Groovy Jacket

Our Groovy Kids Jacket is finished! I sewed the zipper in yesterday and it looks wonderful (if i don't say so myself). I used the zipper instructions from Interweave Knits/Knitting Daily, and they were pretty good. The only thing I found is that in an attempt to do it just as the instructions described I sewed the teeth too close to the yarn. In the 3rd step it says "with matching sewing thread, sew knitted fabric close to teeth." In practice, I think you can sew the edge 1/4 inch from the teeth. I would also prefer a zipper with plastic teeth, but the fabric store (Mac Fab) didn't have much stock because they are moving. I need to get more matching thread (bought the wrong colour), after that I'll give it another go. The zipper pull is an old thing I hand hanging around the store.

Unoriginal Hat

I finished and blocked my Unoriginal Hat. The brim is all wiggly. I think it will stretch on Katie (sister in law & future owner) and look fine, but just to make sure I am going to weave some elastic in. Aren't I just little miss finishing this week?!

It looks a little egg-headed on me because I made it a few rows longer to accommodate Katie's omnipresent ponytail. The style doesn't suit my little noggin anyway, but it needs to be modeled for you to see it properly. I guess I should make Katie a ponytail hat at some point? I'll get right on that ..... ;-)

Free Purim Pattern

Here's a free Purim Hamantaschen Pattern, but it's only available until march 9th.

Imogen Begins

One of the Imogen kits hit the needles this week! Liane is working up a size medium in the peacock colourway. So far so good, it looks like it's going to be a great transitional sweater. Plus, the sizes are pretty generous so we'll see how big the medium ends up. The sweater is knit side to side so the colour pooling will be vertical, not horizontal.

Quick & Easy Baby Blanket

My projects aren't too inspiring, but I've got a job to do and this is the kind of thing customers are always asking me for. It's a baby blanket knit in Dream in Color Groovy on 7mm needles, knit up simply and easily in a midless pattern (henceforth the Quick & Easy Baby Blanket). I started last Sunday, I've done just over half of it, and I really haven't been knitting too much. It's terrible of me to be making something so simple during the Ravelympics, but que sera. By the way, how are your Ravelympics going?

Groovy Jacket

The Groovy Kids Jacket (in Dream in Color Groovy) is almost finished! it just needs a zipper. It is super cute and I love the yarn for this project, it is nice but not prissily soft, which suits a curling jacket style. The colouring is stunning (can`t see it in the photo, sorry about the over-exposure).

Unoriginal Hat

I've got an Unoriginal Hat on the needles in Malabrigo Chunky for my sister in law, Katie. I reduced the needle size to 5.5mm to adjust for the finer yarn, although it dawned on my last night that I could have doubled the yarn and worked the pattern as writen. Regardless, Katie will probably prefer something less bulky.

Pattern modifications included an extra 14 sts at the cast on, 2 extra set up rows, and 7 extra rows before the crown decreases (in a basic cable, no more big cable).

The tension is nice and firm on the small needles and I've taught myself how to cable without a cable needle!

New Freebie! Vintage Button & Rib Hat

Vintage Button and Rib Hat

by Haley Waxberg

This hat is inspired by a pattern from the O-Wool yarn company that I helped a client with. I fell for the style, but the method, gauge, etc needed some refining. My hat is knit in a chunky/Bulky weight yarn and needles that are normally suitable for an Aran - this makes it dense and helps keep out the wind (I haven't gone up against any heavy winter winds yet but since I finished it my little head has not been touched by the big bad Canadian winter).  The construction is fairly straight forward: 1) knit ribbing, 2) pick up stitches along side of ribbing, 3) knit a little bit of crown and start decreases, and 4) sew on buttons. The size shown is small and I have not tested the larger sizes, but because the base is a rectangular panel you can try it on for size and modify it accordingly (don't worry, I put instructions in the pattern to help you with this). The majority of the hat is in the ribbing, so it is most important that that portion fit comfortable around your head. If you find problems with the size please leave me suggestions! :-) Download the pattern on Ravelry HERE.

Size
S(M, L, XL)
Head circumference 21(22, 23, 24)"


Materials
2 skeins Malabrigo Chunky
5mm needles
5.5mm/16" circular needles
5.5mm double pointed needles
1 stitch marker
darning needle
2 buttons
thread that matches buttons & sewing needle
5mm or 5.5mm crochet hook (optional but useful when picking up stitches)


Gauge
2 x 2 ribbing un-streched, on 5mm needles: 26 sts & 20 rows = 4"/10cm
Stocking Stitch on 5.5mm needles: 4.25 sts & 6 rows = 1"/2.5cm


Abbreviations
K           Knit
K2tog    Knit 2 sts together
P           Purl
RS         Right side (outside)
Sl          Slip
ST/s      Stitch/es
WS        Wrong side


Techniques
Backwards loop cast on:
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2008/05/15/backward-loop-cast-on.aspx

DOWNLOAD PATTERN HERE

Habitat-tat-tat

I finished my Habitat cabled hat late last week!  It seemes a bit short on John (DBF) so i blocked it, and now the band is not snug enough for his preference. I'm going to reinforce it with knitting elastic and we'll see. Anyway, it was great, except for needing an extra 1/2 inch or so in length. If you think you might also need some i suggest adding it in the ribbing, the cabling is to too complicated to go 'off-chart'.  The malabrigo worsted felt gorgeous to work with!

Groovy Kids Jacket

Our 'Groovy' kids jacket in Dream in Color is knitting up beautifully!  the colour is so beautiful, they do a wonderful job at subtle dyeing. We just have a bit more arm and some zipper action and then it'll be ready for display!

Habitat for Keppies

I haven't been accomplishing much lately because my arms have been hurting from all of the recent winter weather. I did get a bit done on John's Hat, Habitat. Actually, it's not bad work for 2 broken arms. BTW, a 'keppie' is yiddish slang for  a cute little head (the term is normally 'kepele', which would be pronounced 'kep'∙eh∙leh).

Quick Valentines Gifts

 
It's nice to celebrate Valentines day with a single Rose or a Bouquet. The secret to making nice flowers is using nice yarn. Cheap, acrylic yarns look kitschy in a "memories of granny's bathroom decor from the 1970s" kind of way. Using a decent wool, something with some surface texture and depth of colour (single plies look nioce), goes a looong way! Plus, if you use a feltable wool and aren't keen on the finished texture you can always salvage the project by felting it. Lamb's Pride Worsted is a good option, it has a bit of fuzz to it, or try Malabrigo Merino Worsted in a semi-solid for a very knitterly aesthetic.

Sock Monkeys (here's the 2nd little guy knitting)transcend the specificity of holidays - they are cool in any seasonal colour combo (red for Valentines, pastels for Easter, red & green for Christmas, dressed up like Charton Heston for Passover). Make it in a thicker yarn and it will knit up faster and larger.

  
Knit some Mini Hearts or some Super-mini Hearts or  are great valentines decorations: string them together in a garland or mobile.


You can also Crochet Mini-Amigurumi Hearts or Medium Hearts

Valentines is like a Box of Chocolates for those who have a healthy appreciation for irony and are on a diet. (I'm kidding around, so stop rolling your eyes, I don't actually expect anyone to make this, I just have a good appreciation for spectacle.)

Designer Knockoff Alert!

Oh me, oh my! In the 'immortal' words of the fake band Funky See, Funky Do, "I do believe we're naked!" Not literally, I'm just on the receiving end of a bit of designer stimulation and i feel a little giddy. Some nice person wrote a gorgeous free pattern for a Burberry Cowl and I am itching to make one in Malabrigo Chunky! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

habitat cabled hat

for beloved boyfriend i am taking on Habitat, by Jared Flood. i'm using Malabrigo Merino Worsted and the stuff feels fabulous to knit with! it has such a nice squish, although that satisfying feeling is a little lost now that i'm into the cabling. the pattern is well written and relatively easy to follow, although i had to colour-code the symbols on the chart to keep track and i needed more than a full rainbow of colours. it requires some paying attention and a row counter, but other than that it isn't too involved. 

Groovy Jacket

The next store project is our "Groovy Jacket". It's actually a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern, Children's Bulky Neckdown Jacket (#249), but we're making it in Dream in Color Groovy (pansy golightly). The yarn is knitting up BEATIFULLY! I like the jacket, it kind of reminds me of those old fashioned curling sweaters.

Big Bad Baby Blanket

Our new Big Bad Baby Blanket made in Cadenza is done!  It is pretty, soft and warm - everything a baby blanket should be! :-)