Category Archives: Knitting

JojiFall2018Kal

Knitting, On My Needles, , , , ,

As a designer I don’t often knit other designers work. I have so many projects on the go and trying to write them at the same time that I knit them is time consuming and I have to have my wits about me. But every now and then I want to knit something that I don’t have to think about so I joined a KAL sponsored by one of my favorite designers, Joji Locatelli designs..

I am working on one of her shawl patterns: Jujuy

I went deep into stash to find yarns that will work.
These are skeins of sock yarn that are self striping. It really changes the look of the pattern by adding these stripes, but I’m going with it.

 

 

 

My labor day weekend was filled with lots of great vistas and time for knitting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luckily my traveling buddies did the driving and I got to keep on knitting!

 

 

 

 

When I arrived home on Monday – I kept the holiday going and knit some more. . . all the way to where I added the second color.

 

today – It’s back to work knitting my own designs and working on pattern writing.

Happy official fall everyone!

New Pattern on sale now!

Knitting

I have finished A Quiet Walk Infinity Scarf!

And it is on sale through Ravelry.

I find this a fun knit. . . part of it is easy knitting for a restful mind, and then come the 1 stitch cable crosses that bring the interest back to the knitting.

From now until October 17th,2016 you can purchase this with a 20% discount by entering code  “quietwalk” at check out.

Have fun!

Kim’s Cowl

knit with handspun, Knitting, My original hand knitting patterns, Original Patterns, ,

My friend Kim gave me some hand spun yarn, a beautiful mix of natural white and grey.

It was about 240 yards and 3.4 oz. . . mmm , I asked myself, “what shall I knit with this?”

I settled on this fun textured stitch cowl.

banditphoto

 

A simple knit and purl zig zag pattern.

Find the pattern for sale on Ravelry.

 

I am gaining so much respect for all the podcasters I’ve been watching over the last few months!

Downloading episode one of my podcast Knit56, took 3 days. So the second episode I recorded in shorter bits of time. Still I’ve been downloading to my movie editor for the last 8 hours and I’m still not done.

Then it takes goodness knows how long to upload to YouTube.

A big Kudos to all those knitting podcasters I’ve been watching!

New Infinity Scarf design

Knitting, My original hand knitting patterns, On My Needles, Original Patterns, , ,

picofyarnI’ve finally figured out what to do with this beautiful Rovings, polwarth/silk blend yarn that I’ve had in my stash for years! I love this yarn but just couldn’t come up with a garment I thought would work that I would actually wear for this yarn.

I thought about a pull over – but being a woman of a certain age, I am much more attracted to cardigans.

I thought about a small tank to wear as long underwear. This idea came very close to being the chosen garment, but the yarn is so pretty and I couldn’t see hiding it.

To my taste, it is too flowing and drapey for a vest.

A shawl would have been a very nice garment for this yarn. . .but I just wasn’t satisfied. My last 3 projects have been shawls and I’m ready for something new.

Then I became of a Knit-along sponsored by Twitch and Stitch Podcast titled: CanadaKal.

Now I had a bee in my bonnet get something knit out of this year which I purchased from a Canadian Shepherd!

I’ve always loved infinity scarves because of their wrappability (is that a word) and because when they are not wrapped they are a nice visual accessory. So I decided on an Infinity scarf.

I love traveling stitches, also known as 2 stitch cable work. So I decided to knit this in the round the long way. The texture cable pattern runs horizontally across the scarf instead of the long vertical way. I am so pleased with this! For me it is an easy knit, and I was so ready to just go round and round!

23 inches

Stay tuned for the pattern. I need to finish it by Sept 30 to enter it in the KAL. So look for the pattern shortly after that!

Happy knitting everyone.

 

New white hat

Knitting, My original hand knitting patterns, On My Needles, Original Patterns, , , , , ,

A friend of mine asked for  a white knit hat to wear during Yoga class. . . that was a while ago and the conference is coming up soon.

here are my thought:

somewhat open stitches

lace – like but not girly lace-like

stretchy

length is to top of ears only – don’t need a brim on this one:)

thinking of faggotting lace or  some such

well – I’m off to knit. I’ll post pictures when it’s done!

 

Love is the Law Cap

Knitting, My original hand knitting patterns, Original Patterns, Pattern from Ravelry, , , , , , , ,

In 2013 Minnesotans voted against the ban for same-sex marriage. Then, Minnesota was the first state in which the citizens voted to give same-sex couples the right to marry. . . the campaign was called “Love is the Law” Then the US Supreme court ruled marriage is a right for ALL couples!

so to honor all those new couples getting married I designed a A new hat pattern and I’m calling in it, “Love is the Law Cap”.

The cable pattern around the brim of the hat looks like intersecting wedding rings.  These hats are uni-sex and perfect for any couple you know getting married!

Find the pattern on my Ravelry page!

Saami Mittens

Knitting, On My Needles, , ,

I’m  so excited to take class with Beth Brown-Reinsel class at the Yarn Over event sponsored by the Minnesota Knitters Guild.

I’ve been a member for many many years and have loved attending class at this one day event.

This year I’m taking a full day class on Saami Mittens. I love knitting mittens and I’m looking forward to adding a new style to my collection. Every year for I try to knit myself a new pair of mittens – this year I’ll be starting them in April!

here’s a link to find out more about Sami People and history.

Here’s another link for more mittens by Susanna Hansson

So much to knit – so little time!

 

 

New Twined knit Earflap cap pattern for sale on Ravelry!

Knitting, My original hand knitting patterns, Original Patterns, , , , , ,

I  finally got my pattern for Kathy’s Earflap Hat edited and up for sale on Ravelry!

Earflap hat with Twined Brim and earflaps.
Earflap hat with Twined Brim and earflaps.

It is such a cute hat! And it includes twined knitting, which I adore!

I can’t remember where I was first introduced to twined knitting but I immediately fell in love with the beautiful patterning and durability of the knitting.  wait – now I remember. I was browsing the knitting books at my local library and found this great book, “Twined Knitting A Swedish Folkcraft Technique” by Birgitta Dandanell and Ulla Danielsson. The photos are fabulous and I couldn’t get over the beautiful white on white designs. I wanted this book for my personal library but to my dismay the book was out of print and the cost ran 96$ and up. Luckily I have a big (and generous) family and they all went in together and purchased this great book for me.

I am always inspired when I wander through this book.

A friend of mine wanted me to knit her a cap, an earflap cap specifically, to match a beautiful woven scarf of her mother’s that had a great art deco sort of weave. . . angels and squares and subtle texture. I thought that working in twined knit would provide the perfect opportunity to create subtle texture designs. Kathy’s one of a kind hat is done in black and turned out great! Kathycloseup03

I’ve knit many earflap hats with twined brims since this one and have written a pattern for a traditional pattern that is fun and easy to follow.

If you’ve never done twined knitting before I include a description in the pattern. There are also many youtube videos on twined knitting. In twined knitting you use two strands of yarn from the same skein,and as you knit you wrap each stitch around the next, alternating between the two strands. Yes,  the result is a twisted skein of yarn, but I find that taking breaks to untwist the skein is as relaxing as the knitting. I use a double pointed needle, making an s-twist around it with both ends of yarn, then hold up the ends and watch the ball of yarn spin around and “untwist”. It’s fun!

My pattern also includes line by line directions, and graphs – you can follow which ever one works for you!

Happy knitting!

New Mittens!

Knitting, , ,

I just finished these beauties and even though we haven’t had 70 degree weather for 9 months I want it to be cold again right now so I can wear these mittens. These are knit in Harrisville Highland Light Shetland, which I found to be the perfect weight for Twined Knitting.

Twined mitts made for me
Twined mitts made for me

I can’t remember how I was introduced to twined knitting but I think it is gorgeous. The technique requires knitting with two strands of yarn and wrapping every stitch. The band around the cuff is done in knit and purl stitches with the yarn being carried across the outside of the knitting.  These mitts are super warm, flexible and fit like a glove:)