom! )

After serging/overlocking the edge and sewing together ( I know I used black cotton, but I have black hair and I just couldn't be bothered to change the cotton in the serger for one little thing ) haha it makes it easier to see what I did anyway huh? hehe

No Laughing! me wearing the headband :)

Another side shot. It's so hard to take pictures of things you are wearing! :)

Ok I'm off to make my cup of tea, watch Martha ( I don't know why I do, it only makes me hungry), and do some of my tapestry.. I will finish one day... :)

Wonky knitted dishcloth -- still trying...

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More Dishcloth try outs.
This one was knitted rather than crocheted. I used the pattern here: Grandmother's favourite dishcloth
I think I prefer knitting, you don't need to count as much as crochet, you don't get that sore little spot on your finger because all the pressure is concentrated on the one area with the crochet hook and well it just looks nicer... the knit.
The only crappy thing is, it takes forever.. it seems.

I started with the same cotton I used with the first two, but as you can see I ran out, so I used the only other cotton I had in my stash. LOL different gauge much?

The orange cotton is a textured Italian yarn that I picked up for .50c a ball on sale last year. It was harder to knit because of the texture, but I think came out way cooler.

I haven't used this as a dishcloth yet, but I like it already!

What next to get my knitting skills up? Might try and tackle a scarf? hrrmmm