Luxe Mouse

So, I had this cute idea that I would make the teeny-tiniest boot liners ever, so that I could match my brown oxford booties with my black-and-brown bouclé tweed jacket. I got one out of the skein. No go.

The obvious thing to make with ten yards of yarn is a cat toy, but I keep thinking to myself that the sample yarns are not in the "pet toy" class. Who gives alpaca/silk to a cat?

Apparently I need to get over it. The cats freaking love this:

Modified from the Korkmauser pattern. Cats got to it before I could even get the photo.

Black Jeans Bracelet

Something about this yarn reminds me of jeans. It might be that I got a bluejeans color of the Lace Sensation last month, and black this month. But it's also got a faded, soft quality to it that seems denim-y. I don't have any black bracelets, so I got some appropriately jean-rivet-colored beads and made this simple wraparound.

My beads are proportionally smaller so the look is a bit different, but I'm happy with it overall. I did have to fudge the button loop to cover that the bracelet came out too short. I measured it before completing the edging, which shortened it by almost an inch once it was applied. Since the elongated loop passes nicely under the overlapping layer of bracelet, I'm going to consider it a design feature. The button is a vintage one from the button jar.

Chenille Lace Hairband

Another hairband—what can I say? I have short hair and they're practical.

This is the first time I've used the little hairpin lace loom I picked up for $2 on clearance. It's actually quite fast once you get the hang of it. There may be a Klimt in my future...

The pattern is quite simple and refers you to Stitch Diva's hairpin lace tutorial for the technique to make the lace strip. I made mine a little bit narrower, since my yarn seemed less bulky than that in the pattern photo. I also left the long edges of my strip unfinished, as in the pattern, though it has a tendency to twist that might be reduced if the edge were finished. But the hairband as it is now took over seven yards, so it will stay unedged.

The chenille texture of Pile makes it easier to hide the tail ends in a piece like this without much weaving-in space. I've heard chenille can "worm" around though, so I snuck in a few knots just to be safe, and they barely show either.

Cat Bait

I had only five yards of Chunky Mochi to work with, so I decided to keep it simple with this cat teaser. I knew I wouldn't have enough yarn to knit it as written, so I marked off three yards, knit the body until I reached the marker, and then started the tail and knit to the end of the ball.

 The care instructions on my sample card said this was machine washable yarn, but it really looked like it wanted to felt, so I decided to try it (my cats are efficient destroyers of knitted toys). I used a bowl of hot water with dishsoap and a bowl of ice water, alternating between them while rubbing the fabric with textured dish gloves. My fish felted nicely in about ten minutes.

Before felting I wove some nylon crochet thread into the body of the fish.  I found excellent instructions for a "Non-Slip Mono Knot" at Animated Knots by Grog™, which I used to make a fixed loop at the end of the thread so we can attach the fish to a pole toy that we already own.

August Yarns

Oh dear... three of these skeins are bulky weights, and two are black! Finding good patterns for these could be quite a challenge.

Fiddlesticks Knitting "Silk Sensation" / Crystal Palace Yarns "Chunky Mochi" / Ornaghi Filati "Pile" / Plymouth Yarn "Nazca Wind"

Pretty, Simple Hairband

I had been thinking about making some covered buttons with this blue skein of Lace Sensation, but after last week's headband failure I changed my mind. Also I kept forgetting to buy the button kit.

Pretty, Simple Hairband

Materials

• approximately 10yd laceweight yarn
• Size 2 (2.75mm) double-pointed needles
• 1 bead with opening just large enough for 2 strands of i-cord (the bead should not slide easily, but should stay in place unless purposely moved)
• Elastic bobbin thread
• Darning needle

Instructions

1. CO 4 using the backward-loop method.
2. Knit i-cord until you have enough to make a test (overhand) knot. Measure how much cord the test knot uses, then unknot.
3. Continue to knit until the cord's length, slightly stretched, equals your head circumference plus (2 x test knot length) plus (2 x depth of bead).
4. To bind off, k2tog twice, then pass first k2tog over second.  Pull tail through and tighten.
5. Using darning needle, thread a double-thickness of elastic thread through the center of the i-cord. "Massage" the i-cord until the elastic is as relaxed as possible inside.
6. Secure the elastic at each end (I knotted mine onto the yarn tails).
7. On one end only, draw tails inside the cord. Tie one overhand knot at that end. Make it very firm and as close to the end as is possible without it coming undone.
8. Thread the unknotted end left-to-right through the bead, and pull through partway. Then thread the same end through again, still left-to-right through the bead. You may need to use the needle and pull the tails through first. Be careful not to catch the already threaded cord with the needle.
9. Repeat step 5 with the unknotted end. Snug the knots up against the bead.