tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77691124168009147322024-02-08T07:39:08.436-08:00Smetana DreamsA collection of old fashioned hand-crafts, from knitting to cooking, using modern day technology.Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-36721174158277475902008-02-06T10:25:00.000-08:002008-02-06T10:30:04.046-08:00First soakerThis is the first of many soakers (cloth diaper covers) to come, if I get my way. I took a couple different patterns and melded them to make my own. This was made using my hand-dyed yarn. I do have another soaker OTN and almost ready to BO, I'll be posting that one in the next couple days, I'm sure. Knitting my own soakers was the entire reason I taught myself how to knit, since buying them I could easily spend $30 on one, but I can make one for materials costing under $5 and a couple hours of my time. <br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/SoakerFront-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=400><br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/SoakerBack-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=400>Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-8135410580324194642008-02-06T10:09:00.000-08:002008-02-06T10:13:13.273-08:00Granny SquaresWithout giving too much detail, I received an email from a classmate regarding an afghan being done as a gift. She asked for 8x8 squares from everyone, and I whipped these 3 out in a couple hours, stuck them in the mail yesterday. I got all three patterns from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Granny-Squares-Crochet-Leisure-Arts/dp/1574866532/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202321563&sr=8-1">99 Granny Squares to Crochet</a>.<br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/3_crochet_squares.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=400>Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-4917886967356037192008-02-06T09:47:00.000-08:002008-02-06T10:07:28.642-08:00More DyeingI delivered the order of superwash to the LYS yesterday. While these pictures don't do the vibrancy of the colors justice, they're the best I could manage.<br /><br />These 9 skeins are DK weight, in the color groups (from left to right) pink/blue/purple, pink/yellow/orange and blue/yellow/green:<br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Ewe%20Hippie/DK_9skeins.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=400><br /><br />These Worsted weight skeins (from left to right) are red/blue/yellow, the large one in the center is a triple skein of teal, yellow/tan and purple, the one across the bottom is the 6-color rainbow I've posted previously, and the ones on the right are orange/green/purple:<br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Ewe%20Hippie/WW_9skeins.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=400>Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-73903992270203087842008-01-28T17:12:00.000-08:002008-01-29T13:49:43.445-08:00Baby SweaterThis was the first complex article of clothing I've ever crocheted, and I've been crocheting for more than 20 years. This is from the <a href="http://crochetme.com/patterns/baby-its-cold-outside">Baby it's Cold Outside</a> pattern, crocheted in Lion Brand Homespun, color Tudor with Gothic trim (it's purple, not black). I've had a pile of Homespun sitting here for years, and this was a great use for a full skein. This really only takes a couple hours to make, and it's so easy I want to size it up to make one for myself.<br /><br />I really love how the subtle color changes produced a sunrise effect.<br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/IMG_2844.jpg" border="0" alt="BICO front" width=400><br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/IMG_2845.jpg" border="0" alt="BICO back" width=400>Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-49420432222946376732008-01-28T17:04:00.000-08:002008-01-29T13:50:58.565-08:00DyeingThese are the skeins I dyed for myself. They will all eventually get made up into baby clothes, most likely.<br /><br />My very first skein. This one taught me that I really needed longer skeins. It has already been stitched up into a soaker.<br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/IMG_2848.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple Green and Berry Cherry" width=400><br /><br />This is grapes. It is currently OTN.<br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/IMG_2849.jpg" border="0" alt="Grapes" width=400><br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/IMG_2846.jpg" border="0" alt="Wool dyeing" width=400><br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/Heathered_Yarns.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=400 height=300>Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-8265469551554842652008-01-28T16:44:00.000-08:002008-01-29T13:50:06.008-08:00First knitting projectsI've wanted to learn how to knit for years, so I taught myself around Thanksgiving. <br /><br />This is my very first project, a hat I made for a friend's birthday. It's a beautiful wool that I've picked up in several diferent colorways since I enjoyed it so much:<br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/Ks_hat.jpg" border="0" alt="K's Hat" width=400><br /><br />And my second, a garter-stitch shawl I made my grandmother for Christmas. It's a lovely laceweight alpaca that I can't wait to work with again.<br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Knitting%20and%20Crocheting/IMG_2863.jpg" border="0" alt="Grandma's Shawl" width=400>Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-53620467951645408642008-01-28T16:30:00.000-08:002008-01-29T13:51:08.033-08:00Warping BoardSince my warping board has disappeared, I've been warping my yarn for dyeing on my ironing board. Needless to say this takes up a lot of room and isn't exactly ideal. Since I didn't feel like paying $100 for another one, I figured a quick trip to the hardware store was in order. This took me about an hour to assemble, and cost about $20. It's completely adjustable... the only downside is that I can't warp wet yarn or I'll ruin it.<br /><br />Warping board with 16 foot skein:<br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/Warping_Board.jpg" alt="Warping board with 16 ft color repeat" border="0" />Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-89800530429303737162008-01-28T16:01:00.000-08:002008-01-29T13:51:20.400-08:00SuperwashI started dyeing yarn for my own purposes, and on a whim I took it into my LYS and asked if they were interested in carrying it. She asked specifically for superwash, since she has trouble getting superwash in non-solid colors.<br /><br />This is what I have so far, in DK weight. Three different tri-colors<br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/IMG_2872.jpg" alt="Superwash wool" border="0" /><br /><br />and a 6-color rainbow.<br /><br /><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/kcristeen/Yarn%20and%20dyeing/6Color_Superwash.jpg" alt="6 Color Superwash" border="0" />Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7769112416800914732.post-82737436773657622592008-01-28T12:59:00.000-08:002008-01-28T13:01:47.251-08:00BeginningI've been contemplating starting a blog for a while. I've been spending a lot of time doing crafts lately and really wanted somewhere to show off my handiwork. So here we are.Smetanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09361830503887942363noreply@blogger.com0