Knitting the double-thick cuff from VeryPink

I came across a great pattern by Staci Perry akaVery Pink.  She graciously made this pattern available for free on Ravelry.   She writes very clear patterns that are easy to follow.

I hadn't knit in a while so I was excited to knit this up. Unfortunately, I didn't use a very cute yarn, but that did not deter me from knitting this up.  I also used a worsted weight yarn with size 5 needles which was something I had never done before.  I normally use a size 9 needle with worsted weight yarn.

I like doing the provisional cast on as I am a competent crocheter so I am comfortable holding a crochet hook.

I also decided to intentionally twist my stitches for the ribbed cuff.  I like the way twisted stitches can make ribbed rows pop.  Since I used a dark yarn, any little bit helps.

I really enjoyed knitting this hat.  I made it in about five or six hours and topped it off with a pompom that I made myself.

Festive Arrowhead Afghan

I have been procrastinating on making this blanket and I have no reasonable excuse.  It was an easy pattern, the colors were bright and popped together nicely.  Here's a picture of the finished item:

Here's a link to the ravelry page for this project.  Some of the ravelers used different colors on their projects so you can get some ideas.

I recorded a little video to demonstrate how to do the pattern:

Here's a close up of the stitches:

Happy crocheting!

Celebrating Craft Month at the Library

The library where I meet with a group of fellow craft addicts allowed us to fill a display case with our finished objects along with some knitting and crocheting books at the library.  It was fun arranging and rearranging out items all around and trying to match items up with appropriate books.  Here's some pictures.

Slouchy hat using Barbara Walker's Broad Spiral Rib

My niece likes slouchy hats.  I had sent a winter white hat over to her, but she said she would prefer a purple hat so I found this cute little pattern on Ravelry and found a pattern called frosted by numma numma.  I thought the ribbing was adorable since it was not your basic ribbing, but had more of a cabled look.  It is a stitch pattern from Barbara Walker called Broad Spiral Rib.  Here's a video demonstrating the four row repeat.



This is a nice stretchy band and the crown decreases nicely using double decreases.  I hope my niece likes this hat and wears it often.

Slipper Socks make nice gifts

Tragedy!  I had a wonderful slipper sock pattern that I couldn't find anywhere!  I was distraught.  I flipped through paper after paper, notebook after notebook.

Yes, yes, I know, the internet has endless resources for free patterns.  I didn't care about those patterns.  I wanted the one I wanted.  I had inherited this particular leaflet from a friend's grandmother who had passed away.  The pattern is from a Leisure Arts pamphlet which was published in 1976.  There is an awesome slipper sock that I have made countless times, but have never memorized it.  Here's a link to the pamphlet.

Crochet Basics (8 Patterns for Beginners, Leisure Arts Leaflet 66)

My brother-in-law normally receives a pair of these slipper socks for the holidays.  He likes sliding around on the kitchen floor so he normally needs a new pair every year.  I broke the news to him that this particular era had come to an end.

Then I was going through some boxes which contained books and papers and there it was!  My wonderful old leaflet.  I wanted to cry.  I immediately got to work crocheting.

I used a strand of Red Heart E302B.0368 Super Saver Jumbo Yarn, Paddy Green and a strand of Red Heart E300.0311 Super Saver Economy Yarn, White held together.  I used Boye Aluminum 6-Inch Crochet Hook, K10.5/6.5mm.  This makes a nice thick slipper which is warm and comfortable.  The yarn is acrylic so it lasts for quite some time.  One slipper probably takes under an hour to complete.  The heel is ribbed for a little stretch.

Knitting the Honey Cowl designed by Antonia Shankland

A friend's birthday is coming up so I thought I would knit up a cowl to give her.  I like knitting the Honey Cowl.  It's sort of mindless knitting, but not really boring.  Both sides have an interesting look to it even though there is a right and wrong side.  The right side resembles a honeycomb.

You can clearly see my inconsistent knitting.  I call it, "Giving the finished item character."

Here's the wrong side.

I used a knitted cast on which had a good amount of stretch to it and once again used Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy bind off.  I absolutely love how this bind off looks and of course it is stretchy.

I hope she likes it.

Knitting a moebius cowl

I knit up a cowl for my friend.  It is an infinity scarf with a twist.  It is called Moebius Cowl and it is designed by Cat Bordhi.

I love this pattern.  All you do it knit, but since there is a twist in the loop, you are knitting on the back and coming back to the front without turning your work.  You just keep knitting and knitting.  It is so cool.  I don't know what yarn I used, but I do like how the colors came out in the pattern.  You can see how the top part of this picture is knit, and the bottom is purled.  The twist in the loop is where the trick lies.  You are basically knitting on both side of your cast on row.

It is an eight stitch repeat, and the pattern calls for stitch markers every eight stitches.  I found this a bit cumbersome and it just slowed me down so I only used stitch markers every twenty four stitches.  After the pattern was established and I had become good at reading my knitting, I removed the stitch markers except for the one that marked the start of the round.

I bound off using Jenny's surprisingly stretchy bind off which made a very pretty edge and, of course, was stretchy.










Here is a video by Cat Bordhi herself explaining the cast on for this pattern:

Here is Cat Bordhi explaining how to do the stretchy bind off:

I find it difficult to do the stretchy bind off after a knit stitch, so I just purled my entire bind off row.  I love how the finished edge looks.  Here is my finished item: