(3) Three Willows Cowls

I had the privelege of test knitting this lovely little pattern for  PixeKnits, called the Three Willows Cowl. Knit up with 2 skeins of Cascade Pacific Chunky… it is oh so soft!  I love this wonderful wool acrylic blend (I will definitely be using it again!) My beautiful daughter is modeling it for me, since the recipient in each case was unavailable. Can you tell who I always use as my model, lol?

My first version is with the recommended cast-on of 90 stitches in #44 Italian Plum (Cascade Pacific Chunky): 

The next time, I wanted the cowl to have a little more drape, so I increased the cast on to 123 stitches (you need a multiple of three).  Here it is again, also in the Italian Plum colorway:

 

The recipient of the above cowl liked it so much, she asked for another one in a different color (taupe). 

 

If you are in the market for a fast, easy, and elegant looking cowl pattern, give this one a try!  Very versatile, with lovely drape; just what a cowl should be!

Love is in the Air

February is quickly approaching... and you know what that means!  Valentine's Day knitting, of course!!! (or maybe it only means that to me and a select group of my yarny friends). Nevertheless, I have some heart-themed projects to share with you.

First up, some lovely, lacy heart socks knit up 2-at-a-time magic loop with Opal sock yarn.  The free pattern is Love Struck Hearts by Terri Knight, which you can easily download on Ravelry.  The original pattern calls for only 2 hearts down the leg, but I decided to add one more heart to make them a tad longer.  I really love this pattern.. especially with the hearts down both the back and the front.  Here they are modeled by my lovely dd (who only has size 3 1/2 feet, so these women's mediums are just a touch baggy on her).  If you are a member of Ravelry, my Love Struck Socks project page is here.

 

The other project I have to share with you are my Strawberry Sweetheart Mitts.  This is another free pattern called:  Sweetheart Glovelets by The Rainey Sisters.  This particular pattern calls for DK weight yarn, but all I had on hand was some worsted weight Cascade 220 Paints. 

The Cascade Paints yarn knits up at a slightly smaller gauge than a regular worsted (in my experience);  So…. I went down a couple of needle sizes (from a 3 to a 1) to get the right gauge of 6 stitches per inch. This made a very nice, firm fabric (very comfortable) with a my slighter thicker yarn.

I love the Cascade Superwash paints for their subtle color variation (at least in this colorway).. really adds depth to the finished item! The pattern was easy to follow once I figured out the charts (there is even a chart for the thumb gusset) and the finished gloves are really a nice gift!

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own Valentine's Day themed projects :)  Happy Knitting!

Easy Textured Socks

I have finally begun to accept the idea that until my children are a tad older.... patterns with lace charts and complicated sequences are just going to have to wait.  After 3+ interruptions in the middle of a complicated little bit of knitting, you might as well wash your hands of that row and start over!

Enter, "The SKYP socks".  I've been doing plain vanilla stockinette socks for quite a while now.. and while I love the self-striping yarns, and my own hand-dyed creations, sometimes you just yearn for something a little more complicated (but not TOO complicated... see above!)  This is why I love this pattern, For a minimum of effort in memorization, you end up with a lovely little stitch that sets your socks apart :)  If you are on Ravelry, the free pattern is "Simple Skyp Socks" by Adrienne Ku

So far, I've knit this pattern up in a lovely tonal stripe in Araucania Ranco Solid, in Eggplant:

and also in some Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn by Brown Sheep (a more highly variegated yarn):

One other textured sock pattern I really like (and it is also simple) is the free pattern "Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder".  This pattern also works well with a self-striping yarn:

I've knit this pattern in some hand-dyed self-striping tonal yarn, too (toddler socks):

So there you have it :)  My solution to the plain vanilla stockinette sock (although I keep plenty of those on hand as well!)  Happy Knitting!

Over the Rainbow

I know, I know... I've been promising ever since this post that I would be dyeing up another two stranded sock blank - RAINBOW STYLE!  I came across a wonderful de-stash on Ravelry for several skeins of Wool 2 Dye For "Platinum Sock" yarn (75% superwash Merino/25% nylon).  I divided one of these skeins in half by weight, and then knit up a 90 stitch wide, two-stranded sock blank at the lowest tension I could get away with on my Bond knitting machine.

After soaking my blank for about an hour in a mixture of tepid water and vinegar, I spun out the excess water using a salad spinner, and painted on my chosen rainbow colors:  Wilton Icing Colors in(Christmas Red, Orange, Lemon Yellow, Leaf Green, Sky Blue, Violet).  I ended up dissolving about 1/4 of a teaspoon in about a cup of hot water (in squeeze bottles).  The dye solution was applied with foam brushes in a chevron pattern to help color mixing in the final knitting. 

After the dye solutions were applied (and massaged into the blank with glove-covered hands), I then used an old towel to gently blot excess moisture (to keep the colors from bleeding into each other during the heat set process), and then I wrapped my blank with the plastic wrap to make it into a tube, and coiled it into a into a tidy little package.  Instead of steam setting, this time I used my microwave, and microwaved the blank in three 2 minute intervals with 5 minute rest times.   After cooling, the blank rinsed clear, indicating that the dye had been set.

 

I prefer to knit from center pull balls rather than straight from the blank (I don't enjoy the curly tangle of yarn I can get from the blank), so I reskeined the yarn into two separate skeins while it was still damp, and then hung them to dry. 

 

I cast on for 2-at-a-time magic loop, top down socks, and knit away!  There is something very satisfying about knitting with your own hand-dyed yarn, especially watching the color blending and anticipating the next new color!  They are hard to put down.  The W2D4 Platinum sock yarn is very cushy and soft, too!

 

 

Here is my darling daughter modeling the finished socks (with orange/red afterthought heels).  They are just a tad too big for her (hence the wrinkles, lol!)

 

 

Happy rainbow knitting of your own!

 

 

Year in Review

I received a 20$ credit from Shutterfly in my inbox this morning.. and what better way to spend it than on a "2012 Year In Review" photobook for our family?  I chose an 8x8, hardcover custom photobook path, called "All In A Year".

After uploading all of my photos to their website, and I just drag and dropped them into place, edited the text to reflect my family's year, and presto!  Our Family In Review, 2012!

Click here to view this photo book larger

                    Photo Book Tip: Create an adventurous travel photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Oh the Weather Outside....

Nothing says winter to me than little socks, boots and mittens strewn across my kitchen floor.  This year, I upped the ante by completing not one... not two... but TEN pairs of fingerless/fingered gloves as Christmas presents for my family and loved ones.  I've also learned some things along the way, and I'm going to review the patterns I used for you here :)

Pattern #1:  Fallberry Mitts by Anne Hanson - This was my first time using this particular pattern, and I love the lacy, sophisticated result.  The thumb gusset came out spectacular, and her instructions on how to pick up the stitches for the thumb (which I didn’t follow for one glove, and strictly followed for the other) made a huge difference in that little gappy area you get when picking up the thumb on most fingerless mitts or mittens.The ONLY problem I had (which could be remedied by doing these mitts 2-at-a-time Magic Loop) is that it was easy to get lost in the middle of pattern, and end up with some "leaves" that were a tad bit taller than the others (which of course affects the finished length of th glove).  Therefore, the next time I make these beauties, I'm doing them 2-at-a-time to preserve my sanity!

Pattern #2:  Treads, a tipless gloves pattern by Victoria Anne Baker
This pattern introduced me to the Vikkel Braid (for which I will be forever grateful)... a lovely little piece of ornamentation that will be handy for all sorts of projects to come (once you figure it out, it is easy peasy!)  I also liked the variety of stitches that are used for these little mitts.  My first attempt (with a slight shortage of yarn) necessitated the amputation of the individual fingertips.. and the gloves themselves came out a tad loose (as noted by other Ravelers.. this pattern runs a little big).  My second attempt, with some lovely Malabrigo, ended with fingertips and all, and I was even happy with the size.  I could see making these again for those people in my life (you know who you are) who don't enjoy gloves that go halfway up their arm....

Pattern #3:  Vancouver Fog by Jen Balfour
There just isn't anything bad I can say about this pattern... I adore it.  From the complicated looking cabling (that just screams, "I AM A GOOD KNITTER", lol!) to the nice, stretchy cast on, and purl ridges on either side of the cabling that really pull these gloves in and give them a good fit.  I started off doing these mitts one at a time, but after the 2nd, or 3rd pair, I realized it would save a lot of time doing them 2-at-a-time.  I used the “cabling without a cable needle” technique that I learned from grumperina, and I used this video to learn how to do the “circular tubular cast on” by littleturtleknits (this is the cast one suggested by the pattern).  This cast on is pretty fiddly, in my opinion, though.. and it just didn't look as smooth as I wanted.  I ended up switching to the German Twisted Cast On that I had just used for my Three Willows Cowl. I like the finished look of the German Twisted cast on better, and it is definitely less fiddly (but just as stretchy, in my opinion!!!)  I will probably make many more of these in the future!

 

Pattern #4:  One Cable Mitts by Valerie Teppo

Don't have the time for the more complicated cabling found in the Vancouver Fog mitts?  Try these!  Done 2-at-a-time via magic loop (with cables reversed, and the thumb gussets put into the correct spot for each glove), you can have these done in a day if you are diligent (and don't have any small children to distract you!)  The pattern calls for an Aran weight yarn, and as I only had worsted weight on hand, I had to make some modifications for fit.  I went with a size 6 needle, and that fit all of my recipients very well.  Also, I did three cable repeats before starting the thumb gusset, and the gloves were too short with the suggested amount of k2p2 ribbing at the end, so I ended up doing almost double!  As other Raveler's have noted, the increases for the thumb gusset seem to be reversed (doing them as suggested makes some large holes) so I did a M1R, then a M1L for the thumb.  This makes sense when you remember that M1R means that the increased stitch is leaning towards the right and that M1L is leaning towards the left. Now the increases follow the shape of the gusset. 

 

 

Pattern #5:  Montgomery Fingerless Mitts by Megan Goodacre

The last pattern I tried (because I loved the little eyelets) was this pattern by Megan Goodacre.  The pattern is sized for bulky yarn, so I altered it for worsted by using a size 6 needle, and casting on 32 stitches (my sister has small wrists, and I didn’t want to use a bulky yarn). I also knit several extra rows before starting the thumb gusset (to account for the differences in row gauge), as well as several extra rows after placing the thumb stitches on waste yarn - to make sure that my gloves would be long enough.  My sister was thrilled with these at Christmas, and they really turned out very sweet!

 

 

There you go!  A review of all of my preferred fingerless mitt patterns for 2012!  May the year 2013 bring many more chances to knit, and new patterns to try!





Glove Love

Isn't it great having crafty friends on facebook?  Not only can you share your latest creation... but you can take inspiration from all of theirs, lol!  That's exactly what happened with my latest couple of projects.  Enter "Vancouver Fog by Jen Balfour".  I had picked up some lovely, hand-dyed superwash yarn in a detash on Ravelry, and using my favorite "cabling without a cable needle technique" by grumperina, I came up with these beauties (project info on Ravelry):

For this particular pattern, anytime the directions instructed to “slip stitches to a cable needle and hold them to the back” I used this part, and if it read to “slip stitches to a cable needle and hold them to the front”, I used this part. With this particular pattern, you are only holding at the most 2 stitches on a cable needle before knitting them, so the technique works out very well.
For example, in the pattern you do a

lpk – slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold to front, p1, k2 from cable needle

I would slip 2 stitches purlwise (with yarn in back) onto my right hand needle, p1, and then with my left needle tip, I would insert the needle into the front of those two stitches I slipped, and pinching the base of the 3 stiches (the one I purled and the 2 I slipped) I would pull out my right hand needle altogether from those stitches. That leaves the 2 slipped stitches on my left needle and the one stitch I purled hanging in midair :) I put my right needle tip back into the hanging purl stitch, and then I knit those 2 stitches I slipped from the left needle to the right needle… and voila! lpk completed. If it is a right crossing instruction, you just repeat the process, but insert the left needle tip into the back of the stitches. Once you get the hang of it… it is so much faster than using a traditional cable needle (IMO, lol!)

After estimating my remaining yarn (with a glass half-full attitude, I might add!), I decided to try the Treads, a tipless gloves pattern by Victoria Anne Baker (also free on Ravelry).  I love the lateral braid that decorates these mitts, and by using this informative video (in English, instead of the reccomended video in German), I managed after an attempt where my braid ended up on the INSIDE of my mitt, to come up with the right pattern stitch!  However, I really did not have as much yarn as I had hoped, and so I couldn't complete the fingers and had to go with a ribbed, fingerless ending.

 

See how much yarn I had left by the end?  Here's the link to my project page on Ravelry, "Treading Lightly".

 

 



 I've never done gloves with fingers, or tipless fingers for that matter, though.. so I really wanted to knit this pattern again as written.  So... take 2 was knit up with a skein of malabrigo (809 Solis).. which was so buttery soft it was a joy to knit with!  This time the lateral braid worked like a charm.  It really is a fun addition to your stitch library!  (Project info on Ravelry)

 

 

What's next, you might ask?  Well... I have several skeins of that malabrigo left... so I think another pair of the Vancouver Fog are calling my name (and going straight into the Christmas Box!)  I really enjoy knitting with this yarn.  Here they are (more info on Ravelry):

Enjoy!