Hand-sewn Knitting Needle Case!!

I had been lamenting the fact that I was neglecting sewing projects for quite some time.... probably most of 2014, in fact, so I decided to use some musty old fabric I got from an estate sale way back when and make something insanely useful out of it!!

After washing the fabric several times, the smell was (mostly) gone!

I searched online for patterns for knitting needle cases, but most of the ones I found were really small! I guess most people want something portable that they can take to knit night with them....or for trips.

But honestly, I wanted something EPIC. Something LEGENDARY. Something that could pretty much hold every single knitting needle I own (sans the ones that already came with cases.) Basically my problem was that I had sooo many knitting needles (straights, DPNs, and circulars) and they were pretty much just in a big freaking pile inside of a shoe box and some mini storage bins...and they barely even fit in those spots. So it was time to get my shit together and organize everything so that I could easily locate a certain needle type and size on the fly!!

And then this beautiful thing was born!

(Actually it's kind of hideous but w/e. It is FUNCTIONAL. So fuck yeah!!)

:D

I basically just sewed two different patterned fabric pieces together and used bias tape sewn down at intervals. I want to say I started out at ~0.25" or so intervals or maybe it was closer to 0.50" intervals... then I gradually increased to around 1" or so...and then I got a little bigger toward the bottom right hand side for my giganto needles!!

It's not perfect but oh well. It works for now. I literally spent 12 hours making this fucking thing. I did not have a pattern so most of it was guesswork! And I am mostly pleased with the outcome. I just need to find a way to hang it up now... well, I found an old curtain rod but I need to put a fixture on my wall somewhere to hang this bad boy. And then where to hang it? I have limited space, so it may just stay rolled up for now. That's the other thing I like about it. You can either hang it up or roll it up! Two different storage options. :D


After I had sewn the two pieces of fabric together and attached the bias tape at one end only, I laid out all of my needles according to increasing diameter size:


Then, once I had a really, really, REALLY rough guesstimate of how wide to sew, I measured with a gauge, marked with chalk, and began sewing my intervals:


After a little while I tried putting some needles in for a test-fit of sorts, just to make sure my guesstimate wasn't insanely off-base:


Behold, the finished product in all it's glory. Just not hanging up quite yet:


I must go back and upload more photos once I have it hanging!! :-D

Sorry there aren't more pics.... and I can't really say this is a tutorial either. Just my random photos here and there and a pathetic attempt at explaining what I did, LOL.

It was really annoying to sew this at first, and I was pretty much swearing at one point (well, I am always swearing so nothing new there) but truthfully I really hope I NEVER have to make another one of these again. It was soooo boring. And my back was aching by the end of the day. And yet when I finished, omg, the glory! It was soooooo worth the struggle!

I don't think it would have been faster/easier if I had been working to a pattern. In fact, I think it would have taken longer b/c of cutting out pattern pieces and so forth and having to really measure. I have found that when I sew stuff on my own, I actually tend to measure more than when I am working to pattern...IDK why. I figure they spent a lot of time proving out the pattern's functionality, so I don't have to be as precise, whereas if I am sewing on the fly, sans pattern, then I have to actually double-check my work to make sure I won't end up with a hot, flaming pile of shit. :D

So yeah, that's the saga of sewing my knitting needle case/holder/organizer thingy.

And now that I am still in the 'sewing zone' I would like to attempt to make my Sailor Pluto cosplay. I already have the wig for it. So now I just need to get my shit together and buy fabric. I already have one pattern I could use but I have a 2nd one on the way just in case...


That's all for now. And I promise I will try to write more in this damn blog, LOL. Despite my undying love for IG...

Belated Update! Finished Project Spam!!!

Been crazy busy with work. Just the usual.

My life is pretty much:

Wake up
Work
Knit
Play Videogames (Rune Factory 3 at the moment)
Eat
Sleep
Repeat

Exciting, no?

But I am going on vacation to Florida in a week, WOO! So more knitting and videogames and no work! heehee! :)

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In the meantime I guess I will share some finished projects with y'alls, in order from most recently complete:


Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief/Shawl (Free Pattern) (My Ravelry)





This is the first shawl I ever attempted to knit. I should have made it bigger because I still have a decent amount of this Manos de Uruguay yarn leftover! But the pattern is SO basic that I got bored of it easily. This is good though, I wanted my first ever shawl to be, well, not complicated! LOL! ;) It was only supposed to be a kerchief size but it was very easy to extend it to make it larger.


Wavy Garden Shawl (Pattern) (My Ravelry)

I love how it turned out! SUPER fast knit and VERY easy to follow pattern. Recommended! Also I highly recommend using the ArtYarns Supermerino yarn. It is INSANELY soft!!!!


I didn't think my photo here is so great b/c it's a bathroom selfie and poor lighting but the author of the pattern seemed to like it and she put it on the ravelry page for her pattern! I feel so honored! First time that has ever happened to me. :3


Shawl being blocked! So cool looking! ;)



Faraway, So Close Shawl (Pattern) (My Ravelry)
From the pattern designer: "This shawl was originally designed as a gift to comfort a friend during a time of much grief. In honor of Infant Loss Awareness Month, each October all proceeds from the sale of this pattern for the month are donated to charities that offer support and guidance to families suffering the loss of a child. In 2012 you helped me to donate $345 to Share. Learn more about Share at http://www.nationalshare.org"
I highly HIGHLY recommend you buy this pattern. Not only is it amazingly gorgeous and totally easy to follow even for a beginner knitter like me, but they donate proceeds from the sale of the pattern in October. So buy it in October when the weather is cooling down and knit an amazing shawl for yourself or a loved one. Or donate to a charity. I plan to do some charity knitting this year! :)


This shawl came from my 2nd and final KnitCrate (I had to cancel my subscription cause it was just too expensive for me, sadly.)


I should have blocked this before taking the photo. Urrrgh. Curly ends bug me. But I was SO excited to wear it out the day I finished it! :D


Yellow Halter Top (Free Pattern) (My Ravelry)

First time knitting with cotton yarn and I messed it up big time. It doesn't fit me, and I had to cut the back strap and serge the ends. BLAH. I may try to salvage it but for now it goes in my reject pile. ;___; Derp.


Two-Direction Scarf (Pattern) (My Ravelry)

I had to wait until I was better at picking up stitches before I finished this project! The yarn and pattern was a Christmas gift to me from my BF's mom. Of course I finished this beast of a scarf in the end of spring/early summer. xD Too hot to wear now!


Really lovely finished product! I actually messed up the transition a bit because I think either the pattern was written wrong or I am just dyslexic, lol!


McCarren Park Cap (Pattern) (My Ravelry)

This was from my May 2014 YarnBox! I didn't like the outcome as much as the designer's finished product. IDK why. The buttons are fabric covered. It's funny because a lot of my friends tell me this is their favorite item I ever knitted but might be one of my least favorites. I don't like the way it looks on me. Reminds me of a goofy elf hat. Maybe my gauge was off.. :(

Derp!


Yellow Alpaca Chunky Cable Hat
(Free Pattern) (My Ravelry)

This was a gift for my BF's mom. I made it a little too big. But it's 100% alpaca so very warm! Will keep her head warm in Colorado winters. :)


Siidegarte Sproinger Hat
(Pattern) (My Ravelry)
My first ever finished project from a YarnBox. (I think it was April YB?) Both the amazingly luscious yarn and pattern came from the box. It was a little tricky since it was my first time doing a three needle bind off and only my 2nd or 3rd time picking up stitches but it was a piece o' cake! I did mess up the 3 needle bind off a bit but that's OK. You can't see the seam cause it's hidden in the back, heehee! ;)

Love the result!



Now what should I do with my other skein of yarn?? :D


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Current Work in Progresses:

Ojo de Dios Shawl by Vanessa Ewing (one of my fave designers!)
(Pattern) (My Ravelry)

Tricky at first. I tried starting this project at the beginning of the year but I got stuck several times and kinda just gave up for a while. I kept knitting the triangles backwards. DPNs can be tricky when you are first learning to knit. >__<;; I think I figure it out though. You have to knit 17 triangles together then I think you pick up and knit along the upper edge and do basic garter stick the rest of the way which is truly quite simple. Pretty interesting how the first part of the pattern is very challenging and the second is like, the most basic knit stitch imaginable. LOL! I love the designer though, Vanessa. She's very sweet and always answers questions! And I looove her work. I want to knit her Noro Skirt next. :3 Aftethought A La Carte Socks
(Pattern) (My Ravelry)

Using my May YarnBox sock yarn in Summertime Sweet by Cherry Tree Hill. Interesting that an engineer came up with this pattern. Yay! Represent! Engineers who knit, lol. I always thought of knitting and crochet as very engineer-y types of activities. Lots of concentration, problem solving, working backwards, and of course, mathematics involved. Interpreting patterns and charts is a lot like interpreting blueprints to me, which I do every day at work. xD Also on this project, I taught myself the Magic Loop method on 1 long circular needle but I have decided DPNs work better for me. Less portable and I love to knit whilst drunk at bars, but I have HORRIBLE ladders with Magic Loop. I frogged this sock and I will re-do on my stainless steel carbon fiber DPNs (lol even my needles are engineer-y.) xD


Click the Read More jump below to see some more pics!




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SPINNING!

I also tried my hand at spinning on my new drop spindle. (It was only $1!) I am not very good at it though >__<;


practice makes perfect right?

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Random yarn photos!

July 2014 YarnBox:

Fiberlady 70% Bamboo and 30% Cotton in the "Relaxing" colorway. Still stumped about what to make out of this. I love it tho.

June 2014 YarnBox:

ArtYarns Supermerino - AMAZING yarn. Seriously some of my most favorite yarn to knit with ever. So soft considering it's 100% wool. This is what I used to make the Wavy Garden Shawl above!

June 2014 KnitCrate:

Targhee Worsted in Muddy Autumn by Blue Moon Fibres ^__^ SUCH LOVE. Lovely yarn to knit with. Not as soft as the ArtYarns supermerino and did smell strongly of dye but thankfully did not run when I wet blocked it and was really easy to knit with, no tearing or breakage. Made for a lovely shawl.

May 2014 YarnBox:

Amazingly beautiful Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn

Going to Portland on Monday... + Knitting Updates

Sorry again for neglecting this blog. I had a post for March but it somehow got deleted. >_<; wtf. I am going on a business trip to Portland on Monday and I will be gone for exactly 8 days... returning on the 14th. I hope to take some good photos while there and maybe explore the city a little after my conference is over. A friend of mine from college is driving down from Seattle just to see me. Yay! :) I have never been there before, so it should be fun to explore a new city. It's been a few years since I was out to the West Coast. I was in Arizona last year...I don't recall if I posted any photos or not. I have been so bad about that, I know! Sorry! >__<; I know I posted photos of my trip to Philly a while back. But yeah. Long flight on Monday so I plan to bring lots of ...you guessed it.. knitting! (I love how this blog started out as a fashion and makeup blog and has slowly shifted to knitting. LOL.) So yeah. KNITTING: I got a cute hedgehog knitting gauge!

Also finished a simple hat for my BF's dad. Baby Alpaca Grande by Plymouth Yarn. Love how soft it is. Might even be softer than Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky... hmm.

I messed up a few times though...the pattern said to use straight needles but that if you wanted it seamless, you could use circulars. Obviously I went with the circulars because they're so easy to use and I didn't feel like doing a three needle bind off to make a seam or w/e it's called.

Also decided I would try to start a new pattern. It's called Ojo de Dios by Vanessa Ewing. It's only available from Interweave Magazine (Winter 2013 edition, I think.)


See here for more info:


http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ojo-de-dios-shawl

Not really sure if I know what I am doing though... I thought I did, but after knitting a triangle and a half, it dawned on me that I had somehow accidentally put the garter stitch on the right side instead of the wrong side. Derp. I kind of like the way it looks but now I am struggling to pick up stitches and match it. Uggh. >__<;; I am sure I will figure this out eventually but it's going to take me a little while. Only 2nd time using DPNs. The first time I used DPNs I attempted to knit fingerless mitts...it didn't go so well. I ended up getting 1/4 of the way done with one mitt and totally messed up on the thumb gusset... alas. :(
Still trying to figure out those pesky triangles. >__< I managed to find some big enough buttons I liked at the local knit shop while I was purchasing my Gina yarn for the Ojo de Dios shawl and I attached one to finish my mug cozy!
OK so it still needs blocked.... but yeah. You get the idea. xD

I still haven't blocked anything before. I guess I am still a knitting n00b. I'm gonna take my friend's advice though and get those puzzle piece interlocking mats from Harbor Freight and some non-rust T-pins and go that route for blocking... and my other friend gave me instructions on how to block! I am so glad to have friends who like to knit. I'd be totally lost otherwise (or spending lots more time on the intarwebz, lol.)

In other news... I am STILL playing Rune Factory 4. I got Rune Factory 3 for 3DS as well but it's not as fun, haha. I think it's a mixture of the fact that I was spoiled with such cool new features in 4 that 3 is just...meh. I still can't figure out how to auto-sort like in 4 (maybe you can't!) and plus I just dislike the characters in 3. IDK why. They just seem so...flat. But then again I felt that way about a lot of characters in 4 until I invested a lot of play time into it. Oh well. Maybe I will do a separate post with my musings....hmm.

Finished a Few Knitted Things!

The weather continues to be outright freezing cold lately. Although it does fluctuate between below zero degrees F, and around 25 degrees F...! The other day it was -5 degrees F (which is approximately -20C fo y'alls who use Celsius..!) That's SO COLD OMG. So needless to say I've been knitting and knitting....and knitting!

Here's what I finished lately:

Gina Scarf



From a free pattern available online: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/f428-gina-scarf

The lady who did the pattern is Vanessa Ewing, and she's really nice! I was stuck on how to do this pattern a while ago and she helped me out by sharing a video on Youtube of a person knitting the Indian Cross Stitches pattern which is effectively what this pattern is only modified to change how the rows alternate. I really adore it. Such an easy and fast knit and if you use the Gina worsted weight yarn by Plymouth (it's 100% wool)



it comes out looking beautiful due to the way they dye the yarn. I love dip-dye effects and color gradients. :3 Especially when they're all rainbow-y!

I loved it so much that I finished a second one:





I just love the yarn so much. ^___^


I also got some knitting books to get some new patterns, and plus they just looked like fun. :D


Punk knits!! Haha. :D There's a skirt pattern in here I wanna try in neon green yarn plus a distressed striped sweater. Yay! :D


More fresh alpaca yarn too:



I was trying to use it to make a Steelers Scarf but it didn't really work with the pattern, transitioning between the two colors :(


I really do adore the way the yellow yarn looks in this pattern though so I will likely just frog the crap outta it and start over with just yellow, saving the black for another time.

That yarn is also by Plymouth, it's their Baby Alpaca Grande. From what I understand, "baby alpaca" doesn't mean the fibers came from a baby alpaca, but that it's indicative of the fineness of the fiber. Odd, huh? All this time I was picturing an adorable baby alpaca getting sheared down to naked, hehe. I guess it's just an adult alpaca getting sheared! :P

Anyhoo. That's all I got for now. I'm also working on sewing an Elsa costume for my next door neighbor's daughter using a child's pattern I found on Etsy. I'll have to make my next blog post about that. And knitting, of course! :)

I also plan to crochet a Totoro Amigurumi, but I haven't crocheted since highschool so this should be interesting. I plan to YouTube all of the pattern techniques so I have a better idea of what I am doing, lol.