The Trouble with Gradients

Have you tried any of those new gradient yarns yet?  I had been wanting to, but I was waiting for the perfect project.  I was a little put off by the price of most of them, but I decided to knit my daughter-in-law, Emily, a long cowl for Christmas.  If anyone deserves a special gift, I believe that she does.  I went to the New England Fiber Festival last November and the one item that I didn't want to go home without was a skein of gradient yarn.  I knew that the shop Wandering Wool was going to be there and I already had my eye on her colorway called "Great Barrier Reef".

Emily's favorite color is that grassy, lime green.  You'll note that the yarn is shown wound two different ways. I had decided to use the blue to begin the cowl and end with the green so it would be outside and more visible.  I chose the Biscuit Cowl pattern.  It was simple with just a slight bit of lace.  I thought it wouldn't take me too long and I'd be able to finish it in plenty of time.

 I used stitch markers every few repeats, so if I messed up the pattern, I'd be able to catch it quickly.  Things were going along nicely, but I soon realized that I was going to be finished with the cowl long before I got to the lime green!!  That's the whole reason I chose the yarn!  This left me with a dilemma.  I knew there was no way to get another one knit in time for Christmas.  In the end, I decided that the only thing I could do was to rip it out and start over from the other end.

After waiting so long to use the yarn and knowing how expensive it was, I knew I'd never be happy with it as it was. I'm glad I started over, because I was able to use every bit of the green.

I didn't even miss the blue at the end this time!

So the lesson here is to PLAN AHEAD! Don't repeat my mistake!

It did end up being a Happy New Year's gift rather than Christmas, but I knew that Emily would understand. Besides, I didn't even tell her that she had another gift coming!  I do plan for some things and I wasn't going to put pressure on myself, if I decided that I just couldn't knit one more row of the pattern!

My husband bought me another skein of gradient yarn for Christmas in shades of blue.  You can bet I'll study it a long time before I decide to start with either pale blue or royal!!

Take a Gander

I certainly have taken my sweet time posting this pattern!  I'm not sure exactly why it's taken me so long, but I finally made myself just sit down and do it!!  This is another of the "new" squares that I designed for Ruthie's Farm blanket .  I think the only two I haven't posted yet are the cat and the dog.  In any event, I was happy to knit something out of a bright color.  What a long, miserable, snowy winter we've been having here in New England.

The bib is knitted out of Peaches & Creme in Peacock.

For the cloth, I used the same yarn only in Gold.

The pdf files are listed in the sidebar, as usual, or you can click here for the bib and here for the cloth.

Feed the Birds

Here's a twist.  Usually, I'm the one asking/begging friends to test knit for me, but my pal, Tracy, asked me to test knit this beautiful cowl pattern for her!  Just between you and me, I was a little reluctant at first since it seemed like it would be rather time consuming and I have lots of little hands that are begging for mittens, but I agreed anyway.  After all, what are friends for?

I'm so glad that I agreed to do it, as it turned out not to be a lengthy knit at all.  In fact, it moved right along and I was surprised at how easy it was to memorize the pattern.  The travelling cables are worked over two stitches so I didn't even bother with a cable needle! Tracy knit the long version in the pretty green yarn and I knit the short version in a bright red one.

The pattern calls for a DK weight, but I used Malabrigo Worsted in Ravelry Red.  I was able to get the same gauge with the thicker yarn and it worked out just fine.  It's warm and cozy.  In hindsight, I wish I had added one more pattern repeat, but I do love it just the same.  She also has a tall version that she knit in this dusty rose:

And here's one more picture of the long version, just to give you an idea of the versatility:

If you'd like to knit one for yourself, or for a friend, Tracy has a special promotion until the end of January on Ravelry.  She's offering $2.00 off the pattern with the coupon code ftb.  (This winter, I don't even want to go outside with a cowl! Brrrrrrr. . .)  I know if you decide to knit one, you won't be disappointed!  Tell Tracy I sent you!   ;o)

Catching Up!

Remember when I told you that I was doing a lot of knitting for Christmas this year?  Well, I thought I'd just do one big picture post to catch up on what I managed to get done.  This may be the reason that I didn't do much posting!  Everything had to be kept quiet, especially since I discovered that some of my family actually does look at my blog!

I knit quite a few pairs of fingerless gloves:

These were for my 13 year old niece, Eliza.  It's a free pattern on Ravelry called Align.  I found them to be slightly too small for my large hands, so if I were making them for me, I'd add some stitches.  They do stretch, but not much!  (By the way, Eliza has worn these every day since she opened them and has managed to already lose one.  Today, I mailed her a second pair!)

I also knit her another pair from a cute little kit I bought at the New England Fiber Festival last November.

The mitts are called Fleckle Mitts and were lots of fun to knit.  You only use one color at a time and they end up double stranded so they're quite warm.  I hope Eliza doesn't lose one of these, because I don't have any more yarn!  These would be good for using up bits of leftover sock yarn, as they don't take much.  It's the first time I've used 100 Ravens yarn and I really liked working with it.

I've been saving the yarn for this next pair for quite awhile trying to decide on the perfect pattern for my daughter-in-law, Emily.  She has long arms and always seems to have a gap between the end of her coat and her gloves.  She also has nice slender arms, unlike mine!  Still, you get the idea!  The yarn is Marigoldjen's merino and nylon in the colorway Anole.

The pattern is Herbaceous Mitts and I just loved knitting them.  Generally, I don't enjoy knitting lace projects, but these were an exception.  I found the pattern easy to follow and memorize. In fact, I like them so much, that I knit a second pair for my sister, Evelyn.

I used Koigu for her pair and I didn't make them as long.  I think a pair of socks knit out of this pattern would be terrific!

I also knit some hats for the guys.  These were all my own patterns.  Matt's is knit out of Malabrigo Arroyo.

He can wear it with the brim doubled or as a slouch.  His office is in the basement of his house, so I made it lighter so he could wear it if it got cold inside!

Michael didn't want anything fancy.  He just wanted warm!  I used Malabrigo for both of his.  The blue is Buscando Azul.

And the green is Vaa.

My "across the street" neighbors had a beautiful, baby girl in December too.  I knit Abby a Puerperium Cardigan.  I admit that I did get a head start on this set and was waiting to see what buttons needed to be sewn on.  John Deere tractors or flowers.  I was so sure it was going to be a boy, but Abby surprised us all.

Jen, of the same Marigoldjen yarns, dyed this especially for me.  I wanted a true, kelly green and I love the way it came out.  It's dk in merino, cashmere and nylon.  

The booties are my favorite free pattern. Christines-stay-on-baby-booties only this time, instead of doing rings of knits and purls, I did a rib cuff that can be pulled up to keep those little legs warm.  The hat is my own simple beanie pattern.

If all this wasn't enough, my other sister, Jeanne, asked if I would knit her a shawl to wear to her husband's Christmas party.  (Well, technically, I don't think she actually asked, it was more that I offered!)  She loves blue so I used this wool and bamboo yarn from Keepinknitreal on Etsy in the colorway "You're All I Need to Get By".

The pattern is Ripples.  I saw this shawl knitted at the Fiber Festival and couldn't get over how pretty is was. When I started knitting it, I thought I have to be out of my mind, trying to get it done with everything else I had to do, but it went pretty fast.  It's very easy to memorize and I could even watch television and keep my place!  Eventually, I want to knit one for myself.

Are you tired of reading this post yet?  I only have a couple of others left!  I couldn't forget the grand kids, except in this case, Jack was the only one who received an actual present.  I knit him some Harry Potter socks.

They were another free pattern on Ravelry called Go Gryffindor.  The griffins are duplicate stitched and I made a mistake on the first sock so when I got to the second one, I made the same mistake so they'd match. There are free patterns for the other three houses and I was afraid that Jack would ask for all of them, but he said he was just happy with these.  What a great kid!

I also knit a couple of pairs of mitts for Ruthie.  I did a little experimenting to see which thumb I liked better, the one with the gusset or the other.  The verdict is still out, but they're so small, neither take much time to knit.

Oh wait, I almost forgot!  I also knit some more hats for our hospital!  These are the red ones: 

and these are the green!

I wrote my own pattern as I just wanted little stocking caps.

(I haven't forgotten that a couple of you asked me for the patterns for the football hat and the berry hat.  I'll get to those soon.  I have to reknit both of them so I can take pictures along the way!)

So that's what I've been up to last month (including the Merry Christmoose pattern that I posted!) and I do have two other Christmas gifts that I haven't given to the recipient yet.  Those didn't get finished in time.  Gee, I wonder why not?!!

Dog Gone Cute!

I was checking out some of the projects that knitters have done using my patterns the other day and I came across this adorable puppy dog blanket:

It was made by Momika21 on Ravelry and here's a link to her project page.  Monica gave me permission to share the blanket with all of you as I thought it was such a clever idea.  Wouldn't this be a great baby gift paired with a dog themed book?  Goodness knows there are enough out there to choose from!  Obviously, the puppy dog pattern is mine, but here's a link to the free dog bone pattern, in case any of you would like it: Doggone Washcloth. Thank you Monika for sharing such a sweet project!

Have a happy and safe New Year!

Harry and Pals

Christmas sure is coming in a hurry.  I'm still feverishly working on a couple of presents that I had no business even attempting, but still I couldn't resist.  I can't share any pictures yet, but I thought I would share a little project that I made for my oldest grandson, Jack.  He just turned ten and for awhile now, his dad has been reading the Harry Potter books to him, and his brothers, every evening before bed.  Jack is just smitten with the series so when I saw this pattern, I knew I had to make them for him.

The pattern was only up on Ravelry for a hot minute and then the designer pulled it out of concern for copyright issues.  The yarn called for was a dk weight, but I knitted them out of fingering yarn.  My intention was for them to be Christmas ornaments.

The actual knitting was pretty easy, but the finishing and the details were quite time consuming.

I think the trickiest part of the whole project were the ties!  Trying to twist the yarn and secure them properly was a challenge.

I love the little eyelashes on Hermoine! I added the wands and made them by coloring toothpicks with a sharpie! Since they're just ornaments, I wasn't too concerned about any safety issues!

The designer is a lovely person and gave me permission to post my pictures, but you have to understand that the pattern is no longer available and I'm not able to share it due to copyright restrictions. Still, I thought you'd enjoy seeing them.  Jack was just thrilled and we have a video of him opening them up.  His joy made all the work worthwhile!  My son tells me that now I need to make all the other characters too.  Funny, but I don't feel obligated in the least to do that! lol!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and get all your projects done in time!  Speaking of which, where did I leave that knitting bag. . . .

Merry Christmoose!

Don't you just love the holidays?  Remember when you were a kid and all you had to worry about was what Santa would bring.  Remember how the time just seemed to drag on and on until Christmas day?  What I wouldn't give to have those days back!  Time is flying by and I don't know when I've been so ill prepared for a holiday!

I decided this year that I would knit a "few" gifts, so although I've been busy, I can't share any of my projects in case a member of my family decides to take a peek at this blog.  It's been so long since I posted however, that I'll be surprised if anyone is peeking!  In case you are, here is a little Christmas moose, a gift for all of my friends!

I knit this fella in Christmas Green.  What else? Unless it was red like the companion cloth:

Usually, red is really hard to photograph, but I think this picture came out pretty well.  The pdf links for the patterns are in the sidebar, or you can click here for the bib and here for the cloth.

I hope you've all been good this year and Santa treats you well!