DIY Friday

I'll be honest... The first place my husband and I lived in together was a craphole. The bathroom was Pepto Bismol pink, the shower was more of a utility sink that you could barely turn around in, since it was New York, there was an abundance of roaches and the ventilation system was such that when the upstairs neighbors sang "I Believe I Can Fly" every time they did karaoke (which was often), we felt like we were being given a private concert. But the fact is, it was our first place together. Yeah, it was pretty gross, the commute wasn't great and the basement had a definite "Blair Witch" vibe, but to us (or me at least), it had a certain charm because we were happy there and starting our relationship. It had potential, just like us.

My husband teases me that I can find beauty in anything and I suppose this is true. My 2010 New Year's resolution was to try to be more optimistic and I've been true to my word, always trying to find the good and let it outweigh the negative. So when I saw this little rickety curio shelf, slightly sticky, slightly off-kilter and in need of some love, I knew I could make that happen. I decided to get my upcycle on.

I've done cosmetic rehabs to a few pieces of furniture - my nightstand and a living room cabinet most recently. You could do this with any item in your house because they now make spray paint for almost any surface. Clean it up with some mild soap and water (I used the Soak I usually use for my knitting), let it dry, sand it a bit, wash it again, let it dry. I hit it with 3 coats of spray paint for wood, letting it dry overnight between coats. I had intended to replace the knobs, but they proved unwilling to budge, so they got spray painted, too. But it still needed something...

I LOVE the Paper Source. I could spend hours in that place. I found some amazing fox paper there, bought 2 sheets and ran home to fit it into place. The paper backing took the longest, but really makes this shelf go from being a curio shelf to a curio shelf with panache. I glued the paper in and let it dry overnight. I then took out one of the best inventions EVER - Mod Podge. 2 coats later and this sucker was ready to live in my son's room and house a few special treasures.

The whole process took a week, but it was mostly dry time. The shelf was $7, spray paint was $8, paper was $4. I had the Mod Podge and the sponge brushes. I'm a big believer in if you can do it yourself, then DO IT YOURSELF. Also, why go buy a new shelf when I could just fix one up for under $20?

Long live upcycling!

Playtime Floor Pillows

Planes, trains, automobiles. My life is chock fulla these modes of transportation, many of which reside on my living room floor.

Ah, the joys of toddlerhood. I know I’ll miss these days someday, especially when someone shows up to knitting night with a huge bruise saying they got it from tripping over their toddler’s trains, or a scrape on their arm from having a toy car repeatedly driven into it… I’ll nod my head sagely and give them some advice on how to avoid such accidents. But for now, I’m on the receiving end of these injuries, planes, trains and automobiles are in the laundry basket, in the bed, on the kitchen table, sometimes in the dishwasher, under the comfortable chair and usually sandwiched between the couch cushions. It’s an occupational hazard when you are the mom of a two-year-old boy. I roll with it.

We recently acquired a large wooden train table, containing most of the toy mess to its surface. I still dodge the occasional matchbox car or Thomas the Train on the floor, but this table has helped immensely. The only problem with the table is while my kid will play at it for hours, he gets tired standing and walking around it for so long. Thus, an idea was hatched. You know those cool floor pillows for kids at the fancy shops that cost an arm and a leg? I’m a knitter! I’ll make my own!

Using 2 hanks in two colors of Cascade’s amazingly popular 100% Peruvian Highland wool, Cascade 220 (aptly named for it’s generous 220 yards per hank), I found some great cushions online (for wheelchairs, of all things) and got knitting. I can’t say enough good things about Cascade 220. The yardage is fantastic on this workhorse yarn, the great ply ensures no splitting, the sheer amount of colors it comes in makes it easy to choose colors to match a child’s bedroom or playroom and the price point is what I – a frugal mom – looks for and loves. It comes in various weights, superwashes, and multicolors.

Starting with my favorite trusty provisional cast on, I knit a striped tube (using the jogless stripe method – so clever), then simply kitchenered the top together, slipped in the pillow, then kitchenered the bottom closed. I made a second cushion with different colors for when we have play dates. I hit it lightly with the steam setting of my iron and left them in my office. Not long after, my son found the pillows, dragged them over to his train table and went about his work building tracks and pushing trains. Mission accomplished? I’d like to think so.

The thing about these pillows is kids can use them for sitting at low tables yes, but I noticed my son dragging them over to his books for some reading time, then over to the window to watch Daddy mow the lawn, then over to the Duplos to build a tower, then by the air conditioning vent for a little nap. You could take these anywhere – to a soccer game, a picnic, a sleepover, the beach… Another great thing about Cascade 220 is it holds up. It’s the yarn I have most in my stash for this reason – it’s perfect for so many things. No doubt these cushions will be brought along to all sorts of events over the coming years and I know that they’ll stay bright and well made.

If only these magical cushions would clean my house for me…

Download the free Playtime Floor Pillows pattern here.

Little Boy Blue

I was recently given the challenge of taking five 100 yard hanks of yarn and making something grand out of them.

I'm a big fan of Master Chef, a TV show where the "home chefs" are given certain ingredients and are challenged to make something amazing/fantastic/yummy/beautiful and a frighteningly short amount of time. I felt a little bit like that upon taking up this challenge. 500 yards has endless opportunities, but when each hank is a different shade of blue, that puts some limits on a design. It needed to get done quickly, sandwiched between other deadline knitting and the daily grind.

One of my favorite yarn companies is Neighborhood Fiber Company. I discovered them when we moved to DC and my LYS carried it. The mastermind behind NFC is Karida, a woman with sass, endless color capabilities and charisma. Haven't knit with her Studio Worsted yet? Do it. You'll thank me. I grabbed a few hanks of her Studio Sock a few years ago when I wanted to knit my mom a beaded shawl that would knock her (knitted) socks off (seemed like a great idea until 1000+ beads dumped on my keyboard, onto the kitchen table, onto the floor and onto everything). The depth of the yarn (named after local neighborhoods) is beautiful and once I discovered her Worsted (the colors, *swoon*) and that it had good yardage AND was super wash, I was hooked. This was the yarn I had for the challenge.

What to do with 500 yards of five shades of blue? I only had to look at my son to get my answer. A cabled cardigan for Callum! It is a universal truth that children look adorable in hand knit cardigans, especially those with cabling and stripes.  E = MC2, 5+5=10, what goes up must come down, toddlers look cute in hand knit cardigans. They just do. It is known.

What transpired over the course of a few days turned into Callum's Cardigan, a top-down raglan with cabling down the back and twisted cables running down either side of the button band. There's a lot going on in this pattern... Stripes, button holes, raglan increasing, different cables on the front and back... I had a great time designing and knitting it. I even had a little bit of each color left!

Five of my friends are currently pregnant. I think I'll knit this cardi up in a solid for one of them.

Callum's Cardigan pattern available for download here.

Lacy Scarf

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I don't like summertime. Throw me on a mountaintop in a snowstorm, or under a cold rain without an umbrella and I'm a lot happier than if you left me in a field with the sun beating down, the humidity making me drip with sweat and the oppression of the summer heat weighing me down. The Washington, DC summers are brutal. They last from May until October, more or less half of the year!

As Americans, it's alarming how accustomed we've become to faux summer. I won't get on my Global Warming soapbox today, but stores that pump out arctic air conditioning yet leave their doors wide open to let it all escape into the ether, supermarkets that you can practically see your breath in and shopping malls that require you to wear a sweater in August are fine examples of how we've embraced faux summer. In Europe, air conditioning is a luxury, not an expectation. They accept summertime (for better or for worse) and don't have a fit if a store doesn't have subzero temps pumping through their vents. I find movie theaters to be the best example of faux summer with their consistently frigid temperatures.

Even though I count down the days until autumn will be upon us, I've learned to be prepared in the summer. It feels odd to pack a scarf or shawl when the mercury is approaching 100 degrees, but the facts are, these days you need to.

Let me introduce you to the Lacy Scarf.

Knit in Cascade's new supersoft hand painted Pima cotton (part of the Ultra Pima family, which includes Ultra Pima, Ultra Pima Quatro and Ultra Pima Fine), Ultra Pima Hand Paints, these generous 220 yard hanks are perfect for summer knitting with a great price point that many hand painted yarns don't have. I love knitting with cotton in the summer because after all, who wants a lap full of wool when the sun is beating down on you? And hand painted cotton? Yes, please! A big plus to this yarn is it can be washed in the machine, then thrown in the dryer. Summer knits can get sweaty when you transition from the 35 degree movie theater into the 108 degree air to walk to your car. With a dozen hand painted colorways to choose from (I adore the Mossy Mix), you can knit a few that you can smugly hand out to your fellow movie going friends as their teeth begin to chatter. The simple lace pattern knits up quickly and the scarf takes less than 1 hank. Some cottons can be tough on your hands, but not this one. Beach knitting, here we come!

Going to the movies is one of my favorite things. Alone, with a friend or in a large group, I have and always will be a big movie goer. So while I love the cold and I love movies, I don't like to be cold at the movies. I'm keeping this Lacy Scarf in my bag at all times (and when it starts to smell like popcorn, I'll be able to wash it with ease).

Download the free Lacy Scarf pattern here.