Swatchless

One month ago today….

I was on vacation, meeting alpaca.

and dyeing roving on the fire.

Today I’d like to present to you the result of all that spinning

I have completed a pair of mittens for Evan (my traveling buddy) to commemorate our adventure, and remind him of his introduction into the crazy world of fiber arts.  (He spun the white fleece on a drop spindle at our campsite)

The mittens have 2010 on the cuff (palm side) and on the back of the wrist they have alpacas!

All of the black stranded colourwork is done with alpaca that I bought on our trip.  This means that the inside of the cuff is extremely soft and fluffy.

I like how all of the colours stripe and blend together.  The mittens don’t match perfectly, but I think that adds to the charm.  They are one of a kind, and will be making their way to Providence this fall for his birthday!

Franklin was inspired by a teenage girl I met a few years ago, who wore a slouchy hat to school every day.

Knit in wool, or alpaca, Franklin will keep you cozy and stylish as temperatures begin to drop.  Knit in cotton or bamboo, it can be your signature piece all year round.

The pattern is easy to modify, with extra rows to increase the amount of slouch.

Yarn:  Worsted/Aran weight.
Needles:  5.5mm circulars or DPNs, cable needle
Gauge: 4.5 sts and 7 rows per inch in reverse stockinette stitch (gauge is not crucial except at brim)
Skills:  Cast on, Knit, Purl, Working in the round, increases, decreases, introduction to cables

Download your FREE pattern in .pdf format

Many thanks to Abby and Zoe for being models.

If you like this pattern, check out my others!

I wasn’t really sure what I’d end up making when I picked up this ball of handspun.  I was pretty sure that I’d be making something that didn’t come in pairs, since I had no way of knowing how the stripes or colours would distribute themselves across the ball.  So…socks and mittens were out of the question.

I knew that there’d be stripes of some kind–with handspun from painted roving, you can’t really escape it!  I decided to try knitting Laila (ravelink), a baby sweater that I created for friend’s of mine when their little Laila was born.  It is a top-down, placket neck, raglan sleeve, seamless sweater, knit in the round.  I love it because it requires very little finishing, and shows off stripes really well.

I also wouldn’t have to worry about the front and back being two very different colours (some of this yarn is very orange, and some is very green).

Being swatchless has its advantages–I knit, and make things, and usually they turn out the right size for someone….the problems arise when I try to make baby clothes.   I don’t have access to many babies, so I’m at a loss as to their proportions.  To this end, I brought the sweater to my mom–a fairly conventional knitter who works to gauge, from patterns that have sizes on them.  She measured what I had against some of her 6 month sized sweaters.  This one seems about right for a 6 month old.  The neck opening is very stretchy, and so is the body.  I left the sleeves wide until the cuff, decreasing only 4 stitches over the entire arm.

I had wanted to do garter stitch at the sleeves and around the body just like I did at the neck.  Garter stitch is so much more brainless to knit than ribbing…but I found that the bottom edge of the sweater started to flip up when it was edged in garter stitch.  I ripped back, did a few rows of K2, P2, ribbing, and it seems to lay flat now.  I’m not sure if the flipping up is due to the garter stitch, or the twist in my spinning–it was not a balanced skein, but with me, it rarely is!

All that remains for this sweater is to pick out the most adorable little buttons.  I’m thinking that I might go for wooden buttons, or black buttons, or maybe three different coloured buttons….there are so many options….I’ll bring it along to the fabric store and see what speaks to me.

And now….I’ll have to wait for a knitter to have a baby sometime in the spring or summer….I don’t think a non-knitter would fully appreciate all the work that has gone into this creation!

Thanks to slimchicken (etsy) for dyeing the roving.  It’s lovely!

Thank goodness for cold fronts!  The windmills have been turning like crazy, and the wind whipping through my windows, bringing with it the feeling of fall.  The change in weather has made such a difference in my day.

I woke up motivated to get things accomplished–starting with the last inch of ribbing on my vacation sock.  Drum roll please!  I hereby present the pair of completed socks (2 summer vacations in the making).  I’ve come to terms with the fact that this year’s vacation is done.  I think I might wear them on the first day of school, if it stays cold enough.

Sock 1: completed during my vacation in 2009 to Jordan and Egypt.
Sock 2: completed during my vacation in 2010 through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
Pattern: my regular toe up sock pattern
Yarn: Regia sock yarn

The rest of my day included lots of sorting and organizing and cleaning both the bathroom and kitchen, and then (after a little nap) I cooked up a big pot of vegetarian chili–a delicious way to clean out the fridge!

somehow food pictures don't ever look as good as the real thing

My Recipe:

• 1 very large onion (cut into small pieces)
• 1 green pepper (cut into small pieces)
• 2 carrots (cut into small pieces)
• 1 can diced tomato
• 1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• the end of my salsa and tomato juice
• textured vegetable protein (TVP) to soak up the liquid and look like meat.
• pepper, chili powder (to taste)

As August nears, I start searching out sources of embroidery floss.  It is a tradition of sorts.  Since 1994 I have made large, colourful, and sometimes very intricate friendship bracelets as birthday presents for a buddy of mine.  I have found a way to get them to his door usually on his actual birthday.  Some have been mailed from Japan, and Egypt, others have been left in mailboxes, or tied on the front door.

birthday bracelet

This kind of bracelet takes a little bit of time to complete, but luckily you can put the project down and pick it up again later.  They are a great portable project for road trips, and I used to often keep one on the go in my pocket at summer camp.

x and o bracelet

All of those little dots of colour are actually knots, two knots per dot….that’s a lot of knots!  Each knot, made thinking of the one that will wear it.  These knots can be tied to make so many different patterns–from diagonal stripes, chevrons, X and O, or even fish!

Ask any teenager, and they’ll let you know that friendship bracelets like these are meant to be worn until they fall off.  Some even claim that you get a wish when that happens.  All I know is that there is great sentimental attachment to these cotton strings.

So….a big happy birthday to my bracelet wearing buddy!  Check your mail box soon.

Buy the pattern for this cozy set for $4.00 CAD

August brings with it the threat of some chilly evenings, specially for those out camping.  This hat and mitts set were designed for a quick end of summer knit.  Toss them in with your camping gear, and be toasty warm all night.

Knit in the round with a garter stitch border, they are decorated with butterfly stitch.  Knit the hat in cotton and enjoy it as a summer beanie.  Knit it in wool or alpaca it will warm you all winter long, and you will be forever remembering the beautiful butterflies of summer.

This pattern is suited to someone who is an intermediate knitter or beyond; it is a great way to practice knitting in the round, and add a new stitch to your repertoire.

Skills:  Cast on, Knit, Purl, Knitting in the Round, Increasing, Decreasing

Size: Adult Small
Yarn: worsted weight yarn
Needles: 4 mm DPNs or circular for hat
Gauge: 4.5 sts per inch, 6 rows per inch in stockinette stitch

Buy your .pdf copy of the Butterfly Hat and Mittens pattern now for only $4.00 CAD

Get out there and enjoy your chilly autumn nights in style!

If you like this pattern, you may also enjoy some of my others.

You know when inspiration hits, and you can’t really seem to put a new project down?  I know that sometimes it’s easy to get lost in a book.  This time I got lost in a pair of mittens.  For some unexplainable reason I just kept picking up the needles to knit just a little bit more, and before I knew it, all that was left was to knit the thumb.  Thumbs are quick to knit, so I cast on for the second mitten, and then I had to do the cuff before I forgot what I did with the first one…Next thing I know it is past midnight, and I am done!  The picture doesn’t do justice to the colour of the yarn, but I’m thrilled with the results.  I think it’s a record!  On Tuesday this was a bag of fluff.  On Saturday it is a pair of mittens!

Knitting with handspun is interesting, the colour of this pot luck roving does not stay constant, so each mitten changes colour slightly, and the thumbs don’t match.  I like it though….it’s proof that they are hand made, and they are definitely unique.

Now that they are done, I can get on with other important things like doing my dishes!

After the harrowing canoeing adventure on Wednesday, I decided to stay on land for most of the day on Thursday.  I spent part of rest hour watching over the children as they relaxed under the trees and I finished up some i-cord ties.  I am thankful that my camera revived itself enough to take several photos.  I think the water has ruined some of the electrical workings on the insides.  I can’t turn the flash on or off anymore.

Pattern:  Top Down Bonnet (Ravelink) by A. Bizilia (blog).
Yarn: Cotton Supreme Batik (which I now adore!)

I noticed that the colourway “summer camp” seems to match the paint at Camp Hyanto perfectly.  I love the combination of these natural colours, the colours of the beach on a sunny day.

Camp is certainly a peaceful place to be when the sun shines.

There’s nothing like eating watermelon with feet dangling off the dock, toes dipping in the water, listening to the loons call from a distant corner of the lake.

I’ve taken a few days away from the computer to sit in the woods, by the water, and enjoy the company of family.

My knitting came with me.  I picked up a ball of brown Life DK from Wool-Tyme.  This yarn is such a joy to work with. It feels like wool, it has a nice shine and softness to it, the brown colour has glints of green, blue, pink, orange in it–it will coordinate with many outfits, and it is completely machine washable–something VERY important for baby clothes. It is the same brand of yarn that I made the Eilidh sweater from.

I’m working on a little sweater for a friend who has just had a baby girl.  Making up the pattern as you go is such fun, but you have to be sure to either keep notes, or finish it fast so you remember what you did in previous rows.  I’m trying the “finish it fast” approach.  The ends got sewn by Monday morning!

front view

back view

I really like how the neck turned out, the cables continue from the front and back, framing the neck, and meeting up along the shoulder.  I think I might incorporate these ideas into other projects.  What is best (in my opinion) is that I did not have to sew ANYTHING!  There are no stitches picked up either!

front of neck

The body is knit from the bottom up, in the round.  The front and back are knit flat, but the shoulders are joined by a three needle bind off.  I like the look of the neck as it is, so I will not add any ribbed border.  The sleeve openings are also nicely defined by the seed stitch.

back of neck

I look forward to seeing this sweater in action.  I hope it could be a dress this fall, and a sweater next year.

Ever since I saw the Top Down Bonnet pattern on Ravelry by Adrian Bizilia (helloyarn) I was smitten!  I made the original bonnet with the anime face on it, and sent it to a friend in Japan.  The ears aren’t sticking up, but they are there!

I’ve also made it without ears, and with stripes, for another friend’s baby.

Today I worked up another little variation.  I added some lace…

This is the lace pattern that I used.  Since I worked it in the round, row 2 and 4 are knit.  If this were worked flat, row 2 and 4 would be purl rows.

Row 1: (K1, K2tog, YO, K1, YO, SSK) repeat

Row 2: knit

Row 3: K2tog (YO, K3, YO, Slip 1, K2tog, pas the slip stitch over *this decreases 2 stitches*) repeat

Row 4: knit

After working 12 rows of lace, I cast off knitwise.  The edge kept rolling, so I added another border.  I will not admit to crocheting, because I didn’t actually use a hook.  This is my process:

Pick up a stitch through the cast off edge.  Work a chain of single crochet 2 times then crochet through the border again 2 stitches away from the first stitch.  Continue this (or something like it) around the edge of the bonnet.  It helped the border stay flat, and I think it makes it extra cute.

What do you do to spice up your regular patterns?