Category Archives: pattern design

November, the yarn

Posted on November 19, 2009 | 11 comments

I bought a little more Malabrigo Chunky the other day. I’m still working on a pattern for our knit party auction event, and I needed to try one more variation on a theme.

Isn’t this gorgeous? The color is called Noviembre. And yes, it looks like fall. These are so not my colors, but they are gorgeous, and I’m sure I can find a worthy recipient after the pattern is written and the pictures are done. And this yarn is so much fun to knit with; it’s firm and bouncy like knitting with al dente pasta! Speaking of food…

I posted on Facebook that I was baking applesauce blueberry bread; a lot of my posts seem to be about food. There were a couple recipe requests, so I’m posting it here for your enjoyment.

Applesauce Blueberry Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Blend in applesauce.

Blend dry ingredients, fold into applesauce mixture only until blended. Fold in blueberries.

Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 degrees, about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (Mine usually takes at least an hour and 15 minutes, especially if I’m baking two. You really don’t want this to be gummy on the bottom.) Cool in loaf pan on wire rack for about 30 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely. Scrumptious!

ETA: The reason mine takes so long to bake is probably because I put the berries in frozen, directly from the freezer. These are the berries that we grew last summer, and they are wonderful!

Oh, I almost wore the clear Converse sneakers today. I tried them on again, but I still felt clunky and flat-footed. So back they’ll go. Well, it was worth a try, anyway!

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, recipe

Tagged applesauce, blueberry, bread, Knit, malabrigo

Knitting project design process

Posted on October 20, 2009 | 14 comments

All the cool kids were at Rhinebeck last weekend, and I was way over here on the left coast, just hanging out. But I walked to Twisted on Saturday and bought some yarn, so I didn’t feel so left out. I came back with these.

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, 55% merino, 33% microfiber, 12% cashmere. This is incredibly soft and squishy to knit with. One ball makes a very efficient neck warmer (kind of like a mock T-neck), but it’s not very big. I don’t really want to use two for this project, so we’ll see how it goes. The color is somewhere between the two pictures: deep, vibrant, wine-y.

Malabrigo Chunky, 100% kettle dyed merino, 100 grams. It’s slightly heavier. And also really fun to knit with. The stitch definition is divine.

And I have one more on hand; it’s a bulky 100% merino yarn from Knitted Wit. Why am I suddenly obsessed with chunky yarn?

I’m hosting another party for the high school Booster Auction. Twisted is supplying the venue, and Lantern Moon is donating the needles. (Thank you to both!) Last year, I designed the Checkerboard Scarflet as a party project. I need a new project for this year. Yes, it’s above and beyond hosting the party, but it’s fun and for a good cause.

I’ve decided that I want to use a chunky yarn this year, to get near instant gratification. The project needs to be beginner friendly, but interesting enough for an experienced knitter to get some joy from it. I don’t want another flat scarf/scarflet. Fingerless mitts would be great, but you have to make two. I think a single item would be better. I think it’s going to be a cowl.

Next step: The perfect stitch pattern. I want to give options, so I think I’ll have three of them. I want at least one of them to be simple enough that a relative beginner will have a successful experience. I want something easily memorized. I want it to be elegant. Soon, with these chunky yarns!

In the meantime, I’ve returned to the piano bench and am picking my way through a Clementi sonatina (hey, I can still read music!) for relatively instant gratification, as well as trying to resurrect old repertoire. Hello, Mozart? Are you still there?

And I’m playing this guitar, just for a couple days. I have it on temporary swap with a friend; it’s new and I may want one of my own. Yes I have a guitar, but it’s not this nice! (Thanks to the Teen for being guitar model. He plays way better than I do.)

14 Comments

Posted in Knit, music, pattern design, piano

Tagged Knit, knit design, yarn

Knit your fingers to the bone, what do you get?

Posted on October 1, 2009 | 25 comments

Baby Hat Palooza!

We’re having a little baby boom at church. The music director’s baby received the pink baby bolero last month. We’re having a baby shower for three new moms this weekend, so I did a hat trick! (hockey, anyone?)

This is the tomato cap from Ann Norling’s Fruit Cap pattern (Rav link). It was my standard baby gift for a long time.

This is my own watermelon cap. Here’s a link to my free pattern.

And this is Elsa. The little knot in the pattern makes me think of Elsa Schiaparelli’s Bow Knot sweater, even though it’s nothing like it. It’s just a little decoration. I envision the knot worn above the ear, but anything can happen once it leaves my hands! Front and center? Down the back? Whatever!

I’m offering the Elsa pattern for free. It’s a simple pattern, quick and easy to knit with dk weight yarn. I used Sublime Yarns Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK, so mine is quite the little luxury knit. I hope you like it!

25 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged baby hat, free pattern, Knit

How many knitting days until Christmas?

Posted on September 25, 2009 | 11 comments

I don’t know. But this is what I was knitting in my “how to carry two colors in your right hand” video tutorial the other day.

It’s a shop sample for Twisted; I’m teaching a Christmas stocking class on Saturday, December 5, 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. The class is based on my pattern, which I finally wrote up this week! I made the first of these in 1996, but didn’t write it up until now. Here are all the variations at my house, made over several years.

The pattern is for the snowflake stocking; I wanted to keep things simple since it’s for a class. I dropped off the stocking and patterns this afternoon. Sivia Harding says that the stocking is perfect! That made my day. How could you not want to knit this pattern after such an endorsement? And yes, Sivia is now working at Twisted!

Patterns are available at Twisted and through Ravelry download; you can find more information on the pattern page.

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged christmas stocking, Knit

Searching for “the one”

Posted on August 18, 2009 | 11 comments

It’s been quite a swatching week here. It’s like speed dating. Isn’t it tough when you know exactly what you want, and just can’t get it? I bought a bag of Noro Silk Garden Lite at Sock Summit with a project in mind. The yarn is too heavy for the intended project, so I went searching for something else. The Jojoland Melody wasn’t it; it didn’t have enough color change. Then I thought I had found it in the Noro Kureyon Sock. The colors were perfect.

The swatch was gob-smackingly pretty. But as I knit on, I found myself with doubts. Would I wear a garment that was gorgeous, but scratchy? I’ve already found that I prefer my Malabrigo Ishbel to my Shetland Triangle, because it’s so soft. Hmmmm.

I voiced my concerns in an email exchange with Melanie. I told her I was dreaming of something similar to Noro in the way color is treated, but as soft as Malabrigo Sock. She suggested Crystal Palace Mini Mochi. Not quite as soft as Malabrigo, but that’s hard to live up to.

Back to Twisted. I briefly eyed the Zauberball, but the colors were too eye-poppingly bright. Malabrigo Sock? The color runs were too short. Mini Mochi?

More swatching. Similar color palette, beautiful colors, and a long run of each color, with the colors gently shading from one to the next. Just like the Noro. But much softer to the touch. We may have a winner. I thought the extra Noro was going back to the store, but in the morning light it’s still really pretty and it’s not as horribly scratchy as I thought. It’s more of an art piece, though. Do I make two? Is this how stash starts? What am I making? I can’t show you yet; it’s my stealth project. Don’t you love surprises?

Speaking of surprises, the blue silk laceweight Ishbel has made it to its recipient. I made it for Susan as a thank you for guiding us through Vietnam. She says she’s going to call it Ishmael. I knit part of it on the trip, but I was so jet-lagged all the time that there wasn’t much knitting!

And one more surprise. The community baby quilt was presented to our music director, the mom-to-be, and she was very touched. We started this on our women’s retreat in May. The theme was hearts, but you could go anywhere you wanted with it. Each person there was asked to make a square. I see mine! It’s the heart-shaped music notes in the upper left corner.

My aunt called yesterday to ask about Sock Summit. I told her about Cat Bordhi starting class by asking our names and who taught us to knit, and that I had shared that she had taught me when I was 16. She thought that was pretty neat. So now I’m sharing it with you, too. Thank you, Aunt Rose!

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, yarn

Sock Summit: I can’t stop smiling

Posted on August 7, 2009 | 21 comments

Today was the first “real” day of Sock Summit. It looked like a very smooth launch.

My friend Anna and I had a three hour class in the morning with Star Athena, Sock Design Workshop: Know the Rules, then Break Them. This was a great class. Star is a big fan of the gauge swatch; she says that they don’t lie. I still think mine do, but I’ll keep making them. I usually make design decisions by trial and error, and keep ripping back if I don’t like what I have. I hadn’t really thought about making a long continuous swatch before, but it’s a great idea. We also went over different ways of approaching design, and worked on designs of our own. Star also went over different avenues to publishing (magazines, books, internet, self-publishing). I came out of class with several design ideas and am happy I took the class. Thanks, Star!

I peeked into the market during lunch (vendor perk!) and said hi to Shannon and Emily from Twisted. They thought they should win a prize for yarn density in the booth. That’s a lot of color packed in there.

In the afternoon, we had Hooked on Beads with Sivia Harding. This was a one hour class, so it was pretty basic. We learned how to add beads in our knitting without pre-stringing them, and learned when each method is appropriate. We also looked at some of Sivia’s amazing beaded knitting. Webs provided crochet hooks and beads for the class (thank you!) which was a very nice surprise.

I know this is not the world’s most exciting swatch, but hey, I’m just trying to get the technique down without splitting the yarn!

Where are all these people going? To the market opening, of course!

I did a quick walk through the market; I’ll be back to shop and work in the booth tomorrow. I did buy a Sock Summit tote bag from the bookstore right away, though. I didn’t pre-order swag, and I think they’ll run out of what’s left pretty quickly. The bag has organizing pockets on the front AND back. I’ll be using it tomorrow; today I had to carry two bags to bring all my class supplies, and I felt pretty disorganized.

I stopped by Lantern Moon’s booth, because Cathy and Diana are so much fun. Cathy’s in my knit group!

One of the really fun things about knitting events is meeting bloggers from far away that you “know” but have never met in person. I briefly met Jessica, with whom I’ve been chatting about our respective Tokyo adventures this summer. Carrie was working at the market information booth. I met Heather at the Knitted Wit booth. And I met Cristi in the market, too. She’s just as fun in person as she is online. Cristi was wearing her Charlotte’s Web shawl, and it is even more gorgeous in person.

And doubly fun is hanging out with the local PDX Knit-Bloggers. I saw Tami, Melissa, Bobbie, Duffy, Adam, Rachel. And maybe more, but it’s a blur!

By the way, I ran into Deb, and she had my yarn from yesterday’s lunch! I’m so happy that my wandering yarn has found its way home.

I missed the opening reception tonight; it was sold out when I registered. Some openings were available yesterday/today, but I had already booked a rehearsal with my singing buddies since I thought I was free. And we really needed to sing.

If you’re local and couldn’t get into classes, come to the market! There are demonstrations going on in the market all day long, and entry to the market is only $2 per day if you’re not a student. And the shopping is awesome, too.

21 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, sock summit

Sock Summit preparations

Posted on July 27, 2009 | 12 comments

Sock Summit is just around the corner! I need to re-learn Judy’s Magic Cast On, and review wrapping and turning before I get to Cat Bordhi’s class, Dancing with Socks. Soon. I have a few other things to do, first.

I’m re-formatting my patterns to give them a visual cohesiveness as a group. They’ll all have the same banner across the top, which is the same one you see here on the blog. I’m about halfway done with the set. Then I need to print them all again, and reload them to Ravelry, too. Don’t worry, there aren’t any substantive changes; I’m just adding the banner and some extra pictures, so they’ll be more visually appealing.

Lorajean at Knitted Wit asked me to knit some samples for her. She’s having a booth at the Summit, and I’m helping her there. Come see us in Booth 223! My patterns will be there, too, and I’ll be there on Friday afternoon. I picked up these yarns yesterday:

The skeined blue yarn is 400 yards of sock weight yarn that I won from Lorajean in June. I think it’s going to be a shawl, eventually. I love this color; it’s gorgeous. It reminds me of a summer sky.

These two are sport weight Falkland (as in Island) yarn; they come in a 100 gram/310 yard skein. The green one is Semi-Solid Peacock, one of Lorajean’s entries in Ravelry’s Dye for Glory contest. Have you voted yet? The colors are even more lovely than in this picture; I just can’t capture the greens the way I want to. I’m knitting a sample of my Seafoam Sock with it. And maybe starting an Entrelac Sock, too.

The pink yarn is Cotton Candy, and it’s going to be a ZigZag Lace Pedi Sock. You can see that I have a lot of knitting to do in the next couple weeks! At least it’s sport weight; it goes pretty quickly for me.

Knit on!

12 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Dye for Glory, Knit, sock summit

Curiosity

Posted on June 30, 2009 | 9 comments

I’ve made two lace triangle shawls so far, the Shetland Triangle and Ishbel. I think it’s ingenious how these start at the center of the neck, and grow out from there. I want to know more about how this works, so I bought this book.

Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn A. Clark. The Shetland Triangle is one of her patterns, and it was a fun knit. This book is kind of a recipe book for knitting triangle shawls using four different lace stitches. You can use one, two, three, or all four of the different lace patterns. Ingenious! All of the patterns increase four stitches every other row.

What I really want to know, though, is what happens when the increases are more frequent, as in Ishbel. I know it makes the triangle shallower, but what happens to the lace at the sides? I guess I’ll have to chart it out and see.

9 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, lace

Knit-picky

Posted on April 30, 2009 | 12 comments

I started the second Kai-Mei/Lai-Wah sock. And it’s just a little bit different. Can you see what I changed?

I shifted the ribbing over by one stitch, so the K2 would flow out of the center of each 4 stitch twist at the top of the cuff. I like how it looks more symmetrical with the twist, instead of coming out of one half of the twist. That’s how knit-picky I am! Here’s the new cuff.

And here’s the first cuff for reference:

Oh, I bought these sock blockers at Twisted. I decided that it might be easier to photograph socks on blockers than to do the contortionist thing that I usually do. But I think I’ll still be doing that sometimes, too. These blockers were made by Twisted co-owner Shannon’s parents, and they’re really nice.

12 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged kai-mei, Knit, knit socks

Mitered squares, topsy-turvy

Posted on April 23, 2009 | 3 comments

I’ve been making a lot of socks, knit from the cuff-down. I know you can knit them toe-up, too; I just haven’t, yet. Well, once, but I never finished the first sock.

I’m knitting a mitered square for a Ravelry group project Afghans for Afghans blanket in honor of Kay and Peter. So why not turn that idea upside down, too? Instead of starting with the long edges and decreasing down, what if we start at the point, and increase up? Anything to mix things up a bit! And no gauge swatch required, because you’d stop when the square reaches the right dimensions.

Here’s my first attempt:

Cast on 2. Knit the first row (wrong side).

Row 1: KFB (knit in front and back of stitch), place marker, KFB

Row 2: Knit.
row 3: K to stitch before first marker, KFB, slip marker, KFB, K to end

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until square is desired size, changing colors as desired, ending with a row 2. The symmetry lover in me would probably bug out not knowing if the stripes would all be the same number of rows. I’m that way. But maybe I’d get around it by making all stripes just two rows (1 garter ridge), or 4 rows (2 garter ridges), and carry the second yarn up the side of the block, twisting at each color change. Binding off was a bit tricky; my regular knit bind-off was too tight and the piece wasn’t very square. I changed to a suspended bind off, and that made it looser, but there’s still not a nice pointy corner on the bound off edge.

I also tried this with yarn over increases on each side of a center stitch, like this:

Cast on 3. Knit the first row (wrong side)
Row 1: K1, yo, place marker, K, place marker, yo, K1

Row 2: Knit
Row 3: K to marker, yo, slip marker, K, slip marker, yo, K to end

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until square is desired size, changing color as desired, ending with a row 2. Again, I used a suspended bind off to keep the edge from pulling.

You could use any increases you like, as long as you increase just before and just after the center. Some need a center stitch to separate them, and some don’t. I can never remember which M1 increase leans left and which one leans right, but paired increases would look nice. Here’s a link to KnittingHelp.com‘s excellent page on increases.

I’ll add this information to the mitered square pattern page, just in case someone else wants to mix it up, too.

After all of that, I’m making my current mitered square in my usual way, long edge first. It needs to be 10 inches square, and I know that I get 4.5 sts/inch in garter stitch on US size 8 needles. 10 inches times 4.5 st/inch is 45 sts for each 10 inch edge. 90 stitches for my square.

Knit on!

3 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, ravelry

Tagged Knit, mitered square