The Summer of Knitting

I've sold more toys privately in the past few months than I have in my Etsy shop. Which is fine by me. Because I'm not picky about where the money to support my knitting habit comes from. I've spent almost $120 on yarn this week (a short time after promising myself I would use up some stashed yarn before I bought anymore - which I did! Sort of). I assuaged my guilt over this frivolous expenditure by reminding myself that the money in my Paypal account (from Etsy sales) and the money I've made making baby gifts for friends and colleagues in the past couple of months more than covers that. For which I am thankful.

Because we're supposed to be pinching pennies in preparation for an upcoming move. About 1200 miles away. Oh yeah, did I mention that I got a faculty job at private university in Connecticut? Ok, well. That happened, so we're moving in the next 7 or 8 weeks. To a much more expensive part of the country. We will be reimbursed for our moving expenses, and we aren't in a dire financial situation or anything, but saving some extra money seems like a good idea.

Which is why a purchase I wouldn't ordinarily have thought twice about has inspired mild feelings of guilt. But, oh the lovely things I'm going to knit! You know, with all my free time between packing up the house and packing up the lab (my current boss has decided to move our lab to the building across the street) and finishing manuscripts and submitting manuscripts and revising manuscripts and writing rebuttal letters to editors and preparing for courses and finding a house to rent in CT and getting our house here set up with a management company to rent it out and all the other baggage that comes with a long-distance move.

So yeah, this might be a bit of a pipe dream, but I am determined to knit some amazing things with all the yarn I've just bought (and some that I've had stashed for... well, let's just say a long time). In no particular order, here are the latest additions to my knitting to-do list:

Interweave Knits' Popsicle Dress
I saw this in the latest issue of Interweave Knits and immediately wanted to make it. And Knit Picks is in the middle of a huge sale, so of course, I couldn't not invest in some Shine Sport (in Pistachio for the main color and Mongoose for the contrast) to make this adorable dress happen.

Penumbra Tee
This is in last summer's Knitscene, but I've just decided I want to make it. I'm going to use some Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton for it. I haven't decided which color yet - either forest green or maroon.















Butter Camisole
This a free download from Ravelry, and it's super cute. Perfect for summer. I bought a full bag (10 skeins!) of Knit Picks Simply Cotton worsted yarn in Wave Heather (light blue), enough for two projects. This will be one of them.

Radian Yoke
This is another project from last summer's Knitscene that I love love love. I'll be using Knit Picks Simply Cotton sport weight in Green Tea Heather for this one.

Waiting for Springtime Sweater
Another free Ravelry download. Very cute. I'll be using most of my Simply Cotton Worsted on this one (the rest is for the Butter cami).

Runcorn Cardigan
Another free pattern, and I love stripes. I'll be using a very similar color scheme (but not the yarns called for in the pattern), all from yarn already in my stash. I'll just have to buy buttons. I'm going with some dark brown Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton as the main color, and some Knit Picks Shine Worsted in blue and fuchsia.
















 Whew. All those projects are going to keep me busy for the foreseeable future. So I'll leave you with a project that I actually finished a few weeks ago (and have already worn twice - that's how much I love it) - the No Sew Breathless Sweater (free pattern, yes!). This photo is from the pattern (I don't have any pics of mine yet).

 My sweater looks almost exactly like this. Instead of Simply Cotton, like the pattern calls for, I used Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Butter Cream (a discontinued color, very similar to Willow if you click the link to see the colors) and Sailor (still tan and navy, as pictured). It took about 6.5 balls of Butter Cream and 2.5 balls of Sailor for my sweater, so I definitely used up a good bit of my yarn stash on this one.

















Did I say I was done now? I lied. I'm also going to show you the project currently on my needles.

Cecily Camisole
I'm using Stroll Sock Yarn in Blue Topaz (from my stash - told you I was using up some stashed yarn) for this one.















All the toys I've been knitting lately have also used up a good chunk of my stash of Shine Worsted. So maybe I'll have room for all the yarn I've just ordered. It's going to be a busy summer.

Beads, beads, beads

I know that most of my crafting is knitting, but I also do a lot of bead crafts. I enjoy making jewelry (mainly for myself, but some as gifts) and stitch markers (it's the knitter in me), but mostly I love Beaded Knitting. Yes, you can knit beaded things. Really pretty beaded things.

Today I entered a really awesome giveaway over at Copper Diem. She's giving away THREE POUNDS of beads. Entries run through next week, so check it out! You should also check out Crafty Hope, who brought this great giveaway to my attention.

Sweater Madness

I've been in a sweater knitting frenzy over here lately. But first, I knitted a pair of Irish Girlie Knits Sweet Home socks for my very best friend for her birthday (ok, so the second sock was a few weeks late). Then I got to resume working on my Cloudy Sunday sweater in Knit Picks Cadena yarn in Sagebrush. I am a little more than half way done with this sweater (so I still have quite a bit of knitting to do), but that didn't stop me from perusing new patterns. I found this little gem on Ravelry yesterday. Now I am dying to try out Indigo Mouse's Arbor short-sleeve sweater. What a gorgeous pattern! Bonus: I think I even have some yarn in my stash that will work! And if I finish it quickly, I might be able to wear it this spring!

But first, I need to finish off Cloudy Sunday. I hope I get finished before it gets too warm to wear it at least once. Or this might end up like my Delancey Cardigan - I finish it in September when it's WAY too hot to wear it (don't worry, I've worn it lots of times this winter).

That's not to mention the stacks and stacks of project boxes with yarn and patterns ready and waiting for me to just cast on already... many of which are cardigans. Because I'm obsessed with cardigans. Ooh, like this one from Knitty. I've printed and saved the pattern, but I haven't bought any yarn for it (yet...isn't that some serious self-restrain?). Then there's the Lydia cardigan (for which I do have yarn). And the Classic Lines Cardigan (for which I also have yarn). Oh! Let's not forget the beautiful, light weight Lepidoptera cardigan from Interweave Knits (for which, once again, I have already bought yarn). My subscription to Interweave Knits has probably been my downfall in the knitting to-do list department. That magazine has so many great patterns that I want to make... if only I had all the time in the world.

All right. Enough writing. It's the weekend. Time for some knitting.

A Christmas Treat

Toffee is probably my favorite thing to eat, period. It's crunchy and delicious and completely addictive. My mom always made it at Christmas (and only at Christmas), and I looked forward to it all year. I still do. Only now I've learned how to make it myself. Growing up, I thought that making toffee was extremely difficult and messy. Turns out, it extremely quick and easy (takes about half an hour). But since toffee is just caramelized butter and sugar, it's really Really unhealthy. But oh it's soooo gooooood.

Here's how to make your own toffee. I usually use a candy thermometer, but you don't have to.

Before you start, line a large baking sheet (or a 16" pizza pan, if you're me) with parchment paper (you can do this while the toffee is cooking if you forget beforehand). Then put four sticks (2 cups) of salted butter (this is critical) and 2 cups of sugar in a large (2 quart, I think) saucepan over medium heat. Stir it together as the butter melts. The candy thermometer is optional. When everything melts together, add 1 tsp. of vanilla.






















Keep stirring pretty often once the mixture gets bubbly.






















Keep stirring, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Scorched toffee doesn't taste good. As the temperature approaches 250 degrees or so, the mixture will thicken and the color will start to deepen into a nice caramel shade. It also starts to smell like caramel.






















You're aiming for the "soft crack" stage of candy making, which is 285-290 degrees F. Some people can tell when the toffee is ready to pour just by the color (a little darker than the photo above) and the smell. I turn off the heat when the toffee reaches 285 degrees (it gets a little hotter than that by the time I pour it). I keep a little piece of parchment paper next to the stove to place the thermometer on while I pour the toffee.

















Use your spoon to spread the hot toffee into a thin layer over your pan. Then pile on some chocolate chips (1 to 1 1/2 cups). I like semi-sweet Ghirardelli chips, but you can use whatever you like.

















Use a rubber spatula to spread the melted chocolate all over the top of the toffee. You could also sprinkle some sliced almonds over the chocolate while it's still gooey, which is delicious, but I didn't have any almonds, so this batch of toffee just got chocolate topping.

















Pro tip: everything sets faster in the fridge. I let the pan cool on the stove or counter for about 15 minutes then pop the whole thing in the fridge (use a towel or potholder - the pan is going to be HOT). Once it's set, break the toffee into small pieces and store at room temp in an airtight container (like a cute Christmas tin).

If you soak your pot, spoon, and thermometer overnight, clean-up is easy, too.

Giveaway!

I've said it before, now I'm saying it again. I'm a bad blogger. And there's something I should have posted on here DAYS ago, but I'm just now getting around to it. I'm sponsoring my first giveaway! You can find it over at Mommy's Moments. They have a lot of great sponsors for the Blog Bash Christmas giveaway. My contribution is this cute little guy:






















The giveaway ends tomorrow, so head over now and check out how to enter!

Facebook

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I posted here. Just wanted to put it out there that LaTina Steele Designs now has a Facebook page! Feel free to click the Like button over there on my sidebar ;-)

Breakfast!

I'm not sure this qualifies as "crafty," but I'm posting it here anyway. We've been experiencing cooler than normal temperatures here in Mobile this week, after Tropical Storm Lee, and it has me craving all things pumpkin. So this morning I'm making Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins for breakfast. I modified a recipe from Allrecipes.com to make these amazing fall breakfast treats.

I started using my modified version of this recipe last fall, and Max LOVES them. They were the first muffins he ever liked, and are by far his favorite muffins. And they have veggies in them, so I definitely win.

Here's my version:

• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 vegetable oil (I used canola)
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. canned pumpkin
• 1/4 c. water
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
  
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 F, and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. In another large bowl, mix sugar, oil, and eggs then add pumpkin and water (I use a wire whisk and mix everything by hand). Stir in the dry ingredients then mix in the chocolate chips. Evenly divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups (each one will be almost full) and bake for 20 minutes.

Elephants in Stripes!

I've already posted a photo of this little guy on Twitter, but I decided to share him here as well. Last month, I got a really fun, creative request from an Etsy customer. She was looking for an elephant for her son that matched a favorite outfit. She sent me a picture of the stripe pattern on the shirt, and this is what I created for her:



































I can't even begin to tell you how pleased I am with the final product. He turned out So Cute. The customer thought so, too, and she sent me a photo of her son holding his new elephant and wearing the matching outfit. I totally gave myself props for doing an excellent job matching both the colors and the varying widths of the stripes. The photo was pricelessly adorable (I won't share that here, for obvious reasons).

As I was knitting the multicolor elephant, Max decided that he wanted me to make him an elephant, too. First, he said he wanted a blue elephant. Then he wanted a yellow one. Then he wanted a red one. When the red choice seemed to stick, I started on Max's elephant. And of course, as three year olds do, Max changed his mind mid-knit and decided he wanted red and blue. So this is what he got:
























































After complaining a bit about the addition of the blue stripes ("But I didn't want blue, too!"), Max decided that he LOVES his new elephant, and it has replaced Tigger as his favorite sleeping buddy.

After the success of the striped elephants I've completed, I'm thinking about making another one in a 3 or 4 color combo to include in my Etsy shop. I just have to decide on the color combo.

In the meantime, I've started working on a new design, which I'll probably tweak a bit, but for now I have listed Penny the Pig in my Etsy shop.

New Design for a New Baby

My boss/friend/undergraduate advisor is adopting a baby, so I decided to knit her a baby gift. A while back, I made the garden snail from Hansi Singh's Amigurumi Knits. While I was pleased with my final product, the snail was actually a huge pain in the ass to knit. Here is how my garden snail turned out:
















Way cute, right? But it took FOREVER to complete, which is something you don't really expect form an "amigurumi" knit. I don't really have the patience for that kind of knitting very often, so I decided to try my hand at writing my own snail pattern - in a way that is much simpler than Hansi Singh's version, not to mention light years quicker to knit.

I completed my snail this morning, and I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out:

































I think that my boss/friend/undergraduate advisor is going to love it. It doesn't even remotely resemble the conch (which she's spent a lot of time researching in her career) that inspired to me to make a snail for her new baby, but then again, it wasn't really supposed to. Maybe next time.

Valentine's Socks...with a Twist

I haven't made these socks yet and, seeing as Valentine's day is in two days, I definitely don't have time to make them in time for Valentine's day this year. But I fell in love with this pattern the moment I saw it, and now I desperately want to make a pair for myself. They're called My Vampire Boyfriend Socks, and the pattern is available for free from Knitty.

I just so happen to have a skein of gorgeous red sock yarn... that is too fine a weight for this pattern. So I'll need to procure some more appropriate yarn to make these beauties. I have quite a stash of sock yarn, including several skeins of fingering/sock weight that would be great in this pattern - I just really love that red, and I don't have it. So it looks like I'll be placing another order from Knit Picks soon. Darn...

Featuring.... Me!

Thanks to Jocelyn from The Nesting Spot on Etsy, I recently discovered that my Etsy shop was featured on babble.com's Family Style blog. You can view the article that featured my shop here. Free advertising, woo!

Since being featured in Family Style, I have received tons of orders, and my shop is seeing way more traffic than usual. Which is, of course, a good thing. My biggest fear right now is not being able to knit toys fast enough (not that I ever have as much time for knitting as I would like...).

Speaking of toys... I've just finished two new designs for spring.

Danny the Duck - he was one of the toys featured on babble.com. The first one sold quickly, and I'm knitting another one as fast as I can.

















Next up: Rascal the Rabbit, a tiny bunny sized for Easter baskets (he's about 8 inches from the tip of his ears to the bottom of his legs, his body is about 4 inches without ears or legs).



















I have plans to make a larger rabbit by modifying my teddy bear pattern. Now I just have to find the time.

Cotty Socks

Oh, hello there. I am such a bad, neglectful blogger. I mentioned a while back that I was working on a pair of Cotty socks using Kollage Yarns Sock-a-licious. Well, I finally finished them. On New Year's Eve. What perfect timing. These socks were my last project of 2010. Feast your eyes:



































I can't say enough good things about this yarn, either. It's a blend of wool, silk, and nylon (which is not cheap), and these socks are like heaven on my feet. Happy New Year to me.

Fun for Fall

I've been stuck at home with a sick Max for the past few days, and it seems that the antibiotics are finally getting rid of the little guy's strep throat. That means that while I had to stay home with him again today (he shouldn't be contagious after today, so he can back to daycare tomorrow just in time for their Fall Festival), he was feeling well enough to play by himself and nap without being held for a while. What does that mean for LaTina? Knitting time, of course! With the nip of fall in the air this morning (that means 59 degrees when I woke up), I was in the mood to knit something fall-y. And what says Fall more than pumpkins? This little guy measures 4 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches high (3.5 inches high if you include the stem).















Here's the (very simple and very quick) pattern:

I used worsted weight yarn and size 5 DPN's. I plan to make a bigger one next by holding the yarn double and using size 8 DPN's. You could also just use a chunkier yarn.

Cast on 9 sts with orange yarn (leave a long tail to sew up the hole in the bottom), distribute evenly among 3 needles, join to knit in the round (you can also knit this flat and sew up the side seam, just alternate knit and purl rows, aka stockinette stitch; add in an extra purl row where needed to make the KFB stitches work). You will need DPN's for the i-cord stem.

R1 - KFB 9 x's (18 sts)
R2 - KFB 18 x's (36 sts)
R3 - knit all sts
R4 - KFB 36 x's (72 sts)
R5-7 - knit 3 rounds
R8 - KFB into the first and last stitch on each needle (78 sts; 26 sts on each needle)
R9-13 - knit 5 rounds
R14 - *k2tog, knit to end of needle, ssk* 3x's (72 sts)
R15-19 - knit 5 rounds
R20 - repeat round 14 (66 sts)
R21-22 - knit 2 rounds
R23 - repeat round 14 (60 sts)
R24-26 - knit 3 rounds
R27 - k2tog around (30 sts)
R28-29 - knit 2 rounds
BEGIN STUFFING.
R30 - k2tog around (15 sts)
R31-32 - knit 2 rounds
R33 - *k2tog k1 ssk* 3x's (9 sts)
R34 - knit

Cut yarn and draw through remaining live stitches. Finish stuffing the pumpkin to desired fullness, pull tight, knot, and hide yarn tail inside. Sew up the hole in the bottom of the pumpkin and hide the yarn tail inside.

To make the stem, pick up and knit 4 stitches at the top of the pumpkin using green yarn. Using 2 DPN's, work in i-cord for 12 rows, or until stem is desired length (folded in half). Bind off in i-cord, and fold the stem down so that the cast on and bound off edges meet. Sew the stem in place, and hide all yarn tails inside.

*This pattern is for personal use only. Enjoy!

Works in Progress

• Delancey Cardigan in navy with light gray stripes
• Cotty Socks in Kollage Yarns Sock-a-licious colorway Waterfall
• a new teddy bear in tan and cream

Bad lighting this afternoon, so no in progress pics for you. Maybe tomorrow.

I am extremely pleased with the way the cardigan is turning out. Ditto the socks, even though the picot edge on my current sock didn't turn out quite as pretty as the one pictured in the pattern.

Having three simultaneous knitting projects makes deciding what to work on difficult. The teddy bear is closest to completion, but I think tonight I want to work on the socks.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've done so much in the couple of weeks since I've posted here. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures for you. Don't hold it against me - everyone in my house had a stomach bug last weekend, and I just started working a second part time job in my undergraduate adviser's lab, so I'm working full time now. All of that plus a husband and a two year old doesn't leave a lot of spare time.

I finished my first pair of socks last weekend while recuperating, and they turned out great. I'll definitely be wearing them on cold winter nights (well, as cold as winter gets here, anyway, which isn't cold at all to northerners). I also made another teddy bear, which has also been sold. And another football. I also started on my cardigan, which is going to be amazing when I finally finish it. I've also started working on another zebra, and I have yarn in my knitting bag for another teddy bear (different color scheme this time). Timmy the Tiger sold today, so I want to go ahead and make another. Actually, I want to make two tigers, one for the little stash of toys I'm selling at Max's daycare and one for my Etsy shop. Plus two black cats for Halloween and one for my sister. I'll probably save that for her birthday in November. And socks... there are so many socks that I want to knit.

Dish Rag Tag has officially begun, and before I know it the box will be here, and I will be speedily knitting up a dish rag. I have ambitious plans to knit three sets of dish cloths as Christmas gifts, possibly using the Official Dish Rag Tag pattern.

So much knitting, so little time...

Socks - Work in Progress

My first sock is coming along nicely, I think. Not sure if I'm going to finish the pair this weekend (Teddy the Bear sold right away, and I want to go ahead and make another one), but I'm pleased with the results so far. I'll definitely be finishing this sock before I start knitting another bear. I'm almost there!















I had to check and see if they fit...




























I think these socks are going to be great once they're finished. And once the heat index drops below 110. It's really too hot for socks here in August. Come December, I think I'm going to wear them all the time.

Socks! (among other things)

I finished the elephant I was working on (his name is Ethan, FYI) and got him listed on Etsy the other day. Have a look:
















I've just realized that this is the first elephant I've made that I've actually taken pictures of. The other three were finished the night before they were sold (and night = bad lighting, so no pictures).

I also managed to knit a new teddy bear for my shop.















After that intense rush of business a couple of weeks ago, things have slowed down, but that's ok. I expect things to pick up in the next couple of months, as people begin their holiday shopping.

But toys are not what this post is about. This post is about socks. I am about to (finally!) start on my first pair of socks. I am going to start with a basic worsted weight sock pattern and then venture into more complex (and time-consuming) patterns. I chose Knit Picks Shine Worsted (what else?) in French Blue as the yarn for my first sock knitting adventure. They're going to be great, I can feel it. Hopefully I can get them finished this weekend and show them to you soon. My feet can hardly wait.

In other news, I've also signed up for Dish Rag Tag, a dishrag knitting relay race mediated by Emily of Yarn Miracle (click the button below for details). This is my first time entering the race, and it promises to be loads of fun.








Oh! I almost forgot! My dissertation defense was a smashing success on Wednesday. I won't insist that you call me Dr. LaTina now (but you are welcome to do so if that is your heart's desire).

To-Do List

That most exciting yet dreaded time is almost upon me - I will be defending my dissertation in three short days, and I am really starting to get nervous. So mainly my to-do list consists of "rehearse defense." Since I can't feasibly rehearse 24/7, I'm also adding several knitting projects to the list.

• Finish the elephant I'm working on and get it listed on Etsy
• Knit and list a teddy bear

Then comes the fun, not-for-my-shop stuff. My first foray into the wonderful world of sock knitting! I'm so excited. I found a really easy (looking) basic sock pattern, which I'm going to try first. Then I plan to move on to this gorgeous lace pattern I found for the amazing merino wool/silk blend sock yarn I bought last week. I have quite the stash of sock yarn for someone who hasn't knitted so much as one pair of socks (yet).

After my first pair of socks, I think I'll finally start working on this gorgeous cardigan that I can hardly wait to finish. Or maybe I'll end up starting the cardigan before the socks. You never know with me. I tend to do things on a whim. I'll probably end up knitting gauge swatches for both the socks and the cardigan before I actually start working on either one. That's the really great thing about knitting toys - no gauge swatches (because it doesn't matter if your stuffed animal size is off by an inch or two).

Off to knit a body for my elephant!

Meet Lavender

Lavender the Zebra is up on Etsy now. She's so adorable, and I don't think my photos do her justice. I don't know if I'm just not getting the right background or what.



















I made Lavender from my ever-growing stash of Knit Picks Shine Worsted yarn, so she is incredibly soft.

I recently visited a specialty yarn shop here in Mobile (Wellslee's All Strung Out), and for the most part was pleased with their selection. I bought two hanks of sock yarn (their sock yarn section is especially good), but I don't think they can replace Knit Picks as my top yarn supplier. They did have some pima cotton yarns, but they are twice as expensive as Shine Worsted, not nearly as soft, and they don't have as many color choices. More importantly, they don't have the colors that I order most from Knit Picks. I went to Wellslee's looking for a substitute for Shine Worsted Robot, a light gray color. They had plenty of gray yarns, but none of that light silvery shade. Looks like I'll be waiting until August 20 to place yet another order from Knit Picks.

Wellslee's does have a really great offering of knitting needles. They have circular and double-pointed needle sizes that I can't find in Hobby Lobby or Michael's and would usually have to order. Their prices on bamboo needles are also far more reasonable than the prices for those needles in Hobby Lobby (they actually cost about 50% less at Wellslee's). I will definitely be back to visit these folks, but I'm afraid they just can't replace Knit Picks.

Just Call Me Superwoman

I have been so super productive today. So far I've:

• baked a loaf of bread
• unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher
• washed, dried, folded and put away two loads of laundry
• cleaned both bathrooms
  
• looked over my defense presentation with three new slides added by my adviser
• set up the sweet new digital photo frame I got for my birthday
  
• entertained Max by playing Wii Sports (bowling and tennis) and letting him hold the remote I wasn't using
• knitted a zebra head, complete with ears and mane
• sewed the ears and mane to the zebra head, and embroidered the eyes and mouth
• made a pot of chili for dinner

That doesn't even include everyday tasks like changing, feeding, and generally keeping track of a two year old. And feeding myself. I mostly ate leftovers.

I am so excited about this new zebra. This one is special - it's lavender! It's turning out so sooo sooooo cute. I'm hoping that I can get it finished, photographed, and listed on Etsy by Wednesday. The few minor changes I made to my original zebra pattern made a world of difference (even though that first one was pretty adorable). I can't wait to show you.