Most of us probably know the song "Summer Lovin'" from the 70's musical, Grease. Well, after I typed out the subject of this post I changed the words and started singing "Summer Knittin'."
Summer knittin' had me up last; summer knittin' happened so fast...
I can't be the only one who does that with songs!
Anyway...
Living in the desert Southwest of the United States, it is currently too hot to exist. My region is surrounded by storms and we are not getting a single drop of rain. Unfortunately, rain or no, the barometric pressure has a cruel effect on my overall pain levels - that, in turn, affects my ability to knit!
Oh, the humanity!
I've been trudging along, nonetheless, as we have a couple of family birthdays coming up in July. What to make in the dreadful heat of summer, though?
My son is turning 27 next week, and he is probably the hardest person to knit for. Even in winter, there are few things he would actually use.I kind of lucked out when he was helping me go through the immense amount of yarn sent to me by my aunts in Oregon. He handed me a skein of denim blue yarn and asked if I would make him a pair of socks.
Yes, oh yes! I thought you'd never ask! So that, plus money to upgrade his computer, is what he's getting for his birthday. The only thing is he won't be able to wear them until late fall since they ended up being a bit thick like slipper socks. Oops!
I'm kind of embarrassed to post a photo because I made a couple of mistakes in the garter stitch, and it's very noticeable. I'll post them anyway, though, but I'll be blushing. ;)
After my son's birthday is my niece's son's first birthday. I've been racking my brain about what to make for a few months on this one. I finally decided to make a grocery cart seat cover. Grocery carts are so dirty, and babies we love touch these germ-infested things all the time. The cover I'm planning will wrap around the front handle, the back of the seat, and each side. There aren't a lot of patterns out there for the seat covers, much less knitting patterns, so I'm going to go by the cart dimensions I found online. I have a basic diagram to work off of, and I'll add some extra special extras to make it extra special.
So come back soon, because I'll be sharing the pattern here!
What are you knitting this summer?
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Loom Knit Bow Tie Scarf
Materials needed:
- Martha Stewart Lion Brand knitting loom set, or similar gauge loom
- knitting tool
- double pointed needle
- Worsted, DK, or sport weight yarn
Regarding yarn: I've included two examples - the red one being a category 4 (unknown manufacturer) and the black and white (as seen blow) a category 3 (Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted Prints in Antique Lavender).
The great thing about this pattern is it's completely flexible, and you can use your favorite yarn, make it as long or short as you want, and as wide as you want. Gauge is not important. You can add cabling or lace stitching to make your scarf unique. Below are the directions for a basic scarf as shown in the photos.
Directions
Using the Martha Stewart Lion Brand loom set, connect two 12-pin straight pieces using two double corner pieces. Place 16 blue pegs in every hole along one long edge of the loom, and 10 pegs centered on the opposite end.
Place stitch marker, or use gray peg, on the center-most peg. Place slip knot on center peg, knit off. Knit off again. This is your cast on.
Unless otherwise indicated, use the U-wrap knit stitch.
Every row is going to be increased by one going equally outward to the left and right from the center peg. When increasing, use the wrap and turn method, slipping the increased stitch for each row.
For row #1, after cast on, wrap and turn the peg to the right of the center, purl center, wrap and turn the peg to the left.
Row 2: sl1, k2, wt
Row 3 sl1, p3, wt
Row 4: sl1, k4, wt
row 5: sl1, p5, wt
Repeat until you have 16 pegs wrapped. Always slipping the first stitch and knitting the last stitch in each row to create a selvedge edge, continue in garter stitch until your knitted piece is almost the desired length. The length of the first end of the sample, from cast on to ribbing, is 5 inches.
Decrease each row by knitting the last two stitches together in each row, continuing in garter stitch, until you have 10 pegs wrapped.
The DPN in to be placed right up against the back of the pegs at this point in order to create the starting stitches for the back panel of the keyhole/loop. When completed, the opposite end of the scarf will be fed through the loop to secure it in place.
Place the end of the DPN just behind the 2nd peg. Slipping the first peg, make the extra loop on the DPN by bringing your yarn back behind the peg, slip under the DPN, bring over and out in front of the pegs between peg 1 and 2, and U-wrap peg 2. Slide DPN forward, take yarn back behind pegs between pegs 2 and 3, wrap under and over DPN, bring yarn back to front between pegs 2 and 3, and U-wrap peg 3. Do this until all 10 pegs are wrapped, keeping DPN tight against the pegs, and knit off the row.
The yarn and DPN will get a little loose during the wrapping, but you should be able to tighten it by pulling on your working yarn before you knit off the row.
Keep the DPN in place as you work on the next section. If tightened enough, the yarn will secure it pretty well.
Loop/Keyhole section
*K2, P2, rep from * for every row until panel is approximately 3 inches.
Cut yarn, leaving a few inches
Place stitches that are on DPN onto pegs directly across from working side. This is your back panel. On these stitches:
*K (e-wrap), rep to end of row
*P, rep to end of row
Repeat until both panels are of equal length.
Move stitches from back panel to front pegs. It's okay if you're one loop short, just skip last peg. Knit stitches together using U-wrap method.
Continuing in garter stitch using U-wrap knit method, increase stitches by adding one at the end of every row using the wrap and turn method. Continue until the overall length is as desired, then begin decrease rows.
Decrease rows by knitting two stitches together at the end of every row, continue until you are left with two stitches. Bind off and thread in all your ends.
I made the ribbed panel too long here
and didn't notice until it was too late to fix it.
If you have any question or comments, please feel free to comment here or on the Ravelry pattern page.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
All Ruffled Up
If you haven't yet made a ruffle scarf using sashay yarn, you really should. They knit up so quickly and are so fun and easy to make. I love the feel and drape of these scarves, and they would be a great project for younger girls. You really can't go wrong with them!
And they're so pretty!
All you need is a loom with at least 4 pegs, a knitting tool, and sashay yarn. You can use a small knitting spool, a large gauge Knifty Knitter loom, or a smaller gauge loom like the Martha Stewart Lion Brand loom set.
For the scarves pictured, I used the large end of the Knifty Knitter knitting spool. The scarf builds around the outside of the spool, so there's no need to feed the yarn down the center.
Make sure to stretch the lace out as you work it to get the fullest ruffle.
To cast on, put ever third loop on a peg, continuing in the round. Knit off when you have two loops on one peg. Continue this way, using every third loop, until you have only a few inches of yarn left. Finish by using the basic bind-off method, and tuck in any remaining yarn.
It's that easy!
Do you have ideas for other uses projects using sashay yarn? I'd love to read about them in the comments!
All you need is a loom with at least 4 pegs, a knitting tool, and sashay yarn. You can use a small knitting spool, a large gauge Knifty Knitter loom, or a smaller gauge loom like the Martha Stewart Lion Brand loom set.
For the scarves pictured, I used the large end of the Knifty Knitter knitting spool. The scarf builds around the outside of the spool, so there's no need to feed the yarn down the center.
Make sure to stretch the lace out as you work it to get the fullest ruffle.
To cast on, put ever third loop on a peg, continuing in the round. Knit off when you have two loops on one peg. Continue this way, using every third loop, until you have only a few inches of yarn left. Finish by using the basic bind-off method, and tuck in any remaining yarn.
It's that easy!
Do you have ideas for other uses projects using sashay yarn? I'd love to read about them in the comments!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
A Work In Progress
I'm working on a few things to add to this blog, but it's taking me longer than expected to finish them. So, please, bear with me. I promise that there are very exciting things to come - provided you are excited about anything to do with loom knitting.
I've also added a new page, that is also a work in progress. Under the "Free Patterns" tab you will find a growing list of websites that contain a plethora of free knitting patterns! Keep checking back. The list is short now, but I've only just begun.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, May 23, 2015
For Love of Knitting
I love knitting! I can't help it. I haven't even been knitting that long, and it's already an obsession. I spend hours poring over knitting patterns, always thinking about what I'm going to make next and who I'll give it to. I've saved 22 gigabytes of patterns onto my Google Drive and have only just started to index them on Ravelry.
There's just one problem: I can't hold or manage knitting needles. It's not that I don't know how to hold them or knit with them. It's the first thing I taught myself to do! I spent day after day on Youtube learning the basics, practicing my knits and purls over and over until I got it all right. The problem is that holding the needles, yarn, and the movement it takes to knit is extremely painful. I can do it for a few minutes, then I'm done for a few days while the pain in my hands, wrists, and arms intensifies like a crescendo to the point that I'm unable to touch or lift anything for a time. The amount of time varies, of course, and is not in direct correlation to any in particular. This goes on throughout my entire body - pain e'rywhere, all day e'ryday - and is just my burden to bear, I guess.
So what does this mean for someone who just wants to knit pretty things? It means I need something easy to hold that isn't going to make my hands or fingers cramp; something I can set on a stack of pillows in my lap and work on at eye level so I don't hold my head down, which sends my neck muscles into a tizzy with horrible pain radiating up my skull and down my spine. It means loom knitting!
I've been having so much fun loom knitting, and I've made so many cool things with all my cool looms (pictures to be posted soon). The only downside is that there are way more needle knitting patterns than there are loom knitting patterns! And, let's face it, needle knitting FOs look so much nicer, softer, and prettier.
I decided I'm not going to limit myself to just loom knitting patterns. I have literally thousands of needle knitting patterns that I pore over, drool over, "ooh" and "aww" at, and covet. I envy those who can use the needles to knit up a beautiful sweater, cardigan, or even socks! Thus, my mission, which I do intend to document here, is to figure out how to make those beautiful needle knit patterns on my various looms. I'm looking at you, Vogue, Noro, and Drops Designs! I will share my successes and failures, with pictures and converted patterns for the successes.
I would like to add that my first attempt to convert a pattern, which was for a bowtie scarflet for my momma's birthday, was a success. Now I need to do it again so I can write down the steps. So, please stay tuned, because there is so much more coming to this blog!
~ Jessibee ~
There's just one problem: I can't hold or manage knitting needles. It's not that I don't know how to hold them or knit with them. It's the first thing I taught myself to do! I spent day after day on Youtube learning the basics, practicing my knits and purls over and over until I got it all right. The problem is that holding the needles, yarn, and the movement it takes to knit is extremely painful. I can do it for a few minutes, then I'm done for a few days while the pain in my hands, wrists, and arms intensifies like a crescendo to the point that I'm unable to touch or lift anything for a time. The amount of time varies, of course, and is not in direct correlation to any in particular. This goes on throughout my entire body - pain e'rywhere, all day e'ryday - and is just my burden to bear, I guess.
So what does this mean for someone who just wants to knit pretty things? It means I need something easy to hold that isn't going to make my hands or fingers cramp; something I can set on a stack of pillows in my lap and work on at eye level so I don't hold my head down, which sends my neck muscles into a tizzy with horrible pain radiating up my skull and down my spine. It means loom knitting!
I've been having so much fun loom knitting, and I've made so many cool things with all my cool looms (pictures to be posted soon). The only downside is that there are way more needle knitting patterns than there are loom knitting patterns! And, let's face it, needle knitting FOs look so much nicer, softer, and prettier.
I decided I'm not going to limit myself to just loom knitting patterns. I have literally thousands of needle knitting patterns that I pore over, drool over, "ooh" and "aww" at, and covet. I envy those who can use the needles to knit up a beautiful sweater, cardigan, or even socks! Thus, my mission, which I do intend to document here, is to figure out how to make those beautiful needle knit patterns on my various looms. I'm looking at you, Vogue, Noro, and Drops Designs! I will share my successes and failures, with pictures and converted patterns for the successes.
I would like to add that my first attempt to convert a pattern, which was for a bowtie scarflet for my momma's birthday, was a success. Now I need to do it again so I can write down the steps. So, please stay tuned, because there is so much more coming to this blog!
~ Jessibee ~
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