An Anniversary and a Free Pattern to Celebrate

Today marks 7 years since DF and I went on our first date. It's hard to believe that we've been together for 7 years now. So in celebration of our anniversary, I'm going to tell a short story about a sweater and give you a free dishcloth pattern that came out of some of the design work I've been doing, but will not be used for the final project. Still, it's pretty and I thought some of you may want it.

The sweater I am referring to is this one:The reason I'm mentioning this is that the sweater actually worked its way into conversation last night and both DF and I ended up laughing. In fact, this sweater cracks us both up each time we think about it.

I made this sweater when I was still a fairly new knitter. I wanted to make something nice for DF, so I decided to make the unisex pullover pattern from Lion Brand. I made it out of wool ease.

First, the yarn was bad. Wool-ease has gotten better in recent years I feel, but a few years back, not so good. Second, I didn't really know what the hell I was doing when it came to the neck shaping. Heck, I had to make it twice since the first neck wouldn't go over my head when I tried it on to see how it fit on me.

But DF is a good man. He complimented me on it, even though I knew he didn't really like it much. He wore it to church the next Sunday, and I swear he told everyone around us that I had knit that. Now, I tell him not to tell people that I made the horrid, itchy, mal-shaped sweater. I even told him to get rid of the thing.

Nope, he's still got it. He says that it's special to him because I made it. Also, he'll use it as blackmail against me if I get out of line :oP

I found the picture of this sweater last week when I was putting together a small gift for DF for the anniversary. It was a book of pictures from the 7 years we've been together. I had the sweater picture printed, and today when he gets home from work, I'm going to give him a 4x6 picture of the horrid thing, just so we can both share a laugh.

DF, since I know you read this, I love you. Even if you do now laugh at the ugly sweaters I have made for you :oP I laugh too, which is what I love most about being with you.

And now, if you're still reading, here's a free pattern. I'm calling it the Fireflowers Dishcloth.Click on the pattern title to go to the Ravelry Download page for an easy-to-print PDF File
Fireflowers Dishcloth

Materials:
Worsted weight dishcloth cotton in two contrasting colors. One ball each color will make at least 2 dishcloths.
US Size 8 Needles, straight or circulars
Gauge: Not really too important, but if you are a super tight knitter, you'll want to go up to at least a 9 needle so your slipped stitches are not too tight.

Note: All stitches are slipped purl-wise unless otherwise noted.

Instructions:Cast on 33 stitches in color A (lighter of the two colors, in my case, cream). Work 5 repeats of fireflower pattern. On last row (row 8 of pattern), knit all stitches instead of patterned row. Bind of.

Fireflower pattern:
Row 1: Using A: k2, *(k1, yo, k1) in next stitch, k3* repeat from * to last 2 stitches. End k2

Row 2: Using B: P2, *Slip next 3 stitches with yarn held in front, P3* repeat from * to last two stitches. End P2

Row3: Using B: K1, *K2tog, slip 1 with yarn in back, ssk, K1* repeat from * to last stitch. End K1
Row 4: Using A: P4, *Slip 1 with yarn in front, P3* repeat from * to last stitch. End P1

Row 5: Using A: K4, *(k1, yo, k1) in next stitch, K3* repeat to last stitch. End K1

Row 6: Using B: P4, *Slip next 3 stitches with yarn held in front, P3* repeat from * to last stitch. End P1
Row 7: Using B: K3, *K2tog, Slip 1 with yarn in back, ssk, K1* repeat from * to last 2 stitches. End K2

Row 8: Using A: P2, *Slip 1 with yarn in front, P3* repeat from * to last 2 stitches. End P2.

Repeat these 8 rows for pattern.
k=Knit
P=Purl
k2tog= knit 2 stitches together
ssk= slip, slip, knit
yo= yarn over

I'm Back

Sorry that I've been gone for a while. I've been taking some tours of things over here while I'm still in the country, and I've been knitting like a mad woman. Most of what I've been knitting, I can't show you, but I can show you the main thing I finished over a week ago. Vivian is done, well, it still needs a zipper, but it's done other than that. Here I am doing my best model pose:And here's the back of the cardigan:All I can say is that I love this cardigan. I made the size 38 chest measurement and it is nicely fitted, but has enough room that I can have winter items underneath of it. And since I heard so many people saying that the Vivian cardigan looks good on any body type, DF and I decided that we would find out:Sexy, baby!

Knit on...

Cables, Cables, Everywhere!

Yep, I cast on Vivian once I finished the hat the other day. I've been wanting to knit this cardigan ever since I first saw it in Twist Collective, but at the time, I was in the process of still losing weight. Now that I'm in the process of maintaining my weight, I decided it was time to make the super cabled sweater.

I cast on the sweater on Monday. I'm now on the fifth ball and 69 rows into the back of the sweater. It's flying off my needles right now and it made me remember how much cables are like potato chips...you can't just make one. Every time I finish a twist row, I think, ah, I can do one more cable repeat, right? I'm about a third of the way done with the back now and I can't wait to work on it again. Here's what it looks like so far:I'm in love with the pattern, the cables, and the yarn. Yarn is Lana Gatto English Tweed in a denim blue colorway. The tweedy specks are all ranges of colors, which I also like. It adds some textural interest in there other than the massive amount of cabling and seed stitch.

That's it for today. I want to get back to knitting the sweater :oP

Knit on...

What To Do With Leftover Cashmere

Well, make a hat! When I had the full ball of cashmere leftover, I was surprised. I asked DF if he would be interested in the matching hat from the Windschief pattern, and he said that he doesn't wear hats much anyways, so I should probably find something for me if I wanted to make a hat out of the cashmere remaining.

Well, I liked the Windschief pattern for the hat and I knew I had enough yarn for that, so, I made it for myself. Only takes about a day and it's soft and warm on my head, which is why it's being packed away for winter right now since it's 95 degrees today...

Anyways, here's the hat on yours truly:I also cast on for Vivian yesterday, but there's so much going on with all the cables, that I can't work on it and talk at the same time. So this sweater is going to be my silence knitting until it's done. Hopefully I can make good progress on it while I'm still in Korea (even better if I can finish it here), so that I won't need much silent knitting at home.

Knit on...

Cashmere in July

Yep, it's hard to believe that July is here and upon us already. It doesn't seem like it's been over a month since I finished my job and have been able to focus on writing and knitting design. It does however seem like July, if for nothing else than the weather.

Which is why I'm knitting with cashmere yarn of course :oP
I've never worked with cashmere before, so when I went to Seoul a couple of weeks ago, I picked up two balls of Anny Blatt cashmere blend yarn to make a cowl for DF. I had picked up the pattern for Windschief by Stephen West about a month ago and I wanted to get a nice yarn for the neck warmer so that it would be nice and soft when DF is riding his motorcycle.

So, here he is, modeling his finished cowl:He says that he really likes it and will use it this fall and winter when it gets cold again. Meanwhile, we're melting with the heat and humidity.

Oh, and did I mention that the cowl only took one ball of yarn? So, tomorrow I'll show you what I did with the second ball of yarn!

Knit on...

Much Better

Yes, I am much better now. It took until Wednesday for me to really feel 100% well again after the terrible boat ride, but thankfully, all is well now and I'm back to work.

Unfortunately, the stuff I'm working the most on right now, I can't show you on the blog. It's another pattern for the club I'm concocting and all will be revealed in due time. I know you're probably getting sick of me saying that though, so look, there's a little progress on the Jaywalker sock:I'm to the heel flap portion now. It's a little bit bigger than I like my socks, but since I know the 76 stitch version is just way too tight, I'll settle for it being a bit bigger. I also swatched for a new project.

Ok, pick your jaws up off the floor and settle down. I know you think I never swatch, but on occasion, I do. This project needed to be swatched since I wasn't sure if the yarn would meet the requirements for the pattern. Turns out it did. I hit gauge on try number one with the suggested needles. That is such an awesome feeling!This swatch is for Vivian by Ysolda from Twist Collective. Vivian is my reward sweater for losing so much weight. I knew I would never really be happy with making this cabled sweater while I was in the process of losing weight, so now that I'm right about at weight goal, I figured I could cast on. Not sure when I'll cast on yet, but I'm hoping it will be sometime this weekend.

Once I finish the crap I can't show you all :oP

Knit on...

Vanilla Socks

I finished a pair of vanilla socks this weekend while on my way to Japan. The yarn is Bamboo and Ewe by Joanne's Sensations. Here are the socks:I also started a new pair of Jaywalker socks since one of my other pairs of Jaywalkers finally bit the dust this week. These are being made out of Enchanted Knoll in the colorway Wood Elves.That's it for today. I'm still recovering from the worst motion sickness I've ever had, so hopefully tomorrow will be a much more productive blog post.

Knit on...

When It Rains In Japan...

Knit.

Well, after you've been out and seen areas you haven't seen before despite the rain.

Hello from Fukuoka!

I had to pop over to Japan for a day, so I of course brought knitting with me. I finished a pair of socks on the boat ride over and am about to wind the other skein of yarn I brought with me into a ball. It's pouring rain, and it has been ever since I got here. I actually had to break down and buy an umbrella just to be able to get around.

Anyways, it's still been fun. I went on a bit of an excursion looking for a Hard Rock Cafe location. That was successful, even though I got on the wrong bus twice and spent quite a bit longer than I intended in that area. I also went running despite the rain and had my ass handed to me by an 80 year old man who wanted to practice his English while running. Man, I hope I'm like that when I'm 80! I had such a big lunch today that I am in no way hungry, so I decided that I would spend the rest of the evening in the hotel room, lounging, knitting, and looking at the rediculously cute bento stuff I picked up while out earlier :oP

Catch you all back in the ROK.

Knit on...

Palindrome

This weekend, I used the hand spun alpaca yarn that DF brought me from Peru to make a nice cabled scarf for myself. I've made several of the Irish Hiking Scarves, and I almost just jumped in and made another one, but then I thought that I should learn a new technique.

Enter the Palindrome pattern. It's super easy, baffles my mind with how simple it is, and looks lovely. Palindrome is a reversible cabled scarf pattern that is available for free on the internet. I didn't have very much yardage of the alpaca, so I thought that I would just see how long I could make it. The scarf is about 5 feet long and it's so soft, squishable, and just darned pretty. Here's the picture of the finished scarf:I highly recommend this pattern for anyone who wants an introduction to reversible cables. It's a great introduction and I see lots of playing with this technique by myself in the future..

Knit on...

Tan Monkeys

The monkey socks are now complete. I finished the first sock yesterday evening and then plowed through half the second sock last night too. Today I finished it up and am now eyeing my next bloggable project. Before I get into that, here's the finished monkey socks:Yarn is Joanne's Sensations Bamboo and Ewe. 50% superwash wool, 20% nylon, 30% rayon from bamboo. Overall, this yarn is a decent workhorse yarn, but nothing more. It was all right to knit with, but not nearly as nice as Opal or Trekking, which are also commercial yarns. I paid a total of $1.99 a ball for this yarn while hitting an after Christmas sale, and for that price, it's well worth it. I'll let you know how these wear since it's the first pair of socks I've made out of this yarn. If they hold up well, I'll purchase this yarn again for cheapo pairs of knitted socks.The bamboo does give the yarn a nice shiny look. I'm hoping that the sheen sticks around with repeated washings. Time will tell.

Also, DF took some pictures of me the other day wearing my Evenstar shawl. I wore it to WWKIP Day on Saturday and got lots of comments. Here I am:Gee, can you tell I've lost 75 pounds now? :oP Here's the shawl from the back:Have I mentioned how much I adore this shawl? Go buy the pattern. It's for sale now and is well worth anything Susan is charging for it!

Knit on...

When You Can't Knit...

Crochet! That's what I did yesterday anyways. I just made simple double crochet dishcloths for my grandmother. She's really fond of this particular style, so I just chain 28 stitches and double crochet for 11 rows. Fast, easy, and doable when my hand is messed up. Here are the 10 cloths I made:Today, my hand is doing much better, so I've been working on my monkey sock while sitting on the bus and the subway. I had some errands to run this morning, so the knitting was welcomed during the commute time. I'm even hoping to have one monkey sock completed by tonight.

Knit on...

World Wide Knit In Public Day 2010

So I pulled out my camera just now and realized that I forgot to talk about WWKIPD on Saturday. So here's the report:

On Saturday at noon, Alice, Julia, and I plopped down in the comfy chairs at the local Starbucks with yarn, needles, and hooks at the ready to offer knitting lessons, or crochet if that suited people more, in honor of the public knitting holiday. Now realize that since we are members of the SnB here, it's really not a big deal for us to be seen knitting in public. It's really just something that we do all the time.

It was mostly just the three of us until Julia's friend Kat showed up to learn to crochet. Since she already knew how to knit, I was pretty sure learning to crochet wouldn't be terribly hard for her. She learned the basics of single, double, and triple crochet stitches and then we all decided to head our separate ways around 3. But before we did, we took a group photo:Front: Alice and Julia
Back: Me and Kat

Knit on...

How Running Affects Knitting

Yes, while the two things seem rather unrelated, unless you're the woman in the upper right corner of page 26 here, they can affect one another. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I ran a race on Sunday. It was a 10k trail race up the side of a mountain and then back down. Well, at kilometer 4, I wiped out. I hit a rock going uphill and took skin off my right hand, both knees, and my left arm. I did finish the race and the full report can be found here if you're interested.

So yesterday, I picked up the knitting needles to work on the monkey sock only to find that my right hand hurt too much to knit. It also kinda hurt to type. So, I spent most of my day playing facebook games that let me just click. Today, I'm feeling much less sore, but my palm is still bruised and sore. I did however find I could crochet easier than I could knit, so today, I will be making dishcloths. Gee, I know how excited you all must be to get to see crocheted dishcloths on the blog tomorrow, but hey, at least it's something!

Knit on...

Monkey on my Back

I decided to revive a project that was put on hold once the school said I wasn't allowed to knit on my breaks anymore. I had been working on a pair of socks at that point, but they were more travel knitting than something I wanted to work on at home. Now, I need another knitting project so that I can have something to show you all since I can't show you the things I'm working on for the secret project I have going. So, I leave you today with the tan monkey socks:Oh, and I finished a hat. Not than I can show you the hat, but take my word on it. Now I'm working on the medium size of the same hat.

Also, as the patterns become more time consuming than the hat I am working on, I'm going to need some test knitters. If you're interested, leave a comment with some way I can contact you and I will be in touch in the next few months.

Knit on...

Stealth Knitting

Wendy from Wendy Knits always is talking about stealth knitting on her blog. She's a well-established pattern designer, and because of that, she can't always show what she's working on because it will eventually show up for sale or in a book, or something along those lines. For once, I understand what she's talking about.

I have been working on a hat pattern that will eventually be a part of the secret club that will be announced this fall. It's out of sport weight yarn, so it's slower knitting, and it's cabled, so it's even slower because of that. Since I need something to show you on this blog, behold the double crochet plain old dishcloths that my grandmother loves dearly:Yep, you may be seeing more of these in the near future :oP

Also, I found a cute dress that will go with the Little Squares Cardigan. Here it is with the cardigan on top:That's it for today. Maybe I'll have something other than dishcloths I can show you tomorrow!

Knit on...

Technicolor Baby Cardigan

I finished sewing up all the squares yesterday and finished the Little Squares Baby Cardigan. It's a fast crochet project, but I have to admit that the seaming is a little fiddly and annoying for my liking. But, it turns out that one of my cousins just had a baby 2 weeks ago, so I'm going to pop this in the mail for the new baby girl in the family, whose name is Audrey. Since her sister's name is Addison, I think they have a thing for names that start with A :oP

Anyways, here is the cardigan, all sewn up:I may go try to find a little dress to go with this today and mail them as a set. I think it will look even cuter with a teensy dress to go with it, especially if I can find something with some Konglish on it!

Here's a close up of the seamed squares:Knit on...

Instant Gratification

Since the past few projects have basically sucked the life out of me, I decided I wanted to make something very instantly gratifying. My friend Julia has been making tiny squares in double crochet for a baby cardigan. The pattern is called Little Squares funny enough and it is quite cute. Click on the name, check the pattern out, and then come back.

Ok, welcome back. Since I am even faster at crocheting than I am at knitting, I cranked out the 90 squares needed for the cardigan in under 2 hours. Here they are:The squares are very cute, but they are the fastest part of this cardigan. Then comes the sewing of the squares. Last night, I managed to sew up 28 of the 90 squares, which means the back of the cardigan is done:Sorry for the upside-down picture, but you get the idea anyways. It's really quite cute and very, very colorful.

I'll probably get the rest of the pieces sewn today sometime, so I'll have pictures for you tomorrow.

Knit on...

Evenstar

The shawl is finished. This was quite a knitting journey. I signed up for Evenstar after I had finished The Enchanted Wood KAL from the Unique Sheep. I was quite enamored with beaded knitting after the triangular shawl, and after seeing some of Susan Pandorf's designs, I figured signing up for a beaded circular shawl KAL would lead to a beautiful finished object.

I couldn't have been proven more right about that. Susan, thank you for designing such a beautiful shawl. I have great respect for you as a designer, and I think you have handled yourself gracefully under a tremendous amount of pressure both in the knitting world and your personal life. Again, I just want to thank you for such a lovely pattern.

I ran 5 miles this morning and all I could think about was getting back and blocking the shawl. I am still giddy after pinning out the shawl this morning. I have never knit, and thusly, never blocked a circular shawl. I tried a string and pin method and was able to get it blocked out fairly close to an actual circle. I figure it'll bounce back a little after blocking anyways, so I wasn't too worried about having the shawl be a perfect circle.

So without further blabbering by me, I give you, Evenstar, blocking on a bed:Lovely, isn't it? Yarn is Malabrigo Laceweight in a royal blue color that is slightly darker than the picture shows.The beads are size 8-O seed beads from EarthFaire.com. Out of the close to 3000 used on this shawl, I only came across 2 beads that were not usable from being too small for the crochet hook. Compared to other bead companies I have used in the past, this is so nice. I usually buy up to 1/3 more beads than I need for a project just so that I can make sure I have enough in case there are bad beads. Not so with EarthFaire.

So, now what do I knit? :oP

Knit on...

Half Way There

I'm half way done with the edging on the Evenstar. By the end of this evening, I should be up to 30 repeats, so that'll mean I only have 26 more to go until it's finished. I really can't wait for it to be done. The edging is very pretty and I can see how it's going to make for a lovely drape when it's all said and done. I'm really looking forward to wearing the finished shawl, especially when the weather gets cooler again. So, here's a blobby picture of the shawl so far:Knit on...

The End is Near

I'm on the border of Evenstar now! Yesterday I completed the last half of clue 6 and 2 repeats of the beaded edging. The edging is definitely slower because of the beads, but I am so happy with the color contrast. The yarn on this project is Malabrigo Lace in some blue color I can't think of right now. I'm on the third skein now and that should be plenty to finish it up. The beads are from EarthFaire and they are size 08 seed beads in the color Olive. And without further blabbering by me, here is a picture of the beginning of the edging:I might also add that it's a lot easier to get a picture of the edging than it is to photograph the blobby shawl. Hopefully as I do more edging repeats, the shawl itself will become much more photo-friendly. If not, I'll just keep posting sparkly bead pictures here instead.

Knit on...