Ribbon bag #2

Okay, I wasn't so happy with the other ribbon bag, still don't know if it was the colors or the way they fell or what, but this is the beginning of the second bag. You see I bought 2 balls of fluid from numei.com (yes, I admit that I'm currently obsessed with this store and their prices and their yarn). I'm not such a big fan of this ribbon yarn, the end result, or how it knits, BUT I am feeling more optimistic about this little project. The yarn is turning into a groovy 60s style pattern... let's see how it turns out...

btw the pattern is nicked from straw.com, based on their deco-ribbon bag. However, I only had one ball of this yarn so I made it smaller, casting on only 71 sts.

Blind Teddy (warning picture may be upsetting to those with weak dispositions).

Okay, okay, he's blind now, but he will soon be able to see. This is hubby's Mr. Bean Bear (he wanted one too), it is almost complete, so here is a sneak peak on Teddy 2. I will be getting some eyes (buttons) for him tomorrow, so he will be finished over the weekend, much to hubby's delight!!

Mr Bean's Bear

Here he is, Mr Bean's Bear, known to Bean as "Teddy", original huh? I think he's adorable and I'm pretty sure that Dad loves him, Teddy does have the super-floppy head and hypnotism can be done on him. I wasn't sure if he would be complete in time since I did buy the wrong kind of yarn initially (teach me not to rush out and buy just anything brown). Anyway, after finding a lovely pure wool yarn just before we left and begging the security at the airport, I was allowed to take my bamboo needles on the flight with me (although, this was not the case on the way back, it seems that different airports have different rules). I knitted like crazy on the red eye and on the coach from London to Wolves, I even ended up sewing on my parents doorstep! Anyway, big thanks to Sarah Bradberry, who wrote the pattern and shares it on knitting-and.com.

11/01/05
FYI, this bear was knitted with a Sportsweight machine washable 100% wool (there were 2 hanks and I pretty much used all of them), but can be easily substituted (Bear #2 was done with a much cheaper 100% acrylic DK [sportsweight] bought in the UK and only one ball - no idea how much was on it, since it was so cheap). I used size 4 needles since I lost one of my size 3 needles, (I also needed bamboo for flying with), but with a bear (i.e. not clothing) the needle size shouldn't be too important, Sarah's pattern recommends size 3. The buttons were bought wherever I could find them (some from sewing store that were too small, I ended up buying them in a pack from a cheap store in Flushing, NY). As buttons are a chocking hazard, remember to substitute felt for buttons when giving to a small child. Please check out upcoming November posts for another teddy in the making (different, cute and traditional).

Golf Club Cover

Time to finish with a silly one. I got this yarn from numei.com (on special) and thought that I might knit a hat or scarf out of it, until I got the yarn and it wasn't quite what I expected. After many swatches and attempts I quickly realized that I could not make anyone wear something so 'solid' and scratchy. So I saw a pattern in a vogue book and decided to use the lion brand's free pattern as a template to make this golf club cover. Hopefully, Dad will like it, or at least see the humor. I have a lot of stuff to take back to the UK now....

Gran's scarf

I made this a long time ago (well, last year when I first started knitting). It's from a batch of Homespun that I got as a bargain. I think it must have been coming towards the end of the winter because I never used it (and it's soooo soft, therefore unlike me not to use). I remember I got the pattern on the lion brand site, here. Thinking about going back home for the reception I wanted to have something for my Gran too, and remembered this, and I think she will love it.

Helen & Owen's Baby Blanket

This is the blanket I knitted for Helen and Owen's child (McChortle). I had this yarn that I didn't know what to do with (sound familiar?), then found a pattern on Lion Brand's site for diagonal baby blanket and decided that was it. I doubled up the yarn and pretty much followed the pattern on the site, except that I only went up to just about 105 sts before decreasing again.

Stained Glass Scarves Set

Here are a couple of pictures of the scarves I made in different colors of the Stained Glass. One for Mum Jones, one for Mom Bechler and the other for me. I love them, they are all slightly different in pattern (using different sized needles and different amounts of yo's and garter st rows).

Ribbon bag

This bag feels lovely, made from ribbon yarn, but just not my colours. Luckily, Maureen loved it and took it home. The pattern starts co 28 sts with garter st for about 5-6 rows, then st st for the desired length of the bag (just over 5"), then garter 5-6 rows, then increase 4 sts evenly on k side of st st until 40 sts, then decrease the same way. Then garter again 5-6 rows, then st st for the same length as other side then garter 5-6 rows again. I-cord for the strap and some ribbon yarn as tassels on the side.