I mentioned last week that I started knitting a cowl for myself. A knitting project! For me!
I treated myself to some Malabrigo Silky Merino over the holidays. The pattern is Good Luck Cowl by Drop Stitch Knitter.
What have you made for yourself lately?
More creative spaces over at Kirsty’s place.
This weekend I finished the mittens to match the Kitty Cat Hat. My daughter loves them, but wants to know when I’m going to add a cat face. Really? Can’t we just be happy they got finished before Spring?
When I bought this yarn I asked the store owner if he thought two balls would be enough to make a hat and mittens for a four year old. He didn’t think so and recommended I buy a third ball. I weighed the remaining yarn after I was finished and I had just over 50 grams, which is a little more than one ball.
If you’re thinking the same question, the answer is yes, it’s possible. You’ll use every bit of yarn, but may not be able to match color changes as nicely without a third ball from which to pull.
leftover yarn: I wonder if my daughter would wear a cowl?
The Kittyville Hat is finished! This was a great pattern and I loved knitting with Noro.
I messed with the color changes a little bit to make sure there was enough pink, red and purple to make my daughter happy. (Yes, I know it’s really dark pink, but I sold it as red, which is her favorite color, so just go along with me, ok?)
Here it is in action:
She loves the kitty ears and I love that her ears are covered. It’s a win/win! I’m currently working on a set of matching mittens and messing with the color changes even more. Thank goodness for spit and splice wool.
Pattern notes here.
My daughter is wearing last year’s wool hat and mittens. I can’t believe they still fit — not much else from last winter does. With the cold weather officially upon us, I decided to knit a new set for her before she outgrows the ones she’s wearing now.
I started this over the weekend and I’m already picking up stitches for the ear flaps. This is my first time knitting with Noro and I have to say that I really love it. The colors are so brilliant!
pattern notes: This is the Kittyville Hat from Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook. There is a child’s size version on Kitty Schmidt’s website. I’m replacing the devil horns on that link with kitty ears. Finished pics to come soon!
I’ve wanted to make these ornaments for a long time. The pattern is from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. The inspiration for the Husker “N” came from my friend Christy, who has made a gazillion of these. The pattern suggests making a hanger out of a pipe cleaner and I think it’s absolutely adorable.
I’m having a hard time blogging because a lot of what I’ve been making hasn’t been gifted yet. I don’t think the recipients read my blog, but if you get one of these from me, just act surprised, ok?
stash: Red wool from the 2010 East Campus garage sale. White wool from the 2009 East Campus garage sale. Fabric for gift bag from here. Crazy that I remember all of that!
p.s. Congratulations to giveaway winner Shana Putnam!
Yes. I still knit. It may be hard to believe with all of my crochet posts, but I still do. Nothing compares to knitting in the round on double pointed needles. I LOVE it.
Last weekend I knit up a pair of Golightly Gloves as a bridal shower gift and they were so much fun. The pattern is a simple 2×2 rib in dishcloth cotton. These are totally silly and I really want a pair for myself, too. I might knit a detachable cuff because I always wind up with holes in my glove fingers.
project info: I’m usually not a fan of ombre yarn because the colors tend to pool in weird shapes. I love how these turned out more uniformly striped. Peaches and cream cotton from my stash. Pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines.
…judge me by my size, do you?*
I’ve always wanted to try knitting with a set of really big needles.
Do or do not… there is no try.*
Whenever I see them in the craft store I wind up passing them by because I’ve already got too many things on my to-do list.
The other day in the thrift store, when I was buying the black and white sweater, I happened upon this set and a big hook, too. At thrift store prices, I couldn’t pass them up. The needles are US size 35 and the hook is a size Q.
My wrists are starting to feel better. These might be the perfect way to ease back into things. I’m thinking Purl Bee’s Eleventh-Hour Scarf with some Manos del Uruguay from my stash might make a nice weekend project.
What crafty projects do you have planned for the weekend?
*Yoda
I found one more thing of interest at the textile sale: a bag of Interweave Knits magazines for only 25 cents each. They are various issues from 2001-2003. Some had a few patterns that had been cut out, but for a quarter each, I figured they’d be great just for inspiration.
Well, I found quite a few things that I liked, actually. As I was cutting them out, I marveled at just how many patterns were left. Did the magazine publish more per issue back then? I could not bring myself to put these in the recycle bin. Now, granted, some of the pullovers are a bit oversized, but a lot are classic enough to be made and worn today. Here are some of the pattern highlights:
*Grand plan patterns include every possible measurement imaginable for a completely custom fit.
How to enter: Just leave a comment and tell me about your current projects. You can leave a second comment for a bonus entry if you head on over and “like” me on my Facebook page.
Giveaway open until Thursday, September 2, midnight, central time. I’ll announce the winner next Friday.
Open to U.S. readers only. Sorry, international friends, but these weigh a lot!
So many knitters are scared of the s-word.* It’s really not that terrible. In fact, I’ve been cutting into sweaters for years to make pillows, scarves and tote bags. You just need to get over the fear that all of the stitches will immediately unravel. Take it from someone who unravels sweaters a lot. It’s not that easy for a sweater to fall apart.
original turtleneck
I’ve been cleaning out my closet and have a lot of beautiful pullover sweaters that I don’t wear anymore. I keep them because the wool is so nice. Sometimes I think I will knit them into something else. I don’t know where I think I’m going to find the time. After my Fair Isle class at knitting retreat, I decided to turn my pullovers into cardigans.
new cardigan
I decided to practice on a thrifted sweater first. I picked a cotton/acrylic blend that was in the donation pile. It had a weird texture — kind of like chenille. Man, was that collar hard to unravel. If you want to practice first, I recommend trying a sweater made out of a nice, simple, plain yarn.
This is a short and sweet tutorial. I assume you understand the anatomy of a knit stitch, know how to pick up stitches and crochet a decorative trim.
Materials:
seam ripper
sharp scissors
sewing machine
crochet hook
Step 1
Remove the seam that attaches the collar to the sweater. Unravel collar yarn and save for later.
Step 2
Find the middle column of stitches. Using a sewing machine, sew a line of stitches two columns to the right and two columns to the left.
Step 3
Carefully cut up the middle column of stitches.
collar removed, stitches sewn and cut
close up of sewn stitches
Step 4
Using the unraveled collar yarn, pick up and single crochet a stitch for each row of stitches. I started at the bottom, worked my way up and around the neck and back down the other side. (Some will tell you to pick up three stitches for every four rows. I say do what feels right, looks good and doesn’t pucker.)
Step 5
Depending on how much yarn you have left, crochet a decorative border. I chose a simple shell edging.
close up of crochet edge
Options
If you want to try this with a crew neck and don’t have enough matching yarn, use a different color or texture to jazz things up. You could also add buttons using chain stitch button holes.
This project is easy once you get over the fear of cutting into knitted stitches. I finished this in two afternoons.
refashion: I’m excited to start wearing some of my favorite wool sweaters again. I’ll be posting my progress as I go. A special thanks to Lynn Anne for giving me the courage to cut!
*s-word is steek!
Finally! The thrifty find I missed last week. This isn’t actually my find. I guess when you regularly blog about recycling, reusing and refashioning, you get a reputation. A few weeks ago, my friend Kelly texted me this:
Kelly: Knit emergency: think you could repair this? Hanger damage on an Eileen Fisher sweater.
Me: I think so. It looks like a lot of dropped stitches, but the yarn seems intact. Are any of the strands cut?
Kelly: Nothing cut as far as I can tell. It’s a *huge* discount, and I’ll buy no matter what, but having it repaired would be an excellent bonus, you know?
Me: We’ll make it work.
Actually, I thought this would be a simple pick-up-the-stitches job, but too long on the hanger had pulled the neighboring stitches too tight. I got out a tiny crochet hook and gently started pulling on loops. I tightened up the loose stitches and tried to evenly distribute the yarn across the others. It wasn’t the most exciting task. (For the quilters out there, it made my eyes cross like endless stitching in the ditch.) It was worth it though. Except for three or four stitches that just won’t behave, everything else looks good.
Of course, my “dedication” to perfection comes into question again. This area is mostly covered by the long, cowl-like collar. No one will ever see my work. Kind of crazy? Well, at least I know it looks good.
There’s another thrifty find to this story. When Kelly gave me the sweater to fix, she also gave me a pair of very nice, dark denim J. Crew jeans that she found thrifting. They fit awesome and I love them. Thanks again, Kelly!
