I’ve been adding to this site at the top menu with different settings. I’ve updated a few, like Tutorials, a dictionary, and a page for a special woman named Peggy, whom we’re raising money for for a Jaco Robotic arm, which will give her a fully functional arm, as she only has one working arm. She loom knits. Here is her GoFundMe and PayPal. There are few people more deserving of donations than her. She writes patterns, and has adapted her knitting looms so she can make absolutely fabulous items, and writes her own patterns. Check out her link at the top for more info, including patterns, loom knit work, her story, and videos of this amazing technology.
I made a fun little Christmas tree with a ruffled skirt from Ruffled All Around (Ravelry link) from The Invisible Loom (don’t need to login to see it, but I recommend buying her patterns on Ravelry because you can keep them in a library if anything happens to your computer or something, or if you’re on the go) it’s from The Shapely Loom and is super simple, and can be made with 10 pegs, or 1000 pegs, and can also be made into a shawl, a tablecloth, even a skirt. Some people make blankets, too.
You need to knit, purl, and do short rows, which are easy. Knit 10 pegs, turn, knit back to peg 1, and so on. I’ll put up a tutorial sometime. I made 5 wedges using 22 pegs on a 3/8″ loom (the KB 4 in 1 hat loom).x
I also made another Triple-Z (Emergency Hat) out of spare yarn I think is pretty. It turned out well, it’s super cute. I used some leftover Red Heart Boutique Treasure yarn I found and used a 3/8″ loom, and then used some thick turquoise yarn to make into an i-cord.
I love it! It’s more of a spring hat or cowl, but it is very soft, though not as warm. I’m Canadian, we need the warmest hats. But oh, how nice is that yarn! The pictures don’t capture its vibrancy. I want to make a matching Leafy Sea Dragon, but ran out of that yarn. I’ll have to go get more, I supposed. My secret Santa from another site sent me a Michael’s gift card, and all of their yarn is on sale! Guess where I’m going tomorrow!!
I made a quick cowl that I don’t like much. I’m making a lot of stuff for craft shows next fall. So is my mom. So I’m going hat, mitt, scarf, sock crazy! I have about 10 pairs of yoga socks in varieties, a million gloves (except I keep giving them away, but they only take a few hours). I’m going to try and sell some shawls that I’ve made, blocked, folded and put away. I have about 10. Those will be the “big money” objects. But a craft show is so cool, when I was a little kid my mom and aunts went to one every weekend and sold their crafts. I used to make little items and get 50 cents for them, and for a 6 year old, well, that’s a lot of money!
Now, Christmas! I told my mom there wasn’t a yarn I didn’t like. So she got me a box full, and we went to a Michael’s safe before Christmas. I got the box on Christmas day, mostly nicer yarns (like the one for the cowl and the hat above) that I don’t often buy for myself. It was a complete surprise, and I got loooots of yarn. And now Michael’s is having a huge sale.
The other lot isn’t all I bought, I have balls of it lying around. I paid $35 for it at Michael’s and the most I spent was $4.99 on Country Loom, with an additional 20% off. I love coupons! Michael’s now sends me coupons geared to what I most often buy… so when I saw “All yarn on sale” I was excited. Going tomorrow or Sunday, with my gift card.
Well, Christmas went well. I got my mom some fuzzy pajama pants, a Christmas sweater with an adorable pug and a gift certificate for Winner’s, since it’s hard to buy her clothes. She’s picky, and thinks she has “huge legs”…. she’s a size 4! At 5’4!
I got my dad a funky utility knife and a beer mug you can frost that looks like a prescription bottle, but bigger and glass. He got a kick out of it. I also got him a gift card for Canadian tire.
There’s even some Isaac Mizrahi! From my awesome momChristmas was a good time. I spent Christmas eve at my parents, opened all my presents the next morning. I didn’t get any new looms, I had suggested one, but retracted it because I have so many looms to organize. I’m going to get some shelves from Ikea or Walmart. Hell, I’ll get a loft bed and put my knittin stuff under that. My closet is going to explode! (Seriously, you open it and get rained on by yarn, and that’s after I cleared 4 garbage bags out of one HALF)
I got some hoodies, lots of yarn, some colouring books, lots of little Breyer Horses (I’m a collector), socks, undies (its great getting those as an adult, as a kid it’s like “OH NO” but as an adult it’s like “YES, I don’t have to go without because I’m too lazy to do laundry!), a beautiful tea set and tea’s from David’s Tea. (Loose left, infuser, cup with a saucer). I’m going to drag out a small circular loom and make some cup cozies. I got all sorts of goodies!
Now, for my tree. I did this in class, and did it with a Mig welder (GMAW) with 75% Argon/25% CO2 at a low voltage. We had a lot of pipes, so I sat down, drew a Christmas tree on a piece of paper and calculated out my sizes, which requires trig due to the angles. I made it 9 inches wide and 18 inches tall.
First I did my paperwork, verified it with my instructor, and he said the math looked good. (a squared plus b square = c squared, the hypotenuse) I cut, with the plasma cutter, (my favourite tool!) a 9 inch piece of metal, 2 2 inch pieces, 2 1.5 inch pieces, and 2 1 inch pieces, which are vertical. Then for the angles, I cut 2x 6.3″, 2x 6.2″ and 2x 6.1″. I assembled it on my desk.
I took the bottom 9 inch and welded it in the flat position with the angles matching up. Then I tacked on the rest, when it looked like a tree, I went around and cleaned up my welds. It’s hard working with little pieces, because its easy for them to roll away, or weld to the table (which happened once, but it was hot enough to use my chipping hammer to smash it off)
The two bottom pieces are from our practice test “coupons”. You weld something, cut the plate into 3, and bend it. If it doesn’t crack or break, you’ve passed the CWB test. Easier said than done. I welded the two bent pieces together, vertically (which is the hardest position, in my opinion) and then welded the tree to them, as a stand, and its done!
So, what’s on my looms. I’ve got a Triple-Z on my 51 peg cinDwood loom, using 26 pegs. I call it double Z because instead of a 3 knit, 3 purl combo, I’m doing 2 knit, 2 purl. I started a ribbed hat called Swirl, but have only done the ribbing at the brim, on my 72 peg (36 pegs you can double up, for a 3/8″ loom) Bufanda loom. I love that set. I translated a needle knit pattern called Old Salt to a loom knit pattern (I’ll post it when its done) and have that on my adjustable Cottage loom. Oh, how I hate those corners.
I have a sideways hat being made for my roommates one working student, finished the same hat, bigger, different yarn, for her other student. I’m also making them Kitty Mitts.
I have my never-gonna-get-finished afghan on my 90 peg 1/2″ CinDwood small afghan loom. That’s all I can think of for now. I have a tonne of beautiful yarn and nothing to do with it!
New Years Resolutions
- Finish my fucking afghan
- Pass my CWB GF 1 GMAW test
- Knit more hats, especially Triple Z’s
- Moar mitts!
- Use my 56 peg fine gauge CinDwood loom, I have a damn ebook.
- Cowls, cowls, cowls
- Wind the yarn I dyed, after I untangle it all… oh god. Then knit with them.