Need photographer!

I have a couple of large projects I have finished but I need to get my pictures taken! It is very difficult to take photos of yourself wearing a sweater you knit… so I will need to get somebody to help me out when the lighting is good, when it’s not too hot and when I’ve been inclined to put on a little makeup and wear my hair in something besides a pony tail! I’ve completed a great ribbed tank top and a short-sleeved spring/summer cardigan – will post pattern links once I have the photos up!

Right now I have several projects in the works. I am making a pair of thrummed mittens, I am making a lacy drop stitch wrap out of sock yarn, and I am also working on a cotton/linen blend tunic. It’s no surprise that 2 out of these 3 projects are green. I have noticed that out of the large projects I have done, only one of them has no green in it! So green must be my color. Summer knitting is sort of hit or miss for me. If it is hot and I’m really tired, I don’t want to knit… other times I am busy gardening or doing other things with the kids. I do take projects most places I go so that I can knit away from home and that works out well. Happy summer knitting and hopefully I will have some pictures before long!

Splash of Cranberry Fingerless Mitts Pattern

I really love garments and objects that have an unexpected pop of color. I especially love aquamarine blue with a pop of red as an accent. These colors seem to go so well together and seeing them together makes me happy! These little fingerless mitts are perfect for the times in between seasons when it is too cold to have bare hands but too warm for mittens. I knit them using the magic loop method with a long, flexible circular but it can easily be adapted to double points if that’s what you prefer.

You will need:
150 yards of worsted weight wool, or wool blend (Main Color, MC) (I used Berroco Vintage, color #5120)
A small amount of yarn in a contrasting color (Contrasting Color, CC) (I used Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Cranberry Swirl)
Buttons to match the contrast yarn (I chose mismatched vintage buttons for charm)
Size 7 long circular needles or whatever you need to get gauge (Or a set of double pointed needles in that size)
Ruler
Two stitch markers
Tapestry needle
Thread to match buttons and a sewing needle

Gauge:  10 st and 14 rows over 2 inches

Abbreviations:
K – Knit
P – Purl
M1 – Make 1 increase
PM – Place Marker
Sl M – Slip Marker

How to make them:
Cast on 40 stitches in the contrasting color. Pull out a loop of your circular to prepare to knit using magic loop (or arrange on double points). The next step could be done in one of many ways, so you can try different things and see what works best for you. You will need to join your CC in the round, but you will actually start knitting with the MC which will be the main body of the mittens. You can tie the new yarn on to the working yarn of the contrasting color, then carefully join. One other method I tried was to cast on one extra stitch, and join in the round by knitting the last stitch and first stitch together. Then you would proceed with the main color, knitting 2 inches of 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2) or until your cuff is the desired length.

Once your cuff is done, knit one round of stockinette.

For the thumb gusset:
Row 1: K1, PM, M1, K1, M1, PM, K rest of round.
Row 2: K all stitches
Row 3: K1, Sl M, M1, K3, M1, Sl M, K rest of round.
Row 4: K all stitches.

Continue in this way, increasing the thumb gusset stitches by two every other round. When you have 17 stitches between your markers, knit one more round and your thumb gusset will be done.
On the next round, K1, then thread your 17 gusset stitches onto a piece of waste yarn or a stitch holder. You will pick up these live stitches later to make the thumb. Continue to knit the remaining stitches of the round.

On the next round, K1, then cast on 1 stitch. Knit the rest of the round. You will now have 40 stitches again and can continue to work on the main body of the mitt.

Continue knitting for about another inch past the thumb hole. Then change back to 2×2 ribbing for another inch or as desired. You can make this part as long as you need, for whatever is comfortable. When your mitt is long enough, change back to the contrasting color. Work one more round of 2×2 ribbing in CC, then bind off. Carefully weave in ends so that the CC does not show through the MC.

For the thumb: Place live stitches on your circular, and pick up 3 stitches from the body of the mitten. You will have 20 stitches on your circular, Pull out a loop and work 2×2 ribbing until your thumb is of desired length. Change to CC and work one more round of 2×2 ribbing. Bind off and carefully weave in ends.   You will also have a tail left at the base of the thumb from picking up the 3 stitches.  I like to reinforce the web of the thumb by using the tail to sew a bit from the inside before weaving in that end.  I think it finishes off the thumb nicely and will keep that end from coming loose.  If you plan to do this, remember to leave a little bit of a longer tail when you pick up the 3 stitches.

Repeat for the other mitten!

Once you have two mittens, you can sew the buttons on the backs of the hands, arranging them in a way that is pleasing to you. Be careful to be sure you have one right and one left, as both mittens will be the same. Sometimes it is helpful to put a pin on the back where the buttons will go.   I decided to embroider a spiral on one hand and buttons on the other, I was testing which I liked better and decided to leave them mismatched.  You could also leave them plain if you wanted.

You can easily make this larger or smaller by casting on more or fewer stitches in multiples of 4.

As always, if you find an error or have a question, please leave a comment and I will reply right away.  I strive to make my patterns easy to understand and fun to do!

Little socks

I decided it was probably time for me to knit some socks for my daughter. I have made so many for myself, trying out different colors and patterns. There is nothing like a pair of hand knit wool socks for keeping your feet warm in the winter. She likes them and says, “they won’t be picky after you wash them, Mama.” I don’t think they are picky now, but we have a little Princess and the Pea thing going on here.

To make these, I bought one skein of Kroy Sock Jacquards. I cast on 40 stitches, knit my entire leg in 2×2 ribbing. Then I did a reinforced heel flap and I like how the angular turn fits so that’s how I turn my heels. Then I knit a plain foot, took it down to 8 stitches at the toe, then grafted it closed. I used size 2 needles, since Kroy is a little thicker.

Kitchen Scrubbies

I had found some old acrylic yarn down in the depths of my stash, and it was so rough and scratchy and I couldn’t figure out what I would ever knit with it. Being the frugal person that I am, I could not just toss it out.  I decided it was coarse enough that it felt like one of those green kitchen scrubby pads you buy at the store.

Then, it hit me. I could knit washable and reusable scrubby pads! This was my result:

Here is how I made them!
You need: Size 7 needles
Scraps or ends of worsted weight acrylic yarn. It will be more effective for cleaning if it has a coarse texture.
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Gauge is unimportant for this pattern.

Cast on 20 stitches.
Knit first row, turn, and knit back. Continue on in this garter stitch pattern until you have a square.  You can fold it diagonally and see if the edges are even, or you can use a ruler, whichever you find easiest.   Bind off. Weave in ends.

That’s it!

I have washed mine in hot water with bleach and dried in the dryer and they come out looking new no matter how dirty they get.  I have even used them to scrub my stove.  This is a fantastic project for beginners and is great for using up leftover yarn.
Here is a stack of scrubby pads I made for a friend’s wedding gift.  Her kitchen is red, black, and tan.

Fingerless mitts

I absolutely love Fingerless Mitts for the cold time of year. Obviously there are many times when regular mittens are appropriate, but the fingerless type are fantastic for when it is too warm for mittens but too cold for bare hands. Sometimes just keeping even your wrists warm keeps all of you warm!

Here is a pair I knit for a friend. The way the colors worked out reminded me of a Yin/Yang so these are my Yin Yang mitts!

Link to pattern here.

Knitting for friends

One of my New Year’s projects is to try to blog more! I tend to be on Ravelry and Facebook quite a lot, but every time I read blogs I really enjoy them and want to try to make mine more interesting!

All hats and mittens for right now! And that is wonderful, because I have wanted to knit but didn’t really know what to make for myself. It’s all good!

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 3 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 18 posts. There were 9 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 17mb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was March 18th with 33 views. The most popular post that day was Fingerless Mittens Pattern.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were ravelry.com, cinnamonamon.wordpress.com, shellssells.wordpress.com, rebelpigs.wordpress.com, and facebook.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for rainbow pig, fingerless mittens knitting pattern, magic loop sock pattern free, knit mittens pattern free easy, and cat bordhi socks.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Fingerless Mittens Pattern March 2010
1 comment

2

Big Squishy Bed Socks December 2009

3

Felted Hot Pad and Coaster February 2010

4

Toirneach Kilt Hose February 2010
3 comments

5

A few summer projects August 2009

Fingerless Mittens Pattern

I had made some felted slippers out of Peace Fleece this winter and had just under one skein of this lovely wool left when I was done. One night I had the inspiration to make some fingerless mitts with it and use a little bit of Peace Fleece in a contrasting color in them as well. Here is the pattern:

You need 1 skein of Peace Fleece (or other worsted weight wool) for the main color (MC) and a small amount of contrasting color (CC). Also size 7 double point needles or long circular and a tapestry needle.  My gauge was 8.5 stitches over 2 inches in stockinette stitch in the round.

Cast on 32 stitches of MC. Join, being careful not to twist. Work 2 inches of 2×2 ribbing in the round (knit 2, purl 2) or until desired. Then switch to stockinette stitch and knit another 3 inches or so until it is as long as the web of your thumb. When mitt is the desired length, bind off 4 stitches LOOSELY at the beginning of the next round, then complete that round in stockinette stitch. Cast on 4 stitches (I used the backward loop method) at the beginning of the next round, then finish in stockinette stitch.  This whole pattern could also be done completely in 2×2 ribbing for a more snug fit and a more interesting look.

Knit the next two rounds.

Switch to CC and knit 8 rounds or as desired.

Switch back to MC and knit two rounds. Then switch back to 2×2 ribbing for 4 more rounds, or as desired. Bind off loosely. Weave in ends.

Note: I have rather large hands, and I could have bound off 5 stitches (If you do this, remember to cast on 5 instead of 4 in the next round) for the thumb hole. This yarn does have some stretch to it and I was able to pull gently on the opening to make it bigger. For many women 4 stitches would probably be enough.

Felted Hot Pad and Coaster

I have had a single ball of Paton’s Soy Wool Stripes in “Natural Slate” in my stash for a while now. I was not sure what to do with it – although I loved its silvery color and single ply, I had no plans for it. I have wanted to try making some felted hot pads because wool is antimicrobial and self-extinguishing – it would be perfect for use in the kitchen.

Here is how I made it!

Using a size 10 1/2 needle, cast on 40 stitches. Knit two rows of garter stitch as a foundation. Then, repeat the following rows until you have made a square:
Row 1: Knit the entire row.
Row 2: Knit the first 3 stitches, then purl until the last 3 stitches, then knit the last 3 stitches.

You will have a stockinette square edged in garter stitch. Measure the width of your piece (mine was 12 inches) and continue the work until your length matches your width. Then work 4 more rows in garter stitch and bind off.  Weave in the ends and felt.

I like to do my felting in the washing machine although some might prefer using other methods. I put mine in the machine on hot, with the lowest water depth, and the longest cycle. Add a little detergent and something heavy like a pair of jeans. Then just let the washer go until it has felted to its desired doneness! I don’t have a problem letting the washer finish its cycle – although some pull out the item before hand. I haven’t had a problem with an item that went through the whole cycle. You will need to shape your hot pad a bit when you take it out so that it is flat and even. And it will probably need a shave – I’ve used just a plain electric hair clipper to do this because it will be quite fuzzy.

Let it dry and enjoy your new kitchen tool!

For the coaster, cast on 20 stitches, and work a few rows of stockinette stitch.  Measure the width, and continue working in stockinette stitch until you have a square.  Bind off, weave in the ends and felt.

Toirneach Kilt Hose

I found this pattern on Knitty and immediately wanted to try it.  I do not really have the need for kilt hose as I am not Scottish nor do I own a kilt!  (Of course I always want warm socks, that never changes!)  I do have quite a large group of friends who adore men in kilts and all things Scottish, and reading The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon is helping me along as well!

The construction of this pair of hose is really neat.  It starts with the lace cuff, then it is decreased and some ribbing is knit with needles two sizes smaller than the rest of the sock.  This is the garter which helps them stay up.  Then the whole thing is turned inside out to complete the leg and foot, so that the cuff can be folded down to show the lace pattern.  It was very easy and fast as they are knit with worsted weight yarn on size 4 needles.  I chose Lion Brand Wool Ease for this project in a grey heather.  Wool Ease costs about $3 for a skein and I used about 2 1/2 skeins.  So for me, this was an economical project as well.  I do not care to hand wash socks so I prefer to knit my socks with machine washable fibers.

Here is the link to the pattern!  And for those of you on Ravelry, here is the link to the Ravelry page.

And here are the pictures.  I did not originally plan to use any ribbon with these socks but even with the knitted garter, for some reason they still kept falling down.  The ribbons look really sharp (I had seen other people wear these hose this way) and they were comfortable and kept my socks from falling down.

I had really good timing with the fresh snow today!  And they kept my legs toasty warm.

I love the way the calf shaping looks from the back.

And here is a closer picture of the lace cuff.  Only two repeats and that was it.  Very easy!