It FITS!!

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

Remember my failed, successful, and failed attempts for a tablet/iPad cover? I have succeeded once again!

I decided to follow the KISS rule. Keep It Simple, Sweetie.

My inspiration came from something I found on Pinterest:

I love all grey colors and the stripe of bright called to me. I didn’t want to buy any more yarn for this project so I used what I had. My red didn’t pop as much as I wanted but I like it anyway. Plus it fits my iPad.

I started with the flap end on straight needles then switched to circular needles to knit the body in the round. Actually I wanted it in garter stitch since that was how my successful one was knit so I knit a row then purled a row. I don’t mind purling though I know some people HATE it! I dislike seaming more than I dislike purling. When I got to the bottom, I did a 3-needle bind off. No seams!!

Measurements before felting:

Measurements after felting:

The top flap was pulled and stretched to make it the size I wanted so it is basically the same length before as after. The cover really is square but the it was at a slight angle when I took the photo so it looks a bit lop-sided.

This could have been felted a bit longer as I can still see the knit rows. The finished cover is thick and dense. Maybe it’s the lighter color that shows the rows but I really don’t want to make another one of these (if you know what I mean) since I’ve already made this four times! Reknitting a failed project isn’t fun.

I haven’t lined this yet and I’m debating on whether or not to add a magnetic snap. The cover stays closed but I would feel better knowing nothing (like the iPad) would fall out if picked up with the open end down.

Felt flop

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

Before felting:

After felting:

Looks like I’ll be starting over. Again.

It’s felted

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

I cast on for my first CCM hat on Saturday, March 17 and finished the knitting on Wednesday, March 21. I would have finished it sooner but I miscalculated my yarn amount and ran out of yarn. By about a yard or so. I ripped it back to the row before the decreases and all was well.

The yarn is a llama and wool blend and sheds like crazy! We have a septic system and I was afraid it would clog things up so I decided to felt it by hand with a 5-gallon bucket, hot water and new plunger.

I should have taken pictures but I did this in the bathtub Thursday evening. It was unseasonably hot and I was working up a sweat. The lighting was bad. Trust me the pictures wouldn’t have been good.

I added about 4-5 inches of hot tap water to the bucket, threw in the hat and started plunging. I changed the water every 15-20 minutes and filter out the loose fibers before letting the water go down the drain. After an hour (yes, an HOUR) of plunging, I had gotten pretty far but the hat was still too big for my head. I got my exercise that night!

I have a small head.

I put the hat in a mesh bag, tossed it into the washer with some old jeans and ran it through one wash cycle on hot. When I pulled it out of the washer, it was fairly dry. I shaped the hat and let it dry overnight.

It was lumpy and had some thicker spots. I emailed Carrie and she suggested I re-wet the hat and reshape it. I filled the bathroom sink with hot tap water and dunked the hat in. Bingo! It finally occurred to me that the hat wasn’t dripping wet when I took it out of the washer and that’s when I realized it had gone through the spin cycle. That’s why my hat was lumpy and thick in spots. I worked with the dripping wet hat to get the lumps and bumps out and now it’s better. Much better.

I went to my LYS (local yarn shop) on Saturday afternoon and bought a cotton/rayon blend to embroider a design on the brim. Not sure what I’m doing just yet but Carrie’s gallery inspires me. I love leafy and spirally things.

Stay tuned for the embroidery surprise!

FO Friday

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

Sometimes it works out that I have a finished object to post on FO Fridays.

My Garter Stitch bag is finished. Strap. Lining. Button Loop. Button. Finished.

I decided not to use the leather straps as they weren’t long enough for my comfort. So I knit an I-cord around some nylon rope.

I only made one strap because I don’t like two straps on my shoulder. It seems like one is always falling off and I’m constantly fiddling with it. After the strap was felted, I sewed it to the inside of the bag.

This is the outside with the strap sewn on.

And this is what it looks like on the inside. I knit about 25 rows flat so I had a flat section to attach to the bag. 10 rows would have done the trick but I wanted to make sure it was big enough. Better to be safe than sorry. I sewed on the button loop, too, but I forgot to get a picture of that part.