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When I returned from work on Friday night, my partner told me that a friend of ours had delivered a baby boy!
His arrival surprised us and we hadn’t finished his present yet, so we set to work (after stopping at the store Saturday morning for some very soft baby yarn) making things to keep him nice and warm so he can stay healthy! We weren’t sure what size his head is (and we’re in a completely different country so no easy visiting), so we made several sizes.
My partner learned to make hats and made the two on the left. The photo doesn’t quite show it, but the yarn is a nice minty green with small flecks of pink and blue throughout. Those are with double knitting weight yarn. I made a pumpkin hat that will hopefully fit him sometime in the next two months for Halloween or Thanksgiving, and a pair of baby tube socks. I looked around at various craft forums (including several on Ravelry!) and read that most parents used socks more frequently than booties because they stayed on better.
So, I decided to learn how to make socks…with 4-ply yarn no less! This included sitting with the double pointed needles a bit and finally getting it thanks to my trusty “Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework”, and also learning how to graft toes together. I used this pattern for the socks and this tutorial for grafting.
All weekend we crafted- it seemed like the most important thing to do-and got the package ready to send for the beginning of the week!
[This post has been edited for corrections]
Two of the most popular searches bringing visitors to this blog are something along the lines of “free crochet pattern for beanies” and “t-shirt rag rug” so I figured I’d tell you how they work!
I don’t actually have a pattern which is great for you and enables you to use any hook, yarn, or stitch.
When I make beanies (like this one), I usually use single crochet (US- Double in the UK) stitches.
The key to any increasing in the round, is to increase each row by the number of stitches you’ve started with. My favourite number to use is 6. To increase, you simply work two stitches in the place of one.
I start with a chain of around 4, slip stitched together, and then work 6 stitches into that chain. From there, you just have to add 6 stitches to each row, evenly spaced.
Base row: 6 stitches
From here, the ending number is not a matter of the row times 6, but rather in anticipation of the next row multiplied by six.
1st row: increase every stitch, ending with 12.
2nd row: increase in every second stitch (6×2 is 12, but you should have 12 beginning the 2nd row and 18 to start the 3rd.
*increase in every third stitch (end with 24)
*increase on every 4th (end with 30)….
Each new time around is a row in this case- so the 6s are one row, the 12s are another row…
For hats, I tend to count each row since I make them in one sitting. The main thing to remember is that on the 4th row, you’ll only increase every 4th stitch and should end up with 30 stitches (5 x6). For the 5th row, every 5th stitch and 36 (6 x6) total…
For rugs this is the entire ‘pattern’ and I usually slip in 6 contrasting pieces of yarn like this rug here. That way, I can easily see where to increase when I come back to the project instead of counting. Here’s another example of a rag rug I’ve worked on.
This is where the ‘winging it’ bit comes in. For hats, I increase until I have a circle slightly smaller than the crown of the recipient’s head and then stop increasing each round. The yarn and stitch will influence how quickly the increase stops and the sides ‘begin’. Perhaps this isn’t clear, but as you work your first few regular, non-increasing rounds it will seem as though increasing is still happening. That is what creates the gentle curve into the side of the hat and why I stop increasing just before the ‘perfect’ size.
The more you make hats this way the more you’ll be able to tell when it will turn into the sides. Usually around 2-4 rows with a DK or worsted weight yarn.
Once the sides are long enough, slip stitch the last stitch to ‘even up’ the bottom, and do a row of decorative crab stitch (also reverse single crochet) around the edge! Here are links to reverse single directions and a video.
If this isn’t clear enough feel free to ask questions and I’ll clarify. If you do end up making your first beanie this way, let me know how it turns out!
There are a lot of birthdays happening in the next few weeks, including those of two friends this weekend. Each gift fit inside the recipient’s birthday card which cuts down on waste and adds a nice surprise to the card opening!
For Friday’s birthday girl, I made a pouch with purple fruit fabric that just screamed out her name! I knew she had to have something made from it and first thought of the zip pouch I had made in May. Luckily before cutting, I realised I didn’t have enough fabric for that one, so I just winged it…and tried to do french seams with a zipper in the way. It worked so perfectly in my head. At first I was very unhappy with it and the visible zipper bulge inside, but I messed around some, reinforced the sewing near the top. I thought of making her a new one, but I wanted her to have that fabric. After my partner did a little pep-talk and reminded me of what a sweet friend she is anyway, I decided to give it to her and she ended up liking it. Next time, I’ll practice with ugly fabric unless I’m sure of the end result!
Another birthday celebration is tonight and I made this b-day girl a bookmark. Its cotton yarn with glass beads. Since it’s her 30th, I’ve put 30 beads on the ends to symbolize 30 wishes for her year ahead. She’s very particular in her fashion style (which is always glamorous) and I figured that something pretty (hopefully!) and practical would do the trick. I used this pattern and will definitely make a few more in the future!
Today’s the last day of summer and I ended up leaving the boathouse with a handful of flowers which had been broken when some teammates were gardening. I like the idea of flowers brightening the house as we step over the threshold into Autumn!
That’s a line in the song from a TV movie Alice in Wonderland that filled my childhood. I don’t mean I watched it all the time, although we did have it on tape, but anyone my age can probably quote a song or scene from it. Here’s a link to what I’m talking about and I’m very excited to find a video clip for your viewing pleasure! I haven’t heard this song in years! All the better for you to understand what song was in my head as I mixed and mixed the jam for hours!
With the blackberries I picked last week I decided to try my hand at making jam and it worked!
I washed and weighed the blackberries, then added them to a large pot. I added the same amount of sugar into the pot, which seemed like it was too much and made me nervous that the jam would just taste like sugar! Then, I cut up two large cooking apples (good old British Bramleys in this case) and added it to the pot. Apples have enough pectin to skip purchasing any. I wasn’t sure how many apples I’d need and the two bramleys were just under the same amount of fruit. Probably about 3/4 the weight of the blackberries. This is what it looked like when I started.
I kept the pot on a very low heat, stirring quite a bit at the beginning. Soon, it looked like the photo below. I found it amusing that the blackberries had dyed the apple to look like mini watermelons!
At this point I put the lid on and came back to stir it every 10 minutes. It seemed more like fruit soup. Once the apples seemed soft enough, I smashed everything with a potato masher. With an even consistency, I began to see its jam potential. I left the lid off and went to check on it every so often (I really don’t know because we were watching a movie) and give it a stir. The heat was the lowest it could be and still count as on.
When it seemed thicker a few hours later (1 and a half? 2?), I took a tiny spoon, scooped a bit out and waited to see if it would set by sticking it in the fridge. This is the fun part- if you’re impatient like me, you’ll test it often and get to eat the ‘failed research’! Once it seemed hard enough I warmed up the jar with very hot water for a bit to make sure it wouldn’t crack when I poured the hot jam in. Once it was in, I set the jar on the counter covered with a tea towel/dish-towel overnight to cool. In the morning, I had blackberry jam! No sugar or apple flavour! Next time I make jam with sweet fruit, I’ll cut down on the sugar to see how much I can get away with. I’m already thinking about making apple jam since “apple jelly” is a flavour I just can’t get here!
Refashioning an old refashion
When my mom was pregnant with me 29 years ago, she had a pair of red plaid flannel pajamas. At some point in my very early childhood, she took the legs of those pajamas and made two scarves: one for my dad and one for me. This has always been one of my favourite scarves but unless it’s tucked into my sweater or coat, I’m afraid to run riot with it around my neck for fear that it would fall off. This summer when I was over in the U.S. visiting my parents, my dad gave me his half. I sewed them together at one end and now have the best scarf ever! I wore it while frolicking at a castle yesterday, so I know its safe when wrapped!
Autumn starts almost hesitantly in Scotland. You cannot base its arrival on the beginning of the school year, for that is in August. You must scrutinize leaves all around town, noting the faint appearance of reds in a few. I would say that it is an early Autumn here compared what I’m used to, but mostly, it is a short one. The trees never seem to coordinate with one another and as one is reaching the early stages of colour, the next will have shed its coat entirely. One sure indicator, however, is the blackberries. Once they have ripened, you’ll be sure to smell the sweet decaying leaves and moist earth as nature tucks itself in for the winter.
During a study break today, I noticed that rain stopped and the sun was shining! Remembering the almost ripe berries I walked past last weekend, I decided that it was time to get outside. While I was afraid that I would be a few days late I was actually a few days before peak, with plenty more berries to ripen. For the past 3 blackberry harvests since moving here, I have made blackberry pie. Its such a delicious treat that for us acknowledges the end of Summer, that its hard to deviate from the growing tradition. Still, I have been thinking about trying out making jams…and if I have time, you’ll see the results! I don’t have a decent shot of the blackberries on the vine since it was amazingly windy when my hands were clean enough to handle the camera. One thing I love about picking blackberries- or actually, playing anywhere! – in Scotland, is that there is no poison ivy to worry about. I always find myself cautious when thinking about stepping further into the bushes for a better reach, only to remember with relief that there’s no poison ivy in the whole country!
I also spotted some rose-hips that I hadn’t noticed when picking blackberries last year and have some ideas in the works for when they’re ripe!
One food that I think of without fail every Fall, is acorns. In my parents’ house the whole front yard is carpeted in them and by the end of October, every step is accompanied by the dried crunching of the nuts underfoot. I have memories of my mom making acorn bread, and roast-acorn “coffee”…and when picking blackberries I found I was distracted by the desire to harvest acorns as well. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any oak trees in this town, let alone several. This weekend we’re planning on driving a bit north to check out some Historic Scotland sites, so I’ll keep my eyes open for a possible return trip later in the season.
While my mom is excellent at finding edibles in the U.S. (literally, the whole country- she’s well travelled) and she’s taught me basic PA foods, I’ve been timid about checking out Britain’s foods, since I can’t bring them to her for inspection. My fall stock-piling instincts are strong this week and I’ve decided to get more into it here. Playing around online I found some interesting websites for food in Britain.
Acorn ideas at these two websites. Wild foods and remedies at these two sites based in the U.K. Two extensive sites which deal with becoming self sufficient and a database of edible and medicinal plants.
Finally, an enthusiastic attempt at making vegetable kimchi which yielded mediocre pickled plants. I haven’t been able to get my hands on any bokchoy locally, and decided to try out the recipe before I found it and wasted it. Instead, I used garden vegetables -broccoli, cucumber and cabbage…along with purchased carrots. I should have ground some of the chili flakes up to give a deeper colour, and used more seasoning paste (ginger, garlic, oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds) and the end result, after fermenting for several days, just ended up tasting like ‘vinagery’ veggies that left a pleasing hot tingle on the lips. By the way, the cucumber turned out disgusting- too soft. For now, its not too bad eating it with some rice, and other flavours, but it is no where near as good as regular kimchi where I’m tempted to eat the whole jar at once!
Since I’ve started to include my non-textile based creations, I think I should probably change the blog tagline…So a change may be in the works!
I’m working mostly full-time on writing my thesis now and last Sunday, I almost had a break down about it I was so tired and stressed. I had spent the morning rowing and the rest of the day reading (academic) journal articles. At 7:30pm, I realised how late it was and since I split the day between attempts at playing and at studying, I didn’t feel as though I had accomplished anything.
I learned my lesson and took off the entire day today…once a week is such a luxury at this point.
Anyway, while I cleaned the house and thought about crocheting, I ended up spending a few hours back at polyvore. All of the sets reflect my desire to have a simple, comfortable home. Few distractions from what we really enjoy, and a whole lot of life’s pleasures. Key words here are plants, texture (homemade blankets, pillows, crochet, quilted, etc), light, music, books, photographs, art and nature.
The first set was a sort of idealised use of our living room if we managed to simplify it (note the lack of TV- but my partner enjoys it and we don’t have another room to tuck it away into at the moment).
The bedroom isn’t my actual plan- I’ve had a drawing done up for several years now, but I thought I would play around with alternate colours and textures…it always comes back to green with accents of yellow and orange.
Next up was planning out how to use a spare room as an office and guest room with the minimal amount of stuff to make it cosy and functional for everything. This isn’t a possibility yet, but its good practice!
Last, is a real dream, several years or decades off. First, we’d have to figure out what country we’ll ’settle down’ in! Again, its luxurious and simple at the same time. Enjoy!
