We interrupt this break...

Whoa! Unanticipated hiatus! Apologies for that. I was sucked into a vortex of baby knitting from which I've only just emerged...

There's lots to catch up on and I'll try to do that as best I can over the next few posts. In the meantime, here's a smattering of what's been going on:

There's been a lot of baby knitting, of course. That took up February, March and part of April.

The Downtown Knit Collective held their annual Knitters' Frolic. That was this past weekend. (That's the line up of knitters waiting to get in before the doors opened at 9am!).

And I'm knitting away furiously on a new project - for me! I know, stranger things have happened. More soon, I promise.

How-to: Easy Envelope Throw Pillows

One of my New Years' commitments this year has been to focus on finishing and using materials that I have on hand at home for my crafting - which is largely yarn-based.

This past weekend though, I set out to make some throw pillows for my little guy's room out of some Cars fabric that I'd bought a while back (like, a year and a half ago!). Luckily, he still loves the movie, and since he has a car bed I wanted him to be able to enjoy them before he outgrows them entirely.

The pillow inserts were small and well suited for a little person's bed, but you can do this simple pillow cover in any size. Best of all, there are no buttons or zippers for fastening, which makes it a really quick sew.

Materials: Fabric, pins, cutting mat and rotary cutter or scissors, straight edge, pinking shears, and pillow form.

Cut the fabric the size you need for one side of the pillow. For the back, cut two pieces that are half the length of the front fabric, plus 3 inches. For instance, the front of the pillow is 13", the two back pieces are 9.5" each.

On one side of each of the back pieces, turn over the fabric and give it a quick hem. I personally like the look of the top-stitching with a double hem.

Pin the fabric pieces for sewing right sides together: place the front on the bottom and lay the back pieces on top. They will overlap in the middle. Pin all the way around.

This is a good opportunity to square the fabric and even out the edges (if necessary). Once that's done, sew all the way around the pillow.

Trim all of the corners and clean up your edges with pinking shears. 

Turn the pillow cover inside out, insert your pillow form, fluff and smooth and voila! An easy throw pillow to complement your existing decor.

Whipping my WIPs into shape

A common affliction amongst knitters (and I assume other crafters) in January is the fevered frenzy of start-itis. There's just something about the new year and starting fresh that gets everyone all excited, I suppose. Other common themes on the chat boards and blogs are resolutions of finishing those projects that have already been started, and stashing down (using yarn already in one's own "stash").

I have not been immune to any of these phenomena and will also be hoping to finish (more than) a few WIPs this year, along with joining a stash down to see if I can knit my way through some of this yarn. In no particular order, here are a selection of WIPs that I've selected to start with, and where I'm at with them so far:

1) Dinosaur sweater for Harrison (only part way through the front)

2) A capelet for Ashleigh (Debbie Bliss pattern, for my little guy's buddy) - can't quite tell where I'm at. Maybe a third of the way through?

3) Elm Row by Anne Hanson (am knitting this in two colours at the same time, one with only 14 rows done for me and one with 2 rows done for my mom)

4) Chevron baby blanket (halfway through)

5) Teknika gloves (cast on these January 2 so no progress to speak of yet)

6) Tulip baby sweater (body almost done)

7) Chunky purse/bag (almost done second side then have to block, sew up, and sew a lining for it)

8) Cropped jacket from Vogue Knitting a few years back (just need to do the sleeves)

9) Fiddlehead mittens (just need to do the lining)

10) Beatnik sweater (am still knitting the gauge swatch, so it's not really a WIP just yet)

And then of course there's the fibre on my wheel at the moment and a project on my loom that is very close to being done.

That's got to be as good a place to start as any, right?

Something about steeks

One of the things I like most about knitting is that on every project there is always something different to do, a new technique to learn or practice. I'm excited when I'm challenged and a lot of the thrill of knitting for me comes from learning something new and just figuring things out. It's also one of the reasons I enjoy taking classes so much. It's a safe place to ask all the silly questions and try things that you know if you keep asking the mavens at the local knit night they're going to get a little annoyed that they aren't getting any of their own knitting done!

Case in point: steeks.

Steeks are, for lack of a better description, a knitting shortcut. But not just any knitting shortcut - a shortcut that involves CUTTING THE YARN of something that you've just knit. Ack! They are particularly common when one is knitting stranded colourwork, and since that's a technique that I'd like to do more of, and I'm knitting something in colourwork right now, I thought it couldn't hurt to take a class so that I'm ready for the finishing when that day arrives.

The lovely GlennaC taught a class this weekend at my fave LYS. Complete with some "restorative" dark chocolate to help us take the edge off that cutting. Here's what we learned:

Technique 1: Just start cutting (make sure you're using 100% wool - and NOT superwash!)

Just keep cutting, just keep cutting... Those long lines of the same colour stitches are the steek. In wool, they help reinforce the edge that's cut so that it doesn't unravel.

There, that wasn't so bad. On yarn other than 100% wool, such as superwash wool or yarn of other fibres, you use a sewing machine to stitch down the steeks and reinforce them FIRST, before cutting.

Another technique (again with 100% wool only) is to crochet the edge of where you are going to be cutting. Looks great in a contrasting colour of yarn - especially if the steek has a chance of being seeing, like the inside edge of a cardigan button band. This method is a little more labour intensive though, if you're not a speedy crocheter (I'm definitely not!).

No sweat! Now I'm knitting like the wind on a super secret project just so I can get to the cutting part! Bring it on!

Weekend WIPs

It's been a pretty good weekend here. I had a knitting class yesterday (learning steeks! eek!) and my little dude was at a playdate. Today I'm reciprocating for my girlfriend and her daughter is here. Its our turn to have our playroom destroyed but it sounds like the kids are having a terrific time.

With the kids amusing themselves, it's given me time to get my project pages on Ravelry updated, start the laundry and see if I can't organize my craft room a little more. With Christmas knitting and then New Year start-itis plus actual work-work and filing and stuff that never finished getting sorted when I first finished the mom cave - my personal space has been overwhelmed. Thankfully, my DH and I landed on an awesome spot together for making things a little more organized around here. I'm looking forward to it. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's what I've been working on:

Chevron Baby Blanket from Purl Soho knit in Blue Sky Alpacas organic worsted cotton.

Honey Cowl - free pattern from Madelinetosh. Knit in Viola Silky DK in graphite.

It's too cold to go outside today. I think I'm going to put another load in the washing machine and settle in with my knitting while watching the kids play. You?