Swatchless

Thanks to all the twitter knitters out there for your great pattern suggestions.

The popular patterns were:

The Fae Folk Hat [Ravelink]

image source: ravelry.com

and Ishbel [Ravelink]

image source: ravelry.com

but….I am not in the mood for something fiddly like lace right now.  I seem to be in the mood for something totally different and fiddly in another way entirely.

image source: ravelry.com

This is a pattern called “Some Assembly Required” [Ravelink]

As soon as I read the pattern blurb, I knew it was PERFECT for me!

“Warning! Some Assembly Required is extreme knitting! This is not suitable for beginners. Please review the techniques list before purchase. The pattern may be hard, but it will be worth it.

Some Assembly Required is a pattern that will enable you to make an adorable toy that can be taken apart and put together again. The head, torso, and legs are independent pieces, so you could make multiple pieces in different colors and they would be interchangeable.”

I’m not sure WHEN I’ll get the chance to knit this….maybe a paralympic knitting project?  I am comforted by the fact that it is in smallish pieces, so I will feel the thrill of accomplishment many times as the project grows.

Thanks again to yarn piggy from flying pig knits for giving me the pattern!

The Olympics are done.  The Knitting Olympics are done.  The Ravelympics are done.  Or……are they…..

Ceilidh and Eirinn (Photo credit: Mom)

I had such a good time, I think I will start up another Olympic challenge for the duration of the Paralympics later in March!  Who’s with me?

I’m happy to report that the sales of the Olympic Red Mitten Pattern have been rolling in, and are currently at the $1550 mark raised for the Penguins Can Fly swim team.  I hope that people continue to purchase patterns and knit these mittens through the end of the paralympics.  Maybe we can hit $2010…wouldn’t that be cool?

Who knows….one day maybe some of the Penguins will be swimming in the summer paralympics!

Tonight, during the closing ceremonies, after proudly modeling my gold-medal pattern creations Ceilidh and Eirinn, I sat with no knitting in my hands–for all of about 15 minutes.  It’s at times like this that I wonder if I do have a serious problem, but I was suddenly struck by inspiration to knit more cables for a baby sweater/vest of sorts that I can almost see in my mind.

The trouble with things in your mind is that it’s very difficult to make them appear just like you imagined they would.  I am doing my best though, keeping careful scrawly notes and math written down just in case this project ends up successful enough to share with other knitters out there.

I absolutely LOVE the yarn.  It’s Life DK by Stylecraft, a blend of acrylic and wool.  Easy to care for, and so soft.  I may need to go back to Wool Tyme to get more–there are so many babies to knit for this spring!

Are you gearing up for March 12th when the torch gets re-lit?  The Paralympics run from March 12th to 21st in Vancouver!!

Knit in the round from crown to brim with two contrasting worsted weight yarns, this celtic inspired hat would be perfect to wear on St. Patrick’s day.

Buy Eirinn for $4.00 CAD

The Gaelic word Eirinn (pronounced air-en) is a poetic name for Ireland often used in songs.  The celtic patterning of the braid represents the continuum of life, love and faith, and the circle motif represents eternity.

As the final hours of the Ravelympics, knitting olympics and sporting olympics wind down, I am extremely proud to present a second pattern.  This is like an unexpected medal win for me as I thought it would be a big enough challenge to spin and knit and publish one pattern!  Watching all of the fantastic performances of our Canadian athletes I felt inspired to go for the double gold.

Skills: cast on, knitting in the round, purl, cables, kfb increase, stranded knitting, chart reading
Needles:   4 size 4.0mm DPNs, cable needle, darning needle
Yarn:  Worsted weight in 2 contrasting colours
Gauge:  4.5 sts per inch, 7 rows per inch in stockinette stitch

This pair of hat and mitts is perfect for someone interested in a little colourwork and a little bit of cable knitting.

If you like Eirinn, you may also like to knit Ceilidh mittens to match!

Download the .pdf pattern for Eirinn (hat) only  $4.00 CAD

Download the .pdf pattern for Ceilidh (mittens) only $4.00 CAD

Download the .pdf pattern for Eirinn and Ceilidh together for $6.00 CAD

Check out my other patterns here.

With the extra yarn that I’d spun, I decided to create a hat based on the charts and patterning in the Ceilidh mittens published yesterday.  This could bring me a double gold medal in the Ravelympics/knitting Olympics.  I’m up for the challenge.

This much of the hat was knit through a fabulous evening of improvisational theatre.  I have been a fan of the highschool improv since I was first introduced to it about 5 years ago.  If you’ve never been to an improv event before, you should check it out!  Here’s the national link, and the local link too.

It is great to see these teenagers working together, trusting each other, taking risks, and producing some moving, some hilarious, and some very interesting pieces of spontaneous theatre.  Audience participation is encouraged, and it’s the audience suggestions that form the backbone of the sketches performed.

I was inspired by them to improvise a little on this hat design.  Fingers crossed it works out!

This lovely celtic inspired hat is looking for a name!  Any ideas?

I was asked today if it was possible to make a rather interesting balaclava for a robotics competition… (meet our robotics team)

The guy was serious too…promised to wear it….in public……

I know the hat is crocheted, but I betcha I could knit something similar.  I know the curlicues are possible (tutorial courtesy of “Knitting In Colour”).

This will have to be one of my post-ravelympic challenges.  I wonder if the hat ends at the mouth area, or if it continues down around the neck.

Would you wear a crazy hat like this in public?

Meet little Laila, daughter of friends of mine.  At 2.5 weeks old she’s sporting her very own pair of Olympic Mittens, and the matching ensemble I knit over the last few weeks.  She’s such a cute girl, making all sorts of faces and noises as she gets used to the big bright world.

I hope everyone in Ontario has a Happy Family Day weekend!!  I know I’ll enjoy an extra day to relax, and catch up on my sleep (and knitting).

‘Tis the season for babies it seems.  My cousin and his wife just welcomed baby Charlotte, a little early, but all are doing well.  I dove into the stash and found some sweet baby yarn, from back in the day when baby yarn was thinner than sock yarn!

I knit this hat during the super bowl.  The pattern is based on helloyarn’s top down bonnet, but I had to add more stitches and improvise a bit to deal with the super thin yarn.  I based the sizing on the bonnet I knit for Laila earlier this week.  There’s enough yarn left for a matching pair of booties, but I’m still searching for the perfect pattern.

Several anonymous knitters met today at lunch to sketch out a plan for a surprise project. The goal was to design a headband that has a complex image on it, and some of these anonymous knitters looked at me strangely when I mentioned words like gauge and thickness of yarn, and stranded knitting, and reading charts.  This post is dedicated to these anonymous knitters, and all other beginners who want to make up their own designs.

Find out the general size of the garment

For a headband, this requires the circumference of the head (wrap a string around your head, then measure the string with a ruler), and an estimation of the width of the band.

Plan of attack

Headbands fit best if they can stretch outward, and knitting in the round will allow for this stretch.  Another option would be to knit a rectangle and sew it up (I avoid sewing things up if at all possible).  Consider how the edges might roll–add ribbing on the top and bottom edge to prevent rolling but to still allow it to stretch.  (I-Cord will not stretch….I learned the hard way on this one)

Choosing the right yarn and needles

If you are planning a really complicated pattern, choose thin yarn and fine needles.  This will let you have detail in your project without the project getting too large.

Swatching

I don’t like this step, but it is sometimes a necessary step in the design process.  With the needles and yarn that you have chosen, knit a small rectangle at least 2 inches by 2 inches.  Get a ruler, and (without stretching your sample) measure how many stitches fit in one inch.  Measure also how many rows fit in one inch.  Write down your needle size, yarn that you are using, and stitches per inch, and rows per inch.  This will prevent the need for future swatching with the same materials.

NOTE: Stranded knitting with two colours tends to draw in (get tighter) than knitting in one colour.  Keep this in mind if you are going to knit with two colours.  Another option is to use duplicate stitch to add designs on after the headband is knit.

Math Time

To make a headband fit snugly around the head, you need negative ease.  This means that you should aim for the headband to be about an inch less than the head circumference.  If you are doing stranded knitting you might not need so much negative ease, since your knitting will be tighter.

Headband circumference[adjusted to account for negative ease] in inches x #stitches per inch = #stitches to cast on

Desired headband width in inches x #rows per inch = #rows to knit

Chart Time

Get a piece of graph paper, or a fresh excel spreadsheet, and mark off the rectangle that will be the headband (#stitches to cast on is the long side, and #rows to knit is the short side)

Colour in the design on the graph paper.  Each square will represent one stitch.  Think of it like you are creating the pixels of your picture.

Cast on!

Start with ribbing, then add your design according to your chart.  If your design is not symmetrical (like letters or numbers) make sure that your pattern will be the right way up and the right way around.  End with ribbing, and cast off.

I look forward to seeing the finished product!  Get knitting!

This weekend, friends of mine became parents, and I started knitting!  The news of the healthy baby and happy family had me digging through some of the stash to find some old fashioned Astra yarn that I had found at a thrift store a while ago.  When knitting for a baby, machine washable yarns are a definite plus!

My new favourite baby bonnet pattern is the Top Down Bonnet with Anime Character {Ravelink} by Adrian Bizilia.  I have made this bonnet with the ears and face before for a Japanese friend of mine.

This time I made the bonnet without the face and ears.  It’s amazing….a totally new and different hat.

I enjoy how the stripes join up with each other along the line of increases.

This bonnet did not use up ALL of my stash, so I have cast on for a top down raglan sleeve sweater to match (blue with yellow stripes), and there might be enough left for booties too!

The wonderful thing about knitting for a new baby is that projects are small and manageable, and they look SO cute!

What’s your favourite thing to knit for a new baby?

I have joined with many Ravelry knitwear designers to raise money for organizations helping in Haiti. Check out all the ravelry patterns available! Until the end of February, I am pledging 50% of the purchase price of my two hat patterns to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that is saving lives in Haiti and all over the world.

Micah

Knit in bright coloured acrylic yarn, this kid-friendly hat is a great stash-buster. Earflaps and ties keep the hat securely on the head of any little elf, no matter how mischievous they are!  This hat was designed for little Micah by his mommy and me, so he could be a Christmas elf all winter long.

$5.00 CAD

Those Could Be Mountains

A warm hat knit in the round from crown to brim.  You can make it long enough to cover your ears to ward off the winter chill.  Knits up quickly and looks stylish on both men and women.  I showed the finished hat to my brother, and his response was “Oh, Those Could Be Mountains!”  The name stuck.

$4.00 CAD

If you like these patterns, have a look at the others I’ve designed.