New Freebie: Janice Market Bag

Janice Market Bag

Skills
Cast on, Knit, Purl, pick up stitches, cast off.

Materials
° Berroco Origami (50g/90m): 3 skeins (or Berroco Linsey, Captiva, or Seduce)
° 4mm-16” or 24” circular needles
° 4.5mm-16” or 24” circular needles
° 4mm crochet hook (optional, for picking up sts)
° Small stitch holder or scrap yarn ° Scrap yarn for provisional cast
° Darning needle (straight is easier) ° 4 Buttons: 3/4” wide
° Sewing needle & thread (in colours matching yarn and buttons)

Gauge
19 stitches & 25 rows = 4”/10xm in stocking stitch on larger needles 

Download Free Pattern Here

New Freebie: Rialto Baby Beanie

Rialto Baby Beanie

Size

° preemie (newborn, baby, toddler)

° Head circumference: 11(12-13, 14-15, 16-17)” or 27.5(30-32.5, 35-37.5, 40-42.5)cm

Materials

° Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Print;50g/105m, 1 ball

° Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK; 50g/110m (or Debbie Bliss Rialto DK), 1 ball

° 4mm-16” circular needles

° 3.5mm-16” circular needles

° 4mm double pointed needles

° 1 stitch marker

° darning needle (preferably pointy & small)

Hat on the left:

Newborn size, Debbie Bliss CashmerinoDK colour 18 (navy), Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Print 05 (Ravenna)

Hat on the right:

Toddler size, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK colour 43 (beige), Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Print 01 (Florence)

Dowload the pattern Here

Cottage Project: Leafy Face Cloth

I like the idea of quick & easy little projects in the summer, like face cloths and towels. You can make them for yourself or give them away later as little gifts (for a cutie, wrap a nice soap in the cloth and tie it up with a ribbon).  We've been posting a project idea every day our Facebook Page. 

Above is a fun one I wanted to try, a free patern for a Leaf Cloth. It was easy, clearly written, and fee. It uses short-rows, but because it is knit in garter stitch you don't have to pick up the wraps afterwards (if you aren't familiar with the short row technique this sentence will likely sound like gibberish to you, but it roughly translates as "makes life easier").  The project isn't for absolute beginners, but if you are an intermediate or advanced beginner, or want to learn a few new skills, it's great. 

Anyway, it was fun and I love the idea of making a few of them in a different shades of green.  I used Berroco Weekend, a nice, affordable, and machine washable cotton/synthetic blend. You can make at least 2 leafy cloths from 1 skein, possibly 3 (I'll have to weigh the cloth and see how much yarn it used, I'll get back to you via an update to this post). 

Definitely a great cottage project!

You can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Finished Project: Twister Summer Pullover

Above is our Twister store sample. We used 8 skeins of Berroco Linsey, and it worked out great! The pattern says one size fita all, and it does, it is very roomy and confortable. The sweater is a light pullover with a twist in the front, and it was a very straightforward knit, great for summer & cottage knitting. 

The bag it is shown with is the Janice Market Bag, one of our freebies. 

You can find us at knitomatic.com!

Happy Socks!

I finished my Happy Socks, and as their name suggests, I'm really happy with them.  I used 1 ball of Zitron Trekking XXL (colour 550), and 1 skein of Regia 4ply (colour 44, charcoal grey) for the toes, rear of heel and ribbing at the top. 

I am in pursuit for the perfect fitting hand-knit socks for me. I used a generic short-row toe-up technique, worked in a k3p1 rib for the top of the foot and stockingette for the bottom, threw in a toe-up gusseted heel, and made increases up the back of the leg for the calf. I wrote down all the details in my notes on Ravelry, but they were written for my own guidance, not as a pattern, and details I don't generally need to note are omitted (basically, if you are new to sock knitting, I suggest you follow a basic beginner sock pattern and don't follow my notes). 

The socks will be on display in the store until the fall, at which time I'm reclaiming them!

You can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Lanesplitter

We made a Lansesplitter Skirt! It is a free pattern online from knitty.com. We used 2 skeins of Noro Taiyo in shade 21. I think it looks great, and it feels great too! Liane made one for herself and has been wearing it ever since. Very, very pleased. :-)

You can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Galinhos Spring Cowl

Last month Liane completed a really nice spring cowl, Galinhos, with Berroco Origami. It turned out beautifully, and the yarn crocheted as well as it knits (we knitted Kiama with it a couple years ago). The pattern is super easy peasy, great mindless crocheting and beginner-friendly. The yarn is unfortunately discontinued, so pick it up while supplies last. 

Galinhos in Origami
Modifications: none
Pattern: Berroco Booklet 305 Origami
Yarn: Berroco Origami, 3 skeins, colour 4356
Hook: 5mm

You can find us at Knitomatic.com

Liesl in Berroco Karma

Finally, a finished project for you!  It's a quick little spring/summer cardie worked up on big needles. The yarn, Berroco Karma, has a lot of drape and worked extremely effectively with the lace stitch. 

The pattern was easy, and easy to follow. I went of the pattern and made mine a bit smaller than the pattern because i wasn't certain how it would work with this yarn and larger needles,. I think the smllest size in the pattern with this yarn on 8mm needles would fit a size medium (size 8 to 10). 

Liesl in Karma

Modifications: see my Ravelry Notes

Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda Teague (about $8)

Yarn: Berroco Karma colour 3415 Sap Green

Needles: 8mm-29" circular (for body) & 8mm-16" circular (for arms)

You can always find us at Knitomatic.com!

Post-Holiday Projects - Doll Clothes

   Sasha's Pants (rear: pockets)

So the holidays have come and gone, and I'm still working on my holiday knits - kinda. I received a request for some doll clothes for my niece's vintage Cabbage Patch Kids, but I didn't really make the deadline for either holiday. Fitting the dolls has turned out to be harder than anticipated. I figure dressing the girls is a worthwhile pursuit, Lucy will probably play with them for years. I also feel a little responsible for the kids, as they used to be mine - every time I see them semi-dressed I cringe and feel guilty, like I'm neglecting them.

   Cornelia's Pants (rear: pockets)

So the plan is to make each kid a full get-up, or at least fill in the gaps. Sasha, the big sister, gets pants, a pullover and socks. I made Cornelia, the preemie, a dress last summer, so she gets pants, socks, and if I have time or inclination a pullover. Both will be clad entirely in stripes, when I'm done I want them to look like an art installation. Also, it's really boring knitting normal doll clothes. 

Although, I came across a cool pattern in a vintage Vogue Knitting magazine from the hight of the cabbage craze, an Aran sweater & tam! Isn't it too cute?!  I might have to make one. 

And of course this project has launched me into an exploration of vintage knitting patterns for vintage Cabbage Patch Kids.

Sorry I haven't been able to take pics on the dolls: fittings have to take place after dark because Lucy is pushing 2 and well into the 'mine' phase. The funny silhouette has a function - I wanted the pants to fit snugly on the hips & waist, but have room in the legs to make it easy to pull on. I've been using Cascade 220 Superwash Sport - its soft, washable, isn't too thick, comes in small skeins, and won't break the bank. 

Anyway, wish me luck!  

You can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Slipper Season

Helloooo!  I think the desire to blog is a good sign that I'm starting to recover from my Holiday exhaustion.  I even have a project worth chatting about - I made Chris felted slippers for x-mas this year!  

I used the Fiber Trends Felt Clogs pattern, it is tried-and-true, and the author, Bev Galekas, is a felting master.  The pattern calls for 2 strands of worsted weight yarn held together, but I wasn't inclined to take the rest of the Lamb's Pride Worsted grey yarn off the shelf right before Christmas, so I used Cascade Eco+. The Eco is a bit thicker, but other people on Ravelry had used it, so I figured it would be fine.  Yeah ... not quite. They felted a size too big. If you use Eco, I suggest going up to a 10mm needle and making a size smaller in the pattern. I had to felt the shit out of the slippers to get the size down. I went over to my parents house (their washer has lots of controls) and kept the agitator going for about an hour.  One good thing about the super felting is that the slippers are really nice and dense, I love the texture. 

So, the lesson is that thicker yarns do not felt in the same way as thinner yarns. If you want to do research online, there is an older version of the pattern that has many more projects. Some people have used a single strand of Lamb's Pride Bulky, but I don't know if it felts larger or smaller. janwise seems to knit them larger and then super-felt them, so does cadrake. 

To finish them off I cleaned off all the fuzzy woofies with a sweater stone (first time I've been happy with the sweater stone) and sewed on some suede slipper bottoms from Fiber Trends (12") with matching yarn (I use the sock reinforcing yarn from Regia, it comes in small packs so I didn't have to open a whole skein). 

I got lucky with the final fit, but they look great, and now I kind of want a pair too. Which colour do you think?  I could use Lamb's Pride Bulky (in Violet Fields maybe?), or Lanaloft Bulky (less mohair means less fuzz, and Twist of Lime looks fun), or I could just make them the way the pattern suggests and hold 2 strands of Nature Spun Worsted together. Maybe a turquoise or a violet? Top of the Lamb Worsted in Peacock would also be nice.

Addenda Jan 2, 2012

I think I am going to make my slippers using 3 skeins of Brown Sheep Co. Shepherd's Shades in SS572 Celery. 

You can find us at knitomatic.com!