Have Yarn, Will Travel

Next week's blog will read more like a travel journal than a knitting blog. John has meetings to attend in New Jersey and I'm tagging along. We'll take a few days at the end to drive through New York and finally on to Vermont to visit family. I'm expecting to see some beautiful scenery and to experience some real fall weather. I'm really looking forward to this trip.

The only knitting I think I'm going to pack is the sock I'm working on. Of course, I'll have my yarn shop guide with me. When John is working during the day, I'll be on my own to explore. There just might be a yarn shop nearby, you never know.

Did pretty well knitting pumpkin hats and booties this week for The Preemie Project. I'll knit a couple of pairs of booties later today and put everything in the mail before we leave.



See you on the road next week.

One Year Old

The Preemie Project is one year old this month. It was September 2005 that this group made it's first donation of hats, booties and blankets to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. We were small in number then and worked hard to make enough items for that first donation.

In a year's time this group has grown by leaps and bounds. It is now a corporation with a board of directors and a large number of volunteers, both local and national. It soon will be receiving a tax exempt status.

What started with a simple request on a knitting blog to join together and knit for the little babies has turned into something much bigger than any of us (except Laura) could have imagined back then. There are now two chapters operating. One in Iowa and one in Michigan.

I've been with The Preemie Project since it's early days and I can say that even though it has grown quickly, it has not lost it's ability to make each volunteer feel a part of something special. Every donation and volunteer is truly appreciated. Join us and use your talents to help others. You'll be glad you did.

Today I spent some time at the sewing machine making blankets for The Preemie Project's upcoming Halloween donation.



Twelve small blankets ready to be mailed as soon as I knit some more pumpkin hats and booties.

Why Stop Now?

This picture shows three miniature pumpkins ready for felting. If you try the pattern don't be surprised at the pre-felted shape. I know it looks more like a football, but in the end it will look like a pumpkin. I promise.

I decided to make one of these into a pincushion. I did a little research and found that a pincushion can be stuffed with anything. It's really a matter of personal taste. Pincushions are often filled with sawdust, but you can use cotton batting, wool roving, poly-fil, emery (metal shavings) or fine sand. I read here that wool roving was often used in combination with sawdust. The lanolin in the wool roving keeps the pins from rusting.

I wanted the one I made to be solid and firm, so I decided to use sawdust. Since I needed only a small amount, I bought an inexpensive tomato pincushion, cut it apart and used the sawdust inside. This cushion also came with a strawberry emery, which I left intact and sewed inside the stem of the pumpkin.

You can see the pumpkin pincushion below along with some new pumpkins that have been added to my pumpkin patch.



And I'm not sure I'm done yet.

The Pumpkin Patch

I'm on a felting kick again. This time it's pumpkins. The large pumpkin is made from a pattern I picked up in Utah. Even though the pattern was free, it's copyrighted so I can't share it. But, I can share how I made the small pumpkins since they are creations of mine. They are about the same size of the ornamental gourd pumpkins you can buy in the store this time of year.


MINIATURE FELTED PUMPKIN



Pumpkin:

Yarn: Use any natural fiber yarn that will shrink when washed. I used Cascade Pastaza in Burnt Orange.

Needles: Double point needles in appropriate size. Use a couple of sizes larger than recommended for your yarn. The goal is to create a loosely knitted fabric. US Size 11 is usually good for worsted weight and is what I used.

Cast on 15 stitches and join in the round.
K 2 rnds
Inc 1, k1, inc 1, k2. Repeat to the end of the round. (21 sts)
K 3 rnds
Inc 1, k3, inc 1, k2. Repeat to the end of the round. (27 sts)
K 10 rnds
K2tog, k3, k2tog, k2. Repeat to the end of the round. (21 sts)
K 3 rnds
K2tog, k1, k2tog, k2. Repeat to the end of the round. (15 sts)
K 1 rnd
K2tog around to last stitch, K1 (8 sts)
K2tog around (4 sts)

Cut yarn. Draw through remaining sts to close. Weave in ends. Leave the top of the pumpkin open to add stuffing later.

Felt in the washing machine until desired size is acheived and stitches are no longer visible. There are many ways to shrink your knitting. The way that works for me is to use hot water, a small amount of soap (Eucalan Woolwash), high agitation and the lowest water level setting available. I also throw in an old pair of jeans to help with the agitation. When the felting is finished, I set the machine to the spin cycle for just long enough to remove the excess water, but not long enough to set permanant creases in my knitting.

Stuff the pumpkin while it is still damp so that you can shape it as you want. With a tapestry needle and yarn, sew a running stitch around the opening and draw closed. Using lengths of yarn, form sections by wrapping yarn around pumpkin and drawing tight to shape. Tie knots on the top of the pumpkin. The knots will be hidden by the stem.

Stem

Yarn: Worsted Weight

Needles: US 6 Dpns

Cast on 12 sts. and join in the round.
K 4 rnds
K2tog around (6 sts)
K2tog around (3 sts)
Work I-cord on remaining sts until desired length. Bind off. Weave in ends.
Using a sewing needle and thread, sew stem to top of pumpkin. Use a little stuffing to fill in bottom of stem if desired.

Be creative and have fun with this pattern. Combine different colored yarns together to get a variegated look. Use up those little bits of yarn you've been saving and bust your stash.

Day of Remembrance

Remember those that lost their lives. Remember those that rushed to their aid. Remember to trust God and look to him for peace.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sock #1

One down. One to go. I started this sock as soon as I finished John's Trekking socks. It's knitting up much faster than his. Could be because it's for me and I have a smaller foot or maybe the self-striping yarn is compelling me to keep on knitting. The yarn I'm using is a wool/cotton/nylon blend that should be perfect for the warm climate of Texas.

This basic crew sock has short row heels and short row toes (Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts method). It's the best fitting sock I've ever made! The only trouble I'm having with the short row heel is a gap develops in the last few stitches. Of course, I never notice this until I'm way past the point of going back and fixing it. There are some things to do to avoid this gap, so I'll see how the next sock goes.

Can't wait to finish this pair. If I could knit as fast as these ladies, I'd have a drawer full of hand knit socks in no time. Jean met these ladies on a visit to Fair Isle. Click here for the post that goes with the video. I'm totally amazed!

Labor Day Weekend

What's the use of having a travel trailer if you don't use it, right? So before we put it back in storage, we took it to Palacios, Texas for the Labor Day weekend. Palacios is known as "The City By The Sea". It's true it's on the water, but calling it a city may be a stretch. It's a quiet little town, even when it's loaded with visitors like it was this weekend.

I did a little exploring on Saturday. Visited the museum exhibit about The La Salle Odyssey. I was hoping to learn more about the history of the town, but the full museum has been closed for years. Apparently the roof was damaged during a hurricane and it's taken a long time to raise money for repairs. It will re-open in two years. However, there are several painted murals on buildings throughout town that depict the history and culture of the area.


The real attraction in Palacios is the bay. There's a great walkway along the bayshore and several public piers for fishing.



John relaxed by fishing to his heart's content. I relaxed by knitting, of course.

This is just the beginning of pumpkin hats and booties for The Preemie Project. Patterns here and here.