back to work

Today is my first full day of work since Kyr was born, 18 months ago. Both boys are off at preschool today, and I finally started getting myself organized! I wrote up lists of projects, prioritized everything, went and got supplies, and then attacked my disaster of a yarn stash (I figured it wouldn't do to start anything before I knew what I had).

Four hours later, everything is finally back in it's place, neatly organized into bags by weight and colour. There's also a large bag of yarn to be sent off to the thrift store. I discovered I have far more of some things than I will probably ever use (how many outfits would I have to knit to use up 6 large ziploc bags of fingering weight yarn?) But also much less of some things than I would like (such as full balls of worsted weight yarn for knitting toys). At least I have what I need for the first project on my list.

Tomorrow, I think I will clean up the rest of my studio, just to make a really good start at this working thing.

hint #10

Several people participating in the knit-along over on Ravelry have had some challenges using very fuzzy or bouclé yarns for their lambs. Someone suggested that I share any tips I have over here, so that everyone can benefit! So, I'll give you a few tips that have helped me with these types of yarn, and if you have any to share, please leave a comment.

I've noticed it myself, and I've heard others comment, that bouclé yarns can make your hands hurt when knitting them at such a tight gauge. Most of my toy patterns are designed to be knit with worsted weight yarn on 4 mm needles (so slightly tighter than you would normally knit with this yarn weight). However, most bouclé and fuzzy yarns are bulky weight, and it can be a real strain knitting them on 4 mm needles! My first suggestion would be to go up a needle size or two, and not worry that your toy is going to be bigger than the usual 20 cm (8").

My second suggestion is to try to find a fuzzy/bouclé yarn that is closer to worsted weight, or works better on 4 mm needles. The lamb above was knit with some wool bouclé yarn I was lucky to find at a thrift store (sadly a discontinued brand). I also love using Knitpick's Suri Dream - even though it's described as super bulky, because it's a fine strand with lots of fuzz you can knit it on 4 mm needles with no trouble. Something like that might be just the solution you need!

this lamb was made with Suri Dream

Another trick that can sometimes help is to work more loosely than normal the rows preceding lots of increases. Just going slowly and being careful to purl these rows a bit looser, can make it so much easier to get in all those m1 stitches on the next row!

you can't see stitches at all with yarn* like this

Next, many people have said you can't see your stitches at all with these fuzzy yarns. Some I've knit with, I can't even tell which is the right side, and which the wrong! Simple but true: a row counter keeps you on track! My newer patterns all have row counts, so it's easier to tell where you are. If you're also having trouble making some of the decrease stitches, you can fudge things a little. I've found that skpo can be much easier to work than k2tog, so use it instead. And on the wrong side, nobody will notice if you use p2tog, instead of p2tog tbl (which can be tricky at the best of times!)

this guy was knit with eyelash* yarn - so difficult, but so cute!

Finally, it can often be nearly impossible to sew up the seams with nubbly yarns. Save yourself some hair-pulling, and find a bit of smooth yarn to match your main colour (if you're really good at seaming, this yarn barely shows, so it doesn't need to match all that closely). Rather than using your cast-on or tag ends to sew up the seams, cut a long piece of the smooth yarn, and start sewing at one end, leaving a nice long tail. Once the seam is all done, and the piece stuffed, you can run this extra end through the stuffed piece a few times to anchor it, then snip off the excess.

I hope these tips are helpful to you, and please remember to leave a comment if you have some helpful tips of your own!

*Sorry, I don't remember what brands I used for these toys, but they were your usual craft-store novelty yarns.

happy mother's day!

There's a special holiday coming up this weekend (in Canada anyway, I know it's earlier in other places). I get to celebrate my first Mother's Day this year, although it's much too soon to expect handmade cards drawn with crayons and covered with sparkles, with a special message written in big messy letters. That's what I'm looking forward to, one day.

I was just over reading Alpaca Farm Girl's blog, and she got me thinking about the history of knitting in my family. Although I taught myself to knit in university, there are lots of knitters in my family. As a kid I wore sweaters, vest, tuques, and mittens knit by my mom, grandma, and great-grandma. Somehow I never learned from any of them, and really wish I had, since I would have about 20 more years of experience behind me now!

My mom's parents in front, and my dad's parents just past them.

My grandma (my mom's mom) just turned 84 on May 5. She's an amazing woman, and still healthy and going strong, in spite of a few setbacks recently. A few years ago she started knitting socks again, since she had some extra time, and my grandpa had always preferred them. Back in February or so, my cousin Alisha had the brilliant idea to make this a special sock birthday for my grandma! Let's see if I can remember who all joined in: me, my mom, my two cousins and my Aunty Candy, my Aunty Heather, my Aunty Wendy (who is my aunt by marriage, but loves my grandma like her own mom), my Aunty Beth, and some of my other cousins too. We're a knitting family, aparantly!


Some people made her socks, some (like me) gave her yarn so she could knit socks for herself. I picked up some bare yarn, and dyed it in blues and purples, trying to make something that would remind her of violets. When I was a kid, she told me once how much she likes violets (they grow all over her lawn in the Spring, and look and smell so lovely!). I smile just thinking about her wearing violet-coloured socks! I don't know when we'll next be able to visit my family in B.C., so I probably won't see the finished product for myself. I hope she knows how special she is to all of us, and how much I miss her.

Happy Mother's day to my mom, if she's reading this! I hope every mother out there has a very special day, and gets plenty of cuddles from the ones they love. Now I must go, because my little babe is waking from his nap :)

fiber arts friday

Oh yeah, have you heard about Fiber Arts Friday? Go check it out over at Alpaca Farm Girl. There's plenty of super cool people to read about, and I'll be participating any Friday I have anything interesting to say :)

P.S. typing one-handed with a baby on your lap is difficult :)

new fuzzy knits kits

I've been working on a batch of kits over the past month or more, and I'm glad they're finally done and up in my shop. I seemed to only ever find a few hours at a time to work on them, but I get tired so easily now, I really couldn't have pushed myself to get them done sooner. They are all offered with the Fuzzy Knits book, but as before, if you already have the book but want the kit please contact me! It's important to do this before buying the kit, so I won't have to pay extra fees on the cost of the book. They generally don't sell too fast, so don't worry about missing your chance.


Some of the kits have hand-dyed yarn again, since it's so much fun to do. I particularly love the variegated blue yarn I made for the lamb kit, and wish I'd thought to make another skein for myself. The way I dye the yarn, every skein is unique, but I rarely get to see what people make with them. I know I could get truer colours with proper acid dyes, but the food colouring has such interesting reactions with itself and the yarn, I often get really lovely marbling and heathering in the yarn.

no title

Here I am, procrastinating about making bread, despite the fact that I won't have anything for lunch tomorrow if I don't. Well, I will get to it as soon as I answer a few questions.

First, someone asked me recently what yarn I use for the Siamese kitty, but for the life of me I can't find the email. I guess that happens sometimes. Anyway, I use Elann's Peruvian Highland wool in worsted weight, in coffee bean brown, nutmeg heather, and bisque. If you want more contrast, try bittersweet for the dark brown. I love this yarn, because it's soft, comes in lots of great colours, and is really affordable.

The other question was about my Ravelry id. My patterns are here, and my own account is here. I do have a shop, but it only has the free lamb pattern. (these links only work if you have a Ravelry account) I'd looked into having my other patterns there, but decided it wasn't worth it for the extra work it would create. It looks like lots of people would like a Fuzzy Mitten Ravelry group, so I guess I need to look into how I do that.

Someone also asked what will happen to Fuzzy Mitten once I have my baby. While there's still a few months to wait, I have been making some plans. I have a couple new things coming before Christmas, but then January will probably be pretty quiet while I get everything ready for the new Mitten. Some of the secret stuff I've been working on are new patterns that I will release next winter and spring. I'm hoping this will keep things interesting for you, while being the minimum of work for me. My Etsy and Lulu shops will stay open, though it's likely there won't be any kits or toys for the first few months. I have no idea how much time and energy I will have for blogging, so we'll just have to wait and see. I hope that sounds reasonable to all of you!

home again, jiggity jig

Well, really we got home early Wednesday morning, but that day was for recuperating from the long drive and over-night flight. Yesterday was for taking care of important errands. So today you get the blog post!

I know I meant to write a post or two while I was away, but I was really enjoying my family's company, and also enjoying ignoring my online life. Sometimes a break makes it all seem interesting and worthwhile again. I've slowly been catching up on some of my blog reading, but I think it will be another week before I get to everything. I thought most people took a break during the summer? Anyway, once my hubbie gets the photos all done, I'll show you what we were up to.

I also need to seriously think of getting back into knitting. I promised a squirrel to a little boy a while ago that I really should get done soon. Then I have a big important project to do, which is really exciting, and I can't tell you about yet. I know this bugs you all, but I promise to spill the beans once I'm allowed. Then I need to finish off a couple of toys to finish a set of five I've been working on for a while. I also keeping thinking of offering a few commissions for toys through my Etsy shop, but every time I clear my plate and am ready to go, something new comes up that I can't say no to. I really want to move on to mostly designing, and only make a few toys for sale when I feel like it, but I need to get better at saying no before that can happen.

And you know, I'd love some time to knit for myself! I bought some gorgeous yarn while on holiday, super-soft baby llama from Peru, in a rich heathery teal with some cream for contrast edging. I want to spend some time on Ravelry looking for the perfect pattern, but I just know that little voice in me head will be saying, "shouldn't you be working?"

poll numero uno

If you look to the right there, you will see a poll. I've been thinking about the kits I make, and whether there was something else, something better, I could be doing with them. So, do you like the kits I've been offering so far, with a book, tote bag, and generally plain yarn to make one toy? I've been thinking that maybe most of you could find some plain yarn for the toy on your own, and would enjoy the hand-dyed yarn more. It would also be more fun for me, matching the yarn to the tote bags. Plus, it would make the kits a little more unique, rather than just coming with some generic brown wool. On the other hand, I could just offer the book and tote bag together, and let you get your own yarn. So please vote, and leave a comment if you have some other suggestion.

When I have a bit of time, I've been working on the fabric toys. I spent all morning one day last week, trying to design a different style of head, nearly ending up in tears. I think I'm missing some special gusset-designing gene, because I just can't get it. My new toy designing book was no help, either. Anyway, I eventually went back and modified a different head pattern.


You can see I have two more toys now. I'm not sure what the blue toy is, maybe another mouse. She doesn't even have a name yet. Neither does the polar bear. I really like him, not just because he's made of snuggly fleece, but also because I finally figured out how to make the nose wider. I also added a bit of black fleece for his nose, which actually made it slightly easier to sew in the head gusset, because I could tell where the point of the nose should be (if that makes any sense).

I really need to get started on more knit toys, though. I've used a bit of the yarn I dyed last week, and plan to make a few more outfits, and let them tell me what kind of toy I should make. Thanks, Amanda, for offering your ball winder, but I'm too impatient. Most of the yarn is already wound into balls, ready to use.

pretty

This is when I wish for a ball winder.

yarn and stuff

It's a beautiful sunny day here, so what do I have planned? This morning I'm going to dye some yarn for toy outfits, while working on more fuzzy farm animals. Dying yarn is always a big production (but fun) so I try to do a bunch of skeins at a time. I have nothing specific in mind, but I'm really low on nice colours for clothes, so I'll just make a rainbow of 25g skeins in different weights.

Then lunch! Maybe I'll sit out on our balcony with the kitties, taking in the sun and good smells of new leaves, blossoms, and cut grass (it seems too early for that, but some people are so fanatical about their lawns).

This afternoon, computer work. *yuck* :P But it needs to be done. I want to get the revisions of the lamb pattern done, and maybe a couple of others as well. I don't want people to worry about these too much! The toys will look just the same, I'm just moving around some of the shaping stitches so the finished toys will look good without so much fussing around with getting the stuffing just right etc. This is a result of not really knowing what I was about when I started writing patterns, never having them tested, and being a bit perfectionist.

If you're curious, download the new lamb pattern when it's done to see what's different. But I really can't replace old copies of bought patterns. I feel faint just thinking about how much work that would be! I really hope you understand.

Then, as a reward, I'll go to the gym! Really, that's how it feels. After sitting around on my duff all week, getting some exercise feels like the best thing I could do on a Friday afternoon.

zipped lips

How do you like this growing batch of cuties? With these big orders of toys, I've been knitting up 2-3 over several days, then assembling them at the same time. It's so fun to have a bunch of new cuteness to cuddle at the end of the day. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment. The fuzzy yarn I used for Hannah the bunny is suri dream. I'm in love with this yarn! You need to knit it on 3.75mm needles so the stuffing doesn't show, but it's soft, silky, and fuzzy, and you can get 2 toys from one 50g ball. The colours are quite lovely too.

I have a big secret project coming up, and I'm a bit scared about the amount of work it's going to involve in such a short time. (I'm sorry I can't give you more details right now, but rest assured I will let you know what it's all about when I'm allowed) I keep telling myself that I made it through university just fine, and I work better under pressure. However, I do tend to get super grumpy, even while I feel good for working so hard. I'm complicated, I guess. What it means, though, is I might not have time to make the Fuzzy Knits kits for my Etsy shop. I might list a couple of the books, and maybe have a couple kits with just yarn, but I don't see myself having time to sew the bags.

I made some excellent soup and bread this weekend, so I will try to post about that when I get a photo, if we don't eat it all before then. It's Hungarian bean soup. Would you like me to post the recipe too?

positive thinking

View from the hilltops
Originally uploaded by mricon

It's pouring rain here today, not normal weather for Montreal in January, and not appreciated in the least. I'm trying to conjure up warm memories of more pleasant seasons, and feeling grateful I don't have to go out today.

The lack of blogging this week results from a whirlwind of knitting, although I'm keeping my sanity with small breaks for visiting friends, making birthday presents, and cooking chicken noodle soup. Oh, and reading way too much. I've gone through 3 novels in the last 2 weeks, and I think I need to slow down, or try something more challenging.

Today I'm dying more yarn! And knitting, of course :) The toy I'll be working on today is actually for another pattern booklet. We need better pictures, so I'm going to finish off a puppy I started a couple months ago. The Easter pattern booklets didn't go over as well as I hoped, but maybe this new one will do better. It will have the Siamese kitty, Boyish monkey, and Puppy. I try not to worry too much about these booklets, though. The Fuzzy Knits book is doing very well, and I'm selling a few other things here and there. So far, my gamble to do this full-time is working out.

technicolour yarn

yarn
Originally uploaded by baprime

Here are the fruits of yesterday's labour! Dying the yarn was lots of fun, although my hands didn't get stained like I thought. I started by weighing out skeins in amounts to make one outfit - 20g for the sport weight, and 25g for the worsted weight. I then soaked it for a couple hours before dying. I have food colouring in yellow, red, and blue (concentrated paste form, not the liquid drop stuff you get in the grocery store) and found citric acid at the drug store. I was kind of surprised to actually find it, albeit in a small bottle, although they have even stranger stuff on the same shelf.

Anyway, I mixed up the colours I wanted in microwaveable plastic tubs. It took about 1/4 tsp of dye and 1/2 tsp of citric acid per 3 cups water, although I was just guessing at the amount of citric acid and probably used more than I needed. I had to dissolve the dye in a couple tbsp of water first, which made it difficult to see what colour it actually was. I painted a bit on some paper to get a better idea, and wrote down how much of each colour I used.

Then I added a skein of yarn, and microwaved it until the yarn had absorbed all the dye. I did this 3 min at a time, stirring in between. The lighter colours only took about 6 min, the darker ones more like 15 min. Then I placed the tub in a sink of cold water to cool the yarn, before rinsing it and hanging it to dry.

I'm really pleased with the colours I got. My first try turned out a little more green than I intended (this is the turquoise skein) because I forgot to compensate for the yarn being natural cream instead of bleached white. You can't tell from the photo, but the yarn turned out slightly heathered, which I really like. I have no idea why this happened, but I think it will give the toys' clothes a more rustic, old-fashioned look, which is totally appropriate for where they will be sold.

This isn't really meant as a tutorial on dying yarn, since there are plenty out there written by people much more experienced than me. This is more like a way to encourage you to try it yourself, just because it's fun, doesn't cost much, and involves yarn!

technicolour hands

I've been selling plenty of books lately, which feels so good! I hope you're enjoying them, or will, when they arrive. I really like the new version, especially the pictures. The Festive Knits photos were a bit desaturated, but fortunately we figured out the problem.

I realized I never shared a photo of this wee cutie, like I promised. I made a similar one a while ago, for the same person. If you're curious, I used fingering weight alpaca on 2.25 mm needles, but otherwise followed the pattern exactly. The toy turned out about 13 cm (5") tall. The problem is that the dress certainly won't fit a kitty that small. I sort of divided all the instructions in half - half as many stitches for the skirt, a little over half as many rows, I think. It takes a little fiddling to get it right. I love how tiny and adorable she is, so maybe I'll make more in the future.

Right now I have bunnies and lambs to knit. I bought some suri dream for the lambs, because I thought it would be similar to the acrylic yarn I had been using (but natural fibres, of course). It is so lovely, fluffy, and soft! I think it will be perfect. But this morning I will be dying some of the plain yarn I bought, to be used for the toys outfits. So off I go, to have fun and get me some technicolour hands!

P.S. My husband is holding the kitty for maximum effect - he has large hands, so the kitty looks even smaller :)

hint #2

woolley and feathered friend
Originally uploaded by baprime

If you happen to spin wool as well as knit, hand-spun yarn makes beautiful little sheep. This is my first time using hand-spun for a toy, and I love the texture and woolly smell. This sheep was made from some rather expensive Jacob/Corriedale yarn given to me by Deb Woolley of the Irish Ewe. I'm a bit sad the rest of the yarn has to go back to her with the toy.

again with the sweater!

Malabrigo Baby Lace in Pearl colourway

Okay, maybe you're all getting a bit tired of this, but I'm super excited and feel like sharing. So after all the trouble choosing a yarn for the Snow White sweater, I finally received the yarn, and it was everything I hoped. Except... it's a lot finer than I expected. I might still be able to use it for that sweater by using smaller needles and knitting a larger size, but that makes me a little nervous. I want to love the sweater I knit from it, and not have to rip it out 6 times until I get the size right.

So. I was browsing around Flickr the other day, and saw this sweater. I fell in love with it too, and the awesome thing is, it uses lace weight yarn. While it looks so lovely and soft in the Kidsilk, I think the Malabrigo will be just fine. Plus, the book the pattern is in has other sweet patterns I want to knit too. It was a bit troublesome to locate a copy of Rowan Studio 4, but I finally snagged a copy off Ebay. It's almost a good thing it won't get here for a couple weeks, because I have Christmas knitting to do!

lots of snow!

45 centimeters
Originally uploaded by mricon

Maybe not 45 cm, but Montreal is supposed to get about 25-30 cm today. That is more than a goodly amount of snow. That's enough snow for me to cancel my trip to the yarn store, so I don't get stuck somewhere when the bus never arrives.

But I think I will be happy enough playing with the yarn I already have, maybe sewing some more pin cushions, and baking a pumpkin pie. I'm so happy I don't have to work today! They would be a bit crazy to send us out in this, anyway, considering most of the trucks have bald tires.

Other than that, I might try taking photos of a bunch of toys I just finished. These ones will be off to Kauai, so this is probably the last snow they will ever see. I'm still trying to figure out how this wholesale thing works. I'm afraid of assuming the wrong thing, and messing up the deal. Hopefully the shop owner will be understanding, and help me through it.

I would also like to wish my American friends a happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy your feasts and family, and maybe have time for a little knitting while the guys watch football :)

sweet treats

How far in the future can you plan your stash? I have plenty of projects to think about right now, so I am planning for next winter. As a mostly patient person, I get a lot of satisfaction from the anticipation of a sweet treat for myself.

I made myself two new hat and mittens sets last year, and they are still great and work nicely with my fall and winter coats. I have a big, comfy mohair scarf that I love. I have beautiful yarn to knit myself a new neck-warmer. So I really can't justify a new hat and mitten set this year... but next year! I think I may have to go with this yarn, in a colour-way that co-ordinates with my neck-warmer. Or something completely random that I love, because I was never one of those matchy-matchy people. I saw it blogged by the Harlot, and I love my Socks that Rock yarn, so what could be better then snuggly, thick mittens and tuque in hand-painted merino?

no time for me

soft pair
Originally uploaded by baprime

I knew the last couple months before Christmas would be a busy time for me, but I still hate that I have no time to knit anything for myself. I started a pair of socks, but felt so guilty about knitting them I put them away over a week ago. The greenish yarn in the photo is some hand-spun BFL a friend gave me for my birthday. The bluish yarn is some amazingly soft hand-spun I picked up In Nova Scotia on my honeymoon. I plan to use them together in a neck warmer of my own design. I am itching to get started with this stuff, but I am strong enough to put it aside and make the toys on order.

But come the middle of December, it's all about me! I plan to give myself two months of just knitting what I want. This may include the twin to the sock I knit for my husband last year. If the sweet, soft yarns for my socks and sweater don't tempt me too much ;)

squee!

Robert Mahar of Mahar Dry Goods just bought Pete! I love his little toy store, because everything in it is made by crafty people like me. People who make just a few items at a time, or make everything unique, and put all their effort and creativity into each item. I don't want to get too excited about the fact that he bought one of my toys, but it is super cool nonetheless.

I started knitting Pete on my honeymoon, so he is kinda special to me. I will have to give him a few extra cuddles before taping him into a parcel. I love his nubbly, curly fleece. I wish I had more of that yarn.

Someone wants me to knit a tiny, fuzzy siamese kitten. What kind of yarn will I use for that, I wonder? I have brown alpaca sock yarn in two shades of brown I think I could use, but I'm not sure if it will be fuzzy enough for her. Anyone know of something very fuzzy, fine, and not too expensive?

Oh. and thanks so much everyone for your nice comments! I wish I could send you all an email saying how much I appreciate your reading my little blog, but Blogger won't let me do that.

As for the Malabrigo yarn, if it is as nice as it's reputation, I'm afraid I may want to use it for all my future projects! I may have to make a trip to my LYS very soon, to remind myself that there are TONS of beautiful yarns out there :)