Inspiration...Handknit Throw

 Today, we will continue the theme of warming up the living space a little bit.  I love the look of a large knit blanket to cozy up under.  Here is a bit of inspiration:

This is the Pottery Barn Colossal Handknit Throw.  Price tag: $179.00.  Details:  chunky yarn, 100% acrylic, width - 44-inches wide by 56-inches long, machine wash cold, tumble dry.

You can purchase a lot of yarn for that price but if you can not knit, it is a great price.  I found some free knit throw instructions for the knitters - here.  Hope you are inspired to stitch something beautiful.

Happy Stitching!

Inspiration...Knit Pillow Covers

 Pillows are a quick way to change the atmosphere in a room.  I do think of this covers as more of fall/winter but this just gives you time to make them.  Here are the pillows covers:

This is a the Pottery Barn Camelia Chunky Knit Lumbar Pillow Cover.  Price tag: $39.50.  Details: accommodates a 14"x 20" pillow insert, knit front is 100% polyester with the back side being 100% cotton, zipper closure, spot clean.

This is the Pottery Barn Colossal Handknit Pillow Cover. Price tag: $79.50. Details: accommodates a 24" pillow insert, zipper closure, front is knit from 100% acrylic with back from 100% cotton, lining is 100% polyester, spot clean.

I can see this is fall, winter, various holiday colors easily.  However I would much rather spend my time creating them.   A quick gander around and I found 10 free patterns for pillow covers.  You might have to change the instructions a little bit to get the size you.  

Now, I am buzzing with ideas for my own living space.  I have lots of pillow forms and I currently planning on making new slip covers so this is a good time to plan makes pillow fronts.  I can easily knits these while I am spending time with my parents.  

Happy Stitching!

Inspiration...Knit Beanie

 This post is for the knitters.  While cruising through the new collection on Lafayette 148 NY, I found this beanie:

This is the KindCashmere Pique Knit Beanie.  Price tag: $248.00.  Details:  Pique Stitch with rib stitch, Cashmere, 5-ply.   

Here is a youtube on the Pique Knit Stitch. To recreate, I would do practice swatch and measure.  Compare to your favorite beanie pattern.  Look for a great wool.  Have fun!

Happy Stitching!

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting...

I think I enjoy knitting as much as I do sewing.  Somehow though, I don't always make time for both during the same day.  I found a local knitting group that meets on Wednesday at a little local bookstore.  My husband and I visited the bookstore last Friday.  It is a very cozy little place.  I was fascinated by the very large birdcage inside that held about 10 small birds.  I didn't actually count the birds but they were adorable.  Particularly, the little bird that was sitting on her nest cooing.

Back to knitting...so that I have a project to work on when I go to my first meeting, I started doing a swatch from a Lion Brand Wool Ease in rose heather:

My little swatch is about 1/3 complete to check my gauge.  I will be good to take to the meeting tomorrow.  I'm intending to my this scarf:

This scarf goes along with my Explorations in Cables class and is one of the extra patterns to work on.  It is also a freebie on the Lion Brand website.  It is called the Harbor Scarf.  I don't actually have the correct needle size for this project.  That is why I'm doing the swatch to see how I'm doing.  I'm getting ready to place an order for needles so this is the perfect time to be doing this.

While hopping around on the Lion Brand site, I found this lovely little pattern:

This is the Modern Cable Pullover and I put it on my list of projects (like I need another project).  It falls right into the cabling class practice work even if it isn't part of the actual class.  Now, I just need to figure out yarn.

I will also be taking the next sample for the Explorations in Cables class to the meeting with me tomorrow.  It is after all 2 hours and I don't expect me finishing the swatch and measuring it to take the entire time.  Hopefully, the next swatch will be finished in time for the next knitting update.

Just an FYI, Lion Brand is having a 25% sale on all pink yarn and kits for the month of February.

Happy Stitching!

(Please note that this post has affiliate links.)

Tawashi Knot...

I found the Tawashi Knot on Ravelry here and thought it was kinda cute.  So, I decided to attempt to make one with left over cotton yarn from the kitchen towels that I have made this year.  Here's my version:

I did make a small mistake on my version but I can't really tell that it affected the end result much. Since this version is made out of cotton, I don't think it will be much of a scrubber but it will certain work as a dish cloth.  The recommend yarn is acrylic but I think I'm going to try a different "yarn" to try the next one.

This was a fun little free project.  Just right to make little bits of yarn disappear.

Note:  I saw many complaints about the directions for folding this.  Just follow the directions/pictures and you should be okay.  I got it on the second try. 

Happy Stitching!

Knitted Kitchen Towel....

I finally finished the second kitchen towel as this post back in April.  It's amazing that so much time has past since I started the kitchen towel.  Here is the towel in the reverse colors from the one made in April:

This time, I actually followed the directions exactly.  I like the stripes slightly better in the first towel along with the darker color of the body.  What do you think?

Happy Stitching!

Kitchen Towel....

I've been having a lot of fun with my knitting.  I know I should be sewing but I do have a monthly knitting group that I go to and always need a little project for it.  Here's my latest completed project:

The completed towel is about 10" wide by 13" long, I think.  This took a couple of months to complete and made for great conversation at the knitting group since everyone loved the way the stitches.   For me, it was a freebie from Knitpicks but it is no longer free.  Here's the link for the Dish Towel Set just in case you might be interested.

I think I will make another one in the reverse colors.  It will make for a nice take along project and I will be needing one of those in the next few weeks.

Happy Stitching!

When Do You Add Edge Stitches?....

So, I have finally started the T-shirt project that I talked about in this knitting post.  It has taken a couple of starts to get it going because it is oh, so easy to drop stitches.  Sometimes you can pick up those stitches and sometimes you can't.  Anyway, once I got started and made it through the first section, I realized that I didn't know if I should have added edge stitches.  Eeek!  Off to the net to see if I can find anything about edge stitches and when to use them. I could find information on the various types of edge stitches but I couldn't find anything that told when to add an edge stitch or if edge stitches should always be added.

Off to my trusty little library.  It may be small but I do own some fairly good books.  I found "The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques" by Nancie N Wiseman.  This is not a book I have reached for often.  I am sure I read through it when I got it and then put it on my shelf for future reference.  Low and behold there is a whole chapter on edge stitches or selvages.  After reading her explanation  of edge stitches and when to use them, I have decided that for this project I'm not going to need them.  After all, my project is a straight stockinette stitch and it wants the edges to roll. Well, at least on the hem edges.

So what are edge stitches or selvages used for?  They control the edge of the knitted fabric and also give you additional stitches to create a seam if you're project needs it.  If you were knitting a scarf, an edge stitch would assist with getting the edges to lay flat.  If you were knitting a sweater with beautiful motifs or designs on it, the edge stitches would be added to prevent a disruption of the pattern by adding additional stitches for the seam.  Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?

So, if anyone has any additional information on the use of edge stitches.  Please send me the information so I can learn more.  At this point, my project is only about 3" long.  I would rather do another start than find out at the end that I should have added the edges stitches.

Happy Stitching!

Wilder West Lacy Scarf Completed....

I'm so happy.  The Wilder Lacy scarf is finished! It took many hours but it was a very good project to work on while I was flying between home,Sydney, and in the evenings.  It was completed the last day in Tasmania which was very good because the next day airport security took my scissors.  I'm not sure what caught their eye this time because those scissors have been through many airport security checks.  However, they were not expensive so it wasn't much of an issue.

Here's my version of the scarf:

Oops!  When I took the above picture, I realized that I haven't actually completed the project..  The yarn ends need to be woven in and it still needs to be blocked but the knitting part is finished.

Project Information:

pattern - Wilder West Lacy Scarf
needles - size 11 circular
yarn - Rowan softknit cotton  (loved this yarn)

Now, it is on to my next project.

Happy Stitching!

Wilder West Lacy Scarf....

Remember my excitement in the last post about receiving the Wilder book?  One of the projects that I was really excited about was the West Lacy Scarf.  Here's a look:

Beautiful scarf in the picture!  However I can't get my knitting look like that at all.  Somehow the instructions just do not match up and the resulting fabric doesn't have that pretty design.  Oh, it has a design just not this particular one.  I did contact the designer and I did get a response but it didn't help me much except knowing which rows were suppose to end up with the same number of stitches as you started out with.  I've been trying to locate directions for the basic stitch without success.  I don't consider myself a beginner knitter.  I have knitted much more complicated patterns that this one.  I don't really considered myself an advanced knitter either.  I do consider myself an experienced knitter and this pattern is listed as suitable for a knitter with a little experience.  I'm a bit beyond that description.

I don't want to type out the instructions here because that would be unfair to the designer.  However, if anyone has any successful experience with this pattern I would really love to hear from you.  Also, if you recognize the basic stitch on this scarf and know where directions can be located, I would love to hear about that.

REVISE....I figured out what I was doing wrong when I was following the directions and it was a total misunderstanding of the YFWD.  I watched many videos on this and they always did the YFWD with a knit which made it look like that was what it is.  Nope, just a simple YO.   My knitting looks just like the picture above now.

As for the yarn, Rowan Softknit, this is fabulous.  It has withstood my many attempts are creating this scarf without any damage to the yarn.  I hope I can yet figure out the scarf.  If not, maybe I will create my own pattern for a scarf and move on,  I have books with lots of lacy stitch patterns surely I can figure one out from there.

Happy Stitching!

It's All About Knitting....

A week or so ago I found the Wilder book by Kim Hargreaves and fell in love with about 90% of projects.  Here's a look at the front cover:

Amazingly, the cover sweater isn't one of the items I fell for.  I'm not so sure about the fringe.  I suppose it would be easy enough to leave off.  Here's the first project that I'm going to try working on:

Lovely scarf, don't you think?  It has a new to me stitch in it and I'm hoping it doesn't turn out different.  This is a project for when I have a long flight. If I'm lucky, the scarf will get finished on the long flight.  Here's the yarn that I picked:

This is a Rowan Softknit in Flint.  I really wanted the Black shade but there must not have been enough available as the system wouldn't let me order it.  I have never knit with this yarn before.  I hope that I like it.   The next project is a T-shirt:

I looks like it should be fairly straight forward project.  This will be a project for when I'm watching TV or perhaps on a rainy day.  Here's the yarn that I purchased for it:

This is DMC Natura Just Cotton in Rose Soraya.  This was a suggested substitute yarn for another one I was looking at and this color was more of what I was looking for.  Hopefully, I won't be disappointed in this yarn either.

What do you think of my planned projects?  Have you seen the Wilder book?  I'm looking forward to creating several of  the projects in the book.

Happy Stitching!