red ‘n’ purple raglan tee

In an attempt to use up all of my yarn stash before buying anything new, I made this four skein project with some cheapie yarn (Bernat Satin Sport), but it turned out so well that I think I’ll have to make another with some splurge yarn. It was an easy knit — no pattern was used. Just did a basic top down raglan with k1, p1 ribbed edge at neckline and sleeves, decreased around the waist for shaping, and put a wide ribbed band at the bottom. I let my limited amount of yarn dictate the color block pattern. Pics show it unblocked because I never have the patience to wait for blocking before snapping pics.

latest projects

I’ve been so busy with my job, school, and my band that I’ve been forced to deny myself precious time to work on yarn and fabric projects. This, of course, has not been good for my soul. In between term papers, though, I was able to knit up some simple berets. I really dig the one with the pom pom on top, made from this pattern. I made two for myself and one for a friend at the office. The red/pink/burgundy one has cables (no pattern used) which aren’t easy to see because of the variegated colors. Of course, I knew while I was making it that I should have saved cables for a solid color, but of course I didn’t listen to myself.

Also, I apologize for the picture quality. I can’t find my camera (*cry*) so I had to take these shots with my iPhone. bleh.

One more project to report. My band just played our very first gig last night at the Pasadena Art Center, and while I was waiting around after soundcheck, I was able to finish this fair isle purse I started last week. My spring semester just ended, and I really wanted to get some craftiness in before the summer term starts. I think I should be able to squeeze in something else before the madness starts again. I didn’t use a pattern for this purse. Just picked a traditional fair isle flower design from this terrific book by Shiela McGregor and made up the bag design as I went along!

my “wrenna”

Finished my term papers over the weekend (woohoo!), so I had time to complete that “Wrenna” cardigan from French Girl Knits. My own additions: a button at the top and a belt. At first, I thought that it was going to be too big for me and rather shapeless at the waist, but then I realized that the lace pattern would allow me to string a belt through and — voila — it worked beautifully! I didn’t get fussy with the belt — just did a simple 3 stitch I-cord. I’m quite happy with it!

what i’ve been doing instead of studying

I knew before applying for my M.A. that, once school started, competition for my time and attention would be fierce. So far, the books have been winning — but only by a hair. Even with the weight of two term paper due dates fast approaching, and me with no outlines nor theses to speak of, I (rather unwisely) banged out this work in progress:

In my defense, not a whole lot of time has been spent on this, as the needles are large (U.S. size 17) and the yarn extra bulky — but enough to have caused me an adequate amount of guilt. Some tough self-love was in order, so after running out of yarn for the project, I am forbidding myself to buy any more of it until these term papers are written — and not just the first drafts, mind you.

I am going to lay some of the blame on Interweave Press for just recently publishing their latest book — French Girl Knits — which features a great number of beautiful, seamless designs. Seamless!!! Of course, I couldn’t wait to try out a pattern, and this one in particular caught my eye:

It’s called “Wrenna,” and being a fan of chunky knits, I decided to give it a go using some Wool Ease Thick and Quick that I already had in my stash. The horseshoe lace pattern is fun to knit, and very pretty as well, which I’m sure will be enhanced after a good blocking. Unlike the pattern, I’m not going to use a leather thong to close the front, as I’m not much a fan of that Renaissance Fair aesthetic, but will sew buttons instead.

Alright. Enough written. Back to the ol’ books I go.

my ravelry “meret”

I’ve finally put my Ravelry account to good use and made this beret (or “meret,” short for “mystery beret,” as it’s called on the site) from a free pattern. All you knitters who do not have a Ravelry account, get one pronto! I used Berocco Ultra Alpaca yarn in Pea Soup, and I loved working with it. Overall, this beret was a fast and fun knit. I want to make a few more — perhaps with a little more slouch — so I’m crossing my fingers in the hope that we’ll get another month or so more of this invigoratingly cold weather! (I live in L.A., hence the need for crossed fingers.)

happy feet

First off — happy new year fellow crafters! Hope your 2009 brims with joy and inspiration.

I’ve only just recently tackled knitting socks (I’ve been crocheting them up till now) and since learning, I’ve been dying to try out some self-striping yarn. And as I’d been given some Michael’s craft store gift cards for Christmas and said establishment had every skein of yarn on sale (up to 75% off!) this past weekend, I couldn’t resist stocking up on some mega cheap (my apologies, fiber snobs!) but mega fun yarn. For these socks (still in progress) I’m using Red Heart’s Heart and Sole yarn in Razzle Dazzle. I’m not only amazed by the stripes, but by the fair-isle type designs that magically appear as well! I’ve known for a while that such yarn existed, but I still couldn’t helped but get giddy when I saw the designs form before my eyes.

Also completed a pair of chunky cabled leg warmers. I didn’t pay attention to counting the rows between crossing the cables because I wanted a very primitive, almost childlike feel. That and I wanted to be able to watch television at the same time I knitted them. Haha.

I’m a sucker for flecks — especially colorful ones like in this Moda Dea Tweedle Dee yarn (in Sahara).

first step towards a more colorful kitchen

Never pass up the chance to make a thing of beauty out of something mundane. It’s one of the secrets of happiness if you ask me. Take, for example, the humble dish towel. Why need they be drab? I found myself in need of a couple, so instead of buying some run-of-the-mill factory made ones, I decided to buy myself some cheerful (and cheap!) cotton yarn and knit my own. For the one pictured at left, I used Vogue Knitting’s embossed vine and leaves pattern (free online here) and the other is a simple stripe using three colors and super easy stitch patterns: garter, moss and seed. The yarn cost me less than $4, and the effect these cheery towels have on my mood when I dry my wet mugs is priceless. Now that I’ve seen what a little splash of color can do, I think I might have to knit myself a pair of cafe curtain panels to match!

bobbles and twists

Happy to say that I’ve achieved my goal to complete all my Christmas presents by the 15th! Woohoo!

This is also a milestone post for me, as I’ve attempted to write out my very first knitting pattern. I wanted to make some arm warmers/gauntlets that had both cables and bobbles, but found none that I liked, so I took a stab at designing my own — and I think they came out alright. I’m a little bit nervous about sharing my first pattern, but here goes. Please do tell me if there are any errors.

Note: I tried, at first, to knit them in the round with double pointed needles so I wouldn’t have to seam, but it wasn’t fun making the bobbles and cables while contending with all those needles, so I switched to straights. If you absolutely hate sewing and you’re more adept at DPNs than me, then they’d definitely be the better choice.

Bobbles and Twists Arm Warmer

US Size 9 (5.5 mm) straight needles
Gauge: 4 stitches in stockinette = 1”
Worsted weight yarn of your choice.

MB = Make bobble. [k1, yo, k1, yo, k1] all in one stitch (you have turned one stitch into 5), turn and p5, turn and sl 2, k3 together, pass 2 stitches over the first stitch. For video instructions on how to make a bobble, click here and see “Creating Basic Bobbles” under Decorative Stitches.

(Bobbles and Vines panel from Reader’s Digest Ultimate Sourcebook for Knitting and Crochet Stitches.)

Right arm warmer:

CO 34
Rows 1 and 3: *k2, p2, repeat * to the end
Rows 2 and 4: *p2, k2, repeat * to the end
–Start Bobble/Cable pattern between stitch markers with reverse St st on either side of markers–
Row 5 (RS): p6, pm, k16, pm, p12
Row 6 (WS): k12, p16, k6.
Rows 7 & 8: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches
Row 9 (RS): p6, slip 4 stitches on CN and place in front of work, k4, k4 from CN, k3, MB, k4, p12
Rows 10 – 14: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches
Row 15 (RS): p6, k4, MB, k3, slip 4 stitches on CN and place in back of work, k4, k4 from CN, p12

Repeat Rows 5 – 15 until the arm warmer is the desired length (not including the lower ribbed edge). Mine have three full bobble/cable pattern repeats before beginning the ribbing.

Next row (RS): *k2, p2, repeat * to the end of the row
Continue in k2, p2 rib for 9 more rows
Cast off in pattern.

Left arm warmer:

CO 34
Rows 1 and 3: *k2, p2, repeat from * to the end
Rows 2 and 4: *p2, k2, repeat from * to the end
–Start Bobble/Cable pattern between stitch markers with reverse St st on either side of markers–
Row 5 (RS): p12, pm, k16, pm, p6
Row 6 (WS): k6, p16, k12.
Rows 7 & 8: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches
Row 9 (RS): p12, k4, MB, k3, slip 4 stitches on CN and place in back of work, k4, k4 from CN, p6
Rows 10 – 14: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches
Row 15 (RS): p12, slip 4 stitches on CN and place in front of work, k4, k4 from CN, k3, MB, k4, p6

Next row (RS): *k2, p2, repeat * to the end of the row
Continue in k2, p2 rib for 9 more rows
Cast off.

Finishing:
Sew the side seams to make a tube, leaving a gap approximately 2.5 inches long for a thumb opening. If desired, you can pick up stitches around thumb opening to create a thumb gusset in the round with DPNs—but I’m lazy and never bother.

Please let me know if you make them yourself. I’d love to see!

more christmas knits

***CHRISTMAS PRESENT SPOILER ALERT!!!***

More Christmas knits to report.

First off, how adorable are these miniature sweaters?! They’re meant to be tree ornaments, but I thought (if made slightly bigger) they would make terrific gift card holders. So I made these and that’s what I intend to use them for. Might also make one for myself to hang from my rearview mirror. This pattern (and many more) are available free here at the Berocco site.

A chunky cabled neckwarmer (no pattern used — pretty straightforward cable pattern done over 6 stitches with seed stitch on either side).

And some fingerless mitts, one embellished with very simple embroidery and the other with an ultra easy fair isle pattern.

warm things for winter

**CHRISTMAS PRESENT SPOILER ALERT! Friends and family, read on at your own risk!**

I was that high school slacker who pulled caffeine-fueled all-nighters banging out term papers begun just that evening but due the next morning…and my lousy grades reflected my habitual lack of planning. After much determination and effort to put that all behind me, I’m proud to say that I’ve learned to get (most) things completed way ahead of time—including taking care of my Christmas list before the holiday crunch. This year, pretty much everyone’s going to get a knitted/crocheted item—but of course I’ll try to throw in a sewn one here and there as well.

So, needless to say, every free minute I’ve had for the past couple weeks has been spent knitting gifts, as my goal is to have them all completed no later than December 15th. We’ll see how I fare!

So far, I’ve made this crocheted Peruvian style earflap hat using this pattern…

…a basketweave stitch scarf (not pictured), and some neckwarmers…

…using this very pretty lace scarf pattern, free here. I cut the scarf in half lengthwise (cast on 17 instead of 34 as the pattern calls for) as the lace pattern was repeated once on each row, and I used a thicker weight yarn — and I love the result!

Last but not least, get a load of this ultra kitschy 70s-style clutch, complete with pom-poms, that I made with some leftover yarn. knitted it up on a whim just this evening, but I’m not sure if it’ll get stuffed into any stockings this year. Think the kitsch factor might be too high on this one to consider it a serious gift!