The Latest Creation

This week I have been knitting wildly to finish a twisted rib beret and matching handwarmers. The handwarmers are the first pattern that I will be offering at Ravelry for free. I think they are fabulous and take very little time and yarn to make a great pair that has interest and warmth.

This set is made out of Cascade 220. To do the set it takes two skeins of the main color and one of the contrasting color. There will be enough leftover to make a second pair of handwarmers.

This is my second knit of the beret and I used Hiya Hiya size 9 US in a 16 inch circular. It knit up like a charm. I blocked it using a dinner plate and it offers wonderful warmth without the hair mushing effect.

I hope everyone is finding great things to do~!

One-Skein Knits: Great Way to Learn New Techniques

For me, this is the year to learn new things and not spend a lot of money doing it. I figure that some of you may be in the same boat. So I am looking at small projects that can use a skein or less and still end up with wearable and, possibly, giftable item.

Since I am finishing the visor beanie for my mom and I loved the way the Cascade 220 Paint colors knitted up I decided to use the rest of the skein to try out a linen stitch scarflette. It is easy to knit and the variegate color gives it a lot of snap with this stitch technique. I think she will like it.

Another thing I have seen a lot about recently is mittens. They are the new socks, with portability, small amount of yarn, wearability and a great canvas to practice stitch or color techniques. A great way to show off your creativity and artistic endeavors.

This weekend I taught a class with an earflap hat as the project that incorporates the Channel Island Cast On and cables as techniques to learn. It is a really fun project and is made out of one skein of Cascade 220.

Another new technique that I am getting ready to delve into is twined knitting. I have the yarn set out for a cowl and hat from the new book, New Twists on Twined Knitting.

One skein knits are also a great way to budget your knitting while you learn new techniques and create fun gifts for family and friends.

Judith Durant and Leigh Radford's books are a wealth of ideas for those who want to pursue these type of projects.

I have several projects lined up to knit in Ravelympics this February to get a head start on learning new things and gifts for holidays.

Happy pursuits of the things that make you smile!

More Hats and Cowls on My List

Even though my holiday knit list is complete, I find I am knitting up "just a couple more" visor beanies and matching cowls. One set is for my mom, she picked out the yarn before Xmas so I am going to get this done for her right away because her list of IOUs from me is already too long.

I changed up the pattern just a little for hers because the yarn was knitting up so beautifully with the color changes that I wanted to see it with the garter short rows, seed stitch, plus a stockinette crown to finish, techniques. It is really something and I am going to add a beaded brim to it.

The yarn is Cascade 220 Painted in colorway 9826-Londonberry and it looks like grapes and leaves, very vintner I might say.

I am also being asked by several folks, commenters and emailers, what lace scarf patterns I am going to be attempting in the Ravelympics. Well, I have a pattern that I purchased through Knitpicks, with yarn to go with them, called Elizabeth I. It has three patterns within it and a story to go with each. I note this here however will not share who is getting them or the colors because some of you are very smart and can figure it out. You know who you are, don't look so innocent.

I hope that everyone have fun things they are pursuing this beginning of a new year!

As Promised: The Knitted Gifts Gallery

After five months of concerted effort and diligent knitting I can present the holiday knitted gifts gallery. I started my planning in March with a list of folks for my holiday knit list. Then I reviewed patterns, chose the ones I wanted and shopped for yarn with specific people in mind. Once it was all gathered, I began knitting the small stuff first. Then life got in the way and I got slowed down.

By August I was re-evaluating my list and had joined Ravelympics. My plan was to get another batch of gifts finished and I managed to do that, seven projects finished in seventeen days.

I have knitted beaded hats and scarves** for all four nieces, plus hats and tudoras for the parents.

I also designed and created a nightcap** for the self-proclaimed oldest living elf in captivity. I am waiting for the report from him about how it works when he wears it to bed.








There are some gifts that failed to get photoed because of the last minute rush to get them finished and wrapped. And there are still a couple on my needles, plus the one for my mom that got wrapped as two skeins of sock yarn with a note - Let there be socks TBK - that will get started next week.

As you can imagine, I am working on my list for 2009 beginning this week. First I have to clean my knitting shelf so I can find the patterns I wanted to do for the 2009 Holiday season. And I have requests from the Evil Elf in Germany that there are needs for more knitted items for his family.

**The beaded hat/scarf and nightcap patterns will be available soon from my blog and linked to Ravelry for anyone who needs to treat the special people in their life to fun knits.

Moebius Update: FO and Lessons Learned

What have I learned from my first Moebius knitting experience? Lots of helpful hints for others wanting to travel this path with the brilliant Cat Bordhi and her interesting technique.

First, take a class! I had read through the instructions in the book several times, looked at the pictures and attempted to do as it said. Frustration is a keyword I will use to describe the experience. Once I saw it in class, book in front of me to match up each step, it began to make sense.

Second, once you have your initial project started, take up some other yarn and needles and to practice the cast on again. It is easy to forget how it goes together if you only do the cast on once every two weeks/project. Also, you might want to try a smaller needle size on the left needle (if you are using interchangeable circulars like Denise's) when you are knitting the first row. It helps the yarn move smoother onto your needle. Remember, gauge is determined by the right hand tip size.

Third, if you have the time, type up the instructions from the book into line by line format. Reading the instructions in paragraph form can be very confusing and lead to mistakes.

Fourth, use a distintively colored waste yarn, not even close to the color of your project.

Fifth, trust your abilities. Once you have completed the first one it becomes easier to understand how to use the waste yarn, pickup for the bowl part, and why you need complete, undistracted time during the cast-on, count and knitting the first rowfirst row.

Sixth, to get a nicely shaped basket, use the balloon method to dry it. It is best to begin blowing it up then insert it and continue to inflate until it is tight in the basket. These, pictured, dried for about three full days before I popped the balloon. They were made off the large basket pattern with the majority of a skein of Cascade 220.

These baskets turned out a good size and will make a fun accent to any room in the house. The purple one will be used to hold pencils, paper and post-its at my upcoming knitting classes. My next plan is to make a small one to see how that turns out.

I hope everyone is enjoying Spring and finding fun and passionate pursuits!

Colorful Yarns or Wow! What A Store.

I finally had the good weather/road opportunity to deliver the Cat Care Society donation box to Colorful Yarns in Centennial, Colorado yesterday. The donations were welcomed with oohs and aahs for the blankets and chuckles about the spider strings and flying spider toys.

The shop is run by a mother/daughter team. It is stacked with yarns from all over, floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with many knitting and crochet books, and more needle choices than I have ever seen.

I was especially excited to find the Kollage square needles. I purchased a pair, size 13, to make scarves on and three skeins of yarn for just that purpose. After Christmas some of you may recognize the colorway in a gift. Not telling who. From the Kollage website I discovered that there are only two shops currently carrying these particular needles, the other is Green Valley Weavers and Knitters in Colorado Springs.




The gals at Colorful Yarns said that they collect for the Cat Care Society throughout the year so if you have the time and washable acrylic yarn (like I do) you can do 2'x2' blankets to help keep the kitties warm and comfy.

Enjoy your holidays!

The Year of the Bag

You know how the Chinese have the Year of the: Dog, Cat, Parakeet, Pack Rat, Armadillo, Boa Constrictor, Agapanthas and Dragon? Well, this year has been the Year of the Bag for me. That's right, it has been the bulk of my knitting projects for this year. And today I can finally unveil the finished products.

Behold, the bags:

Four different patterns are represented here. The outer rows show the four bright and beaded bags called Take Along Bags. Each of these bags were knit using Red Heart yarn in variegated colors. I found this pattern in the Creative Knitting magazine July 2007 edition. I took some liberties with the pattern and added a linen stitch to the section that became the flap of the bag. It really turned out nice. The beaded fringe makes the bag more fun.

In the second row from the left, starting with the turquoise bag, is a row of Amanda Squatty Sidekick felted bags. This pattern is available free on the Net. All of these were made out of one skein of Cascade 220. Each one I knitted I learned more about how a pattern is written which is helping me write a pattern for the kittyghan to submit to the Knitting A Pattern A Day calendar for 2009.

The denim colored bag at the top of the third row is from Debbie Bliss Home book. It is called Felted Bag in the book. I call it a bucket bag by virtue of its round bottom construction. I used two skeins of Cascade 220 to construct this one. The pattern was not as clearly written as I needed for the first attempt, so when I went in to buy the yarn for the project I asked the gals at Needleworks by Holly Berry in Old Colorado for tips. They were very generous with their ideas, experience and suggestions. With their help this bag turned out just the way I wanted it to. I added the longer handles.

The lavendar bag is made from the Bucket Bag pattern by Two Old Bags. According to their website, they call this one a "feed bag" style. They are also the creator of the Lucy bag pattern that you may have heard of. I made the smaller version of this bucket bag from the pattern. It turned out beautifully and was a fun pattern to knit. I used two skeins of Cascade Eco + yarn to knit this one.

Update from December 8th: The snow-ice storm kept me home. So the kitty donations will have to wait or will go to a local cat shelter. Since I spent the day indoors I decided to clean and decorate for Christmas. I had help, of course.