Category Archives: Knit

There’s a hole in my sweater; darn it!

I went to put on my 20 (or is it 25?) year old sweater yesterday, and noticed that there was a hole in the front. (I can’t remember which kiddo was the infant when I knitted this sweater for myself. I just remember that it was naptime knitting.)

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Darn it.

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Why yes, I did. I didn’t have exactly the same color, but this is reasonably close. I duplicate stitched over the adjacent stitches and the one broken stitch. I think it looks pretty decent.

This post is for Deborah, who was asking about repairing holes in knitting.

Now if only someone could repair the hole in our hearts, after the local shopping mall shootings, and the kindergarten shootings in Connecticut. So sad.

the week that was

When I was jamming and knitting at Vickie’s house last week, she showed me a couple yarns that she had picked up. She wanted to make some cabled fingerless mitts with a bulky yarn, but the pattern she had chosen didn’t work at that gauge. Hmmmm. I have a free fingerless mitt pattern at that gauge, but no cable.

So I thought about how to add that cable, jotted down some notes for her, and voila! Her cabled fingerless mitt.

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Do you want to knit these? I’m planning on re-writing the (very brief) pattern, which was more of a dashed off recipe at the time. It’s on the to-do list…

What else happened this last week? I finished this Snowflake Christmas Stocking at knit nite.

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I started it a long time ago when I was teaching a class. I found it in my UFOs (unfinished objects!). All it needed was an i-cord hanging loop and weaving in all the ends. It’s actually a quick knit in heavy worsted weight yarn; I had just forgotten all about it. Now it’s done, and it’s going to be a gift.

I’m also working a Webfoot scarf for my Silver and Gold Filigree KAL. It’s Webfoot instead of Filigree, but it’s definitely gold! I was planning to knit Filigree in silver, but it turns out that I need this particular scarf for someone. Are you knitting along? I know that there have been some KAL sales through Ravelry, but I haven’t heard from KAL knitters. I’d love to know how you’re doing. Don’t forget, there’s a drawing after December 25 for a skein of fingering weight yarn for KAL finishers.

And last but not least?

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A bunch of thrums, waiting for a knitting project. It’s a lot easier to thrum when the thrums are made up ahead of time. I think a lot of people are knitting Thrumbelina right now; I’m seeing patterns fly out the digital door! ‘Tis the season for the gift of warm feet. This just makes me want to thrum some more. I was wearing my Thrumbelina slippers today, and they are still very cozy. I like wearing them with socks, because they’re slightly more cushy that way, and it puts off having to launder them.

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(old pic, just so you know what I’m talking about)

I haven’t done any Christmas shopping yet! And we are celebrating Hanukkah, too.

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Are you gift knitting? How’s it going?

Silver and Gold…Filigree KAL

The holidays are fast approaching, so I’m having a Silver and Gold Filigree KAL during December. My Filigree scarf is a quick and easy project using one skein of fingering weight yarn (about 350 yards), perfect for gift knitting, or an accessory for yourself.

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(I just finished this one.)

Why silver and gold? I wanted the KAL to be festive for holiday knitting. I was thinking of Filigree, and metal, and suddenly “Silver and Gold” was running through my head. Do you remember this song that Burl Ives sang on the children’s classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?”

Now it’s running through your head, too. You don’t have to knit in silver or gold if you don’t want to; any color will do. Whatever makes you happy.

I asked Adam, KAL master at Twisted, if I could do a Filigree KAL there, and he thought Filigree would be perfect for their Selfless Knitting theme during December. If you want to knit along in person with me, the KAL runs on Friday evenings from 5-8 p.m. at Twisted. I’ll be there tonight just to say hi, but beginning December 7 I’ll be knitting my Filigree there.

I’m using Knitted Wit‘s Shine merino/tencel yarn, color Moon Shadow. Looks like silver to me!

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Are you interested in knitting along with Filigree? You can knit along and comment and/or ask questions through the blog, my Facebook page, my Ravelry group, or in person at Twisted. To further entice you, I’m having a sale on the pattern through Ravelry: Use the coupon code silverandgold for $1 off the pattern through December 24. Here’s a direct link for order plus coupon if that’s easier for you.

I’ll have a prize drawing for KAL finishers at the end of December. Come join in the fun! It’s an easy and intuitive knit, and a lovely gift.

Steeking success

Our steeking class was small but brave. Naomi and Deborah did all their homework, and came to show their knitting just who’s boss. I also knit another Kerfuffle so I could cut right along with them. First, we marked our cutting line. This made it a lot easier to see where to crochet our reinforcement.

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Deborah was the first to cut.

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It’s always nice to have friends for support on your first steek! I cut next.

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And Naomi cut her steek, too.

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I brought bubbly, and we toasted our success! We picked up the stitches for the ruffle and headed home. Thanks to Naomi and Deborah, for doing all the homework, and for having faith that this little cutting exercise would work out!

Question for you: Would you rather steek and cut a swatch, or an actual project, like we did on Monday? There’d be homework either way, but a swatch would be a quicker, simpler knit. I’d love to teach a class like this again, and am wondering which way would make it the most enticing.

Onward! I finished my Kerfuffle that night, and blocked it the next day.

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The purple scarf is another Filigree, knit with MadelineTosh Pashmina. It’s sport weight, and it’s absolutely yummy. I knit it mostly because I wanted to see if there was enough yarn in a skein to make this, since the other Filigrees are knit with fingering weight. The answer is yes, I had plenty of yarn. And the sport weight version is just a little weightier, which is pretty cozy for winter. I’m not sure if this one is for me, or for a friend. We’ll see!

What’s next on the knitting agenda? I have a few design projects that are due in the next few months, so my home knitting will be focused on that. But for public knitting? I’m planning to knit another Filigree, and you are welcome to join me! I’m planning a knitalong, both through the blog and in person at Twisted during December. It’s a quick knit, one skein, a perfect gift. More details in the next post, after I get things figured out. I hope you’ll knit with me!

Ready to steek

You can get a lot of knitting done while waiting for a turkey to cook on the grill…

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The checkerboard section in the center is where I’ll be cutting this piece in class on Monday night at Twisted. There’s still room in the class, if you’re a quick knitter and can get your homework done by Monday evening!

We expected our turkey to be done in 4 hours, but it took 6. Such are the vagaries of using a grill to cook a turkey.

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It was worth the wait! Our standard sides: potato/carrot/onion/celery stuffing, Brussels sprouts, baked sweet potatoes and apples, rice stuffing with Chinese sausage/oysters/celery/water chestnuts. The rice stuffing is my addition; my Dad used to make it and my kids love it. The potato stuffing is the classic from DH’s family. Something for everyone!

The only hitch in the weekend is that my in-laws were unable to make it. Dad is recovering from pneumonia. He’s much better, but not ready for travel. It’s the first time in 25 years that we haven’t been together, but we did a little Facetime chat. Thank you, technology!

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with friends and family and good food. What’s your go-to side dish?

Kerfuffle update, and come steek with me!

I’ve got a couple things going on with my Kerfuffle Cowl and Ruffle Kerfuffle scarf patterns right now. First of all, I’m raising funds for American Red Cross Disaster Relief (Sandy) with 100% of the proceeds from online sales of these two patterns through December 15.

Second, I’m about to cast on for another Ruffle Kerfuffle scarf today. I’m teaching a steeking class right after Thanksgiving weekend at Twisted here in Portland. It’s on Monday, November 26, from 6-8 p.m. We’ll be doing the crochet reinforcement, CUTTING the steek, and picking up the ruffle on the Ruffle Kerfuffle Scarf. Class is $20.

All the knitting is done before class. Yes, it’s a lot of homework, but this gives us time to reinforce and cut. There’s still time to get the homework done; if I can do it, so can you! I was going to do mine on a swatch, but it’s way more fun this way. And I loooove knitting with Malabrigo Worsted.

If you’re local, I’d love it if you join me and be the absolute BOSS of your knitting.

Go Ducks! Knit Lace!

That seems like a non-sequitur, but I can explain. I was inspired by two things for my latest design: a picture in a stitch dictionary that looked like duck feet, and some beautiful Hazel Knits Artisan Sock yarn in a glorious color named hoppy blonde. I knew I wanted to make a scarf/shawlette that would fit right in at an Oregon Ducks football game.

I’m not much of a football fan, but DH and I, and our eldest son all went to the University of Oregon, so I’m vaguely paying attention. The Ducks have been having some swell seasons lately. Right now they’re 10-0 this fall.

I started this project on our trip to Europe in September. A tiny setback was that the charted pattern in my stitch dictionary didn’t yield the results in the picture. But I figured it out. I *am* the boss of my knitting.

I love how this turned out. But what if you’re not a Duck fan? You could pretend that they’re just diamonds, not duck feet. Or…you could knit lace. I designed another version for non-Ducks.

This one was knit in Hazel Knits Artisan Sock, Jam Session. I love it, too.

Both versions are included in the pattern. They’re both worn bandana style, so the widest part of this very shallow crescent is at the front, with the tails brought around again. You can wear it loose, or add a stick pin for stability.

Pattern purchase information is here. It’s a quick knit with one skein of sock yarn, and would be great for holiday knitting!

In the wake of Sandy…a fundraiser

Sandy the Superstorm feels like it was a long time ago given the short life cycle of headline news, but it’s going to take a while to get everything back to normal on the east coast. Two weeks after the storm, there are still people without electricity, heat, and even homes. I just read a great blog post by Mary Mooney of the Oregonian. She details why you shouldn’t knit for Sandy’s victims, at least not directly, if you’re not local to the scene. As knitters we want to help, but the best way to help is with dollars, not items that have to be shipped and managed.

In this spirit, I’d like to offer up Ruffle Kerfuffle. All proceeds from online sales of my Kerfuffle Cowl and Ruffle Kerfuffle Scarves and Cowl patterns from now until December 15, 2012 will be donated to the Red Cross. I’ll pay the Ravelry and paypal fees myself; 100% of the purchase price will go towards disaster relief.

What is a kerfuffle, anyway? According to the dictionary, it’s commotion, disorder, agitation. I think that’s a good description of what happened. I hope things get back to normal there soon.

The cowl pattern is just for the cowl; the Scarves and Cowl pattern includes the cowl and the steeked scarves.

Click here for information on how to purchase the pattern. Knit one for you and one for a friend! Two 100 gram balls of yarn will make two cowls in opposing colorways. And thanks for helping out.

Knitting, knitting, knitting

I finished the cowl from the previous post, thanks to Dee in Orlando. I was visiting CollegeGuy and forgot the smaller needle for the ribbing. I didn’t want to take time from our visit to find a yarn store, because we were headed for the beach!

Because of Dee’s kindness in lending me a needle, I finished the first cowl and started the negative image one on the flight home. Details on these in the next post.

On Sunday, I stood in the surf at Cocoa Beach with my boys (young men!) and watched the pelicans diving for fish. So cool! The weather was perfect, 84 and sunny. DH read his kindle. While we were gone, it looks like someone Rumpelstiltskinned my back yard. Here’s the view from my office.

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Thank you, Dee! Your needle is on its way back to you, along with a goodie. Hope you like it!

Winner!

I’ve been knitting like crazy, but I had to step away from the knitting for a little bit. I can’t see my chart.

This is another Kerfuffle Cowl, this time in Knit Picks Swish Tonal; the colors are Inkwell and Pearlescent. I should be able to get two cowls out of the two skeins of yarn, but I may have to reverse the colors for the second one. The scale will tell me when I’m done with the first one! Do you use a kitchen scale for your knitting? It’s really helpful for me when I’m designing and need to know if I have enough yarn for what I have planned.

I’ve also been doing a little crochet lately. Just chain stitch. I’ve been making beaded bracelets, and I’m going to lead a workshop on these at Twisted on November 10, noon to 2 p.m. We made some of these at a birthday gathering of Crafty Moms on Sunday, and everyone did great, even the non-crocheters. Come to class and see how!

And the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The winners of the stitch markers are Katnipon and Judi. Congratulations! I’m emailing the winners.

I wish I had enough stitch markers for everyone. Here are links to my tutorials if you want to make beaded stitch markers of your own:

Stitch markers made with wire pins (flat head or eye pins)

Stitch markers made with flex wire

Have fun!