Wadder Scrunchie

A "wadder" is what you get when you've sewn a garment and it's come out so badly you just want to wad it up and toss it. This was supposed to be a cover for a plastic headband, but I underestimated the required yardage and ran out of yarn just over halfway through. I was pretty annoyed by this, and the only thing I could think of to do with it was to put some elastic in it and make a scrunchie (which was not super appealing either, since I have short hair). After I sewed the ends of the elastic together, I realized I'd twisted it. So, wadder.

The yarn is elann.com Limited Edition Tarantella, which comes in very pretty colorways but is a bit splitty. (Splittiness seems to be exacerbated when the project is so small!)  The color in the photo is really bad and does not look like the actual yarn at all.

Pin Onion

Isn't it cute?!

He came out a bit smaller than I thought based on the picture with the pattern. I also made a hollow core by working several six-stitch rounds at the bottom to form a tube. This lets me sit the onion on a spool pin.

I'm not a big fan of the ViSilk... it seems nice at first, soft and shiny, but I found that it fuzzed up and pilled as I worked, plus the many plies kept separating and getting caught places they shouldn't. I would be annoyed if I had worked a whole garment in this.

Striped Owl

This was one of the first patterns I saved while compiling my list of little things I might make with ten yards of yarn. My sample of Geologee was an appropriately owlly color, so here he is! I love how the stripes ended up with a yellow stripe highlighting the face—pure luck!

I only had enough to make the front panel, so I used wool felt from my stash for the backing. I also used a scrap of black t-shirt to underline the knitted front panel to keep the stuffing from showing. He is stuffed with scrap yarn and his beak is made of pearl cotton, both also from the stash. I did have to purchase the eyes, but they really make the whole thing! They're from 6060 on Etsy; I ordered several pairs of handpainted eyes and they're all just gorgeous.

Independence Day Star

The obvious thing to make today is International Cat Hat: USA, but sadly, that takes at least twenty yards. Neither were any of my sample yarns a suitably loud color for a firecracker, so a star was the next best option.

I decided to make this with my sample of Albero since it seemed like it would hold up best to being worked firmly. It also turned out to have great stitch definition. The coin (1976 bicentennial quarter, of course) is held by two crocheted rings, and the points are from this pattern, modified as follows:

Inner Ring (make 2):

• Set up: Ch 10, join with sl st.
• Row 1: Ch 1, 2 sc in each ch, join with sl st to first sc.

Hold inner rings with ws together, treating as one, and follow rnd 3 of star pattern. Slide coin between rings before completing last point of star.

July Yarns

The first batch! The middle skein is a cotton/Lenpur blend (Lenpur is a rayon-type fiber derived from wood). This is the first Lenpur yarn or fabric I've handled, and it seems quite nice—kind of cottony but softer.

Fiddlesticks Knitting "Lace Sensation" / elann.com "Limited Edition Tarantella" / Louisa Harding "Albero" / elsebeth lavold "ViSilk" / Knit One Crochet Too "Geologee"