(In "Cool Machine Voice"): Marshmallow!

I watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 today, and while I love all the foodimals, my favorites are the marshmallows. I think they're adorable, and after I saw the movie in theaters, I knew I had to have one. So, today, I made one. As you can see, the marshmallow can be a little shy...

But it's very friendly!

Knit in garter stitch, the marshmallow is soft and squishy and knits up in less than two hours (it was cast on when I started the movie and bound off as the credits rolled). Here's how you can have one of your own.

Marshmallow! (bet you read that the "cool machine voice!")
Materials:

• Small amounts of white and black yarn (I used a DK weight in mine.)
• US size 6 (4mm) DPNs 
• Safety eyes (approximately 8mm across-- I lost the packaging and had to estimate.)
• tapestry needle (for weaving in the end)

Gauge: specific gauge is not important in this project, but the fabric you make should be firm enough that the stuffing doesn't show through.

Pattern:
CO 4 sts and join in round being careful not to twist.
Rnd 1: *kfb; rep around. 8 sts.
Rnd 2 (and all even-numbered rnds): Purl all sts.
Rnd 3: *kfb; rep around. 16 sts.
Rnd 5: *kfb, k1; rep around. 24 sts.
Rnd 7: *kfb, k1; rep around. 36 sts.
Rnd 8: Purl.
Knit in garter stitch around (knit a round, purl a round) until your marshmallow is the desired length (mine is about 3.25 in long), ending with a purl round. Give your marshmallow a face and stuff it. Make sure it's plump and squishy, but not so much that the stuffing shows through.
Rnd 1: *k2tog, k1; rep around. 24 sts.
Rnd 2 (and all even-numbered rnds): Purl all sts.
Rnd 3: *k2tog, k1; rep around. 16 sts.
Rnd 5: *k2tog; rep around. 8 sts.
Rnd 7: *k2tog; rep around. 4 sts.
Cut yarn and pull through remaining 4 sts. Knot off and hide end inside.
Viola! You have your very own lovable, huggable marshmallow!

You could, of course, use bigger or smaller needles and yarn to adjust the size, or just keep increasing until you reach the diameter you'd like. Feel free to modify and customize the pattern to make an entire family of marshmallows!

Happy knitting! :)
P.S. Please let know if you find an error or anything that doesn't make sense!

Do You Hear the People Sing?

When I saw the movie version of "Les Miserables" in theaters, I pretty much guarantee that I was the only one in the theater thinking, "I bet I could knit one of those rosettes that the members of the revolution wear." But I was. It slipped my mind for quite a while, until the other day when I watched the movie again and about halfway through, the idea came back to me. I paused it, grabbed needles, yarn, and pen and paper, and by the end, I had a pattern and three rosettes completed. Here's how to make one of your own.

Les Miserables Revolution Rosette

Supplies:

• small smounts of red, white, and blue worsted yarn (I used Patons Classic Wool in Navy, Winter White, and Bright Red.)
• US 6 DPNs

Finished Size: about 2.25 inches across, but I knit tight; yours will likely be a little bit bigger

With Blue, CO 6 sts.

Rnd 1: *K1, P1; rep from * around

Rnd 2: *K1, m1, P1; rep from * around

Switch to White.

Rnd 3: *K2, P1; rep from * around

Rnd 4: *M1, K2, m1, P1; rep from * around

Rnd 5: *K2, m1p, K2, P1; rep from * around

Rnd 6: *K2, P1; rep from * around

Switch to Red.

Rnd 7: *K2, m1, P1; rep from * around

Rnd 8: *K3, P1, m1p; rep from * around

Rnd 9: *K3, m1, P2; rep from * around

Rnd 10: *K4, P2; rep from * around

BO all sts in K1, P1 rib. Weave in ends, using them to patch any holes at the color changes if necessary. 

Congrats! Now you too can be part of the French Revolution.
Happy knitting! :)

To Dye For

So I tried my hand at dyeing yarn today (instead of studying for my final, like I should be). I'm quite happy with how it turned out! I used Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Oak Tweed (I think), food coloring, and this article from Knitty. The first, smaller skein was dyed using the Hot Pour method, and the second, bigger skein was dyed using the Dip-Dye method. I'm much more pleased with the bigger skein than the smaller one, but now we don't have any red food coloring left, including the two bottles I ran out to the store to get today (the little McCormick bottles that come four in a pack-- on the plus side, we have an abundance of green, blue, and yellow now!). 

 

For the small skein, I poured red, blue, and purple food coloring into a simmering pot, along with some vinegar. The colors weren't absorbed as much as I thought they would be, but I still kind of like it. For the big one, it was just red, but lots of it.





Now I need to go get more natural colored yarn, so I can experiment some more. Ooo, I have cream roving in my stash. Hmm... Hand-spun and hand-dyed. That sounds lovely... *wanders off toward the stash*

Happy knitting! And spinning, and dyeing, and (after Christmas), weaving! :)

Buttoned Stethoscope Cozy

Hi all!

I recently came up with another stethoscope cozy pattern. Since the other cozy pattern I made required you to take off the... what is the name of it? The part that's not the earpieces, the part that you place on the patient's chest. Anyway, the other pattern requires that you take that off, put the cozy on, and then put that piece back on, since the diameter of the cozy isn't big enough to allow that mystery-name piece through. But with an afternoon and a bit of thinking last weekend, I came up with the solution. Voila! The Buttoned Stethoscope Cozy. To put it on, you pass the bottom mystery-named piece through the upper hole, and then button all the buttons! You can also pass the earpieces through the upper part, through the bottom, but that's a bit harder.

Buttoned Stethoscope Cozy

See all the buttons? I think it's really fun to pick a bunch of different buttons, but of course you can do all the same buttons if you want to.

Materials:

• Worsted weight yarn (I used TLC Essentials by Red Heart in Color 2958 Falling Leaves)
• yardage: not entirely sure, but if I've done my math right, it's about 75 yards (if you make this and find that it's drastically different, please let me know.)
• Size US 6 DPNs (or a set of straights and DPNs, or straights and a circular to Magic Loop)
• A note about needle size: I knit really, really tightly. I usually have to go up at least 2 needle sizes with anyone else's pattern that I use. Take this into account. 
• 11 small buttons (approx. 1/2 inch in diameter).

Gauge: I don't have the cozy with me (my mom took it with her to work) to confirm gauge, so I used a comparable project that used the same yarn and needle size, which is 5 sts X 7 rows per inch. I will check the gauge of the actual cozy and edit this if it differs.

Pattern:
CO 18 sts. K1, P1  rib for 4 rows.
Next row (RS): K2, yo, k2tog, k14.
Knit 11 rows of St st.

Rep these 12 rows until there are 10 buttonholes, ending with the 11 St st rows.
Knit across the row and join in the round, arranging ndls as follows: 9, 4, 5 sts.
Next rnd: Ndl 1: K1, M1, k to last, M1, K1   Ndl 2: K1, M1, k to end of ndl   Ndl 3: k to last, M1, K1
Knit 1 rnd.
(These incs are essentially the same idea as the toe on toe-up socks.)

Rep these last 2 rnds until you have 42 sts.
K1, P1 rib for 4 rnds.
BO 7 in rib, k7 in rib, BO rem sts in rib. Cut yarn.
Reattach yarn on RS, and K1, P1 rib for 1 1/2 in.
Next row (RS): P1, k1, p1, yo, p2tog, k1, p1.
Work K1, P1 rib for 3 rows. BO all sts.

Sew buttons opposite the buttonholes on the long portion of the cozy, and sew the last button just at the base of the ribbing at the top.

This has only been knit once, by me, so if there are any errors or anything that doesn't make sense, let me know!
Happy knitting! :)


Edit (11/22/12): I've knit this a few times now, so I think the pattern is all right. At least, my new red one turned out fine. 

See all the buttons? I love doing all different buttons. :)

I also wanted to share the mod that I made to my mom's cozy. She likes to keep a roll of medical tape and a few mini-Sharpies on her cozy, so she has easy access to them. So to accommodate that, I made the strap 2 1/2 in. long and moved the top button down, to about where the incs start. Like this:

See the tape? And the mini-Sharpies?

To attach the mini-Sharpies, she put the mini-keyring that they hang on over the first (closest to the earpieces) button on the strap and buttoned it, kind of sandwiching it between the layers of the cozy.
Happy Thanksgiving, and happy knitting!!

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Since there are only two days left before Christmas, I thought I would post some of my thoughts from the past few days.

There have been several times in the past few weeks that I have yearned for things (tangible or otherwise) and I now realize that I have nothing that I truly need. I may want things, but I need nothing, and I should never overlook the things I have and the people in my life who love me. So now I encourage you, too, to take a moment and think about the things and people in your life that truly matter. The people you love and who love you back are the most important part of life. And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. :)

And so, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year.

And happy knitting until next time, of course. :)