Tag: free

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

On Vacation So Don’t Expect Much!

Iris Rose

Okay, I am on vacation so can’t promise you much but here goes. Two weeks in Aruba, are you jealous yet? We have only been here two days and already I feel like mush, good mush but mush none the less.


I finished up the craft sale season and am ready to move on to pattern writing. Look ahead to January for that. I think that I am over my pattern writing block and ready to move forward now. I have a few machine patterns and a couple of hand knit as well as crochet patterns to publish for you.

I had some fun with my LK 150 machine in creating an easy poncho that will translate well to hand knitting too and, as a bonus for those of you that are multicraftual, the edging is crocheted. Look forward to that pattern before the end of the month.

In the meantime, have a great week ahead and I should have a real post for you next week. By the way, I have reached a milestone in my blog life. Last post was number 100 and now I am on to the next century of posts.

Happy crafting and remember to be kind to everyone you meet whether you believe they deserve it or not.

Knitting

Gift Wrap Up!

Iris Rose

If you are anything like me, you use that last minute that everyone talks about to get the most work done. We are sneaking closer to Christmas and all the fun (and stress) of gift giving. I have a couple of patterns in my Ravelry and Etsy stores that fill the handmade gift and last minute criteria both.


Free is always a good thing, well mostly anyway. Sometimes free advice is not welcome and freeloaders definitely not but free patterns, okay! I have a few suggestions from my catalogue. First is the Curved Shoulder Scarf. Easily made in a couple of evenings, or one if you stay up very late, it is a very pretty way to make a gift without breaking the bank. You likely have a suitable yarn in your stash just waiting to be used!  Also in the four hour category and also free, is my Simple Shawl pattern.  Use up those fancy bulky yarns in an evening with this one.  I made the pictured one with one skein of Lion Brand Landscape.


Next, may I suggest the Delphinium Shoulder Scarf? This one is a paid pattern but you will want to knit this one more than once. It is a little more involved than the Curved scarf and more shawl like in size and fit. I used less than one skein of Red Heart Super saver to make the sample for the pattern. It uses short rows for shaping to hold it on your shoulders with the wrap and turns nicely hidden in the seed stitch body. I really don’t like the look of wrap and turn except when they are hidden in the stitch pattern.


Also free is my Latte Scarf, made with one Caron Cake. You could make this into a wrap by increasing the number of pattern rows if you have a second cake. You could also use a plain or variegated yarn for this one and have a very pretty present. It has been a very popular pattern judging by the number of downloads, thank you, and is still being chosen regularly.


Okay, now you have some inspiration, get stash diving and start crossing those handmade gift projects off of your list! I, however, intend to wait for the last minute ’cause that is the only time I get anything done.


Have a happy week with kindness all around you.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Cozy Pillows

Iris Rose

Today we have a rerun of a post from a couple of years ago.  I see that Bernat Blanket yarn is still quite popular and thought that I would share again a pattern for some comfy pillows that really fit this time of year (late fall, almost winter, shudder).  It also proves that I do indeed swatch to figure out how my designs fit!

I gave into the seduction of Bernat Blanket a while ago and let it languish while I tried to decide what the heck I was going to do with it. I had purchased a ball (and they are large!) of white and another of ivory while they were on sale and put them away to think about.

I have little confidence with interior design so consequently my living room, while crowded was a bit stark. I picked up some blue fabric and covered my existing pillows but wanted something big and squishy for those TV naps (yes, I am still watching the movie) on the couch.

I thought that I should go through my stash and try to use up some of my waiting yarn to take advantage of the current trend of big knitting in home décor. I came across the Blanket and, knowing I had a couple of extra bed pillows, the idea for a cozy, squishy pillow was born.

Of course, I only had the one ball of ivory and no blue to match the little pillows which meant another yarn buying trip which is never a hardship. I picked up a ball of blue which was a great match and another of ivory as my swatch told me I would need that much.

I started out by playing with different needle sizes from 6mm to 8mm and ended up using the 8mm recommended. I had decided to make plain stripes but then thought a few changes in width and pattern would make them a little more interesting. Knitting in the round and a three needle bind off meant there was no sewing except to close the cast on edge once the pillow was stuffed inside which is always a plus in my book.

These comfy pillows have got a lot of use and were so easy to do. I have a hole in my stash now too! If I can think of something to make use of the white, I’ll have room for a couple of new skeins of yarny delight.

You can find the pattern in my Ravelry store here.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Winter In Summer Blog Post

Iris Rose

Okay, it is ridiculously cold here right now and has been for the last couple of days. Minus one degree Celsius at ten in the morning, really, on September 13th? I haven’t even started my winter knitting! My blog is not late this week because of the cold but I have just been too busy with family stuff. Anyway, here it is now.

Speaking of the cold, I have a super easy, super warm couch blanket pattern on Ravelry that uses Bernat Blanket or any super chunky yarn. You could even double some worsted weight that you have too much of or don’t know what to do with and make a pretty and warm addition to your living room, den, bedroom, you get the picture.

If you don’t have access to Ravelry, here is the pattern for you. I know that this is a cop out this week but, you know, we all have those days where you realize that writer’s block is a real thing!

I had four balls of Bernat Blanket yarn (you can use any worsted weight doubled) that I had bought with cowls in mind but found that the yarn just did not have enough bounce to create the look that I imagined. So what to do with it? Why not a Blanket blanket? Okay, I got my joke out of the way and here is how I went ahead and made a 115cm x 155cm (45” x 60”) cozy blanket.

The blanket is knit with garter stitch in the Shetland style with a centre rectangle and then subsequent rows worked around that. You will need 800 metres (885 yards) of bulky weight yarn. As I said above, you can use Blanket as I did or any worsted weight yarn held double which will double the amount of yarn that you need of course.

You will need 10 or 12mm circular needles. Use one to start then two or a very long one as the size of the blanket grows. I used an interchangeable with a cable connector and used two 100 cm (40”) cables.

With a 10 or 12mm circular needle, cast on 18 stitches and knit 60 rows, bind off.

Pick up and knit 18 stitches across the short side of the rectangle, place a marker, 30 stitches along the long side, place a marker, then 18 stitches at the other short side, place a marker and finally another 30 stitches along the last long side, placing a final marker. (To garter stitch in the round, you will knit the first row and purl the next. These two rows will be worked throughout.) Purl the next row.

Increase in each corner on each knit row by making a stitch before the marker, slip the marker, knit one and make another stitch. Make a stitch by lifting the bar between two stitches onto the left needle and knit through the back loop.

I changed colours every 14 rows, then 18, 18 and 12 rows to make the stripes around the centre piece. You can alternate colours as often as you like or make it all in one colour. Just have fun with it!

 

Knitting

Finished! and Shawl Part Two

Iris Rose

I have a few photos for you this week as well as part two of the Shawl in Parts that I started last week.

I finally blocked the two little swonchos that I made and declared as finished last week. They really are finally, finally finished now. I really like them and will definitely be making more. I think that I like the length of the peach and the neck of the teal one more. I guess I should combine the two and have the best of both in one. I am going to develop a size range too.


I spent some evening time this week working on a cat hat and scarf set. It is sized for a kid from six to ten maybe and was fun to make. What do you think? Should I make more of these with different animals?

Here is part two of the shawl pattern that I started last week. It is easy mesh lace and is mirrored to slant downward on each side of the centre spine which stays in stocking stitch. Have fun with this part and let me know if you need help; I am available here on the contact page or on Ravelry as bluechicken.

Shawl part two:
You should have sixty five stitches between the markers on each side of the centre spine and side borders. Make sure that you have ended the first section by completing a wrong side row and are ready to work on the right side next.  K2tog means knit 2 stitches together and SSK means slip two stitches onto the right needle knitwise, slip them back to the left needle and knit them together.  This makes the pattern slant in different directions on each side of the shawl to mirror the lace.

Row 1: Work the border stitches as before, slip marker, YO, K1, YO, (K2tog, YO) over the next 64 stitches, slip marker, K5, slip marker, YO, (SSK, YO) over the next 64 stitches, K1, YO, slip marker and work border stitches.

Row2: Work the border stitches, slip marker, P all stitches, slip marker, work the border stitches.
Repeat these two rows another 11 times for a total of twelve repeats.

Wow, this section is easy! Don’t worry the next section is easy too.

Have a great yarny week! Now I need to get knitting fast to have a new section ready for you next week!