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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Cup of Joe Sunday

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

On this cold winters day, a hot cup of coffee, and some knitting is what's in store for today. :) Hope everyone is having a cozy Sunday as well! 

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Ruben's Bumper

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!! My husband and I had our first Christmas together as a family, just us. It was absolutely lovely. :) 

Since yesterday evening, I have already been back to working on the designs! Here is The very first design I did...the one that was put on hold, waiting for more yarn. 

Ruben's Bumper

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

When I was designing this piece I was thinking, 'Circus'. It originally was going to be named the Balloon Jumper, resembling something that of clown pants, but it is not exactly a jumper. It's a mix between a soaker, jumper, and overall's. My Husband came up with the name Bumper, and it stuck. :) 


Thursday, December 20, 2012

What Inspires You?

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

This morning I was brainstorming more ideas for designs, and it got me thinking...what inspires a new design? Where does the inspiration come from? Well, there could be many answers to those questions! ;) I am going to try and keep my answer simple. 
I really love the many different textures, colors, and shapes that can be found in nature, architectures, animals, and food. I also love a touch of classic and simplicity. For me,  these things so often apply to my knitting, art, and photography. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

What about you? Where do you draw inspiration from for your passions? 
Please share! :D


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Ella's Boots

My second knit design is finished! Here is Ella's Boots...


© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

I wanted the boots to be warm and durable with some texture. I designed Ella's boots with a high cuff, which can be rolled down, giving it a different look/style. I used genuine leather for the soles, making the bottoms durable and skid-free. 

I want to bring fun, vibrance, character and warmth to each design. So, I was thinking that a cute animal  illustration paired with each garment would add a nice touch, making each design more unique and personal, especially for little ones. What do you think?!

This is putting together all 3 of my passions: photography, knitting, art, and design. :) 



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Lavender and Leather

Hi, guys! :)

The designs are coming along. They will have their first debuts soon! Today I got some genuine leather for part of my second design. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard




Monday, December 10, 2012

K1, P1, take bite of a sugar cookie

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

Hey guys! I hope everyone had a great weekend! 
I am allllmost finished with the first design. :D I have the pattern all typed up and just have a small amount knitting left to do, which is going to have to be put on hold for a short while. I am practically out of the colorway I am using for that design, so I needed to get more...that is a long story I am not going to get into, but after much searching I wasn't able to find what I needed. A couple days later a special someone(you know who you are) found it for me!!! Thank you!!! I just ordered it yesterday. It may not be in for a few weeks, so for the time being I am moving on to the next design. 

A little peek of what is to come next...

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard


and I am filling the house of the aroma of this yummy, deliciousness...

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

MmmmmM.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Bow Ear Warmer Tutorial

Being up here in the cold Canada weather I have learned a lesson...always cover your ears and hands when going outside. Haha. I have a hat to wear, but I often wear my hair up, so I made myself an ear warmer. 
I decided to turn it into a tutorial, my first tutorial! 


 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

To start off I checked my gauge. I used a worsted weight yarn on size 4 double pointed needles. The gauge is 5 sts per inch, and  9 rows per inch. I decided I wanted the ear warmer to measure 21" in length, and be 3 3/4" wide

*Note: I found the ear warmer could have been slightly tighter fitting, so if you find that your head is on the smallish size I suggest only knitting the band 18-20" in length. 


Cast on 20 sts(stitches) 

Knit in Garter Stitch until piece measures desired length. 

For connecting the two ends, instead of casting off, I picked up 20 sts on the cast on edge(a equal number of stitches that are on your current needle;cast off edge). 
Graft the ends together using the Kitchener Stitch Method. I find this pictorial to be very helpful when using the kitchener stitch.

Small Band to Create Bow:

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

I used size 3 double pointed needles to get a tighter gauge. You can just as easily use the same needle size you used to make the ear warmer. 

Cast on 10 sts

Knit in Garter Stitch for 38 rows.

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

Cast off, leaving enough of a tail to sew with it. Thread your tail with a tapestry needle. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

Take the ear warmer and find a spot where you would like to make the bow. I chose the area where I grafted the two ends together. Pinch and flip over(so that the under side is facing you), making sure the 3 layers are evenly lined up together. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

Taking your small band, wrap around the pinched area(under side facing you), still making sure the folds are evenly lined up. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

Sew band together. Weave in all ends. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

Now your ready to go out and brave the cold...and look cute! :) 











Monday, December 3, 2012

10 Steps Backwards

Well. Here is my first knitted design. Not what you expected, right? 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

I had completely finished the garment, cast off my stitches, and realized I was just not satisfied with the increases and decreases I had made. So, I decided to unravel half of my work from the cast on edge(where I started)...haha, lesson learned. Unraveling from the cast on edge doesn't really work out the greatest. 
I was having to un-weave, rather than unravel. To make matters worse I thought it would  be a brilliant idea to cut a little bit of the work to see if it would unravel better(a result of all those bits of wound scrap yarn in the photo), which I am still going to use, regardless of their short lengths. 
Thanks to the help of Ravelry, confirming to me that unraveling from the cast on edge is not ideal, I was able to move on and instead unravel starting at the end of my work. In end, having to unravel the entire piece. 
In conclusion, I am looking on the bright side, at least I have my design written down. Now it is just a matter of knitting it back together and making a few small modifications.