Needle Felted Sea Horse Ornament

When I was at Stitches Midwest 2013, I got to try out needle felting for the first time.  The felting process went WAY more quickly than I could have ever expected.  I knew immediately that this was something I wanted to explore further when I got home, so I picked up a fun ornament kit from the Esther's Place booth.  (I got this kit primarily so I could have a foam block and needle for felting a 3D penguin from another kit I purchased, but I wanted to get some additional felting practice before attempting this more complex project.)

  

The directions look pretty simple.  First I will be making a plain purple base out of the dominant color provided.  I'm not sure if there was variation to the color when I purchased it, or if it faded a bit in the sun, but either way I am excited to get to work.  The one thing I really don't know is how thick I need to make my piece of felt.  I started with 6 g of fiber total.  I also knew that I wanted to hold some purple back so that the other colors wouldn't dominate my piece.  For the first pass, I filled the cookie cutter with fluffed up fiber and still had plenty of purple left over.  

It didn't take a lot of poking before it got really flat.  Once again, I was amazed by the speed which the needle felting needle felts the fiber.  

After the first pass on one side, I actually have something that resembles a sea horse.  You can see a lot of holes from where the needle has gone through, but maybe this will be resolved better as I proceed.  

When I flipped it over i decided to add a little more purple fiber to the back because it looked thin in places.   When I flipped back to the RS again I tried to really focus on the points so I could get some more definition from the horns and back fin.  

I mixed some of the black, purple and blue fibers with the sparkly bits to apply this in some spirals to the top of the sea horse.  We'll see how it comes out!  

The Stellina (sparkly bits) was sticking up all over the place so I needed to add some more fiber on top.  I added a really thin layer of purple to help felt these unfeltable fibers down.  

I removed the cookie cutter and it looks great!  Before picking it all up i used my needle to focus on the edges a bit to help define them.  

The backside is so fuzzy!  I also went around the edges on the backside to help make things more secure.  

I'm not sure if all felted 2D ornaments need to be this thick, but my first ornament certainly looks sturdy. 

Now all I need to do is add a loop so it can be hung from something!  (And use the extra fiber to make up some more needle felted ornaments.)  I have some fun cookie cutters that I got with my mom this summer so I think that I will use up the fiber from this kit really quickly.  

The final piece weighs 2 g and is 5" long.  

Dyeing Sock Blanks for Long gradients of color

I have always wanted to dye some sock blanks, but I thought it was unfortunate that they only came in sock weight yarn.  What if I wanted to hand dye long colorways or stripes on a thicker yarn?  Last summer I purchased the Singer Knitting Machine from Amazon to create my own blanks.  The knitting machine isn't the easiest thing to work with, but for $30 it is worth figuring out if this is something I'd like to upgrade in the future.

I took a blank I created out of KnitPicks Bulky WotA yarn, dyebath of 8 cups of water + 3T white vinegar, 30 drops green food coloring and 17 drops yellow drops of food coloring to create a gradual gradient.  In the following video, I do not demonstrate the unravelling of the blank or anything that I knit with the blank.

Baby LAB Christmas Stocking

Through my pregnancy, I knew that I wanted to design a Christmas Stocking for our baby.  I decided to make it be a three color stocking to incorporate the colors from both Keith's and my Christmas Stocking Designs.  The telemark line of yarn from KnitPicks that I used for our stockings is no longer available, but the Wool of the Andes Sport yarn is a reasonable substitution.

Little Lucky's stocking is probably how it would have been whether he were a boy or a girl.  If there were any themes that we requested for baby items they were "Under the Sea" or "Dinosaurs".  (My favorite movie of all time is Jurassic Park.)  For my favorite movie, Lucky gets a big dinosaur, which also happens to play back to his father's stocking.  For the sea, Lucky gets some dancing turtles.  And for Keith's favorite movie, Darth Vader's TIE fighter.

This stocking is knit in the round as a tube with an afterthought heel.  The pattern is identical on both sides.

Materials

• KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Sport in three colors: White (MC - 46 g/126 yards ), Grass (Green; CC1 - 35 g/96 yards) and Winter Night (Blue; CC2 - 19 g/53 yards)
• Needles: 5 US Size 5 (3.75 mm) Double Pointed needles or circular needles with a cable long enough for a magic loop.  
• Gauge (post light blocking): 22 sts/4"; 23 rows/4" over colorwork stockinette.
• Notions: Yarn Needle for weaving in loose ends, Pins and blocking mat for light blocking (optional)
• Finished Size (post light blocking): 6.26" wide x 21" cuff to toe.  

Abbreviations

• MC - Main Color
• CC1/CC2 - Contrasting Color 1 or 2
• K - Knit
• P - Purl
• Sts - stitches
• SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over. 
• K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.  

The Chart -  There are 119 rows to the chart total (not counting the row illustrating the afterthought heel - shown in grey and yellow). See the written instructions below for further afterthought heel instructions!

You can also access the excel document of the chart so you can enter your own initials (Note: you will need to save the document as another file before you can edit it). Unfortunately the Celtic Cross Stitch generator is no longer functional, so you will need to design your own letters or use another alphabet knitting chart.  Check out my tutorial on how to make knitting charts in Excel to help with making changes.

   

The LAB Stocking chart split into two images.  Open these charts in a new window to view at a higher resolution.  

The LAB Socking Knitting Pattern Instructions  

• Cast on 70 stitches in MC. I arranged the stitches on 4 double pointed needles as follows: 20, 15, 20, 15.
• Join in the round, and begin to work the chart (see below). The first two knit rows are the first two rows in white on the chart. The chart is followed starting at the bottom, and working from right to left.  When you substitute your own initials, make sure that you turn them upside down to knit. Since we are knitting the stocking from top down, if you were to leave the chart as you expect to see it in the finished product you would end up with upside down letters.  
• Setting up the Afterthought Heel: After the third section has been completed, we will use some waste yarn to set aside stitches for the afterthought heel. This occurs after row 77, and before row 78 of the chart (see the yellow stitches below). You will have completed one complete row in CC1.
  
  
  Rearrange the stitches on the four needles as follows: 18, 17, 18, 17. Using waste yarn (I recommend using a color that is not MC or CC), Knit across the 35 stitches of needles 2 and 3. Turn the work and purl back across needles 3 and 2. The stitches that you are knitting are shown highlighted in yellow in the chart above. The stitches shaded in gray are not knit.
  
  
• Resume the chart (in the turtle section), starting with working one complete row in CC1.
• Follow the rest of the chart, ending with one CC1 row.  
• Decreases for the toes using CC1 (starting with 70 sts)
  
  • *K5, K2tog* repeat across (60 sts)
  • K 1 row even
  • *K4, K2tog* repeat across (50 sts)
  • K 1 row even
  • *K3, K2tog* repeat across (40 sts)
  • K 1 round even
  • *K2, K2tog* repeat across (30 sts)
  • K 1 round even
  • *K1, K2tog* repeat across (20 sts)
  • K 1 round even
  • K2tog across (10 sts)
  • K2tog across (5 sts)
  • Cut yarn, pull through the remaining 5 stitches and weave in loose ends.
• Knitting the Afterthought heel (in CC1)
  
  • Pick up 70 stitches of the CC1 that is on either side of the waste yarn, cut waste yarn and remove from stocking. (I found it easier to pick up stitches from the inside of the stocking with a smaller needle than those used to knit the stocking.)
    
    

    Pictures from the KAB Stocking.
  • Knit one round even, (70 stitches). To minimize gaps, I will sometimes pick up and decease extra stitches at the edges, or else you can stitch these closed after you finish the heel. 
  • Decrease as instructed for toe decreases
    
• Braided tie
• For the tie, I cut 3 - 24" pieces of yarn in each of the three colors (1 green, 1 blue, and 1 white) and braided them. I then wove these into the hanging corner (I went in and out of the knit fabric more than one time so it would be sturdy when hung).
  
  
  Attaching the tie on the KAB stocking: Red line is where the braid is on the outside of the stocking, blue dashed line is where the braid is on the inside of the stocking.
• Tie a bow, hang and admire! (I used a bow rather than a loop so I would not be limited to hooks to hang the stocking)
• Finishing - Weave in loose ends and then Block (Optional.) I basted the top of the stocking together with white yarn and then soaked it in luke warm water for 30 min before lightly pinning it out.  This will even out the fabric.  

Pictures Through Construction

While knitting the stocking, I realized that the color "Drift" from telemark is more of an off white than a pure white like I'm using here.  I wish there had been a more off white option for Lucky's stocking, but I am still happy with the outcome.

I started making this stocking on 9/9/13, so over a month before Lucky's scheduled arrival.  We had yet to purchase or construct anything with his name on it so this was very exciting for me.

With my first picture of the completed dino, I rolled up past the initials so that no one could see them!  I will be sharing the dino chart as a stand-alone chart in early 2014.

I felt euphoric after completing the entire chart.  After all, I'm close to being done with the stocking and I have not yet gone into labor!  My goal of completing the stocking before the baby arrives is right on target.  

The unblocked stocking

The stocking on the blocking board.

Some light wet blocking helps to even out the stitches and aid the shape of the heel.

I love my family!

Newborn Lucky with his stocking

Other Christmas Stocking Designs by ChemKnits

• RFR/RFB Christmas Stocking Knitting Pattern - My stocking with a snowflake and heme molecule inspired design.
• KAB Christmas Stocking Knitting Pattern - Keith's stocking with space invaders and a dinosaur playing guitar.
• Indy's Puppy Christmas Stocking Knitting Pattern - A stocking fit for a puppy prince with the name enclosed in a bone, a silhouette of a dog, paw prints and fire hydrants.  
• Richter Family Christmas Stocking Knitting Pattern - A different style of stocking, this vintage pattern was reverse engineered to keep up a family tradition.  

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Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
K - knit
P - purl
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.
MC - Main Color
CC - Contrast Color

This this pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. This pattern is not to be replicated, sold or redistributed without permission from ChemKnits. © 2013 ChemKnits

Dyeing Yarn with Wine

Have you ever stained anything with red wine?  I decided that it would be fun to intentionally dye some fibers with wine, wool yarn.  I started with 100g of bare palette yarn and 1 bottle of Charles Shaw Merlot.  I added 4 cups of water to increase the amount of liquid, and the pH was just as acidic as the vinegar based dyebaths I typically use.  I allowed the yarn to simmer for over an hour in the wine solution and then cool overnight to give as much opportunity for color to bind to the yarn as possible  Did this experiment work?  Watch to find out!

Welcome Baby Lucky!

I am pleased and honored to introduce you to the newest member of the ChemKnits family, Baby "Lucky"!

Lucky in his hand dyed, hand spun and hand knit baby pod.  

For the first time ever, I am going to give you a sneak peek of a ChemKnits design, Lucky's Christmas Stocking.  (The free pattern will be available here at ChemKnits in the next week.)

There will be many posts in the next few months of items that I made for Lucky but lack photos.  This is because the items, and posts, were completed before he was born.  But don't worry, there will be other photos coming!  

Tiger Woobie

This year has certainly been the year of babies.  As I prepared to welcome my own baby into the world, there were multiple other important babies that needed special projects of their very own.  I selected the Woobie Kitty pattern for some family/friends.  It is a great gender neutral project for people who don't have a strong color preference.

I was given the entire Woobie Patterns Collection - Series 1 as a Random Act of Kindness (RAK) gift for being an expectant mother.  I have earmarked other woobies for certain parents when the time comes.  I cannot wait to create them all!

My harmony options needle set doesn't get small enough for this project.  Thankfully I needed to hit the $50 free shipping mark and SunStruck needles were on sale.  I loved the opportunity to add a size 3 - 32" fixed circular set to my collection!  I knit this woobie on size 3 (3.25 mm) knitting needles and KnitPicks Shine Sport yarn in White (57 g, 126 yards) and Clementine (119 g, 262 yards).  

I decided to try this picot edging without doing a provincial cast on.  Provincial castons and I have not gotten along very well, and I know that I could pick up the long tail CO stitches where directed.   I ended up with not such a long tail, but it should work out.

Not quite the long tail!

The day I started this project, I really needed to be working on my fish project, but I knew that this would be an easier one to bring with me to crochet club.  Why do I always start these projects the morning of?  

Notes from Construction

• Clementine Ball 1 finished in the middle of row 16.    
• Picking up stitches from the cast on edge to close the picot edge worked beautifully (see above pictures.)  
• After the 7th white stripe, I noted something off with my stitch counts.  In between markers, I counted 49, 48, 47, 48 sts.  Now I clearly messed up with replacing the markers after the picot round, and I'm not going to rip back to fix that.  However, I am a bit confused about the numbers.  I would have expected the division to be odd rather than even.  I am going to continue to the decreases as written until I have an average of 36 stitches in between each marker.  (And then add the second decrease.)  I'm willing to fudge things a bit until I get to the kitty center.  
• Clementine ball 2 finished in the middle of Orange stripe 9 (decrease round - not counting edging as a stripe.)  
• Before white stripe 10 decrease we have 39, 38, 37, 38 sts.  
• Before orange stripe 10 decrease we have 37, 36, 35, 36 sts (144 sts total).    Continue the cdd as written so there are 35, 34, 33, 34 sts.  136 sts where it should be 140 at this point.  We somehow have 4 too few stitches, which is a secondary issue to the miss-aligned stitches.  
• Next decrease round (CC): K15, CDD, PM, K15, CDD, K14, K2tog, PM, K15, CDD, K15, PM, K15, CDD, K14, K2tog, PM, K15, CDD (with the first stitch of the previous round.)   There now should be 124 sts and evenly spread between the original markers (31 sts - alternating 15 or 16 sts between the 8 markers.)  Please note that the new decreases in the rounds are NOT perfectly centered in accordance with the original instructions. The way for them to be centered would be to have even # of sts in each round.  I then continued instructions as written.  
• I reached 28 sts at the end of the 14th white stripe.  I switched to MC to knit around before the "next rnd" decreases
  
  
• After the stitches were cris crossed to secure the center - I made sure to keep the yarn tails behind the first stitch to mark the beginning of the round.
  
  
• White ball 1 completed in head round 8.  
• None of the other projects on Ravelry show the back of the head, so here is a quick little view.
  
  
• The ear pieces took very little time to knit.
  
  
• I used scraps of palette in black and hand-dyed green for the embroidery.  I was worried that these would be easily pulled out by a little toddler fingers, so I secured them with a bit of non-toxic glue.  

I am so happy with the way this little woobie came out!  Now I just need to cast on the woobie for my own child.  What animal do you think I'm going to create?  

Magic Crochet Rings

I am a novice crocheter.  One of the first amazing techniques I learned was the magic circle/magic ring technique.  This was the first crochet technique that I was able to teach to other people.

Imagine my excitement at crochet club when people asked if anyone knew how to do a magic ring.  After teaching it to more experienced crocheters, I knew that I wanted to demonstrate it on a video.  Unfortunately my crochet terminology is not yet up to par, but hopefully you can understand this simple technique for starting off crochet circles in the two videos below.