Hurricane Knitting

I was very lucky during the hurricane – I didn’t lose power, or experience any flooding.  I lost my internet connection for a day, but all-in-all didn’t experience any major problems.  Yesterday I was able to get out and buy supplies to donate to neighbors who were not as lucky, but earlier this week there wasn’t much to do other than watch the news and knit.

This week I knit a Duck Soup Hoodie by Anniepurls.  It’s the fourth one I’ve made, and opted to knit it in light/dark green stripes with a dark green intarsia border.  I also opted to sew in a zipper (which thankfully I bought before the storm!), and then sewed a cotton twill ribbon as interfacing around the inside border of the entire hoodie.  The interfacing really looks nice, and helps cover the zipper – both to help soften the scratchy zipper edge and hide my ugly sewing along the zipper!

I used a worsted weight yarn, on US5 needles for a tight, dense knit.  It did make the gauge a bit wonky, so I cast on for the 6 month size, but then increased in the shoulders to the 12 month size.  Because of my wonky gauge it looks to be around a 9 month size, which is perfect, because I made it for my friend’s son who is 6 months.  Hopefully it will last him through the winter!

Rainbow Kid Mitts (again)

It seems that when I saved this pattern as a pdf from a Word document, it migrated from a lovely 4MB Word file to a 25.3MB pdf file (which is too large to email via gmail, and takes forever to download).  So, here is is, again:

Rainbow Kid Mittens

Emilie Williams

sizes	small		medium
	4.5 inches from palm to index finger 2.5 inches across palm		5 inches from palm to index finger 3.25 inches across palm
gauge	5.5 stitches & 9 rows = inch
materials & tools	1 set, size US1 double-pointed needles (for I-cord) 1 set, size US2 double-pointed needles 1 set, size US3 double-pointed needles yarn needle tape measure scissors 2 stitch markers waste yarn (approximately 6 inches) crochet hook for weaving in ends
yarn	Knit Picks Wool of the Andes – sport weight 1 skein each of the following colors:
	boy rainbow orange winter night caution grass red	girl rainbow rouge fairytale orange red caution

Cuff: With size US2 needles, cast on 28 (36) stitches. Divide onto four double-pointed needles (dpn), being careful not to twist, and knit in the round, using knit 2, purl 2 ribbing for one row.

Change to another color yarn for the cuff.  Continue using k2p2 ribbing for another 2 inches, or approximately 14 more rows.

Change to US3 dpn’s and, using stockinette stitch, increase 3 stitches evenly over the four needles.  31sts (39sts)

You should now have 7(9) stitches on the 1^st needle, and 8(10) sts on the 2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th needles.

Hand: Switch colors every 3 rows using “jogless jog” method.

Jogless jog	Knit 1 row.  At the start of the second row, lift 1 bar of previous color from below, and place onto left needle.  Knit together with first stitch of the second row. Knit third as you normally would.
	The jogless jog makes it so the stripes of color match while knitting in the round.  Otherwise the bands of color are higher on one side, and the look isn’t entirely seamless.

With size US3 dpn’s, new color & using stockinette stitch:

Round 1: knit 1 round

Round 2: use jogless jog method for 1^st stitch.  Knit across 1^st needle.  Knit across 2^nd needle until there is 1 stitch remaining.  Place marker. Knit last stitch on 2^nd needle. On 3^rd needle, knit 1^st stitch.  Make 1 stitch.  Place marker.  Knit across remainder of 3^rd needle and all of 4^th needle.

Round 3: knit 1 round.

Continue as with first 3 rounds, except you should make 1 stitch after the first marker in subsequent rounds, in addition to the increase before the second marker.

When you have 11(13) stitches between markers, place those stitches on a scrap of waste yarn.

Continue knitting in stockinette stitch, using jogless jog, until the length of the mitten from the palm (not including the cuff) measures 4(5) inches.

Decrease: Decreases should be used on round 2 of each color.

Needle 1: Knit 1 stitch, slip-slip-knit (ssk)

Needle 2: Knit until there are 3 stitches remaining. Knit 2 together (k2tog), knit remaining stitch

Needle 3: Knit 1 stitch, ssk

Needle 4: Knit until there are 3 stitches remaining. K2tog, knit last stitch

Continue using the decreases as shown above, until you have reached the desired length of the mitten.  K2tog across remaining stitches.  Break yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail.  Using a yarn needle, draw tail of yarn through remaining stitches, and pull closed.

Use a crochet hook to weave in ends.  This should close any holes caused by changing colors.

i-Cord: Using 2, size US1 dpn’s, in the same color you used to cast on, pick up 4 stitches at outside edge of cuff (where you first cast on).  Knit across 4 stitches. Do not turn!  Slide stitches to the edge of the needle.  Bring yarn behind stitches to knit the same 4 stitches again.  After each row, tug gently so the stitches begin to form a tube.  Keep going until the I-cord is the desired length.  Break yarn, leaving a 6-inch tail.  Graft or kitchener stitch the 4 i-cord stitches to the cuff of the second mitten.  Weave in all ends.

The i-cord should be long enough, so that when attached to the mittens, the entire length is equal to the height of the child.  The small mittens are sized to fit a child that is 3-4 years old, or 35-38 inches tall.  The mittens themselves are approximately 4.5 inches long x 2 = 9 inches.  36 inches – 9 inches = 27 inches.  I made my i-cord 26 inches long, figuring that the yarn will stretch slightly.

Madelinetosh Extravaganza

This gallery contains 6 photos.

Almost a year ago a friend asked if I would knit her a shawl or shrug for her wedding.  In fact, I started this blog as a way to share pictures and ideas with her.  After taking a trip to a few yarn stores in Manhattan to look at touch yarn, we settled on Brooklyn … Continue reading →

Oops

Man, I was so excited to upload the pictures and pattern for the bonnet I made!  In my haste, I forgot to include some very important details in the pattern directions.  Oops.  I’m currently test knitting the bonnet in different yarns, and will update the pattern directions as soon as possible.  In the meantime, here’s the latest bonnet, in Noro. 

February Baby Bonnet

Sweater pattern from “The Knitter’s Almanac” by Elizabeth Zimmerman

I knit a February Baby Sweater (aka A Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February) from “The Knitter’s Almanac”) for a dear friend, using wool I bought while we were together on vacation.  “The Knitters Almanac” calls for a bonnet to match, but the pattern directions are nondescript to say the least.  Elizabeth Zimmerman’s directions from “The Knitter’s Almanac”: “Make any bonnet you please, of the type which encloses the ears, and buttons under the chin.”  She goes on to describe how to make a collar that covers the neck between the bonnet and sweater.

Here is my pattern for a bonnet to match the sweater.  Not having a baby myself, I used a bust of my grandmother as a child to check the sizing.  It seems like the bonnet is bigger than the sweater, but am hoping that since babies’ heads don’t grow that much in the first year, it will be okay.

February Baby Bonnet

Using whatever yarn and needles you used to make the sweater:

Cast on 59 stitches (or multiple of 7 + 10 for garter edging). Knit in garter-stitch for 6 ridges. Knit in Gull  (as in the sweater) for 5 inches or so, still with the 5-stitch garter border on either end.

Divide onto 3 double pointed needles: the first needle should have 19 stitches, the second, 21 sts, and the third, 19 sts. Continue using the Gull pattern. On ever right-side row: ssk at end of 1st needle, k2tog at beginning of 2nd needle, ssk at end of 2nd needle, k2tog at beginning of 3rd needle. Keep up the garter border, and purl on wrong side.

When there are 3 stitches remaining on the 2nd needle, k3tog. K2tog somewhere so that you are left with 2 dpn’s, each with 5 sts. Knit the 5 sts as an attached i-cord, folded back and knitted onto the bottom edge of each side of the bonnet. When you get to the front edge, knit a 5 inch i-cord string.

Note the attached i-cord edging.

Hannah Hat

This project presented some challenges!  The biggest: I don’t have a four year-old on hand to measure.  I looked up the average size of a child’s head – thanks, internet!  Also, I wasn’t exactly sure where to put the earflaps at first.  I tried eyeballing the proportions while looking at kids on the subway… and then I realized I looked like a total weirdo staring at little kids.  Thankfully I work at a lovely elementary school, and asked a few parents after school one day if I could measure their kid’s heads.  To take this photo, I used an upside-down glass vase, with a felted wool bowl on top for extra padding.  Here’s a pdf link to the pattern: Hannah Hat

Rainbow Kid Mitts

I’ve only just started selling my knits on Etsy, and thought it would be interesting to also post the patterns on Ravelry. I wonder which will get more traffic – a pattern or the finished product?

Here’s a link to mitten pattern for kids:  Rainbow Kid Mitts

They’re cute and quick to make. I made 2 pairs of mittens, one in small and the second in medium, in about a week (and I knit for less than an hour per day).

Another pretty wrap

http://handmadebyfasola.blogspot.com/2010/09/foglia-shawl.html

Shrug?

I know shrugs aren’t super cool, and kinda weird if you see someone wearing one… but I just can’t help but LOVE these… (okay, one of them is Baxter, but he’s super cute too)

Lace knit wedding shawls

Traditionally, in the UK, wedding knits were often done in delicate, super-fine wool.  The old adage is that a wedding shawl should be so fine that you can draw it through a wedding ring, without it getting caught.  These are beautiful, but also very different from the original photos you sent me.  What do you think?

http://shop.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk/product.php/3766/0/shetland_fine_lace_scarf_ka002&navlock=1