Knitting

Just a bunch of knitters happy about their love of yarn.

This is from the Sock Summit in Portland that just wrapped up over the weekend. I’ve got to make it to this one year.

The royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton is this month and a cute way to celebrate is to knit your own royal wedding dolls. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to attempt these, but the book is really well done and comes with a balcony backdrop so you can do your own recreations. The book is available on Amazon and the video below is from the publisher. It’s cute to watch even if you have no intention of making your own dolls.

If you’ve been a knitter for say over a year or so, you’ve probably acquired a good collection of needles. My biggest challenge has been keeping up with my double pointed needles that I use for socks, sleeves and hats. I can’t tell you how many sets of size 8s and 1s I have just because I can never find what I’m looking for when I need it and I buy more. For Christmas, I bought myself this lovely Della Q double pointed needle case and I love it. Finally, everything is in one place.

The case has labels for needle sets from size 0 to 10.5 with two pockets unlabeled for you to put extras or even larger sizes. The case is made out of silk and is really just pretty to behold.

When I was looking for a link to this case though, I’ve discovered that they don’t make them anymore, but there is a newer version called the Double Point Duo that is even better with an extra row in the back for when you have more than one set of a particular size, because face it, you do because you never really knew what you had before.

I don’t think I will ever become this obsessed with knitting, but the animation of this clip is nice to watch.

If you love to needlepoint, cross-stitch or knit, then you need to go to microrevolt.org and try out the KnitPro. Upload an image and choose needlepoint or knitting and the size grid you want and ta da, you get a pdf graph laying out your design for you. I tried it on the site logo above and chose needlepoint and the largest grid size. The app is free to use, but you can make a gratitude donation through PayPal. Take a look at their FAQ to get started.

I really like the results from face cleanser pads, but I hate the waste and the cost. I’ve seen some patterns for facecloths for crocheters, but after a traumatic crochet experience in the 2nd grade, I just can’t manage it, so I created a pattern that I can knit instead. BTW, it goes great with the soap from last week.

You’ll need:

• 1 Skein of Sugar & Cream Cotton yarn (I used color Daisy Ombre)
• 4 Size 8 DPNS
• 1 Size 9 DPN

Cast On 6 stitches
Row 1: Place 2 stitches on each DPN. Begin working in the round. Knit round.
Row 2: Knit into Front and Back (KFB) of each stitch (you’ll now have 12 stitches)
Row 3: *KFB, K1 *repeat (24 stitches)
Row 4: *KFB K2 *repeat (32 stitches)
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: *KFB K3 *repeat (40 stitches)
Row 8: Knit
Row 9: Purl
Row 10: *KFB K4 *repeat (48 stitches)
Row 11: Knit
Row 12: Purl
Row 13: *KFB K5 *repeat (56 stitches)
Row 14: Bind Off loosely using the larger DPN

Using the cast on end and a tapestry needle, sew up the center hole.
One skein makes several of these depending on the size you like and your gauge. This pattern should create a circle 4 inches in diameter. If you prefer a smaller one, bind off after row 10. If you want a larger one, repeat the knit and purl rows after row 13 and then do a row like row 13, but K6 in between the KFB.

I thought I would pass along this video from Union Bridge Labs showcasing their awesome Yarn Monster.

Yarn Monster from toddtreece on Vimeo.

Continuing my theme of a yarn holiday, I knitted some Christmas lights! The pattern is free and can be found at Kimberly Chapman’s Web site. I admit, I first got the idea for these from the Winter catalog from Knitpicks, but I didn’t want to spend $19.99 on a pattern booklet when I only wanted the lights, plus this was one is free and in worsted weight so it goes even faster. Double score! Each bulb took about an hour for me to make, your mileage may vary. I used a 2 stitch I-Cord and size 8 DPNs. I also made a loop at each end to make them easier to hang. These are going in my gray office cube for the holidays!

Pattern Recipe:

• Christmas Lights by Kimberly Chapman
• Size 3DPNs for bulbs and size 8 DPNs for cord
• Various colors of Knitpicks Swish Worsted
• These took a little over a week for me to make.

If you are starting to go beyond basic socks, I really recommend trying out one of Cookie A patterns. The first one I did was Monkey which I think is a law that all knitters must knit it at least once. This is another one of Cookie A’s patterns called Hedera. The pattern keeps you interested and there aren’t too many repeats that you would get lost.

The yarn I used I bought at Stitches South last Spring and it is from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks. It is owned and operated by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark and she does a fabulous job with color. One of my pet peeves is pooling and this yarn just won’t pool, which I love. I met Mercedes at her booth and she was a super nice lady, too. Check out her yarns at Kitchen Sink Dyeworks.

Pattern Recipe:

• Hedera sock pattern by Cookie A
• Size 1 DPNs
• 1 Skein
• Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Luxe Merino Fine

I have a couple of babies in my life this year and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make this cute pumpkin set from Lion Brand. Check out the pattern.

I made them using Spud & Chloë Sweater Yarns, plus a little left over brown yarn I had from an old project.  Spud & Chloë yarns are great for baby items because they are a wool/cotton blend and they are machine-washable. You can get your yarn at the Loopy Ewe. You can also easily use leftovers for the brown and green bits. I was able to make two hats on one set of booties from 1 skein of the orange.

Pattern Recipe

• Pumpkin Hat and Booties Set by Lion Brand Yarn
• Size 9 DPNs
• 1 Skein Spud & Chloë Sweater – Cider
• 1/10th of a Skein Spud & Chloë Sweater – Turtle
• Time: 5 days (2 hats & one bootie set)