Pajama Eaters

These little monsters are a pillow but be careful .....they "eat" pajama's!

I found this pattern a number of months ago over at sewfewless.com (it's a good thing I saved it then because now she's charging $10 for it!)

Other than additional reinforcing around the mouth/zipper, the only detail I changed was the feet.   The originally design is darling but when I worked the feet they seemed, to me, big and bulky, so I redesigned them to about 1/2 the size (closer in proportion to the arms)  and reworked the shape of the foot and leg into a circle.

The Pajama Eater starts to take on a personality after the stuffing has been inserted and I recommend deviating from the written instructions and determine the position of the eyes last.

This was a fun diversion from knitting and a cute sewing project for the grand-kids!

Forest Canopy Shawl

I haven't done a lot of lace knitting, only a few simple projects (Baby Fern Lace Cowl and Beaded Eyelet Rib Socks) so when I decided to knit a lace shawl I searched on Ravelry to find an easy pattern. The Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence was perfect. The instructions are well organized, excellently written and error free. In addition, she provides a short tutorial on lace knitting and provides a number of helpful suggestions. For me, the most useful suggestion was writing the instructions for each row out on a separate index card  to help keep your place in the pattern  - almost as good as a "lifeline". When I purchase a pattern I prefer them to be in books or magazines and I rarely buy only one but I made an exception here and I'm very glad I did.

I had such fun knitting the first shawl and so loved the result that I knit three more! My sister, mom, mother-in-law and a crafting swap partner were the lucky recipients. I'm ready now to work a more complicated lace pattern, however, I've got to make sure and keep one for myself.  

All of the shawls went out during the rush of the holiday season and I apologize for the blurry photos.

Yarn:  Alpaca Sox by Classic Elite Yarns
Color:  Nor'eater (1857)
Size:  57" x 23"
Needles:  7
Note: Worked to 259 stitches before edging

Yarn:  Amazing by Lion Brand Yarn
Color:  Ruby (201)
Size:  Forgot to measure :(
Needles:  7

Yarn:  Tosh Sock by Madelinetosh
Color:  Cobalt & Tart
Size:  51" x 21"
Needles:  7
Note: Worked to 243 stitches before edging

A Knitting Performance

Knitting Nation

Have you ever been to a knitting performance?  Well, I hadn't until I took in  Liz Collins' Knitting Nation  Phase 8 - Under Construction at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston during a day long performance on November 30th.  The ICA's current exhibition  is Dance/Draw (thru 1/16/12) and Knitting Nation's presentation engaged the theme through eight knitting machines stationed at various levels of scaffolding and the lines of finished knitting draped among its framework and pooled onto the floor.  

Knitting Nation is part ongoing collaborative performance and part site-specific art installation project and you can get a lot more information about the project over at the web site of Liz Collins

As a passionate knitter, crafter and artist I was intrigued and inspired by all of this and took video to capture the noise and movement of the knitters.   At the beginning of the video you see Liz Collins and a volunteer knitter working to repair one of the machines that had gone down from the constant usage.  This was a knitting project and performance so very different and interesting that I had to share!

QR Code - The knitting project that didn't work

I'm not positive, but I think this is the first post I've written where things didn't work out (it's not that this doesn't happen on a fairly regular basis but I don't usually spend the time to detail it!)   During the summer I was downloading and exploring apps for my new Android phone and one of them was a QR code reader.  A QR code is a type of bar code that can cram a lot of data information into a pattern of squares.  Companies and retailers are using them to provide additional information about themselves or a product - usually by directing you to a web page.  To use a QR code reader, you point the camera of your phone at a QR code and the image is scanned and the data is interpreted.  Below is a QR code which is a link to my ladynthread blog:

The crafting/design side of my brain immediately started thinking of different projects where I could use a QR code motif - maybe a bag or a scarf ?  Translating the QR code into knitting seemed interesting so I started with worsted weight yarn and knit one stitch for each white and black square.   I  experimented using intarsia knitting on the corner squares and for the long left and right vertical edges but the bulk of the design is knitted with the stranded method.

The knitting is 'ok',  a little ragged in spots (hey, it's a first prototype!), but unfortunately the stitched "squares" were mostly  "V's" formed with the stockinette stitch and the QR reader couldn't read it, except for one time where the light and the angle must have been perfect,   Using a fingering weight yarn and making each square of the QR code a block of four stitches might make it readable or maybe cross-stitching would work.  Printing to fabric transfer paper is probably the most straight forward approach, but for now, the whole idea is shelved until further inspiration.

A New Job!

I've started a new job at Framingham State University. I love this job! I'm the Laboratory Technician for the Fashion Design & Retail Department. I'm responsible for sewing machine maintenance, supply ordering and providing instructor support for all of the Principals of Construction classes (for me, the best part). I'm also learning how to run an old Meistergram Monogram machine and figuring out database requirements for the Costume and Textile Collection.

I'm still knitting, crocheting, sewing and crafting but the blogging is backlogged and will probably happen with a rash of posts the first day I find a few free hours.

In the meantime, take a moment and check out the details and upcoming events of the Fashion Design and Retailing Program at FSU.

Kindle Cover

I love my Kindle 3 and because I carry it around a lot I needed a protective cover. Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive. So I decided to design my own. The pattern is a very quick crochet with little seaming (only the bottom needs to be stitched closed). The lining is optional and adds slightly more structure and protection.

It's a free pattern (pdf file) available in the original patterns section of my Ladynthread website as well as at Ravelry. Enjoy!

A Couple of Cute Baby Things

Here are a couple of cute baby items from two great patterns. Both the patterns were a dream to work - with very MINOR notes (how rare is THAT?)

I used Berroco Comfort Sock yarn (#1811 Hari Hari) for both these items and unfortunately it wasn't the best choice. I didn't realize that this yarn is a self patterning sock yarn and the repeats didn't work the best with these items.

BABY'S FIRST SOCK (pattern here)

In addition to the yarn choice there are two minor notes:

After working the repeats of the foot, my measurement from the back of heel came closer to 3½" than 3". A couple of other bloggers noted this same discrepancy so I suspect that it's a typo rather than my knitting.

These socks are for an older baby (I'm guessing 6-12mos), not a newborn. They may be the first socks that don't look like booties but they won't be baby's FIRST socks!

Update: Here's my granddaughter Natalie modeling them (along with Little Lamb Sock Critter. Natalie is 16 months so I'm bumping the age estimate for the fit up to 12-18 months.

SWIRL HAT (pattern here)
VERY cute hat! It's the perfect hat to bring the baby home from the hospital in. It's also an extremely well written pattern with sizing from Preemie to Adult. Again, the self patterning of the yarn didn't work well here.