Ravelry.com

hey everyone,
I am finally on ravelry.com! I LOVE IT!!!!! I have already spent hours pouring over all of the patterns for toys.

Look for me on ravelry as "knitting101". Anyone have any tips on cool stuff to do on the site? Right now I am still navigating.

:)
karyn

Octopus and Companion Cube...what?

Now that the baby shower season has past (see previous posts) I am knitting for myself again. Or so I thought. I set out at the beginning of the week to knit up some super-cute amigurumi octopus. I purchased the pattern on etsy.com and have been trying to find time for them for months now. The time has finally come. I knit up three of them, in various colors, and can't get enough. They are pretty easy to do. Each tentacle takes about 5 minutes, then assembling them and adding the body takes a few hours. This is a one-day project for sure.





I am getting requests for these little guys, but all are spoken for, they will find a place of honor in the knitted aquarium in my classroom. I also have patterns for a small squid, a cuttlefish and a dumbo octopus. Not to worry, all of these will be in the aquarium someday. One of my favorite parts of this pattern has to be the head shaping. I love how organic it looks. Also, I love the way each tentacle curls a bit at the end. I didn't put anything in them, they just naturally do that.

A few months ago, one of my favorite students (he is reading this...hi Griffin!) asked me to knit him something. I said I would if he pulled his grades up in Marine Biology. Well, he did, so I had to follow through. I asked what he wanted, thinking he would like a nice, simple beanie or something like that, but he had a very specific item in mind. A knitted companion cube. Not really knowing what this was, I agreed. Turns out it is one of the most challenging projects to date. 3-color fair isle, knit in the round, with spacers between each side of the cube. So, I knit this strange looking tube. Seen here with the guts showing.



Then, I ran it through the sewing machine a few times, to strengthen the seams and help keep it from unraveling. Then, I CUT IT INTO 6 PIECES. It was pretty tough to do. Cutting something that I spent hours working on. I took my too-sharp Gingher shears and CUT.



Then I spent my Saturday evening seaming the sides together. I cut squares of high density foam and layered them into the knit box.

Once the last piece of foam was settled in, I seamed around the last 4 edges.

The result is a strange not-quite-square "thing" that is exactly what he wanted. I am unclear as to the purpose of this item, Griffin says it is a cube that you carry with you in video games. So I said, oh, like a security blanket when you play? Nope, more like a virtual friend. The cube is actually an image that appears within the game, not in real life. Until now. Now Griffin will be the envy of all of his friends, as he now has his very own, non-virtual knitted companion cube. Enjoy it, and remember that we have a test on Monday.

The Last of the Baby Showers...for now

The last of the baby showers is tomorrow. BUT, another friend at work just announced her pregnancy. Seriously, an epidemic at our school. Here is a picture of the diaper cake for baby Josh. Since we know he is a boy, it was so much easier to come up with stuff to knit. I made him a "j" sweater with roll neck and raglan sleeves. This might be my new favorite sweater. Whips up in a few evenings. Also pictured here, the "guess the birthday" calendar for the shower tomorrow. If you guess closest to actual delivery time, you win a huge gift basket full of fun stuff. This shower has close to 80 people coming, so we decided to skip the typical baby shower games and the gift opening, and treat it more like a BBQ. There will even be a pinata! The weather looks great, so the party should be awesome.



Here is a close up of the "j" sweater. I am gifting it on a bear I bought at an after Easter sale. Love those sales!


The banana rattle has a few new friends. Corn on the cob rattle and eggplant rattle. Don't they all seem really happy to be together? I got the patterns for corn and banana from Kimberly Chapman's website, but I invented the eggplant pattern on my own. It was really fun! Not sure what fruit or veggie I will attempt next. If anyone has any suggestions...
Also, check out the pretty flowers Mike sent me for our 5 year anniversary. So sweet!


This is what is in the wash right now. I was doing a KAL with one of my students, Amanda. We chose an entrelac purse pattern from Felted Handbag Workshop and set to work. The pattern has 6-7 different purses and we each chose a different one. This is my "before" picture. I was hoping the base would be bigger, so I am afraid this might turn into a make up bag or a knitting needle bag. Amanda felted her bag and I will post pics of her finished product next time.


Next up for me? I am working on a few more marine biology animals for my knit aquarium. Currently on the needles (my multi-colored wood knit picks dpns) is a blue ringed octopus. Hope to have pics in the next few days.

Went to Stitched From the Heart on Wednesday and dropped off 2 huge shopping bags of scarves, hats and sweaters. The kids are furiously knitting, as their community service hours are due by the end of May. Each student needs 10 hours per year (40 hours total) in order to earn a diploma from our school. I love this service requirement. It teaches the kids the importance of giving back. The kids are so proud when they turn in an item for donation. I am pretty proud of them all as well.

Baby Showers every weekend!

Hey all,
Seems like I am on baby shower overload. There is a baby shower every weekend this month! Yikes! We have a record number of pregnant women at work. So many that the local paper is writing an article about the baby boom at our school.
Last weekend we threw our boss, Amy, a baby shower in Topanga. A beautiful day and a fun crowd. I made a diaper cake and wrapped it in tulle. I love it and was sorta sad to give it up.
With no tulle...


With tulle...


Here we are with the mommies-to-be. Amy and Julie are preggers, Maggie and I threw the party. Baby Fin is the cutest, by far. Julie's party is this saturday. Watch out for more diaper cake and many more knit surprises!




Of course we dined in style. We had homemade quiche, scones, salads and cheese plates.


Tea and lemonade completed the brunch



Little Fin modeling my latest gift, a simple hat made form some hand-dyed yarn I got at the yarn exchange at Farmer's Market SnB.


I have a ton more to blog. So much more that I have knit. I sent a few boxes with knitted gifts to some friends with kids and am awaiting pictures to post.

Up next? I am knitting a corn on the cob and turning it into a rattle. For a shower. This weekend. Gotta go knit!

New Group of Knitters

Spring semester has sprung and I have 35 knitters to show off. 16 are returning (a few for the third time). Here is a group of pictures from class last week.



This first group is affectionately known as the "soccer girls". They are on the team and this year made it pretty far in the playoffs. Way to go, girls! They are all returning knitters, and are currently finishing up cupcake hats.




Here is LaTijera, she is in her 3rd semester of knitting. Here she is working on a cabled beret on dpns. She also has a matching scarf and will do a purse for the set next.




This group is made up of all new knitters. They are learning the basics and working really hard. I am excited to see what fun scarves they design for their next project.




Another few new knitters. Check out their yarn color choices. Very nice. They are all knitting squares for baby blankets that we will donate to Stitches From the Heart.




Remi and Tiffany. They are new to the class and new to knitting. They went out the first day and splurged on supplies like luxury yarn and neat needles.




Here is Sarah and a few more returning knitters. They are making sure she understands the basics...knit and purl. sarah is a fast learner and has already moved onto the scarf design project.




Here is Breanna using the swift to wind a hank of yarn. She has designed the coolest scarf! It is red, yellow and green and will have a peace sign in knits and purls repeated in each color change. I can't wait to see her progress.




Bridget: cupcake hat knitter extraordinaire! She has finished the cupcakes and moved on to a beret in black. The Boho beret by Shanitta. So many of the kids have been knitting it.




Jordan and the girls. He is a returning knitter and loves to knit presents for his girlfriend. So sweet.



I have been knitting a lot lately as well. So many cupcake hats! So many friends having babies! I decided I needed a break from the baby hat and dove into the banana rattle. Naturally.

The banana actually is knit in 2 pieces, and can come completely out of the peel. I stuffed it and added some jingle bells. It is for a friend who is due in June.

I want to thank all of the generous knitters at the WeHo SnB last week who donated 4 huge bags of yarn to my kids. I have been passing out various fun balls of yarn for them to sample. What a sneeky way to get them hooked on knitting! We are corrupting the youth of America. heehee...thanks again!




This is a batch of berry tarts I made a few days back. Blueberry and apples. Delish!

Stuff Is Flying Off The Needles

Howdy all. My students have finished up their final projects, and I am so proud to report that we donated 18 baby sweaters, 42 baby hats and 27 pair of baby booties to Stitches From the Heart.

This past semester, my knitters were so motivated! Luckily, 17 of them are back for Spring semester, so we have a lot of wonderful knitting to look forward to. All of the advanced kids will start by learning double pointed needles, and will be making the umbilical cord hat from Stitch N' Bitch. Cute hat, plus it is easy to personalize with color changes and duplicate stitch. There are also 16 brand new knitters joining the class. Today was their first day in class and the energy in the room was HIGH. These kids are really excited to learn how to knit next week. I can't wait to teach them! I will post pictures of the new kids next week, learning the basics. Remember those days?

OK, so here is what is new from moi. A good friend at work is having a baby and I wanted to knit something unusual for her, but something that she would actually use. I am not one to do a big blanket so I chose this...

...a DNA model. Complete with color-coded base pairs. Little Nathan isn't due to arrive until June, hope I can wait that long to give it to her. I am throwing her a baby shower (word got out that I am good at it) so will present it to her then. My friend is the AP Biology teacher at Pali, so this DNA toy is the perfect baby toy for her and the baby. I feel like she will play with it more than the baby! Heehee.

Next is a lobster.


I have been looking for some new animals to add to the huge knit aquarium in my classroom, and I don't have any crustaceans. This pattern is good, very clearly written, knit flat (not my preferred method) and turned out super cute. I added the antennae since all lobsters have them.

Last item to share is this seahorse.


Good story behind this guy. I have recently learned about something called Amigurumi. This is the Japanese art of knitting (or crocheting) small stuffed animals. Who knew there was a word for what I love to do? I got this pattern from a cool woman on Etsy. In addition to the seahorses, i also bought patterns for squid, octopus, cuttlefish and a dumbo octopus (that will be my next amigurumi, btw) from her. Her patterns are complicated but not confusing. Sidney (his official name) required kitchener's stitch (not my favorite) so I brushed up on this technique and settled in for the task. After repeating it 48 times, I have it down pat. This guy will have 5-6 seahorse friends and will be presented to my boss (who is also having a baby in June) as a seahorse mobile to hang in the nursery. Any suggestions on how to construct a mobile? Send me a comment! I need help!

I am putting the finishing touches on a set of cupcake hats for my cousin in Arizona. Her 3 adorable girls NEED cupcake hats. Stat! Kiki, they are on the way soon, I promise! Once I get the sprinkles stitched on, I will post pics then package them up for shipment. It is on the agenda for tonight.

Fianlly, my dad came over last weekend and we cooked. I love this habit we have fallen into. We made mushroom risotto, rosemary chicken and for dessert...

...berry cobbler. Holy cow! This was so much fun to do. I used my brand new food processor (x-mas gift from Mike) to make the crust dough and the berries were so simple! Plus, the resulting little tarts were so perfect with a little vanilla ice cream that we all ended up eating way too much. Delish!

I am a terrible Blogger!

It has been almost 2 months since my last post. Please forgive me...
the holidays, being sick, moving my best friend to Chicago, teaching, taking down that darn x-mas tree...it is all too much!

Now I am back at school with finals fast approaching (need to write my finals this weekend) and I wanted to show off some of my December knitting.



First up, the fair isle beret from the current Knitty.com I chose tiffany box blue with white and knit it for Andi to wear in Chicago. I messed up reading the chart (my first time with charting) but loved the experience of knitting with two yarns. I highly recommend it!



Next off my needles was an old favorite. I made a penguin (also from knitty archives) for myself. A few years ago I made these for everyone's kids, but never one for me. Sometimes you have to knit for yourself. I never do. This guy will be part of our Christmas decor for years to come.



The final dinosaur. Also the only one I kept from the series. I gave the other 4 away as Christmas gifts, but the triceratops was just too cute to part with. These patterns, from Jimmy Bean Wool, are awesome and easy to read. I will definitely make them again some day.



And finally, I made a cupcake hat. This is the first attempt and I was very pleased with the result. The second one I made is even better! I added sprinkles! Pic coming soon, on a baby! This will have to do for now, I gave this one away to our housekeeper who has a 3 year old girl. Everyone looks good wearing a cupcake!


That about catches me up to the end of December. I have been busy knitting in January but not photographing anything, so there is a big pile of FOs to shoot. I'll post again soon.

Knitting class update: the kids are rushing to finish their baby sweater sets for their final. Everything is due by Jan. 29th, so I will have lots to show from them soon.

Happy new year to all!

Keeping Busy Knitting...

I finished an entrelac scarf a few weeks back but am just now getting around to posting pics of it. I was really intimidated when I began this project, but my motto when knitting is to always try something that seems a bit too hard for me. At least that way I know I will learn something along the way. This scarf is from knitty.com and was designed by a man. I LOVE it when guys knit, and I LOVE telling my students that this beautiful scarf is man-made. Heehee. Mine is woman-made, but you get the idea. Turns out that entrelac is FUN! I added a little splash if pink to keep it interesting. LaTijera is knitting one in class, so I will post pics once she finishes.

Last weekend I was at Banana Republic and saw this hat:



I instantly fell in love then checked the price tag. $49.50 for a ribbed hat with a garter stitch border sewn on and a button that is purely decorative? Hey, I said to myself (I might have said it aloud, since I was getting some stares as I stood there in the accessories section), I could knit that. I took a few stealthy photos with my iphone and wrote out a pattern.

Here is my first attempt:

I hate how pointy the top is and the band is a little too tight, so I tried again.

Their hat, on a model:



My second hat, on me:

I still need to add the decorative button, but you get the idea. I think I solved the pointy top issue, and the pattern is very cute and flapper-like.

Here is the pattern, sort of:
size 8 straight, dpns and circular needles
worsted weight yarn (I used Bernat Satin)
tapestry needle

Hat:
CO 100 sts. Join in the round and knit 1x1 rib for 25 rounds. Place a marker every 25 sts (I use a diff. color for the first marker).
Decrease row: *k2tog, knit to 2 before next marker, ssk*, repeat around.
Rib one round.

Repeat these 2 rounds until you have 5 sts in each section (total of 20 sts).

Cut yarn and pull through the 20 sts and cinch up.

Brim band:
CO 110 sts (straight needles).
Garter st for 2".
Bind off loosely, leaving a really long tail once you tie off the last st. Use this tail to sew the band to the edge of the hat (I used a whip st). Be sure to line up the sts from the ribbing (stretch the ribbing a bit) to the sts from the garter st. The band should overlap itself for about 2". Sew on a matching button onto this overlap.
Voila!

Short week at school this week, only 2 days, but I hope to have some more finished projects to show you soon. The kids are starting to think about holiday gifts. My next project is bracelets. Lots of bracelets.

Have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween...my favorite holiday ever!

I took a week off from blogging to get ready for my favorite holiday of the year, Halloween. I love everything about it: candy, costumes, pumpkin-flavored stuff, trick-or-treaters, and candy corn. Here are some highlights from our Halloween this year.

Our pumpkins are all "funkins" a foam pumpkin that you can carve like a real one but keep for next year. Mike does such intricate carving that we decided to "invest" in these fake guys so that we can save them for years to come. Cheesy, i know, but this is the one holiday we go all out for. We had hundreds of trick-or-treaters come to our door for candy and a look at our newest Halloween addition: a front yard graveyard. I made the tombstones with styrofoam and gray spray paint. Pretty easy!
Charlie Brown as a pumpkin.


Igor from Young Frankenstein.



Here is my costume. This year I was Amy Winehouse, complete with tattoos and huge beehive hairdo. I had so much fun putting this costume together.


Here is another picture of me with a few students at school. Paul is a paparazzo and Brittney is Lindsey Lohan's arrest photo. Fun stuff!



Had a few more cooking classes in the past few weeks. Here are some of the things that Andi and I made.
Salmon and tamatillo salsa. This salsa was so good that I made it again that weekend for our pumpkin carving party.


Vietnamese chicken salad. This was so delicious and not too bad for you. The palm sugar dressing was the best.

Tonight, for more practice (I guess it is like doing my homework, right?) I am making a tri-tip, roasted beets and roasted potatoes. The tri-tip is from the butcher at the Original Farmer's Market on 3rd and Fairfax. Awesome guys behind the counter, they really helped me pick out the perfect cut of meat.

My Marine Biology students turned in a fun project last week. In groups, they had to bake and decorate a cake to represent a cell. Here are a few of their creations.


And, on to knitting.
I added another dinosaur to the herd. This is a Brachiosaurus. Next up is the Triceratops.


A few days ago someone posted a link to an EXPENSIVE bangle that was cabled. Here is my take on that, for about 3% of their price. I love these!!!


Amanda, one of my knitting students, has fallen in love with making toys (a girl after my own heart). She recently completed this pig wearing pants. Her next project is caterpillar finger puppets. I taught her how to knit with DPNs and she is finishing up the puppet. Photos next week.