BLUE CABLE MITTS

Blue Cable Mitts

Well, there I was knitting the sweater I mentioned in my last blog with my pink Shilasdair yarn when I realized that I needed to have a gift for friends we'll be seeing at Easter.

Hmm. As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Think. Think. Think."

So I thought about what I might be able to knit in a week. Might I be able to make fingerless mitts? So I dug into my yarn stash and found some soft washable yarn: Lion Brand Micro Spun.
One of the cable patterns I'm using for the sweater is a 4-stitch cable. It looked like it would make a nice pattern for the back of the hand.


And here are the mitts--with thumbs. And they are soft and warm. I think I'm going to have to make another pair--for me!

Pattern on Ravelry and also Scribd.

XO
Reah Janise

SCOTTISH SWEATER AND BABY SWEATER PATTERNS

Shilasdair Yarn

I spent most of a Friday evening working out the pattern design for my next sweater. It was time to work up another of the Scottish yarns. For this sweater, I chose the naturally dyed pink Shilasdair yarn.

Well, part of Saturday was spent knitting a swatch to make sure the gauge I'd tested Friday night with some of the pattern was correct, realizing it wasn't balanced, ripping it out, rethinking the placement of the cables, starting over, ripping it out because I had decided to go with a seed stitch border increasing just a few stitches from the border to the main section. The problem was that unlike ribbing, which makes a border snug, thus allowing for the body of a sweater to blouse a bit, a seed stitch does not snug. After about 5 inches, I realized my mistake and ripped it out (again). If I wanted to keep the seed stitch border, I had to cast on a lot fewer stitches and increase more stitches in the last row before the body to ensure a nice flow from border to body.


Blue Hearts Baby Sweater

And that's where I am today.

In the meantime, I have drawn up the patterns for the baby sweaters discussed in the last blog. The pattern is designed for 6 month olds. See the photos for the links to the patterns. Patterns can also be found on Ravelry.

Cheers,

Reah Janise

Blue Blocks Baby Sweater

AWE ... BABY SWEATERS

One thing I find refreshingly fun to knit are baby sweaters. They are fairly simple and work up quickly ... and they are just so cute!

Primary Colors Baby Blanket

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on two sweaters that are intended for a colleague at work who is expecting twins (boy and girl). This is their first pregnancy and we are all excited for them. For another colleague who had a baby almost two years ago, I designed and knit a blanket. So I did sweaters this time. 

Blue Hearts Baby Sweater

I used KnitPicks Crayon, a DK weight, small Boucle, 100% cotton yarn that is very soft. A friend had given me a bunch of skeins, and I thought it would be perfect for these sweaters.



Blue Blocks Baby Sweater


I am finishing the patterns and will post them shortly, but meanwhile, I wanted to share the sweaters. They are sized for a child 6-9 months.

Now on to designing a sweater with the pink yarn from the Great Scottish Yarn Expedition!

Reah Janise