Love is in the air - Hearts Keychain pattern.

I love February, the month which ushers in the Spring, and brings with it promises of Love. And for a crafter like me, there can be no better way of celebrating the spring than crafting something new, something small, which signifies the spirit of February, and also nurtures my creativity.

Last week, I came across this amazingly pretty pattern by Anabelia, a pattern of Valentine hearts. It was so pretty that I wanted to make one immediately. When I looked at the pattern detail, I saw that it only contained charted instructions, that too for the simple heart, without the embellishments. So, I am now going to pen down the written instructions for this pretty pattern:

Materials I used:

1. Diva microfiber acrylic yarn from AllKraftz, in colours Red and Light Cream
2. Aluminium Crochet hook in size 2.5mm, again from AllKraftz
3. Fiberfill for filling
4. Tapestry needle for top stitch embroidery, and weaving in the yarn tails.

Crochet abbreviations used:

• Ch - chain
• Sl St  Slip Stitch
• SC - Single Crochet
• DC - Double Crochet
• TC - Treble Crochet

Instructions: 

• Make a slip knot.
• Ch 4, join with the 1st ch with a Sl St to form a ring.
• Round 1 - Ch2, 15TC in the ring, ch2, Sl St in the ring.

• Round 2 - SC in the first ch of round 1, SC in the next ch, 3DC each in the next 3TCs, 1DC each in the next 3TCs, 2DC in the next TC, 3DC in the next TC, 2DC in the next TC, 1DC each in the next 3TCs, 3DC each in the next 3 TCs, SC in the next ch, SC in the next ch, join with Sl St to first SC of the round.

• Round 3 - 1 SC each in the first two SCs, 1SC, 2 HDC in the next DC, 2DC each in the next 8 DCs, 1DC in the next 5 DCs, 2DC in the next DC, 3DC in the next DC, 2DC in the next DC, 1DC each in the next 5 Dcs, 2DC each in the next 8 Dcs, 2HDC and 1SC in the next DC, 1SC  each in the next two SCs. Join with Sl St to the first SC of the round, fasten off.

• Make another heart following the instructions above.

• Thread the Light Cream yarn, or any other yarn that you might want to use for contrast, and top stitch between rounds.

This is how the two hearts should look after topstitching:

  

• Place the two hearts on each other, wrong sides facing, and start seaming together by Single Crochet stitches with Light Cream yarn. Remember to make a loop of approx 10 Ch sts when you reach the central notch. This would be necessary if you plan to suspend your project in a keychain, or in any other way.

• When you are done seaming about three-fourths of the surface, lightly fill the gap between the hearts with fiberfill. Then continue seaming and close the gap completely.

• This is how your project should look right now:

• Thread the yarn tail in a tapestry needle, and pass the needle inside the heart, and out from the diagonally opposite end. Cut the yarn close to the opening.

• Attach a keychain ring if desired.

And my needles lived happily everafter.........

As so many of us out there, the Boye Needlemaster was the first interchangeable needle set that I bought....one, because there was a discount, and second, it was being shipped to India without me having to spend a fortune on shipping. Also, like so many of us again, I absolutely loved my Boye needletips, but hated the stiff cables.

A friend of mine who lives in Colorado mentioned to me that she had a Knitpicks harmony interchangeable set and she loved the slick cables that Knitpicks offers. I looked up the website of Knitpicks and found the needles and cables very desirable. I placed an order for the Options interchangeable set immediately since I preferred metal needles to wooden, but to my misfortune, Knitpicks did not provide shipping outside the US. I was disappointed, but then my friend said I could buy from Knitpicks and give her shipping address, so she could reship the needles to me once they arrived. This seemed very do-able and I placed an order with her shipping address. Now I started waiting eagerly to be able to lay my hands on the KP set, and when it arrived, it was like a dream come true....I had the KPO set, and it was love at first sight.....I absolutely adored the KP needles and the cables were awesome. I could do magic loop so easily on them. Now I started using the KP set for all my knitting projects...but, somewhere, like you love your first born the most, I still loved my Boye needles, but found the cables even more aweful after using the KP ones. I felt sorry for my Boye needles and wanted to somehow be able to use them....but...if only I could get better cables !!!!

Thus began my research for flexible cables for Boye needlemaster. I would have read every word and every blog available on the topic. I was inspired by Rheatheylia's blog a lot, so I started searching for supplies that she had used. I found everything at Amazon, but to my misfortune, they wouldn't ship to India. I tried finding similar things out here, but no luck !! Then one day I came across this blog by Kat, and my imagination started dancing again. I started researching where all I could order the taps from. I did find a couple of stores who shipped internationally, but the shipping was way too high to be acceptable. I thought maybe my Boye set was destined to lie neglected forever.

Again one afternoon when desperation got me searching again on the net, I read Fleegle's blog. Now it was time to hunt for gunsmiths in New Delhi. I found one easily, but he did not have the required taps since his technician had decided to retire, leaving him out of tools and work! I thought maybe I should just stop worrying about the Boye needles and concentrate more on my family rather than cable reassignment projects. So I told myself that this was an end to my research on flexible cables for Boye needles. But fate brought me to this discussion on Ravelry, and I got thinking again. I approached a few Ravellers who had leftover supplies after they made the weedeater cables, and were willing to trade their supplies. There were quite a few wonderful Ravellers who volunteered, but then, the shipping cost to India was far too much as compared to the cost of these supplies. Now my patience was wearing down, I thought, is living in this part of the world a crime, do I not have a right to access craft supplies that so many people world over are finding so easy to get?!!!

Thankfully, I did get some very good suggestions, even links to stores who shipped internationally from fellow Ravellers, who probably loved their Boye needles as much as I did and sincerely wanted me to be able to use them with better cables. So, finally, I ordered the required supplies to make weedeater cables from ebay on a Sunday morning. By Thursday, I had received only the Sullivian screws. I was generally going through some discussions on Ravellry, and I found this forum. I thought, hey, I do have the KP cables, and I have the screws as well, so why not give this idea a try while I wait for the remaining supplies..!!!!

I began by collecting together everything that I needed right now. Here's what I used :



The things that I used were - empty refills from a ball point pen ( I cut 20 mm pieces for each end ), sullivian screws ( which were originally an inch long, but I cut them into two equal halves ), nail buffer, wire cutter for cutting the screws into half, and scissors for cutting the refill.

Here is a picture of the cut screw and the refill tube

After cutting the screw and the tube( the refill tube), I screwed one end of the screw, the smooth end, into the Boye needle, like this...

The screw was about 12 mm long, and almost 6 mm of it went into the needle tip. So I screwed the remaining 6 mm into one end of the tube, which I had already filed smooth using the nail buffer and some sandpaper.

The above needle is the Boye size 2 with the tube in place, screwed securely with the screw to the needle tip. Since the screw was wider than the refill tube, I did not have to use any glue. I had put in some effort to screw the tube, I know that it would stay in place even without an adhesive.

Next, I screwed the KP cable to the other end of the tube.

You would notice that the join is pretty smooth, and again, I did not need glue on this side either, since the KP cable screw is wider than the tube, and was quite secure without any adhesive.

By repeating the above steps for the other Boye needle of size 2, and the other side of the KP cable, I got this lovely circular needle of Boye size 2 with the very flexible KP cable.

I have no words to describe how happy I am feeling right now, after all the research, disappointment & frustration that I have experienced in the last 8 months. Ofcourse I will eventually make the weedeater cables in various lengths once I receive the remaining supplies, but for now, I am very happy with my work. Although this can be a permanent solution for the Boye needle tips if one makes a separate set of adapters for all Boye needle tips which are permamently atached to the needletips. Then all you need to do is to screw in the desired length of KP cable to the other end of the adapter. The advantage of using these adapters over the weedeater cables is that one can use a lifeline with these cables.

I hope that reading this blog would prove to be inspiring for anyone who's out there looking for a solution to make their Boye needle tips more usable, and I whole heartedly pray that no one goes through the struggle that I did for finally bringing justice to my Boye needles.

Happy knitting, and thanx for reading.

Simple Crochet earrings

These earrings are a good way to start creating your own jewelry, even if you are an amateur crocheter. Just follow the instructions and you'll have a pretty looking pair of earrings in under 30 minutes.

 

Skill level: Beginner

 

Techniques required: Chain stitch, double crochet, and slip stitch.

Materials: I have used size 20 cotton crochet thread, and a size 7 (1.5 mm) steel crochet hook. But you can use any crochet thread with a corresponding hook size. Adding a bead is optional. The bead shown in the picture is a size 8 mm bead. Also required are a pair of jump rings and fish hook earring findings.

 

Instructions:

·        Make a slip knot and attach it to your crochet hook.

·        Ch 5, join with a slip stitch to make a round.

·        Chain 2 (this would count as 1 dc), 14 dc in the round, Insert the hook in the bead, wrap the thread around the hook, and pull through, pulling the thread through the bead. Ch 1.

 
·        15 dc in the round (total 30 dc, including starting ch 2). If you are not adding a bead, then make 29 dc in the ring after the starting ch 2. Join with a slip stitch into the 2^nd chain of the beginning ch 2. Fasten off.

·        Weave in the ends. Attach fish hook findings to a jump ring. Attach the jump ring to a dc opposite the bead.

·        Repeat for the second earring.

 

 

PDF Download

 

How satisfying can a keychain be?

Ever wondered how deeply satisfying making a keychain can be?

I was sitting quietly, brooding over all my unfinished WIPs...thinking how depressing it is that it is April already and I do not have even one finished project for 2014? Then I see this crocheted Oreo cookie tutorial in suggested videos on my YouTube page, and I decide to make one for my son. He is very fond of Oreo cookies, but doesn't get many to eat since they are not very healthy, I thought this keychain would be best for his new bicycle. So I sat down with my yarn and hook and Wham!! The keychain was ready in under 30 min!!!

Now I have at least one project to call  'finished' in 2014. Now you probably understand my deep satisfaction in making a keychain :))

So did Siddharth like his new keychain....he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT !!!
I was standing on the terrace when I overheard his conversation with his friends in the neighborhood. One girl remarked," Oh! You have an Oreo in your keychain? Is it real?"
Listen to me son's reply,"Oh! Nah it is not real. It is made out of yarn. My mom made it. You like it? I mean I can get one made for you. My mom can shell out 10 in an hour."

??!!!

From a dissatisfied and depressed crafter over so many unfinished projects, I somehow turned into a superfast keychain ATM in a blink. Know why the deep satisfaction now?
 

I seam to be losing interest !

I seam to be losing interest in knitting lately. Does it happen to you as well ?

Knitting has been the love of my life for more than 20 yrs now. There has rarely been a time when I had no project on my needles. Well, to say the least, I still have three projects going when I feel I am losing interest !! I don't know, maybe because it is the projects I am doing.....I work best when I am doing just one thing at a time, but then that too happens rarely. I am currently knitting Viajante, Relax, and a mystery shawl. These are all long projects, and maybe the endless rows of stockinette are to blame.

I don't know what it is, but I am worried. Hope my situation improves soon, and I go back to being super-excited about everything that I am knitting !

Hand painted yarn

Oh how I love the hand-painted yarns from Malabrigo and Madelintosh !! Wish I could have lots of them in my stash, but the prices are too high to buy these in bulk. So, instead, I thought of trying to hand paint some yarn for myself and see how it turns out. Here is the result of what  I've been upto last evening

It is a total of about 400g ( about 1464 yds), and I know just what I want to knit with it. Now the big question is.....when do I start !!!

 

Yarn dyeing experiment

I have been reading a lot lately about hand dyeing yarn at home using food colours or acid dyes, and I must say, I was really tempted to give it a try. And so I did ! Here is what all I required -

• A hank of undyed pure wool

 

• A bottle of food colour, well I actually used two since I needed a pinkish hue, I mixed some yellow to red to get a lightish red, and then reduced the concentration of colour to get a sweet rose-ish pink. Well I did not quite measure the number of drops, though as an afterthought I think I should have. It was more like a hit-and-trial to get the right shade. Here is the food colour I used



 

• Water
• Vinegar - a tablespoon per cup of water. Vinegar is needed to provide an acidic pH to the colour solution, so that the yarn picks up the colour well and completely.

 

Okay, so I first prepared the required colour, tested it on a dry paper towel with a toothpick, and then added it to the vessel which had about six cups of water with vinegar. When the solution started simmering, I added the dry yarn to it, dry because I wanted the colour to get soaked in varying quantities to the yarn for a slight tonal colouring. Here is my yarn simmering in the colour bath

 

I then covered the vessel and let the yarn simmer for about 10 minutes. I could have kept it a little longer, but I was scared I'd end up with burnt yarn, so I decided to put off the stove after 10 minutes, and let the yarn cool down in the vessel itself to a tolerably hot temperature.

I then thoroughly rinsed the yarn with plain tap water and mild detergent to remove any access colour.

To soften my yarn a bit, I added hair conditioner and rinsed it further

And this is how my yarn looks after drying

Well, it is not as tonal as I wanted it to be, but I am still quite pleased with the result.

I bought about 800 g of undyed yarn, and since I'm quite encouraged with this experiment, I'm planning to dye a sweater quantity for myself. But first, I need to plan a suitable project for this lovely sweet-rose coloured yarn.......any suggestions?!!