Wednesday, June 26, 2019

A Quick Project


It was my fourth (and last) day in Mr. G's class. Being summer school, they had individual work (that they weren't doing, mostly), so I had a lot of time to sit and watch them.

I had read my Entertainment Weekly, written three (well, this one too, so four) blog posts, and beta read thirteen chapters of a fellow blogger's book. I had also taken roll, kept track of all the classes, and made sure the classes' assignments kept up with what they should have been able to finish.

I needed something else to do.

I had recently (April-ish) replaced my school bag. I decided my IKEA clock needed a cozy.

Let me back up a minute. I carry a small clock for days when the classroom has no working clock. My new school bag doesn't have a great spot to stash it. So, I figured I could knit it a clipped pouch to make it easier to access in the bag.


And since I needed something to do while watching kiddos not work...

I started the gauge swatch. I measured it and the clock. I figured out how many stitches to cast on. And then I started it and knit almost half of it. In the first two-hour block of the day.

In the second two-hour block, I finished it with almost an hour to spare. That includes binding off and winding in ends. (And, of course, that includes starting class, taking roll, giving them their assignment for the day, and keeping watch over them.)


There were some obvious mistakes in my knitting. I had made a brief mental plan of what I wanted to do, but things got changed in the knitting, as they always do. I lost a stitch somewhere (I'm pretty sure I know where). I put the "button hole" in an awkward spot (making it diagonal). It is a little bigger than I needed.

But, I figured I could write up the pattern. If I ever decide to redo this, I have ready access. I edited out my most obvious mistakes in the write up. It is knitable, and it does the job.

Small Clock Clipped Cozy Knitting Pattern



Materials: 
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft (in olive green)--no where near a full skein, so use scrap yarn for this

Needles: US size #7 (4.5mm) dpn, set of four 

Notions: Name badge clip, marker

Gauge:
20sts/4 inches over stockinette stitch 

Directions:
CO 36 sts, join to work in the round (careful not to twist)
  • Round 1: (K1, p1), repeat 8 more times, (p1, k1) repeat 8 more times
  • Round 2: (P1, k1) repeat 8 more times, (k1, p1) repeat 8 more times
  • Round 3: (P1, k1) repeat 7 more times, bind off the next 4 sts, (k1, p1) repeat 7 more times
  • Round 4: (K1, p1) repeat 7 more times, cast on four stitches, (p1, k1), repeat 7 more times
Begin working in stockinette stitch (knit every round). Continue until piece measures as long as desired (to length of clock). 

Then, arrange sts evenly over two needles (18 sts per needle). Turn inside out. Bind off using the 3-needle bind off.


Wind in ends. Snap name badge clip through button hole made over rounds 3 & 4.

27 comments:

  1. Kind of neat when you get paid to be able to do the things you want to do :) Did the second block of kids work any better than the first ones did?

    betty

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  2. Hi Liz - well creative use of your time - well done - even if no-one else did ... cheers Hilary

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  3. I would have gotten to the end, looked at the clock, and been all, "I still have an hour to go?!?!?"

    If I had been a student, I probably would have stopped what I was doing (or pretending to do, anyway) to watch you knit. :)

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  4. That's cute! It's nice you can use your time for something productive. I'd probably end up drawing or digital painting.

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    Replies
    1. Sure, why not? It's great time to do stuff when the kiddos are "busy".

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  5. Good job with that.

    Gee, I wonder whose book you're reading.

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  6. They must have been well behaved regardless of what task they were focussed on. Must have been nice to have an easy day (and I bet you were glad you had the gear with you to make such a cool little bag).

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  7. I love that clock! Saw it in Ikea, didn't buy it, went back and they were out.
    Then I moved to Vietnam and we have no Ikea. (Maybe Hanoi does, but nowhere in a drive-able distance.

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    Replies
    1. They were out?!? They like to hide them. But then again, I don't know which store or if they did have a run on them.

      I first saw one in another class. I decided to get one and made a trip to Ikea specifically for it. (I wrote a couple blog posts about it.)

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  8. That looks like a comfy home for the clock!

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    Replies
    1. At least it won't get lost in that pocket again.

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  9. You could knock a bunch of those out in no time. I heard on the radio that knitting is one of the best ways to do away with stress....SO STAY CALM AND KNIT ON!

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    Replies
    1. I just need the one. I doubt anyone else would want one.

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  10. Thank goodness the class was not disruptive so you could get so much done. That is another neat idea for people to use especially people who travel and don't want things scratched up

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  11. Awe , how cute, a cozy for a clock ! Those are good instructions and may be the cozy can be for something else as well, Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Have any of your students ever asked you for knitting (or crocheting) lessons? Curious how you would handle it if they did? Just imagine, you could start a trend.

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    Replies
    1. No, they haven't. I don't knit in class often. And, there's a crochet club on one of the campuses, so they already know who to go to.

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  13. I would have done it with fabric, but with yarn is great too ;))

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  14. Nothing like finding time to knit during your job. It's like getting paid to knit.

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  15. I'm seriously impressed that you can just sit there and come up with a pattern, make something like that, and then write out the pattern. The learn to knit kit I ordered from Amazon is still sitting around waiting for me to get past being too intimidated to try.

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    Replies
    1. Intimidated? It's just yarn. It's really easy to pull out and start over.

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  16. What a creative solution. And I like how you got so much done. You put me to shame. ~nods~ Be well!

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    Replies
    1. Nah. This wasn't a big project to start with. And I had all that time...

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