Saturday, December 20, 2008

One reason I love to knit....

...is the ability to make such a wonderful cardigan.

I really love this pattern and the way mine has turned out. I do not even mind the uneveness of the color across the middle of the body. Besides the early trouble with the ribbing, the pattern was easy and fun to follow. No modications here. I enjoyed knitting the cables. And it fits superbly as well.
I may even want to knit another one in the future, inshaAllah.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

At The Yoke

After a brief mittens episode, I resumed work on my tangled yoke cardigan over the Eid holidays (which were good). Now I have finished the second sleeve and joined the sleeves to the body. Now I have to knit a tedious and long 3.25 inches of st st till the cables start but that is ok as I currently have a few family engagements and will not have time for any more complex knitting.

However, I am already thinking ahead to a few more projects. I would like to start a pullover for my son. Also a couple more cardigans in the longer term with a smattering of few small fun projects, inshaAllah. And yes, I still have my husband's socks in progress. Men's socks can be so boring ;(

Monday, December 8, 2008

Play Time

With only a couple of days before Eid, I did not feel like starting any major project. Also, I had observed my daughter's recent fascination with little cribs and an childhood doll of mine had outlasted her rocking crib. So I decided to make a cradle purse. The pattern I used was Cupcake cradle purse.
I did one extra row at the cupcake bottom to fit a slightly larger doll.

While at it, I also made a new dress and cap for the doll. My daughter is very happy with her new toy/purse.
Feeling a little guilty that I did not make anything for my son, I asked him if I should make him a car or something. And guess what, he also wants a cradle purse, LOL.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Tic Tac Toes

I had been wanting to knit a pair of ankle socks for myself for quite some while and December Sockdown at Socks Knitters Anonynmous group at ravelry gave me a perfect opportunity. Now the yarn I was planning to use was variegated (self-striping) (Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Colori Socka Color) and I could not find a suitable pattern that I liked. So I decided to come up with a pattern of my own.

So my three days' labor_ not really hard work because I enjoyed every minute of knitting these socks_ came to this FO:

I also wrote the pattern along the way. It was much harder to think of a suitable name. So after a lot of useless pondering, I could come up with nothing better than Tic Tac Toes. I know it is a bit cutesy but the pattern and the bobbles on the socks remind me of this game.


TIC TAC TOES


Materials:

· Variegated sock yarn as main color (MC) 230 -250 yards ( I used Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Colori and used up every inch of the single ball. It will be better to have that second ball just in case)

· Solid color sock yarn as contrasting color (CC) small amount

· 2 stitch markers.

· Knitting needles 3.00mm dpns or circular. (St markers are used to mark positions in pattern and so the pattern can be worked both in dpns and circulars. I used dpns.)

· A crochet hook for the cast on.

Gauge:

6.5 sts to an inch in st st.

7.25 sts to an inch in pattern.

Size:

To fit 8.5 to 9 inch foot circumference.

Abbreviations:

yfwd: bring yarn forward between tips of needles from back to front of work.

ybk: bring yarn back between tips of needles from front to back of work.

S3p: slip 3 sts purlwise.

S5p: slip 5 sts purlwise.

MB (make bobble): (k1,p1,k1,p1) all in 1 st, turn, p all 4, turn, k all 4 and pass the right 3 sts over the 4th st.

W and T: wrap and turn.

PM: place marker

M: marker

METHOD:

TOES:

Using CC and crochet cast on method, cast on 29 sts.

Row 1: P.

Row 2: K to last st, W and T.

Row 3: P to the last st, W and T.

Row 4: K to st before the last wrapped st, W and T.

Row 5: P to st before the last wrapped st, W and T.

Repeat rows 4 and 5 until 11 sts remain between the wrapped sts on both side, ending with a purl row.

Next row: K to the first wrapped st, k wrapped st together with its wrapped loop, W and T.

Next row: P to the first wrapped st, p wrapped st together with its wrapped loop, W and T.

Next row (RS): Sl 1, K to first wrapped st, k the wrapped st together with the 2 loops around it, W and T.

Next row (WS): Sl 1, p to first wrapped st, p the wrapped st together with the 2 loops around it, W and T.

Repeat the last two rows until 1 wrapped st remains at both ends, ending with a P (WS)row.

Next Round (RS): Sl 1, k to the last wrapped st, k the wrapped st together with its 2 loops, DO NOT TURN, carefully remove the crochet ch from the cast on and pick up 29 live sts on a needle. K1, PM, k 27, PM, K1.

Break and secure CC and join MC. If using dpns, divide the sts evenly across the needles.

Next round: Unravel the last st of the last round and pass it onto the left hand needle. Now start the round as follows:

K1, k the last wrapped st together with its 2 loops, k to the end.

The first 31 sts (between the 2 markers) form the top of the foot and will be worked in pattern while the last 27 sts between the markers will form the sole and will be worked in st st.

Begin the pattern from the next round:

Rnd 1: K 1,* yfwd, s5p, ybk, k1, rep from * until the marker, M, k 27, M.

Rnd 2: K all.

Rnd 3: K 3, * knit under the loop,, k5, rep from until 4 sts before the marker, knit under the loop, k3, M, k 27, M.

Rnd 4: K all.

Rnd 5: K1, yfwd, s2p, ybk, k1,* yfwd, s5p, ybk, k1, rep from until 3 sts before the M, yfwd, s2p, ybk, k1, M, k27, M.

Rnd 6: K all.

Rnd 7: Knit under the loop, *k 5, k under the loop, rep from * to the marker, M, k 27, M.

Rnd 8: K all.

Rep these 8 rounds until the sock measures 8 inches from the beginning / or 1.5 inches less than the desired foot length.

HEEL:

Work first 30 sts in patt, jn CC, k1, remove marker, k27, remove marker, W and T. Heel is worked on these last 29 sts.

Continue heel as the toe, starting from ● (row 3 of the toe) to ●●. Break and secure CC.

Next row: Continuing with MC, k the wrapped st together with its loops, k 27 heel sts, k the wrapped st at the end.

Work 6 or 8 more rounds in pattern, extending the pattern across the back of the leg (heel sts) as well.

Next work 2 rnds in st st.

Bobbles rnd: Join CC, * MB with CC, k2 with MC, rep from* across till 1 st remains, MB in cc. Break and secure CC.

Continuing in MC, knit 6 rnds in st st. BO knitwise.

FINISHING:

Weave in ends and block.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Simply Divine Bolero


Not that I would call this bolero that myself, Simply Divine is the name of the pattern I used. I knit it for my daughter to wear with is Eid clothes. Although a simple project, it took me six days to knit. The only modification I did was to make sleeves full-length.
The yarn is local acrylic DK which I retrieved from a frogged project. I took the opportunity to take a picture of my daughter in her dress, bolero and all:

Thursday, November 27, 2008

First Lessons

Yesterday, while knitting my daughter's bolero, I felt a tug at the yarn. I turned around to this:

It turns out, my daughter had watched me wind (by hand) the yarn earlier that day and was practicing on her own. She did a pretty good job too!
On the other hand, my son's first experiment with yarn goes like this:

He acquired this yarn from my scraps and uses it to pull around his toy car, LOL. Yes another thing that interests him in my craft closet is my retractable tape with which he plays yoyo.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Tangled Yoke Cardigan Update and More

There seems to be so little knitting time nowadays. However I am making slow progress on my cardigan. I am taking it slow myself and like it this way i.e. without any pressure or deadline. I finished the first sleeve two days ago and am yet to cast on the second one. The color on the balls is uneven and ball change on the body is easily detectable. But I think I will live with it rather than frogging and redoing it, especially as there is no guarantee that the other balls would match better.
Today, I started a bolero for my daughter to wear with her Eid dress (remember the red one...). She will be wearing it on Eid-ul-Azha and then an upcoming wedding, inshaAllah.
I am also slowly working on the socks for my husband. I also plan to start a pair for myself inshaAllah.
In other blogging news, I was tagged by Riohnna and got this:

"Those that receive the Rock Star award stand out. They work hard and you love knowing them. They are unique and one of a kind bloggers!"
Thank you Rihonna, Now I have to list 8 interesting things about myself. Well the most interesting thing I can think of is my knitting WIPs and I have already shared those. I will have to think hard to come up with other stuff :)