Knitted Royalty

Who wouldn't want their own knitted Pembroke Welsh Corgi?  Other than people without children and those against pet-related kitsch, I fail to see how this couldn't be universally popular. And look! I found a pattern for one! This pattern is available for *free* here so if you want to knit your own little Corgi all you need is a little bit of yarn and stuffing.

I don't remember exactly how I stumbled across this pattern, but what is possibly even more fantastic is the collection to which this Corgi belongs. This little knitted Corgi is meant to represent one of the more than 30 Corgis that Queen Elizabeth has owned... and they are part of quite an event.

As I'm sure you've all heard, Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married TODAY (and probably already are married... time zone differences and whatnot). Memorabilia abounds (check out this video) and knitters should not be and, thankfully, are not left out.

Fiona Goble has written and published Knit Your Own Royal Wedding, which is available for sale (though I don't know if it ships to the US) from The Guardian Bookshop.

If you're interested in more information (and pictures and videos!!) about Prince William and Kate's wedding, here's the website.

If you do end up knitting your own wedding party, please take some pictures and send them to me at knittinsmitten@gmail.com. I'd love to see them and I'll post them here on my website!

Congrats to Prince William and Kate!

Cabled Trellis Headband - The Newest Work in Progress

Made using 100% Peruvian wool.
Want your own? Check my Etsy shop or email me at knittinsmitten@gmail.com

As you can see in the photo, this headband is still a work in progress; it's still on the needles! I'm just too excited about it to wait any longer. The pattern -- written by me! look for a PDF available soon -- features travelling cables. Normal cables, less adventurous ones that just stay at home, run vertically and twist every so often. Travelling cables, on the other hand, 'move' every single row. That's why I was able to create this trellis design; every row the brown yarn moved one or two stitches to the right or to the left.

Because of the cables, this headband isn't as stretchy, so I've had to do some alterations on my standard headband pattern to make sure it fits an average sized head. I've got it figured out and it will be available for sale in my Etsy shop soon!

I've been reading Thornyhold by Mary Stewart and her beautiful descriptions of Geillis's boarding school and the house she inherits inspired me. I really want to put a cute knitted pink rose on this (so much floral imagery in the book!)... but I worry that it will be too busy. What I'm going to do is knit the flower and takes pictures of the headband with and without it and have the flower be optional.

Wellness update: I know have hayfever on top of "Whitman College Crud". Best week ever. Bleh.

Mystery Illness

Symptoms:

1. Really sore throat, hard to swallow and almost no voice
2. Headache
3. Fatigue
4. Fever (chills, too hot and too cold at the same time)
5. Ringing/Aching ears
6. Back aches
7. Tight back and chest

Strep throat? Nope. Flu? Nope. Ear/Sinus infections? Nope. Mono? Nope. TB? Nope. 

Bubonic Plague? Maybe.

Diagnosis? "The Whitman College Crud" (quote from the nurse at school).

Not particularly inspiring and the cure is to take Tylenol and wait it out. So here I am, spending day four in bed. Today I went to class (one class.. my only class on Wednesdays) and it completely wore me out. I don't really remember the content of the class (I know what story we talked about at least) and I'm relatively certain my contributions weren't worth much. My professor commented that I looked "heavily medicated". Great.

I suppose the biggest symptom -- the one that should tell everyone just how completely lousy I feel -- is that I've felt too tired and out of it to knit. This might be the longest I've gone since I started knitting without knitting at least a little. 

Here is a list of things I accomplished while I was sick (because I like lists).

• An outline and annotated bibliography for a research paper for "Art Since 1945"
• Watched all of "Harper's Island"
• Ran the dishwasher

And that's it. I did pass my orals last week though! I'm super glad that I got that out of the way before I got sick; I don't think I could have passed in my current condition. So big hooray for completing senior requirements!

On the plus side, Kelsey G. bought the Swirly Headband in "Yakima" today! Woo! Hopefully she'll take some pictures when she wears it so I can post them here.

Swirly Headband in "Huskies" (Commissioned)

Swirly Headband in "Huskies"

Model: Liz H.

Hooray!!  This is my first sale from my Etsy store!  This Swirly Headband was commissioned and has been sold.  If you want a headband just like this one (or in different colors or with a different design... I'm flexible!), click here to send me an email or send me a message from my Etsy store!

This headband was completely hand knitted using a technique called Fair Isle, or stranded colorwork.  Two strands of yarn are used at the same time, in this case purple and yellow, with the color not being used carried along the back of the project.  When you want purple to show up, you hold the yellow one steady along the back and knit with the purple yarn.  When you want yellow to show up, you just switch so purple is not being used and do the same thing again.  Traditionally, this method was used to make garments extra warm (twice as much yarn) and the Swirly Headband in "Huskies" is no exception!

Approximately 9.5" wide and 3" tall.

This headband is made from 100% Peruvian highland wool and has been treated with Cascade Yarn's superwash.  The headband is completely lined; this means that there aren't any strings from the color work to get caught on things and so it is twice as warm: a guarantee to keep your ears nice and toasty while cheering on your favorite football team or talking a walk in cool weather.

Model: Liz H.

Dimensions (measure flat as shown on bench)
width: approximately 9.5"
height: approximately 3"
This headband fits an average sized head.

Interested in this headband in other colors?  Check it out in "Yakima" (below) or send me an email at knittinsmitten@gmail.com and we'll talk about other color options.

   

Questions from readers!
Q: Have you done your homework?
A: Most of it... I'm mostly studying for orals (this Friday!!!) and working on Peasblossom when I need a break. When I start reading the same sentence multiple times because I haven't actually read the words, that's when I take a break. But now it's back to public sculptures in the 1960's!

Who, What, Where, When, and Why

Hi there! My name is Kristine and you've stumbled across (or, even better, intentionally visited!) the blog that goes along with my little business, Peasblossom Creations.  I'm glad you're here!

This blog will have updates on what I'm making, thinking, designing, and doing.  But first, an introduction is in order.

Who: I'm Kristine!  I am a twenty-something soon-to-be college grad who knits and sews and makes general crafty projects.  I also like to read (see over there on the left for what I'm currently reading), watch TV (True Blood, anyone?), and I've recently become interested in yoga and zumba.  I cook a little bit too, but mostly because I need to eat to continue knitting, not out of love of food (with the exception of peanut butter & Triscuit sandwiches, which may be the happiest thing on Earth, but I don't know if that counts as cooking).  I do enjoy cooking and baking for others; who doesn't love a nice dinner party?  I like bright, happy and really rich, vibrant colors.  Burnt orange doesn't do it for me.

What: I make handmade crafts.  I spend most of my free-time knitting and most of my non-free-time thinking about knitting.  In between, I read books and online sources about knitting.  I also sew and I'm pretty interested in paper.  Hopefully you'll see some interesting things from me!

Where: I currently (April 9, 2011) live in Walla Walla, Washington.  "Such an out of the way place," you say.  That's definitely true.  There are some lovely restaurants out here though, some wineries and we have a Macy's AND a Wal-Mart.  There's plenty to do.  I'm only here for about two more months; at the end of May I'm graduating from Whitman College with my BA, focused on art history and visual culture studies.  Then I'm moving to Bellevue, Washington and will be working on my Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington.

When: All the time!  I'm always thinking about crafts.  I'm hoping to get going and build up my inventory of fun, useful, and high quality items soon so I can start sharing them with you!

Why: There are lots of reasons why.  Crafting is something I am going to be doing anyway, but you can only knit your boyfriend so many hats no matter how much he says he likes them (and wears them!).  So this is a positive outlet for my pent-up crafting energy.  I'm also starting graduate school soon and a little extra money might help with things like groceries, tuition, and (of course) more yarn and fabric!  I love crafting and creating; this is for fun!

Extra tidbits: No pets.  I want a dog, but can't realistically take care of one right now.  No smoking.  (Both of these things are pretty good for craft-ers anyway.. no weird smells!)  I'm addicted to lip balm. I like to color code and enjoy making lists.  I am (slowly) teaching myself Japanese.  I hate having to change light bulbs.  Toilet paper is meant to roll over, not under.  Slow internet or internet connections that won't work properly will set me off more quickly than anything else.  Old milk kinda freaks me out.  I like most animals (except water fowl), but I particularly like elephants, pandas, giraffes, and hedgehogs.

Want to know more?  Leave a comment and ask a question or email me and I'll answer them on my blog!