Knit-Nerd-Rant

Following up on the last post, here's another pattern that I made up, super simple and looks great. It's super soft and stretchy, and like the last one, has no wrong side. I found 2 colors of the Caron Simply Soft that I liked together - a deep red and a charcoal grey - sorry the colors don't look properly dark enough in the photos, but such is life.  I really like the effect of the two strands together!  I learned at one point that the first thing that babies can see is contrasts and edges, so I figure this might help with some visual stimulation to get those tiny brains going. It almost looks like large strips woven together, but it's just squares of alternating sides of stockinette, with a border of garter stitch on the sides for stability. Supplies: Size 13 needles (I used a circular for convenience) Size 15 needles for bind-off 2 contrasting colors of Caron Simply Soft (I used Autumn Red #9730 and Charcoal Heather #9508 in 6 oz. skeins) Row counter ...

So, this year, one of the things I did was to learn how to cross-stitch, and did I ever! I've discovered it's a lot of fun, and a great way to incorporate my love of all things nerdy.  I've already made two things - both of which I am so ridiculously proud of.  One is a Firefly quote sampler and the other is a portrait and quote from Chewbacca.  I made the patterns myself, based on the same process I have described to create intarsia patterns .  These are more difficult to document, I've discovered, but just as rewarding! As a result, I've decided to create share-able pattens and try my hand at selling them via my new Etsy store .  Right now, I've got a couple patterns for the stitch works I've already done, and interested to add more as I can.  I'll admit that I've never done anything with Etsy before, so I'm interested to see how it goes.

This pattern is for a fun, festive hat made with a couple different types of yarn that create very different effects.  It's simple enough, though the changes between needle sizes and weights of yarn can be a bit of exercise for your fingers.  Depending on how Kaiser Wilhelm-y you want it to be, you can do the tassel or leave it off. So, my mother asked for a hat for Christmas and sent me the following picture as a guide for what I should make for her, but she wanted it in red: Essentially, this would mean felting using variegated yarn with an eyelash yarn around the brim that wouldn't felt and would provide a different kind of fluffy-ness. 2 difficulties with this: 1 - local yarn shop didn't have any eyelash yarn and no access to big box craft shops that would carry it, 2 - I've never intentionally felted anything and the whole process scares me more than it should scare any rational, experienced knitter. When I went to my LYS ( Looped ), I was able to find ...

So I had to quickly think up some gifts for some of the in-laws-to-be. We went down to visit them for Thanksgiving, and will be up with my family for Christmas this year. So we decided we would bring down everyone's Christmas gifts while we were in town. Sister-in-law-to-be and her fiance are tough to buy for, so we got them a couple gift cards.  I felt really guilty about it, since it's not the first time and it always just feels like a cop-out.  So I decided to use some scrap yarn lying around to make something to put the card in - a gift card cozy. Shout out to my friends at Hudson Trail Outfitters , regional chain in the DC area, and their promotional gift card rebate deal that gave me one to use for demonstration purposes!  It's cute, takes very little time to knit up, and makes it feel less like a cop-out to give someone a gift card.  I made 2 of them on the 2 hour flight there, so definitely very quick! I used these supplies: Scrap yar...

It's been a while since I posted because I kept intending that the next post would be the pattern for this new sweater... and things got in the way.  I designed it on the needles, as I often seem to do, and just haven't sat down and reverse-engineered it.  It's a super big and floppy neckline, which is just oh-so-cozy. It's a bit theatrical, and perhaps not for the faint of heart. Here goes! The yarn suggestion is a  little tricky.  I rescued some super scrumptious tan lambswool from a Gap sweater that I found at a rummage sale that was just an atrocious pattern (turtle neck sweater with ribbing from the neck to the shoulders, then stockinette, also known as turns fashion model figures into potatoes). It's a chunky yarn - thicker than worsted weight, but probably not a full "bulky" weight. Needle suggestions - I did this all on a pair of straight 10.5s, though, if you have a circular of the same gauge, I would suggest that for the neck. Unless yo...

Keep in mind, that this was totally designed on the fly, and I'm going back and re-constructing what I did, so please forgive me for and alert me to any errors you see! Luckily, many years of experience sewing long before I even picked up my first knitting needles helped me confidently make my set-in sleeves.  They may not be the prettiest buttonholes, but dammit, that's who I figured it out. Translations: CO - cast on K - knit P - purl M1 - make one K2tog - knit 2 together P2tog - purl 2 together Equipment: 1 size 6 circular needle (24" long at the very least), 4 size 6 double-pointed needles, some scrap yarn, and a yarn needle for sewing in the loose ends. Making buttonholes: I totally stumbled on this method, so I don't know if it's got a name somewhere, but here is the way I did it Knit full length of body for the particular stage in the pattern, until the last 6 stitches K1, chain bind off next 3 stitches, leaving 2 remaining P2 This is the ...

I'm happy to share a new pattern, it's pretty basic, and it's my first ever pair of toe-up socks. I've made them specifically for my boyfriend, making the pattern up as I went to fit his feet - haute couture socks :-) These instructions are the way that I think of them, so, as someone discovering toe-up and short-row heels, experts should feel free to skip some of the details. For yarn, I used yarn that I salvaged from an old sweater that had run into the end of its life. Lots and lots of yarn from that puppy! But I liked the color, figured lots of it still had good life left in it. It's green! (It's also cheap) I also was eager to take advantage of some techniques in my new copy of Stitch 'n Bitch: Superstar Knitting   (a Christmas present to myself). So, that's a good place to look up any details of techniques described in this pattern. Gear up: (I used the following for this project) 5 double-pointed needles, US size 4 1 stitch h...

This is a very simple blanket, and pretty mindless to do.  I had a bunch of donated yarn from a friend - a collection of inexpensive craft store yarn - some boucle and some fleece.  I wanted to get rid of it, and thought this would be a great gift for someone who needed something warm and fuzzy. Supplies: I used a size 8 long circular (and also a size 6 circular, details below) I used up 2 very large skeins of the purple boucle, 2 skeins of pink fleece yarn, and 1.5 skeins of the acid green 4 stitch markers to mark the corners Cast on 80 stitches on a size 8 circular (or straight, depending on preference). I used long-tail/slingshot cast-on. Work 6 rows in stockinette Row A: Knit 5, [yo, k2tog], repeat [] until 5 stitches remaining, knit 5 Row B: Purl 6, [turn stitch around and purl, purl], repeat [] until 5 stitches remaining, purl 5 Repeat Rows A and B until the piece is nearly square Work 6 rows in stockinette Keep 80 stitches on needle - don't bind off...

So this funky little thing is a Moebius plush that I decided to make for my father, a geometer. I had some difficulty wrapping my brain around it, and reached out for help to Ravelry when my brain felt overwhelmed.  Got some great tips that went straight into the pattern for this little guy. Materials: I used size 6 double-pointed needles (4) Ancient, mind-bending green worsted-weight acrylic yarn (less than 1 skein) and about 3-4 feet of a contrasting darker green for stitching. Using a very thick yarn for this size needles meant that the piece is fairly stiff and sturdy.  If you're a looser knitter, try a smaller needle or thicker yarn to get this combo for yourself! Cast on 33 stitches on dpns (I used slingshot/long tail cast-on). Transfer 11 stitches to each of 3 needles for knitting. Row 1: knit, join into round Row 2: [knit 1, slip 1 stitch purlwise at end of dpn], repeat [] 3 times Continue rows 1 & 2 until piece is about 30 inches long an...

A while ago, a woman from my church community gave me a large bag full of knitting odds and ends, since she was no longer able to do it herself.  I had recently started a monthly "Fibre Party", basically a nicer name for a Stitch-n-Bitch group, at the church and this woman decided that I would be able to give these odds ands a happy home. When I opened it up, there were some amazingly kitschy acrylic yarns, a couple random darning needles, a set of very long, straight size 8 needles, and a whole bunch of old patterns.  The patterns are AMAZING. Between the fantastically cheesy (see the photo above) to the fantastically hideous Christmas stockings, it was a real treasure trove.  There were 2 thick books of sweater patterns for men and family full of Scandinavian fair-isle patterns from the mid-1940s, some children's sweater patterns from the 1970s, 1970s christmas patterns and random mimeographed versions, and a couple more odds and ends. Particularly the forced poses...

So, since I finished the socks for the boyfriend, I've been having to figure out what I want to do next. The lambswool in the black bag above was reclaimed from a truly hideous GAP sweater found at a rummage sale and is just begging to be knit into a cozy, lovely sweater. The teal is smooth cotton/silk blent that seems perfect for a shirt, and the red and brown cotton/wool blend are going to be socks for me at some point with cheerful stripes. The next question came up when in my new office, the temperature outside plummeted and offices in DC generally don't just flip from AC to heat right away. Ours designates October 15th as the day to switch on the heat. All day on Monday, my co-workers and I were shivering trying to stay warm, wearing our coats around the office, and salivating over the idea of having some nice, hot tea (another thing we're still figuring out in the new space until we can get microwave/water heating system up...). I realized that one thing I re...

As I was trying to find an intarsia pattern for the back of my planned cardigan, I wanted to find something that would be unexpected - not something sweet and wholesome that someone's grandmother would make.  I combed through the internet looking for something, then I realized I could create my own pattern! So I found an image that was from a color-in page for a kid's pirate-themed party of a skull and crossbones.  I increased the size of the image and set it as the background on an Excel spreadsheet.  I then re-sized the cells so that they would resemble that of knit stitches (while now I realize my error, I should have aimed to make them square, but mine were a bit more narrow than that).  Then I carefully formatted all the cells that would be the contrast color for the pattern by selecting them and using the "Check Cell" pre-fab formatting.  This meant that the contrast cells were all dark grey and had an extra border.  Then I took the full field (...

So, I've been making some socks for my boyfriend, because no one seems to make socks for men with feet longer than an 11.5.  I'm using Purlbee's mens sock pattern that's a pretty simple one, though I'm just doing it in straight navy blue all the way (no contrast color).  Specifically, I'm using Sirdar Snuggly baby bamboo in navy, since someone's always too warm, this feels like it'll be nice and cool.  And quite frankly, it feels so lovely and smooth... ah.... This is the 2nd time around on this one.  I prepared one earlier and it fit him like a Christmas stocking, so frogged the whole thing, and started over again just this past Sunday.  After knitting while gabbing with friends, and some time on the bus, I've gotten back to the point where I get to deal with turning the heel. Pray with me.  Just kidding, given that I've already done it once, I'm a lot less nervous about it.  Still, quite a bit to go. While setting aside the front...