Updates and new projects

I've updated the 285 yards or less list. I have removed all the dead links and added new ones to replace them. All the new links are in red.

I discovered that I had posted a bunch of links in late March that never made the big list. I added those and the 66 I posted earlier this month. (Both posts are now gone since they have been incorporated into the big list.)

The total number of free pattern links on the big list is now....big drum roll...653!

I'll update the triangle shawl list one of these days.

I haven't been able to settle down to working on one project these days. I'm thinking about items for the holiday bazaar. I've been working on a crocheted kitty bed and a dishsoap bottle apron washcloth. I have a tons of ideas for new designs.

I've started another pair of toe up socks. This pair I'm starting with a garter square toe. Cat Bordhi wrote about it in her New Pathways book. Do a provisional cast on with 1/4 of the stitches you need for your sock on double points (or circs). For me this is 13 sts. Knit 26 rows (2 x 1/4 of the stitches). Pick up 13 stitches down one side of the square on another dpn (use the purl bumps that stick out on the side). Unravel the provisional cast on; put those 13 stitches on a third dpn. And finally, pick up 13 stitches along the other side on a fourth dpn. Now start working the foot of your sock in the round. Neat! This avoids the whole issue of starting with a few stitches and working increases every other row until you have enough stitches for the foot. This toe looks really weird until you put the sock on your foot. Suddenly, the toe looks just as it should!

I'm considering trying a different type of heel on my sock too. I read about it in the Up With Toes forum on Ravelry. Fleegle came up with it. She has a toe up, no flap, no hassle sock pattern on her blog that uses this heel. It has no heel flap. There's no picture on the blog post but there is on Ravelry. I like the idea of not having to knit a heel flap but it's not a short row heel either in the usual sense. If this works, with the new toe and this heel, it could vastly simply my sock knitting and speed it up even more.

I've been knitting some cute little things. This little elephant toy called Oliphaunt. It's a very fast knit. The only problem is that the sewing up directions are very sketchy. I left about 2 yards of yarn at the end for sewing. You end at the tip of the trunk. I sewed up the trunk to the legs, sewed up one front leg, came back down the inside, did the other front leg the same way, worked on the center seam to the back legs, sewed them up the same as the front and then the center seam. Stuff as you get to each section. I sewed the butt with the cast on tail. I crocheted the tail and sewed it on the butt. The pattern directs you to pick up stitches on the side of the head and knit the ears. That was a bit awkward so I knit them flat and used the yarn tail to whip stitch them to the head. I think it took longer to sew it up and do the finishing that it did to knit the entire body!

A sock nut for an autumn themed swap on Ravelry. (Hi, Jamie, if you're reading this!) This one is so cute. This is crocheted. It will hold a ball of sock yarn and your needles (though circs probably fit better than dpns unless you're using really short dpns). Wind up your sock yarn before you start on this so you will get a good fit. I modified the pattern a bit. (Why do I always seem to do this? LOL!) I didn't like how the top was fastened to the bottom of the acorn with 4 buttons nor how the handle was attached to the stem of the top. These seemed to me to put too much weight/strain on those areas. I crocheted one button for the front of the lid and sewed about 1-2" of the back of the lid to the bottom. I doubled up some yarn and crocheted a handle which I attached securely to either side.

I crocheted a herd of spider toys for cats using this pattern. She calls them an octopus but I think they look more like little spiders. I stuffed the heads with a bit of catnip and sewed up the bottom with the yarn tail. The most difficult part was getting the catnip in without going everywhere. I really like making these toys so I will have to figure out an easier way to load the catnip. The whole lot of them are now in the toy jar for sale at my vet's office. (Don't worry, I checked with Judith and gave me the ok to sell these. All the money goes to Pet Refuge, my local no-kill animal shelter. I sent the recent proceeds of the toy jar [$83.00] to them yesterday.)