Isar Scarf

I fell in love with this Colinette Jitterbug at a yarn store this past winter and had to have it. I had originally planned on making a Clapotis with the yarn. The yarn pools really splotchy in the Clapotis I saw made with this colorway, so I changed plans and made this scarf instead.

It's a crochet project and I can only officially crochet granny squares, so it was a bit tricky starting this scarf. Once I got the hang of things and figured out the pattern, it was really simple to make. This scarf is actually similar to the granny square because it only uses double crochet and chain stitches.

I think that I might only crochet scarves from now on. This was a quick project and really ate up the yarn at an alarming rate...a great stash buster!

Pattern: Isar Scarf by Julia Visconsin
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug, Toscana - 2 skeins
Hook: 4.0 mm (G)
Rav link

we're moving...

But before that happens, we're going to have to come up with $2.7 million and find jobs in California...

Jon spotted this fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright house for sale on apartmenttherapy and I'm totally smitten.

I've got a little FLW obsession, so I'm always on the lookout for a new house to tour!

(photo from apartmenttherapy.com)

shinji's shennanigans

All cats are strange. Sometimes, Shinji is really weird. He's totally in love with Jon and, if he could, he would spend all day on Jon's lap looking up into his eyes lovingly. Because that's not possible...he gets a little creative with his poses...

study time and no room on Jon's lap. No problem, position yourself precariously on his shoulders and the back of his chair

 

Jon leans over to check to see if the amount of liquid he's measuring is correct...perfect time to jump on his back to rest!

Morning Snack Scarf

Well, my spring break is officially over. Now, it's back to schoolwork. I've enjoyed the time off from studying during this marathon crafting week!

I've had a productive week making the Mod Quilt along top, the Preppy Quilt top, the Flock of Triangles quilt top, the Bubble Stitch Bag, the Lizzie Dish table runner and this new scarf. I guess I actually make things when I'm not thinking about shopping or shopping...who would have thought?

I bought this yarn (Louisa Harding Grace Hand Dyed:Damson) because I liked using it so much for this Habitat Hat. At first I thought I was going to make a Foliage Hat, but I was all thumbs when I tried to start knitting in the round on dpns using only 3 or 4 cast on stitches. Then, I tried making the chunky cable hat pattern. Even though I doubled the yarn, my gauge was completely off and I made a baby-sized hat. Then along came Joanna's new pattern, Morning Snack Scarf. I had a really hard time separating my yarn without knots after winding it doubled into a ball for the cabled hat. So, I worked with what I had and made a few modifications to the pattern. Instead of casting on 21 stitches and using a #8 needle, I cast on 15 stitches and used a #13 needle. The finished scarf is about 50" long and is a great spring/fall scarf.

Lizzie Dish Table Runner

I liked the first table runner that I made for Cami so much, that I decided to use the extra fabric that I had to make a second one for our kitchen table.

I have a little fiestaware pitcher addition, so I had the perfect color to match the runner. We've had the same table runner and candles on our table for 3 years now, so it was time for a little switch up around here.

Flock of Triangles quilt top

Here's another project that I've had sitting in my craft closet for the last three months. I purchased this fabric and it's been cut into triangles waiting to be sewn into this quilt top.

I used my favorite and most used craft book, Denyse Schmidt Quilts, to make this. Previously I've made What a Bunch of Squares, Any Way you Slice it, A Day at the Beach, Big Zig, and the Hold Me Close Heating Pad Cover. This book was the best $19.95 I've ever spent!

This is the Flock of Triangles Quilt top from her book. The fabric is the Free Spirit Jay McCarroll Garden Friends collection. The crazy bugs and little fruit drawings totally crack me up. I sewed and pressed and sewed all of these triangles together while listening to Belle and Sebastian's Dear Catastrophe Waitress album on repeat, and I cannot think of a better musical match for this fabric.

I had no idea what size this quilt was going to be when I started. I just cut triangles out of the 5 different half yard prints I had from the collection and then cut an equal number of triangles from my white fabric. The quilt is about 70 x 70 and consists of 21 rows of triangles each with 10 white triangles, 9 patterned triangles and 2 half patterned triangles. It's a lot larger than I had anticipated and is almost the right size for a full size bed.

bubble stitch bag

I came across this pattern in one of my many hours spent browsing the pattern galleries on ravelry. I was immediately drawn to the colors in the yarn, so I purchased both the pattern and identical yarn to begin this project.

I really liked working with Noro Kureyon. The colors are beautiful and the yarn is nice and sturdy. The yarn is so rough that it actually starts felting together once it is knit. I had to rip the yarn apart when it came to do the bubble stitch, but it was nice to know that it wasn't going to fall apart if I accidentally dropped a stitch. And, working with self striping yarn is always exciting because you never know what color is going to come out of the ball next.

This bag came together a bit strange. I accidentally knit one extra repeat on the first side, so when I started casting off on the second side, I realized that the bag was 12 rows shorter. Rather than frogging my work, I brought the bag to my sewing machine, used the fake serging feature to sew a new bottom edge and then trimmed off the extra rows (yeah, I know I shouldn't have done this, but I just don't have the patience to rip out my work).

So, the bag is not perfectly constructed, but it should work just fine as a handbag and that's all that matters. It's a cute, fun little knit that came together fairly quickly. I finished it off by lining it with some pink fabric.

Here are the details:

Pattern: Bubble Stitch Bag
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Color #95
Needles: 8
Ravelry Link