Tag Archives: Loops & Threads Impeccable

Oct24

WIP Wednesday

Posted on by
Standard

Well, I do have some WIPs to show you, but first I have a TA DA!

FullSizeRender (35)

The Granny blanket is done! This is made with rather a lot of Loops & Threads Impeccable in various colours (from stash), plus some vintage acrylic, plus some new kelly green Impeccable. The kelly green is there because this blanket is for my friend and she and her husband support the Saskatchewan Roughriders football team.

I gave it to her today and I think she is pleased! She put it over her legs while we were visiting.

Another smaller FO is this hat…

IMG_7725

Rather ugly, I think, in brown and gold, but it used up a lot of vintage acrylic! And I was happy to practise on some yarn without using the “good stuff!” This hat was made on my Bond knitting machine. It was just a long rectangle, half brown, half gold, which was seamed into a tube and cinched at each end, then you push one half of the hat inside the other and TA DA, a reversible hat that has a quadruple thick layer over the ears.

Now onto the prettier stuff.

I found this Christmas-inspired Bernat Pop! at Walmart recently and was itching to knit with it. So I started a fair isle hat using a chart out of my Alice Starmore Charts for Color Knitting book. I’m using two cakes, pulling one strand from the outside of one cake, and the second strand from the inside of the other.

I don’t claim to be particularly good at stranded knitting, though I have the technique down. One yarn in each hand, plus the catching of the floats, no problem. My tension, well, that remains to be seen.

FullSizeRender (36)

I just love the colours. So much more appealing to me than the standard red, green and white. The colourway is called Candy Cane. One pattern repeat done. The background will be changing to aqua in the next repeat.

I started another project today too. I am not usually such a prolific starter (I still have two other WIPs which have been neglected and I don’t like having too many on the go) but I wanted to take something out with me to work on that was restful and didn’t need much attention while I visited with my friends. So I started this…

IMG_7727

I made a scarf just like this last year so I looked up my Ravelry project page to see what hook size I used. One skein and a 6.5mm hook gave me a scarf 9 squares wide by about 60″ long.  This bulky yarn (Loops & Threads Barcelona) is pretty and soft and makes a lovely texture in the C2C stitch pattern. I think I may make a coordinating hat like I did with the other colourway last year. And perhaps pompoms at each end…?

Gotta run – dinner is nearly ready. Happy crafting, y’all!

 

 

 

Jun18

FO: VW Campervan bag

Posted on by
Standard

FullSizeRender (25)FullSizeRender (24)FullSizeRender (23)IMG_6647

This baby is DONE!

The pattern is my own design, though I relied heavily on cushion and bag pattern pictures on Ravelry and photos on Pinterest. The yarn is Loops & Threads Impeccable (except for the black) and I used a 5mm hook. It resulted in a fairly stiff fabric, which is fine for a bag, but if it was a wearable item I’d definitely use a 5.5mm.

The lining fabric is from the store where I work, and is a very appropriate peace sign print. I added a pocket in the lining, and a magnetic button for the top closure.

This was quite fun to design on the hook, and even the unravelling and redoing of the front windows (the stranded look was crappy so I changed it for intarsia) didn’t take long and wasn’t onerous. I’m glad I did it as I wouldn’t have been 100% happy with the finished object otherwise.

The project took about 16 days from start to finish and now the big question is, “What next?”

 

Jun6

WIP: VW Camper Van bag

Posted on by
Standard

 

I learned something new today. I can take reasonable photos with my phone (which is just an inexpensive Android) and upload them to my Windows laptop easily. Why has it taken me so long to actually use the phone for more than texting?

I was out with a girlfriend today, walking along the waterfront at a small town just south of my own, enjoying a London Fog and a large slice of vegan orange date walnut loaf, and sunbathing at the sheltered bay which is such a popular swimming spot in the summer. It was a comfortable temperature, mostly sunny, maybe around 25 Celsius. The lake is higher than it’s ever been in recorded history, thanks to a rainy spring and the melting of the snowpack at higher elevations, so flood barriers have been set up in many places to try to hold back the water from flooding backyards and basements.

Along one stretch of our walk, the road was closed to traffic and there were hoses stretched across the road where people were pumping excess water from their properties back into the lake. Or at least trying to. I’m not sure how successful that can be when it must surely cycle back in.

Ironically, the extra water has not resulted in more watery activities, as swimming and boating are not recommended because of the detritus in the water. Kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding seem to be the better options. The beaches have disappeared and the mosquitos are having a field day because of the increase in stagnant water.

This bag, which I probably shouldn’t claim to be a VW camper van for fear of trademark infractions, is for my niece. When I was on holiday visiting the family she nicely asked if I would make her one. There’s a couple of patterns on Ravelry that helped me come up my own plan for the bag, though I still don’t know what type of handles/strap it will have.

So far, I’ve made pretty good progress on the front. I’m not 100% happy with the edges of the colour blocks but I don’t think there’s a way to avoid the unevenness if you’re working back and forth. The edge stitches look different on the left and right of the V – the ones on the right are beautifully smooth. Also the two white stitches in between the windshield sections are a bit untidy. I used intarsia on the blue/white part and stranding on the grey/white, and I think it would have been better to have used intarsia throughout.

Ah well, it was a good day. Nice to be out in the sunshine instead of stuck inside, either at home cleaning or at work. Tai Chi Man has fixed the J brackets to my roof rack, so I am ready to load up a kayak or two at a moment’s notice. Hoping to actually get out on the lake for the first time in ages, sometime this week.

I hope your week is awesome!

 

 

Feb6

FOs: Caterpillar blanket and hats for Swaziland

Posted on by
Standard

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – TA DAH!

The Blanket, Hat and Cocoon are finally ready to wing their way across the Atlantic, along with the board book. Full details on my Ravelry project page.

I don’t have much time to chat, as I have to leave for work in a moment, so will quickly show you the first of a stack of baby hats that I am making for the friend of a friend. She goes to Swaziland every year – runs an organization called SwaziKids.

fullsizerender-35

I started using a Basic Beanie pattern on Rav, but quickly realised I can churn these out easily enough without a pattern.

It’s a beautiful sunny day here, which is made extra bright by the fact we’ve had about a foot of fresh snow the last few days. Have a great Monday!

 

Feb2

It’s a happy sunny day!

Posted on by
Standard

We’ve had a few snowflakes today, and it’s currently about minus 7 outside, but inside it’s bright and warm. The sun has been streaming into the south side of the house and it has motivated me to do an extra great job on the weekly clean (plus I have friends coming over this evening so that’s a good motivation too)!

I took a couple of photos of my kitchen and dining room and posted them to Facebook with the comment that I had to record my enjoyment of the five minute period between finishing the cleaning and having it messed up again. Oh, if only we didn’t have to eat and pee, things would stay cleaner SO much longer 😉

What do you think of these cute little Baby Janes?

fullsizerender-34

This yarn has proved difficult to photograph. Must be the colour, because my iPad just won’t focus on it. Tai Chi Man’s iPad did a slightly better job. These are made with Red Heart With Love in Boysenberry. I’ll take them to work so that they can be displayed temporarily with the bubble gum blanket.

The update on the caterpillar blanket:

img_6293img_6294

The hexagons are a bit of a slog. To distract myself a little, I sewed the face and feet on, though I haven’t fastened off the ends or woven them in yet. I added the three and a half hexes in that top row this afternoon. My white yarn is getting low – I think I may have to visit Michaels with coupon in hand for another ball.

Okey dokey, time to hit Publish and get on with other things. Happy crafting!

Dec31

Only 4 hours of 2016 to go

Posted on by
Standard

Here I am, sitting on the couch with my crochet and laptop as usual. Well, they do say you should start as you mean to go on!!

It’s been a good week.  A few not-too-busy shifts at work. A fun potluck last night with friends. And only one WIP to start off the new year.

The current project is The Very Happy Caterpillar blanket by Artisan Loops Designs, aka Ne11 on Ravelry. (Yes, that IS Nell with two ones.) It’s a paid pattern which she kindly sent me as a gift some time ago. My Ravelry project page says that I started it on December 6th, but despite that I haven’t made much progress. The blanket has a row of coloured circles in the top row and two rows at the bottom, so I crocheted these circles first. The final white joining round is one I was dreading a tiny bit as the layout of the pattern has lots of little picots around the circles for joining them to each other and I was getting in a tizz about them. But as usual, getting them done was easier than I had anticipated and now I have a full row done. I did make a teensy weensy mistake on the last circle, adding an extra picot where one wasn’t needed as it is a corner circle. That is now fixed.

The yarn is Loops & Threads Impeccable, which is an acrylic worsted weight yarn from Michaels, and these colours are yellow, purple, orange, blue, dark green and red. The green looks better in real life, and the photo isn’t showing much differentiation between the blue and purple. Anyhoo, so far, so good. I have pushed through the thing that was making me procrastinate and I am off to the races.

If I need a small portable project at all, I think I will make another caterpillar hat in a larger size. I would hate for the one I made to be too small. Better to have it a bit too big than too small. And the cocoon, well, I think I will be adding a drawstring to the top of it, as the opening looks huge. Just my thoughts as I type away here, excuse my rambling!

I hope 2016 was good to you. Make 2017 great!

 

Nov19

FOs: Caterpillar Cocoon and Hat, and a Coaster

Posted on by
Standard

img_6001

I just completed three full shifts in three days and to be honest I just didn’t feel like crocheting after I arrived home after 9pm Thursday night. However last night I pushed ahead with the cocoon and called it done when it looked big enough. I have been really bad at following the pattern as I felt I couldn’t really trust it. No gauge info, no final measurements to give me confidence.

I started weaving in the ends at home and finished them on breaks at work today. I really hope that this set looks good on its intended recipient, but I suppose as it’s meant to be a photo prop it only has to look good for a short time and any (potentially) excess cocoon fabric can be tucked around the baby.

Another small project that I finished today is a double thick coaster. It’s an African flower motif, but I’m not going to bother linking to the site I was using for instructions as the “pattern” was really vague and I had to peer at people’s photos to see if I was interpreting it correctly. I suggest a search on Ravelry for a better option if you’d like to make this motif.

I made two motifs in different colourways out of Stylecraft Classique Cotton DK and a 4.25mm hook, then slipstitched them together back to back. I’ve been wanting to test out this motif for a long time. It’s really easy and one day I hope to make a larger project with more of them.

This item is for a fellow Ravelry member who was let down in a swap. I think her parcel got lost in the mail. A few people are sending her small extra things to make up for the disappointment. I will add a few bits and pieces to this coaster and send them off soon.

Another bit of mail I need to send is a few grams of Stylecraft Special DK in Copper to a Raveler in New Zealand. She has nearly finished a blanket and just needs to finish half of a row in Copper. She didn’t want to buy a whole new skein so asked on one of the forums if anyone had any they’d be willing to send her. I have half a ball left over from Demelza so I will be putting some in an envelope and mailing it off soon.

I just love this Ravelry community. It has added so much to my crafting life.

 

 

Nov8

A distraction from the current WIP

Posted on by
Standard

img_5975

I think I’m safe to post this here as my Jersey (British Isles) family doesn’t read my blog (except maybe for my mum and she won’t tell).

I had a Michaels email yesterday – my usual routine when those arrive is to keep the most recent one, just in case I find myself in need of a coupon, but this time the info was somewhat more interesting. All yarn on sale? Hmmm, have to check it out.

When I arrived, the employees were frantically opening towers of cardboard boxes and stocking the shelves, and at first I thought I might get Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice because it was about half price. However they had no white, and I need white for the main colour of my next project.

I went off to Costco and when I came back there was still none, so I looked at the Loops & Threads Impeccable. A similar 100% worsted weight acrylic, not quite as soft as the Vanna’s, but less money and more yardage per ball. The colours are white, four shades of green, yellow, purple, orange, royal blue and cherry red. The purple looks blue in the photo for some reason. They are 4.5oz each, so bigger than the usual 3.5oz put-up.

That haul of 12 skeins cost me $30, which I think is a good deal as I will have enough to be able to make this blanket AND this cocoon/hat set (Ravelry links). I already bought the board book and I feel that this combination will make a nice newborn gift for the new parents. I will need to have it all finished by February to allow for snail mail, so no rush for the deadline.

The Coatigan continues – I think I have 31 squares made so far, so when I get to 36 I’ll take another photo. (Oooh, I just realised that 31 is halfway there.)

It’s been a gloriously sunny day here. After my piano lesson I met a friend for tea and we sat outside the coffee shop for an hour, enjoying the rays. Not bad for November, eh!

 

Jan16

Wait!!

Posted on by
Standard

I mentioned granny slippers in my last post. But I didn’t tell you about those. I took photos the other day and didn’t get around to blogging about it.

I needed a portable project the day I went into the city for errands. I met a friend at a coffee shop…

FullSizeRender-2

…and took some Loops & Threads Impeccable, my new Addi hook and the bobwilson123 Granny Stitch Slippers pattern.

And added to it here…

IMG_4692

…sitting in the car while waiting to pick up ds2 at college.

I then had to drive him to the dentist for a quick fix on a tooth…

IMG_4694

…and almost finished the first one, except for the single crochet around the top of the foot. I’ve made a few pairs of these now and they are quick and easy and great for keeping in a basket next to the front door for visitors.

Crocheting in Public – it’s so cool! And it really gets things done.

 

 

 

Nov3

Some actual knitting!

Posted on by
Standard

It’s been so long since I finished a knitting project that I had to go and look at my Ravelry project pages to check. I finished a cowl and a hooded cowl back in April and since then it’s all been crochet.

imageWhat has inspired me to pick up the needles again, you ask!? Well, a friend and her daughters have these knitted Christmas stockings, but her partner, who now lives with her and obviously will be spending Christmas with her, doesn’t have one. So she asked me whether I could make one for him, and I was willing to do it for the price of the yarn.

After a search on Ravelry, I concluded that the old stocking was a Mary Maxim kit, and it was a simple case of measuring the stocking and its gauge, buying some worsted yarn, and deciding on a design for the leg section. I went with a snowman.

image

I bought yarn from Michaels (Loops & Threads Impeccable) in red, white and green (of course) plus some black and orange for features.

Rather than knit it flat and use intarsia for the colourwork, I have gone with knitting it in the round like a large sock and I will duplicate stitch the snowman on afterwards. My plan is for him to have a black hat and a green 3D scarf and maybe some small black buttons down the front.

image

As of tonight I have completed 13.5″ of the leg (actually cast on for this last week). Just two of the narrower stripes to go for the leg, then I’ll make a green foot.

I’m rather enjoying myself. 😉