Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I have a finished object and a new work in progress (since the blanket and hat isn't enough). This pattern was easy to follow but I think that I am going to be trying out something a little different for the next pair. Hopefully the booties fit the baby because I have absolutely no idea how big a baby's feet are. I was going to make a sweater for the baby, but then realized that the baby was going to be born in March and that a sweater for a baby in the summer may not be the best idea in the world.

The other project that is threatening to take up too much of my homework time is a scarf that I am crocheting. It is a pattern that I am making up so I will most likely be able to throw up a brand new pattern for you guys (although I am pretty sure that this pattern is similar to many others). Anyhow, thats it for now.

Babies, Some Bamboo, and a Book

Here is a super duper post for everyone, so I will start with the first part- babies. John and I have some friends who are expecting (we will find out the gender in a few weeks, yeay!!) and I have started a baby blanket for them.

The picture came out dark and makes the colors all look really "blah", but I am taking a (long) break from homework to write this post so when I am done with it I will post a good picture taken in good light to give you the full effect. It is a motif that I got out of the book "Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs" and I am really pleased with it. Of course, I am using the new love of my life for this project- Caron Simply Soft Eco and so far I have estimated that five plastic bottles will be used. Of course, the softness and the durability of the yarn will be perfect for baby. On a not entirely different note, one of my friend's sister is expecting a baby and I will be teaching her how to crochet as well so maybe I will actually have a craft buddy now! *crosses fingers*

So, going out of order and moving onto the "book" part of this post, I went to my local thrift store today and was pleasantly surprised at a few awesome finds! The first was this book Your Guide to Creativity that I found for only five bucks and it has tons of information that makes me want to add way much to my to do list. It is an amazing reference for a ton of stuff and really wish that I would have had this book when I was making the floral arrangements for my wedding! Some things that I want to now do (we'll see just how many I actually do) include:

• making pillowcase covers for our old couch pillows
• slip covering the kitchen chairs
• creating a nice looking table piece for the kitchen and the living room table
• try some new ideas when I scrapbook next
• making my own ribbon flowers for . . . something that has yet to be determined

I really didn't need this book to help me add to my to do list, but at least I am now adding items that are not homework!

Now moving onto the 'bamboo' part is the other fun finding that I came across in the thrift store, a package of four bamboo handles! Now, if you look closely at the picture you will notice one problem. Four handles . . . three different sizes. This was something that I noticed after I got home and opened it and I was frustrated at first (who wants two handles that don't even match?!) so I went to do some homework. And then took a nap. And then, came up with an awesome pattern idea that I will be making up for a purse that will only use one handle. The best part? There will be a knitted version and a crocheted version so everyone will be able to make one! And I am going to write a pattern for a normal, two handled purse as well. But I am pretty excited about the One Ring Purse pattern idea and so far I haven't seen anything else like it online so hopefully I will have a few people looking forward to a really neat pattern coming up!

That is all for this post, back to the homework for me . . .

Bored with the look of this site. . .

I want to make this site look a little better, but not sure what I want so this is to let everyone one that this site may look a little odd for a while- but links and posts should NOT be affected in anyway!

Free Scarf Pattern!

I finished the scarf! It is vibrant, soft, and squishy and I love it.

I made this pattern because I wanted a subtly striped scarf. After falling in love with this color I decided that instead of using two different colors, I would use two different textures to create noticeable, but subtle strips. This scarf pattern is easy to memorize, and quick to knit up. The width of the scarf can be changed by casting on more or less stitches, and the length of the scarf can be lengthened or shortened depending on how many repeats you knit.
This pattern calls for Caron Simply Soft Eco® which is a yarn line that not only has beautiful colors, but is also 20% post-consumer plastic bottles. For each scarf knitted from this yarn, one entire plastic bottle has been used and kept out of the crowded landfills. I plan on making a matching hat and mitten set to match this scarf at a later date so keep your eyes peeled!

I have added this free pattern to a new "Free Patterns" category on the right side bar. Feel free to print it off for you and your friends! Also, let me know if you make your pattern because I would love to see this scarf in different colors

Download Textured Stripes Scarf Pattern

Textured Stripes Scarf

Originally uploaded by TinaYint

So, it has started to snow where I live, and although I find snow incredibly annoying it has also given me to motivation to try to finish this scarf ASAP.

I realized that in my haste to get back on the road when I picked these material up that I had probably grabbed the wrong sized knitting needles but they were bamboo needles on clearance for two bucks so I didn't care. Turns out they are four sizes too big for the yarn, but this actually is working out great because the scarf is light and airy and has amazing drape but is still thick enough to keep me warm.

Please forgive me for the lousy quality of the photos because we have no sunlight right now and the weather forecast isn't predicting any for a few days and I am impatient.

Look for the finished scarf and the pattern sometime in the next few weeks!

Finally, something to post!

Finally! There is a cheap yarn that is environmentally friendly so that fellow poor graduate school students (like myself) will be able to knit while being environmentally conscious. Multi-tasking is fun. Caron has released a new line of Simply Soft Eco- where 20% of the yarn is made from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles. I discovered this gem of a yarn while on a road trip to a conference where the ride was enough to make me slightly insane. The result- going to a Wal-mart and discover that they have replaced all the Simply Soft with Simply Soft Eco. I immediately bought two skiens and thought up of a pattern while in the car. Since I had no pen and paper while I was doing this, the pattern is for a scarf and is pretty easy.

Looking around on the internet, there seems to be quite a few opinions about this change- particurally the part about Wal-Mart replacing all the Simply Soft with Simply Soft Eco. And about the random whitish flecks that appear in a select few of the darker shades. In my opinion, I think that this is an amazing yarn for the price (I paid $2.34 per skien) and after knitting a little bit with this, I think that the yarn is way better than the origional Simply Soft.

- barely unravels
- shows textures three times better than the origional Simply Soft
- it is a great way to be more enviromentally friendly
- still a great price
- the colors are amazing
- the "whitish flecks" that everyone is complaining about aren't that bad! It just looks like heathered yarn . . . and it is obvious which colors have it so if you don't like it you can easily avoid the apparently dreaded "whitish flecks"
- it doesn't get that fuzzy look that Simply Soft got while handling it
- the yarn isn't as slippery
- it is a *little* thicker
- stitch definition is great

And those are a few of the reasons that I am totally switching to this Eco yarn for projects that I would have typically used Simply Soft.

***stepping off the soap box***

Ok, so I am working on my striped scarf and this will be a free pattern once it is finished that I will post (in a PDF document) on this blog and on Ravelry (www.ravelry.com). I am excited about it and hope that others will feel the same. And just one last FYI, if the pattern is made from the same yarn that I am using- one plastic bottle will used. Neat huh?