lacy headbands

Knitting doesn't have to be useful only in cold weather.  In fact I hope it isn't, if I am to make any sales in the next few months!


This week I've become very interested in lighter weight styles of knitting than those used in cozy winter knits.  Here are some lacy headbands which will soon brighten up my Etsy shop.  Who would have thought wool could be so summery?

I learned this squarish style from
another of Judy's YouTube videos.
It's so easy!

Cast on an odd number of stitches.
row 1:  *k2tog, yarn over*,
repeat between * to last stitch, k.
row 2: knit across.

The classic Shetland lace pattern
Crown of Glory,
featuring a series of grand eyelets,
takes 12 rows to complete.

summer fabrics for summer fashions

     I am so happy that Spring is in the air!  True, the lake in my backyard is still frozen, but there is a new freshness outside that is so promising, I know I will be soaking up the sun in a bikini before I know it.  Looks like I have survived my first winter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

     I have some summer fashions in mind that I want to create just as soon as I get my sewing machine working.  The following fabrics (currently scarves) have sufficiently motivated me to really get cracking on that machine today!

Meezer Mats

     One of the things Siamese Rescue needs is blankets to give newly adopted kitties both a soft surface and a familiar item for comfort during their long car ride to a foreber hoem.  The blankets are called Meezer Mats.


     I started my first one, using this exciting stitch I'd never learned before.  It's not only great because it creates a light and puffy, comfortable surface.  The most exciting part about this stitch is that it involves no purling!

row 1 & 3 (wrong side): k across.
row 2: *k1, k by inserting needle in
center of stitch in row below,
knitting through both loops.*
repeat between * to last 2, k, k.
row 4: k1,
repeat between * to last 1, k.

UPDATE: Here is the finished product!

I think something like this
would make a cute little clutch

Simply Sublime

"...the underside as perfect as the outside..."

-Coco Chanel

Sublime fantasy

     I have been going full speed ahead on my Sublime organic cotton sweater these past few days.  I'm very excited for it to make its public debut in the coming weeks, expecting April highs in the 60's.  I can just see myself strolling the Old Port taking in the sights, Ned on my arm, Loeffler Randall rain boots on my feet...


     The sweater is so close to being done I can taste it!  I thought I'd share a few helpful tips I figured out for myself to solve some small problems that may frequently arise during the process of sewing up a knitted garment.


     I had to attach two flaps on the sides of the hood partway down the neckline...but the hood flaps were longer than the portion of seam it was supposed to match on the neckline.  To solve this problem and similar ones, first figure out which piece is short and which is long.  Rather than counting stitches, I prefer to just match where you know it needs to match, and start sewing it up.  Then you'll have an idea of how much needs to be taken in.

     Then take out all or part of what you have done and just gradually "pucker" the longer side.  In the case above, for the grafting technique, rather than wrapping one stitch, I wrapped a stitch and a half each time.  For a vertical mattress stitch seam, go through only one "bar" instead of two on the side that is too short.  Depending how much needs to be taken in, you could do these things on every stitch, or alternating stitches.  Just keep redoing the seam until it looks great!

Admiring my gentle pucker.

re-check your gauge!

     When you are working on something that really needs to be a certain size, just doing a 4x4" tension square before you start is not enough!


     Here is what I did last night to start my Italian Ice tank top:

When checking gauge transfer work
to a tiny needle so it will lie flat.

remember: stitches are v's

     I measured by gauge earlier at about 4.2 stitches per inch.  When I sped up and got going, I tightened up to exactly 5 stitches per inch.  It may not sound like a lot, but that's enough to make my garment several inches too small when you consider the front and back, which would really ruin an already close-fitting design.


     Now call me fearful of wasting six inches of colorwork, but I decided that instead of ripping back I am going to add one inch side panels.  Already you can kind of see that I kept two stiches on each side in garter stitch, but it isn't standing out as much as I'd hoped anyway, so a side panel would be just the ticket.

inspired by the yarn

     You notice on Etsy that a lot of knit designers say they are "inspired by the yarn" to make a certain item. I stumbled upon this huge stash of a precious yarn called Italian Ice that is for sale right now at Salvation Army for $3 a pack of 10. According to the label it is made in Windham, which is the next town over where I do most of my shopping.  I guess the company that makes it, Knit One Crochet Too must have had some overstock.

Italian Ice is
61% Cotton
26% Linen
13% Viscose

It is flat and takes a size 10 needle.
I love the look of flat yarns!

     

     I think this will look good for a lot of things, but the one I want to focus on first is a simple tank top showing semi-linear horizontal patches of the pastel pink and purple.

update on the mini-me's

     The internet cafe in Bingham where I stopped to post here on Monday turns out to be a consignment shop too.  The owner is a nice lady who took a few of my cat toys to place in a basket on her counter (prime real estate!) and offer for sale at a fee of 50%.  I made some easily removable ribbon tags and they were ready for business.

     Yesterday I spoke with the director of Siamese Rescue, for whom as I mentioned before I will be donating some of my mini-mese cat toys.  Everything is coming together beautifully for what I look forward to as a mutually beneficial partnership, except that she expressed concern because some of the yarns I've been using contain wool.  Sadly there are cats who suffer from a condition called pica, meaning they eat inappropriate objects.  These cats are especially attracted to wool.  Therefore I will be moving toward other fibers for the toys, but I am hoping the ones I've made will not have to go to waste!

These babies would love
to sit in your windowsill...

...and they can even go
where some naughty cats wish they could go:
on the counter!

something for myself

     This past week I decided since I was sort of on vacation that I would do something for myself.


     Having just gotten the grasp of how to knit, last April I started my first sweater from a pattern book by Sublime (a division of the UK fiber company Sirdar) using their organic cotton dk yarn, all purchased from Scottsdale's Knit Happens.  I finished knitting all of the pieces in January but have been procrastinating on sewing it up, mainly because until now I didn't learn how to do that.  But with the onset of Spring (which I consider March to be) I really want to start wearing this simply sublime sweater soon.


     I'd also like for the project not to take me an entire year to finish!

Vertical seams like this one
up the middle of the hood take mattress stitch.

As with most things, the hardest part
was getting started.

sap's runnin!

     Friday morning I thought the thermometer was broken when it said -12 degrees, but then it climbed faithfully up over 40 by the afternoon.

     "Warm days and cold nights - you know what that means Rose," Ned asked me.

     "Sap's runnin?"

     "Baad."

     I just can't seem to get enough of that sweet Vermont accent!

The same Norway Maples shown below on February 28
were singin a different tune the next day on March 1...and so was I!