So... life happened

People out there in cyber-land might be wondering what happened to me. To give you a quick run down... we bought a house, started fixing up the house, I lost my job, we moved into the house and after 2 weeks of living the the house, I had to start my new job 900 miles away. Hubby is still in the house fixing it up to sell it and I am now living with bare bones in a -okay- apartment in an -meh- part of town while working. What have I been doing in the mean time? Knitting, playing Fallout: New Vegas and getting ready for my thesis defense. Oh, and having bouts of sanity questioning depression. Such fun times. So... here are some of the things I have been working on, knitting wise (the shirt is not yet finished):

New Shop!

I am going to officially announce that I am opening a second shop that will focus on fiber goods of all kinds: Fuzzy Hearts Yarn! It will (eventually) have all my knitted and crocheted goods, handmade needles, hand spun yarns, stitch markers, destashes... and what ever else I think might fit. I hope I can keep two shops straight... because that is my biggest fear that kept me from opening two shops for a long time. I felt that my first shop was just too cluttered and it was time. I will slowly be adding stuff from my current shop into my new one as they expire and list new stuff directly to my new shop. My first item is a lovely hat, if anyone is interested!

Stuff Just For Me

I just wanted to show off two of my latest creations.

The first is my attempt at the Wren pattern. I used some Lorna's Lace Shepard Sock Yarn in Hermosa. I like how it came out, but I may reposition the button.


The second item is a tam, just for me to sleep in. I have heard that sleeping in a wool hat will help them dread... so bingo! That what I want to make! I used Fisherman's Wool from Lion Brand in Nature's Brown. The yarn was different to work with... as it felt at times slippery or greasy. I dont know how to explain it, but the final product was just fine. Maybe it was because it was 100% wool and I had never worked with wool like that. I started out using a pattern from a book I had, but pretty quicky I went off the 'chart' and just went free form. It still worked out just fine.

Orange and Black Striped Loom Knitted Shrug 1

Orange and Black Striped Loom Knitted Shrug 1
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

I finally got my first ever (for sale) loom knitted shrug all photographed and up on my etsy shop. I am really excited about the way it turned out. I hope to make some more soon, but I already have an other new item in the works already. It might take me a while to create, but I think it will be worth it.



My poor skinless mannequin had to be covered with one of my favorite sarongs to make her presentable. I hope to have something more permanent soon, but I have to wait until it gets hotter out so we can paint outside. She is made of foam, so I dont know what kind of paint I can use that wont make her melt. My lightest sarong makes a good background, but it was hard to find a good place in my apartment that I could put it and still be in the light. You cant see in my photo, but my mannequin is actually on top of a cat carpet/bed thing, and two plastic litter buckets... all stacked on each other!

My First Cable!

My First Cable!
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

I'm so excited! I am actually doing an honest to goodness cable! I took the plunge! I have only had to start over once... so that's not to bad. I even tried a new way to cast on AND made a small button hole in this one! I am learning a lot... like to remember the salvages... because now I have to figure out now to fix this when I finish it. I hope to make this into another neck warmer. Hopefully it will be in my shop soon!

Corset Neck Warmer Prototype

Corset Neck Warmer Prototype
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

Here is another design I have been kicking around for a while in my head. It is a corset style neck warmer. The corset actually doesnt really do anything, but it looks cool. I am still fiddling with it, like I want less eyelets next time, but I think it has some potential. I wish I had a different color of the red cording... because I know not everyone will want red! It is very warm though. Let me know what you think!

Shrug Done!

First Try Shrug
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

I have been dutifully plugging along on my purple shrug for a couple of weeks now. I finally finished it... but with a little bump in the road. I constructed this by first completing both of the sleeves, then creating a panel to connect the two. Well, about 7 rows from where I planned on ending the panel... one of my two skeins of yarn ran out! To remedy that I decided to try and take what was in my remaining skein in half and try and finish. Well, if I wanted to actually JOIN the pieces together... I had to end it like 4 rows before I wanted to. I decided to give it a shot shorter just to finish this puppy.

Well, it fits... barely. I dont think I will ever be able to wear this with anything with sleeves. Because of the size issue, the sleeves are shorter than I wanted, and they hang at about 3/4th length level. That bugs me, because personally, I hate sleeves that are anywhere in between short sleeve and full sleeve length. I guess I will have to get used to it. It is super warm because I used 2 strands of homespun for the whole thing... so maybe I can wear tank tops in the winter now! I hope it will stretch out a bit with use. I am going to probably make another one... but thinner and a little bit longer, a different pattern. I also want to try making it as one complete piece next time, so I dont have to join the sleeves etc. That means no cuffs, but thats okay.

WIP update

I was thinking that if I keep tabs on my WIP, I would feel more responsible and get the darn things done! I blogged a while ago about starting a blanket for myself. I knew it was going to take a while to make, and I am right on track. I finished my first strip last week. I am going to create several 5 foot strips then sew them together and give the whole thing a boarder. One strip down... I have no idea how many more to go. I was suprised I couldnt get the whole strip in the photo!


This sucker is going to be warm! I only work on it when I dont really have anything else to work on... so it might take me all year to finish it. I think it will be worth it.


I have also started a loom knitted shrug. It is a bit of an experiment, but so far I think it is going well. I have one arm done. I just need one more arm and the back... then sew the whole thing together and I should have one WARM shrug. This sucker is made with two strands of homespun yarn, which makes it really thick. I think I could wear tank tops under it in the winter just about!


I think it will turn out really good... but we shall see! If it does turn out, I may make a few for my shop, modifying and improving the design along the way. I dont know how many different sizes I can make though... since I am knitting this in the round, and that limits the diameter of the sleeves. I just cant wait to get mine done though!

Third time is a charm!

Third time is a charm!
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

Well, there we go! I finally finally finally have a neck warmer! I know it is a bit hard to see, since it is black and I am wearing a black shirt and a black hoodie (can you tell what my favorite color is?) I can wait to turn out a few more (in different colors) and put them up on my etsy site. There are few little things I will do differently to tweak the pattern, but I really like it. I have worn it all day and it is really super comfy. All these neck, arm, and ear warmers are coming in handy as we have to keep the heat low to conserve on our energy bill. I sorta envy my cats, they have fur coats! My husband doesnt feel the chill because I am convinced he is half yeti.

Fail... at Neck Warmers

This weekend I was determined to work out a neat neck warmer I can wear all day while I am at school, teaching etc. I set out with some lovely red yarn and my knitting loom. Well, first, I ran out of the red yarn.... so no problem, I will make it double sided. I really want something that hugs my neck so I worked out a nice ribbed pattern to try. I got to learn and practice how to make the purl stitch on my loom, which was neat. I go on my merry way, knitting along. Well, I finish everything off and....


The binding off is too tight... while most of it will slip over my head, that darn binding stitch wont budge. Dang. Well, it does make a nice and warm ear warmer!



And dont forget, it is revertible! That is great because I really want to wear these items with the majority of my t-shirts during the winter. You can see that the black matches my knit arm warmers too! Those are a mess up as well, they were supposed to go all the way up to my armpits, but I didnt make them wide enough on one end and they were too tight on my elbows... so they are now a pair that sit below my elbows and are scrunchy. At least they still work!

Yesterday I tried again. I dont have any pictures of it because it was so messed up, I made my husband pull it apart. The second one was made from a nice grey and black combo. I fixed the "constriction" problem by not knitting in the round on my loom. Well, I also wanted to add some embelishment in the form of a cowl that you could fold over your nose and mouth if it was really cold, fold it down when you were inside. That didnt really work out... it ended up looking like a bib. Epic fail! I was so disappointed because I couldnt even salvage it. Well, I salvaged the yarn.

I tried again today. Plain and black, no cowl. I dont have any good buttons to close it, so it isnt done just yet... until I can make a trip to the local craft shop. I really hope it works. If it works, I may make a few more for my shop.

Full of Fun Loom Knitted Adult Santa Hat

Full of Fun Loom Knitted Adult Santa Hat
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

I finally did it! I made and listed a Santa hat similar to my husband's in my shop. I think I can make one more, but a baby size, out of the yarn I have left. I wonder if they will sell... I hope so! They are a lot of fun to make. I wish you could see it (I think it come across better in some of the photos in my listing) that the brim is not only very fluffy, but has a little bit of sparkle as well! These hats are just too cute! I was also thinking of making some in different colors, but I need the right yarn to go on sale. Figures, once I find that I really think Homespun works really well in this application, all the sales end. Pompoms are a new adventure too. I tried making them years and years ago, and they turned out horrible. I think that is because I got confused and made them wrong. Now they seem much easier and hold together. I even got a pompom maker to help with the process (so I wouldnt have to cut out tons of cardboard circles).

Pink and Black Punky Funky Monkey Baby Hat

Pink and Black Punky Funky Monkey Baby Hat
Originally uploaded by fuzzy_izmit

I have been making a ton of hats lately... and this is just one of them! I have had a lot of fun experimenting with different kinds of yarn and combination. So far I have just listed baby hats, but I plan on making some preemie hats and adult hats. In fact, I just started making an adult sized warm and fuzzy Santa hat. I made one for my husband and it turned out so cute he thought I should make some more and try to sell them! Check out my shop to see more...and I hope to be adding more as more come off my loom!

Arm Warmer Frenzy!

I have been in a fiber frenzy lately. I have made something like 3 pairs of arm warmers (4 if you count a pair I messed up on). I am still working on a blanket and another set of red arm warmers, plus I have another blanket and an extremely long pair of arm warmers floating around in the back of my head. My first two pairs (red and black pair and the sparkly cranberry and black pair) are crocheted and the gray ones are knitted. I retaught myself how to knit because my still WIP red pair (not pictured) will be created using a yarn were the stitches just disappear when they leave your crochet hook! I really want to use this yarn because of its color, red and slightly darker red, and it is really light and soft. As a bonus, while I was balling it up, the original skein looked like a flopping blood clot dancing around my floor. That was great! I found a "new" techinique for balling up my yarn where it will pull from the middle of the ball... yeah I know I am behind on my fiber arts learning curve.. I have only been crocheting for something like 10 years now. HERE is where you can find it. The only issue I have with it is if you get a knot... you are missing one of your thumbs to help unwravel it. More views of my arm warmers can be found on my Flickr site. If you like what you see, just let me know! I am always willing to do custom work (through my etsy shop, of course!)!.