(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!

Horses and Socks

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. I've been pretty busy with school. But I have found some time to knit, as all resourceful knitters do. :)  Right now, I'm working on a Horse Scarf for my younger brother's best friend who practically lives at our house. The yarn is Red Heart Kids in Orange and Caron Simply Soft in Black.

He will be getting that for Christmas. In addition to that, I'm also working on a pair of socks (Silver's Sock Class again-it's simple and makes for very good on-the-go knitting) for one of my friends. I'm using some recycled yarn from an old, store-bought sweater (it was actually very fun frogging it).

I also have several other things waiting to be cast on (most of them will end up being Christmas presents), but you'll have to wait a bit to see those. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Happy Birthday to Me...

We celebrated my birthday this past weekend. I had a blast. :) And guess what I got?

Yep! I got a swift and a ball winder. I immediately wound all of the skeins I had in my stash, and I wish that I had more to wind. :)

I also got the soundtrack to Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, and I've been listening to it ever since. I love it, though not as much as the original. But I still love it. :)

I'm still working on my sweater. I have the front and the back done, and I'm working on the left sleeve now. I'm trying to figure out a way to modify the neck, because I don't like turtlenecks.

Until next time, happy knitting!

In Sleep He Sang to Me...

It's done. Let me say that again: it's done. My Phantom of the Opera bag is done. I love it just as I knew I would, and I keep turning around to look at it, propped up in a corner of my room. It's been laying on my floor for the past two days, and now it's dry. Here, let me show it to you:

Isn't it marvelous? :) I'm very, very happy with it, though I was surprised at how fast it felted- a mere 15 minutes in the washing machine and I was a little afraid that I felted it too much. But it's good!

This is it before felting (and that purple thing next to it is a 12 inch ruler, for scale):

And this is the mask and rose after felting (one side felted better than the other. Oh well.):

And here is the bag after felting (the blue-green thing is another 12 inch ruler- I managed to misplace the other one in the two days that the bag was drying):

And now, to celebrate the completion of my Phantom of the Opera bag, I present to you the chart of the Phantom's mask!

I hope you enjoy knitting this chart as much as I did. :)

Now I'm working on the Swing Sweater from the fall 2010 issue of KnitSimple magazine using Bernat Softee Chunky yarn in Terra Cotta Mist. I finished the back of the sweater today and started the front, so it shouldn't be too long before it's done. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

It's Coming Along...

My Phantom bag is coming along. The rounds can feel a bit long, but I'm nearly there! I just have to do a few more rounds, and then the straps, and then a little bit of I-cord edging, and then I have to felt it! (I realize that this doesn't sound like I'm almost there, but I am. Trust me.)

Here's a close-up of the rose:

And a close-up of the mask  (that I designed myself!):

I'm working at it diligently, and I know I'll love the bag when I'm done. I just have to finish it first. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Totoro, Totoro

I finished my second mitten! It's just as awesome and warm as the first.

I almost can't wait for it to get cold so I can wear them. Almost. :) Since I finished these, I'm going to give my Phantom Bag another try.

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Totoro

I finished one Totoro mitten! It's really thick and warm and soft. And Totoro is so cute!

Stranded knitting is really cool (and not as complicated as I thought it would be), and I'm really excited to start the other mitten!

Happy knitting!

Trains and Vampires

I realize that trains and vampires don't usually have much to do with each other (unless you have a vampire on a train), but today they do, at least for me. I finished my little brother's double-knit train scarf:

And I've started the My Vampire Boyfriend socks using Patons Kroy Socks FX yarn in Copper Colors:

The cables look much more impressive in person. I've always had a thing for Dracula, but my favorite vamp has to be the movie version of Louis from "Interview with the Vampire."  :)

Happy knitting!

Catching Up

Yay, I figured out how to put my pictures up! Okay, this is the stethoscope cover I made back in the beginning of April:

 This is the lightbulb I made for my older brother's birthday:

This is the double knitted scarf I'm making for my younger brother:

 

It's much longer now, and it includes a tender and two (well, technically one and a half) passenger cars.

And this is the shawl I've been working on:

 

Happy knitting!

My First Sweater

Here are the pictures I promised (by the way, it's really hard to take a picture of a sweater when you're wearing it):


































Happy knitting! :)

Update and Olympics

First, updates:
1) I finished a baby blanket for a friend (her baby will be my goddaughter)

















2) I have started my first sweater (see below) using a pattern from Creative Knitting magazine.

Second, Olympics.
I am taking part in the Knitting Olympics hosted by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I finished the Spiral Cowl, which was the project I decided to do. I think I should have picked something a bit more challenging (I finished the Cowl in three days), and so now I am determined to finish my sweater before the torch goes out. I have a sleeve, the back, and half the front done so far.


















Happy knitting! :)

Christmas and Illusions

Well, I'm on Christmas break now, and I'm really enjoying it. Sleeping in, staying up late, what's not to enjoy? And I'm getting lots of knitting done.

I finished a fish hat for my younger brother.








































And I'm working on a shawl for my grandmother that has an illusion in it. Can you see it?

















How about now?

















Happy knitting!

Bittersweet

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break (no school and pumpkin pie!), but I'm also very sad because my best friend, Stephanie, is moving to Arizona. Since wool socks and scarves aren't quite appropriate for the temperatures down there, I came up with something else for her (which she'll be recieving in the mail for Christmas).

Steph's Arizona Bag
Materials:
- Size 10 (US) straight needles
- Size 10 (US) circular needles
- Worsted weight wool (I used Patons Classic Wool in Currant [or maybe Burgundy; I'm not too sure] for the bottom and Rosewood for the body and strap)
- Tapestry needle

Pattern:
CO 40 sts.
Work in grater st., slipping the first st. of each row, until your work is approximately as wide as it is long (you want a square). This was about 9 inches for me.
BO all sts.

Using circular needles, pick up stitches around the perimeter of your square. The number you pick up isn't terribly important. I picked up 40 on the BO edge, 38 on the side, 38 on the CO edge, and 39 on the other side, coming to a grand total of 155 stitches.

Join in the round. Knit all rounds until bag reaches desired height (roughly 13 inches for me).

BO 17, k6, BO remaining sts. Attach working yarn to remaining 6 sts and work back and forth in stockinette stitch until the strap reaches the desired length (about 21 inches on mine).

Using the tapestry needle and your yarn, securely sew the end of the strap to the opposite side of the bag.

Weave in ends and felt lightly. Let dry (over a form, if you'd like [see below for an example]).

And now, pictures!


This is the base of the bag.


















Knitting the sides in the round.


















Finished the bag.


















Knitting the strap.


















Completed strap.


















Stitch definition pre-felting.


















Stitch definition post-felting.


















My sophisticated felted-bag drying apparatus (i.e., a cardboard box with a plastic grocery bag over it).


















The finished bag that Steph will get in the mail. :)


















Happy knitting! :)

More Socks

I finished the second pair of socks that I had been working on (using Silver's Sock Class). They're purple and have flecks of red, blue, yellow, and green in them. Not sure specifically what yarn it was (lost the label).

I love socks.


P.S. I'll be publishing a pattern soon. Here's a sneak peek: