Covid-19 Face Mask for Mom

My mom (who thanks to the virus, I haven't seen in real life for ages) texted me in a panic. "Can you make me a face mask? I have to go to the doctor and they say we should wear masks."

Now, during the self-isolation, I haven't really left the house. I mean, I've taken walks and stuff, but I haven't been to the grocery or been around people, so I had no need for a mask, and DH has a face cover he's been wearing. So while people around me have been making masks, my sewing machine has just been collecting dust. I don't think I've had it out for two years. 

This was the only scrap fabric I had (which is still pretty darn cute) so I thought I'd give her mask-making a shot. I called up one of the video tutorials, managed to get the bobbin thread caught under the needle and in about two hours, I had a cute little face mask for my mother. (Although she didn't like the elastic and preferred the over-the-ear variety, so I don't know if she actually wore this more than once. Still, it's there and it's washable, and it's at least stylish at the pet stores. 

METHOD:
Following instructions. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
Sewing is fun :) And my mother was very grateful.

Crochet Headband (Ribbed Headband with Button)

This was the first official project in the "Startup Library Crochet" class both on Great Courses and on Bluprint. I had to take it apart a couple of times because I'm learning to crochet and so the stitches aren't very orderly and uniform yet, but finally I managed to get a piece that looks roughly like what the instructor made. My yarn was thicker than hers so the piece is a little bigger, but I still think it's wearable. I didn't add the button yet because I don't have one I particularly like. 

METHOD:
Done in LionBrand Wool Ease Thick and Quick, from the "Fisherman" color in my stash. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. Single and Half Double Crochet stitches. Yay for me, learning something new (although technically I've tried crochet in the past but it didn't "stick." 

2. This yarn is insanely thick and working with an oversized crochet hook is crazy awkward. 

3. Now I will be able to crochet my own stuff! 

New Classes! And a Crochet Necklace

Because there just wasn't enough to do on The Great Courses Plus (lol) I signed up for Bluprint, since I thought I might actually teach myself to crochet while we're on the self-isolation from Covid-19. I went for quite a while without knitting or doing anything particularly crafty, so it's kind of fun to pick up these old skills and learn some new ones.  

METHOD:
There was a demonstration on Bluprint that showed a long crocheted chain that someone looped and added beads to. I had some spun yarn that I got from Bevin that I didn't know what to do with, so I figured it might make an interesting necklace. I chained all of it, looped it, and then added way too many beads. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
How to do chain stitch in crochet. 

Yoga Mat Carrier

I started June out beautifully, getting up early to go to a Yoga class on the riverfront. It was a gorgeous day and a great way to start the summer. Everyone around me had snazzy little holders for their yoga mats, so of course I needed one. 

After searching around, I found this pattern, which looked cute:

https://gina-michele.com/2017/05/yoga-mat-strap-free-knitting-pattern-2.html

METHOD:
Using stashed yarn, the LionBrand Suede Ecru color, which I LOVE the feel of, this was simple garter stitch, and I did most of it while Little Bear was at the BioBots programming camp. It was easy, but turned out a little weird, and probably should not have been quite so wide. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
It's an easy and fun project, but the mesh "bag" style would probably be more useful. Still, I feel very fashionable when I wrap and unwrap my yoga mat at the Y.

Tarot Bag for Jeff

I'm pretty sure we got the yarn for this around June of 2010, but I don't think I ended up actually finishing the bag until I think spring of 2011. I'm calling this one a March 1, 2011 finish, just because I have no idea. I'm fairly certain I finished it before I found out I was pregnant, but since I neglected to write anything down ... !!!! 

METHOD:
I found the pattern on Mary Greer's website, and since Jeff said he was looking for a cool tarot bag, I volunteered to make this one. He bought the yarn: Plymouth Yarn Kudo, in colorway #41. I have a ton of it left and would like to make something pretty with it. There's nearly a skein left.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. KEEP NOTES! I hate not knowing when things were made.

Felt One, Carry the Rest! - first felting project

My first felted bag! I'm quite pleased with it. I plan on using it as my knitting bag.

I went into Four Ladies yarn shop in August with the goal of making something "cool." I saw the sample bags, and decided to try felting. I started this twice, and pulled it out because I was afraid the bag was going to be too small. When you felt something, it needs to start out HUGE!

METHOD:
The pattern was actually for a different bag, so I played around until I got it the way I wanted it. It's an 80 x 80 base, with 20 rows per stripe, then 15, then 4. The yarn is Cascade 220 in Purple Hyacinth and Azur (2 skeins of each). I LOVE the color combination. Needle size was 10.5 and it was done all in the round.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?:
Picking up and knitting stitches was a nice way to avoid a seam at the edge of the bottom and sides. This was my first official project done totally in the round. FUN! Of course it took forever. If I didn't mind doing seams, I might think about doing all this on a knitting machine instead of doing it by hand.

I learned how to make I-cord, with a 6-stitch I-cord cut in sections for the straps.

The felting was ... different. I actually ended up with a smaller bag than I really wanted because I sort of forgot to check the washing machine. The wet bag stunk like a wet dog, but when it dried it lost the smell.

I would do this again, maybe for a gift. It was fun! But I think I WOULD do it on the machine.

Sweater Bag -- my SG1 Bag

Isn't this cute?


I bought this pattern (a whole 99 cents) from LionBrand because I bought one of those "Pound of Love" skeins in baby blue and had no idea what to make with it. I originally envisioned this as being my knitting bag, but I decided to give it to mom to tote her crochet work around in. (Note to Mom: You must actually crochet something once in a while in order to keep this bag!)


So I called it my Stargate SG1 bag, since I've been working on it while we watch old episodes of Stargate on DVD. Therefore, any mistakes in it can safely be blamed upon Richard Dean Anderson.


METHOD:
I got this pattern from LionBrand, and followed the instructions exactly (sorta) with the recommended needle sizes, which I forgot to write down. This used almost the entire ball of "Pound of Love" yarn.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The sides and straps didn't match up. Guess I should count rows instead of inches.

Second only to the Boring Shawl, this is the most mind-numbing project I've worked on so far. Nothing but straight stockinette ... as far as the eyes can see ... yawn. And EVERYTHING needed seaming. I spent more time seaming than I did knitting.

I thought about making one of these for me, but I think not. I need something exciting. Like maybe something felted.

Purl bump heart bag

I saw this in the Stitch and Bitch book and thought it was neat, so I tried to make the heart design on practice yarn. At some point during the experiment, I put everything down on the floor to answer the phone, and when I cam back, one of my needles was missing! We tore the house apart and still couldn't find it. I think we might have a tiny black hole in the living room. So anyway, I ripped all that out and started it again.

This time I was so pleased with the result that I decided to make the swatch into a bag or a pilow or something. I made a drawstring closure around the edge and gave it to DH to "remember me" by :)

METHOD:
This was crappy acrylic practice yarn, but the design stands out pretty well. I probably should have framed the purl bump design in more stockinette stitch, so the design itself doesn't draw closed when the bag does.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
These would make GREAT zill bags! I'm thinking of trying to chart an ankh or scarab or something and make little zill bags for my friends and students.

Edited to add: about a month later we finally found the missing needle. It was in the chair the whole time! I don't see how we missed it -- we practically turned the chair upside down.