October 2008 Archives

While shopping at the halloween store we determined that some swords were a must have for this years costumes. For me, a cutlass to go with my pirate costume, and Mr. PieKnits a fencing foil for his Phantom of the Opera. Now a gentleman of the opera house needed a proper place for his sword. With some craft felt and 15 minutes time I created a holster, or 'Sword Frog' to slide onto his belt, ta-da!



This is loosely modeled off of some images from 19th century military issued sword belts and baldrics but could easily used for about any costume with a sword, or just for that toy sword the little ones are running around with! 

Materials needed:

• 1 piece of craft felt
• Coordinating thread
• Scissors
• Hot glue/fray check/regular glue (optional)

Click here or on the thumbnail image for a printable pattern template. Cut out pattern and trace onto felt. Cut out pattern in felt and the slit in top. This should be the width of the belt it's intended to be worn on (standard belt size shown).

Fold over far right edge and line up with angled bottom left edge, slightly overlapped. Stitch together. Sew reinforcing X stitches at top and bottom of belt slit. You can add a drop of glue on the back at each of these points as well for some additional strength.

Note: This is made for a right handed sword fighter, to be worn on the left. If you are left handed, flip the pattern over.



Next up, my nearly entirely DIY pirate costume!

This hat and another have been finished and hanging out in the sidebar for a long time but their boy recipients have proved illusive creatures to photograph. I finally snagged one.



Mr. PieKnits had requested another knit hat, with some specifics in mind. After some discussion I settled on using the pattern Reasonably Hip formerly on magknits.com with some modifications.



The first run on this my Stockinette stitch proved tighter than seed stitch and the hat was tighter than I'd like. I'd also started the picked up bottom half of the brim and here the pattern wasn't very clear. I realized once it was done the purl side was facing the outside (bottom) and I did not care for that either. So I decided to just scrap it and cast on a new one with two sizes larger needles. (Note- 1 ball of the Ella Rae Amity yarn would make 2 hats, I may finish the first for me.)



I can't say I really cared for assembling this brim which is worked in two separate quite fiddly pieces. It's part of what inspired me to create a simpler brim for the Devra hat.

I do like the short rows in the back that help extend the hat over the ears, something that can be more of an issue with a brimmed hat. I also switched to stockinette for the last few short rows for a narrow band appearance.
Mr. PieKnits is happy with his new cap so mission accomplished!



Pattern: Reasonably Hip by Elizabeth Cobbe
Yarn: Ella Rae Amity, #23 Blue-Gray
Needles: US size 9 (5.5 mm)
Mods: Worked last few short rows in St st instead of Garter and the rest of the hat in St st instead of seed stitch. Not sure if it's a mod but worked bottom brim with RS of stockinette facing out.

Meet Mr. and Mr. Korknisse.



They traveled far from the Land of Kork, home of their forefathers the Cork Oak Tree, to find a new place to brighten up. It's important to spread the cuteness around.



They fashioned themselves some new traveling clothes from bits of stash yarn and raided their vintage button hoard to find coordinating accessories. After a brief journey they have now settled in their new home in the country of Office Cubicle.

And they lived happily ever after.

My ultimate cookie - Monster Cookies!



I have found my new favorite cookie recipe. While the previous version I made concocts a great cookie I'm more of a soft/chewy vs. crunchy type and this version is more inline with that preference. The ingredient list is very similar with the addition of a 1/2 a cup of flour helping make a difference in texture.

The biggest modification is in the assembly method. Instead of the standard creaming butter method, this version uses melted butter and everything being dumped into one bowl (another bonus for this recipe). The real key here is once everything is mixed together to let it rest for 30 minutes for the oatmeal to soak up all the buttery goodness. The first time I made these I was impatient and didn't wait as long and the dough doesn't come together as well.



After taking these to a camping trip (hey it's like trail mix in a cookie!) I received several requests for them again. Upon bringing them to a party the comment made was "Oh good, you brought the crack." I think that sums these up nicely.

Monster Cookies

• 3 large eggs
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup (such as Karo)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter (I prefer smooth but chunky works nicely too)
• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs, both sugars, vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Next, stir in melted butter. Then add peanut butter, oats and flour and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chips and M&Ms. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes to allow the oats to absorb the butter.

Drop by tablespoon full (or use an ice cream scoop) onto cookie sheets and flatten slightly.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges. Let cool on the cookie sheet for few minutes to firm up then transfer to wire rack to cool. Devour with gusto. 

This hat was inspired by and made for my good friend Mel, a bit of cuteness and a bit of funky sass all in one.

I wanted to make the cables as seamless as possible from bottom to top. The bottom ribbing is made fitted with smaller needles and subtle increases for the main section. The cables continue to the very top with the decreases worked into the pattern. I'm kind of obsessive when it comes to continuing patterns for as long as possible.



My other goal I really wanted to accomplish with this design was a clean, neat-fitting brim that was easy to do. I've worked ones with lots of short rows, multiple picking up stitches sequences or fiddly separate pieces that are just short of a nightmare to sew together. (I really dislike guesswork on finishing.) After a couple tries I'm very happy with how this one came out. It requires no special techniques and is simply picked up and cast on all in one go then worked in the round. It's my favorite brim to date!



The pattern contains both written and fully charted instructions as well as a template for the plastic insert in the brim.

ETA: This pattern is now also available in a slouchy version! Click here to check it out.



The instant download rundown -after payment via Paypal you will be given a link to download the pattern. This link will also be emailed to you and will expire in 120 hours. For any questions about the pattern or whole download process please shoot me an email me at- jen@pieknits.com!

Pattern: Devra Cabled Brimmed Hat
Gauge: 15 sts and 20 rows = 4" in St st on larger needles.
Size: Womens (20"-22" circumference)
Needle sizes: Size 8 (5 mm): 16" circular (cir). Size 10 (6 mm): 16" cir and set of 4 or 5 double-pointed (dpn)
Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends (70% acrylic, 30% alpaca; 120 yds [110 meters] per 100g): 93011 Wheat, 1 ball
Skill level: Intermediate (cables, working in the round, picking up sts, kitchener stitch or three needle bind-off used)
Price: $3.75
Format: PDF instant download pattern

Finally, some spinning done!



This was some fiber I dyed while at Yarn School a year ago. It's just a simple 2-ply. I tried Navajo-plying one bobbin's left overs and crap is that hard! Talk about sad butt-ugly yarn, I see where I need some heavy practice. Any tips from Navajo-plying aficionados?



Some yummy cables for a new design, hoping to finish soon.

And a meme, tagged by She Flies with Her Own Wings
1. I'm a bare foot person. I would go bare foot all the time if I could (and it was warm, I'm a cold wuss). We're also a no shoes inside household. I feel continuously weird wearing them in other homes.

2. I really dislike loud clicky shoes and generally move quite silently. I don't even think about it usually much to the chagrin of those in close quarters with me. My mother calls me a Cat and Mr. PieKnits swears I'm always trying to sneak up on him. Although sometimes I am, hehe.

3. I'm clueless on how to use curlers or a curling iron. My curl-styling amounts to going to bed with damp hair and chancing it dries decently. I've had better luck with this now that it's shorter.

4. I miss my sister, she is still back home in Iowa. (You need to come visit Jessica!)

5. When talking on the phone, I have a hard time filtering out background noise. I think that's part of the reason I don't like doing it.

6. I love making lists. Especially packing lists, when I was a kid I use to count down the days until it was close enough to a trip to start making lists. It's really kinda sad. Then again I was always the one person in the family that had all my crap together.

7. I don't read books that often even though I love them. Actually that's the problem, I cannot. stop. reading. once I start. To the exclusion of sleep and eating- it's really bad.

Ok, and since I'm a rule-breaker I'm not tagging. Feel free to join in if you'd like.