BEARy Wet

Okay . . . Saturday morning I felted my bear. If you've never done any felting here's a few tips.

• Set your washing machine for the smallest size load and the hottest temperature.
• Add a little bit (and I mean a little bit) of soap. The soap will help those fibers relax a little!
• Add a pair of jeans (or if you are like me . . . and your jeans will never-ever-ever fit you again after being washed in hot water . . . add a pair of sneakers. You just want something to go through the cycle and 'hit' your piece. It helps with the agitation.
• Check the item before your machine reaches the rinse cycle. If it isn't felted enough for you, turn your machine back to the beginning of the wash cycle. (It will save on your hot water!!)

Here is my bear after it went through the first wash cycle. I took him out to see how much he felted. He was still a little too loose for the fabric I was looking for, so back in he went.

Here is a close up. You can see that it is felted . . . but unfortunately you can't feel it. You will know when it is just right . . . kind of like Goldilocks knew.

Once the piece has reached the consistency you want, take it out of the wash. Don't let it go through the spin cycle . . . it could end up with folds that are hard to get rid of . . . and it could affect your ability to shape it.

Here he is all nicely felted. I took him upstairs to my kitchen sink and rinsed all the soap out of him with cool water. Now it's time to get him ready to dry.

This is the time to squeeze his toes to a nice shape, press his cheeks out, play with his ears . . . make him start to come to life!

I cut up an old towel into strips and stuffed it into his legs and his arms . . . and into his head . . . and into his chubby tummy. 

The material will help draw the moisture out and also helps for him to dry in the right shape.

Tomorrow I will take the towels out and let him finish drying. Then it will be time to give him a face and stuff him. I better start thinking of a name for him!

Come back again to see him get his face!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

BEARy close

My bear is getting closer to completion! He is all knitted up and ready to be felted. 



Here he is . . . just to give you an idea of his size before he is felted. He is about 19 inches long and about 17 inches from one paw to the other.

He is all sewn up . . . except for a vertical seam going down his chubby tummy where he will get stuffed with fiberfill.










To keep the seam from getting felted shut, I tacked it down with a piece of cotton yarn.


Okay, here is where I will confess. There are some short rows in this pattern . . . which are easy enough . . . if you pay attention. If you don't pay attention . . . like if you are watching Downton Abby and you are worried about Mr. Barrows and you are wondering if Carson will stop be nit-picky about his new wife's cooking . . . or your wondering who Mary will end up with . . . well, you may miss a wrap. 






So look what happened to my poor bear's nose!! A slight hole!

But one thing about felting, it's VERY forgiving. Everything is going to 'smoosh' together and create a fabric that is like . . . well, felt. 












So I simply took a piece of yarn and worked it through his nose and  . . . 


Now there is no hole!!

If I didn't tell you I messed up, you'd never have known!!






Come back on Saturday . . . I'm going to felt him. We'll do it together.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Making Snow BEARable

In between my snow shoveling moments I have been working on my bear. 



Here he is so far. I have just joined his little arms and I am about to start the decreases that will lead up to his neck.


You can't really tell from this picture, but I am using size 10 1/2" needles, with worsted weight yarn.

When you are felting it's important to knit the pieces very loosely for it to 'shrink' to the correct size.




You can see here that I am getting a gauge of about 3 stitches per inch. 




Hopefully it won't snow anymore and I can spend my time finishing him up . . . and not shoveling! 

Stay tuned to see him finished and for the felting process!!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

BEARable Shrinkage

I decided to take a little break from mittens. Yes, I know . . . I should at least finish the pair that I am on. Don't worry . . . I will . . . just not this week. 

I thought this brown would make a great bear.
It's 100% wool.

For some reason I decided to make a felted bear. I'm not sure what I will do with it when it's done . . . maybe sit it next to me and have it watch me finish my mittens! I'm going to use the Fiber Trends pattern for The Marigold Bears. Go ahead and do a search for them on Ravelry. They are pretty cute. 

When you felt it's important to make sure you are using all natural fibers. Wool, mohair or alpaca are all good choices . . . or a blend of them is fine. Just don't use any superwash wools or anything with synthetic fibers in them. They won't shrink/felt. (Just think of any of those nice yarns that would shrink your sweater to a doll's size if your husband did the wash).

I'm going to wind it tonight . . . tomorrow I'll cast on.

Stay tuned. I'll show you my bear as it progresses.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Forecast says . . .

You know you live in New England when you hear the word snow and then think 'how much'? If it's 2-4 inches you probably just shrug and go about your day. If it's in the 4-8 range you might think about stopping on the way home from work for milk and bread. . . or wine and cheese. When you start to talk 8 or more inches it's time to start the checklist. Batteries, cell phones charged, wood for the fireplace, bottled water . . . and another bottle of wine.

You know you are a knitter in New England when you hear the word snow 
and think . . . 

Thanks to my friend Kirstin for finding this . . .
 and for littlemonkeyscrochet!

I know, I know. It's says 'Crocheter's Blizzard Forecast'. 

But let's face it . . . when you are stuck in the house with a raging blizzard outside . . . crochet, knit, spin . . . you really just need some fiber in your hands.







Snow is coming on Saturday. Since it's too early for an accurate forecast, I'll be ready. I have a new mitten pattern, an on-going afghan, and some nice fingering weight for a cowl.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Hmm . . . perhaps my favorite Knitting Night of all is the one that falls right before Christmas. 



I wonder why?

Perhaps it's because of the mini cheesecakes or the Grinches made from fruit . . . or the cookies or chocolates or Christmas bread.

I'm really not sure which it is!!





But of course there was knitting involved too.

Peggy made the cutest little knitting bag ornaments for everyone. Now when I look at my tree I will think of all my knitting friends.

Here she is showing us the American Girl doll outfit she made. Because it was Peggy that made it, there is not only a reindeer sweater . . . but matching pants, mittens and ear warmers.







Then . . . just to out-do herself . . .



Yes, a knitted bike seat cover! (Well I guess if your granddaughter asks if you can make her one . . . then what is a grandmother to do?!)










Lizzie's sweater is almost done.










Just another all-around-wonderful-time with a wonderful group. A great way to have a stress-free evening.  Join us.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Cool Chicks Wear Sweaters

Let's face it. When the cool temperatures of winter start to come we all break out our sweaters. Pullovers, cardigans, cabled or mohair . . . we all have our favorites. 









But if you want to be a really cool-looking chick . . . well, you have to have a hand-knit sweater.

Seriously. What more can be said?

These chickens belong to my mother's physician assistant. Anyone that cares about their chickens this much . . . well, I think my mother is in great hands!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.