Monday, February 23, 2009

The iPhone Cozy


iPhone Cozy II
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ
I knitted and felted an iPhone cozy. This is a little project, one you can knit in one evening with any suitable (i.e. feltable) scrap yarn. To make it work you have to knit a swatch that is nearly as big as the finished project and then felt the swatch and do a little Algebra I to get the sizing right. You always wondered where that algebra was going to come in handy and it turns out that it's useful in the domestic arts! Who knew?

Anyhow, I quickly knitted this up, sewed up the bottom and ran it through the washing machine. I decided it was a bit too roomy so I felted it in the bathroom sink using hot water, Soak (a soap for washing woolens) and a bit of wringing of the cozy. It came down in size (and got a bit thicker too, a good thing) quickly. Then I had to find a button. I couldn't find anything purple so I took this grey job which I like a lot because it has a grain look. I'm happy and the iPhone is happy too.

iPhone Cozy I

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Abigail took it all in stride.

Her Higness

Friday, February 13, 2009

Grazing Sheep Bag in Process

Long time, no post. Here's a work in progress. It is a felted bag from the book "I 'Heart' Felt" by Kathleen Taylor. It was featured in last month's Knit Picks catalog, but alas, Knit Picks was out of the book when I tried to order it as well as some of the colors. I had a gift certificate from Amazon and free (and available) trumps 40% off any time. Tortellini approved of the Amazon box.
Surprise Package

Of course, Wool of the Andes is a lot cheaper than Ultra Alpaca, but when they don't have it, the price doesn't much matter.


This design sshould be easy. It's all stockinette, after all. But the chart has been harder to follow than I would have predicted. I suspect that's because it is 100 stitches wide, and that's a long line to follow. Also it's sheer "easiness" makes one less meticulous. So I've done my share of frogging. And it will not be fun weaving in all those ends! I was toying with the idea of not lining this baby, but 1) a lovely person in my knitting group offered to do the sewing for me and 2) a lining will hide a multitude of unwoven ends so I will probably go for a lining.

The good news: I'm more than half done. Only 3 sheep to do and then it's truly easy. The bad news: the ends and making i-cord since I want to be able to carry it over my shoulder.