Crochet for Vanya Earthia

Hello ;)

Summer is in full power, yet we can't help but have glimpses of thoughts about winter. 

Perhaps, some have traveling plans for the upcoming cold season, or moving plans, or creativity, entertainment or other plans.. 

And I have been thinking of fall and winter accessories, among others ;))

Yesterday was another day ;)

I have a lot of yarn leftovers from the previous projects - the silver-green is 200 grams (plenty!) of virgin wool yarn I bought for knitting a sweater for my man, the white one is Icelandic wool, undyed, the little ball of some Italian wool in heather gray/neutral/flesh color... as well as the alpaca/wool/cotton yarn of unraveled thrifted Zara sweater (the ball on the very left)... Put together, these make thick and soft chunky yarn - lovely! 

I made this cardigan yesterday - the advantage of thick yarn - it works so fast! It came out just as I intended it to - with a slightest fluff from the cream Icelandic wool makes it cozy and a little rough at the same time. I left the opening of the sweater without any type of closure, just pink leather tie, which, of course can be changed for any belt, ribbon or tie my heart desires ;) And it is so warm!

Ready to shed winter garb any given day ;) 

♡

Balls of yarn I found in my stash...

Ready cardi ;)

Close-up of the neck area...

Close-up of the bottom side, shaped to fit my waist...

Closer look at the finished sweater.

It's alive, it's alive!!! ;)

And the scarf is finished! Only final touches left - weave in the ends of both colors of the yarn on the stripes and take the photo "in action" ;))) I decided to add a little softness, I thought that it may be a little too blocky, like, say, a checkered pattern can be, if done in magnified manner. So, I added some crochet details on both ends, and miraculously the whole scarf looks much more gentle and feminine, such a small detail... ;) 

I think I know why I love the stripe so much. It's a kind of manifestation of life itself in its brighter and darker times... ;) Love life!

p.s. Love pot cheese with flax seed oil, black pepper and sea salt as a filling snack! 

Gotta receive that protein somehow ;) 

♡

Solution... ;)

I, like any crafty artistic person, have scraps and pieces of remains of many projects and what not. For me it is mostly yarn and parts of deconstructed recycled sweaters (more about this soon)... 

What is needed - a large enough crocheting hook and the leftover yarn of any possible color, texture and fiber content.  

HOW-TO:

I personally like to crochet these awesome baskets through both yarns of the top of the previous row (those who crochet will know what I'm talking about), because it eliminates the lines around the piece. 

Start off by making a chain of 4 stitches, make a circle, through the middle of it crochet 6-8, depending on the thickness of the yarn, stitches of the second row. Now in 3rd row crochet 2 stitches in every stitch of the previous row. 4th row - repeat what you did in the 3rd row. Starting row 5 you can start minimize the bottom of the future basket by making additions in only every other stitch. In this manner, going in circle, determine yourself from here on, how wide you want your basket to be, and depending on that, calculate how many stitches to add. As soon as you've reached the desired size of the bottom of the basket, start plainly crochet in circles, until it is as tall as you like. You can narrow the top of it a little by skipping some stitches. Also, I noticed, that when I fill my baskets with stuff, it becomes shorter and wider, if packed.. so, maybe make it a little taller than the desired height of the finished piece. 

How brilliant such storage is, huh? ;) Just ply away those multiple strands of yarn - 4-6 of DK weight, 3-4 of chunky weight should do the trick for the baskets to keep their shape nicely. 

I made one for all my stationary - nice and colorful; another one for loose change, quarters, mainly; and there's two more that keep my bathroom necessities and beauty products together.

Much ❤ from ever so modest Vanya of Earthia. 

What joy! ;)

Even my taste buds are reacting to such a selection of color! Can I have one of each, please? I'll make a crazy stripy anything!!! ;)))

oh, and btw, webs.com is great in general ...

Learning

I accidentally accomplished a mission, one of my missions, i should say hehee :)) I learned how to knit socks over the weekend, - and to tell you the truths, I have no idea what scared me to do this before - it's so easy!!! I've made two pairs - one for Danya, and the other one for Jenjka - she loved them. 

Here's Dan's foot in the freshly backed sock! I'm planning on felting them and sewing a sole to the bottoms, so he can walk around the house in a warm pair of cozy things! ;)

And this is the before mentioned hat with lots (five) of pom-poms! The one on top is not visible, and the there are two pom-poms on the ends of the ties,.. but they are there, trust me ;)

Chill Pill

If you are in LA area, you have an opportunity to attend this workshop, where you can knit your very own Chill Pill!!! ;)))

Perfect wool

Search for perfect wool can be endless - as my needs change from project to project, as do my expectations of wool. Right now I need naturally colored, un-dyed pure wool that felts nicely, that is soft and wearable against the skin, and affordable in price. That is. And I had to order a try out skein of Lion Brand Collection Pure Wool, which comes only in one color that nature created - "natural". 

So excited to start making my project with it! 

The yarn.

The color of natural fiber as mother nature intended it to be. Even with all my love for bright colors, I confess, that at any given time, anything natural (color in this case) would be my last choice... ;)

Chuckle-chuckle chunky!

Doesn't it feel nice to be outside at anytime, even when the weather is having mood swings, bringing cold air, wind and, before we know it, snow? Nothing is better than some fresh air, even if its cold. Cozy up with layers, wrap yourself in chunky goodness of knits, i say!

I make friends with winter, I'm happy to, bring on the snowflakes, I'll catch them with my tongue! ;)

I think I found perfect chunky yarn by Lion Brand - great selection of color, lightweight, machine - washable and dry-able, cozy and warm - what more can a knitter, or a wearer, for that matter, ask for? Off to my projects, stay tuned for the pictures of new hats in the making! Good day and lots of sunshine in your soul! 

Cat Hat

It's the hat, it's the cat, it's the cat in a hat! ;) 

Unique? For sure! - you make it so by wearing it. So, if you are wondering about where and how to get one of my beautiful Cat Hats, write to me either here, in comments, or to my email, and I will let you know how it works.

For now I make it in amazingly soft and warm Wool/Acrylic blend in the prettiest shade ever!

See for yourself in the picture below. The second you put it on magic begins! ;)

What Prada says.

Knit headbands at the Fall 2010 show.

Knitted Fur or Furry Knit is in the works!

I am having this idea of something cozy, that can be worn year around and I came up with the idea of knitted fur :) A little accessory, say, a collar as a piece of clothing, how about that? :) Or a furry vest... Yarns that I think would work perfectly are chunky and bulky in natural colors and fibers. I am thinking these will be perfect, I only need to narrow down my choice to 2-3 colors the most.

Waiting for Spring :)

Ah.. several more weeks and it's here - Spring! I decided to work with lighter yarns and got some beautiful buttery soft organic cotton in Ecru - it's a little off-white, similar to the color of the cream on top of fresh goat milk! The yarn is very pleasant to the touch, so I'm enjoying knitting with it. I am working on some gifts for my friends, whom I'm visiting in Boston next week. I decided to make wrist cuffs and embroider them one with freshwater pearls and the other with moonstone. I hope they like it :)