Tag Archives: hand knitting

mobius knitting

I finally tried Cat Bordhi’s method of casting on and knitting a mobius the long way. (as opposed to the short way and having to graft a seam)

mobiuscb03

I learned from her video and then found her gifted pattern on her web site. I adjusted the pattern because this yarn I’m using knits at a smaller gauge.

mobiuscb01

This multi color mobisu measures 32″ and I knit it on size US 6 needles. The yarn is from Blackberry Hills about 3 years ago at Yarn Over.

I also changed the edge pattern from what Cat did. This pattern was lots of fun, easy to do once I got past the first 2 rows, and didn’t take long.

mobiuscb02

This was the perfect project to knit while walking in the dog park.

mobius-mollybrown

Good deal for knitters!

hello all my knitter friends,

Have i got a deal for you! I recently designed a sweater for a new web site that sells patterns and yarns, Uptown Stitches.

The owner sent me a message recently with a special deal. . . . no shipping charges on orders between now and July 31st. To get the free shipping coupon, enter code W2D4-06.

The pattern on the front page is mine!! Knit in Belfast. A cotton/linen blend that is great fun to knit and wonderful for summer knits.

I can’t wait to get my hands on some of her lace weight yarn. It sounds heavenly.

So check out one of my recent projects, the Uptown Sweater, and don’t forget–free shipping coupon for orders between now and July 31. (W2D4-06)

New knitting pattern now available!

I’m proud to present my “Tree hugger neck cuff”

I have been having some great fun with this one! I’m happy I finished it before it got so hot!! I actually had a camping opportunity to wear it and it kept me cozy all night. . . . and I looked good:)

Tree hugger neck cuff on me
Tree hugger neck cuff on me

This pattern is now available on my Etsy site And I will put it for sale on Ravelry too!

Soft as fairy hare knit scarf
Soft as fairy hare knit scarf

This pattern is not for the weak of heart. Use a provisional cast on and work back and forth. The stitch count changes on every row. Whew, it took me a while to memorize this pattern. The pattern is both charted and written out. The scarf consists of three parts, each of which are written in a different color in the pattern for easy reference.

Grey Tree Hugger Neck Scarf
Grey Tree Hugger Neck Scarf

The blue scarf is knit using Kimmet Croft Fiber’s Fairy hare–a wool angora blend that I just love. Though for this pattern the silk/wool blend from Rovings, Inc. has better stitch definition.

Neck Cuff Cose UP
Neck Cuff Cose UP

I love how the leaves on the bottom have a scallop edge that sits so pretty.

Lovely neck scarf on Hannah
Lovely neck scarf on Hannah

The first scarf took a while but the second one (blue one) I was able to knit fairly fast. The stitch count changes every row, and it is included in the pattern so it is easy to double check your work.

Lace Neck Scarf
Lace Neck Scarf

Fingerless Mitt knitting pattern for Musicians!

I often play the fiddle in colder conditions than I would like and have been craving an “appropriate” pair of fingerless mitts.

Now I have three to choose from!

I am really excited about this pattern! Notice how the foreground/background colors change from one mitt to the next?

One has a blue treble clef on beige background, the other has a beige treble clef on a blue background.

Noteworhty Fingerless Mitts for me!

Fingerless Mitts
Fingerless Mitts

Fiber: Le Fibre NobiliTajmahal, 70% superfine merino, 22% silk, 8% cashmere; 170m[50g]1 3/4  oz: 2 skeins blue, 1 skein ecru
Needles:US 3 & 4 dpns or circulars   7 1/2″ circumference, 9″ long

Fingerless Mitts
Fingerless Mitts

Fiber: Kimmet Croft Fibers, Fairy Hair, 40% Angora/60% Merino, 2 ply-laceweight, 2oz/375 yards, 1 skein each color
Needles: US 1 & 2 dpns or circulars
Size: 6 1/2″ circumference, 8″ long

Fingerless mitts
Fingerless mitts

Fiber:Louet Gems, 100% Merino, fine-sport weight, 100g/225 yards, 1 skein each color
Needles:US 2 & 3 dpns or circulars
Size: 7″ circumference, 9 1/2″ long

The treble clef pattern is charted only and the pattern is available in Pdf form from my Etsy store

or Ravelry

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

New knitter in the fold

I am proud to note

A new knitter on the block

Niece Ellie knows how!

About a year ago I got a very long text message from my 14 year old niece, Ellie, asking me how to cast off her scarf. I laughed out loud at the prospect of “texting” back the instructions. Like most of my generation, I’m more comfortable and efficient with a phone conversation than hunting and pecking a text message on a phone. The letters on the phone are so small I can barely make them out!

Ellie taught herself to knit. . . back and forth for a very long time. . . but didn’t know how to stop. I helped.

Also, I just happened to draw her name for our Christmas exchange. Voila! I had the perfect gift! Knitting lessons!

Being a young city hipster, what do you suppose she wanted to knit for her first project? Wrist warmers, very long wrist warmers. Great! We knit a swatch, on which she purled for the first time. (a good knitter knows ribbing is required on wrist warmers) We measured her stitches and rows and decided how many stitches to cast on. Then I taught her to knit on two circulars. “Okay,” I said, “Call me when you want to start the thumb.”

She was on holiday vacation from school and had nothing but time. . . one week later she was ready to start the thumb gusset.

Now she knows how to increase (at least one way to increase). She knit the gusset during that night’s lesson and we put the thumb stitches on a piece of scrap yarn. “Okay,” I said, “Call me when you are done ribbing above the thumb”.

Well, back in school, she doesn’t have as much free time. It took three weeks to knit the 1 1/2 inches of 2/2 rib for the palm. Last night we knit the thumb. Unfortunately that was all we had time for, since her homework was calling. “What kind of homework” I asked. “Math, Biology, English, and History”, was the response. Oh how happy I am NOT to be in school and have nothing but time (ha ha) for knitting!

The results of Ellie’s knitting:

Ellie's first knit wrist warmers
Ellie's first knit wrist warmers

And a fuzzy picture of her gusset! (I can knit. . . but digital cameras tend to get the better of me. Sorry about the image quality)

First Thumb Gusset
First Thumb Gusset

Ellie, welcome to the fold!

Shawn

New pattern for sale! Knotty Tote!

Three Linen and fabric totes
Three Linen and fabric totes

I’ve finally finished the pattern for my Knotty Totes! It is available on my etsy store

I knit three of them, using different colors of Geneva, Euroflax linen, and 100% cotton fabric. They worked up really fast.

I keep one in may car and whenever I run into a store for an item or two, I have my non-plastic, non -paper tote.

Good for me, good for the earth!

This one is my favorite
This one is my favorite

Happy Knitting,

Shawn

Knitting Mittens!

My friend Ellen needed a new pair of mittens. . . really, I do too. . . but these fit her better than me.

I used my Garter Stitch Mitten pattern and knit these up in a few short hours.

The yarn is from Dream In Color in color Strange Harvest. I purchased the yarn a few weeks ago at Needleworks Unlimited in South Minneapolis. I might add it was a harrowing experience. . . not in the yarn store, that was heavenly, walking around looking at, feeling, and smelling yarn. . . but when I left.

I drive a big old van that has absolutely traction. Also, I’ve taken the seats out to give me room for hauling  stuff, which makes the van weight lighter than normal. Can you tell where this is going? I got stuck. It was a warmer day. . . about 10 degress F. . . and there were “lovely” ruts on the parking side of the road. I could not move. I tried rocking back and forth and still I had no forward momentum. The tires spun and spun. They finally hit pavement, but that only meant the tires were buried in 6 inches of muck and ice. I was late for a lunch date and not sure what to do. Luckily, two painters came out of a near by restaurant, (I could tell they were painters by their clothes). Aha, strong men.

They were kind enough to give me a push, but they got a snowy, mushy, shower. Many many thanks to them for their good deed for the day!

Anyway, here is a picture of Ellen in her mitts. . . and an appropriate pose for these mitts!

Where was this shovel when I needed it!
Where was this shovel when I needed it!

Hand Knit socks with feather and fan lace pattern

I need some help deciding which one is better. . . or shall I keep them both?

I knit these socks using the feather and fan pattern with a 4 stitch cable in between. The fun part is that I moved the pattern around.

I was thinking of writing up a pattern for this and couldn’t decide how to place the patterns. . . so I made two socks slightly different.

Each sock has 3 feather lace patterns and 3 4-st cable patterns.

Sweet warm toes
Sweet warm toes

One sock has the feather lace going down the center of the front with cables at the sides. This puts two feather patterns in the back with the cable in the center of the back. On this sock I ran this center cable down the entire heel.

Who said she was a dancer?
Who said she was a dancer?

The other sock has the cable running down the center of the front with two feather patterns down the side. This puts two cable patterns on each side of a centered feather lace down the back of the sock. I ran these cables along the side down into the heel too.

Standing tall
Standing tall

The placement of the designs also gave the top of each sock a different scallop. . . I still can’t decide which I like better. I think I like the one with the feather lace down the center front and the cable running down the center back and down into the heel.

Let me know which one you like better!

Happy knitting,
Shawn

Mom’s Scarf

Well, I was a busy girl knitting for this holiday season! One of the special items was a scarf for my mom.
momscarf1

She took a class last May at Shepherd’s Harvest and then gave me the tiny bits of yarn she dyed.

Tuesday before Christmas I decided to knit a scarf for her using those bits. . . yes, two days before Christmas. . . I steamed what I had done before leaving the house, finished the knitting after dinner, and gave it to her all in the same day.

Can you see the stitches?
Can you see the stitches?

I knit this on size 6 needles, 31 stitches. Three stitches on each side are worked in I-cord.

The scarf is reversible. I used a 5-stitch wide 2-stitch traveling cable. So one side has 3 cable panels and the other side has two. I really like the way it turned out and Mom loved it, which is after all the most important part!

I”ll try to post more pics soon!
Shawn

Ravelympics: going strong

Knitting with such a strong intent to finish feels different.

Sunday I watched swimming, beach volley ball and gymnatics. . . but the event that allowed me to get the most knitting done was the women’s bike racing. I could actually look away from the screen at my work.

Slowly filling in the sweater
Slowly filling in the sweater

I got another row of champagne flutes done on the first sleeve on Sunday morning. They don’t look exactly as I imagined, and I still don’t know if I like it or not. hmmm.

Sleeve photo 2
Sleeve photo 2

Then last night, (Monday) I watched swimming, men’s gymnastic finals and volleyball. How is a person supposed to get any knitting done with that kind of excitement?

Ready to be embellished
Ready to be embellished

Can’t wait to see what tonight will bring!

Shawn