At Knit's End

The Crochet Tablecloth of Doom

2009-08-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Started August 15, 2009

Each motif takes approximately 1½ to 2 hours to complete, and measures 10 cm x 10 cm.

I don't think there is enough of the crochet cotton to make the size required for my dining room table. However I will plug along until I run out of crochet cotton. If it isn't big enough for my table, I will probably offer it as an auction item to raise money for my workplace's nursing education fund.

To date, I have completed 13 motifs.

And, yes, I am still working on those old projects. ☺

Unfinished business

2009-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have a ton of projects on the go that I really need to finish. It's becoming embarrassing. But I want to tie up these "loose ends" and not start any more projects until they're done. I did enjoy the comment that working on a variety of projects at the same time decreases boredom and spares the hands and wrists from repetitive movement injuries, but there's this nagging guilt looming over me, the one that bemoans my inability to finish what I've started.

I know in my heart of hearts that the inner dialogue that keeps saying things like that needs only to look at the vast number of projects on my Ravelry page that I have finished, but the nagging continues.

To date, I have the following unfinished projects waiting in the wings:

Crochet market bag (70% complete)
Crochet yoga mat bag (90% complete)
Filet crochet floral curtain panel (70% complete)
Knit baby hoodie (25% complete)
Knit clapotis (70% complete)
Knit scarf (25% complete)
Knit pair of mittens (60% complete)

It's kind of like sorting through the closet once a year and deciding what's worth keeping and what needs to be donated to charity or tossed. It's very uncomfortable, and yet I know that I can plow through some of these projects and get them done and over with in very short order. Still, I procrastinate. I tell myself that it's because I don't really feel like knitting in the heat of summer, which is true by the way. I tell myself that the weather is too nice to be cooped up indoors to knit, which is also true. I tell myself that the thing is not turning out the way I had envisioned - which is true for some of the projects (the crochet market bag is probably the ugliest thing I've ever produced in my life, and I wonder: why I would waste even more time completing it?).

I think I also need to be on a yarn diet until this pile of unfinished work is out of the way. I can't justify going out and spending money on more yarn while this pile remains incomplete. Well, actually, I'm sure I could justify it or at least rationalize it, but it would be unbelievable, even for me.

So, I'm taking some time now to try and finish one piece each week, or throw it out. It's time to get down to business. The party is over, for now.

Lion Hat

2009-03-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

So, my eldest teenaged daughter asked for a lion hat. She had seen some cute animal hats (for little kids) at the mall, but unfortunately, there were no lion hats, and certainly nothing that would fit someone who is, for all intents and purposes, a grown up.

You know what's coming, right?

"Mommmmm, can you make me a lion hat?? Puhleeeeeeeezzzzzzze????????"

She wanted one with earflaps and ties too. I will admit that I looked for a pattern. Surely someone in the vast online world or on Ravelry has designed something like this. Well, actually, NO, they haven't. So I have a problem now. I could say, "No, dear, I can't do that, because I can't seem to find a pattern." Then, she would be horribly disappointed and do that horrid teenaged sulking thing and be difficult to live with for as long as it takes for her to decide that she doesn't really want a lion hat anymore.

So instead, I start thinking (which almost always gets me in trouble, as you can well imagine): Really, how hard could it be?? I ask myself. It's a regular hat, with earflaps and i-cord ties. I'll just knit a lion's face out of wool, felt it, and then add a mane.

It's true what they say, by the way: Fools start knitting where angels fear to tread. I started out with a picture of an African Lion (courtesy National Geographic).

The hat was easy enough to whip up. So was the lion's face. The felting was a bit tricky, I'll admit, but overall, not a big deal. I embroidered the mouth and nose and around the eyes, and sewed in some large tiger-eye type beads for the eyes. Then I attached the face to the hat, adding some polyester filling to plump up the muzzle. That took two days.

So far, so good.

There is a reason why I don't do rug-hooking as a hobby. This hat reminded me of that reason: It's tedious and causes hand cramps. Not to mention that I used several colours of eyelash yarn, hand cut in 4", 5" and 7" lengths, depending on their placement on the lion's "head". A reasonable estimate is probably a total of 3 balls of eyelash yarn was used. An unreasonable amount of eyelash yarn shedding had to be cleaned off my clothes and furniture during the course of rug-hooking the eyelash yarn to 60% of the hat's surface. It took about 2 weeks to do the rug-hooking part of this project (there were breaks in between where I had to go to work and other breaks where I needed to give my hands a rest to avoid a repetitive movement injury).

Finally last night, the final strand of eyelash yarn was hooked into place.

She is thrilled with the finished project. I am pleased with it too.

I've shown it off at work and at my LYS. It has received many compliments.

New FO's!

2008-11-27T08:35:00.001-08:00

Well, I think I'm finally out of my knitting rut. Overall, it wasn't a bad thing to take a few months off - I was able to focus on fitness and getting healthier, and have lost 30 pounds in the process. Yay me!

My mission, over the winter months, is to continue with my health and fitness efforts (although it will be a cold day in hell when I go for an hour walk outdoors in the snow for the sake of fitness - thank goodness for the gym!) while catching up on some knitting and crochet projects.

I just completed a scarf made with 2 skeins of Austermann Gina yarn in a colorway that features primary colours. It reminded me of the Autism Awareness Ribbon, so it will be gifted to my friend, Carla, whose little boy was diagnosed with autism earlier this year. (Modelled by my daughter, Mallory.)

My latest project is a turtle named Sheldon (pattern by Ruth Homrighaus) for my friend Nancy who plans to take him to her winter place in Florida. (Modelled by my daughter, Mallory.)

Knitted Toy: Seamless Baby Dragon

2008-07-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting to post about this creation since April, when I submitted the pattern to Knitty.com for their Fall 2008 issue. I received word yesterday from the publisher of Knitty that my pattern was not one that was accepted for publication, so I will share it with the world here.

When my dear friend, Cathy, told me that she was soon going to be a grandma for the first time and that her son / her grandson’s dad, Matthew, was a huge fan of dragons, I went looking for a baby-sized dragon pattern to knit. I found a few patterns, but mostly in crochet, and ones that required a lot of piecing together and hand stitching. Not my cup of tea. So I picked up some colors that I thought would be appropriate for a baby boy’s first little dragon and tuned in to my knitting muse. My goal was to avoid piecework and hand stitching as if my life depended on it. I can live with small amounts of finishing work, like Kitchener stitching and embroidery, but I was determined that this project was not going to involve piecing things together. If I can make toe-up socks and Nordic mittens, I can do this too, I thought to myself.

Size: One size (toy)

Materials:
Main Color (MC) – for body: Patons Grace [100% mercerized cotton; 136 yd/125 m per 1.75 oz/50 g skein]; Color: Azure #60104; 1 skein
Contrasting Color 1 (CC1) – for belly, snout and paws: Patons Grace [100% mercerized cotton; 136 yd/125 m per 1.75 oz/50 g skein]; Color: Viola #61322; 1 skein
Contrasting Color 2 (CC2) – for dragon spines: Patons Grace [100% mercerized cotton; 136 yd/125 m per 1.75 oz/50 g skein]; Color: Lavendar #60903; 1 skein
Contrasting Color 3 (CC3) – for wings: Patons Grace [100% mercerized cotton; 136 yd/125 m per 1.75 oz/50 g skein]; Color: Snow #60005; 1 skein
Waste yarn in an easy-to-see color (I used white) for provisional cast on and afterthought openings.

Needles:

One set of five 2.5 mm (US 0) double pointed needles (dpns) (I like to have the set of five dpns and work with the number of needles that feels best in my fingers while I work; your mileage may vary.)
One 2.5 mm (US 0) circular needle, 80 cm (32 inches); for working in the round and also to do double duty as a stitch holder
One 2.5 mm crochet hook

Notions required:

Darning needles (2)
Embroidery needle
Embroidery floss in white and black (for eyes, nostrils and mouth)
Polyester fiberfill for stuffing

Gauge:
28 stitches/40 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Pattern notes:
The following techniques will be used:

Provisional Cast On
Afterthought Openings (for legs and opening for stuffing)
Short Row Wraps (for belly and head)
Jogless join (for snout, paws and tail)
Popcorn Stitch (for ears) as follows: In active stitch, pull up a loop as if to K, (bring yarn forward, pull up a loop as if to P, bring yarn back, pull up a loop as if to K) 3 times; there should be a total of 7 loops in active stitch. Load all 7 loops onto crochet hook and pull a single loop through all 7 loops; then load crocheted loop securely onto the right hand needle.
Kitchener Stitch

Crochet stitches used for spines and wings:

Chain stitch (ch)
Slip stitch (sl st)
Single crochet (sc)
Half double crochet (hdc)
Double crochet (dc)

Embroidery stitches for facial features:

Satin stitch for white part of eyes
French knot for pupils and nostrils
Back stitch for mouth
Stem stitch for eyebrows

Body
Provisionally cast on 48 stitches onto circular needle using a strand of waste yarn and MC.
Row 1: Purl.
Row 2: Knit.
Row 3: Purl.
Row 4 (Afterthought Openings): K4, then *with short length of waste yarn, K10. Slip last 10 st back on left needle and K over top of these 10 st in MC.* K20. Repeat * to *. K4. You have made two Afterthought Openings for lower legs.

Begin Row 5: Work in stockinette st until body measures 2.5 inches (6.5 cm), right side of work facing for next row.

To make shoulder darts / wing placement:
K17, SSK, K10, K2tog, K17 (46 st). Turn work and P next row.
K17, SSK, K8, K2tog, K17 (44 st). Turn work and P next row.
K17, SSK, K6, K2tog, K17 (42 st). Turn work and P next row.
With right side facing, K4, then *with small length of waste yarn, K10. Slip last 10 st back on left needle and K over top of these 10 st in MC.* K3, SSK, K4, K2tog, K3. Repeat * to *. K4. You have made two Afterthought Openings for upper legs. (40 st).
Turn work and P next row.

Decrease for neck opening
(K1, SSK) 5 times. K10. (K2tog, K1) 5 times. (30 st). Turn work and P next row.
K1. SSK 5 times. K8. K2tog 5 times. K1. (20 st). Turn work and P next row.
Hold these stitches on the flexible part of your circular needle.

Belly
(garter st)
With right side facing, and using CC1, pick up 17 stitches knitwise along left edge of work.
Begin working short rows with wraps on last stitch of row as follows:
Row 1: K16, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 2: Sl 1, K15, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 3: Sl 1, K14, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 4: Sl 1, K13, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 5: Sl 1, K12, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 6: Sl 1, K11, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 7: Sl 1, K10, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 8: Sl 1, K9, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 9: Sl 1, K8, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 10: Sl 1, K7, bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.

You should now have 5 wrapped st on each end of the needle and 7 unwrapped stitches in the middle.

Row 11: K to first wrapped st. Sl wrapped st onto right needle, then lift wrap over slipped st and K both loops together. Bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work. (Wrapped stitch will have two wraps on it.)
Row 12: K to first wrapped st. Sl wrapped st onto right needle, then lift wrap over slipped st and K both loops together. Bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work. (Wrapped stitch will have two wraps on it.)
Row 13: K to first wrapped st. Sl wrapped st onto right needle, then lift wraps over slipped st and K all three loops together. Bring yarn forward, sl next st onto right needle, bring yarn back, turn work.
Row 14 onward: Continue working as for Row 13 until all wrapped stitches are back in use.

Join to opposite side of original piece:
With purl side facing, pick up and knit stitches along right edge of original piece corresponding with active stitches on edge of belly. Bind off stitches as you work. When all stitches are bound off, cut yarn, secure and weave in end. Turn work right side out.

Neck & Head
Transfer the 20 stitches from circular needle to three dpns. Starting at left edge of belly as it faces you, needles should be loaded as follows: #1: 5 st; #2: 10 st; #3: 5 st.
Knit in the round for 1.5 inches (3.75 cm).
Knit stitches on needle #1.

Turn for Head
Working in stockinette stitch over the 10 sts on needle #2, work 9 rows to begin neck gusset.
With wrong side of work facing, P9, yarn back, slip last stitch onto right needle, turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. K8, yarn forward, slip last stitch onto right needle, turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. P7, yarn back, slip next stitch onto right needle, turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. K6, yarn forward, slip next stitch onto right needle, turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. P5, yarn back, slip next stitch onto right needle, turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. K4, yarn forward, slip next stitch onto right needle, turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. P3, turn without wrapping any more stitches.
Slip first stitch on right needle purlwise onto left needle. (3 wrapped stitches on each end with 4 active stitches in the middle).

To make ears
With right side facing, make one Popcorn Stitch. K2. Make second Popcorn Stitch.
Without turning work, slip first wrapped stitch onto right needle, lift wrap onto needle and K both loops together. Bring yarn forward and wrap next wrapped stitch (it will have 2 wraps on it). Turn work.

To form head
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. P3. Place a marker (a piece of waste yarn will work nicely) to indicate where your dragon’s spines will start. P2. Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle, lift wrap onto needle, and P all loops from wrapped stitch together. Bring yarn back, slip next stitch onto right needle to wrap. Turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. K6. Sl next wrapped stitch to right needle and lift both wraps onto right needle, K all 3 loops from wrapped stitch together. Bring yarn forward and wrap next wrapped stitch. Turn.
Slip wrapped stitch to right needle. P7. Slip next wrapped stitch onto right needle, lift wraps onto right needle, and P all loops from wrapped stitch together. Bring yarn back, slip next stitch onto right needle to wrap. Turn.
Slip wrapped stitch onto right needle. K8. Sl next wrapped stitch to right needle and lift both wraps onto right needle, K all 3 loops from wrapped stitch together. Bring yarn forward and wrap next wrapped stitch. Turn.
Slip first stitch onto right needle. P8. Sl final wrapped stitch to right needle and lift both wraps onto right needle, P all 3 loops from wrapped stitch together. Turn work so that right side is facing.

To finish face gusset
With right side of work facing, pick up 6 stitches along the right edge of neck gusset.
K across picked up stitches and 10 head stitches.
Pick up 6 stitches along left edge of face gusset. Pass first stitch on needle #1 over 6th picked up stitch to join round. Slip stitch back onto left hand needle.
Needle arrangement should be as follows: #1 – 10 stitches along base of neck; #2 – 10 stitches to top of head; #3 – 10 stitches from top of head to base of neck.
Working with these three needles, slip first stitch (already worked) to right needle. K8. Pick up a loop from stitch below first st from needle #2 and K tog this loop with last st on needle #1 (this helps to prevent gaps). Continue on needle #2: K4, K2tog, K4. Needle #3: K4, SSK, K4. K 1 round.
K across all 10 st of needle #1. #2 – K3, K2tog, K4. #3 – K4, SSK, K3. K 1 round.
K across all 10 st of needle #1. #2 – K2, K2tog, K4. #3 – K4, SSK, K2. K 1 round.
K across all 10 st of needle #1. #2 – K1, K2tog, K4. #3 – K4, SSK, K1. K 1 round.
K across all 10 st of needle #1. #2 – K2tog, K4. #3 – K4, K2tog. K 1 round.
Clip yarn and join CC1 to begin snout.

Snout
(method will be repeated for paws)
Working over established needle configuration (#1 – 10 st, #2 – 5 st; #3 – 5 st), K 2 rows in the round, and, if desired, use a Jogless Join technique of your choice to camouflage the origin of the join.
Having worked the two rows in the round, begin decreases as follows:
#1 – SSK, K6, K2tog; #2 – SSK, K3; #3 – K3, K2tog. K 1 round.
#1 – SSK, K4, K2tog; #2 – SSK, K2; #3 – K2, K2tog. K 1 round.
#1 – SSK, K2, K2tog; #2 – SSK, K1; #3 – K1, K2tog.
Break yarn, leaving a long tail. Load yarn onto darning needle and thread yarn knitwise through all stitches. Join by threading yarn through first stitch again, pull yarn to close opening and then pass needle and thread through the center opening to the wrong side of work. Turn inside out, secure yarn, weave in end and cut yarn. Turn work right side out.

Upper legs
Carefully open one Afterthought Opening for upper leg and load stitches onto three dpns as follows:
#1 – 10 stitches from lower edge of opening; #2 & 3 – 5 stitches on each needle from upper edge of opening.
Join MC at first st on needle #1 and K10. Pick up st along edge and place loop on needle #2, K loop together with first st on needle #2, K9. Pick up st along edge and place loop on needle #1, K loop together with first st on needle K1. Continue by knitting in complete rounds until leg measures 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Clip yarn and join CC1 to begin paw. Instructions for upper leg paws are same as for snout, above.
Repeat for second upper leg.

Lower legs
Carefully open one Afterthought Opening for lower leg and load stitches onto three dpns as follows:
#1 – 12 stitches from lower edge of opening; #2 & 3 – 6 stitches on each needle from upper edge of opening.
Join MC at first st on #1 and K12. Pick up st along edge and place loop on needle #2, K loop together with first st on needle #2, K11. Pick up st along edge and place loop on needle #1, K loop together with first st on needle K1. Continue by knitting in complete rounds until leg measures 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Clip yarn and join CC1 to begin paw. Instructions for lower leg paws are same as for snout, above, however one more row of decreases must be inserted when beginning decreases, as follows:
#1 – SSK, K8, K2tog; #2 – SSK, K4; #3 – K4, K2tog. K 1 round.
Carry on as per snout instructions.
Repeat for second lower leg.

Tail section
With wrong (purl) side of work facing, undo all 48 stitches of provisional cast on one stitch at a time and load onto 3 dpns as follows: #1 – 12 st; #2 – 24 st; #3 – 12 st. Keep the waste yarn to make one more Afterthought Opening.
With right side of work facing, starting below left hind leg, begin as follows:

Pick up 1 st from left edge of belly and K together with first stitch on needle #1. K around to last stitch and pick up one st from right edge of belly and SSK with last stitch on needle #3. This step will prevent a gap from forming at the lower aspect of the belly.

Pick up 1 st from “point” of belly and K together with first stitch. K4, SSK, K3, K2tog (at base of hind leg to begin dart to shape the dragon’s bum); K3, SSK, K14, K2tog, K3; SSK, K3, K2tog. 1 stitch remains on needle #3: Sl this st onto needle #1, K tog with first st on needle #1.

K 1 round.

K1, SSK, K2, SSK, K1, K2tog; K3, SSK, K3, SSK, K2, K2tog, K3, K2tog, K3, SSK, K1, K2tog, K2, K2tog.

Afterthought opening: K1. Using waste yarn, K6 then slip these last 6 st onto left hand needle and re-work in MC. Secure the ends of waste yarn and leave the “tails” exposed on the outside of the body. [This Afterthought Opening will be opened when it is time to do finishing work and insert stuffing and then re-closed using Kitchener stitches.] Finish round in K (31 stitches total).

K1, SSK, K2tog, K4, SSK, K2, SSK, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1, Sl 1, K1, PSSO (23 stitches total).

Sl first st of needle #1 onto needle #3, K1, PSSO. Finish round in K. (22 stitches total).

Knit one round.

SSK, K18, K2tog (20 stitches.)

K in the round until tail, measured from Afterthought Opening, is 1.5 inches (3.5 cm).

Clip yarn and join CC1 to begin the end of the tail.

Tail decreases
K 2 full rounds in CC1, using Jogless Join technique of your preference when beginning second round.

(K3, K2tog) 4 times. (16 stitches)
K 3 rounds.
(K2, K2tog) 4 times. (12 stitches)
K 2 rounds.
(K1, K2tog) 4 times. (8 stitches)
K 1 round.
K2tog 4 times. (4 stitches)
Cut yarn and, using a darning needle, thread end knitwise through remaining 4 stitches; pull to close end.

Secure Afterthought Opening
Using a long piece of waste yarn as a stitch holder, both ends of waste yarn threaded separately onto two darning needles, work as if loading stitches onto knitting needles. Carefully undo Afterthought Opening and thread waste yarn through each stitch as it is opened. (6 stitches on top and 6 stitches on bottom.) Tie off waste yarn securely and leaving lots of slack – this opening is going to be well used.

Finish tail
Turn tail inside out through opening just made. Thread cut end through opening at tip of tail and secure, weave in end. Weave in ends of MC and CC1. Clip loose ends. Turn tail right side out.

Congratulations! The knitting part of the project is complete.

Spines (crochet)
Start at position of marked spot between ears.

Make a loop at end of CC2 and bring through marked place. Insert your middle finger into secured Afterthought Opening to hold work. Make a row of sl st chains along back midline of the dragon’s neck, body and tail. I had the best results by making the sl st at every other row of knitwork and ended up with 47 “spines”. Ch2, turn.

Work only in the top “loops” of chain stitches: Sl st in first ch st to make picot.

Make Small Shells along tail: sc, hdc, sc in next ch, sl st (my dragon had 5 of these on the tail).

Make Medium Shells from bum to mid-back: hdc, dc, hdc, in next chain, sl st (3 times on my dragon).

Make Large Shells from mid-back to base of neck: hdc, 3dc, hdc, sl st (4 times on my dragon).

Make Medium Shells along neck (2 times on my dragon).

Make Small Shells to top of head (3 times on my dragon).

End with ch2, sl st in last chain to make final picot at top of head.

Fasten off and pull yarn through to wrong side. Secure and weave in ends.

Wings (crochet)
Working as for spines and starting at shoulder level make sl st chain along dart line for 7 chains. Ch2 and turn.
In first loop: 3dc, hdc, sc
In next loop: Large Shell; sc; Large Shell; (sc, hdc, dc, hdc); sl st to finish. Fasten off and pull threads through to wrong side; secure and weave in ends.

Repeat for second wing.

Finishing
Before inserting stuffing, check work to make sure there are no large gaps at Afterthought Opening edges. If any gaps are present, close them with matching yarn.

Insert stuffing to desired amount.

Close Afterthought Opening with Kitchener Stitching (I found it helpful to load stitches onto knitting needles first).

Embroider facial features as desired.

For fun: Name your dragon at the Dragon Name Generator.

Crafter's block

2008-06-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a knitter's dry spell where you just have no desire to do the thing you really love doing? This is what has been happening with me and my knitting (and crocheting) recently. It's as though my creative spark has been used up and it feels as though it's never coming back. Which is really, really bad, considering the size of my yarn stash.

Mind you, I have been preoccupied with some other things. I'm putting some effort into becoming a regular client at the gym again, and hopefully this time it will stick. I'm also thinking about modifying my employment situation - that's happened before and I didn't follow through because I guess it just wasn't the right time for me to take the leap, but now it feels like the right time to make the change. What that change will be is one of those TBA things (like pregnancy) that people don't want to jinx by talking about it until it's actually a sure thing.

I still carry my knitting with me. It is there at work, hoping that I will pay it some attention when I take my breaks. It is there when I am watching TV, hoping that I will finish what I have started. It doesn't come with me when I go for a walk or to the gym. That's just way too distracting right now, but maybe I'll figure out a way to go 5 km on the exercise bike while I'm knitting - like those confident treadmill joggers who read Cosmo and watch TV while they run on the treadmill so fast you'd think they were being chased by a monster. Let's just say, I'm not so good at this exercise stuff that I can do little more than listen to my iPod while I trudge away for 40 minutes. I figure breaking a sweat while I'm doing that should be considered multi-tasking.

Regardless of where things end up over the next few months, my knitting - like a faithful friend - will be there waiting when I am ready to pick up where we left off. And it won't even be mad that I haven't called.

Works in progress:

Filet work crocheted lace panel

Stranded colorwork houndstooth pattern mitten in funky colours

Mittens Galore!

2008-01-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot of fun over the past few months making some lovely pairs of mittens in two-strand colourwork.

I challenged myself with Eunny Jang's Anemoi Mitten pattern and made two pairs - black and purple (which ended up going to my daughter's friend before I could take a picture of them) and a black and white pair for my other daughter.

I just love how they turned out, and the compliments have been pouring in.

The next pattern that I decided to tackle was the Tiffany pattern that's available on Knitty.com - they were a bit more complex with a few different colours thrown in, but it was all done in two-stranded colourwork in traditional Nordic fashion.

I'm not sure who these will be going to, although I've received numerous offers from volunteers who would be more than happy to have them.

The most recent addition were these chunky, funky mitts based on the Matrix pattern that is available on Knitty.com - very quick to put together because the pattern calls for chunky yarn and they are knit on 6mm needles. The simplicity of the repeating pattern makes it something that doesn't require a lot of attention to detail, so it can be done while watching TV or sitting around and chatting over coffee with other knitting buddies.

These are the ones that my youngest daughter glommed onto and shows off to her friends (as opposed to the purple and black Anemoi mittens which she declared to be "lame"). *sigh* Teenagers are such "special" people, aren't they? ;)

Zeee Entrelac... She eez feeneesh!!

2007-11-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

Entrelac: intimidating, perhaps because it sounds so "French" (as much as I love French - both the language and the people - they can be extremely frustrating), yet intriguing and challenging at the same time.

I've seen some finished entrelac items, mostly hats and scarves, and found the diamond/basket-weave effect to be quite lovely. You would think that a rational person like myself would attempt such an endeavour with a small sample piece to see whether I actually enjoy doing the pattern... but nooooooooo.... I dive in at the end of August with half a dozen balls of yarn in various colours and decide that I am going to make a wee blanket for my friend Sarah's baby girl, who was born just a week ago.

It was frustrating at first. Each little diamond shape is knit as a single unit and attached to the previous rows of diamonds as each row meshes with the corresponding row beneath it. However, you must start with a row of triangles, like so:

I've attempted to mark the row of triangles on the left hand needle with a purple zig-zaggy line.

At any rate, I did not anticipate the vast number of times I would have to flip the work back-to-front-to-back again as I worked each little diamond section. Holy carpal tunnel, Batman!

It was at approximately this juncture where I decided that I either needed to figure a way around this dilemma or cut my losses and start a different project. That was when I discovered that it is actually possible to knit and purl backward. It was Laura's amazing tutorial on knitting backward that helped me carry on with this project and see it through to completion. I figured out the purling backward on my own, thank you very much!

So now that Miss Samantha is a week old, and I have, as of last night, completed her little blanket, I needed to take some pictures of the finished product to document my conquest of entrelac. If it sounds like a battle was fought, then that's probably an apt description. However, once the backward knitting and purling was incorporated into the project, I really found it to be not so bad after all.

Here's a picture of the finished product (with a close-up of the detail), and a little hoodie, hat, socks and mitten set that goes with the blanket (the blanket looks an odd shape because I laid it out over the edge of my bed to photograph it).

The Sock Gallery

2007-07-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

I started knitting socks a couple of years ago, trying to work some smaller, portable projects, while teaching myself some new skills. Stuff like the Kitchener stitch and doing mitred corner (short row wrapped) heels.

My first pair of socks were made with Patons self-striping sock yarn. They are so comfy and warm and perfect for lounging around the house in the winter.

My next pairs of socks were made with Regia 4-ply sock yarn which is a wool-cotton blend. Also very comfortable!

This latest pair of socks, which I made for my husband, was my first pair of socks with mitred heels (aka: short row wrapped heels). I was interested in making this pattern due to the fact that there are no seams in the sock, which works well for diabetics who have to be super-conscientious about foot care.

The yarn also fits well with diabetics' foot care needs. It is TOFUtsies® brand yarn (http://www.soysilk.com/) with 50% Superwash wool, 25% Soysilk Fibers, 22.5% Cotton, and 2.5% Chitin. Chitin is the fibre from crustacean shells, which reputedly contains a natural antibacterial substance.

I've learned how easily a person can pick up the sock-knitting addiction. The projects are portable, sneakable, and pretty quick to complete. I can work through some of my yarn stockpile relatively painlessly.

I'm going to take a break from socks for a little while though - one of the ladies at the yarn shop showed me how to knit with beads and I bought some lovely pale green Bamboo yarn so that I can make a lacy beaded scarf. Stay tuned!

Done like dinner

2007-07-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

The completed set!

This Little Blanket...

2007-07-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

I am extremely excited about having finished this project. Actually, "extremely excited" is an understatement of epic proportions. Finishing this little pink blanket is nothing short of a major knitting victory for me.

It is Mary Maxim's "Lacy Vine" pattern (discontinued) and I used this smaller project as a prototype for a larger full-sized afghan that I am hoping to get going once my fingers uncramp.

The yarn is Red Heart® Soft Baby™ 3-ply sport weight, two 6-ounce skeins (67% acrylic, 33% nylon fibres). I noticed recently that this yarn is still available at retailers like Michael's and Zellers, although no longer being sold in this flecked pink dye lot called "Twinkle" on the label. It was knit on a 3.25 mm circular needle.

When I say that this project is a victory, what I mean is that it has been a monkey on my back for a long, long time. I started the project just before Labour Day weekend of 2006, and finished on July 4, 2007. There were several long breaks where I couldn't bear to look at it without risking giving myself a brain aneurysm. It was a frustrating pattern at times (due to an apparently intentional so-called "copyright proof" error in the pattern I purchased) however once I made the correction, it came together nicely.

Here's a close up of the pattern detail, which I am going to incorporate into a small baby's cap to go along with the blanket, adapting a pattern from an old Canadian Living magazine pattern that I have used several times already.

If there's still some leftover yarn, I'll whip up a pair of little socks and mitts to go with the blanket and cap.

Believe it or not, this gift doesn't yet have an intended recipient.

Update, November 2007: This little blanket and its companion hat and mittens have a home now! Best wishes with your little one, Jessica!