Rebecca Danger

Block it, block it good.

Alrighty, as I mentioned yesterday, today's post will be a blocking tutorial. My new pattern Robbie the Robot finishes better if you block him before you make him up (but he will finish fine if you don't block him too). Since I have been afraid of blocking for the last 12-13 years that I have been knitting and I have recently discovered how delightful blocking really can be I have decided to share with you a quick, easy, blocking run down.

Disclaimer: Blocking is not something to be feared, it can actually be quite fun with the right tools. Take this from someone who until last week had never successfully blocked anything but instead always wound up with a big, soggy, curling mess.

You will need:
*Your item to be blocked
*Something to pin your item to (Knitter's Blocks, blocking board, kids floor mat, towel, spare mattress, etc)
*Pins (I use simple straight pins since that's what I have from sewing but I would recommend "T" pins)
*A source of water (steamer (this is mine), iron with steam, a sink)
 
This is Robbie's pre-blocked head. Notice all the rolling going on? Yeah, we don't want that.

If you are using the sink to get it wet, go do that now (if you are blocking wool make sure not to rub it around once it is wet or it will felt).

1) Take your item and pin it down. I started on the left side Robbie's body and worked my way around the rest of him from there. Pin to the dimensions you want your finished item to be, in this case I pin the 6 squares to be as square as possible and all about the same finished size.

I started pinning on the left side here

And here he is completely pinned down

2) Grab your steamer (or iron with steamer) and wave it all over your item. I get pretty close but I don't actually touch the item, I just hit it with a lot of steam. Which I really enjoy. You just want to make sure that your items are pretty damp to the touch. (Obviously people using the sink to wet your item skip this step)

 

Steaming the face

Steaming the body

I don't think I'm actually doing anything here, just steaming for the sheer joy of steaming

3)Let your item dry. Be really, really sure it is dry. If you are thinking, "I don't know, maybe it isn't that dry," don't touch it. Leave it until it is fully, completely, for-surely dry and then remove the pins. Voila: nice flat finished knitting.

Ta-dah!

How easy is that?! Literally three steps to knitting flatness. Amazing! And even more amazing that I refused to do something so easy and so cool for so long.

So, go now and find a project you can practice your new-found skill on. I recommend Robbie the Radiant Robot by Rebecca Danger.....

Domo arigato, Mr. roboto,

It's here! Pattern #10 is now up for sale in my etsy shop and on Ravelry. Meet Robbie the Radiant Robot:

Really, it was only a matter of time before I had to do a robot. I mean, robots, monsters, they are all just too super fun to not have in knitted form, right?

So there you go, complete with Styx lyrics. Tomorrow I will be putting up a blocking tutorial since this guy really does need blocking to come out well.

Perfection

Look at that perfect cup of homemade mocha.

I hope everybody else had as amazing a holiday weekend as we did here in the Danger house!

I No Longer Fear Blocking

I've never "gotten" blocking(non-knitters, blocking is when you pin down finished knitted items and add water or steam to make them lay flatter or spread out to your desired finished measurements). I have vainly tried a couple times in the past, pinning finished knitted items to towels and whatnot, but it has always ended up a big, damp disaster. So, I had until now basically given up. However, the next pattern needed really straight edges and my edges were curling nightmarish-ly so I went out, bought some equipment, and gave blocking another try.

First of all have you seen the Knitter's Blocks over at CoCo Knits? They are amazing and I have been coveting them for ever. I decided I would like to try them before I spent $50 on them, so I went to Target and bought one of those kids puffy flooring mat things. And, since I had seen a steamy thingy on like Knitty Gritty or some other knitting thing on the internet work magic on a knitted project, I went to Kohl's (of all places) and found the Shark hard surface cleaner which sprays hot steam all over the place.

These two things of course worked like a charm (will be ordering those Co Co Knits blocks here in the next month or so once I decide if I need the small pack or the big pack). My next pattern flattened out like a dream. But, since I don't want to start posting pictures of an unreleased pattern here I decided I would give it a try with the lace shawl I knit last summer:

Here's the rumply shawl that doesn't resemble much of anything at all. Now add a pile of pins and a little bit of steam:

And voila, instant shawl that you can actually see my billions of hours of painful lace stitches in instead of just lumpy piles of yarn.

How cool is that?! Love it! I think I will show the same set up with the next pattern after it comes out next thursday since I am having a hard time getting a good picture of the shawl. But you get the general idea. Alrighty, off to block the next 2 samples for Thursday's pattern!

Spring Cleaning

So this month marks month six since I closed my retail store. For those new readers out there, I started Danger Crafts this February after closing my handmade handbag business (no, not Persnickity Knits) of 6 years in January. I had a retail store and everything for 3 of those 6 years which I decided to close in November last year. For those of you wondering too, I know my etsy shop says I am on vacation from the bags, but after the success of my patterns I don't think I will be returning to the bags. But that's a whole other story (and life) at this point.

But, as this month marks 6 since the store closed Mr Danger and I have been doing a lot of personal spring cleaning the last week: sorting out what is working in life, what is not, and just generally re-evaluating where we are and where we are going. It is all for the best, and since I am a total "planner" (to a fault even) it has been great for me. But, it has been taking up the focus of my days, hence the lack of blog posts, and no posting of finished knitted critters in the etsy shop as promised. Also, since the next pattern turned out to be a little more complicated than originally planned, and despite my best efforts of knitting until my fingers bleed and my eyes fell out, the next pattern is not finished. I have decided though I intended to get it out tomorrow (on the schedule I have mentioned to many people) it will be coming out next thursday instead. I think it will be worth the wait, plus it will be a nice way to end to the month!

I promise to make up for lack of new pattern tomorrow though by beginning to list some finished knitted critters, I mean it this time! And, since I just picked up a bunch of bears that were at The Handmade Life in Fairhaven (which is closing so Lauren can focus on her own amazing Dress Green lotions and potions) I have several Sweater Bear Kits and about 25 more Sweater Bears (including some smaller $20-24 ones) to be listing in the shop over the next week or so. Yeah, right?!

Oh, and just got back from the new Star Trek. Can I say amazing?!

Alright, alright

So, I have had so many requests for finished knitted monsters and creatures I have decided on a few of my samples I think I might be able to part with. Check out my etsy shop starting tomorrow afternoon, I will begin posting them then. I can't believe how much of a hard time I had picking a few of them to go to other loving homes! I think it is because I end up putting sooo much time into each one, we become good friends by the time I am finished with them.

Also, just a quick note to let everyone know I am out-of-town this evening. I will be away from my etsy shop overnight and not emailing patterns out from about 4pm today until I get home tomorrow morning, just in case you are wondering why I am slow to respond!

Lazy Dog Day

It has been one lazy day here. Gorgeously sunny, lots of coffee, lots of pug snuggles, knitting, good movie watching...it doesn't get much better than that!

Note in the picture: the sleepy pug, the personal knitting project (green pile in aqua bag), the next pattern samples lined up in my knitting clutches across the back of the couch and in the corner of the couch, the blackberry and remote controls all together so I don't have to get up, the jumbo glass of water (Robeks cup on coffee table) so I don't have to get up, the  sun streaming in through the windows, the various knitting tools on the coffee table (needles, needle roll, chibi case), and the rose on the table (a from a surprise bouquet from Mr Danger yesterday).

Meet Wasabi

Yeah! I've gotten my next pattern up into my etsy shop and for sale on ravlery. Meet the newest member of the Danger Crafts family:

It's the Lucy and Abbey approved Wasabi the Gregarious Pug! I just love him to pieces. Of course I had to make an Abbey-like Pug:

And a tiny pug (he's just about 8" tall):

And no Pug is complete without what we call the cinnamon-bun tail:

Love it! Finally, my two favorite things have come together! It was a hoot to make these up, especially when Abbey (our black Pug) took offense to the Black knitted pug and started growling at it. Definitely made for some serious laughter!

Alrighty, off to an afternoon full of sewing and an evening and weekend full of knitting and movie watching!

I Love The Internet

So I have been on an internet ordering kick here recently which means the last week or so has shown the fruits of my orders.

First, my mug and t-shirt came from cafepress (both of which I am completely in love with):

In the background there you can see my first WEBS order (which I am also completely in love with):

That bag of yarn to the right is for my Juliana wrap sweater......

I also ordered Moo cards, that came yesterday and are incredibly AMAZING:

The yarn and books in the background here are from the sale at Beach Basket Yarns in Birch Bay. Books and yarn are all 30% through Sunday I believe so I went and took advantage and bought a few things.

And, this didn't come in the mail but I am always up for a gratuitous pug picture: here's Abbey in all of her glory!

Look at that, 2 blog posts in 2 days....go me! And if you are wondering about the next pattern, it is coming out this afternoon. Look for blog post number three in three days tomorrow!

Yikes!

Wow, it has been an incredibly long time since I last blogged! I don't even know why either, I have had a bunch of things to talk about but just haven't managed to get to the computer and get them out!

So, how about yet another quick update from the Danger household? This last week I

-have done more personal knitting than I have done in months. I started a shrug, from this pattern here, and got 90% finished with it and pulled it all out because I didn't like it. I started on a shawl instead since I have one that I wear all the time but never has felt "right." It is about 20% finished.

-have been working on the next pattern for my etsy shop. I will have it out this Thursday afternoon. I set a deadline for myself for this thursday which gave me two weeks and somehow I pushed it so I am scrambling to finish it tomorrow. Sigh.

-have avoided working at all 3 of the last 8 days this week.

-took an unexpected trip to La Connor and to see the Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon with Mr Danger.

-took an unexpected trip out to Tenant Lake in Ferndale (which was closed, I think due to a storm on saturday) and went to Chihuahua's Mexican resturant with Mr Danger. It was really, really good. If you are in B-Town, make the trek to Ferndale and go.

-went to Beach Basket Yarns in Birch Bay with a friend on Saturday to be pleasantly surprised that all books and yarn were 30% off. How great! I bought 3 balls of yarn, a magazine, and a row counter. The magazine and row counter were not on sale. 90% of the inventory was on sale and I bought the 2 things that weren't.

-am planning to go back out to Beach Basket to take more advantage of their sale tomorrow or thursday.

-have been enjoying the incredible, gorgeous, amazing weather. Which seems to have gone away now.

-have thought a lot about getting up off my butt and writing blog posts.

-have watched a lot of movies, including several Audrey Hepburn ones which I have so enjoyed.

-enjoyed lots and lots and lots of pug snuggle time.

All and all it was a very nice week. I will be back tomorrow with a picture post. I promise!