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Free Pattern - Illusion Candy Cane

Yarn: white (W) & red (R) worsted cotton

Needles: size 5 (illusions look better knitted a little tightly)

CO 41 stitches with red

R1. (R) k across
R2. (R) k across

R3. (W) k across
R4. (W) K3, P35, K3

R5. (R) k across
R6. (R) K3, P35, K3

R7. (W) k across
R8. (W) K3, P35, K3

R9. (R) k across
R10. (R) K5, P2, K34

R11. (W) k across
R12. (W) K3, P2, K2, P31,K3

R13. (R) k across
R14. (R) K3, P7, K31

R15. (W) k across
R16. (W) K10, P28, K3

R17. (R) k across
R18. (R) K5, P7, K29

R19. (W) k across
R20. (W) K3, P2, K7, P26,K3

R21. (R) k across
R22. (R) K7, P7, K27

R23. (W) k across
R24. (W) K3, P4, K7, P24,K3

R25. (R) k across
R26. (R) K9, P7, K25

R27. (W) k across
R28. (W) K3, P6, K7, P22,K3

R29. (R) k across
R30. (R) K11, P7, K13, P3, K7

R31. (W) k across
R32. (W) K3, P8, K7, P13,K3, P4, K3

R33. (R) k across
R34. (R) K13, P7, K9, P7, K5

R35. (W) k across
R36. (W) K3, P10, K7, P9, K7, P2, K3

R37. (R) k across
R38. (R) K15, P7, K9, P6, K4

R39. (W) k across
R40. (W) K3, P12, K7, P9, K6, P1, K3

R41. (R) k across
R42. (R) K18, P7, K7, P6, K3

R43. (W) k across
R44. (W) K3, P15, K7, P7, K9

R45. (R) k across
R46. (R) K20, P7, K3, P7, K4

R47. (W) k across
R48. (W) K3, P17, K7, P3, K7, P1, K3

R49. (R) k across
R50. (R) K22, P13, K6

R51. (W) k across
R52. (W) K3, P19, K13, P3, K3

R53. (R) k across
R54. (R) K27, P4, K10

R55. (W) k across
R56. (W) K3, P24, K4, P7, K3

R57. (R) k across
R58. (R) K3, P35, K3

R59. (W) k across
R60. (W) K3, P35, K3

R61. (R) k across
R62. (R) K3, P35, K3

R63. (W) k across
R64. (W) K3, P35, K3

R65. (R) k across
R66. (R) k across

Bind off.

Weave in ends.





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Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Pinafore Started

I have to knit a baby dress before December 21st for the charity auction I participated in. Here's my first picot edging I've ever done. I'm quite proud.

Close up on the front:

Close up on the back.

The pinafore pattern comes from the book, Simple Knits for Little Cherubs by Erika Knight. I'm using Elann.com's Sonata to knit it and am getting gage with the needles specified in the pattern.

More Dishcloths done on my trip

Here's my attempt at knitting the 2005 Mid March Lacy Round. I didn't quite finish this before we got home, but I really love the colors and the lacy holes. This will go to my folks. It's the SnC Buttercream colorway.

Here's dishcloth number six of nine for the teachers. It's the free pattern from Havest Moon Designs.

And dishcloth number seven of nine. It's the January 2006 monthly dishcloth.

Bauble Day

Whew! I'm back from Nashville and, boy, are my arms tired.

Really.

I knitted so many things. My pinkies are aching just a little. I hold my yarn weird. I think it's a hold back from my crochet days.

So here goes the grand photo sharing of what I did on my Thanksgiving vacation. Here's my attempt at the mid-November monthly dishcloth. I thought it was quite lovely and gave it to my MIL for Bauble Day. Bauble Day is celebrated with the in-laws around Thanksgiving and it's for small gifts - you know, baubles.

I gave Captain Underpants to the oldest nephew and the alligator mittens to the youngest one. The nephews LOVED Captain Underpants and the alligator mittens. We had impromptu plays of Captain Underpants getting attached by the giant alligators all night long.

My DH and BIL went to Texas A&M. Here's the dishcloth I knitted in the car on the way up for my BIL's Bauble Day gift.

Here's my first attempt at writing my own illusion knitting dishcloth. I gave it to my FIL. The lighting is such that you can see the pattern from the front. I'll also write up this pattern if anyone is interested.

The finished purse for my SIL.

A photo of the inside. It's lined with a plastic needle point board and pink fabric. I added a 9" zipper and the handle is attached with a leather boot lace. I bought the handles from Joann's (they're Purse n-alize-it! vinyl handles and are exclusively distributed by Joann's).

I knitted more on the way home, but blogger isn't playing well with others right now. More to come. . .

Free Pattern - Cable Clutchette Knitted Purse

A simple cable knit purse that is knit in one piece and sewn up on the sides.

Needles: Size 11
Yarn: Chunky wool.

Special stitch:
C10F: Slip 5 stitches onto a cable needle and bring to the front (I just used a size 10 DPN). Knit the next 5 stitches. Knit the stitches on the cable needle.

CO 32 stitches.

R1. K1 P10 K10 P10 K1
R2. P1 K10 P10 K10 P1
R3. K1 P10 K10 P10 K1
R4. P1 K10 P10 K10 P1

R5. K1 P10 C10F P10 K1

R6. P1 K10 P10 K10 P1

R7 through R14: Repeat R1 & R2
R15. Repeat R5
R16. Repeat R2

R17 through R 26: Repeat R7 through R16 once

R27 through R30: Repeat R1 through R4.

Bind off in pattern.

Mattress stitch the sides. Pick up 60 stitches along the top of the purse and knit an i-cord border. Sew in a zipper, then the lining, and add a leather purse handle. You can also add a bow to the top to make the purse match the one you can buy in a store.

Variation: If you want the clutchette to become a more functional bag, simply keep repeating R7 through R16 and finish up with R27 through R30. If you can think of the cable as a 10 x 10 cable, then you could keep track of your knitting a little better.

This hasn’t been test knitted yet. If you do try it and find errors, please email me with questions.





This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Almost finished-cable knit purse

I have to line this and put a handle on it, but all of the knitting is done.

I used two stands knit together of Plymouth Encore. It's a simple 10 stitch cable and was inspired by a purse I saw for sale.

Mine is deeper, but the width should be the same. I thought it would be more convenient. I also added an i-cord border to the top of the purse. I did a mattress stitch for the sides, but now wish that I had done a selvage stitch on either side of the purse so I could have made sewing the sides up less obvious. I also will use a chunky wool as the Encore is too stretchy. I'll also use smaller needles. I used size 13. I think a tighter knit would look better.

If I have the time, I'll try to write up a pattern for this one.

FO-More Alligator Mittens

It's interesting to knit something again that once took you forever. What a difference a year (or so) makes. I knitted M some of these last year for my Olympic Knitting project. This time around, the mittens were SUPER fast to knit.

I decided to use Plymouth Encore yarn as it's washable. I have noticed that it just doesn't hold it's shape as well as the Cascade 220 did.

I do like how I did the eyes on these mittens. I used two buttons - one large white one and a smaller black one. They are much more secure than the googly eyes on M's. I love googly eyes, but am pretty concerned they are too easy to pull off. Not good for 3 year olds. These mittens will be paired with the fair isle hat for my nephew.

Will it blend?

Okay, this is disgusting (in a cool college days way), but I couldn't look away. Mmmmm - Cochicken.

FO-Nephew Fair Isle Hat

I added an i-cord border to the hat along with flaps and ties. I was going to put a pom pom on the top but like the hat with out it.



Now on to the mittens! I have to get these gifts done because we're going to Nashville next week! Eeek!

FO-Nephew Blanket

I finished the first blanket for one of my nephews. It was made with four strands held together of Lion Brand Homespun. Their school colors are red, black and white. I used Candy Apple, Black, Edwardian, and Covered Bridge Red. I also held a strand of Trellis yarn (Night Life) with the Homespun. I won't do the second one with the Trellis. It really didn't add anything to the blanket.

This was knitted with speed stix (size 50 needle).

Turkey

I made a turkey yesterday because J got one cheap and I've found having cooked poultry around for lunch times makes it easier for me to stay on the WW program.

But M is determined to have turkey for Thanksgiving ONLY. She wouldn't even try it.

"No, thank you. I'll have turkey on Thanksgiving in Nashville," she poo-pooed.

I think someone is excited about sleeping over at her cousins house in Nashville next week.

Now I need to find out what to do with Mel. The vet is full.

Another Fair Isle Hat

I'm not quite done with this one, but it's the fair-isle hat pattern in the back of the holiday Interweave (2006) magazine.


Size 5 DPN needles, Plymouth Encore yarn. I have the ear flaps, pom-pom, and the cords to do to finish this up. They'll be paired with a set of alligator mittens (SnB Nation) made with the same colors/yarn. It's a present for my other nephew in Nashville.

Auction

J & I went to M's school auction on Saturday night. It was fun, but I always feel out of place at these events. I don't like wearing cocktail dresses and I'm finding that crowds make me very anxious. J knows this and is wonderful at getting me into a quiet place and calming me down.

I donated the two Gnomes and they fetched over $200 for the school technology fund. I also will be knitting a baby outfit and another Noni purse. All in all, my donations made over $300. I'm somewhat pleased. I think if I do this next year, I'll have things knitted beforehand as finished items seem to fetch a higher price. I'll probably make a Captain Underpants and some more Gnomes. Perhaps I'll knit some other toys, too.

I'm glad I went, but I'm equally glad it's over.

Another show I like

I like watching Project Runway and now Top Chef. These are reality shows, but unlike the ones on the networks, the participants actually have talent in their respective fields. The Top Chef show seems to be a little more rambunctious than Project Runway.

FO-Snowflake Illusion Dishcloth

Since my in-laws LOVED the candy corn illusion dishcloth so much, this is one of their Christmas gifts. I knitted this up on Saturday afternoon while driving all around town.

FO-Majorlica Vase Purse

Ding, dong, the purse is done.

The wicked purse is done!

I did not want to put black and white flowers on this purse. I did not want to knit it in black and white. I just hated knitting this project.
But doesn't it look great? :)
The recipient loved it, so I'm happy.

Noni Flowers

I'm finally finishing up the flowers for the Noni Majorlica Vase Bag. It's the Unfurling Rose from Nora J. Bellows.

The flower on the right was made with one strand of cream and one strand of black. Plus, I knitted the outer petals with a 4 stitch/8 stitch long petal.

I also have some of the gray heathered yarn that I think I'm not going to use on the Hex Coat so I made a fourth flower out of it. Here it is before I felted it. I photographed it right next to the cream flower to show the size difference.

GOAM mentioned that the cream flower looked like a magnolia blossom. I have to agree.

FO-Gobble, gobble

Here's a photo of my latest dishcloth. It's the November Monthly Dishcloth KAL pattern.

Captain Underpants - Free Pattern

Materials:
1 ball Hayfield Bonus Toytime DK Yarn Flesh tone (963)
1 ball white sport weight yarn (I used Red Heart)
1 ball red sport weight yarn (again, Red Heart)
Black embroidery yarn for detailing.
Washable stuffing

Needles:
Size 2 DPN’s or 40” circular size 2 (magic loop).

Gage:
6 sts per inch, 8 rows per inch. (but really, don’t sweat this. I like to knit toys tightly so when you stuff it, the stuffing is not really visible)

Abbreviations:

CO = Cast on
loop CO = Backward-Loop Cast-On
kfb = Knit Front & Back: Knit a stitch, leaving stitch on left needle; knit into the back loop of this stitch
ssk - Slip, slip, knit: Slip one stitch as if to knit, slip the next stitch as if to purl, knit the two together through the back loops.
k2tog = Knit two together: Knit two stitches together as if they were a single stitch.
(if you don't know what these are, always go to Knitting Help.com)

Body:

In white, CO 6 stitches. Distribute among 3 needles (spaces) and join, being careful not to twist. Place marker.

Rnd 1: Kfb around. 12 sts.
Rnd 2: K all sts.
Rnd 3: Kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k6. 18 sts.
Rnd 4: K all sts.
Rnd5: Kfb, kl, kfb, kl, kfb, k2, kfb, k1, kfb, k1, kfb, k6. 24 sts.
Rnd 6: K all sts.
Rnd 7: Kfb, k2, kfb, k2, kfb, k4, kfb, k2, kfb, k2, kfb, k6. 30 sts.
Rnd 8: K all sts.
Rnd 9: Kfb, k3, kfb, k3, kfb, k6, kfb, k3, kfb, k3, kfb, k6. 36 sts.
Rnd 10: K all sts.
Rnd 11: Kfb, k4, kfb, k4, kfb, k8, kfb, k4, kfb, k4, kfb, k6. 42 sts.
Rnd 12: K all sts.
Rnd 13: Kfb, k5, kfb, k5, kfb, k10, kfb, k5, kfb, k5, kfb, k6. 48 sts.
Rnd 14: K all sts.
Rnd 15: Kfb, k6, kfb, k6, kfb, k12, kfb, k6, kfb, k6, kfb, k6. 54 sts.
Rnd 16: K all sts.
Rnd 17: Kfb, k7, kfb, k7, kfb, k14, kfb, k7, kfb, k7, kfb, k6. 60 sts.
Rnd 18: K all sts.
Rnd 19: Kfb, k8, kfb, k8, kfb, k16, kfb, k8, kfb, k8, kfb, k6. 66 sts.
Rnd 20: K all sts.
Rnd 21: Kfb, k9, kfb, k9, kfb, k18, kfb, k9, kfb, k9, kfb, k6. 72 sts.
Rnd 22:.K all sts.
Rnd 23: Kfb, k10, kfb, k10, kfb, k20, kfb, k10, kfb, k10, kfb, k6. 78 sts.
Rnd 24: P all sts
Rnd 25-28: K all sts.
Rnd 29: P all sts

Change to flesh colored yarn.

Rnd 30: Ssk, k10, ssk, k10, ssk, k20, k2tog, k10, k2tog, k10, k2tog, k6. 72 sts.
Rnd 31: K all sts.
Rnd 32: Ssk, k9, ssk, k9, ssk, k18, k2tog, k9, k2tog, k9, k2tog, k6. 66 sts.
Rnd 33: K all sts:
Rnd 34: Ssk, k8, ssk, k8, ssk, k16, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k6. 60 sts.
Rnd 35: K all sts.
Rnd 36: Ssk, k7, ssk, k7, ssk, k14, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k6. 54 sts.
Rnd 37: K all sts.
Rnd 38: Ssk, k6, ssk, k6, ssk, k12, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6. 48 sts.
Rnd 39: K all sts.
Rnd 40: Ssk, k5, ssk, k5, ssk, k10, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k6. 42 sts.
Rnd 41: K all sts.
Rnd 42: *k2, k2tog* repeat from * to the last st, k1, 32 sts.
Rnd 43 – 59: K all sts.

Embroider the black band between the purl stitches on the “underwear”. Embroider the chest. Embroider the face by looking at the following photo.


After you’re done with embroidering, stuff the body with washable stuffing.

Rnd 60: *k2, k2tog*, 24 sts.
Rnd 61: K all sts.
Rnd 62: *k1, k2tog*, 16 sts.
Rnd 63: K all sts.
Rnd 64: *k2tog*, 8 sts.

Break off the yarn leaving an 18-inch tail. Using yarn needle, thread through remaining sts starting with first k2tog stitch you made (st to the left of the st). Take this opportunity to make sure the very top of the head is stuffed to your liking. Pull tail tightly to close, tie small knot into fabric very close to the opening and hide yarn end inside the toy.

Arms (make two)

CO 8 stitches in flesh colored yarn. Distribute among 3 needles (spaces) and join, being careful not to twist. Place marker.

All rounds: K all sts

Knit until arm measures 2¼” long.

Break yarn, leaving a 12-inch tail. Using yarn needle, thread through sts starting with the st to the left of the last st. Pull yarn tail firmly to close the opening. Push needle through opening, and turn arm inside out. Make small knot inside, and break yarn. Turn back to right side.

Legs (make two)

CO 12 stitches in flesh colored yarn. Distribute among 3 needles (spaces) and join, being careful not to twist. Place marker.
All rounds: K all sts.

Knit until leg measures 2½” long.

Last round: *k2tog* around. 6 sts.

Break yarn, leaving a 12-inch tail. Using yarn needle, thread through sts starting with first k2tog stitch you made (st to the left of the st). Pull yarn tail firmly to close the opening. Push needle through opening, and turn leg inside out. Make small knot inside, and break yarn. Turn back to right side.

Cape:

The cape is knit flat

CO 60 sts in red yarn.

Knit in stockinette for 1½” (knit first row, purl second, etc. . .)

*k2, k2tog*, 45 sts.

Knit in stockinette for 1”

*k2, k2tog* to the last st, k1, 34 sts.

Knit in stockinette for ¾”

*k2, k2tog* to the last 2 sts, k2tog, 25 sts.

Knit in stockinette for 1¼”

Next Row: K 25, Loop CO 18 sts, 43 sts.
Next Row: Purl 43, loop CO 18 sts, 60 sts.
Next Row: K60
Next Row: P60
Next Row: K60
Next Row: P60
Bind off.

Finishing

Stuff the arms and legs.

Sew pieces to body using photo as reference.


Alternative (if you want to sit it on a computer):

Knit the body as shown above. Before you stuff it, slip a bean bag into the bottom of the body. Stuff as per pattern. Sew the feet towards the front so you can sit him.

Please email a URL of a photo once you're done with him.

I may make a shirt, pants and toupee to make him into a Mr. Krupp.





This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Vas o No Vas

Ever watch Deal or No Deal? I really and truly hate that show. As someone who loves game shows, this one is really awful. There's nothing to it other than Howie asking someone if they want money. The only way I've been able to really tolerate it is to watch it in fast forward (I have one of those DVR thingies).

Well, last night I was flipping around the channels and came across Vas o No Vas on Telemundo. It was SO much more fun to watch. The ladies are dressed up sluttier than the American version and they dance in unison, too!

The banker is represented by a woman who comes out of the vault, stares at the camera with lots of eye make-up while opening the case. She's wearing what I would consider Fredericks of Hollywood style business suit.

Oh, and the top money is only $250,000.

Of course instead of yelling "Deal" at the television, I now have to scream "Vas."

FO-Captain Underpants

I finally did it. I made my own stuffed plushy. With much inspiration from Jess Hutch's Sphery pattern, let me introduce my version of Captain Underpants:
M loves him. He's actually a Christmas gift for one of my nephews. I may have to make one for her.

Mystery Plushy

I have been musing about making one of these for a while now and just couldn't resist casting on and seeing if I can cobble something together. It will be a gift for one of my nephews in Nashville and I suspect M will want one, too.


Care to guess what I'm knitting? It's my own adaptation from the Sphery pattern from Jess Hutch.

Busy, busy knitter

I'm furiously trying to knit up as much stuff as I can for the holidays.

Here's the finished Garterlac dishcloth:

Here's a flower petal dish cloth:
Here's my mother's Lost Points Shawl
Close up:
Next, my friend GOAM has a mother whom she describes as being a Martha Stewart type. GOAM is the anti-MS. Here's a piece of cake she made from the top of one of those cake forms for a Halloween party:Suitably creepy!