Thursday, November 30, 2006

This old sweater..................

Hi there Knit Wit buddies and possibly some Cast-On subscribers! Here are some photos of what I am currently doing with old sweaters. Brenda Dayne brought this sub's colors ject up a couple of weeks ago in her podcast. I painted my house last April and I am still putting everything back together. The location is in my bedroom, but eventually I will have garments all over my house.

My last post shows my scarves and my Elizabeth shawl. They are hung on wooden dowels that are painted white. I hung them on white toggle bolts. This makes them hang away from the wall a bit, which makes it easier to show them. My idea was to hang them as invisibly as possible, making it look like they are floating there on their own.
The lower two sweaters are well-loved. The cardigan's colors were picked out by Carson, who was about 6 years old. It was a lot of fun because he told me what colors go where. The bottom left is the gnarly little sweater made from Aunt Lydia's rug yarn, with crayola buttons on the tab-front. He wore it non-stop during pre-school and first grade. You can see the fuzzies in the close-up.




This close-up shows the sweater I made after taking Horst Schultz' class at Stitches West a few years ago. I used it to work out ideas. I will probably never give it away, because it is a sampler of many techniques I learned at that Stitches.




And lastly, here are the same dowels sporting my Charlotte's Web collection.
I liked the first one so much that I made two more. The lime green is my favorite.

Hope this helps help you pull your favorite things out of their under-the-bed boxes so they can continue being loved by you!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Just in time for Christmas!

Happy Holidays! Hope you are recovered from your turkey-tryptophan feasting activities. This post has a couple of quick to knit holiday ideas for you, plus one bind off technique that will become your favorite!
This cute little scarcho was knitted by Bertha for her niece, Cassie. Cassie is 8 years old, and loves the color pick. Bertha used one skein of Lourdes by Sensations (49 yards) and one of Tropez (38 yards. She cast on 10 stitches, I believe she used a size 11 needle, and knitted 4 scarves from each yarn, 40 ridges long.
That's it! Join them together, fringe, and your niece will nominate you for Aunt of the Year! With some of the sales going on at this time of the year, you can make this for under $10---waaaay under $10!



This is the pattern that Helen had last Sunday--it is called "Scarf in a Flash". And I do mean in a flash. I used one skein of Caron's Simply Soft Tweed(a worsted weight) (150 yds), and one of a "fancy" yarn (I forgot the brand, it was only about 89 yards). Using a size 11 needle, cast on 200 stitches with your basic plain worsted weight. Knit 4 rows. Add the fancy yarn, knit 8 rows. Cut the fancy yarn, knit 4 more rows. I bound off using the Icelandic Bindoff (instructions follow). I finged it sparingly with one strand of the fancy and plain held together. What I did next really sets off the scarf, and it was both inexpensive and quick-I added beads.
To add beads, you need to buy one small skein of the yarn used for needlepoint, some beads, and a small crochet hook. I used a size 13 crochet hook, and one tube of 6/0 Czech glass beads. Between each yarn fringe, I added 2 beaded fringes. Cut the needlepoint yarn, and tie 2 overhand knots at the end. Using the crochet hook, pick up 6 beads on your crochet hook (or however many you want). Pull the yarn through the holes in the beads. Double knot the other end. I moved 3 beads to each end, and added the fringe to the scarf. I put two of these side by side between the yarn fringe. I then tied single overhand knots to position the beads at different levels. They really add a lot to the scarf. The whole venture was less than $12. (read:more money for cashmere!) I will bring it next Sunday.

Also finished and in the fringing stage are my 2 Knit Picks yarn bundle-Afghans. I loved doing them. I will bring them next Sunday as well. Here is a sneak peek:


If you've never done the Icelandic Bindoff, the following instructions may seem daunting. Just work through it one step at a time. It is a great finish, and since each stitch ends up with twice the amount of yarn that a plain bindoff would have, it makes it very stretch-able, great for places like necklines, but also great for scarves or my afghan edges. Here it is:
1. Knit the first stitch on your left hand needle. Instead of sliding it off of the left needle, put the new one you just knitted
back on the left needle.
2. Now, reach your right needle through that stitich on the left needle (the one you just made), and knit into the 2nd stitch.
Go ahead and pull it through both stitches (peek through BOTH windows), then Off Jumps Jack.
3. Now put the stitch on the right needle back onto the left, just like before.
Repeat stelps 2 and 3 until you reach the end of your piece. Cut the yarn and pull through the final stitch. Voila!

Now, for the truly SERIOUS Knitter! You can still listen to this, even if you don't have an iPod. You will need to download iTunes, it is free, and also available for Windows machines. Roll your cursor over the title for this blog entry, and click--it takes you to Cast-on, series 1, episode 2, "The Knitter's Manifesto". It's a GREAT listen. Imagine--what if Knitters took over the World. This podcast is free, and Brenda Dayne has a wonderful voice. You will like it.

That's all for now. Next Sunday, I wil bring the Scarf in a Flash and both afghans. And if I find them, the Sven and Olga sweaters. And the "Sweater Curt Never Wore". Knit on------------

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Welcome Knit Sibs!

Hey there--how are your pointy sticks and string? The weather is cooling and our needle are warming up. What's on your needles? Here's what has been on Fran's---

This is Maya's new dress knitted especially for her by her mom. Just in time for the cool weather. The neckline and hem are trimmed with fun fur. It will be really cool and trendy this winter.

This is Maya's sister Sophie---
She doesn't seem to be a bit afraid of the camera either!
Pretty cute, aren't they? Wonder where they get it?

















If you roll your cursor over the title and click on it, it will take you to the website for knitty.com . This is an emagazine with designers that are every day people like us. The patterns are well written and FREE. You can search their archives by type of garment. Check them out---


Helen finished her linen feather and fan shawl. It is a worsted weight linen that softens with handling. The instructions with the yarn actually state that you can wash it in the machine and dry it.


She wet blocked it and decided against the washer and dryer. I agree with her, I would be scared to death to throw it in the washer and dryer. It is a great color, it will go with absolutely everything.


Some of us are in Mexico this weekend, some in Phoenix, some in Yuma, others off to unknown locations. Hope to see you all Sunday after next. Until then, knit on!