Kaitlin's Scarf

Here is Kaitlin's Scarf. A Double Moss , 2x2 cable , which is completely reversible.

Here is the pattern:

2 skeins of Misti Alpaca chunky, on size 11 needles,

3 stitch markers ( the safety-pin kind work best), cable needle.
Use the 3rd stitch marker as a row marker to keep track of when to cable next by hanging it off one of the selvedge loops. As the scarf is reversible, it makes it easier to tell when you are on the correct side for cabling if you don't want to look at the pattern, and then you can just read your knitting instead of counting rows. Also,I knit the first stitch of every row and slip the last stitch with yarn in front to make a chained edge.
57 X 6 1/2 inches
SM= slip marker
Cast on 24 stitches. Place a marker after stitch 8 and after stitch 16.
Row1: * K2,P2* 11 times,P1, Slip 1 with yarn in front.
Row 2: K1,*K2,P2* 11 times, slip1, WYIF
Row 3: K1, P1, K2,P2,K2, SM,*K2, P2 * twice, SM, P2, K2, P2, K1, S1 wyif
Row 4: K1, p1, K2,P2,K2, SM, *,K2,P2* twice, SM,P2, K2, P2, K1,S1 wyif
Row 5:: same as row 1
Row 6: same as row 2
Row 7: same as row 3
Row 8:K1,P1,K2,P2,K2,SM,place first four sts on cable needle, hold to front. Knit2,P2, then K2,P2 from Cable needle, SM, P2,K2,P2,K1,S1wyif
Mark the row you cable on to make it easier to keep track, and repeat rows 1-8 for pattern . Cast off in pattern, weave in ends, block and enjoy.

On this scarf, I actually cabled every 6 rows, but I think it is easier to keep track of on every 8 rows, and makes a looser cable.

Enjoy!

Scarf Attack, part 2

Here it is, December 23rd, and I have finished 2 scarves, with 1/2 of the third one done. What happened? Well, it turns out that knitting on large gauge needles ( size 11s) gives me a case of Knitter's Elbow, and the neck pain to go with it. Oy. Something about the way I knit at that gauge sets off pain in the small muscles of my forearms. But I have the yarn, the idea, and the deadline. But the flesh won't cooperate. I can knit for 1/2 hour, and then the pain sets in. Pushing it only makes it worse. Rest is the only cure, but how long can you rest? How to get these done? Frustration is setting in!
I finished the second one by a combination of resting for a week, then limiting the time to 20 minutes at a clip, changing to 14 inch straight needles so I could rest the needles on my lap, using cushions to prop up my elbows. Neck exercises and hanging my head over the side of the bed with my head suspended in my hands helped a bunch, as well as Advil and heat.
Here are the scarves so far:

The middle one is Lauren's Scarf: A double Moss pattern with 1x1 ribbing cable. I like the fluffiness of this pattern, and it is a snuggly scarf, same size as the green one. The purple one is Kaitlin's Scarf, but it is half done. It is also Double Moss on the sides, but here the cable is 2x2 ribbing. I think it makes a more raised cable, and it is easier to work with the Double moss, as the whole thing is K2,P2. I like all of the patterns, I just can't knit with such large needles!

Meanwhile, for breaks, I resumed knitting a top-down cardigan version of St Brigid which I'd begun last winter and put aside as the weather warmed up. This is on size 6 needles, and for some reason doesn't hurt my arms! I can knit on this one for 3 hours at a clip ( with short breaks, of course). Very odd. But I'm glad I can do something! It would be very hard if I had to stop knitting entirely. Shudder....

Anyway, I am going to try to finish that last scarf! Otherwise, she will get an IOU...
Next year I will remember why I don't knit to deadlines!

Celtic Braid Cardigan

In October, I made the now yearly pilgrimage to Rhinebeck for the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival. What a euphoric extravaganza of delightful fiber! It was fantastic to walk through the vendors offerings, touching and fondling and oohing and ahhing. I found a glorious skein of beautiful brilliant blue yarn at the Decadent Fibers booth, and I had to have it. This skein was 490 yards, huge, but to make the sweater I envisioned, with cables and flourishes, I thought I'd need 3 skeins probably. They happened to have 3, and although they were hand dyed by the same dyers, of course it is very challenging to get them exactly the same, so there were differences in the intensity and value of the color. However, I didn't care, so I bought them! This yarn is 50%merino, 30% silk and 20% mohair. I was a little worried about the itchiness of the mohair, which I usually don't like, but this yarn was soft and slightly fuzzy with a bit of a sheen.
This cardigan was fun to knit. I started with a top down raglan with some idea of the cables I wanted to use ( mainly the saxon braid and a simple 4 stitch cable) and kind of winged it from there, trying on as I went, to get the fit. It was a lot of fun to design, and despite the slightly differing colors of the skeins, it is fine to my eye. The zipper makes it a close hug of a sweater, perfect for those cold days, but the comfortable yarn makes it soft and light weight. And of course, it is blue! I ended up using only about 1200 yards, so I still have around 300 left.

Scarf Attack

Each of my lovely nieces requested a scarf for Christmas in her signature color. Here is the first of three.

It is Reversible Cable and Seed Stitch Scarf, and here is the pattern:

 2 skeins of Misti Alpaca chunky, on size 11 needles,

 3 stitch markers ( the safety-pin kind work best), cable needle.

Use the 3rd stitch marker as a row marker to keep track of when to cable next by hanging it off one of the selvedge loops. As the scarf is reversible, it makes it easier to tell when you are on the correct side for cabling if you don't want to look at the pattern, and then you can just read your knitting instead of counting rows.

57X6 1/2 inches

Cast on 24 stitches. Place a marker after stitch 8 and after stitch 16.

Row 1:(K1,P1 ) 11 times,K1. Slip 1 With Yarn In Front, turn

Row 2: K1,(K1,P1) 3x, K1, Slip Marker, (K1,P1) 4x, SM,(P1,K1) 3x, P1, Sl1 WYIF, turn.

Row 3 and 5: As row 1

Row 4:As Row 2

Row 6: K1,(K1,P1) 3x,K1, SM, Slip next 4 sts onto cable needle, hold to front. (K1,P1) 2x, then (K1,P1) 2x from Cable needle, SM ( P1,K1) 3x, P1, Sl1WYIF, turn.

Continue until almost out of yarn, bind off loosely, block, enjoy!

Now I have 2 more to make. I'm thinking of trying variations on this one, but who knows. Must swatch!

Holiday Cats

While doing some wrapping of gifts, I had the candy canes on my table, and was astonished to find my cat enjoying them!

I never would have thought a cat would enjoy peppermint candy canes!

I finally had to take them away for fear that the sugar would hurt him!
Do you think I can still give these to the kids??? They are organic, after all....

Gluten-Free Magic Cookie Bars

As it is Thanksgiving, here in the USA, I thought it appropriate to say Thank You to my readers by sharing something delicious! After being gluten-free for several years, I find it is always fun to try to replicate favorite recipes without changing them overly much. For years my favorite cookies were on the back of the Eagle Brand Condensed Milk can, but the graham-cracker crust has wheat in it...so, this year I decided to see if I could make a gluten-free version. So, here it is!
Gluten-Free Magic Cookie Bars ( makes 2 dozen bars)

2 cups Rice Chex, smushed
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter
1 (14oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups ( 12 oz) semi-sweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut ( sweetened is fine)
1 cup chopped walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1/2 stick of butter in 13x9 inch baking
pan, and put in oven until butter melts.
2.Sprinkle Rice Chex evenly over melted butter in pan
3.Layer chocolate chips, then walnuts, then coconut over Chex and butter.
4.Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the whole thing by using a can
opener to punch 2 holes, and in criss-cross weaving pattern, layer milk over
top of coconut.
5. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store
covered at room temperature or freeze to deter immediate devouring of the whole plate of cookies.
To unfreeze, leave out for 1/2 hour on a plate. Calories: 205 each.
If you cut them in half, then it is only 100 calories each, and you can eat twice as many! Plus, they are full of omega 3s and antioxidants from the nuts and chocolate...what's not to like?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Simon Says

In the blogosphere, there are a few blogs I read often, and one of them is http://fibermania.blogspot.com/ .Melody manages to delight and inspire me regularly, so it is always fun to see what she is up to. Last week she knit the fabulous Simon Cowl, out of leftover sock yarns, and it just delighted me. The lovely colors and the simple elegance of the design were in perfect harmony. I thought that would be a lot of fun to knit, and she so graciously shared the pattern here: http://fibermania.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-dyeing-mood-when-i-see-yarns-like.html .
Naturally, I don't have any sock yarn lying around, mainly because I don't knit socks, and I don't have any appropriate size 3 needles either  and so I had to consider how I would get the perfect yarn for this project, which probably is coolest if 2 alternating colorways are used. A trip to the yarn store was certainly in order.While there, none of the sock yarns enthralled me, but I got the idea to knit this in Blue Sky sport weight alpaca, of which I happen to have a bunch at home. I got another skein in white, a set of size 3 needles, and headed home after a lovely lunch with a friend who met me there to help fondle the yarn. On the way home, who could resist a church used clothing sale? I stopped in, and found the softest loveliest light blue Eileen Fisher sweater for $10! I had to buy it!So, pondering all of this wonderful wooly fun, it seemed a dyeing day was in order, so yesterday I got out my dyes, and searched the house for yarn to dye. I found a couple of skeins of sock yarn which were not blue enough, and some Blue Sky sport alpaca in a turquoise, which would do nicely to add variegation to the project. I mixed up a batch of brilliant blue acid dye, and a tiny bit of yellow, and dyed the white yarn green and blue, and overdyed all of the other yarn and the sweater with the blue dye. Here is a shot of the drying results:

So, now I have enough sock yarn and enough alpaca to play with, and a lovely mottled blue sweater, which is taking too long to dry! I am very happy with all of this blue! Isn't it amazing how many shades and types of blue there are? The lighter shades came to be as I dipped the yarn in the big pot at the end of the immersion process so the dye had nearly exhausted. It tends to strike pretty fast, and the pot I used was a bit small so the sweater dyed unevenly. Which is fine with me, actually, as I like a bit of shading and interest in that way. I'm looking forward to winding the yarn and playing around with it, and maybe even knitting the cowl that started this particular diversion! . It is sometimes difficult to read blogs, however, because my cat gets in the way:

Anyway, that is my plan...

Finishing up isn't hard to do

I bought this yarn with my friend Dot as a gift for her. The pattern was simple and this was my take along default project for 3 months.It took that long because it wasn’t blue! But finished in time for Dot’s birthday. I hope she likes it!

Pattern:  2 skeins Misit Alpaca  chunky, size 11 needles.Cast on 19. K3,P2to end, slipping last stitch wyif. Bind off. Done.
Next UFO finished:

A couple of years ago, I started this as a lace circular shrug, but ran out of yarn. It languished in the yarn closet for a while, until I got the idea to make it into a hat, after I discovered a lone skein of this yarn in the LYS stash of discontinued yarns. I had knitted about 15 inches in diameter of lace, but ran out of yarn. Now I had a bit more, so I  then I gathered it into an inch of ribbing on a smaller needle so it would snug my head. It is a very warm and fun hat! So nice to finish a UFO.Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky, size 10.5 and size 9 needles, one and  a bit more skeins ( 106 gm of yarn!) .

Glove Love

I enjoyed making these warm and dense gloves!I started with Ann Budd's amazing "Knitter's handy Book of Patterns" basic glove pattern, using worsted weight alpaca yarn knit on size 3 needles to get 6 sts/inch, and plugged a 24-stitch celtic cable from The Knitter’s Bible into the back of the gloves, which provided interest and extra warmth. I modified the basic pattern also in length to give longer cuffs and tried on the gloves as I knit to customize the finger length to fit me. I also found that using kitchener to finish the tips after a round of K2 tog gave a nicer tip, and putting the ” resting” hand stitches on a small circular needle while knitting the fingers in sequence made things less fiddly and more fun. I love the color and warmth of this alpaca yarn, and removed most of the sparkles as I did on the sweater I made last month.

Leaf Lace Yokes

I loved the idea of a sweater called Leaf Yoke Top by Angela Hahn, which was published in Knit.1 magazine, spring 2009 after I saw it on a customer in my LYS, Sticks and Strings. I found the magazine and read over the pattern. It was a delightful concept, the lace yoke, and I'd always liked that idea,  but I wanted  a sweater with sleeves instead of a tank top, and I wanted to use a totally different yarn. I had lots of Sojabama, a soy and bamboo yarn which had marinated in my stash for a year, and I thought this might be a good choice. After using an I-cord cast-on, I knit the lace yoke and then made horizontal I-cord to transition to the stockinette portiion of the sweater. In order to raise the back neck, I used short rows to increase the length in the back, while maintaining yoke increases. This had to be done twice, as I tried to do it in a coffeeshop and got hopelessly confused and had to rip out a bunch! At home with my counter and a diagram, I could keep track and ended up figuring out an elegant way to hide the short rows at the base of the horizontal I cord. Once I had enough depth, I switched to raglan increases until I reached my target size. Then I put sleeve stitches on holders and continued body of sweater, adding 10 sts at underarms, adding bust darts and waist shaping. At the hem I repeated some of the leaf pattern and finished with I-cord bind-off using a size 7 needle to get the proper stretch.
Then I returned to the sleeves and added a small leaf edging at hem, and I-cord bind-off.

I love this sweater! And the yarn was great to work with. I was very pleased with the final result, and decided to immediately do a similar thing with some lovely alpaca I had stashed, as suddenly the weather turned colder and this sweater is for warm weather! In the meantime, I happened to see a beautiful shawl on a friend, and lusted after it. But it reminded me of something I'd seen before. In perusing my bookshelf, I found The First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, by Marianne Kinzell, and sure enough, her amazing charts ( published initially in 1954, then reprinted by Dover in 1972) included one very similar to the shawl and to the Leaf  Yoke Top laces. The "Primula Design" is fabulous, and to see the interpretations in today's knitting is very exciting.
Thus my next concoction took this a bit further, and here I used a worsted weight alpaca yarn, changed the lace a bit and added a peplum on the bottom, and 3/4 length sleeves. The lace is derived from the same  “Primula Design”  and I recharted it and added a tulip in the spaces between the leaves. I adored this yarn for the amazing color, wonderful softness and warmth, but hated the sparkles. I ended up picking out a lot of them, and wishing I had this yarn in a plain variety, as removing the Stellina fibers took a lot of time. I'm still waffling on the peplum idea, but for now I'm pleased with this sweater!

Blue is not the only color

Sometimes I get carried away by my passion for blue, and I forget there are other, equally luscious and willing colors out there. After finishing "Leafy Wells", I wondered if I could make the same design using oranges and olivey greens. Sure enough, my stash yielded a lovely array of various fabrics which seemed to work well together, so I got busy and sewed myself into a fabric frenzy. The resulting top is finished, but needs to be layered, quilted,bound, etc. I'm pleased, and wonder what my next color combination should be. Purple and yellow? Orange and blue? The possibilities are limited only by my available stash. ANd time, of course..."Leafy Nights" is still tapping its fingers wanting to be done...

Leafy Wells

The versitility of quilting makes it the ideal medium for exploring color, shape, size, line, pattern, all without getting your hands wet!
But sometimes things just get to be overwhelming and too large to handle. Thus it goes with "Leafy Nights" which is now around 90 inches square. It is really big, compared with my usual size quilt, which is why that one is hibernating for a while while I decide if I want to quilt it myself or let someone else ( with a longarm machine) have that pleasure.

So, as a form of procrastination , and also due to the myriad leftover half-square triangles, bits of strips of fabric, and the gorgeousness of all of these colors, which I can't bear to put away yet, I made another quilt. This one is considerably smaller ( 37 1/2 inches by 62 1/2 inches ), and is meant as a wall hanging. I used the "Hidden Wells" pattern by Mary Ellen Hopkins, which I have loved since the first piece I made with this design in 1994, for the center strip.
I wanted something quick, interesting and not too fussy, to showcase the fabrics, and this pattern fit the bill. Adding leftover triangles, strips and such to the sides made it have an Art Deco feel, and gave me the shape I wanted. The quilting was a challenge, and I used Contact paper templates to quilt around. The side strips I quilted freehand in leafy designs. On the whole I love this quilt, although it is really uncomplicated and peaceful.


And in the end, Leafy Wells is the best revenge. Now I guess I'll have to quit procrastinating. Maybe later....

Crop Sleeve Raglan

I don't usually knit a pattern exactly as written, but this sweater called to me. "Crop Sleeve Raglan" by Gayle Bunn, from Knit 'N Style, August 2005. Yarn: ggh Bali, a cotton/acrylic blend. Usually I avoid acrylics, but this was on sale and also it didn't feel squeaky or icky. It had the added advantage of being sproingy and lighter than 100% cotton would be, so a good mix.
This was a fun sweater to knit. Of course, I knit it in the round and seamlessly, despite it being written in pieces, as I love the possibility of trying it on as I go along.
After establishing the pattern, it was very easy to keep track of and turned into my favorite summer drag-along project. The yarn I used was very stretchy, so it was a challenge to get gauge. I tried it on every inch on the way up the body to make sure it would fit! I modified the pattern to be knit seamlessly in the round, and used seed stitch instead of moss stitch on sleeves and ribs, adding a bit of width in the bust area, and 2 inches in length to the sleeves for a bit more coverage. .


A very comfortable summer project!

Diagonal Triangle Tank

I started this tank top last summer, thinking it would be a great wearable piece, but got into counting trouble and had to let it rest. This tank languished all winter, but I finally picked it up again and finished it. I added a purl row every so often to make a garter/ stockinette stripe, which enhances the plain yarn a lot. I’m pleased with this, even though I made some mistakes and had to redo the shoulders. I knit one sleeve, but didn’t like how it was sitting on my shoulder, so opted to make it sleeveless. I knit this one in the round and so had no seams at the end. Cotton Classic, size 7 needles, 5 1/2 skeins ( around 600 yards) Pattern: Iris Schreier's P90 Diagonal/Triangle Tank http://www.artyarns.com/newsite/patterns_main.htm

Blue Medallion Cardigan

Of course, some knitting is still going on! I finished another version of the Medallion Cardigan, this time in Cotton Classic, color 3806, which has been sadly discontinued. I used 7 skeins, size 8 needles, and put 3 rows of single crochet around the whole thing. When I got to the end, I was going to put a button on, but somehow this looked messy, so in the end I crocheted together the top 4 inches, which serves to close the top but preserve a cardigan feel. I'm liking this a lot! It is cool and easy to wear.

Leafy Nights part 3

I finally finished making 36 of the 4X4 blocks, and had a lot of fun arranging the colors and shades. Then I sewed them together in groups of 4 like this:

You can see how this makes a large blue X in the middle. Given that I want a queen-sized quilt, I need an array of 6X6 small blocks, which turns into a grid of 3X3 larger blocks. When I put together two large blocks, another secondary pattern emerges, like this: So this arrangement turns into Xs and Os. I'm enjoying playing with the blocks, but I think I want to arrange them so the Xs aren't so prominent. I think this will involve sewing 6 big blocks, and then single small blocks on the sides. After that, I'll have to consider borders and quilting...but first I have to clean my studio to have room to lay out all of the blocks!

Leafy Nights part 2

So now I'm in the making blocks mode. It is very relaxing and fun to design and sew all of these blocks. I have to be mindful of all of the possibilities, as I want to scatter the colors around the final quilt, so I need to see all the ones I've already made and try not to repeat color placements. So far I've made 17 blocks. Here they are pinned up on the design wall in the same orientation. This might be a fun arrangement, but I'd probably use this design on point if I were to use it. However it is a bit static. Once I have all 36 blocks made, then I'll have fun arranging them. Looking forward to that is a nice motivator. Chain piecing these makes it easier to keep track of the squares.

Leafy Nights part 1

Sometimes you just have to make a quilt. As someone who has collected fabric since childhood, I have a lot to choose from, but sometimes that makes it difficult to get started. There is always fabric that is new or better or somehow different, yet I find the same things call to me over time. I decided to make a blue and green bed quilt, as I happen to have a lot of fabric on hand, and those are my favorite colors.I wanted something that would be complex, but not too complex, large, easy and fast, relatively speaking. Something I could enjoy working on without too much frustration, but interesting enough to allow for delight; a block quilt that didn't look like blocks. Sometimes finding a good pattern is the most difficult part of getting started. Making something big is a challenge to handle, so I wanted it to be broken up into squares to make it easier to sew.

I had long admired a quilt called Interwoven by Barbara Graham ( http://www.bgmysteries.com/ ) from the 2004 Quilt Art Engagement Calendar, which was a two color 4x4 patch block pattern, and thought that would be a perfect design. I started cutting 4 inch strips of my favorite blue and light green batiks:

I then cut half- square triangles from each strip and paired them to make unique triangle squares:

Then I cut more blue strips, and then into 4" squares, to make a block:

Now I will make 36 of these, and see what happens. I'm trying to use as many unique combinations as I can, so it is a bit like playing concentration, trying to vary the fabrics chosen in each position of the grid. And keeping the cats from lying on top of them, of course! Back to sewing.

Medallion Lace jacket

Yarn: Queensland Collection "Cotolino": 60% cotton, 40% linen, size 8 needles, approx 650 yards.
Knit sideways from the center back. I provisionally cast on 81 stitches ( 8 repeats plus 1 of Medallion Lace from Evelyn Clark’s book “Knitting Lace Triangles”) and knit 9 inches, then put 31 stitches on waste yarn hold for sleeves, continued knitting 10 inches or so to center front, bind off. Then undid provisional cast on, knit another 9 inches in other direction, waste yarn sleeve stitches, finish front. Then seam shoulders, pick up sleeve stitches, knit in round to 3/4 length, bind off. Single crochet around fronts, bottom edge, center back.
A wearable and cool summer jacket. My cat loved the sweater, for some reason, and wouldn't leave me alone while I was knitting it! Here she is trying to get in the photo!

Pie Love

About 10 days ago a client came to my studio and wanted to commission a small quilt for a friend's graduation gift. The recipient loved to bake, especially Lemon Meringue pies. Could I make a quilt about that? I drew up some sketches, and we settled on one:

We chose some fabrics that spoke to us of lemons and pies and blue skies, and meringues, and looked at some images on the internet to get the colors right. The top of the pies brown especially at the peaks, but when you cut a slice, the underneath meringue stays white. We liked the idea of the lemon slice overlaying the pie and the words "Pie" and "Love" on it.

I converted the drawing to a pattern on Freezer paper, cut out some pieces and started assembling the quilt.It struck me that I could manipulate the meringue fabric to provide texture, and I loved the result, but then it would be difficult to find a pleasing way to overlay the lemon slice. The bumpy texture of the meringue might make threadpainting bumpy, and fusing fabric over it would also result in lumps. In the end I added a lemon, and used the slice idea in the quilting, as I did with the words, and also some eggs and wheat.

I used fusible batting, so I could hold the texture of the meringue in place while I quilted it. The binding fabric was used on the back as well, and has silver stars in it, so it ties the spoon together with the pie in the sky.When you get lemons, make lemon pie!

The silver spoon added a bit of invitation to enjoy, and the whole thing has a folk arty feel. Yum!

I hope the client likes it, too! I'm not sure of the title yet, but call it "Pie Love" in my mind!

Size: 19 inches X 19 inches.

Pashmina Jacket

As a lover of textiles and intricate prints and patterns, I often am seduced by the beautiful Pashmina shawls for sale in midtown Manhattan. Over the years, I have purchased several of them which are beautiful, soft, warm and colorful.

Trouble is, I never wear them. In fact, I rarely ever wear shawls. Recently I was folding and admiring the pashmina shawls I have and an idea popped into my head: why not turn one into a jacket? My shawls are 27 inches wide and 72 inches ( 2 yards) long, excluding fringe.

I got out one of my favorite simple classic jacket patterns, Butterick 6474, and laid it out on a shawl which I folded in half:

If laid out this way, the fringe would be on the cuffs and front edges, but not on the back.
I cut out the pieces, and sewed them together using overlock stitch and french seaming when possible, as the weave is a bit loose and the wool is somewhat ravelly and delicate.

Here is my friend Sue Dennis ( www.suedennis.com) , visiting from Australia, modeling my jacket:

A comfortable, warm and light jacket! And Sue makes a great model.