I finished my to-be-felted bowl. It turned out a little smaller than expected. I’m not sure how much it will shrink. If it’s a lot maybe I can use it as change bowl? I’m using Penguin to model before and after felting pics:

For my next stash felt project I started playing with design. I figured out how to make these groovy diamonds:

I took out the last few rows because I didn’t like mixing the two colors and replaced it with solid red. Penguin models for me:

I’m almost done with the bowl and have enough stash wool yarn for another project. The bottom was free form and a little poofy. Felting is a near magical process like blocking right?

This is turning into a fun side project. It’s pretty mellow knitting which is nice. I’m almost done with the orange yellow socks. Then I move onto…what? I’m not sure. Kilt hose for Thebes, a sweater for me, a baby hat and baby socks for my friend Sera’s upcoming baby shower?

The first orange yellow sock is finished and fits perfectly. Now I’m onto the ribbing on the second one. It’s turning out well. The stockinette between the toe and heel seemed to take a really long time. But I sat myself down with yarn and needles and cranked it out. Now that I’ve turned the heel I feel like progress is picking up.

My next big project is going to be a sweater. Maybe a Rowan sweater for me or a cable sweater for Thebes. I haven’t decided yet.

For now I’m working on a little bowl to felt. I found the free pattern from Deborah Does Navel-Gazing.

This is all stash yarn. All the colors are from this great thrifted sweater that I frogged. The light blue is the same yarn I used for Ogee. Thrifted sweaters rock!

Eventually I’d like to freestyle some knitted vessels. I’m working this pattern to try to learn the concept. It’s a fun little project to work on before starting something large.

After an advanced lace sweater pattern left me in tears holding a sweater that went down to my knees with gorilla arms I consoled myself with Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears. Inspired by her sage advice of “Be the boss of your knitting” I made this skirt.

I wanted to be free to customize a skirt, to be free of complex patterns and to knit something fun. The Freedom Skirt was born.

This pattern is written to be customized to fit your specific measurements. Since you figure out your own gauge you can use whatever yarn you’d like. For summer wear I’d suggest going with a cotton blend, for winter perhaps a wool blend and more stockinette. Make it short, make it long! Put lace work just at the bottom or make it mostly lace for a skirt that’s daring!

Finished Measurements
Since this pattern is customized to your body the measurements are up to you!

Materials Needed
Stash yarn-the more you have the longer the skirt
I used:
3 skeins of Lion Brand Cotton Ease Blueberry 3.5oz (100g)

Needles-use whatever you like to get gauge
I used:
3.5 metric circular needles 19″, 5.5 metric 19″ circular needles

Stitch holders or extra circular needles to act as stitch holders

Cat-completely optional but highly recommended

Gauge
Customized. Measure the widest part of your hips. Knit up a swatch in your selected yarn. Use the suggested size needles the yarn labels suggests as a starter size. If you want a tighter look move to a smaller size. For a looser knit use bigger needles.

Multiply the stitches per inch from your swatch with the number of inches from around your hips. That number is the number of stitches you cast on. Note: number of cast on stitches must be an even number

Pattern
Cast on calculated stitches (see above), place marker, join for knitting in the round being careful not to twist stitches.

Knit in round until you have 1″ of stockinette
Purl one round to make turning hem
Knit in round until you have another 1/2″ of stockinette

Optional: Patty, one of my pattern testers, sent me a link to do a no sew hem. Next time I make a stash skirt I’m going to do this.

Pick a spot you’d like the drawstring holes
To make holes
K2tog, yo, K4, yo, K2 tog

Continue knitting in round until stockinette is desired length

Lace pattern
To make the lace pattern more open and to give the skirt flare without increases switch up to a needle size 2 sizes larger than the needles you used for the stockinette portion.

*yo, k2tog*, repeat between *
continue in lace pattern until desired length

Ruffle
Knit 2 rows
Next row-knit into the front and back of every other stitch
Knit 2 rows
Next row-knit into the front and back of every other stitch
Knit 1 row
Next row-knit into the front and back of every stich, do this for two rows
bind off

Note: When you are increasing for the ruffle you are adding a large
amount of stitches rather quickly. You will start to run out of room
on your needle. I used three other circular needles as stitch holders.

Drawstring
Make a braided drawstring to the length you desire
Take three strands of yarn and braid them, knot at each end

Finishing
Sew down hem with matching thread
Guide drawstring in through the hem holes with a safety pin.

Put on the skirt and do your happy dance! Then if you like email me pics at twilly23atgmaildotcom and a link to your blog if applicable. If I get enough pics I’ll put up a gallery.

Thanks to Patty and Marie for testing the pattern!

The cat bed project is officially derailed. I was on the siding when I thought to compare the size to Prana’s current cat bed. It was way too small. (although larger than the picture above)

I could have ripped out stiches and redid it. But there were several issues against the bed. The whole thing was extremely lumpy and I didn’t see how blocking could fix that much lump. And the yarn sucked. Scratchy and itchy it clung to the needles and I had to push each stitch up towards the needle tip. The yarn was hard on my wrists so I had to keep taking breaks because I was getting sore.

Prana seems perfectly happy with his current bed and never realized this project was for him. I’m not even frogging what I knit. I’m taking the partial bed and the rest of the yarn to the free pile.

So now I only have the orange yellow sock on the needles. What to knit? I’m at an utter loss. Maybe something from stash yarn? But my stash yarn is not so big anymore. The yarn I do have is not enough for a big project. A smaller project sounds nice though. I’d like to do one more small project before starting another sweater.