yarnstuffs Archives • Page 2 of 2 • Jessica Smith Creates

August 6, 2014

Catching up!

Last time we spoke, I was making socks.

Scratch that, I succeeded at socks. And actually right now I’m working on another pair.

I’ve been working on stuff since then, but slowly. And at the same time quickly. I seem to have made a lot of stuff, but for some reason it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Blog posts, however, did not.

Individual posts should be coming up soon for these, but here’s a snapshot of what I’ve got:

teaser

And a few more that aren’t quite completed or photographed yet.

I’ve also begun Christmas presents early… as in the aforementioned socks. I know that most people say that and then promptly fall off the wagon, but I’m a woman on a mission… Objective: finish gifts before November, or at least before December. That really means before finals season. I wish I could show you what I’m working on, but then I run the risk of ruining what little surprise they’ll have left.

Cooking has also come up recently as a thing. I’ll admit, I love to cook and bake and candy-make, but rarely do my concoctions turn out pretty, or appetizing to people other than me, or at all. For instance, the last bit of bread I made turned out tasty, I guess, but dense… Having now watched the video on how to actually make a round bread loaf, I think I’ll do better next time.

Knowing that I’m not a food blogger, and that I have no interest in becoming one, I think I’m going to start occasionally highlighting recipes that I’ve used or want to use. Making food can be cheaper than making clothing and yarn stuffs. And therefore I’ve been doing quite a bit of that this summer, so I’ve already got plenty of fodder for these posts.

Well then… talk to you soon! Err… sooner than the last time I posted.

July 15, 2014August 19, 2018

Socks in Four Parts

I finished just under the wire of my deadline! At 4PM I was the new proud owner of wool and silk socks!

They’re so pretty and comfy and though it’s regularly in the 90s here, I’ve barely taken them off. I determined, though, that they weren’t suitable wear for going to the library… That involves going outside where it is quite hot, and I didn’t think my feet could handle it.

But since then, I’ve continually worn them… They’re so comfy!

But I should tell you, this isn’t my first foray into sock making, just the first time I ended up with two socks. Behold the tube sock of doom!!! It was made of a variety of worsted weight acrylic yarn, and it’s not comfy and doesn’t smell nice after a while. I think I made it in middle school or early high school, and I only wore it once, when I had this massive blister on my foot, and had to remove some of the callous on my heel and my entire foot felt odd.

Well that wraps up my sock escapade!

July 14, 2014August 19, 2018

Sock Progress – Part 3

Here it is, Monday.

Didn’t check in yesterday, mostly because I slept in and forgot…

But I thought it fitting to give you a morning update, even though today it is an exercise in phone frustration. Darn multitasking.

I’m through the gauntlet, err the gusset. I’m about halfway down the foot.

And since I don’t normally go to the library until five or so, I’ll still have all day to work on it… hopefully I won’t need it all…

July 11, 2014August 19, 2018

Sock Progress – Part 2

It’s time for another update!

After three days of knitting, I have finally completed a sock!

It’s warm, it’s comfy, and fits perfectly. I’ve been wearing it since I finished it. It’s odd to be wearing only one sock.

I did have to tweak the pattern due to the whole gauge sitch. But unlike my normal self, I took careful notes on row counts and configurations, so I can copy them directly into my left sock.

Also learned that Kitchener stitch is not easily accomplished with dpns instead of a needle, but I managed. I know that I have some pink plastic needles lying around, because I definitely saw them when I was moving, but I haven’t managed to find them.

And I cast on for the second sock immediately, so I’ll be continuing that shortly! Talk to you in a few days!

July 9, 2014August 19, 2018

Sock Progress – Part 1

So it looks like it’s going to be an every two day update on the socks, which suits me just fine.

On Monday night I was supposed to be making a gauge swatch.

That didn’t work out.

Instead I spent four hours making a center pull ball of yarn by hand. Four hours. But I have now kinda fallen in love with center pull balls, so we’ll see what the future holds for me and yarn balls.

But doesn’t my yarn ball vaguely look like Turnip Head’s head, from Howl’s Moving Castle? I think so.

Then instead of casting on for a gauge swatch I just went ahead and cast on for the full sock. I know, I know, but I was going to treat it as a double gauge swatch, if it wasn’t working out I’d frog it. But it just so happened to fit the specifications quite well, so this morning I trudged on once I had gotten enough to tell. I should admit now that I’m not using the proper sized needles, because I don’t own them, but also that I’m a tight knitter, and often need to move up needle sizes anyway. It has worked out, that the width of stitches is proper, even if the height is a good amount off.

And so I spent about ten hours of close to continuous knitting on Tuesday. Yesterday.

When I knit, I grasp the knitting needle with my ring finger for stabilization. My ring finger swelled after all that knitting. So much that I couldn’t bend it well and it’s throbbing a bit. That’s why I stopped, really.

But I’m proud of my progress. The entire leg part and heel are completed, and I’ve got a round or two into the main foot part as well. Or gussets… I’m not up to date on my sock anatomy.

I’ll check back in on Friday!

February 1, 2014August 19, 2018

Scarfing it!

Confession time.

This may be the second scarf I’ve ever made.

This would be a good time to mention that I’ve been crocheting since… maybe third or fourth grade?

And knitting since the year after that?

And now I’m a senior in college.

And I’ve only ever made two scarves.

Full disclosure: I tried to make a scarf when I was first starting crocheting, but it ended up being something more like an ascot.

Have you noticed that I get bored easily?

And when I first began knitting, I was well on my way to making a scarf, where I then decided to make a poncho instead.

Have you noticed that I like to make random and fancy big ideas?

I did finish that poncho, but by then wearing a poncho was no longer cool, plus I had edged it in a fuzzy white yarn, and then realized that I didn’t like fuzzy. I’m back in a fuzzy appreciating phase, though, if you’d like to know.

A few years ago I made a very nice soft scarf for my mom with a lovely cable braid up the center that you can’t actually see when you look at the scarf, but adds tremendous warmth.

So when I decided that I wanted to make something out of this lovely off white and silvery yarn, of which I only had one skein, I thought making a nice simple scarf would be a fantastic and quick make.

After spending three years making a sweater, I wanted a nice quick project. So a simple stockinette stitch scarf was right up my alley.

I’m going to guess it took me 20 hours to make, rounding up, off and on throughout the month of January. Of course, for the final eight hours I was convinced I was almost done. I always think balls of yarn knit up quicker than they do in reality.

But I got me a lovely scarf to help protect me from this cold spell.

Now if only something could help the kitchen sink pipes from freezing. I get the idea that a scarf won’t cut it.

January Project 5

January 19, 2014August 19, 2018

The Three Year Sweater

I’m not exaggerating on this. Three years.

This is the Roseanne Sweater from the book Blueprint Crochet by Robyn Chachula.

I started this sweater in sophomore year of college. Do you want to know how I know? Because I got the lovely yarn then. And I started the project not long afterward. At most a month afterward.

I’ve been showing you the progress I’ve made on this sweater for as long as I’ve had this blog, but then I forgot to work on it… some more.

The last time we discussed it, I had just started on the shawl collar. I think I finally finished the square blocks in October, and worked on filling in the triangles in November.

But this winter break was when I put my foot down. I was going to finish this sweater once and for all. This break. And when I decided this, I only had a week left. Because I love deadlines.

I finished up the collar last week, and attached the collar to the “vest”. Trying it on, it’s a little bit tight against the shoulders, but if I’m being honest, my gauge is crap, and I was very tense when I was crocheting that bit.

I’m a very tight crocheter. I continually have to move up three hooks just to get near the gauge.

So I folded over the wrapped sides, and crocheted them together. At this point, you are basically instructed to create a chain and then crochet ribbing perpendicular to the edge of the sweater. This is where my problem lies.

I cannot start crocheting in a straight line. It has thwarted every crocheted sweater or purse effort I’ve tried. Which is why I like squares and lace, which just so happens to be pretty.

At this point I switched gears and used a different yarn to rim the bottom of the sweater, and then I began to do a smaller version of the ribbing, which basically worked out well. To bring this yarn in with the rest of the sweater, I then added it around the collar.

In the end, I love this sweater, its cute and I made it, which is a plus.

January Project 2