Blankets! What I've been up to: Lots and Lots of Project Linus

I have been making blankets for Project Linus lately. I inherited a LARGE amount of Red Heart yarns, perfect for charity knitting, especially since Project Linus can't accept any amount of wool, due to the sensitive conditions of the kiddos that we are giving to. This is what I've done since December, I haven't properly followed a pattern for any of these, and the vast majority are 100% my own designs. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for checking these out, stay tuned to see more of my work!

Sweet Sips and Swift Stitches: Begin Again

Time for a makeover! Introducing the new and improved spinningknitting1's podcast! Now with a proper title: Sweet Sips and Swift Stitches. Check out the new video!

This is an example of my Magical Machine Knitting skills. I am just learning, and there are mistakes in it, but I am pretty happy with it. I made this cowl on the Brother 260 bulky machine, using fingering weight acrylic yarn. I used the snowdrop lace pattern from Knitting Stitch Bible, a book for handknitters. I transferred the stitches on the bed by hand, and then knit the rectangle, and bound off, and seamed up the side using a modified mattress stitch. I steamed the yarn, and since it was acrylic it killed it, and gave it a lovely drape and a little bit of a sheen. 

For my first Daring Design I am making a simple V-stitch crocheted rectangle baby blanket for Project Linus, a charity that gives blankets to children that are ill or who have experienced trauma. The yarn is Caron One Pound, and I am using a US Size J hook. 

My next Daring Design is a preemie blanket for the local children's hospital. I am making a simple stockinette rectangle right now to show off the yarn, but when I add in the next stripe I will add in more interest in the knitting, either a lace pattern, or a knit and purl pattern, I haven't quite decided yet. I am working the blanket on US Size 4 needles using Wendy Peter Pan double knit yarn and Sirdar Snuggly 4ply yarn.

Also using Caron yarn, this time a Caron Cake, which is 20% wool and 80% acrylic, made to celebrate Caron's 100th birthday as a yarn company, I am making an asymmetrical triangle shawl. I am increasing on stitch on the same side every 4th row, and working the whole thing in garter stitch. It's a relaxing project, and the yarn makes it fun.

Last but not least of the charity knitting in Daring Designs is a prayer shawl that I am knitting for my local church. I am using Deborah Norville Everyday acrylic in the Lilac Field and Mist colorways. I improvised an eyelet border and then am striping the two yarns, working Lilac Field in garter and Mist in stockinette.The finished shawl will be 24" by 60". I am using 9mm or US Size 13 needles.

This is a top down cardigan that I am designing working Malabrigo sock in the eggplant colorway. It is a fairly slow going knit, and I am working it on US Size 5 needles, on the Knitter's Pride Karbonz interchangeables that I have.

This is the second sweater in Daring Designs. It is a bulky weight sweater. I worked the back as a 2x2 rib rectangle, and then picked up stitches at the shoulders and am working the two front halves down two and a time, on the same needle. I have increased the stitches, so now I am at the bottom of the front with a 4x4 rib on each side. I worked them at the same time so I could be sure and make my increases the same. I am going to seam up the sides, and then work elbow length sleeves, and then make a large shawl collar around the front of the entire sweater.

The last of the Daring Designs are a pair of socks for my boyfriend.They are worked in a self striping On Live sock yarn, and Cascade Heritage Sock in the Christmas Red colorway. The instep is a 2x2 rib and the sole is stockinette. I am working them on US Size 1 needles.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new format. I'll be trying to pick apart my design process and lay out what goes on in my head a bit.

Vegan Cleanse: Day Five!

Well, last night my boyfriend did come over, and he brought Arby's! The sandwich wasn't too tempting, but oooh, those fried mozzarella sticks! They did look good. I did not succumb however. I did eat the chocolate cake that I made, it was pretty delicious with strawberries and blueberries on top of it. I used a gluten free cake mix and just added in extra oil instead of eggs. I guess I could have used apple sauce too, I have heard of people using that as a substitute as well. As in women in my families when they run out of eggs, not vegans, but I think it works well for both circumstances.

I haven't had any more chocolate cake today. The thing that really kills my cravings is green tea. I'm not sure if anyone else has discovered this, (I'm sure they have), but when I drink green tea I don't feel like I'm missing out on things as much, especially not sweet things. Fruit helps with sweet things too.

This morning I woke up and had another bowl of gluten free granola cereal with coconut milk and the left overs of a green smoothie. It had a banana, flax seed, kale, frozen tart cherries, and coconut milk in it.

Then for lunch I had leftover brown rice pasta and tomato sauce that I didn't heat up, and it made me sad that there was no cheese on it, but I ate it anyways. (It was much better last night, I probably should have heated it up). I then had to leave for a reveal of my sister's wedding dress, so I grabbed a bag of dried fruit, that would have usually been delicious, but I couldn't stomach much of it today, I'm not sure why.

When we came home I heated up  a Tastee Indian dinner that was saag daal, meaning spinach and lentils, and I checked the ingredients, and it was totally vegan, but it was made in a factory that processed animal products, so they didn't mark it as vegan. Maybe it is just me, but if there are no ingredients going into my food that are animal products I think it is good. Going the extra step and making sure the factory is totally clean too, is a little too nit picky for me. It was marked vegetarian, so there was no contact with meat, even indirectly, so that's good too.

So then I tried to clean my room (unsuccessfully). I have started using the KonMari method of cleaning about a month or so ago, and made real strides, until I got to the part where I needed to organize everything, and there I have just kind of fell on my face. For those of you who don't know, the KonMari method is where you go through all of your things and touch them, hold them in your hands, and ask "does this spark joy?" and if it does, then you keep it, and if not, then you discard it. Either donating the item to charity or throwing it away. I threw away very few things, but those were actually trash, and/or items that needed to be thrown away.

After my foray into moving things around in my room without really cleaning anything at all, I came upstairs to eat dinner. I made green beans, with garlic salt and oregano on them. Then I heated up some brown basmati rice, and sauteed mushrooms, onions, and sweet red peppers, with pad thai sauce on them. It was a good dinner. Then I made a smoothie of a banana, strawberry, peanut butter, and honey with coconut milk.

Then I watched some of the Olympics, most specifically some of the men's gymnastics qualifying rounds, and women's weightlifting. I watched some women's basketball and men's water polo while I was downstairs failing at cleaning my room (read starting to crochet together granny squares that I found and was trying to finish instead of having to organize them in the stash again).

I just now finished exercising. I tried to do the elliptical that my father got me, but that sucker makes you take huge steps! My poor little chubby belly is not ready for that kind of action! So I got the rest of my half hour in on the stationary bike, which is my exercise means of choice.

And now to drink the other half of my smoothie and enjoy another relaxing evening.

Vegan Cleanse: Day Two!!

So far in my little experiment everything has been going well. I got three pimples last night, and had a "moving" experience, but other than that everything has been just honky-dory. Last night I also went to shallow water aerobics for the first time! I had been to deep water, but shallow water was different in it's own way.

Today I ate a green smoothie and an apple with peanut butter for breakfast.
For lunch I ate brown rice and quinoa with black beans and peas. I seasoned my black beans with Chinese ginger, and garlic salt and onion flakes. I put garlic salt, and pepper on my peas. I had a lot left over so I just stuck it in the fridge.

Then I rode the bike for 50 minutes, which is a personal record! (I'm trying to build up endurance to walk a 5k, I think I'm almost there!).

Then I made another green smoothie. I put in frozen mango chunks, a banana, kale and flax seed powder with water and coconut milk.

Then I did some resistance band strength training for my arms.

After I had done that I was getting kinda hungry so I put fresh spinach on a plate and put on some cold rice, quinoa and beans onto it. I ate that and some pear compote for dinner. For my pear compote I put in 5 pears, a bag of dried berries, and about three tablespoons of sugar into a pot with water and cinnamon. I let it boil down until it's the consistency of applesauce, only made with pears and berries instead.

In addition to this I got two blankets finished for Project Linus! They are both crocheted.

The first one I inherited the granny squares in the middle from someone, I'm not even sure who, and then I did different borders, mostly puff stitch and half double crochet around it until it was large enough.

All that color changing means there will be a lot of ends to weave in though! I usually finish all the actual stitching on the blankets before the meetings, and then sit and weave in ends at the meetings, since nearly everyone else there is sewing on something, and I'm just not that much of a sewer.

The second blanket is a corner-to-corner throw that is from a pattern published by Red Heart, and it's done in very old Red Heart Super Saver. This blanket, although it's small was about four and a half skeins. There are not near as many ends to weave in on this one, and I think the pattern and the yarn made an interesting, admittedly dizzying design on this one.

Tonight I will work on my next blanket, and there will be a progress report tomorrow.

Episode 23 - It Just Had to Come Home with Me!!!

This week's podcast was a little off the cuff, since I didn't have show notes with me. I was a little bleck all day today, not sure why, just the weather maybe? Because I didn't have show notes everything is out of order and all over the place, but I talk about it all, so it's all good. 

I finished my Sin City blanket, one of my oldest projects on Ravelry, can now be said to be completed! It was also on my WIPdown list, so one more checked off. I turned it into Project Linus- a charity that donates blankets to children that are in the hospital or have experienced some sort of trauma or illness. 

I also finished the green lace scarf that I was making, and my mom claimed that one. So that's two more WIPs off my list! I'm really buzzing through things!

For my WIPs this week, I worked just a little on the orange Tunisian crochet blanket that has been growing ever so slowly. Made with acrylic yarn, intended for Project Linus, I worked it in several directions and have been making rounds of single crochet around the outside to finish it off.

I also worked on my blanket for Project Linus that is a for the Nuts for Neon competition. My local chapter of Project Linus is having a volunteer appreciation day, and as part of that day there is a competition for the best blanket, that will be voted on during the volunteer day. I finished one panel of orange lace, that is the same lace pattern that I have been using for the Edison Bulb portion of my neon cowl, and then I did three mitered squares in the corners to complete the round.

I also almost finished the back of a sweater that I am making from mill ends that I got from JoAnn fabric and craft stores. I got this yarn in pound bags and don't know anything about it except for that it is acrylic. I got three pound bags and it's a bulky weight yarn, so I hope that that will be enough to complete my sweater. It's twelve balls in total, but I'm unsure of the yardage on any of them.

I also worked on the pair of stripey socks that I am making out of Berroco Sox, in two different colorways, but I have lost the ball bands at this point, so I can't tell you what those two are exactly. I am almost done with the cuff, then I will do ten rows of one by one ribbing in the green colorway.

I started on a Done Roving Frolicking Feet section of my neon cowl, and am on the last seed stitch section, so after this bit of color I will bind off and have another project off the needles!! The bright yellow is Edison Bulb by Madeline Tosh.

Last but not least I started a new project, a Tunisian crochet double ended hook project that I am making out of a book of 101 Double Ended Hook Stitches, released by Auntie Anne's Attic, which I'm pretty sure is a daughter company of Red Heart, but I'm not 100% sure on that. This is the project that I do a demonstration on during the podcast.

I'm sorry some of my pictures messed up this week, I had issues uploading to Flickr, so I switched and uploaded directly from my phone onto blogspot, but something clearly went a bit wonky in the process, and now there are pictures with stripes down the side, where there are no stripes in the pictures on my phone. I will try to figure something out better next week. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you all next week!