Dayflower Water Bottle Cover

I knit a new lacy cover for my water bottle.

At the moment, I'm sort of between projects. I mean, I know what I'm working on next. I have the yarn. I just haven't started the new stuff yet. So, no decent pictures.

But I have this pretty that I completed New Year's Day.

I'll probably make the pattern available at some point. Is anyone interested in making their own?

Also, I'll sell these to anyone who wants their own but isn't a knitter. Just let me know.

This is my third water bottle cover project. Here are the previous two...

As I only have two water bottles, the black one has now gone to a new home.

Hopefully I'll have pictures of new stuff next week.

Updating Pictures, Part 2

I've been taking more pictures and updating more Zizi Rho Designs listings. (I actually spent some time on a new project, but I don't have enough to show off yet. Maybe next week.)

Last week I showed the stick lip balm holders. I also redid the EOS lip balm holder cozies.

EOS Lip Balm Cozy with Clip

And a couple of the water bottle carriers.

Lavender Water Bottle Carrier

I even took some pictures of the unicorn gift card holder. (I may or may not list this. I'm not sure yet.)

Alas, the pictures of my lacy gauntlets didn't come out quite right, but I rather liked this close up.

But I did manage to get a couple more keychains listed.

Keyper Wrist Strap in Purple Rain

Copper Beaded Keyper Wrist Strap

And once again, links to Zizi Rho Designs, my Facebook page, and my Pinterest page.

For Pretty, Part 2

Five months.

Remember this? (If not, click on the picture and it'll take you to the relevant blog post.)

Water bottle cover from For Pretty

It was a lacy thing I knit to cover my water bottle because... Yeah, no good reason. I just wanted a little knit thing over my water bottle.

But, I generally carry two water bottles with me to work, so I needed a second one. When I finished this one in September, the last line of the blog post with this picture said: "I bought the yarn for my second attempt. We'll see how long it takes me to get to it."

I cast on a couple weeks ago. I finished it last Monday...

I'm rather pleased with it. This lace pattern was much easier than the other, and I think the lavender lets the stitches show up so much more nicely.

And now I have two...

(I kind of want to make a third. Not that I need a third. And this yarn doesn't come in orange, which is a disappointment. But I'm still thinking about it.)

Have you ever worked on a project that didn't serve a practical purpose? Should I make a third of these?

For Pretty

Some things really have no good reason for existing. Like this...

It serves absolutely no purpose. But I decided I really, really wanted a lacy knitted thing to put over my water bottle, so I made it.

And I like it. So much so that I'm going to make another just for the other water bottle I have. Eventually.

How I came up with this thing is a long story. Luckily, most of the steps along the way have been documented on this blog.

It starts because I carry water with me to school daily. I carried water with me to my job before this as well (so, we're talking 20+ years). I like my water cold. So, I would freeze it the night before. And this worked, for a while...

But eventually, I discovered that the only way to make sure cracking water bottles weren't an issue was to not freeze water in water bottles. (The comment in that post came from my brother. I took his advice.)

But as one water bottle wasn't enough, I still had a bottle that would "sweat" during the day. And that's when I started putting something over the bottle.

I stopped using that bottle (for various reasons), but I liked having my little cozy on the water bottle that didn't need a cozy. Then I started thinking. Since it was just for decoration, I could go wild and make something just for show. But what did I want that to look like?

I've been pondering this for a year. Or two. I'm not sure. I can take a while to work on something when I'm thinking about it.

This July, I finally got around to designing it. After two or three false starts (read: ripping it out and starting over), I finally finished it just in time to start off a new school year. Hooray!

I bought the yarn for my second attempt. We'll see how long it takes me to get to it.

Water Bottle Carrier Pattern

It's been a while since I posted a pattern. I thought it was about time I did so again. I have shown off my water bottle carriers before...

The pattern is fairly simple. (If you're not a crocheter but would like one of these, I sell them in my Etsy shop, Zizi Rho Designs.)

Materials:

• Worsted weight yarn (I've made this with various yarn brands)
• Size I hook
• Tapestry needle

Gauge:

16 sts and 7 rows over the mesh pattern for the bottle (1 dc, ch 1 repeated over number of stitches every row)

Start at the bottom:

Chain 3. Slip stitch into beginning chain making a loop.

Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as 1st double crochet), then work 9 more double crochets into ring (total 10 dc in ring). Slip stitch into top of ch 3 at beg. of round.

Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc). Work another dc into that space. Then work 2 dc into each dc from previous round (total 20 dc). Sl st into top of ch 3 from beg. of round.

Round 3: Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc). *Work 2 dc into dc from prev. round, work 1 dc into next dc, repeat from * ending with a 2 dc into dc from prev round (total 30 dc). Sl st into top of ch 3.

Round 4: Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc). Work a dc into back loop only of every dc from previous round. Sl st into top of ch 3.

Mesh pattern:

Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc). Work 2 dc. (Dc, ch 1-skip one stitch) repeat 5 times (leaving 6 open spaces). Work 3 dc. (Dc, ch 1-skip stitch from below) repeat 5 times. Sl st into top of chain 3.

What you should end up with is four dc, six open spaces, four dc, and six open spaces.

Work body:

Rounds 5-11: Work mesh pattern

Rounds 12-14: Work sc into each dc and chain space from previous round

Rounds 15-17: Work mesh pattern

Rounds 18 & 19: Work sc into each dc and chain space from previous round

Note: The number of mesh rounds and be increased or decreased depending upon size of bottle you're planning on using. This pattern was created to be long enough for about a one-liter bottle. 

Leave the last slip stitch on the hook.

Make strap:

Ch 1 (does not count as sc). Sc into same space as ch 1. Sc into the next 3 sts. Turn.

Repeat previous row: 4 sc across row, turn. Work this row until strap is desired length. 

Note: Since this strap is rather stretchy, make sure to take that into account as you're working the strap. 36 inches is a pretty good cross body length.

When strap is desired length, cut yarn leaving about an 8 inch tail, and secure final loop. Using tapestry needle, sew strap (careful not to twist) to the opposite side of carrier where the column of four double crochets meet the top.

(Yes, you could slip stitch the strap to the other side, but that leaves a seam, while sewing the strap to the other side does not.)

Then all that's left is to wind in the ends.

My New Water Bottle

I bought a new water bottle yesterday.  It's stainless steel.  Here's hoping that this solves the problem.

I like my water cold.  I used to be in the habit of filling my water bottle half way, putting it in the freezer overnight, and filling it full before I left for school in the morning.  On a warm day the ice would fully melt by lunch.  I had cold water all day.

I say used to because I had a few issues with this habit last year.  First one bottle cracked.  I went out and bought a new one, but the second one only lasted a couple months.  (They were plastic, but the chemically safe plastic.)  Luckily, I caught that issue in the morning before I left for school (that bottle shattered in the freezer).

Since then, I've been using a bottle that has an insert that can be frozen.  This insert doesn't keep the water nearly as cold as freezing half the bottle did, and the bottle isn't nearly as large as the others, so I found that I was running out of water during the day.  Not good.

I've been looking for another option.

So, I'm going to attempt to use stainless steel.  I figure that the bottle won't shatter, but I'm not convinced that I won't have other issues.

I have seen what happens when a can of soda is frozen.  (It wasn't deliberate.)  Sure, that was soda in aluminum, but the issue is the same.  Water expands when frozen.  Metal is malleable, but after being bent too many times, metal also experiences fatigue.

I guess I'm conducting an experiment.  How long will this bottle last?  Or is there a better way to get cold water all day?

Thirsty

I'm all discombobulated. I need to get my head together.

I went into my school bag for a drink of water. I was surprised to find the thing empty of all but the frozen portion (I freeze half the water so that I have cold water all day). I only took one swig before 1st period, and it wasn't yet 2nd.

Then I realized what happened. I looked for a crack in the bottle...and found it.

It was the passing period into 2nd period. If my water bottle was cracked, the water went somewhere. Sure enough, it was all in my bag. All over everything.

I keep a towel around the bottle to catch most of the day's condensation, and the towel got most of the water. But my calendar/day planner was sopping wet as well (at least it was only the bottom of it). And there was glitter everywhere as well.

I didn't have time to figure all of this out. As students were coming into the classroom, I found a convenient chair to drape my towel over (so that it could dry). I got the class started, took roll, and then forced myself to walk the classroom and not obsess over the water. It was hard.

Once the class was working (well, sort of working) I went back to combing through my bag. Luckily, the classroom had a sink, so I moved the bottle there (melting ice slowly leaking), and I examined my bag. I removed my calendar/day planner and set it out to dry. And that's when I figured out the glitter--the bottom of the calendar was covered in gold (not real gold, obviously).

I was useless 2nd period. I couldn't stop thinking about the mess. But I forced myself back into the present and tried to concentrate. At least they were making a pretense of doing the assignment.

At least there's a water vending machine at school. I got some. I won't go thirsty today.