Rugs

Long time . . . no blog.

I have been working hard on producing some original knitting patterns, thus my absence for the past few weeks.  I hope to have them ready for sale in the next few months. 

The "baby sweater give-away", has been accomplished!  The sweater was shipped off to "Camille", who happily is expecting a new baby boy.  Camille is a devoted "Follower" of many homemaking/crafting blogs, and I was happy that she found mine too . . . that is, along with the rest of you "knit-liking" friends.  There will be more "give-aways" in the future.

For years, I have had a crocheted, heart-shaped, rag rug on the hearth of my fireplace, to make sitting there comfortable.  I recently redecorated the room, and the rug no longer matched the decor.  The room was originally decorated in Country Americana, and it is now decorated in a Wild African theme, to include the treasures my Son brought back from Uganda.  I was on a quest for a pattern for a new one, as I felt the "heart shape" was too cutsy for the new look of the room.  I came across this great pattern.

Rag Rug
Designed by:  Coco Knits http://store.cocoknits.com/products/rag-doily-rug.html
Free Pattern download
Supplies:  one king sized flat sheet, but into strips and connected (instructions for no-sew connection included)
#19 straight or circular needles
Gauge:  1 st per 1"

I found this great Free Pattern, and decided it was the perfect size and shape to sit on my fireplace hearth.  I had never knit with strips of fabric, so I decided to knit the rug with four strands of Red Heart Craft Yarn.  The rug turned out great, but the yarn was very difficult to block, and even after soaking it in starch and water, and pinning it out to dry, the rug continually shrinks in size.

Luckily, the brick on the hearth is rough, so the rug can be spreadout to the correct size, and it sticks there.  As soon as I can find the time, I am going to knit the rug again, using a black sheet, as called for in the pattern.  In addition to not maintaining it's shape, the rug is a real attractor of crumbs and lint, so it always looks dirty.

After I knit the hearth rug, I decided it could be knit as a full round, and I needed another rug for the bottom of the stairs, where there is a lot of traffic on the carpet.

This is the "full round" version of the "half round rug pattern".

This rug attracts lint and crumbs as well, and they are not easily shook out.  It does not maintain it's shape either, and we are continually trying to stretch it out-to-size.  I guess sometimes . . . it's not such a good idea to get too creative with things.  I can now see that the instructions on the pattern were the best way to go.

I'm off to my Nephew's graduation from the Air Force Academy next week, where I plan to wear the infamous "Green Dress & Shrug" (prior post).  I'll be back soon with photos of the event, and my impressions on how the knit shrug worked out.  Happy Knitting!

The Long Saga of the Green Designer Dress

Recently, while trying to locate a great birthday gift for my daughter, Emily, I ran into the following designer  dress on QVC:

The dress was designed by Marc Bower, and I thought it would be perfect for Emily.

So I ordered the dress for her in a size small.  While I was waiting for it to arrive, I decided that perhaps it was a style that I could "pull-off" as well, so I ordered another one, in a size large.  I knew that the cap sleeves would not be flattering to my flabby arms, so something knit to cover them -- entered the picture.

I found the perfect matching yarn (Patons - Silk Bamboo - 70% bamboo/30% silk), which was purchased at JoAnns Fabrics.  Then the perfect pattern was located:  "Lacy Shrug" by Joan McGowan-Michael (free pattern).    http://www.whiteliesdesigns.com/

I panicked when the first dress arrived.  As you can see from the following picture, there is a gathered seam at the lower back of the dress, which was not seen in the pictures used for ordering.

I was afraid it would make me look like I had a saggy "backside".  I immediately put it on my dress form, afraid to face the fact that I would actually see my saggy "backside" in the mirror.

Once the gathering was pulled up around the waist, a saggy "booty" was no longer an issue, so I continued to knit and knit and knit.  The stitch on the shrug was lacy and easy to execute, but I have very long arms and I was continually returning to the store to purchase more yarn.

The shrug was finally finished, and pinned out for blocking.  It was added to my dress on the dressform.

Steve made me a beautiful necklace and earrings to go with it.

The extra beads were used to make a simpler necklace and larger earrings for Emily.

Emily's Birthday arrived, and she was given her dress.  It fit beautifully, and she made it look great.

Then I got up the courage to try mine on too.  I guess it looks okay?  I think I'll wear it to my Nephew, Zane's graduation from the Air Force Academy in late May.

Happy Knitting!

I'm waiting to hear from "Camille", the lucky winner of the Backzip Baby Sweater.  Thank you to all of those who signed up as "Followers".  I'm planning to have more drawings in the future!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

The drawing for the Backzip Baby Sweater was held on Saturday, April 30.  Of all the Followers on this blog --- Camille --- was the WINNER.  Congratulations "Camille".  I will be contacting you via e-mail to get a mailing address to send you the sweater.

Thank you to everyone who became a Follower.  It is my intention to hold like drawings in the future, so don't dispare, you'll get another chance.