Monday, February 07, 2011

Interchangeable needles

Can't decide which ones to buy? Here's a "Try it" set from Knitpicks.

https://www.knitpicks.com/needles/TRY_IT_Needle_Set__D90589.html

No, I don't work for them, but I do love "window shopping!" I wonder if it's possible for a wishlist to explode. LOL

some new yarn ideas

Knitpicks has a huge sale on books, so as I'm lusting after books I "need" but can't afford, I noticed the "new yarn" tab. Hoo boy! Purdy stuff! Thank goodness it's free to look!

http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Chroma_Worsted_Yarn__D5420204.html

I really like the garter stitch square scarf pattern that features this yarn. It looks similar to something else I might have in my pattern file, so this might be my next project.

Destashing, baby!

Free hug day!

Hey, it's free hug day-who needs one? :D

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Dropped stitch cowl pattern

I hate it when someone "claims" a common pattern as something original, but hey, I think I'll do it now! Haha! But only because I couldn't find what I wanted. I'm far from a "pattern designer," but I did go to the trouble (haha!) to write it up. Please let me know if I've skipped or forgotten something, since I just sort of started knitting and hoped for the best. :)

I had some Lana Gatto Aquamarina yarn from Hearthstone that I'd bought for the "Holy Cow(l)" in a previous post. I didn't want to do another just like it, although that was a fun pattern, so I started looking around for something similar. I really like doing the Seafoam/Dropped Stitch pattern, so thought I'd use this stitch pattern for a cowl. Pretty easy, actually, not really a pattern.

Here's the yarn: http://www.diamondyarn.com/d/yarn/52-aquamarina/




Mine ended up about 30-32 inches in the round, so adjust your stitch count accordingly. Gauge isn't crucial for this pattern, so you can use any yarn and any needles that give you the look you want. The gauge for this ended up about 18 st/24 rows per 4" square.

Using a worsted weight yarn, CO 120 (any multiple of 10) stitches on 24" size 8 circular needles. Be careful when you join or you'll end up with a twist. Hmmm...maybe a twist would be kind of fun. :)

Repeat pattern (rounds 1-8) until desired length, ending with round 2 (purl), then bind off knitwise.

Dropped Stitch Pattern

Round 1 Knit
Round 2 Purl
Round 3 (YO, K1, YO 2 times, K1, YO 3 times, K1, YO 2 times, K1, YO, K6) repeat to end of round.
Round 4 Purl, dropping all YOs as you go. You will have 120 stitches on your needles again.
Round 5 Knit
Round 6 Purl
Round 7 (K5, YO, K1, YO 2 times, K1, YO 3 times, K1, YO 2 times, K1, YO, K1) repeat to end of
round.
Round 8 Purl, dropping all YOs as you go. You will have 120 stitches on your needles again.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right? LOL

And looks like you get a double dose of my knitting in this pic. The brown wrap/throw is one I made years ago, using a simple feather and fan stitch and some mohair yarn. Come to think of it, I might have some more of that in a different color in my stash!

Since I can't afford to buy anything new right now, I have taken to shopping in my stash. :)

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Pay it forward coffee cup cozies

Crowned Glory Scarf -KAL

Finished. I'll most likely do another one, adding a few triangles to the first part. I didn't know if the first part took more yardage than the second part, so stopped where the pattern said. I probably would have had enough left in my first skein to add a couple more triangles. Used 2 skeins of Mochi Plus, which is a beautiful yarn. I would definitely use it again in another project.