Beads, Dots, and Pandas

Beaded Lace Shawl

Have been having lots of fun lately. First was working with beads. Hmmm. Not really sure I'd call it fun. More of an adventure actually. If you haven't worked with beads before and someone knits something for you with beads in it, be grateful, very grateful, very, very grateful.

Beaded lace closeup

The plan was to make a crescent shawl using Wandering Wool's Udaipur fingering, which is a lovely silvery blue color. I explained my plan to another knitter who suggested that it would work really well with beads. I had used beads with one other shawl, just a few that hung on the points of lace. For that pattern, I slipped the beads on the yarn before starting the shawl. Fortunately, the lace was the first to be knit and so the beads were soon off my yarn and onto the shawl. However, I really didn't want to do that with this shawl because there was going to be over a hundred beads and these were smaller than for the previous shawl.

So I used another technique for adding beads. I used what seemed like the smallest crochet hook ever to add the beads on while I knit. When I was ready to add the bead, I poked the crochet hook through the bead, hooked the stitch I wanted to add the bead to on the left-hand knitting needle, slid the bead down onto the stitch, and then slid the stitch back onto the left-hand needle and knit the stitch.Whew.

It took a while to get the hang of this technique, especially since the crochet hook was so teeny and I didn't always catch all of the yarn threads each time. The rows where I added beads took five times as long to complete than the rows without beads. But I like the end product. And now I'm thinking about what else I can knit with beads! Socks?

Oh, the shawl was a version of my favorite Annis shawl. But where the Annis shawl is finished off with stockinette, I used a simple 4-row lace pattern. Odd rows were purled. Row 2 was k2tog (right-slant decrease), yo. Row 4 was yo, ssk (left-slant decrease). 

Random Dots Socks

One adventure completed, I turned to another new experience. Polka dots.

I still consider myself a bit of a beginning when it comes to color work, but wanted to give it a try. So I set to work on knitting a pair of polka dotted socks. I used four stash yarns for the polka dots, all of which were multi-colored. I knit a sample dot and measured how much yarn it took, then pulled out 6 lengths per color and rolled them around a holder. 

I call the socks Random Dots because I didn't hold to a pattern for the dots.I mailed them to a friend who needed a little cheer.

Mochimochi Tiny Pandas

 
When I'm thinking of a larger project, I tend to start socks because I find them easy and relaxing to knit. So while I've been working on a pattern for a sweater for a niece, I started a pair of brown tweed cabled socks for a sweater for my niece. 

Meanwhile, I picked up the Mochimochi Tiny Panda kit that I'd purchased for $10 at VogueKnitting Live in New York in January. Just finished the third panda today. The first panda went to a friend who hasn't been feeling very well. These are absolutely adorable. Too tiny for a baby, but you can make them into pins or just have fun with them. And that's what these were. Fun. And easy. It takes only an hour to make one.

Purling off for now!

Reah Janise

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VOGUE KNITTING LIVE

Felted chess set @ Vogue KnittingLive

Knit garden @ Vogue KnittingLive

Ever been surrounded by hundreds of people who all harbor the same addiction? Well that's what I did over a week ago.

The addiction? Knitting. The place? New York City. The event? Vogue Knitting Live.

Classes, teachers, and a really great marketplace of yummy yarns, kits, and more. I'm terrible at taking pictures, so I just have a couple to share from some of the artists: an amazing chess set (love the dragon!) and a garden complete with fountain, flowers and birds.
I took three classes: one on steeking, which is something you absolutely need to know how to do if you want to do a Fair Isle cardigan or any kind of color work that you want to match up. The two part class on designing lace shawls and writing the pattern provided terrific information. I started a shawl that I plan to wear at a big event for my boss's 80th birthday gala. The last class was on designing drop and saddle shoulders. I learned when these are good to use and how to design them.

The Marketplace had many, many temptations, and I was reserved, but I still came away with some lovely cashmere, a few kits, and yarn for making a shawl and a couple of scarves.

Meanwhile, I've been knitting up a few things. I finished a sweater using Mountain Colors yarn, which I wore to the event. I wanted a simple sweater that I could just toss on. The color is so rich that it needed no embellishment, so I just did a cable up the front, back, and sleeves. At the conference, one of the teachers was wearing a cowl that matched her sweater. Aha! I had extra yarn, so as soon as I got home, I worked up a pattern and knit one. I used a triangle pattern using knit/purl. The cowl has been perfect since winter has been unusually cold this year.

Pink Tiger Socks

I also knit up a pair of socks. As I've mentioned before, socks are the best thing to take on a trip because they take up so little space. I finished one sock on the train home and started the second one, finishing it the next day. I call these my pink tiger socks. I used a lace pattern even though with a multi-colored yarn they are not easily seen. But I like how it moves the color lines. The yarn is Pinnacle Fingering from Wild Hare Fiber Studio. It has the greatest colors, even neon, for socks.

After Christmas I knit a pair of fingerless mitts for myself, but gave them to a friend. I had yarn left over from the cardigan I knit for my friend, so I knit another pair for myself--and am wearing them as I type this. Ahh, warm and cozy hands.

But I'm not finished. I bought a kit to make a felted cloche hat. I was so excited about it that I knit it up really quickly and set about felting it, but something went wrong. I somehow didn't felt it right and the hat didn't shrink. Undaunted, I made some adjustments and made it into a rolled band hat. Hat, cowl, and sweater are featured in this photo.

Hat, cowl and new sweater.

And now I've made a swatch for a scarf idea with one of the new yarns.

And the knit goes on,

Reah Janise 

Fun with Mitts

This Christmas I knit several pair of fingerless mitts as gifts. I even made a pair for myself!

Blue Cable Mitts for me!

Cable Mitts Fingering Weight

The mitts were all a slight variation from the blue cable mitt pattern I designed a year ago and posted in Ravelry. I had written about it in this blog last March.The variation was that I shortened the cuff to 2 inches and added ribbing at the end. These worked up quickly using DK and worsted weight yarns.

But I had some fingering yarn from Rivers Edge Fiber Arts that I wanted to knit into mitts for another friend. She has fibromyalgia and loves to knit, but, like me, gives most of her creations away. This particular yarn is their unique Rose Yarn. Rather than give her the yarn, I decided to knit it into mitts for her. This meant modifying the cable mitts pattern a bit more.

The gauge became 9 stitches and 12 rows to the inch (stockinette). I used size 1 circular needles, but I also knit a bit big, so if you use the pattern, please gauge. You might end up using size 2 needles. The pattern is written for either double-pointed or circular needles.

The pink mitts are knit with the fingering weight yarn. The pattern is available as a free download in Ravelry.

Happy New Year!

Reah Janise

SWEATER & SCARF PATTERNS

Last year at this time, I was finishing two sweaters for my nephews, Matthew and Joshua, who were 12 and 10 at the time. They live at a distance, so sizing was tricky. Here are pictures of these two handsome young men wearing their sweaters.

Joshua in his two-color Berroco
Pure Pima Cotton sweater

Matthew in his sweater
(pattern)

Since I have more projects in mind than time to flesh out patterns, I unfortunately tend to delay writing up patterns. But I have gotten a pattern together for Matthew's sweater (on the right)--complete with sizes. I really liked how this sweater turned out. 

My sister-in-law had asked for cotton sweaters, which is not my favorite yarn to work with, but allergies required no wool.

Joshua's sweater (on the left) is made from Berroco Pure Pima (shades 2245 and 2263). I had originally thought I'd purchased enough yarn to make both sweaters from the Berroco, but realized after I got the measurements that it wasn't enough. Unfortunately I'd had the yarn for a few months and knew it would be next to impossible to get matching dye lots, so I designed Joshua's to use both colors.

Of course that meant hunting for new cotton yarn for Matthew. I found Lily's Sugar 'n Cream and chose the color denim. It's a thicker yarn than the Berroco, but is a workhorse and can be washed and thrown in the dryer, unlike the Berroco. I wanted Matthew's sweater to have some give and to yet have an interesting design. I tested several stitch patterns before finding one that seemed to work well with the yarn. It combines ribbing with a seed or basketweave stitch. Although I call it a boy's cotton pullover, it will work equally well for girls.

Double Cable Scarf pattern

SCARF
Recently I put together a pattern for a man's scarf for a friend. It was going to be her first venture into cables. About a month ago, I started a scarf from the same pattern, but using a lighter weight yarn. I think it's a lovely pattern and wanted to share it with you, too. The pattern is written so that you can adjust the width according to the type of yarn you are using. And, to me the pattern is gender-neutral.
Happy knitting!

Reah Janise

COAT OF MANY COLORS and MORE



Coat of Many Colors

I don't want to keep saying this, but, yes, it's been awhile. I wanted to wait until I had actual patterns to post ... and now I do.
First off, featured in this blog are two sweaters. Coat of Many Colors was my first commission (that I accepted). It is a baby sweater for about a 1 year old. To me, the charm of the sweater comes from the terrific yarn: Adriafil Knitcol Trends 50 gram. This is a lovely washable wool, made in Italy, and is soft enough for a baby, even though it isn't considered a baby yarn. 

Because the yarn makes such a smashing pattern, I kept the pattern itself simple: stockinette with a small cable, some right, some left, to add a wave-like feature. The pattern is sized for 6-9, 9-12, and 12-15 months. The pattern is published in Ravelry and Scribd.


Ready 4 Adventure

In my last blog, I promised to post the pattern for Ready 4 Adventure, another baby sweater. That pattern is now also available in Ravelry and Scribd. I knit a hat to go with the sweater from the leftover yarn, but did not make a pattern for it. I assume that most knitters have a baby hat that they can use. 

Atom Cable Men's Sweater

And, as you may remember, I was knitting a sweater for my dear husband. That has also been completed, but I'm still getting the pattern together for it. I will post it, with sizes, when done.

Happy knitting to all!

Reah Janise


Hadan wearing his sweater

PATTERN TIME!

Now that the holiday season is over, I've been able to put more time into completing promised patterns.


Sparkly Shawl pattern

The first is Sparkly Shawl. As I mentioned in my earlier post, this is my first triangle shawl design. It's fairly simple, so as long as you are familiar with lace work, you should have no problem following the pattern.


Cable Socks 2012 pattern

The next pattern is for the socks I began on our trip to Scotland. I've actually upgraded this pattern, filling out the corners and edges, so to speak. This sock is my husband's favorite. He says it hugs his legs and is comfortable all around. Here's the original blog post for this sock. I posted two blogs on this sock. The first is when I'd finished the first sock and the second was when I posted the pattern. And now, here is the upgraded and hopefully improved pattern.

I've just finished two sweaters for my nephews in Ohio. They are 12 and 10. I hope to include pictures of them in the sweaters with the patterns.
Until then, Happy 2013!

Reah Janise