Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Dandelion Air

In lieu of paying for this pattern, please consider donating to your local domestic abuse advocacy center.


Materials Needed
Size 6 circular needles, at least 21 inches
One skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light or other fingering weight yarn of your choice, about 400 yards.
Model was knit in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Candlewick
Stitch markers (optional)
Yarn needle


Skills Needed
Knit (k)
Purl (p)
Yarn over (yo)
Knit front & back (kfb)
I-cord bind off


This is a great website with videos on these and other stitches.


Method
Cast on 3 stitches on size 6 needle

Set Up
Row 1 (RS): kfb all (6 stitches)
Row 2 (WS): p all (6 stitches)
Row 3 (RS): k1, kfb, k1, kfb, kfb, k1 (9 stitches)
Row 4 (WS): k3, p6, k3
Row 5 (RS): k3, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k3  **Note: the pink stitch is the center stitch, you may want to use stitch markers to keep track of it**
Row 6 (WS): k all

Pattern Repeat
Body Row 1 (RS): k3, yo, k to center stitch, yo, k1, yo, knit to last 3 stitches, yo, k3
Body Row 2 (WS): k3, p to last three stitches, k3

Every sixth row, knit a body ridge row:

Body ridge row (WS): k to center stitch, p1, k all

It can be tedious to count your rows like this, so it might be easier to keep an eye on the ridged edges of the wrong-side rows.  There will be two rows with ridged edges between each body ridge row.



Repeat body rows 1 & 2 (keeping track of the ridge rows) until your 20th body ridge row.

Purl edge:
Row 1 (RS): Purl all stitches
Row 2 (WS): Knit all stitches

Repeat edge rows 5 times (or as long as you like) ending on row 2


Binding off

Bind off using a 3 stitch I-Cord bind off.
Cast on three stitches, k2, k2togtbl.  Slide these three stitches back onto the left hand needle, then *k2, k2togtbl*.  Repeat until the end of the row.

This is a great tutorial for the i-cord bind off.

Block as you like; I pinned mine into points a bit.



Madness





Saturday, January 7, 2012

Giftmas, Greg & Britini

My brother is not affectionate; it's how I've always remembered him being.  He hugs our mom and his girlfriend, but not me.  Maybe I can weasel one out of him at my wedding, but probably not.  Still, it's good to dream.  Am I giving up?  No!  I am relishing the small victories.  Example:

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Thanksgiving 2011
Greg: Your pasta's actually pretty tasty, Liz.
Me: YES! (arms in the air in victory)
-----------

So when Greg actually asked for something specific for Giftmas, I jumped on it.



Knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Mink Heather and Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Black
and
Official Kittyville Hat by Kitty Schmidt
Knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in White and Cascade Yards Ultra Pima Cotton in 3775 Red

My brother's girlfriend Britini is adorable (clearly).  What to make for a girl who loves Hello Kitty and already has several Hello Kitty hats?  A Hello Kitty hat of course!  Of all the people to whom I've given hats with earflaps like this, she's the only one to rock the hat tied under her chin.  Adorable.

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Knitting modifications
bearded toque

My original plan was to knit the whole hat in WOTA and get a ball of black for the beard.  Because the beard will rest against his face, I went with a softer (albeit less cozy) yarn -- Comfy Worsted.  It's so soft!  Only I goofed and ordered on ball of Comfy Worsted instead of two, so I had to make some modifications to make it work.


  • The ribbing is worked in WOTA (as opposed to Comfy for the beard)
  • There is ribbing at all (the pattern is written for seed stitch)
  • The beard is worked in stockinette rather than seed stitch


Hello Kitty Hat

  • I used size 8s because I lost my 7s.  Boo.
  • Instead of the decreases in the pattern, I did *K10, SSK* for one round, then *K9, SSK* etc until a round of SSKs
  • I knit the ears in the round and attached them after rather than picking up stitches
  • I lightly stuffed the ears with fiberfill
  • The I-Cords are a massive 13 inches long.




Hemlock Ring Blanket

I started this bad-boy super early (September 7!) and managed to get in done in a month, with about two or three weeks dedicated to exclusive foot-dragging.  I am so silly.  This throw wasn't even that hard.

My first Jared Flood project!  Although it doesn't count because it's not really his design, more his charting of a vintage pattern.


I almost always fear giving hand-knit presents, especially to people who already own such nice things.  I convince myself that what I make for people must look like garbage next to some of the nicer things people purchase.  This fear echoes, and my confidence shakes as I hand over my gifts, eyes slightly downcast, a bit embarrassed.  I wonder if this afflicts other proponents of gifts handmade, or if my insecurities are uniquely heightened.