Intarsia Knitting

I recently made a set of heart cloths to sell on my Etsy site. Of course in the process it came to me how simple this really is to do but how scary it can be to a new knitter or even a relatively experienced knitter that has never tried any type of color-work knitting. And so it was created, a brand new video explaining the basics of intarsia, a type of color-work knitting.

The video can be viewed on YouTube or right here. You can get the pattern, 2 Color Heart Cloth to Knit, for free; I do appreciate that sharing the pattern be done via the link I've provided.

Tube Turning Video and the Weather

Here in Detroit the temperature hasn't risen above freezing since last Sunday's freakishly warm day of 46 degrees. Fortunately however, we haven't had any snow to speak of either which is generally the case when the temp drops so low. There is a bit of evidence of previous snowfalls tucked on the south side of houses here so it's very odd when we travel away from the city and see snowfall still covering the ground. This is one of the advantages of living in the city since the temperature is generally 4 degrees warmer in say a 12 mile radius based on my own experience of course. Rural areas are more like 7 degrees colder. Of course a few degrees only matters to outdoor-type people. People who work outside (me) and people who play outside (me). When the temp drops to zero for over a week is when I start complaining about it; until then I relish in knowing that soon Spring will be here.

My inside time recently has been designing coffee cup cozies, which I'm calling the "Java Jacket". Of course these can be found for sale at DetroitKnitter.etys.com. I've had fun coming up with different ideas on how to create them... now if I'd only sell one... just one... that's all I'm asking... LOL. Ok, good things come to those who wait right? No really, it's quite exciting to get a sale. I carefully package each item with tissue and/or wrapping paper and ribbon which is accompanied by a little freebie matchbook notepad and a coupon card for a discount on future purchases. I almost like packaging the item as much as making it!

That brings me to my latest video which explains how to turn a tube right-side out. This is something that can be very agitating to do unless you know just how to do it. Turning a tube with only one end open is pretty easy to figure out, but how do you turn a tube with two end open?!? Oh, don't even think that the method I've settle upon is the first method I tried. I'm a woman of experimentation and pretty much will keep trying new ways to do something until I've exhausted all angles that I can possibly come up with and the more economical and efficient method wins.

You're probably wondering how many different ways there could possibly be to turn a double open ended tube right-side out. Hmmph, I've tried at least 6 that I can think of and one of them involved a fishing lure weight. Ha ha ha. No really... it did. You'll like the method that I finally came up with. It's extremely simple, uses a household item, and shouldn't cost you a penny! So now finally... the video!

Happy New Year from Detroit!!

So what did you do for the for the first day of 2010? Mine wasn't very exciting since I was recovering from the NY eve festivities. :)

Every New Year's Eve I volunteer for the Belle Isle New Year's Eve run. It's a great event that many families like to attend and what better way to end the year than with a 4 mile run/walk and 1 mile kid's run. This was the 40th year for this event and is generously sponsored by Fifth Third Bank. I blew up helium balloons and decorated the Casino on Belle Isle for a good 2 hours, had a little lunch provided for the volunteers, took down the names of the top 10 girls in the 1 mile, then headed inside to pour beer. Yes, there is beer for the adults after the race. There were about 1400 participants this year and it seemed that the 4 kegs of golden nectar we had was just perfect for serving up a glass to all those that wanted a cup (over 21 only of course!) Then we ate again. Yes, the volunteers were well fed!

After the early day events I headed over to Katie's by Comerica Park and with Lance joining us we walked to the Hard Rock Café by Campus Martius Park (random link) where we would meet up with a few more friends. The Hard Rock had a $10 cover which provided a constant stream of bands, a midnight champaign toast, and late night pizza. They had a pretty good crowd and the Sam Adams Winter Ale was quite tasty on draft. They had 2 impressive ice luge structures too for those that really wanted to celebrate. The bands quit at 1AM and the plan was to go to the Park Bar  (Pictured above) but only Katie and I wound up going inside. We ordered up two beers and two chicken schwarmas from the Bucharest Grill as New Year's Day was getting well on it's way. We ate and talked for a while before deciding it was time to make the walk back to her place. It was very cold and even though Katie's leopard print stilettos with a buckle were adorable, they weren't exactly made for walking long distances. Much to our delight a stretch limo pulled up just as we exited and offered us a $5 fare to our destination. Without delay we scurried inside and within minutes we were back to Katie's.

I woke up at 8AM, drove home and climbed into my own bed. The rest of the first day of 2010 was not exciting, but I did make a little headway on my boob scarf design which I hope to perfect soon and list on my Etsy site. I have to figure out the cost/time factor to make them before listing. I'm going to donate $5 of the sale of each sold to the Karmanos Cancer Institute for breast cancer research.

Here's an extra tidbit about the Belle Isle Casino -

When Belle Isle was developed into one of the nation's most attractive urban parks, a Queen Anne-style casino building was erected in 1887. This appealing, gabled wood structure was designed by John Donaldson and Henry Meier. The Belle Isle Casino was once said to be the finest casino in the United States. Similar to quite a few of the city's nineteenth century buildings, it was razed by fire.

This is a current picture of the 1907 Albert Kahn design that replaced the previous Casino. He designed it to provide views of the Detroit River and Canada, and to be an eating-place where patrons would be cooled by breezes in the era long before air conditioning. The style likely reflects architectural ideas flowing from Kahn's trip to Italy since it is a Renaissance Revival Building constructed from brick with a terra cotta roof. Note the two-story arcaded veranda with its graceful and soothing arches. And then there are the two impressive and high decorated square towers that Kahn designed for the Detroit side of this Casino.

The Casino is no longer a gambling establishment but a key meeting point for individuals and groups on the island. It is located near the entrance of the island just east of the Scott Fountain. The Casino provides space for meetings and various special events. Contact Belle Isle Special Events at 313-852-4075 to schedule your event at this facility.

Handmade Christmas Gifts

Ahh, Christmas is over! Not to say I'm relieved, but considering I decided to give handmade gifts to two nieces and a great nephew the week before Christmas I am definitely relieved that they were finished in the nick of time. Yeah, I know I should have come up with this brilliant idea months ago, but I didn't.

Niece #1 - Miranda, is totally into Chris Daughtry or in her words "Holy cheesy bananas he is so cute". She now has 3 "husbands" but he's her favorite. Ahh, to be 14! So for Ms. Bananas, I decided to make a tote bag with Daughtry pictures and peace signs, which she is also totally into. I bought the canvas bag since I didn't have much time, bought a packet of iron-on peace signs and purple hearts from JoAnn's, and downloaded images of Daughtry from the net which I printed on fabric printer paper. The construction went pretty well. The images were adhered with heavy duty webbing. This was the "best gift ever" and she went totally cheesy bananas over it!



Niece #2 - Stepanie, has gotten into knitting and has dabbled a bit with crochet. She claims knitting to be way easier than crochet. Anyway, I showed her the pop tab purse and she absolutely loved it. I tried showing her how to crochet the tabs together, but she doesn't fully understand crochet yet. Yes, every time I see her I give her lessons on something; it's cool. So for her I made a small pop tab purse with a zipper closure and a heart pattern for the inner lining. I used 566 tabs and probably about 250 yards of nylon. It turned out cute and I got to practice making the bottom/side attachment better. She also said it was the best gift she's gotten!


Saturday, I took her an old sewing machine of mine and she learned how to thread it and we made a pillow together. Now we have to make one for Miranda with Daughtry on it (of course).

Great nephew - He is almost two and I've been admiring all the cute stuffed animal patterns on Lion Brands site. So I decided to make the "Leo the Lion" stuffed animal for him. I don't crochet and was pretty much lost on the first line of the directions. Fortunately someone on the net explained what crocheting into the free loops meant and I was on my way to making my first crochet stuffed animal. It turned out very cute! I haven't seen him yet to give it to him and honestly might not even be there when it's gifted on my behalf. It was very cute though and I'm sure he'll like it.




Next year I promise not to procrastinate!

So I've Opened an Etsy Shop!

Yep, that's right I opened an Etsy Shop and I even sold a set of 3 wash/bath cloths! It's all a learning experience right now since I've never even really been an online shopper. But I'm mottling my way through ok.


I put a little side bar picture thingy on the right side of this blog. But my shop is at detroitknitter.etsy.com