Sunday, January 13, 2008

Projects!

It is not that I've not been knitting, it's that I've been too lazy to bother posting anything...so here we are:

This is a diagonal rib stitch scarf, which looks a lot more exciting than it probably is. Here's the stitch detail:

The pattern looks complicated, but it's a basic repeating 8 row pattern which is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. This is Sugar n' Cream 4-ply cotton yarn in navy -- I like to work with cotton yarn the most, even though it can get a bit bulky. If I were to make this scarf again, I'd probably use a finer yarn, because it's a quite thick pattern once it's done.

Pattern:

CO a multiple of 4 stitches (this is 32)
Row 1: *k2, p2; rep from *
Row 2: Rep Row 1
Row 3: k1, *p2, k2; rep from *, end p2, k1
Row 4: p1, *k2, p2; rep from *, end k2, p1
Row 5: *p2, k2; rep from *
Row 6: Rep Row 5
Row 7: Rep Row 4
Row 8: Rep Row 3

It looks a bit complicated, yeah, but the thing is after a few sets, you can tell what row you need to do next by the way it looks. It's a pretty logical pattern, so it's easy to see where you're going.

Next: Electronic cozies

I actually lost my iPod cozy, so the one on the left is a variation of that pattern to replace it. This is v2.0, so it holds together a bit better. This is Sugar n Cream 4 ply, as well (you'll recall sale yarn). The second is for my digicorder, which turns itself on in my purse all the time and wears the battery down. Consequently, I made a cozy for it, but it kept slipping out and turning itself on anyway, so I had to rethink the whole thing. So here are the patterns:

iPod Cozy:

I used size 4 needles (slightly small for the yarn -- it calls for 4.5). Gauge: 1"=7 stitches vertically, and 5 stitches horizontally with a 1x1 rib stitch.

CO 12 stitches
row 1-56: 1X1 rib stitch (k1p1), except slip over the final stitch

This next part is to accommodate the jack in the corner of the nano. I simplified the pattern a bit from the last one, because it's really not necessary to make it as complicated as I did:

row 1 (57): cast off three stitches at the beginning of the row, complete as normal.
row 2 (58): CO 3 stitches at the end of the row.

See? Much easier. The next bit is a bit more complicated.

row 1-4 (59-63): *k1 p1 (repeat)
row 5 (64): *k1 p1, repeat 3X. Cast off stitches, finish row. There should be 6 stitches on either side of the cast off stitches. This is your button hole.
row 6 (65): *k1p1, repeat 3X. CO 2 stitches, finish row as normal.
row 7-15 (66-74): rib-stitch
row 75: Cast off.

Sew the sides up with contrasting yarn (or matching, if you like -- I just like the way it looks). Sew button on.

As you can see, I braided the tail so that you can wrap it around the iPod -- I like having this as well as the button because it's more expedient to unwrap for when you're using your iPod. The button is more for when it's just bouncing around in your purse, because it's a lot more secure and you don't need to worry about it coming out so much.

The digicorder cozy is operating on basically the same principle, except the dimensions are marginally different because of the size, and I didn't bother with the tail because you're either using your digicorder or you're not -- you tend not to just leave it on in your purse...

Finally: we're still knitting scarves for the cold, so here's another in that vein:



This is your basic mistake rib pattern. Word to the wise: The last time I made this scarf, it was a fairly stiff 2-ply wool and I doubled up the yarn so it lay quite flat. This wool is a softer 1-ply, so the ribs made it accordion a lot more than I had expected, and it ended up being narrower than I would've wanted. It's still a nice scarf, but unless you're dealing with a quite stiff wool, cast on a bit more than you think is necessary.

Coming up:

I have some bags that need felting, and I'm also working on a rust-coloured rice-stitch scarf for the cold and homeless, so I should have pictures of those up in the next couple of weeks.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

And I just won't quit with the pink things ...

So, this is my latest, in a horrible picture in which it looks like I have no legs from the knees down. The truth of the matter is that I had to kneel because the mirror isn't high enough for me to stand and take this picture.
And this is my latest in pieces before assembly:
And this is the sad truth that my latest looks better on my bed than on me. But that might be because of the beautiful quilt that my Aunt made .


As always, I messed up. So this is the pattern I followed at the Berroco website. The major difference is that I began the main body after a RS rather than a WS because I'm a dolt when it comes to even the simplest patterns. i.e. the ribbing is k3 p1 k1 p1 rather than p3 k1 p1 k1. I don't think it looks TOO bad though. I didn't realise it until I was halfway up the back, and I gambled that it wouldn't make the thing hideous so I didn't take it apart. The principles that govern my knitting: laziness and improvisation. But I like it and will probably wear it all winter.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

In which I make the living room stink of lanolin ...

Hi all. This is a vest that I miscalculated the measurements to, and so belongs to Cait. More of Nana's stash: fuscia, coral and pink-and-white-mixed were used for the pattern (a VERY simplified fair-isle-type design). I used the Patons' Back to Basics book again, this time misreading a child's size 10 vest and knitting it with the wrong needles ... I think you all know what kind of slap-dash knitter I am. BUT, the design might be interesting to ... someone? Maybe? I am, in fact, incredibly proud of this vest. :o)


C=coral
F=fuscia
P=Pink and white

The thinner stripes:
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
PCPCPCPCPCPCPCPCPCPC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC


Thicker Stripes:
PPPP
CCCC
CFCF
FPFP
CFCF
CCCC
PPPP

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Right, airport delays translates into lots of knitting, and so we have:



ooh! Texture. I actually started it as a mistake-rib, but completely forgot how one actually does a mistake rib, so it's actually:

row 1: *K2, P2 (repeat)
row 2: *K1, P1 (repeat)

This one is 32 stitches across -- you can CO as many stitches as you like, except it's easier if it's a multiple of 4, because then you can just start with knitting on ever row.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Right, so my computer was out of commission for a while which translated into me knitting a great deal. I had three scarves going at once. This is the only one I've finished thus far, and really, the least exciting, I'm afraid. It's a pretty straightforward twin-rib (pattern in sidebar somewhere -- slightly modified: row 1: k4 p4; row 2: k1p1). The yarn is incredibly thick and a bit textured, which made the pattern look rather different than it has with other flatter yarns.




detail (ooOOooh!)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

My New Sweater


This sweater is made with real wool that I inherited from my Nana. My daddy told me when he first saw it that it reminded him of his mum (my Nana) without me even telling him where I got the wool. That made me feel special because she's the one that taught me how to knit. This is me in the sweater:
The pattern I based it one is one of the free patterns from the Berroco website, here. I of course did not follow the pattern because I'm like that. I continued the collar up (k1p1) so that it would curl over like that (my mum blocked the collar for me because she's an angel), I used finer wool, and I made the sleeves longer and the body shorter to match my monkey arms and because I didn't want a woolly dress. I also overestimated my size (i.e. it's not form-fitting). Really the only thing that resembles the original is the raglan sleeve setting.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Disaster

Here is the disaster siwash:



It doesn't look disastrous in the pictures. It has the worst shape ever--bad tension, I think.

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