Make ALL The Things

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Archive for [ May, 2013 ]

31May

Pom Pom Pens

I was making an iCord recently when the idea struck me that if I made one large enough I could slide a biro inside to make a cute yarn-bombed pen. Now I don’t know about you but when I get a crafty idea I have to stop what I’m doing and try it out immediately. Away went my current project, out came some more needles and yarn and hurrah, it worked! As soon as I stitched the end up I knew it would look even better with some kind of embellishment attached. What better than a large fluffy pom pom?


pom pom pens
blue pom pom pen

What do you think of my pom pom pens? Would you be interested in a tutorial on how to make them? Let me know and I’ll write one up.


Knitting, Stash Busting, Yarn
By : Chris
No Comments
20May

Review: Knitsy

If you haven’t heard of it yet, Knitsy is a great new digital magazine for tablets and smartphones, Apple and Android alike. I installed  the app on my iPad at the weekend and really enjoyed flicking through its colourful pages.

 

It’s described by the publisher to be “for yarn tarts” – I’m not sure I like that term, call me a prude if you like but I wouldn’t want to be labelled as a yarn tart! Dodgy labelling aside I found the magazine to be a fun read, it’s packed full of great photography, lovely knitting and crochet patterns and interesting interviews.

 

Free on iTunes and £3.95 on Google Play I’d say it’s well worth a look. If future editions continue to be free then I’ll definitely be a regular reader.

 

Photo Source: Knitsy.tv

 


Reviews
By : Chris
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19May

Hidden Treasures?

Feeling in a spring cleaning mood this weekend I decided to sort out the junk in the bottom of my wardrobe. Does anyone else accumulate a load of rubbish at the bottom of their wardrobe? Just me? Amongst the shoes and handbags and goodness knows what else I found a carrier bag containing a very old embroidery project.


I’m not exactly sure where it came from but I have a vague memory of my mum giving it to me as a child, she probably got it from a charity shop. If I remember correctly it was half completed when I got it and by the looks of it I only attempted a few stitches before forgetting all about it.


embroidery

It’s in a bit of a sorry state, the stitching is horribly uneven and the cloth is full of stains and creases but I think with a bit of work it could be turned into something worth displaying.


ebroiderysilk

The embroidery silks with it are in a bit of a jumbled up mess too!



bracelets

Hiding in the mess of silks were these unfinished friendship bracelets. I used to love making them when I was about 10, looks like I suffered from project startitus even back then!


I’m going to start the embroidery piece by unpicking all of the uneven stitches or maybe I’ll go the whole hog and get rid of them all, I haven’t quite decided yet but I’m thinking it would be nice to start from scratch with it.


Watch this space to see what it becomes!


Embroidery
By : Chris
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17May

Pattern: Knitted Phone Case

I designed this cosy case to help protect my beloved mobile phone from getting scratched in my handbag. If you’re like me, always rooting in your bag trying to locate your phone, this makes it remarkably easy to find! The finished case is stretchy and should fit most modern smart phones.


phonecase3
phonecase4

The pattern is composed entirely of knit and purl stitches and would be a great project for a beginner. It is knitted in the round from the bottom up using Judy’s magic cast on so there are no annoying seams to sew. Don’t be scared of the magic cast on, it’s super easy once you know how.



Difficulty level:
Beginner


Techniques used:
Knit, Purl, Knitting in the round, Judy’s magic cast on



You will need:

  • DK yarn, I used 10g of acrylic DK

  • 4mm needless for knitting in the round, either double pointed or circular will do

  • Tapestry needle



Gauge:

Not important




Instructions:

Cast on 32 sts using Judy’s magic cast on technique. Knit first row.

Begin pattern:

Row 1: Knit

Rows 2, 3 and 4: (P5, K3) x 4

Row 5: Knit

Rows 6, 7 and 8: (P1, K3, P5, K3, P4) x 2

Repeat rows 1-8 5 times or until the case fits over your phone with an inch to go. End in a Knit row.

The last few rows are knitted in moss(seed) stitch as follows:

Row 1: (K1, P1) repeat to end of row

Row 2: (P1, K1) repeat to end of row

Repeat these two rows until the case reaches the desired length.

Cast off in moss stitch and weave in ends.

That’s it! Please feel free to share your finished objects, I’d love to see them.


Knitting, Patterns
By : Chris
6 Comments
16May

Stash Busting: Knitted Gadget Cosies

How do you keep your gadgets safe from scratches? For the first of my acrylic stash busting projects I decided to knit covers for my mobile and kindle to help protect them from keys and other pointy objects in my handbag. I think they turned out rather well. What do you think?


kindle

The Kindle cover is made from a pattern called kindle cables which can be found on Ravelry.


phone case

The mobile cosy is a pattern I devised myself (my first pattern!) which I will post tomorrow. It’s a super quick knit and can be completed in a couple of hours. Perfect for a last minute gift, maybe?


Have you knitted covers for your gadgets? I’d love to see them if you have.


Knitting, Stash Busting
By : Chris
No Comments
10May

Hadouken!

Did anyone play the video game Street Fighter growing up? I loved it. Anyway, just thought I’d share this photo of my husband and I being silly last weekend. We were attempting to create our own version of the Hadoukening meme. Try not to laugh too hard…


Life, Me, Photography
By : Chris
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09May

Stash Busting

Do you have a secret stash of poorly chosen yarn purchases? This is my embarrassing collection of acrylic. See, I have two stashes. The stash that I’m proud of, mostly composed of hand dyed sock yarn, gets treated with love and affection. Then there’s the stash you’re looking at that gets stuffed in a bag and hidden a dark corner never to see the light of day.

 

I’m sure I’m not the only knitter to make some dodgy purchases when first starting out. When the craft was new to me I hadn’t a clue about different fibres and weights, all I was looking for was something cheap and colourful. In fact, the cheaper and more colourful the better. So I amassed the above with grand plans of knitting all the things in an array of eye-blindingly bright colours. I soon learned the error of my ways when I felt the quality of the more expensive natural yarns compared to my cheap, man made collection.

 

So, what to do with all this yarn that has been sat gathering dust for the best part of two years? I don’t want to throw it away, that would be too wasteful. I could give it away but I doubt anyone would want it in the jumbled up state it is in. Only one option left then, I have to find some way to use it.

 

Over the next few weeks and months I’m going to make a conscious effort to find little projects that aim to use up this stash. Why don’t you join me? If you have any stash busting project ideas, please share!

 


Stash Busting, Yarn
By : Chris
No Comments
02May

Casting on…

Welcome to Make ALL the things, my new blog. I guess a good place to start would be to tell you about myself. Well then, here goes…

 

My name is Chris and I live in North West England. During the day I work full time as a web developer but the rest of the time I love nothing more than to indulge in various crafts such as knitting and crochet. I have a husband, 2 cats but no children (yet). Aside from crafting I love music, photography and long walks in the countryside.

 

I have been knitting (on and off) for around two years now and crocheting for only a few months but that’s long enough to have me hooked. I constantly find myself drooling over ideas and patterns and wanting to make everything all at once.

 

I plan to use this place to share details of my projects, photography and general day-to-day musings. Let’s hope I don’t end up talking to myself…


Me
By : Chris
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About Me

me Hi, I'm Chris. I love to knit and crochet. I want to make ALL the things.

Latest Posts

  • WIP: Julissa Jumper

    30 Oct, 2013
  • Oh, Tallinn

    29 Oct, 2013
  • Catching Up

    28 Oct, 2013

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Crochet Embroidery Knitting Life Me Patterns Photography Reviews Stash Busting Travel Yarn

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  • 7 years ago Latest blog post - Granny Flower Cushion http://t.co/AwAdSozBbh
  • 7 years ago I yarn bombed my pens pompom style: http://t.co/SMyYqEgQpL
  • 7 years ago woah - 20 Unbelievably Tiny Knitted And Crocheted Things http://t.co/CHCkEswauo via @buzzfeeddiy
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  • Pattern: Knitted Phone Case

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    3712 views
  • WIP: Julissa Jumper

    30 Oct, 2013
  • Oh, Tallinn

    29 Oct, 2013
  • Catching Up

    28 Oct, 2013
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    06 Jun, 2013
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Ravelry Projects

  • Ubuntu Scheepjes CAL 2018 12 February 2019
  • Nuts about the Sky 12 February 2019

    Using the Nuts about sky colour pack in Scheepjes Sunkissed. First time using this yarn, I love the look of it but it’s a lot thinner than what I’m used to crocheting with.

    2/4/17
    First Square and a steep learning curve for me! Lots of stitches and techniques I haven’t used before. Definitely not TV crochet!

  • Hygge 17 March 2017

    11-02-2017

    Completed gauge square using 4.5mm clover soft touch hook. Correct width of 10cm achieved but fell slightly short on height - with a bit of stretching and the added embroidery I get the correct height.

    First try was with a 4.5mm crochet lite hook and the measurements were way off! Much too wide but also too short. Also found the hook very squeaky and grabby, not pleasant to work with. Shame as the extra light was handy.

    19-02-2017

    Week one complete, loving the CAL so far!

About Me

Hi, I'm Chris. Web developer by day, crafter by night. This is my quest to make ALL the things.

Latest Posts

  • WIP: Julissa Jumper

    30 Oct, 2013
  • Oh, Tallinn

    29 Oct, 2013
  • Catching Up

    28 Oct, 2013

Latest Tweets

  • 7 years ago Latest blog post - Granny Flower Cushion http://t.co/AwAdSozBbh
  • 7 years ago I yarn bombed my pens pompom style: http://t.co/SMyYqEgQpL

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