Tag: knitting

Knitting

New Year, New Projects

Iris Rose

Happy New Year to you all! If you are like me, you pretend that you don’t make any New Year’s resolution but secretly, you know that you do.

Mine for the last few Januarys has been to keep track of the projects completed throughout the year. You thought I was going to write that I would work only from stash or not buy any more yarn didn’t you. Heck no, where is the fun in collecting then? Back to the project resolution, I still haven’t kept it proving my humanness once again.  Maybe this will be the year (or not).

I did start last year (really late) by trying to photograph everything that I made and then loading it up to my Ravelry projects page. Who knew that you would have to fill in so many details? I got very quickly bored with that as you can see from my project list. I need a quick, quick, quick way to keep track, any suggestions? I have tried a journal in the past also but with the same result. I think that I may be a lost cause as I resent the time cataloguing when I could be crafting.

Yay, my yoke is done! It desperately needs blocking, but the sweater fits and I have already picked up the stitches for the bottom garter band and knit two rows. This has been one of those projects that haunts you. I know how I wanted it to look (not the way it does) but will be satisfied once it is done, I am sure. How many times can you frog a hand knit yoke? My answer to that is seven!

Just because you are working on one thing doesn’t mean that you can’t start another, does it? I am planning on a series of machine knit yoke sweaters in kid sizes for my sales and Etsy store and began the first today. I hope that the yoke sweater trend lasts another season!

Finally, I have finished the tunic that I featured last week. Only three frogs on this neck treatment so no new records broken.

Thanks for reading and may happiness and kindness follow you this week and all your yarn be tangle free!

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Still Away But Crafting

Iris Rose

Lucky, lucky me, I am still vacationing in paradise! Just because I am away from home though doesn’t mean that I don’t still have the bug to create. I lasted about three days before I brought out the knitting.

I always try to bring small projects when I am away. Knitting or crocheting something large in the heat is just not my cup of tea. I packed a few, okay six, balls of cotton blend yarn that I had purchased to make soft dollies for my craft store. I am working on number five of the expected six that I hoped to make and may be able to squeeze a couple of more out of the yarn that I brought to fill in the few days that we have left.

I will happily craft anywhere. As long as there is enough light and a clean bag to hold the yarn, I am content. I was knitting on the beach a couple of days ago and was getting some looks from the lady a short space over. She got up and left her lounger returning ten minutes later with a bag from which she pulled out her knitting! We didn’t speak the same language, but I believe that crafting is universal and we share the same need to create. She was knitting a beautiful aran sweater with a honeycomb and cable pattern. The yarn she was using looked like alpaca or a similar blend, just lovely but it must have been hot to work with in the 29C heat.

I wrote a few posts ago about a cake of Twister from Hobbii that I was crocheting into a poncho and how unhappy I was with the abrupt colour changes that were happening instead of the gradient that I expected. I put the project aside until I stopped being mad at it and went ahead and finished a child size poncho without using the whole cake in order to minimize the striped effect. Here is what I ended up with and, although I still don’t like the colour changes, it looks better than I expected.

This is a free pattern that I found on Ravelry called 123 Shawl and Poncho.  It is really hard to follow if you have never worked with C2C but Youtube came to the rescue for me. I used a 3.5mm hook to accommodate the finer yarn that I used and added a button and buttonhole band. I would like to try this one again in a thick and fuzzy yarn as it really is an easy and pretty make.

Have restful week and may all of your Christmas knitting and crocheting be done before the big day!

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.