Tag Archives: pattern

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To evoke your senses

m rib hatIntroducing Evoke, a unisex ribbed hat in handspun yarn. I loved the way this yarn looked knitted in this rib pattern so much. The yarn is Pretty Southern handspun in Movement. The ribbing works well to highlight the texture of the handspun, and the constant color changes of the yarn keep the ribbed pattern interesting.

m rib hat-7The pattern takes about 160 yards of yarn. This could work well with a heavy fingering yarn or sport weight yarn. The ribbing accommodates head sizes from about 20″-24″.

m rib hat-6The ribbed pattern isn’t tight against the head, so it won’t mess up your excellent hair if you take it off indoors. But if you’re like me, sometimes you just need the hat to cover up some slightly unsightly hair, so it can comfortably live on your head all day long if you like that too.

m rib hat-3If you feel like whipping one up, the pattern is available on Ravelry. Read more about it here or .

 

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6 years!

Today is the 6th anniversary of my blog! I can’t believe how much has changed in the past year or two, and I feel like a quite different person from when I started this blog. I think all of your body cells regenerate every 7 years or so, so next year at this time I will be different at the cellular level even…

Okay, enough geekiness. I’m really happy to have this format to express myself. I’m still flattered and astounded that people read my blog on a regular basis. I’m grateful for the friendships (distance or in-person) that blogging has led to in my life. All in all, it has been a wonderful experience and a fun way to share my most passionate hobby with others.

I got excited and felt like I should have a pattern release to go with this occasion, so here is a new hat.

It’s called Quotidian, which is a synonym for “daily”. I have lots of hats in my wardrobe, but nothing that was simple enough in design to go with most things I wear, light enough to wear indoors, and so easy in the knitting that it was more like a meditation.

I also love that it’s unisex, so I got to take pictures of Matt instead of the other way around for once. Now I just have to keep him from stealing it…

It’s made with Classic Elite Yarns Fresco. I love how incredibly soft this yarn is when you knit with it. It’s a snuggly little hug for your head and it only takes one ball to knit this hat, so it’s also an inexpensive project. It’s simple to make and appropriate for all knitting levels.

I’m selling it on Ravelry. You can learn more about it here or purchase it. .

As an additional celebration of the blogiversary I’m going to make all of my patterns 20 percent off for the rest of the month. Thanks for being a reader! No coupon code is necessary. The discount will automatically apply from now until midnight on the 31st.

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Prufrock

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is one of my favorite poems. When reading it aloud, the rhythm is soothing, and the imagery ignites your senses at the same time. I named this pattern Prufrock because the stitch pattern reminds me of both scales and lapping waves from the final stanzas shown above.

I made these socks for my brother’s girlfriend and figured I might as well write up the pattern in the process. I used Madeline Tosh Sock in Baltic for the yarn. It is a hand dyed yarn, and the color varies starkly in some parts of the sock, but I think it adds to the wave/ocean effect. The yarn is lovely to knit.

I had about 15 grams left of the 100 gram ball, so I used about 335 yards for this size 8.5 women’s sock. I was previously totally obsessed with using up every scrap of sock yarn while knitting from the toe up, but now with tiny baby knits I can see how far a little bit of leftover yarn can go, so I don’t mind having a little left over.

The pattern is repeated over 9 rows, but it becomes easy to read after a couple of repeats. You can make the cuffs longer to use up all of your yarn. If you need to make the leg portion wider when making a longer cuff, you can go up a needle size or insert additional purl stitches at the edge of the stitch pattern. It is written for making the socks two at a time using the magic loop method, but it can be adapted to knit only one at once or using DPNs. Enjoy!

You can read more about the pattern here, or just purchase it:

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Lil’ Kicks

Sometimes a wee one just needs some leg warmers. Z is almost 7 weeks old, and in September is beginning to be a bit chilly at times. I called them Lil’ Kicks because she is always wiggling and kicking around. I can’t believe how strong she is already!

I whipped these up in a few hours to keep her legs warm when she’s wearing only a onesie. It seems that taking pants on and off a baby for frequent diaper changes is an ordeal, and she’s not really fond of being dressed.

Edited to add: The yarn I used is Tosh DK in Chambray. For the smallest size it took about 41 grams of yarn, or approximately 80 yards in this yarn. This project would be great for leftover yarns. Tosh DK has the added bonus of being superwash for those times when Z decides she has to pee while we’re hanging her…

I think the warmers look like little elephant trunks. You can find the pattern on Ravelry here or click to buy:

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Summer of socks

This is truly my summer of socks. This is the seventh pair I have worked on for the summer, and there is an eighth on the needles right now, but that pair is super secret for the time being. I feel sort of like a sock junkie since I can’t seem to go very long without one pair on my needles.

This pair will be for my brother’s girlfriend, Brenna. She already knows it’s happening, so I don’t have to be sneaky about it. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Sock. Many hand painted yarns have some variation within the ball. For this pair one foot is slightly darker since the outside of the ball is slightly darker. The yarn color is Baltic. It’s definitely hypnotizing. If you haven’t checked out the amazing dyeing of Madeline Tosh you might just start drooling.

The pattern is my own. It doesn’t have a name yet. I’m still brainstorming. I welcome any ideas. It reminds me of scales. I hope to get it out in the next couple of weeks, baby time permitting. Since I’m making these in a different foot size from my own, I will need some help from my friend Karen as a foot model.

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Dressed up feet

I finished these on the 27th of July, two days before the move, and three days before I went into labor. Now that things have calmed slightly, Z is sleeping copiously and I am catching up on some sleep too. I had a second to coax Matt to take pictures for the blog.

The pattern is mine. It’s called Tuxedo because the lace pattern makes me think of ruffles on a tuxedo shirt from the 70s. It’s done from the toe up and the lace pattern is really easy to memorize. You could do it from the top down, but the lace would be pointed in the opposite direction. The yarn is Koigu. I can’t seem to find this colorway on their site anymore. I took a picture of the label on my Ravelry project page if that helps anyone to track it down. I think I may have purchased this yarn while in Toronto in 2009 at Lettuce Knit, but I really can’t be certain. Sorry for all the fuzzy yarn details.

These pics are taken in our new house. I’m happy to have wood floors. So little is unpacked. Our friend, Susan, unpacked the kitchen while we were in the hospital. That made a HUGE difference when we got home. We’ve also had friends bringing us meals nearly every night since Z arrived. The generosity of our friends has made this transition so much easier. We are tremendously grateful.

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Wending

This has been an intense semester so far. My workload in my PhD program has nearly doubled from last semester. In addition to this, I am 13 weeks pregnant. Thus, the blog upkeep and project posting has been put on the back burner.

These fingerless gloves are a little project I knitted up about a month ago. I had most of the pattern written and finally got around to getting all of the pictures in the pattern the way I wanted. They are called Wending because the zig zag pattern makes me think of going back and forth on many paths, perhaps with a sprinkling of indecision involved.

They are an easy first Fair Isle adventure. The pattern becomes intuitive after a few repeats. Fair Isle projects always seem to fly by for me, perhaps because I’m so eager to watch the repeats grow.

If you’re interested in purchasing this pattern, you can find it on Ravelry. There is more information on this page, or you can buy it directly here:

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Betwixt

Did you just say to yourself, “Hey, don’t I need another slouchy hat?” Of course you did. Betwixt is knit from a bulky weight yarn on U.S. size 10 (6mm) needles, making it a relatively (4-6 hr) quick gift for someone else or yourself! The yarn is SMC Tweed Deluxe, but any bulky weight yarn intended for needle size 10-10.5 would work well. Almost all skeins of yarn come with a recommended needle size and gauge on that needle size written on the ball band.

The hat fits snugly to my head, and the alpaca and wool make this a warm creation. I had been eyeing this yarn at my LYS for a couple of weeks and finally decided it needed to be a hat.

The SMC Tweed Deluxe is also very nice to knit with, and readily available online or if you call my LYS we can tell you what colors we have in stock. At this time, we definitely have the color shown (7112 Brown/white), as well as 7144 Grey/wine, and 7114 Black/White. The yarn has a single color at the core and another color wrapped around it like netting. It’s quite unique.

People always seem to enjoy the sneers and funny faces. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

You can buy the pattern directly here: or read more about it on Ravelry here.

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When Black Friday comes, put your Tuxedos on.

Make yourself some socks instead of shop! Or shop for sock yarn…no judgement. This Black Friday I’m releasing Tuxedo. This pattern is a toe up lace sock, done two at a time and magic loop for the sock adventurer. The sizing is custom as you go. I love knowing all of the elements that go into sizing a sock, and these type of custom patterns are helpful for that learning process. You better understand the construction of the whole piece when it’s over.

The lace is a very simple repeat that you can easily memorize, and it is stretchy enough to accomodate several foot widths. You can also add additional stitches on the leg and continue until you are able to use all of your sock yarn.

I made these out of Malabrigo Sock, aka deliciously buttery merino, in a color called Alcaucil. This color is shown as a dark green on their site, but it actually appears to be much more black in person. Regardless of the color differences, the yarn is heaven to knit touch while you knit.

The pattern is available on Ravelry. You can read more about it here or but it directly by clicking on this button:

Photos by Matt Petty.