To Buy (more needles) Or Not To Buy..

That is definitely a question my husband asks frequently!  What do you mean you have to buy more stuff?  He especially gets antsy when I even utter the words.. I need *insert anything!* and even more so when I insert the word needles into the sentence! Really? I have a lot. Seriously a lot, but it's not my fault I don't have a such & such size in such & such length... geez.

C'mon. You know how it is, whenever you start a project you may have the right size of a needle, but not always the right length. AND that doubles if you are doing anything with some edging, etc. Always seems to mean a trip to the store. AND then what if you need dpn's? Geez. That's a lot of running to the knitting store *oh darn*!

I thought I would be all set after buying an interchangeable set and looking at the amount of needles I have, but nope. That's not the case. I had to run out just the other day (imagine that?!) and buy a fixed circular for a particular project. My interchangeable set didn't have the tip and/or the length that I needed and I didn't have it in my magic stash box either. Rats.

Wonder what I do have in that box? Hm....

Just for grins & giggles, let's look at some of mine and see how I rate them:

#1-5

#6-8

#1 Clover Bamboo. Not my favorite although they are readily available and aren't very expensive.  I do think the cable is a little fussy because it tends to be really stiff and doesn't seem overly flexible. 

#2 Kollage Yarn Square Needles VERY cool. The cable is flexible (extremely) and the square needle is actually comforting on my hands.  The connection between the tip and the needle is okay~ I've snagged it on some really fine yarn.  I've even seen these in square dpn form!  I bought my long circulars on sale last year so I don't really know how expensive these are.

#3 My new favorite! Knitter's Pride dreamz - I like the cable and the connection! The cable seems to be pretty hefty - as in it won't snap or bend, but it's really flexible. Does that make sense?  They seem to be similar to my Options set (cable) and the price for an individual needle was really nice! (means less than 10$!) I especially like the colored bamboo needles they have available!  I haven't had any issues with the connection snagging either! I checked out their website HERE  and guess what!! They have circular sets too!! Interchangeable sets!! Didn't see any prices because I think you have to get them from a dealer.  I'm willing to look into it ~ for you dear reader.. for you! These are available at local knit shops.

#4 Hiya Hiya  Not bad. Not bad at all. Especially the price. I haven't paid over $10 for any that I've bought and they all come with some sort of extra gift in the package! Bonus! I've bought them at several local knitting shops.  The cables aren't as flexible as the Knitter's Pride and/or the Options that I have but they are really nice needles to use.  They also come in a bamboo AND have an interchangeable set! For the money these are another of my top picks.  I would even consider buying an interchangeable set of these. Shh.. don't tell Big!

#5 Addi Turbo Lace ..sigh... most favorite ever! Most expensive ever too! I like how the needles glide through yarn, but.... I do not like how the much longer cable kinks and stays kinked.  That magic loop method kills me sometimes!

 #6 Addi Turbo, difference between the lace and the turbo is the tip and a coating on the lace needles to make it 'drag' a bit through super fine yarn.  Addi's are a bit pricey, BUT if you're looking at it as an investment, totally doable.  I have some in nickel and brass but I know they are available in bamboo.  I like how there are several different options for interchangeable sets, but I haven't found a tip smaller than a size 4 and (as with most interchangeable sets) nothing shorter than a 24" cable.  For the money and the way I knit... I need a cheaper option. 

#7 Knit Picks Classic Circulars & #8 Knit picks Classic Circular in the Harmony Wood Option. Nice. I like them and I have a bunch. Only thing I don't like about them... I have to wait for them to show up in my mailbox, they aren't carried retail.  I really like the cable itself, it's pretty flexible and doesn't kink and the fixed circulars the join seems to work really well.  I haven't snagged on anything yet!  I'm a little disappointed that they don't have anything other than 16" for cable length in either the fixed or the interchangeable set.

#9 Options Zephyr Interchangeable Set from Knit Picks.  Trying to save my hubby some bucks (insert laughter) I went ahead and bought an interchangeable set last year.  I bought the acrylic tips because it was the cheapest option. Not knowing that I am a really tough knitter; I broke tips. More than once. No problem with Knit Picks though, they replaced them with very few questions asked. Their customer service is wonderful! I purchased some additional tips in larger sizes (all their sets have additional tips, cables, connectors that you can purchase separately)and got the harmony wood  figuring I might not be able to break them! So far so good!!

 I also didn't realize that buying an interchangeable set isn't the end all for knitting. Still going to need that one little 9" size 2 needle and maybe a size 3, 40incher.. the options are sort of limited with the interchangeable sets. No tips less than size 4 and the shortest cable is a 24". The cable is really nice though! It doesn't kink and it's really flexible.

So that's some of my needles and what I think of them.  My overall favorites are the cables on the Options Set and the Knitter's Pride. My favorite needles by far are always going to be the Addi's, but the Knitter's Pride is running a close second - if only for the cost!

Take a look at your needles and see what your favorite is!

Felted Dryer Balls

 I made dryer balls! Felted dryer balls!

What? You have no idea what those are??

Well....
They are little felted balls of wool that you stick in the laundry with your clothes!  Supposed to help dry clothes faster with less static!
I've been wanting to make some for a while now because the dryer sheets I use really aren't good for you. They aren't good for anyone apparently. * A little Internet search for how good (or bad) dryer sheets are for you and your clothes will prove my point - look it up!    They are perfectly benign just sitting in the boxes smelling all wonderful, but once you add them to the dryer and turn on the heat.... look out!  **The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) does not monitor dryer sheets... the chemicals that are IN dryer sheets in big amounts ARE listed on the EPA's waste list... I'm just saying that these chemicals are in my dryer sheets and they are released with heat.  I don't know about your dryer sheets.... really! This is just a little food for thought.
I know, I know... dryer sheets are nice! No static electrical zaps when you flip your sheets over in the middle of the night! No socks stuck to the back of your shirt! They really do work, but... wanting to have less chemicals in my life and make less of an impact on the planet.... I needed to really consider dryer balls!
I'm totally going for  a non-chemical, more natural way to get soft clothes with less static buildup!  Everything that I've read on dryer balls makes me think that they are going to work by separating and fluffing fibres in the clothing fabric.  The soft nodules of the wool should massage the clothing fibers and open them up, which leads to softer clothes and by lifting and separating the clothes in the dryer, they should dry faster!  No more wadded up ball of clothes! Less drying time, more humidity (the wool should trap some moisture!) means less static!  I don't think it will eliminate the static completely, but since dryer sheets release their softening, static eliminating chemicals with the heat of the dryer......and dryer balls don't.... I needed to make some dryer balls!
There is a lot of information out there on the world wide web and it can be overwhelming... so here is what I did & it's a compilation of a bunch of tutorials, notes, etc.  I did try a few of the tutorials I found and then tried combining methods and this is what I found works for me! AND Yes!! Yes they do work! Not 100% sold on the no-static thing yet but I'm willing to keep using these to see how it works - which may have to be this winter because the drying rack I have and all the sunshine we get, eliminates the need to use the dryer right now!

Wool, Roving, Lavender

Step 1 - get some wool! 100% wool! No super wash and nothing really expensive! 
I used some roving I had for the center part of the ball *not necessary but it does mean you can use less yarn! You can use a toe of an old nylon, some acrylic yarn, piece of felt... whatever to make a center core!
The red yarn is 100% wool- suitable for felting. I paid $1 each ball on sale!

Lavender in the center core

Lavender! Not necessary but I really like the smell of lavender so I added it!

Step 3 making the center core bigger

Step 2 - take a bit of roving (or yarn or even an old piece of nylon) and make a little pouch to put some lavender in and then roll it into a tight little ball!
Step 3 - keep adding some roving (or yarn) until you get a center core that fits into your hand. *commercial dryer balls seem to be about the size of a baseball or softball with a center core roughly palm sized. I used more roving because I had it. You could totally use an old nylon piece, a piece of felt anything really!

Step 4- now start winding your 100% wool yarn around and around that center core. Wrap it tight!

Step 4- wrap the yarn around the core

I made mine about this big!

Keep going! Around & around and around! Until you get a ball (or two or three!)

Step 5- Sausage Dryer Balls

Step 5 - put each ball into some old nylon's. *I had to actually go out and buy some cheap knee high stockings! I haven't owned any in years! Cost just over a $1!  I put one ball down at the toe, tied it tight, added the next one and so on until I had a nylon, wool ball sausage thingy!
Step 6- felt those babies! Throw the whole 'sausgage' into the washer with towels, jeans, something heavy(ish) that will move them around a lot. AND something you can wash in hot water! Just a note here... it may take a couple of washes in hot water to get them felted really nicely, but remember each time you use them they will felt a little more too!

Ta-Da!! Felted Dryer Balls - and they smell yummy too!!
You will need to make several - one ball isn't really going to lift & separate your laundry all by itself!
Just throw a couple (I'm going for 3) into your dryer the next time you put clothes in there and let them do their job! It sounds a little loud, but the clothes do seem to dry faster and so far they weren't filled with static! Towels were soft and oh... that lavender I added.... lovely!
The balls should last about 5 years but if they start to fall apart.... I'm just going to make more!

A Big Friday In!

What do you get when you add hot glue, crocheted circles and a plastic lamp shade together?  A very exciting Friday night?
Yep.  That's what you get at my house!

A few weeks ago my friend MT & I were at the thrift store and we spotted these...

Zippy bags full of crocheted circles!   I'm sure there is a name for these but since I only know Granny Square and these aren't square, circles it is!   I bought 2 bags just because my creative wheels were spinning!  Oh the things I could do with these.  

 Not all of the circles were the same, they were multi-colored, multi-sized but just screaming for something wonderful to be made out of them!   Who am I to ignore screaming yarn things?  Well... I did ignore them for a while!  Several weeks after I had to have   bought them,  I finally knew just what they were going to morph into!

A little trip to Ikea for this rather boring, plain Jane ol' plastic lampshade... shh.... It was Big's choice to go to Ikea on 'date day' so I grudgingly (ha!) went along...

It comes flat and all you do is snap the two ends together, plunk in the metal bar that holds it on the lamp - in this case suspends it from the light kit and then you have a lamp shade. How boring is that? That's where the crochet circles come in!!

I dumped the circles out on the floor, trying to be random but pretty soon I noticed that I had separated all the circles into their own little color piles. Sigh. No random anything here in OCD land!

A little (okay lot) hot glue action and one burn later...

Ta-Da!! 

 A very not so boring lampshade!  It looks a lot better in person (honest!) and even the boys' think it is well.... 'interesting'!

How's that for some thrift store finds and a big night out in at the Cupcake house?

I like it!

How does your Hubby spell Knitting?

My husband thinks that knitting is spelled like this... K n i t t i n g S t o r e.  Or maybe he thinks it is spelled like this... m o n e y.  Poor guy really does know how to spell but every time I start a new project it usually involves running off to some knitting store.
Today was no exception! I've been working on the sweater vest for Wild Thing the last few days and am so ready to start the finishing, but.... darnitall!  My stitch marker box has been AWOL (absent without leave) for about a week.  I can't use regular old yarn stitch markers, I have to have the locking kind! That meant it was off to the knitting store for Big & Schi-Schu today!!  Go me!!
 I really didn't want to spend our 'date' day at the yarn store and honestly, I didn't think I could talk him in to it either, so I casually suggested that we stop at Joann's as we were driving by.  It wasn't out of the way or anything!  Joke really was on Big though because I 'let' him talk me into stopping at Ikea! Which is really funny but that's what he chose to do!   I did try to play nice and do one of those "it's okay Honey. Really. You don't have to go in with me, I will just zip in, pick up what I need and be back out in like 5 minutes."  I don't think he believed me because he went in with me!  Probably just to make sure that none of the yarn grabbed me and made me stay more than those promised five minutes!  It was  one of the fastest trips in and out of Joann's in my recorded history, but.... I did manage to grab a skein of yarn (shh) as well as my stitch markers!  Gee... you gonna give me a hard time about one measly skein of yarn too?  It's not even for me!  It's for my friend G!  She wants to make a ruffly scarf and I've never seen this particular kind of yarn for less than $10 so of course I had to grab her some!
Anyway... back on track.....
Why do you need more locking stitch markers asks my hubby? To finish this vest for Wild Thing of course!  I thought you were almost done with that and besides his birthday isn't until October... yeah. I shut him down pretty fast on that one..... well... we did go to Ikea after all!  LOL  He doesn't really mind going to the knitting store, he just likes to give me a hard time!
In case you are wondering why I needed more stitch markers.....
I've decided to once again try something new! A little pre-planning for picking up stitches along the arm edges and the neck facing! Just to make sure that it all comes out even (AND I don't have to do it 12 times!)
I'm supposed to pick up 72 stitches along each arm edge, starting at the middle of the bottom. Thinking that this should all be sort of even (it may look better!) I'm taking the stitch markers and placing them at regular(ish) intervals all along where I'm supposed to pick up those 72 stitches.

See? Evenly spaced out (sorta)!  I'm hoping that this way I can evenly space the stitches out and not have big gaps.  I hate gaps.  I always rip them out and start over and I've been known to do it multiple times!  The plan this time is to just avoid it!  So keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned! I will let you know how my plan goes!~

Something New!

I learned something new today!!
I've been putting off working on Wild Thing's sweater vest because the thought of the Three Needle Bind Off was a little daunting.  Ha ha!  I didn't learn that I put stuff off... I learned that the three needle bind off is super simple!
Ha!  Once again it was me putting my knitting on a pedestal!  (Yes CS... insert whatever noun you like there!)  I do this kind of stuff all the time.  I think too much about it, I worry about it and think I can't.  Cables?  Um... yeah... did that with those as well!
Three needle bind off is just that.  A bind off using more needles than usual! That was the scary part!  You just use 3 needles instead of 2!  It's a way of grafting stuff together without Kitchener stitching and it's really pretty cool!  The seam is practically invisible. IF you make sure all of your stitches are going the same way when you bind them off! Sigh.... don't ask how I know this. Just don't.
It starts out a lot like grafting using the kitchener stitch. You have 2 sets of live stitches (the ends of WT's sweater vest!) and you put them onto needles. *I used DPN's because I didn't have to move from my chair to go get them!*  Face the needles and the stitches the same way and then bind off using a third needle.  See?  3 needles to bind off.  Duh.  What's so hard about that?!   Absolutely NOTHING!

The left side is bound off... the right side is waiting!  Just need to slip the front 7 stitches onto a needle, slip the back stitches onto another. Grab a third needle and...

knit one from the front needle and one from the back AT THE SAME TIME!

Now I have 2 stitches on the right needle....

Just do a regular ol' bind off stitch now!  Slip the first stitch over the second ..

AND DO IT AGAIN!!  All the way to the end!

This is what it looks like on the inside!

And this is what it looks like on the outside!

Doing the left side (as you are looking at my picture!) took less than 5 minutes! So... 5 minutes for the other side and then all I have to do is pick up stitches along the neck edge and each arm opening!  Then a few rows of ribbing and this little baby should be all ready for Wild Thing and his birthday in October!

A Vest for Wild Thing

My little buddy 'Wild Thing' turns 4 at the end of October. Why I felt I needed to start a birthday present for him now.... I'll never probably know, but start it I did!
I actually cast on the bottom edge last week (Wednesday at Royal Knitting!) and made it almost all the way up to the armpits. This is where I realized that I had not only made a size too large for this kid but somehow I had ended up with enough stitches that made it huge! I don't think it would have ever fit this kid!   Wow. I have no idea what I did, but seriously I think I was in the neighborhood of making a size 10 ~ for a much larger animal!  I was shooting for a  boy animal size 4! 
I love how I find out things when I knit. How to do stuff, how to make stuff work, how to NOT do something and well... just  loads of interesting things become apparent when I knit! Yeah, so most of the things I realize are from mistakes, but.... learning from mistakes is a good thing! Right?
This is what I've learned from this little sweater vest!   Frogging! Frogging is so much easier if I use my ball winder! It goes so much faster if I just pay attention to what the heck I'm doing, but sigh! The ball winder to frog the vest was really kind of fun!!

Starting over on this little vest was a really good idea so after ball winder/frogging I started over on Sunday and now that  today is Thursday,  I'm almost done!!  I just have to do a 3 needle bind off at the top of the shoulders (another new thing for me!) and then pick up stitches along the arm holes and neck edging and then complete a ribbed edge!  Woot!!  I even got a little adventerous and deviated from the pattern (who? Me? Never would have thought that now would ya?!) and added a little stripe on the front! The V neck with a ribbed edge will come from the top to the top white stripe. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but there are 2 top straps on each end of that gold stitch holder. They run in a v point down to the stripey section! I don't normally stray off the pattern path but in this case, the pattern is super simple and I wanted to have a little bit of Wild Thing's sister's dress in here! Just because I'm sure their Mom would totally smirk at the 'matchy matchy' thing!!
* Miss Butter's dress was made from the same yarn - Berroco Remix
Here are the pattern particulars:
www.knittingpureandsimple.com
#256 Simple Vest
#266 Little Girls Sundress
Berroco Remix - 100% recycled fibers and WASHABLE!!

Rippin' It

Don't you just hate it when you are happily knitting away and then all of a sudden... (insert ominous music) darn it all!  A mistake!  *Insert Pirate expletive*   Grrr.
 I hate when that happens.  Because it means that I either have to chuck it all and start over (shh sometimes I start with another ball of yarn) or just start ripping out my knitting.   Rip it, rip it, rip it!
Have I ever told you how much I hate rippin' it?  Yeah.  I do.  Almost as much as I hate socks.  LOL
IF it's just one or two stitches that I've dropped somewhere along the way, that's no big deal.  I'm a whiz at picking those babies up.  I just grab a crochet hook, stick it into the dropped stitches and wait until I get back around to where they are.  I then just 'hook' them back up all the way to the top.  Wa-la!  No big deal.  BUT if it's a bigger problem than that... I just have to rip it.  Grrr.
I've been working on a little vest for my 3 year old buddy 'Wild Thing'.  It's really cute (LINK) and 'WT' is really cute so I figured it was going to be one of those no brainer, easy peasy projects.  Um... yeah... that's what I get for thinkin'!  I'm making it for his birthday (not until October) so I planned on making a bigger size for him than what he is wearing right now.  *Insert sighing and eye rolling here please*
What I didn't plan on was that the size I was making would magically make itself 2 sizes bigger than what I had circled on the pattern.  I did count!  I DID!  I double checked myself all the way through until I got up to the point where I needed to divide and bind off for the arm pits........ what?!  That's where I discovered that I obviously either counted wrong, or just cast on way too many stitches in the first place.  I tried decreasing but.... still.... this vest might have fit 'WT' when he was much (much) older.  So... what's left?  What else can I try now?
Yippee.
Let's rip.
Whoop.   Not.
So I start ripping out my work, *yes you may insert pirate expletives here*.   I'm ripping away and Big comes up and says.... "Hey!  Why don't you use your ball winder to wind that up?"   What?!
A guy (and a non knitting guy at that!) suggests a really helpful and why this never occurred to me until right now... idea.   Okay, okay... it didn't occur to me UNTIL after he suggested it.   DUH!! USE YOUR BALL WINDER to rip stuff out.

So that's just what I'm doing.  Wow.  It really isn't bad, this ripping out stuff... with a ball winder!!
It makes perfect sense and it really does work.  Why it never occurred to me before I will never know, but from now on.... this is exactly what I'm going to do when I rip it!!
Now the only thing I have to do is NEVER (ever) let Big know that I hadn't thought to use the ball winder for this before.  Shh.