Double Knitted Totoro Mittens

I wanted to try double knitting technique so I decided to knit a pair of mittens for my 4-year old.  I found a great pattern on Ravelry (you need to set up a login account to access this pattern but if you're a knitter or crocheter, you really should sign up coz there are so many interesting patterns available and even forum if you need to know more about a certain topic/technique, what a great place!)

My first attempt was not so good.  It might look pretty alright from outside....

.... from the front....

..... and the back....

..... but inside was wrong! It was supposed to be the knitted side on the inside as well but as you can see from here.... it was very "purl-ed".... =.="

So I learnt from the mistakes made, and mind you, it was quite a lot, I made my first pair of double knitted mittens!  And I wasn't the least afraid to flip over one of them to show you that I've done it correctly!

Ok, maybe not totally correct coz the yarns were wrapped wrongly in some areas and the decreases are not done properly and those horribly done kitchener stitch... but after agonizing for 2 weeks, yeah that's how slow I was in knitting these! I think I'm allowed to be proud of myself for a short while!

I agree that grey was a better color for Totoro but I only had a small amount of it which was just enough to make 1 mitten, so I used green instead which I think looks ok, or maybe it's because I'm so used to it now!

Double knitting means that you're knitting 2 fabrics at the same time, which makes the mittens thicker.  However, these mittens are more suitable for autumn in Sweden, since we all know how tough winter can gets.  The happy 4-year old wore these mittens and accompanied us to go groceries shopping today and they do keep his little hands warm since winter is late this year.

We had a green Christmas this year which is very weird.  Sitting home where it's warm and toasty and the sun shining outside, green grass and birds singing, for a moment I thought it was summer! Has the weather God decided to skip winter and launch straight to summer?!

Enough ranting about the weather, on to my next project - Fair Isle knitting!!

Saving her modesty!

Remember this post? Well, Barbie has been wearing her tunic for some time now and every time I looked at her I would tell myself,"Man, she really needs to put on something more!"

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore so I cast on again to knit her something to cover up those legs!

Well, it does look alright.  Except that....

her bum is still hanging out in the freezing cold! Arggggghhhh! I tell myself that it doesn't matter since this part doesn't show when her tunic is pulled down.  So I left it as it is.  But it's like having a small splinter under my skin and I just cannot get it out of my head.  I know the "hanging-for-their-dear-life-on-half-the-bum" kinda pants is very popular among teens but they're not allowed in our family!

So I have no choice but to take them off, and have them back on my knitting needles again.....*sigh*

After a few more rounds of knitting and muttering under my breath,"Who has got a figure like this?"  "It's just impossible to make anything fit properly!"  "Bet she must suffer from some sort of chronic pain."  "Her waist is so small, it's totally disproportional!"  "Her figure is just abnormal!"  (Yeah, I suppose I was annoyed.... *rolling my eyes*) I ended up with this.

Ok, the waist line doesn't fit her waist but who cares? At least now she's decent!

And when I pulled down the tunic.....

yeah, you can't tell the difference.... =.="

Cladonia Shawl

Remember this WIP?

Now it's finally done! Woohoo! My very first shawl!

I really need to make more time to take a proper picture.... but trust me this shawl looks great! (Even though I used some left over yarn, and ended up having to buy more of this "left over" yarn... 

>.<") 

This is a purchased pattern from Ravelry by a designer named Kirsten Kapur.  I have another of her shawl pattern which I can't wait to cast on! But I really need to finish mittens for my 4-yr old princess, double-knitting is soooooo confusing! But this will come as a new post once I'm done. ^.^

This was very fun to knit and the instruction are clear and easy to understand.  This will not be the last one coz princess has already ordered one in lavendar/purple! :D  And I think this will make a wonderful and warming gift as well.  I just wish that I can have more time to knit...  It is tricky to be very accurate with the stitches when I have a 2 yr-old who needs my attention every 10 seconds.  And since there is a lace pattern at the end of the shawl, I need to focus and concentrate more (you know, counting stitches and stuff) and there had been many times when I was in deep concentration, a 2 yr-old decided to jump on me and in the process causing many stitches to drop (OMG!)! And after picking up the dropped stitches (or at least I tried, I gave up counting after some time, it'll never be the same number as what was stated on the pattern ever again.... *sob*), I totally forgot where I was in the pattern.... =.="

Before I get the chance to block this, my princess has already worn it to school =.=".  I think I'll just spray water and iron it gently.  I have a 2-yr old running around everywhere and I don't want to risk the possible injuries he'll sustain if I leave a big piece of shawl to dry, pinned down to shape in lots of PINS!

Any knitters out there who has the same problem blocking their finished works properly with small kids running around? Any tips to share? 

Barbie ready for winter!

Thank you to my dear friend Lina, who pointed me to this awesome website Sticka till Barbie, which means "Knitting for Barbie" in Swedish.  My princess and I were drooling over all the pretty clothing and accessories and having a conversation that went something like this....

Princess: "Mommy, can you make this one?"

Mommy: "No.... too complicated."

Princess: "How about this one?"

Mommy: "Too complicated."

Princess: "This one then?"

Mommy: "Too complicated."
........

This went on for awhile, to the point when I thought that I shouldn't teach my girl to admit defeat without trying, so we agreed on pattern no. 382 and I told her that I'd try my best and we'd see how it turns out.  And it turned out pretty ok! ^.^

Except that it was just a little bit too short..... well, I want to bring out Barbie's super long legs.... ok ok I learnt my lesson to not be so lazy and measure stuff instead of just "eyeball-ing" them.... :P

Hmm.... maybe I can knit a pair of wrist warmers and some thigh-high boots/socks for her to compensate...

Crochet Aviator's Hat

Saw a lot of these on the internet and wanted to try one myself.

I didn't follow any pattern (I would usually avoid following patterns if I can, too lazy! :P), just crocheted a beanie that fits my youngest prince, added the front and ear flaps, crocheted 2 big "buttons", sewed them on and finally did an edging to give it a more "finished" look.  I think it turned out alright. If I make it again I'll need to move the ear flaps a few stitches back and make them wider. And it looks so cute on Prince C!

However, trying to take a picture of a toddler who's constantly on the move with my dummy-proof digital camera turns out to be a mission which I think even James (Mr. Bond, that is) can't complete! After taking several pictures of some blurry "object" with a tail of blurri-ness trailing behind (coz he was running!) and a couple of Houdini-s (he was in the frame when I raised my camera but by the time I pressed the button, he was gone....), I decided to change my model!

On to my next project! ^.^

iPod Cosy

Just another idea I have been thinking about for awhile now....

Can you tell what it's for? (Ok, pretend you didn't read the title of this post yeah?)

It's for the iPod shuffle or nano! What? Again? Well.... I have no idea why I'm always thinking about the iPod... maybe it's because the older kids are using them quite often? :P

And I made an extra pocket for the earphones!

I've knitted an i-cord (nothing to do with Apple I swear!) so it can be worn around the neck.

Looking at the last picture now I can see several areas where I can do it differently.... oh well, time to finish my WIP and probably revisit this again later! ^.^

WIP (Work-In-Progress)

Like all crafters who cannot settle with having just one project on hand, I usually have about 2 going on at the same time.  I started this one when I was knitting the hats for the kids...

Can you guess what this is? (ok, there is no prize for making the correct guess but it's fun!)  Now I'm waiting for more yarns to arrive to continue.  

Not sure how this will turn out, will update again once it's completed, stay tune! ^.^