crocheted key cozy

So, I had a request for a crocheted key cozy. I was only too happy to try it!

I think I like this one even better than my old knit one! But I feel I must warn you that the results were a pass and a fail at the same time. Pass because I really like it. Fail because I'm not sure how easy it will be for someone else to recreate it.

Why? Because I had used this tiny, tiny, tiny crochet hook. Does anyone else have a crochet hook this small? I worry, no.

I inherited this hook from my mother, who I bet got it from her mother. The size on the side says England 9. It is probably from the days when things like crochet hooks were actually manufactured in England. I looked it up online, and size 9 is definitely not a contemporary size UK9.

So if you can find a hook small enough that you could make socks with it... That isn't to say it can't be made with a different size of yarn and hook. It can.  This is just what I did.

Also, this is what I did for my key. There are so many different kinds of keys out there. You may have to modify it depending on the shape of your key.

My Key Cozy notes 
(I pretty much took the knitting pattern, and made it with SC. )

Yarn: Noro sock yarn
Length: Not that much. Just some scraps.
Hook: really, really small.

Chain 10 sts. Join.
Ch 1. SC into every stitch in the round. Join round.
Ch 1. {SC1. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC4} repeat. Join.
Ch 1. {SC5. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC1} repeat. Join.
Ch 1. {SC1. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC4. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC1} repeat. Join.
Ch 1. {SC1. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC6. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC1} repeat. Join.
Right about now you should probably be trying it on your key. All keys are different and here I realized I'd needed to increase one more time. Maybe you won't have to. 
Ch 1. {SC1. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC8. in next stitch do 2 SC. SC1} repeat. Join. (Optional)
Ch 1. SC to end. Join.
Put key into the cozy. Make sure the yarn is above the top of the key. Do another SC row if you have to.
Ch 1. SC looping through stitch loops on the left and the right to join them together above the key. Do this until you get to the notch where you attach it to the ring. SC until the other side. SC other side together as well. Ch back to tab.
Ch1. SC around.
Ch1. SC through stitch loop from left and right to end.
Pull yarn through.

My key then looked like this.

I sewed the yarn in and done.

Unraveled

As I was walking out to my car tonight, I noticed that my key cozy is coming unraveled! Sometimes even the best crafts bite the dust. 

I guess it's not surprising considering I made it about a year and a half ago. Most often, it's a very sad day when a beloved knit starts to come apart. But this is such an easy pattern (I did make it in about 20 min after all) that I just might have to make myself another! And now I'll get to have it in a new colour!

Update: Crocheted version of key cozy is done and posted about here!

Beautifully Brown

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but I've been working like a mad woman on a bunch of old project, and even a new one. None of these projects have anything remotely to do with crafting. They seem to be eating up my time like a kid eats candy on Halloween.
So since I haven't finished anything, I thought I'd show you what I've been working on. Mittens!

Or they will be mittens once I'm done! Thus far, I really like them! Note: there was a fairly obvious mistake in pattern. Good thing I realized it before I had to rip it all out.
Even moving at a snail's pace, I'm hoping to be done sometime sooooon. Cause it's been cold here! So cold that this past weekend I wore a headband under my toque when I went out for my morning runs. Seriously. That is cold. (Or. Yes. Maybe I'm just a wimp.)

What are you doing to get ready for the chill of winter?

7!

Not that long ago, a friend asked me how many hats I have. You'd think it would be a lot, wouldn't you? I mean, I make hats all the time! "About 10 to 12," I replied at the time. But I had no idea. One of my favourite thing about being a knitter is always having new fun items to keep me warm. And it's so nice to have a stash of winter gear that is always changing. Make a new hat, give a hat away. 

But I became curious about how many hats I actually have, so went and found the stash of hats. Turns out I only have seven. 7 ! (Not to be confused with 7 factorial, which would be a lot.)

And that even counts this new hat I just finished. 

Like so many, I made this pattern from an image in my head of what I wanted the end result to look like. Needless to say, it didn't turn out quite as expected. ... Not that it's ugly. Just different. I wanted it to be a slouch, and although I cast on the stitches for that, I don't think that type of hat works with this type of yarn. 

Oh well. Sometimes you just gotta go with it. And all in all, I'll probably wear it. Less than some of the others in the pile, but I'm glad I made it. And now that I know I only have seven, I feel free to make something else. 

dee-dee

Every knitter in the world has the same problem: What do you do with all your leftover yarn? I don't mean what do you do with your stash. That's easy! Look at it. Dream about what you can make with it. Hoard it. Add to it. And sometimes, even use it.
I mean, what do you do with the small remnants of yarn that you end up with when you are done with a project. That is harder. Even if it's just a few scrap pieces, there is something in me that stops me from throwing it out.
That is how when I finished making my latest shawl I ended up with this headband.

I didn't have enough for a hat, but I still wanted something that would match. As with most times when I'm just using up scraps, I had a general idea of what I wanted it to look like (in this case I wanted it to be similar to that shawl) but mostly, I made the pattern up as I went along.
Here's what I did.

Dee-Dee headband notes
CO 100sts
k2, p2 for 7 rows
m1 sts for a total of 101 sts
k2tog, YO for 8 rows
k2tog for a total of 100 sts
k2, p2 for 7 rows.

Camping like it's 4C

When I got into work today, and told some folks I used a day off to go camping, they looked at me a little weird. "Um, wasn't it... COLD?" they asked. Well, I like to think of it as being chilly. But who cares if it's a little cold? I don't mind wrapping myself up if I get to spend the weekend with one of my best friends, while taking in the colourful trees, fresh air, sand, sun...

When you know it's going to be cold, you just prepare for it. I am never happier to be a knitter than when I'm preparing for some chilly weather! I've got so many options to choose from. Like my ETTA hat I made a few years ago. (Still a favourite. Even if I think it looks a little like a beehive on my head.) I also grabbed a whole bunch of random scarves. 

The one above is my first crocheted item anywhere. I kinda loved it this weekend. It's super long, but also narrow. So depending on how cold it was, I just looped it more or less times around my neck. Done. 

Corrie and I had an awesome time. Even if we couldn't build a fire to save our lives. Don't let the picture below fool you. Sure we got a fire going. ... after about 45 matches and 20 pieces of paper and perhaps a few choice words from me. We couldn't even get the paper to stay lit most of the time! I blame the wood we bought. We had to start drying the wood before it would burn on the fire! Seriously. 

But we made some super awesome food. Cornbread in a cast iron pan. Yo. And a baked onion!

It was super great fun. A trip we will definitely do again next year! 

In the autumn garden

Ready or not, I came back from my trip to Philly to find that fall has truly befallen us! The morning air has a chill to it. I'm wearing a scarf and jacket to work. A jacket people! I'm wearing tights and arm warmer to run. 

But in a way, it's so nice to see the seasons changing. I like when the leaves are bright red, orange and yellows. I like pulling out the part of my wardrobe I haven't worn in months.

And I like new garden veggies. Autumn means winter squash! I hadn't looked in the pumpkin patch in weeks, and to my shock when I looked on the weekend we have 7 (yes. I counted. seven!) pumpkins. And they are turning orange already too! Last year our pumpkins stayed green and were useless.

 Do you know how excited I get about pumpkins? Very! This year I've already had amazing pumpkin soup, and less amazing, but still really good, pumpkin brownies. (I'm still not exactly sure how I messed them up.) Next? Maybe a pumpkin latte. Or perhaps pumpkin ice cream.

But there are other things I'm excited about: butternut squash.

And kale! A second crop of snow peas. And, surprisingly, potatoes. I never realized just how different potatoes right out of the ground taste compared to the ones they sell in the store in the middle of winter. 

So autumn, now that you are here, please stick around for awhile. Because I'm not sure I'm ready for winter yet.