Knitting

Ramblings of a Yarn Collector

Do you walk the aisles and pick up and put down many skeins of yarn before the right one jumps into your shopping basket?  I do.

When I shop for yarn, both on line and in the store, I have a hard time sticking to what I had in mind to shop for.  Each skein I pass becomes a new project, some great and beautiful something that begs to run through my fingers with needles or hook.  Often it is just too soft or textured or fuzzy or silky or colourful to ignore and, even though the project isn’t planned, it jumps into my basket and is adopted.

The practical part of my brain, the part I try to ignore, tells me no, no, no put that down and just pick up the number of skeins that you need for project X.  Remember project X, the one you just had to make, the one that you promised yourself that you were going to start as soon as you bought just the right yarn?  The creative side of my brain says, just a couple please, please, please.  I just know that if they come home with me they will speak to me and tell me what they want to be.

I rarely make these random buys because that gorgeous skein is wool or silk or acrylic or cotton but just because it is too beautiful to languish on a shelf all alone.  Am I crazy or foolish?  Probably both, but I know I am not alone.

I have random skeins of yarn that came home with me a long time ago.  I have random skeins that I inherited from other family members, picked up at garage sales, and even saved from deconstructed sweaters.  Every once in a while, I break down and go through my stash to try to eliminate some of the single (but so lovely) skeins and I end up finding forgotten beauty and actually never get rid of a thing.

I have, however, assigned some of my yarn to patterns and made a resolution not to buy until I have used a significant amount of my existing yarn.  I wonder how long that resolution will last?  Probably about as long as that diet and exercise program did!

Knitting

Little Lovely Lacey Cardigan

A friend loved my adult cardigan and really wanted to make it for her grandkids so the little version was born.

I included sizes 1/2 to 8 in the pattern as I really think that it will look pretty on kids from toddler to big girl. It is a fairly easy make if you know how to both knit and crochet as I used only basic stitches; stocking stitch for the knit part and crochet stitches from chain to treble crochet.

I had so much fun knitting and crocheting this little version of my adult pattern.  Thanks for looking in and enjoy the pattern now available here.

Sizes: Girls 1/2, 3/4, 5, 6, 8.  Chest measurements when cardigan is closed with 5cm or 2″ of positive ease: 51, (56, 61, 66, 72)cm or 20, (22, 24, 26, 28)”.

Materials: 425 to 675m or 470 to 750 yds of DK weight yarn.  I used washable wool but this cardigan would be nice made with any soft yarn including cotton.

Tools: 4.5mm, US 7 knitting needles, 4.0mm, US G/6 crochet hook, removable stitch marker, large tapestry needle, 3, (3, 5, 6, 6) buttons, optional stitch holder.

Gauge:  Knit: 22 stitches x 32 rows = 10cm or 4″

Crochet: 13 (ch1, dc) x 11 rows = 10cm or 4″

Abbreviations:

Knit:   K= knit

P = purl

K2tog = knit 2 stitches together

Crochet:  ch = chain

sc = single crochet

hdc = half double crochet

dc = double crochet

tr = treble crochet