Let the Wheeless/Walker Project Begin!

I have been all over the place with my knitting lately ... starting a project, then getting an idea for something else and starting that ... ordering tons of books, beads, sequins, sparkly threads, embroidery floss, new yarns I've never used before and the list goes on and on. I don't really have a complete explanation for it, except that I know I want to expand my knowledge base ... and venture out of my comfort zone. I want to try new things and challenge myself just to see if I can do it! Don't get me wrong, I still love designing toys ... and I have been working on a whole batch of new ones.
However, as much as I love toys, I'd also like to experiment with accessories ... from vintage-inspired hats to special hand bags and unique novelties that reflect an earlier era. Beginning this journey, I've been led down a path of learning new stitches and new techniques. Let me clarify that: I should say, new to me, rather ... as these are actually very old techniques and old stitches!  And that's how I came upon the not-so-knew idea of working on swatches. Not just any swatches, mind you, but swatches with a goal. I'm sure you're familiar with Barbara Walker's treasuries of knitting stitches. I recently purchased volumes I, II and III. I love every one. There are so many incredible stitch designs jam-packed into each one, I want to knit them all! And, in fact, when you read the beginning of the first treasury, Barbara insists that these stitches must be knit to be realized. You have to read the book with knitting needles and yarn in hand, trying each out as you go along. And then it hit me! That's exactly what I'm going to do! AHA! And that's when I came up with the Wheeless/Walker Project.
Remember the Julie/Julia Project blog that had the office-worker-by-day Julie Powell cooking every recipe in the Julia Child cook book? Well, I decided, why not take every stitch pattern in each of Barbara Walker's treasuries (starting with the first, of course), and knit it? I don't know if I'll make it all the way through, but why not give it a try? Swatches are small, and fairly quick to finish. (It seems I'm all about small projects these days.) AND wouldn't it be great to have a ton of interesting swatches to design something super special when I'm totally finished??? Or even not! Just take all the swatches and catalog them in a big binder for reference. It would make a great tool, don't you think?
One thing: I am not going to get hung up on correct gauge or blocking or anything else. I'm merely trying every stitch to get the feel of it. This is definitely not going to be a perfectionist kind of project.
If you're interested in more about swatches from other knitters working in the Barbara Walker Treasuries, take a look at The Walker Treasury Project. TONS of participants are knitting their swatches and submitting them to this project. I have to admit, my project somewhat pales in comparison; however, making myself photograph and write a little about each one will encourage me to continue my humble attempts.

Okay: Here goes. I started off on the first entry in the book, which is really four stitch variations in one. The simple garter stitch (all knit), followed by stockinette (knit rows/purl rows), followed by crossed stockinette and, finally, on top, twisted stockinette ... both of these are, as the name implies, using stockinette, only inserting the needle differently (through the back, for instance).
I have used Elle Pure Gold yarn for these first two swatches. If you click on the photo, it will get a little bigger and you can see the stitches a little better. I think I'll choose a different color font next time for the lettering of each separate little patch of knitting.

 You can tell that each patch became tighter and tighter as I went along ... the garter-stitch patch being the most relaxed of all four. If I were to use any of these stockinette variations in a project, I'd have to loosen up. Those twisted stitches are super tight! AAACKK!

The second swatch includes the seed stitch (bottom), the moss stitch and, on top, the double seed stitch. I really like the seed stitch patch a lot. In fact, I can see this stitch being put to good use as borders for things. It looks very rich to me and it's very easy to do. Wouldn't it look nice embellished with beads and/or sequins?
Coming up next: The Sand Stitch and the Dot Stitch (also known as the Spot Stitch). Check back soon for more updates!

Fia's Rose Garden Cardigan Is Finally Finished!

Yes! I finally finished my first grandniece's baby sweater! Sweet, little Fia was born on March 31, 2012. This pattern came from the Entrelac book by Rosemary Drysdale. I was very disappointed with how the pattern was written, as it left out many details that I, as the knitter, had to figure out. I did not appreciate the "reverse shaping" for the opposite side of the sweater, nor did I appreciate the lack of sufficient directions to knit the bottom entrelac band. *sigh* When I write patterns, even the ones I give away for free, I try to write them as if I were sitting next to the knitter, whispering what should happen next. I think the reason many patterns are listed as "for Experienced Knitters" is because the author knows he/she has left out lots of steps. A new knitter, trusting that, after paying the purchase price for the pattern, the complete directions would be included, will (sadly) get frustrated and throw the project down in favor of something "easier" ... when, in fact, the stitches and construction of the item is not too difficult for a beginner at all. How depressing!

At any rate, after figuring out some things on my own and taking tons of notes as I went along, I do think it came out rather well, if I say so, myself!!

The tag makes the whole thing perfect!

I only embroidered eight of the bullion roses ... four on each side of the sweater. The actual pattern has two rows of bullion roses across the entire bottom, one row on each sleeve edge and a couple around the neckline. I like it simple.

My First Springerle Cookies!

Realizing that Easter is next weekend (NO! How can it be already???), I realized if I wanted to try out my springerle cookie mold for Easter, I better do it today! So, I made my first batch!
I overbaked the second cookie sheet of cookies, as they are not the "hallmark" white on top, but a little golden, instead. Still, all in all, not bad for my first attempt. I hope they taste good! Here is a wonderful website that has the recipes, as well as the molds and flavorings. It's called House on the Hill. There is also a video tutorial, which is extremely helpful.

Using Embroidery to Decorate the Entrelec Easter Egg

I haven't had a lot of time to work on my projects, as I'm still in the middle of knitting my first-ever baby sweater for my nephew and his wife's soon-expected little one ... BUT I tried to hurry up and decorate one of the entrelac Easter eggs to show some of the simple stitches that can make these eggs as beautiful as Faberge eggs!

I used DMC perle cotton (number 5) in a chain stitch for the border; a bullion rose for the center; and two lazy-daisy stitches for the leaves. Easy peasy!

The eggs make great little canvases for testing out new stitches, too. Try a different stitch for every triangle's border ... or choose the diamond-shapes, instead, to outline. There are loads of great things you could put in the centers ... from crosses and doves ... to spring-time favorites like lady bugs and butterflies.

The Entrelac Easter Egg Experiment!

Entrelac Easter eggs with closed tops.

Entrelac Easter egg with open top

If you've ever wanted to experiment with knitting entrelac in the round -- and decreasing as you go -- then this easy knitted/felted entrelac Easter egg is just for you! And this is how it all started ...

You see, I thought it would be fun to experiment with knitting entrelac in the round. So, I gathered my materials and headed to the internet and my book shelves for a few entrelac instructions. No, believe it or not, I'd never tried to do it before. Oh, there were lots and lots of videos and websites and sections in my knitting books regarding the technique of knitting entrelac ... but most were knitted flat. There were a few references that stated it was, indeed, possible to knit entrelac in the round, but then there really weren't sufficient directions to do so. The first couple of times I tried it, I must have picked up stitches in the wrong way, because I came up with cute, little concave pieces that resembled little hoods. (I wrote these wrong directions down for myself to make note of; however, as they could come in handy when making a little doll's hood later!) The best description I found was by Eunny Lang on the Interweave Knitting Daily website and you can download it for free. Even this, though, did not answer all my questions ... in particular, how to decrease as I went along.

All of the patterns and directions reminded me of my great-grandmother's recipe collection. My father confided that if anyone ever asked my great-grandmother for one of her delicious recipes, she'd purposely leave something out so that it could never be prepared just like hers! WELL, each of the entrelac "recipes" left something out so that the technique seemed much more difficult than it really is.

It's my hope that this little egg will get you well on your way to loving entrelac -- and don't worry about any gaps or little mistakes -- they'll melt away in the wash! One of the best parts? From start to finish, this little egg takes less than two hours!

There are two ways to finish the top ... either with live stitches left after finishing the entrelac section, or binding it off as you finish for an open top (perfect for stuffing with a little Easter grass and jelly beans). Visit The Pattern Box for the free pdf download!

Getting ready to pick up the first set of stitches from the base triangles. Be sure to use the right-hand needle and pick up from tip to base.

Continuing with the first rectangle round.

Before Felting

Can't Believe February Is Almost Over!

Incredible! I can't believe February is almost over already! Where does the time go?? I have TONS of knitting projects I'm working on ... lots of new designs, but I'm afraid I can't share any with you just yet. But don't give up on me! I am experimenting with knitting with beads. The other night, I strung over 400 glass beads on my yarn. It was easy to do with a beading needle and some thread, but PHEW! It took a couple of hours. It will definitely be worth the effort, though! The tiny glass beads were so inexpensive ... what a great way to turn a simple knitted piece into something quite lovely.

Meanwhile, I've been spending a lot of time with Sophie the Puppy. She is finally off of goat's milk completely (I was still putting her kibble in it ... guess you could say, I'm not good at knowing when to quit). And she's learning all kinds of things. Things we accomplished this week:

More training with LEAVE IT. She actually left a Kentucky-Fried Chicken breast on the floor and focused on me, instead!

Getting used to her Mutt Mat. I love this! I just say, "GO TO MAT" and she looks at me for a moment or two and then goes to her mat!!! I tried it outside this morning, but we're not ready for that. Too many distractions ... children laughing; airplane overhead; birds singing; trash cans being rolled up; etc. I have hope, though! Eventually, she's supposed to focus on me and not the distractions.

So much to learn!!!

AND, I just purchased a vintage Nelke doll from eBay. He's in poor shape and, gulp, sadly, he's a clown, too (clowns scare me) ... but I have been searching around for the soft, stockinet dolls of my dad's babyhood for some time now. Evidently, the companies Nelke and Mawaphil were the two for which I've been searching. I'll post a photo of the little guy when he arrives. I'm sure being old and soiled will not improve his creepy clown self, but he is still a little piece of nostalgia.

Welcome Our Newest Addition: Sophie!

As you know, our much-loved Bearded Collie, Maggie, went to the Rainbow Bridge in October. After she was gone, I really didn't think I wanted another dog. No dog could possibly measure up to her ... and could we possibly put ourselves through more loss??

As the days went by; however, the emptiness and loneliness I felt was really overwhelming. Randy and I started talking about getting another dog in the spring. In the meantime, I decided, I'd focus on cleaning the house and getting my new knitting designs finished.

As we talked about the possibility of getting a dog, Randy decided that, if and when we ever took that step, we should rescue a dog, instead of buying from a breeder, this time around.

So, without any warning, a week ago, on a quiet Sunday morning, I started looking at Petfinder. I stumbled across this photo:

The description read that this little pup was 6 weeks old and had been rescued from a shelter at 3 weeks old, along with her four little brothers. They were being fed goat's milk and were doing well. The Dad, as they understood it, was a cross between a standard poodle and a labrador and the Mom might possibly have been a beagle. Maybe. All the puppies had nicknames with Doodle in them. This one was "Doodle-Loo."

SO, to make a long story short, Amelia, Kent and I drove down to Aiken, SC in the pouring rain last Wednesday and brought little Doodle-Loo home. She is now known as Sophie and even answers to her name!

Sophie's first visit to our veterinarian's! She weighs 7 pounds.

She loves her bed and crawls up in here all by herself! She is such a good girl and doesn't even cry at night in her crate.

I have TONS of books on puppy training now and, seeing the joy Sophie is bringing to my elderly Dad, I have decided she is definitely going to be a therapy dog (if all goes as planned). She will start her first puppy class in January.

It's a fact that we will always miss Maggie and have a special place in our hearts for her. Do you know what? I think our hearts just get bigger as life goes on ... so we can make room for more.