Monthly Archives: September 2015

Knitting on DPNs

I have tried and tried and tried to knit in the round on double pointed needles. Finally, I got IT! Yay, yay, yay! Does anyone else have trouble with this seemingly simple and elementary knitting skill?

Every time I would try, I’d have needles going every which way; I couldn’t make out what was what, it was a mess, but no more! Look!

Just in case someone else is having similar difficulties this is what worked for me, or should I say my DPN story. Ha ha!

Yesterday morning I purchased a Craftsy class called, New Directions in Lace Hats, by Kate Gagnon Osborne and Courtney Kelley. Courtney was showing a lesson on how to start a hat from the top down which meant using double pointed needles. I was following along with her method and realized that I had never tried casting onto one needle and then moving the stitches to four. This was really easy to do and she shows us how. This eliminated the click clackety mess of needles while casting on, and spreading out my stitches onto four needles instead of three gave more space around and made it easier for me. (The fifth needle is for knitting the stitches on.) I did need to go to You Tube and watch Very Pink’s video on Getting Started with DPNs to go from here, but these two videos together made it all work for me. Thank you so, so much Courtney and Staci!!!

Here are a few more things about this Craftsy class, just in case you are interested. It comes with three lace hat patterns which are quite pretty. I am not a hat person, but my dolls are. There are also a few more things that I think I can learn from this class. I need to go back to study (and practice) Courtney’s invisible cast on for starting hats from the top down. It looks like a great technique. If you crochet, it’s like the adjustable ring or loop. She also goes into how to increase and decrease within a lace pattern. I’ve always wondered about how that works while keeping the pattern flowing. In my opinion, this class was well worth the $14.99 (on sale!) I paid for it.

Now, I want to get back to knitting and finish my hat! BTW, who knows what this will be?

Do you have a DPN story?

Bye for now and thanks for reading!

One More Fall Ensemble

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I have one more fall ensemble and my Little Darling, Gina, is the lucky recipient before I go full steam ahead and create ensembles for Christmas and the holiday season.

I guess fall 2015 is the season of purples. Here’s another ensemble with a shade of lavender and pink, but this one is different. I don’t think I have ever seen a pink like this—cool, but muted. Usually, muted pinks go towards the peach and this one doesn’t at all, nor is it a sweet pink. It is so hard to explain; if I were to mix it up I’d take red and white to make pure pink, add a touch of blue to cool it down, then add a bit of yellow, so it becomes a neutral. Anyway, it is a very pretty and unique shade of pink.

I happened to have the perfect shade of muted lavender wool which matches the stems and vines in the print. For the embroidery, I brought in the merlot color for the colonial knot berries and a coordinating shade of the pink for the bullion, lazy daisy, and back stitched vines and leaves.

I also had the perfectly coordinating shade of merlot heather wool to make a cozy scarf. The scarf can be worn different ways.

Gina didn’t want flowers to hold, she wanted a soft and cuddly teddy bear, so I found this one in a burgundy red and knit him up his own muted lavender scarf with fringe. The scarf is removable too.

This print is very feminine, so lace accents and pearls went nicely with it.

For more information on Gina’s “Sweet ‘n Cozy Fall”, please visit my “Available for Sale” page at cindyricedesigns.com .

Thanks for visiting and reading about Gina’s new ensemble. Bye for now!

I Am Ready to Be Creative Today!

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I straightened up a bit in my studio yesterday, and I do feel better, more relaxed. I like things to be put away in their place, but I am finding that a lot of creative people thrive with things left out in the open. It is so interesting to see how everyone is different, right?

Gretchen Rubin, an author who writes, makes video and podcasts (LOVE her podcast, BTW) about happiness and healthy habits often says, “Outer Order Contributes to Inner Calm”. This saying fits me, most definitely. I need to be calm and relaxed in order to be creative. When there is too much clutter I cannot think clearly or create.

It probably looks boring, but I will mess it up again soon, I promise.

My Bo Bergemann, BJD Bella told the naked Izzy to go get herself some clothes on and poor Lisbet went into her box waiting for her lips to be repainted (some day). In the meantime, she found a little Kelly doll dressed as a fairy for Halloween. I dressed Bella in her only other outfit, but she doesn’t remember it, so she thinks it is new.

My fabric is still towering, but not as much, and is in a neat stack. I left the Christmas pieces on the top of the pile since I will be using this next.

My embroidery floss is all put away in its correct color group and in numerical order, so I can find it quickly!

Kish’s Alisha and Tonner’s Lilah (Ann Estelle’s little sister) are dressed for fall. I kept teddy on the rocking chair, but put away the spring hats and gave him a few pumpkins.