button holes

This was just a cool technique for making a button band so I am posting here more for me than my readers as I want to try it in the future.  Thought other people might like to see and  use it as well.  So please try it and let me know what you think as you may get to it before me.

Update on Red and Black sweater

I have figured out a few things on this sweater as I have gone along.  I learned that when doing a button band it is all important to cast on about 25% less than the number of rows already there.

 

I also learned how to make a yarn go back and for the in the middle of the row by locking the threads around each other when swapping colors ( color change). OK these things seam self explanatory but if you have never drafted your own pattern like this well not so much so it was a learning experience I am still working on it.  

 

I realized I have a skein that is a different dye lot in number hoping it won't be a big deal.  I am waiting to use it last and I am going to try and use it for the flap on the back if I don't have to see it it won't both me so much and I am definitely not looking at my back side all the time so that would be the best spot for me I would see my sleeves so that won't work for me there plus I think it will be less noticeable to other people as well on my back side.  We will see if it is too much I may do some redrafting of the back side like make it all black seed stitch for the flap.  The reds do look real close in skein form so I am hoping that it won't show either way. 

 

I am doing the sleeves first now.  I plan on doing the seed stitch for the bottom half of so of the sleeve and the fold it up on it self or leave down I like it both ways.  I think over all this is coming out pretty good for making it on the fly.  For me on the fly means 90% of it is figured out in my head and I just have to make it look like what I see in my head.  The sweater isn't crooked bye the way I just didn't put it on the mannequin all that neatly

Update: I found a ball of yarn that rolled under my couch same dye lot. Happy Day!!!! I may still be able to make this look like the image in my head.

CSN Giveaway (2 winners will be awarded)

A few weeks ago I talked about another giveaway that was going to happen with CSNstore.com .  Well the test piece arrived and I have tested it.

There will be two giveaways on this one.
My children will draw the winners on  June 2nd.

1.  CSN will mail one out to the first winner in winners choice of color.  Black or natural pear wood.  This will be the first name drawn out!

2.  One from me  same item but only in black (the one I tested)and it will also have with it a book "Japanese Kimekomi".  Since you did not have the chance to pick your color.  This will be the second name drawn out!

RULES

You need to leave a comment in this post and you have to leave a way for me to get a hold of you.  This is so I can get the information I need for you to be able to get the item.  If you follow this in bloglines or on Facebook or some other place you do need to leave the comment on the original post in my blog not those other places to be eligible to win.

Just so you know I have not been paid to do this I was asked to do a giveaway.  I was offered to be able to keep one but I am giving it away as prize number two as I want to be honest with the test. 


Review notes:
Item description

1. Photo Holder by Bortolani Becchelli 
2. cost 23.00 not counting shipping
3. Pear wood 
4. size 6 cm - 3 cm - 5 cm
5. base containing rare earth magnet 
6. steel ball bearing
7. made in Italia(Italy)

The reasons I picked this item I wanted to see if it would work well as a pattern holder.  Patterns which have multiple pages and if it would be a nice travel size to get tossed in a project bag.  I know it is meant to hold pictures on a desk but that is only one thickness of paper so here we go.

Pros

1. Small  fits in the palm of your hand (nice travel size)
2. Strong magnet (rare earth) can hold several papers at once. I recommend folding the papers in half so they stand up straight.  I folded 7 pages  (8 1/2 x 11) in half and it held it well (that 14 pieces of paper it was holding most patterns are not that long so it worked great for this purpose)  It could hold more but that was good enough for me.
3. If traveling you can just copy the pages you want so you don't loose your pattern book and drop them and this in you bag.  When you get to the hotel or where ever, it sets up easy on a table or night stand so you have both hands free to work and can glance at the pattern easily. 
4. can hold leaflet books without folding them in half because of the rigidity of their covers
5. If you loose the bearing it is easy to replace at any hardware store
6. perfect for original purpose as a photo holder

Cons

1. It is a 2 piece item one the base and two the metal ball   (can easily loose one part making it not work, the bearing)
2. Chocking hazard for small children
3. not able to use in car as the surfaces would not be flat and two bouncy
4. Because of it has a small size you do have to fold over loose leaf pages to hold them up right.  Making you only be able to read a part of the page.  Not to big of a deal as you only look at one section at a time any way.
5. The price doesn't seem to fit the item seems to high even for an import with pear wood.

I forgot to take photos of the test so I will do it again and add those later. Thanks
Wendy and good luck

update this was originally had a post date of May 22 I brought it up to May 29th so it could still be visible on the first page of my blog  Please feel free to enter this giveaway

More kool aid dyeing

top ro

a strawberry on cream wool
b cherry on cream wool
c orange, lemon aid, and dk cherry on oatmeal wool
d lemon lime on oatmeal wool

bottom row

a ice blue raspberry lemon aid on cream wool
b berry blue on oatmeal wool
c grape on cream wool
d grape on oatmeal wool

This is my middle daughters strawberry kool aid hair for summer.

Kool aid dyeing wool and hair

I played with kool aid dyeing today on hair and wool. The same kool aid color (ice blue raspberry lemon aid) was used on both what a change the color is from one to the other. I want to dye a few more skeins of yarn  2 oz each) and use this to make a sweater. Also one or two more kids want their hair dyed so we will see what colors they pick I may use the same. The hair color is just for the summer for fun for camp when school rolls around this will not be in their hair anymore. 

 

wear gloves and protect area and wear clothes you do not care about as this will dye what it touches.
update june 2012

We like dk cherry (above 2012) and strawberry (below 2010) in the kids hair

directions how to do this below for wool and hair

The winner is....

The winner of the my friendship bracelet maker is comment 11as picked by my Middle daughter.

"mym ; on Ravelry said...
brilliant ! thanks for showing me that .
marie in florida"

thank you for letting me know you are on Ravelry took me  a second to find you but I did.   I have sent you an email through Ravelry saying what I needed from you such as

• our name 
• address 
• email 

so the company can send you the item and contact you if they need more info

thanks wendy
congratulations

Red and Black Sweater & snow!

The color in these photos is bad the sweater is actually a brick red.  With the snow yesterday it was fitting that I have been working on a winter sweater for next year.  I am making this up as I go along.  So there is no pattern so to speak other than the one in my head that wants a black colllar, and neck, at sleeves and waist the rest is red.  I am using wool for this size 10 knitting needles and Lion brand Alpine wool that I got on clearance I have six skeins of red and 3 of black so I think I should have enough if not it gets short sleeve as opposed to the long ones in my head.   It has seed stitch for the collar area  this is what I will use at the waist and sleeves too.  The sleeves will not tapper but may get a little bigger towards the cuffs.  I want a big band of black at the cuffs we will see how that goes.

Update:

To answer a statement in comments yes I said snow! Here is yesterdays pictures of it in our yard. It was very heavy wet snow. Broke many trees.  The first one is during the storm taken from my kitchen widow the second is after the storm you can see the hole in the tree where it broke you can also compare the two pictures and see how much the tree bent from the heavy very wet snow.  the first photo was taken around 9 am the second on the same day around 3 pm.  Utah has very strange weather patterns anything can happen during the day weather wise.

Give away: "My Friendship Bracelet Maker"

I and my daughters where asked if we would test out the new "My friendship bracelet maker"

http://www.myfbm.com/

All three of my daughters and myself have made bracelets on it.  Here are the results from youngest to oldest.

Just so you know the company is giving one of these away to one lucky reader of this blog.  Just leave your comment at the end of this post.  Leave me a way to get a hold of you so I can contact you at the end of the give away.  If I can't get a hold of the winner the prize will be given to another person in the list of comments.

You will not win the one we tested the girls get to keep that one.  You will get a new one sent straight from the manufacture to you.

For those who read this in other feeds such as facebook and bloglines and such you have to leave the comment on my blog for it to be eligible to win.  My oldest daughter will draw the name at the end of this so I will have no say in who the winner is.  The winner will be drawn on Wednesday of next week May 26, 2010.

Here are some basic statistics on this item
cost : $19.99
size :14 x 8 x 3
sliding drawer to store threads, instructions
comes with: instructions
comes with: 56 threads that are 60 inches long

My 8 year old 

who made her first bracelet on this

Pro's

1. You don't have to hold all the strings in your hands.
2. You don't have to pin it to your clothes and make holes in your clothes.
3. It helps to keep things straight.

Con's

1. Did not like that it (the thread) could pop out of the butterfly clip (10 times).

Youngest daughter has never made a friendship bracelets before.  She tends to pull harder than she has to thus her con probably isn't a con with a little practice as she won't pull so hard once she gets better at it.  She pulled real hard to hard in fact and broke a few of her threads.  So I don't think it was the tools fault.  I watched her to see how she would do as it was her first time.

My 10 year old 

who has made a few bracelets before

Pro's

1. Kept all the threads nice and neat on top.
2. I also liked that you could pull on it as hard as you wanted and the threads would not pop out of the butterfly clip.
3. These are the fastest bracelets I have ever made because I didn't have to stop and untangle.
4. I also like how it stores the threads nice and neat and the finished bracelet too inside in the drawer.

Con's
She said there was nothing she didn't like about it.

My 12 year old daughter 

who has made tons of bracelets before

Pro's

1.  It kept everything nice and neat.
2. I could tell which thread I had to pick up next with out having to try and find it.
3. The backs of my bracelets are now much neater.
4. It kept everything nice and flat and it didn't curl up on it self.

Con's

1.  It could use rubber pads on the bottom so it doesn't slid around as easy

Me 

I have made bracelets or about 25 years 

in lots of different styles

Pro's.

1. It makes a nice travel item for in the car as the supplies are all ready to go
2.  Comes with 56 already cut threads so depending on how many threads you use from 2 to 6 you can make from a minimum 10 to a maximum of 28 bracelets with out having to cut new thread. 
3. It can do up to 1-6 strands folded over so 2-12 threads in the bracelet area that is a nice range to work from( there is a mistake in the instructions that leads you to believe that it can only do up to 10 threads because there are 10 slots but once you get past the first row of knots you can have a thread hang off of each side and not get tangles because all the rest are kept secure.
4. It has an adjustment to move the butterfly away from you as the bracelet gets longer (which is nice as I use to pin theses to jeans and wear holes in my jeans or safety pin them to an ankle friendship bracelet which meant sitting funny to get it farther away from me)
5. Can store unfinished bracelet inside in the compartments
6. Has nice clear instruction on how to form the number 4 knot (forward knot as it is known to most people that make bracelets) that even little children can understand
7. Explains how to make your first bracelet (great beginner instructions)
8. Nice to be able to sit at a table instead of on the floor which is what you sort of have to do if it is tied to your ankle bracelet
9. Fits easily in a backpack to do during recess at school
10. Cutter than using a clip board I have seen some people use especially for  little girls
11. Don't have to carry scissors when you first get it as the threads are all ready cut.  But you will have to cut the thread when done.  So there is a compartment in the box big enough for a small pair of scissors.
12. You can go to their website for more patterns by joining their email list
13. Explains one other type of knot on their website

Con's

1. Only explains a "(number 4 knot) forward knot" and doesn't call it a forward knot there are also "backwards knot"s and "forward backwards knot" and a"backwards forward knot" which are needed for advanced  bracelets
2. Only explains how to do one type of bracelet with the inclosed instructions
3. It could use some rubber pads on the bottom so it doesn't slide so easy on a table  they are easy to find and buy and fix that any hardware store 
4. Should come in a boy version as I have seen boys make these too.  Very girlie. ( I have been told it will come in a boy version in the future so this con will go away soon)

In all, all four of us liked it very much and would buy it to give to friends as birthday gifts and things of that sort.


Don't forget to leave a comment , and a way for me to get back with you if you are the winner, for a chance to win one.

Update: Near completion / Sweater

I worked on this a better part of the day while  at two soccer games and while I was teaching my mother-in-law some techniques in crochet.  When she figured out the techniques or was doing the round or frogging I would work on this.  It was nice I usually have to work on projects alone.  It was special to me to be able to sit and visit with her.

The sweater is very well written and is the correct measurements everywhere.  It is supposed to have two button hole but I liked four better.  So I made it with two to test the pattern then frogged one button band  and redid it with four buttons.  I did not have the forethought to take a picture of it with the two button holes.  So when I was sewing in the buttons I took a photo of it with just the two so people could see what it should look like.

I also have completed one sleeve which means I have tested all the parts of the sweater and it is an easy knit and works up fast with cute results.  It is supposed to be a boys sweater but I only have girls so my mannequin is dressed in girls clothes.  Also this is a size 3T pattern and my mannequin is a 2t that is why it looks a little big on it.

Cozy's sweater Progress

I now have the body done on this sweater and have progressed to working on one of the sleeves.  This doesn't have a button band yet and it has not been blocked yet so the curling at the hem and front should go away when both of those things happen.  Once again the mannequin is a size 2T and this is a size 3T so it looks a little big on the display which is good because that means it is working up correctly.

Test knitting for Cozy

I am testing a pattern for Cozy.   I received the pattern last night in my e-mail to test.  It is a pretty straight forward pattern thus far, meaning the bodice and body (haven't started the sleeves or button band yet).  Works up pretty fast.  Also the mannequin is a size 2T so if it looks a little big on it it is because I am testing size 3T.  It is coming out exactly as it should.  So far I would recommend this pattern to people who need a quick baby gift as it wouldn't take long at all.  Second photo is more true to color.  Sort of a gray day today so it is hard to photograph.

Now avaialble Yo-yo crochet book

Learn to do yoyo crochet in book form is out and shipping

Learn to do yo-yo crochet

Learn to do Yo-yo crochet is also available on Amazon.

Skirt Progress

I worked on this a little over the weekend at soccer games and things of that sort.  It is growing pretty good.  I added a little more to the hem area the purple. The thread I added is a little more raspberry than the original purple I used but that is hard to tell in these photos.  It is just below the scallop in the edging all the chain work.  This is going to be a knee length skirt if I put this against my body and rest the hem at my knees to is at my hip bones at the moment.  I am not sure the cream color will make it to my waist if I run out I have an idea for stripes going vertical at the waist with the raspberry purple color and a white.  The safety pins in the photo are where I have done decreases to make the hem width change to match hip width and there will be more to get to waist width.  Haven't decided on closures yet but leaning towards pearl snaps or a zipper back.  This will be a lined skirt when done.

I may make this into a top if I don't have enough still thinking it over.

Spring flowers

Just some pretty flowers from my yard that I thought I would share.

I actually like this one that looks out of focus in the foreground. I like how clear the back ground is a different depth of field.