The time flies by...

Fabric Market Finds

The days have been busy and tiring lately. I've been pondering making a quilt for the Wee Lass and have acquired some new fabric to this end. I'm not sure when I thought I'd have the time or energy, but we shall see...


More Fabric!

I also repaired a bonnet. The old ribbon ties were coming off so I knit a chin strap and added a button from my Jar of Vintage Buttons.


Baby Bonnet Repair

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Berry Hat for Bun

Started yesterday and finished today, this cute little hat was definitely an instant gratification sort of knit. I made it with Rowan Cashsoft DK, which is a luxurious (and machine-washable) mix of merino, micro-fibre, and cashmere. It's super soft. As always, for further details, here's the project page on ravelry.


Bun Berry Hat

Ravelry is an absolute treasure trove of free and inexpensive knitting/crochet patterns. Mostly I stick to the free ones so that I can check out the skill level involved since the rating system isn't very trustworthy. If you want to make one yourself, here's the pattern! (The non-ravelry link in case you don't have a ravelry account yet.) It's definitely beginner-friendly... I still had to look up a few things (how to join for knitting in the round, how to add a new colour, how to do i-cord), but there's lots of great how-to videos online. I usually use a mix of videos on youtube, and on KnittingHelp.com.


Purple Berry Hat

One reason that I write tutorials for my blog is that I really appreciate all the projects that others have shared and skills that they have helped me learn. It's my way of saying thank you to this virtual crafting community.

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

A Blue Sweater for Bun

A sweater for Bun

I finished my very first sweater! And I even managed to do so before Bun arrived. It hasn't been washed yet, but other than that, it's complete. The buttons are from my vintage button stash. I think I found these ones at a church bazaar in Montreal. I'm glad they fit because my button stash doesn't have much in the way of sets. Pattern and yarn details are on the ravelry project page. I owe a huge thank you to my friend Barbara for helping me understand some of the trickier bits of the pattern. And of course, the minute something comes off the needles or hooks, I get to start dreaming what to start next!

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Some sewing and knitting

I may not have a sewing machine yet, but I did do a little hand-sewing to close up the rice bag that I shipped over. I did most of the sewing back in Montreal, but left a little opening so I could fill it with rice here in Amsterdam. Since it's definitely started feeling like Fall around here, I thought it was time to have something cozy for the toes. The adorable penguin cover is made from the leg of some old, worn-out pyjamas.



rice bag cover

I've also been doing a little knitting on a small sweater for the bun in the oven. I just need to do the sleeves, but I've stalled since I have to go buy DPNs and then learn how to use them. However, it's come together quite well so far considering it's the most complicated thing I've ever knitted. I'm looking forward to choosing buttons since I'm planning rummage through my jars full of mixed buttons.



just the sleeves to go!

A Hat for Woodland Walks

My Woodland Hat in Holland
Something I have been doing more of lately is knitting. When we moved to Amsterdam I only brought my felt cloche winter hat, nothing knitted. I soon realised my mistake: mostly it's not that cold here and knitted hats can be shoved in a pocket or bag or sleeve. Our first few months were too busy to think about hat knitting much, but I did find a pattern on ravelry and filed it away. The other day I finally bought the appropriate needles, grabbed a ball of yarn from my stash (a lovely hand-dyed alpaca fibre) and knitted it shockingly quickly (for me at least). Just two days after I started it, I already have my hat. It's a gorgeous 22°C today, so I actually only wore the hat for the picture.


Woodland Hat in Holland

It's a sort of floppy beret style, which is perfect for being able to fit over my hair when it's up in a bun. The hat did turn out a little looser than I expected, so I'll probably cast on fewer stitches next time I make this pattern. Here's my ravelry project page.

The astute observers might notice a hint of another project on-the-go in the first picture. I expect to move on to the next stage of that project in the spring. That's one reason this blog has been a bit quieter of late. Also, I got tired of uploading pictures from holidays (Italy, Paris, London) so I've decided to just not worry about it for now. I'll get them all up eventually.

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Yarn, lovely yarn

new yarn for my seaweed shawl
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
I realised the other day that my seaweed shawl was going to need more yarn than I had, so today I rectified that. I ordered some of the discontinued stuff that inspired the whole project from an online yarn shop in the UK. And then I went yarn shopping with a friend and bought some gorgeous new yarn.


Teal with sparkles
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
It was well-timed as I was struggling with some computer issues this morning and was feeling very grumpy. But I didn't think about my computer once after I had walked into the yarn store. All thoughts of anything but my shawl vanished magically. I just looked at colours, petted pretty textures, and had a great deal of fun picking out some more yarn. (Best yet, when I got home, the Computer Fairy -- aka my sweetie -- had fixed everything).


Camelspin
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
I wanted another ball of the variegated alpaca that I already had, but I bought 3 new yarns as well, all with some xmas present money. The most luxurious and gorgeous is the silk-camel. It was shockingly pricey, but that's just what xmas money is for, right? So now I'm all set to knit up a storm.


Peruvia
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Finished a project!

cozy and complete
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
I have so many things to post about but not enough time to write them up! First up, the most recent and fun... after 3 years of sporadic work, I've finally finished my first crochet project. It's an afghan. I think I should have picked something less ambitious as by the end, it would take me through watching an entire movie to do just one round. Being overly ambitious seems to characterize many of my first projects (learning to quilt with a huge picnic quilt, just say, for example...).


finished afghan folded in quarters
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
And equivalently exciting, since I was keeping to my Only Two Yarn Projects at a Time rule*, I finally get to start knitting my Seaweed shawl. So named because that's what I thought of when I saw the pretty yarn that inspired the project:


"Olive waters"
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Less than 10 rows in and I've realised that I probably need more yarn to make it as wide as I'd like. Of course, some of the yarn I bought several years ago is now discontinued. Internet to the rescue I hope!


yarn for my seaweed shawl
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
The variety of yarn is so much fun to work with. Lots of soft fibres, and pretty colours... it's really worth buying the loveliest materials you can afford. If you're on ravelry, you can see more details of my projects there.


seaweed shawl on the needles
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
* The Only Two Yarn Projects at a Time rule ensures that I actually finish things instead of just hop on to the latest thing I'm excited about. Being inspired is great, but not if it means you never finish anything. And my excitement and inspiration only seems to have grown in the time waiting to get to work on my Seaweed shawl.