Hijacked

I was going to post a nice little update about my work in progress knitting, but said knitting was hijacked by a small cat on her quest for the ideal napping location.

So I guess for now, despite a lack of full sized pictures, I can explain to you what I'm working on.

I'm knitting myself a blanket to bring to college next year. I knew I wanted a pretty big one so I measured a blanket I sewed a while ago because that was the approximate size that I wanted. I calculated the number of stitches I would need based on the gauge of the yarn, and eyeballed the number of skeins I would need. So far, I've used about two. I'll give you the full measurements and stitch details when I'm done! I'm knitting with the Ecological Wool from Cascade Yarn in Beige. So far it's been really nice to knit, although the more the blanket grows the heavier it is, but that comes with knitting any kind of bulky project.

Even before its completion the blanket has been cat-approved, and honestly, what more could you ask for?

Penelope

Hi!

I have a little story to share. This summer, I worked on two knitting projects, both of them following a pattern. If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I don't do well with patterns, and I don't like following them. So, after much trial and error, I decided to ditch one of the patterns I was working with - a cowl pattern - and write my own. 

So here it is, the Penelope Cowl! My first ever successful knitting pattern.

Penelope Cowl

- Cast on 231 stitches in the round, place marker

- Border: *knit 3, purl 3* repeat to end of round 

- Wheat stitch (a 4-row stitch): 

1. row 1 - purl 1. *knit 1, purl 1* repeat to end of round

2. row 2 - knit 1, *purl 1, knit 1* repeat to end of round 

3. row 3 - knit 1, *purl 1, knit 1* repeat to end of round

4. row 4 - purl 1, *knit 1, purl 1* repeat to end of round

- Wheat stitch for 11 inches or as long as desired

- Border: *knit 3, purl 3* repeat to end of round

- Cast off loosely 

Notes:

- make sure your stitches aren't twisted when you cast on in the round

- keep track of your wheat stitch rows to ensure that you know where you are when you pause in your knitting (I recommend tally marks)

I knit my cowl out of Purl Essence Everyday yarn in Oatmeal Heather, with 5mm circular needles. Despite being acrylic, it was really soft and easy to knit, and so far has done a very good job of keeping my neck warm. I would recommend not frowning down on acrylic yarn, but honestly, knit what your heart desires. 

So here it is, I hope you like it! If you have any questions about the pattern or anything, feel free to leave a comment down below!

Also, a big thank you to my mom for taking pictures of me even though people were walking by. 

P.S. The story behind the name of the cowl is that while I was desperately trying to follow the pattern I had originally planned on making I would knit about three rows then take everything out and start all over again. This process lasted a good week and my project was dubbed Penelope, who would weave her tapestry during the day and take out all her stitches at night, of course not making any progress. 

Dusty Pink

I just really love the idea of dusty pink as a color, soft and warm but more subtle than in-your-face pink. Even the name is pretty, it makes me think of flowers.

This is a sweater that I made, and is in fact the first time I have ever knitted something with pink yarn. It is the Chatou sweater from La Droguerie. I tweaked the pattern a little (oh surprise), keeping it on the jersey side of the stitches, as opposed to the garter side as was indicated in the pattern. I also didn't use the yarn they said to use but it worked out okay.

I used the Merino Aran yarn from Katia, which is a mix of wool and acrylic and is so soft. It makes for very regular stitches, which is always nice. 

I'd like to thank my wonderful grandmother who sewed it all up because I'm very bad at sewing sweaters, and for also knitting the collar.

This is a very simple sweater, absolutely accessible for a beginner, it's essentially a lot of rectangles with a few increases and decreases for the arms, collar, and sleeves. I would definitely recommend this pattern if you know how to knit and want to take the plunge and knit your first sweater. The only potential problem may be the language but I think they do have translated patterns if you need it in english.

I hope you all appreciate how much effort I put into modeling for these pictures because it was hot and humid and I was wearing a wool sweater of over 500 grams. I'd also like to thank my mom for taking pictures of me because taking outfit pictures is not an easy task when you're flying solo (and you left your tripod at home when you left for vacation) and you have no idea how to pose. 

 This sweater marks the completion of my creativity requirement hours for my program (woo!) so that's a relief, but also it has only furthered my penchant for cozy sweaters (which are basically my winter uniform).

Have a great end of the week and see you next time!

Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds

Hello!

I got a knitting kit for Christmas, a cowl called the Lucy Cowl (hence my brilliant post title) and I just finished it yesterday thanks to a snow day.

When I first got the kit, I was a little concerned at how small the skeins were (they were so cute and small, they all fit on a binder ring) and then when I saw that the instructions fit on a tiny circle piece of paper I was even more concerned. But for once I did follow the instructions to a T and it worked! You heard it here first folks, sometimes the instructions aren't wrong.

I love it so much, it was very easy to make, all in the round for added thickness and warmth, and super colorful. The yarn is gorgeous squishy cashmere (my first time knitting cashmere and I loved it) in 8 different colors. They all look really good together, but I followed the picture from the website to get the same order because I didn't trust myself to make one up.

It looks like I'm about to throw it away, I'm just awkwardly reaching

I don't think you all appreciate the fact that my neighbors saw me leave the house twice today: once to go buy poster board and the second to go take a picture of a scarf in my backyard. 

The best part is, you too can make the Lucy (in the sky with diamonds, I'm really funny) Cowl by clicking here and ordering it! I have the color scheme Urbanite (I think) but there are four color schemes to chose from. 

Happy weekend!

Gifts gifts gifts

Hello!

Now, before I start, can I just say that I know that Christmas is not all about presents and all that, it's about family and happiness and yes I know that. But that is precisely why I just spent the last three weeks making a lot of things for my friends and family. I'm just going to show you what I made for my friends because I'm pretty sure that they don't check this blog.

First, a hat made of thick super chunky yarn. I didn't think it would need bigger needles than what I had, so I fought my way through the whole thing but it worked out. In true Blue Cat Creations fashion, I made it up as I went along. 

 Next, a tricolored scarf. This took much longer than expected, but I really enjoyed making it. Very simply, just cast on about thirty stitches (I can't remember exactly) and made 4 row stripes.

I just included this picture cause I thought it was really cool.

Up next, a present I made for a Secret Santa I'm going to tomorrow. I made a batch of cookies (and ate approximately half) then put as many as I could in a cardboard cylinder that is supposed to be used for shipping paper things. I lined the inside with aluminum and put the cookies in it. Cookies, cardboard and a Sharpie snowman: easiest Secret Santa gift ever.

And these pretty cards that I found yesterday. 

I also bought a bunch of presents (by a bunch I mean like three or four not fifty) but these are the handmade ones. 

Happy Holidays my friends and it's almost winter break, we can do it.

It only took about a year

Hello!

Do you all remember this cardigan? I started it in December last year, kind of dropped it for a few months because I messed up the back, and picked it up once more this summer with the expert help of my grandmother.

It is complete.

Today was Daylight Savings and so with my extra hour I did homework. I'm kidding of course, I sewed the remaining sleeve onto the already completely sewn sweater. I ran out of yarn when I was in France and was only able to finish it earlier this month, but my grandmother had sewn the rest of it this summer. 

Other than that, yesterday, my dad and I went into the city and although we went with the goal of thrifting, we mostly wandered through expensive independent shops filled with things we wished we needed.

I got a candle in a gorgeous little box.

I'd say this was a good start to November.

Have a great week and stay warm, cause I don't know about you, but we're definitely starting to feel the cold around here. 

Renewed Wardrobe Step 0.1

Hello!

For a while now, I've been having the idea that I want to make more of my own clothes. This means that I am looking for patterns that I would realistically wear, while at the same time trying to imagine a new style for myself. The point of making my own clothes would be to be able to wear exactly what I want to, because clothes stores don't always have what I like.

So far, I have made a skirt that I have worn several times. Keeping in mind that kind of style, I've started knitting what I affectionately call a Boyfriend Cardigan.

It's actually called a Division Cardigan. I originally found the pattern here, on a blog that I really like. 

I got the yarn for Christmas, it's Berroco Vintage DK yarn. I love it so much! It's so nice to knit, very soft and it gives very neat stitches. Also, it's machine washable, which is always a plus, and not ridiculously expensive. I highly recommend it.

I've been knitting a lot for the past few days, which is so nice, because frankly, winter break is not winter break without a good knitting project. Last night especially, I had my knitting, my cat, my fireplace and my tea; I was a very happy Blue Cat. 

I think I should mention that since I took these pictures on Christmas day, the sweater has grown a good 7 more inches. 

That was your next episode in what I got for Christmas! 

I've been posting nearly every day, wow... enjoy it while it lasts!

Among other things (and being the first of several)

Hello!

Christmas has once again come and gone, as it tends to do, but the season isn't quite over until the 1st of the New Year, so in that spirit, I will be doing several posts showing what crafty things I received this year as well as the ones I gave.

The first in this series will be the bunny hat and fingerless gloves that I made for my friend Bella. I knit them in light gray acrylic yarn on size 4.5 and 5 circular needles.

So that's basically what the hat looks like when it's being worn (she wears it better than I do, to be honest). I made a basic hat with circular needles, with about 1.5 inches of ribbing at the bottom. Then, I knit the ears on straight needles, just your basic knit stitch. I made up a random pattern for the increases and decreases and voilà! A beautiful bunny hat!

As for the gloves, I completely made up a pattern, as you can probably tell because the cables aren't really symmetrical. In any case, they fit and she liked them, so that's really all I could ask for. 

So there you go, episode one of however many that will be explaining what I've been doing and hiding from you for these past weeks!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

I'm going back to Hogwarts!

Hello!

I will admit that the title is a lie. I am not going back to Hogwarts, as I have unfortunately not yet received my acceptance letter. However, among the ranks of people at my school, I have found many who are in the same predicament. As it turns out, one of my Hogwarts-less friends' birthday is next week and I decided that I would make her a Ravenclaw scarf.

I started knitting this on Monday.

That's not very much time to make a scarf, but I am determined to do it!

As it is almost the holiday season (at Hogwarts and elsewhere), I thought I could share the not-so-secret-secret of how to make these scarves because they make awfully good presents for the magically gifted (and those who just want a striped scarf). For those of you who are like me and absolutely love the Harry Potter world, you will notice that this is a first year scarf, with large blocks of color.

So, here it is, the Hogwarts scarf pattern that I made up.

Stuff you need:

• dark blue yarn (a lot of it) 

• silver or light grey yarn (again, a lot of it, you're making a scarf)

• knitting needles (I'm using 6.5 mm, but use what is recommended for the yarn you're using)

How to do it:

1. Cast on 23 stitches in the dark blue.

2. Knit 26 rows of the blue yarn.

3. Switch to grey yarn by snipping the blue yarn (leave a 4 inch tail) and tying the grey yarn to it, then knit as usual.

4. Knit 26 rows of the grey yarn.

5. Switch back to the blue yarn in the same manner as step 3.

6. Repeat as many times as it take to get a long scarf. 

7. End in a blue stripe.

8. Knit 26 rows of the blue.

9. Cast off.

10. Weave in all the little dangly pieces of yarn.

11. Fly to Hogwarts in a magic car.

To make a Gryffindor scarf, use dark red and gold, for Hufflepuff, use yellow and black, and for Slytherin, use dark green and silver (or light grey). 

Happy knitting! Fair warning, these scarves do take a very long time to knit. The solution that I have found to that is to knit while watching your favorite movies and/or television programs. My TV show of choice has been Doctor Who, which is really not surprising at all. As for movies, I would suggest Hugo, Marley and Me, and the Avengers, as those are the movies that I have been wanting to watch lately.

Good day and all that!

Of course I forgot

Hello!

I knew I wanted to tell you all something and now that there is one more hour left of today, I just remembered.

Today is Knit In Public Day. Was. Today was Knit In Public Day.

I didn't knit in public, because I didn't have time, although I do need to knit the second half of my pair of gloves. Yes, now that it's June, I'm making myself a pair of fingerless mitts. What is this logic you speak of? It seems I have none.

Happy Knit In Public Day! Gosh, I'm horrible at remembering this kind of thing, aren't I?

Well, see you next time in an episode of Blue Cat-forgets-stuff!

A good book, a sweater and a rabbit

Hello!

Remember a certain sweater that I was working on, oh, three months ago.

Hm, well, yes...
It is finished!

It's horrible to photograph, due to its sheer huge-ness. Aside from that though, it's wonderful.
Entirely acrylic yarn, I was surprised by how soft and comfortable it is, not scratchy at all, and really warm. My grandmother, who is awesome, sewed it up for me because - being the way that I am - I made a sweater without any knowledge of how to sew a sweater.
Merci Mamie!

Overall, I am very pleased with how it turned out. A big, soft sweater that I can wear when I get back from horseback riding.

Next on the list of things accomplished is a bunny.

His name is Patrick. Or Simon. I have yet to decide. Simon is nice, actually.
I'll go with Simon.

This is Simon, he is a bunny. I followed a pattern from a book, if you're wondering about how normal he looks. He is about 17cm tall and hand sewn out of fake fur. He has safety eyes and an embroidered nose. It's amazing how actual plastic eyes can make something like this look really professional.
I love him, he's very cute and cuddly, a perfect reading partner, along with my sweater.

And now, to finish explaining my title, a good book.

I have recently fallen in love with the TV series, Sherlock BBC. I won't expand on that here, because it can get long winded and you would probably think I'm insane.
Anyway, this led me to borrow Sherlock Holmes at the library. I was scared that the book would be a letdown after my infatuation with the show, but I was pleasantly surprised. The book is really well written: the characters are believable and the style is still relevant today. Sherlock is just as arrogant and full of his own intelligence as he is in the show. I liked it a lot.

That's all folks!
Have a nice day!
Bye!

(pardon the many exclamation points)