I've always had a love for fiber arts. My blog will present tips, advice, patterns, and product and yarn shop reviews related to my adventures in the fiber arts. It's time to revive this blog with some new content! In addition to knitting related topics, I plan to devote a section of my blog to rigid heddle weaving projects, designs, and product reviews.
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Friday, February 27, 2009
Knitting on the Beach Report
One of my goals was to teach myself to do two-at-a-time magic loop socks. I tried, got confused, and went back to my two circular needles. I think I need to see it done to grasp the whole concept, or maybe just be in a place where I can concentrate a bit more. Oh, well, someday it will happen.
What did I accomplish knitting on the beach? lol, not too much! I made one dish cloth, one sock (nope, not one pair, just one sock) and knit a bit more on the partially completed wool scarf. I had too much fun snorkeling, where we saw 30-40 different species of fish, attending a huge Carnival celebration that rivaled New Orleans Mardi Gras, and exploring the island.
Here are pics of my sort-of finished projects - the dish cloth is the pattern found here and the socks are the free Hedgerow sock pattern from Knitter's Review found here.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Knit-Out & Crochet 2009 Report
I was on vacation last week, and what better way to start a vacation than to attend a knitting event! We had an early flight to Cozumel last Sunday, so decided to take in the Knit-Out 2009 at the Mall of America on Saturday.
I arrived right at 10:00am and found many knitters already cruising the first floor of the Mall. I entered at the Lego Land door and took a left. This led me to the local shop tables - The Yarn Garage, The Yarnery, Three Kittens, as well as to the Knitters Guild table. The tables weren't too crowded yet and I had a chance to look over some cool projects and products. I continued around the mall and found a few more displays and one of my favorite shops (The Yarnery) had a kiosk where I was able to pick up a long needle to try magic loop socks.
As I made my way around the Mall, I saw some knit and crochet demos but they all were full. When I came up to the Sears area, I started to see the lines. Boy, were there lines! It was obvious that this started the give-away and major vendor booth area. Lion Brand gave away a huge tote bag, Clover some glow-in-the-dark needles, and Patons a bag containing patterns and three big skeins of yarn. Lots of free patterns, magazines, tips, etc. Great giveaways, but to be honest, next year I will skip the long lines for the freebies and take in more of the knitting demos and style shows. Now that I know a bit more what to expect, I will tailor my visit next year to take advantage of some of the events that I missed.
Are there pictures, you ask? Of course!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Knitting on the Beach........
Thursday, February 19, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 10
To wind up the last day of ten of my favorite free sock patterns I've found on the internet is the Tidal Wave Socks pattern. These wave-inspired socks were knit with tofutsie yarn. I've used that yarn in a different pair of socks and really liked it. It actually has soy in the yarn! The free pattern design and photos are by Deby Lake. They are offered as a free downloadable pdf file by Deby and it's located here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 9
These subtly patterned socks were knit with Lorna's Laces in a sport weight yarn. This free Ravelry download is a pattern by Sockbug. The pdf pattern file is available for download here.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 7
These knit socks are a top-down, easy zigzag lace pattern. They'd look great in either solid color yarn or in a varigated yarn. Pattern and images are by Linda Welch and are available from knitty.com's free pattern archives. The free pattern link for knitty.com's website is here or a pdf file can be downloaded here.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 6
These cute socks use a Noro self-striping sock yarn and can guarantee that no two socks will be alike! The free pattern, by Meg Meredith, is available on the knitty.com free pattern archives. This sock pattern is a toe-up style. Meg's pictures really show off the cool color combinations you can get with the Noro sock yarn. A fair isle look without the charted colorwork!
The Ziggy Socks pattern is available at the knitty.com website here or as a pdf file here.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 5
Friday, February 13, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 4
The Diagonal Rib Socks are classic and the pattern appears quite easy to make. They have a nice, crisp look to them. This pattern is listed in the free pattern library of Knitting Daily. The pattern design and picture are by Ann Budd and utilize a four row pattern repeat. The Knitting Daily free pattern can be found here or their pdf version here.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 3
The pattern, designed by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, is available as a free pattern on the Knitting Daily website. The Knitting Daily website often publishes free patterns, but you need to download them when you see them, as they don't stay on the site forever. The pattern is available from the Knitting Daily free pattern library here or their pdf file can be downloaded here.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 2
The Stripey Noro Socks are made from Noro's self-striping sock yarn. Cute! This is is a design from Rachel Brown and is is now available as a free internet pattern on Ravelry (see fine print at the bottom of this post for copyright usage compliance.) Her pictures are shown of the finished product. Click here or here for the pattern.
© 2008 Rachel C. Brown/Porpoise Designs. All rights reserved. Pattern may not be used to create items for sale or distribution without prior written permission from the author.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
10 Favorite Free Sock Patterns ~ Day 1
A friend was knitting the monkey sock pattern and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it on the needles! It's inspired by falling leaves and was created by Cookie A. Her image of the finished socks is pictured above. This is a free pattern offered on the knitty.com website (a wonderful repository for all kinds of patterns!) Here is the link to the free monkey sock pattern on knitty.com - monkey socks. If you'd rather download it as a pdf file, here is a pdf link - monkey socks pdf
Monday, February 9, 2009
FO - At Last!
I love these two patterns. The scarf is the reversible cable scarf (palindrome) and the hat is from the Three Tams patterns. The yarn is a baby alpaca in light blue and the colorwork in the hat is done with Noro Silk Garden. I added a ruffle to the scarf this time, just to add a bit of feminine flair. I've made these two patterns several times and they have to be some of my winter favorites. Here are the direct blog links to the patterns ~ Scarf and Tam.
And here's a sneak peak at the finished project .....
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Las Vegas Getaway
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
10 Day Dishcloth Countdown! Day 10 ~Blackberries Knitted Dishcloth
Materials: Size 6 circular needles or whatever size you prefer for working with dishcloth cotton.
Cotton worsted weight yarn
Directions:
Cast On 32 stitches
Rows 1-4: K
Row 5: [RS] K4, *[K1, YO, K1] into next st, P3, rep from * to last 4 sts, K4.
Row 6: K4, *P3tog, K3, rep from * to last 4 sts, K4.
Row 7: K4, *P3, [K1, YO, K1] into next st, rep from * to last 4 sts, K4.
Row 8: K4, *K3, P3tog, rep from * to last 4 sts, K4.
Rep rows 5-8 nine more times, or until desired size.
K 4 more rows for border.
Bind off.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
10 Day Dishcloth Countdown! Day 9 ~ Lace Cable Knitted Dishcloth
Materials: Size 8 knitting needles, sugar 'n cream or other worsted-weight cotton yarn
Abbreviations: k=knit, p=purl, yo=yarn over (as if to knit), sl=slip (as if to knit), psso=pass slipped stitch over next stitch worked as if to cast off, k2 tog=knit two stitches together
Instructions:
Cast on 35 stitches
Border Rows 1-4: *k1, p1, repeat from * to end
Pattern Row 1 (and all odd rows) k1, p1, k1, p to 3 sts before end, k1, p1, k1.
Pattern Row 2: k1, p1, k1, k1, *yo, sl 1, k1, psso, k1, k2 tog, yo, k6, repeat from * to last 9 sts, end yo, sl 1, k1, psso, k1, k2 tog, yo, k2, p1, k1
Pattern Row 4: k1, p1, k3, *yo, sl 1, k2 tog, psso, yo, k1, sl next 3 sts to cable needle and hold to back, k3, k3 off cable needle, k1. repeat from * to last 8 sts, end yo, sl1, k2 tog, psso, yo, k3, p1, k1
Pattern Row 6: Repeat row 2
Pattern Row 8: k1, p1, k3, *yo, sl1, k2 tog, psso, yo, k8, repeat from * to last 8 sts, end yo, sl1, k2 tog, psso, yo, k3, p1, k1
Repeat pattern rows 1-8 until desired length. Then work Border rows 1-4 again and bind off, weaving in all ends.
Monday, February 2, 2009
10 Day Dishcloth Countdown! Day 8 ~ Knitted Tracks Dishcloth
Knitted Tracks Dishcloth
Materials:
Size 8 knitting needles
Worsted weight 100% cotton yarn
Cast on 30 sts.
Row 1: *K4, P6, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2: Purl across.
Row 3: Knit across.
Row 4: Purl across.
Row 5: *P5, K4, P1, repeat from * across.
Row 6: Purl across.
Row 7: Knit across.
Row 8: Purl across.
Rows 9 - 32: Repeat rows 1 - 8 for 3 more times.
Rows 33 - 36: Repeat rows 1 - 4 once more.
Row 37: Bind off in a Purl stitch.
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Optional edging: Sc in each st around with a G hook doing 3 sc in each cornerSunday, February 1, 2009
10 Day Dishcloth Countdown! Day 7 ~ Garterlac Knit Dishcloth
Materials required: 1 ball of dishcloth cotton & appropriate needles
Abbreviations:
K -- Knit
K2tog -- Knit two stitches together
K-FB -- Knit into the front of the next stitch and, before removing it from the needle, knit into the back of the same stitch
SKP -- Slip one stitch knit-wise, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over
Turn -- Put the stuff in your right hand into your left hand and the stuff that used to be in your left hand into your right hand
Pick up -- Insert right hand needle from front to back into side of previous layer between two garter bumps, wrap the yarn around the needle and pull a stitch through
Directions:
Very loosely, cast on 24 stitches.
Bottom Triangle:
K 1, turn, K 1, turn.
K 2, turn, K 2, turn.
K 3, turn, K 3, turn.
K 4, turn, K 4, turn.
K 5, turn, K 5, turn.
K 6, turn, K 6, turn.
K 7, turn, K 7, turn.
K 8, do not turn.
Repeat the directions for the Bottom Triangle twice more – three triangles in total. They look a little twisted right now. Don’t worry; they’ll sort themselves out as you go along. Turn and make an Increasing Side Triangle.
Increasing Side Triangle:
K 1, turn, K-FB, turn.
K 1, SKP, turn, K-FB, K 1, turn.
K 2, SKP, turn, K 1, K-FB, K 1, turn.
K 3, SKP, turn, K 2, K-FB, K 1, turn.
K 4, SKP, turn, K 3, K-FB, K 1, turn.
K 5, SKP, turn, K 4, K-FB, K 1, turn.
K 6, SKP, turn, K 5, K-FB, K 1, turn.
K 7, SKP, do not turn.
Now make a Square.
Square:
Pick up 8 stitches along the side of the previous row, turn.
* K 8, turn, K 7, SKP, turn. *
Repeat between the *s another seven times, but do not turn at the end of the eighth repeat.
Make another Square, and then a Decreasing Side Triangle.
Decreasing Side Triangle:
Pick up 8 stitches along the side of the previous row, turn, K 8, turn.
K 6, K2tog, turn, K 7, turn.
K 5, K2tog, turn, K 6, turn.
K 4, K2tog, turn, K 5, turn.
K 3, K2tog, turn, K 4, turn.
K 2, K2tog, turn, K 3, turn.
K 1, K2tog, turn, K 2, turn.
K2tog, turn.
You are left with one stitch on the left hand needle. Transfer it to the right-hand needle. Pick up a further 7 stitches down the side of the previous row so you have 8 stitches in total, turn, and continue with the directions for Square.
Make two more Squares.
Continue adding layers in a similar manner.
The next layer will be Increasing Triangle, two Squares, then Decreasing Triangle.
The next layer will be three Squares.
The next series will be Increasing Triangle, two Squares, then Decreasing Triangle.
Now it is time to make triangles along the top. Transfer the remaining stitch to your right hand needle and proceed with Top Triangle.
Top Triangle:
Pick up 7 stitches along the side of the previous row, turn.
K 6, K2tog, turn, K 6, SKP, turn
K 5, K2tog, turn, K 5, SKP, turn
K 4, K2tog, turn, K 4, SKP, turn
K 3, K2tog, turn, K 3, SKP, turn
K 2, K2tog, turn, K 2, SKP, turn
K 1, K2tog, turn, K 1, SKP, turn
K2tog, turn, SKP.
K 1 and pass the second stitch on the right-hand needle over the first. You are left with one stitch on the right-hand needle.
Make 2 more Top Triangles, fasten off last stitch and weave in ends.