My Mystery KAL

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Mystery Knit-Along

Q: "What are you knitting?"
A: "I don't know."

But here's a couple of photos of my project after clue number 2.














- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Backwards Loop Cast On

Cast On Techniques
Also known as the "single cast on" this is the simpliest cast on of all. It can be used for casting on stitches in the middle of a row (as for a buttonhole) but it is all too often quite sloppy and loose. If you need to cast on in the middle or at the end of a row, it's often better to do so by knitting on (seelast issue). I'm including it now because the tubular cast on that I'll be talking about next uses it as its base.
To work this cast on, simply make a backwards loop and place it on the needle.

Repeat until you have as many stitches as you require.

Tubular cast on
The tubular cast on is, to put it mildly, a gorgeous way to cast on for working ribbing and has been praised for its loveliness all over the knitting blogosphere. Using a spare piece of yarn cast on half the number of stitches you need using the backwards loop cast on. (If you don't know what that is then you're not reading the entire article. Go back one technique.) Then, using the working yarn, purl one row. Now take a minute to look at what we've just done. Notice that there are purl bumps of the blue working yarn peeking out from between the loops of the wine colored waste yarn. We'll be using those bumps in a couple of minutes, so remember what they look like.

Then work 3 more rows in stockingette stitch (knit one row, purl one row, knit one row) and turn the work so the purl side is facing you for the following bit.
Purl the first stitch. Next insert the right needle into the first purl bump way back down on that first row you purled -- the ones were were just inspecting.

Slip the loop onto the left hand needle and knit it through the back loop.

Continue across the row, purling 1 stitch, then picking up and knitting tbl the next purl bump until you come to the last stitch. Purl the last stitch, the pick up the loop at the selvedge edge and knit through the back loop.
Turn and work ribbing, knitting the knit stitches and purling the purl stitches. Remove the waste yarn by cutting between some of the stitches and tugging to remove lengths of yarn.

Magic Cast On

Magic Cast On for Toe-Up socks

Need a Swift?

Makeshift Yarn Swift

Channel Island Cast On

Picot Cast-On

Here's a new concept in casting-on:  Picot Edge.

Picot Cast On

Looking for a new edging?  Tired of rolled edges, ribbing, hems, and garter stitch?  Then nona's got an edging for you.  Today I was helping one of my knitting students with the Miss Dashwood hat.  This cute baby hat starts with a picot cast on, creating a nice decorative edging.  After consulting Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge I found the "Picot Point Chain Edging", which creates a similar bind off edging.

Tapestry Crochet

Tapestry Crochet
Tapestry crochet (also called mosaic crochet, jacquard crochet, intarsia, colorwork, fair isle, and hard crochet) is similar to regular crochet, except that one or more yarns are usually carried while another is crocheted. The finished pieces look woven instead of crocheted.

Summer Scarf

I never was one for wearing scarves, but then I moved to the Pacific Northwest.  Scarves became my new best friend over the winter.  Now that it's spring and too heavy for cashmere and wool, I kinda miss the feeling of a nice piece of neckwear.  Then, too, scarves are really fun to knit, because they don't take a lot of time or materials, and they can be just as crazy-decorative as you want, because, well, they're scarves.

My Cala Luna Scarf, work in process

Not Your Grandmother's Stitch Markers

I remember pilfering my mother's knitting bag, and wondering what in the world those little round things were - mom said they were stitch markers, so you could keep track of repeats.  I never realized until I started kntting lace that these little items are really quite useful. 

Plastic stitch markers will do the job, most of the time.  But they have drawbacks:  too wide for lace, and...well...they just aren't pretty.  I have seen a few specialty stitch markers around, but none of them really grabbed me by the pocketbook and demanded that I purchase them.

One day, I was looking at some beaded, dangle earrings and had a brainstorm:  wouldn't these make really nice stitch markers?  Trip to local bead shop, and I was set to experiment. 

I may have found a new, creative pasttime.  This is more fun than knitting!

Block Head?

So often when I see comments/instructions about blocking it seems to be assumed that the reader will understand what is entailed in 'blocking'. When reading about blocking in different sources I have become confused as to what is best for what type of knitted fabric. Should one wash with soap and rinse and wring out before blocking? Should one only lightly get the knitted fabric damp, no need to actually wash? Is there no need to get the fabric completely wet and only lightly steam? If one steams, how is the best way to accomplish getting the steam to the fabric? For how long? Is the steam before or after pinning/working the fabric? I know that I should block but when a completed project is ready for blocking I'm completely at sea as to what steps to do next.

Eunny Jang's Exhaustive Expose on Blocking

Knittyspin: Blackrose - Winter 2008

Knittyspin: Blackrose - Winter 2008

URCHIN POUF : Christien Meindertsma

URCHIN POUF : Christien Meindertsma

This is SO COOL!!

Puff Daddy - knitted stool - free knitting pattern - Pickles

Puff Daddy - knitted stool - free knitting pattern - Pickles

Puff is the Norwegian word for stool. We really liked the pouf from Christien Meinderstsma, but it´s way out of our price range. This simple pattern for a knitted stool has much thinner yarn, but the budget is just as thin;) Nice to rest your legs on, and very popular for the kids.

The Spiral Sock

While surfing the web for a suitable pattern to adorn my first pair of adult-sized socks, I came across this blog filled with knitted lace, most notably, Vintage Lace!

These Wristlets are worked in the round. 

I decided that this pattern just begged to be made into a sock.  Needless to say, it requires a bit of redesign in order to make that happen.  I'll post another photo when I'm done.

Computers - Love/Hate

I love that any time I think of something I want to know how to knit or crochet, I can "Google" it. Today I discovered that Ravelry has a "add to ravelry queue" button. All I have to do is drag it to my bookmark bar and click it when I'm browsing the web and find a pattern I want to queue up.

In theory, it should make my life easier to do that. In practice - not so much. Y'see, when the geek-mama cannot make the 'drag-and-drop' actually DRAG, mama gets frustrated.

Sooooo, Dear Ravelry: Please do not tell me to drag this bookmarklet to my bookmark bar unless you also include a note on what to do if it won't drag. Kthxbai.
in reference to: Ravelry: skitknit's Queue (view on Google Sidewiki)

T H E . T H R I F T Y . K N I T T E R » Blog Archive » FREE PATTERN: Woodland Shawl

T H E . T H R I F T Y . K N I T T E R » Blog Archive » FREE PATTERN: Woodland Shawl
Woodland Shawl Chart Flickr - Photo Sharing!

My Baby's Knits

I was pregnant with my first child and had a lot of time on my hands.  I sewed and knitted for that baby, and for all my babies after her.  That was 25 years ago.  A quarter century.  That's a long time.  Today, I was looking for something and found the baby blanket and knit dress that I made, still in good enough shape to use again - that blanket looks like it could easily wrap around babies for another decade or two.  The dress will probably sit on a hanger for awhile, until one of my children eventually blesses me with a granddaughter.  No rush!

The blanket was my own design, adapted from a bit of a lace pattern that I used to have many years ago.  The dress is a pale lilac, and used to have a satin ribbon sash that's long gone, but won't be difficult to replace if the dress is ever put to use again in my lifetime.  Both items were knit of acrylic, and have been machine washed countless times - especially the blanket.

The baby blanket is one of my most precious mementos - all seven of my babies were wrapped in it throughout their infancy.  It covered me when I nursed them and swaddled them when they were cold or tired.  It attended their baby dedication ceremonies at church and kept them company on countless trips to grandma's house.

Did I Buy Enough Yarn?

Estimating Yarn Yardage
Other Calculators
Nothing is quite so frustrating as getting to the last row of a project and not having enough yarn to bind off!  Maybe this will help avoid that problem in the future.

Jogless Stripes