NiseyKnits

Wool People Vol. 2

2012-02-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

My son and I are taking turns being sick, which means I've not been able to finish any projects that in the past two weeks. Instead, I'm going to share with you three patterns that caught my eye from Wool People Vol. 2, the newest pattern collection from Brooklyn Tweed, using Shelter yarn by Jared Flood. I must confess that I still haven't made the patterns that I loved from Wool People Vol. 1, and I'm hoping that one of these, one of these days I tell you, I'll have enough time to actually knit something for myself. LOL!

The first pattern that caught my eye is the Elfreide Scarf by Lucy Sweetland, because I have a friend called Elfriede. The second reason is that the scarf was in green. And, it has cables. Lots and lots of cables. The scarf is an architectural work of art, and I found my fingers itching to cast on for this one. I think the rustic looking nature of the Shelter yarn also adds to the beauty of this pattern. It would look beautiful in red/burgundy, as well as in an oatmeal/off-white color.

The second pattern was this delicious looking blue short-sleeved sweater called Lawrence, by Melissa LaBarre. I think sometimes the color choice for a pattern actually MAKES the pattern. This blue vest looked so stately but simple that I wished it was already knit and hanging in my wardrobe. Plus, I don't have a lot of blue clothing items so this would work pretty well. All jokes aside though, the construction of this vest makes me happy, as someone who doesn't like too much fussy detail. The simple garter stitch knit, accented by a large lace panel and topped off with that awesome cowl neck, made me go "Wheeeeeeeee". Such a great piece.

Finally, Fuse by Veronik Avery, a drape front cardigan that is just the style I've been dreaming off. The fronts of the cardigan are wide and swingy enough that you can drape one side across your neck as a makeshift scarf. How beautiful and functional! And the allover lace pattern means you won't get bored on this one. This is one cardigan that I think I would actually wear...if I ever got around to knitting it!

As usual, these drool-worthy pictures are courtesy of Jared Flood. Now if only I could knit/design/take photos as well as this man does.....

Anyway, see you all next week. Hopefully we'll be all better from this bout of sickness, and I'll have some lovely finished projects to share with you all. Have a great rest of the week!

Another shawl is done!!

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have another FO this week! I finally finished the Tan Moody Kerchief, got it blocked, and even photographed all over the past weekend! No scrambling to take photos before the daylight ends, and no staying up late the night before to put up a blog post! Yay!

This version of the Moody Kerchief was knit in Knit Picks Palette, using the Coriander, Almond Heather and Camel Heather colorways, and made the color changes like I did in the Sunset Moody Kerchief. I hope Veronica's mom likes both her shawls.

Thanks to my lovely model Zeina Newman for being so willing to come and help me out whenever I call. Such a wonderful friend! Now I'm off to work on some more WIPs and UFOs. Have a wonderful week and thank you so much for reading!

Now, for some FOs!

2012-01-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

I finished some projects! Yay! I completed the Merlot Scrunchable Scarf from last week's post, the one for my sister's bf. He visited us briefly this past weekend and he's darling. He even enjoyed playing with my son!! He tried on the scarf and loved it, but I didn't give it to him as I hadn't blocked it yet. It's now blocked and photographed, but I took the photos late in the day so they are pretty bad quality. The model I had lined up for this photo shoot (my sister), decided that she needed to take a nap in the middle of the day, and when she woke up she didn't feel like getting all dolled up for a photo shoot. So I lost the daylight needed for good pictures, and had to pull out my trusty plastic bodyform. One of these days I'll get a beautiful fancy-looking bodyform...

For the photos, I tried for some artistic, close-up shots to make up for the bad lighting and my rudimentary photo-taking skills. Here are a few pictures of the Merlot Scarf. I think adding the cable on one side of the scarf was a good call. I love the effect it gives to the scarf.

I finished the Black Moody Kerchief for Veronica's mom a while ago, but hadn't put up pictures because I wanted to shoot both shawls together. Sadly, I still haven't finished the Tan Moody Kerchief (but I'm working hard on it), so I gave up on that idea. Here's the Black Moody Kerchief, knit in KnitPicks Gloss DK.

PS: Shooting something knit in black yarn is hard! Heck, knitting something in black yarn is hard!! Does anyone have suggestions/tips on taking better photos of black items? I would definitely appreciate some pointers.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

UFOs, FOs, WIPS and Startitis

2012-01-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Wait wait, don't go. I'm not talking about aliens. Just what might be an alien language to you if you aren't a knitter or crafter of some kind. But first, a confession. I have Startitis, which is defined by KnitWiki as "an expensive, but rarely fatal affliction that often affects knitters and crocheters where they begin several projects all at one time but don't really make much progress on anything before starting another new project."

Because of my startitis, I have a lot of WIPs (Works In Progress) and a few UFOs (UnFinished Objects). :) (see I told you it had nothing to do with aliens). WIPs are items that I've knit a bit of, but which are nowhere near completion. UFOs are items that are almost done but just need a little finishing touch, such as weaving in the yarn ends, or seaming, or blocking. FOs (finished objects, as you rightly guessed) are the kinds of things I've been mostly posting about on my blog. This week, however, I thought I would clean out my closet and confess to my little problem.

I have a lot of projects that I'm a third or halfway through (my WIPs), but which are now languishing in various states in my stash bookshelves. Some are from as far back as 2008, and I'm too embarrassed to show those today, so I'm just going to post about the ones I have no problem confessing to.

The first one I'll show is one of the giveaway shawls from last year, the red Snap Peas Shawl that Anuli won. I've started it, but because it's a written pattern with quite a bit of detail, I only knit it when I know I have at least a 2 hour block of knitting time. It's being worked in Knit Picks Swish DK in the Hollyberry Color.

The next item up for confession is a Cobalt Blue version of my Procragratification Infinity Scarf that I started mid-December and use as my "I'm-feeling-lazy-don't-want-to-think-while-knitting" project. It's being worked in the Cobalt Blue colorway of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick. I pick up this scarf when I'm too tired to think and read patterns properly, or when I'm at church or waiting at the doctor's office.

The third dirty little secret is the Tan Moody Kerchief for my friend Veronica's mom. Veronica won the sunset Moody Kerchief in my previous giveaway and asked me to make a black and a tan version for her mom. I've finished the Black one, and I'm not on the Tan version. The black version was knit in KnitPicks Gloss DK yarn, and the Tan version is in KnitPicks Palette, as I'm doing the same color gradations that I did in the sunset version.

#4 on the list is my selfish knitting project, the Xenia shawl in Lana Grossa Lace Lux. I think I should be given an A for effort. I knew that I would definitely not finish the shawl in time for the Christmas choir in December, but I tried. Here is the shawl. I'll finish it sometime soon...I hope.

Last but not least is the Scrunchable scarf in the Merlot colorway of Loops & Threads Cozy Wool, my new favorite yarn. This is the same colorway I made the hat my sister stole in. And she asked me to make this scarf for her bf. He wanted the same colorway. I cast on for this scarf earlier this week, and I need to finish it soon because she leaves for school next week. I added a small 4-stitch cable on one side to make this scarf a wee bit special for him.

Whew! I feel a little lighter now that I've made this confession! This should keep me light until I have to make another confession of the older WIPs. Hopefully they will be FOs soon and I won't have to make any confession! Have a great week everyone!!

About a hat

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

I've been talking for a while now about knitting myself a hat. So when I found a cute hat pattern on the ball band of Loops & Threads Cozy Wool yarn, I was very excited to try it out. Plus, it only required one ball of yarn! Just perfect! I thought I would make myself one in the Merlot colorway to see how easy the pattern was. Then I would make a few more hats for my Etsy shop.

Now this yarn is soft and gorgeous. Made of 50% wool and 50% acrylic, this yarn is extremely soft and just wonderful to work with. It has minimal splitting, gives great stitch definition, and is just the perfect chunky yarn for gifts and items for sale. Plus, their color palette is just beautiful. I've knit four items with this yarn so far, including this hat, and I plan to make many more with it. (See the Silver Grey Scarf, Forest Green Scrunchable and Claret Procragratification Scarf.)

So back to the hat story. The pattern calls for a US 11 and a US 13 circular needle, so I got my needles together, got the yarn, and started knitting on Dec. 30th. As the knitting progressed, I realized that the hat seemed bigger than it should (even though it fit my big head), and the yarn was getting smaller and smaller. I realized that my gauge was waaaaaaaaaay off! Now if I had taken my time to make a gauge swatch, this wouldn't have happened. I know, I know.I should know better than that. I thought it was a small hat, so what was the worst that could happen. A humongous hat, that's what!!!

Anyway, I ripped out the whole hat, and started with US 9 and US 11 needles. I didn't swatch this time either (hehehe!). But I was SURE that it would work it out this time. :) Luckily for me, it did! I got to practice both Cable front and Cable Back stitches, and finished the hat in one night. Excited with my new gorgeous hat, I put it down and waited to try it on the next day.

Alas! When I tried on the hat, it looked terrible on me. Or I looked terrible in it? I have a pretty round face, and the hat just accentuated the roundness to a very unflattering level. I looked like I was recovering from some disease. I thought I'd ask my sister to try it on to see if it was the hat, or if it was something I had done. She looked fantastic in the hat! I mean, almost supermodel gorgeous! I was sooooooooooooooo MAD! I mean, it was my hat! Anyway, I'll stop whining now. Here are some pictures of my sister looking pretty fabulous in MY HAT!! Grrr!!

Have a wonderful rest of the week and see you next week!

Here's to a fruitful year!

2011-12-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

In March this year I made a resolution to post at least once every week on this blog. I have to tell you that it was pretty tough to do at times. Sometimes I had to come up with something the morning off, before heading to work. Other times I used my lunch break to quickly write a post. A few times I had enough material to write 2 blog posts ahead of time and schedule them for the following weeks. I am quite glad that I did this, and that I was able to stick with this resolution. I'm going to do my best to keep it up for next year. I know I don't have a lot of followers, but I am so grateful to those of you who do follow and read this blog, and feel that I should be faithful to you all with my posting. Thank you for reading about my knitting exploits, for participating in my giveaways, for sending in comments, and for being so supportive of me as I work on improving my crafting skills. Here's to you all, the last post of this lovely year 2011.

And what could be more fitting than a few pictures of a shawl and an infinity scarf that I made for a friend who just spent Christmas with us. It's always nice to be able to make items for friends and loved ones, and even more humbling when these loved ones support your small business venture. My friend Elf purchased a shawl from me earlier this year, and immediately put in a request for a Shetland shawl. After seeing a few pictures of the Red Chunky Moebius and Procragratification Scarf, she asked for one of those too. I was more than happy to make them for her. The plan was to finish the shawl and give it to her when she came for Christmas. I didn't finish the shawl until Wednesday the 28th of December, and was unable to block it till Thursday the 29th. I also didn't start her infinity scarf until late Wednesday night, after finished the shawl, so I was knitting frantically Thursday night in order to finish the scarf (accompanied by the lovely Korean drama Goong). She was leaving this morning (Friday the 30th). Thankfully, I was able to finish the infinity scarf, block the shawl, and get her to pose for a few pictures with her knitted goodies before she left for the airport this morning.

And here are the pictures of the Claret Procragratification Scarf. I used Loops and Threads Cozy Wool in Claret colorway, and I must admit that I love this yarn! It's a 50% wool - 50% acrylic blend, and I think it's a Michaels brand. The yarn is gorgeous and so soft. Knitting with it is so delightful, and the stitch definition is just amazing. The ball band on the yarn balls have this gorgeous cabled hat pattern on it that I think I'm going to tackle next for my instant gratification knitting. It requires just one ball of yarn. Here are the pictures of the red infinity scarf.

I hope you've enjoyed hanging out with me on my blog this yearn. Thank you all once again for your support, and see you in 2012! Happy New Year!!

Some more pretty things for Christmas and a coupon code

2011-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

Last week some lovely people found my shop and ordered a few custom items from me. It's so exciting when I get purchases and orders from people who aren't friends or acquaintances. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE knitting for friends and family. However when someone I don't know orders something from me, there's a true sense of accomplishment and excitement that I feel. A few weeks ago I posted the pattern for the Procragratification Scarf, and listed that scarf on my Etsy Shop. A nice lady saw the scarf and asked for it in the Eggplant Colorway. I just finished it two days ago, blocked it yesterday, and got my sister to model it for some fun pictures. Here they are:

I also finally got around to finishing a cream version of the Hurrah Scarf, and took photos of that scarf.

And finally, a new forest green scrunchable scarf that will make a great gift for males or females on your list. The yarn is a 50/50 blend of wool and acrylic, and is super warm and absolutely soft. It's the perfect thing to wrap around your neck this winter.

Have a Merry Christmas, and see you here for next week's post. Remember, the coupon code BLOGTHIRTY is still active for 30% off your purchase from my Etsy Shop.

A call for help

2011-12-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful to all of you who have been reading my blog, leaving comments and being supportive of my small knitting business. Now that the year is winding down, I'm trying to hit some knitting targets and meet some "secret project" deadlines. I finished a few items some weeks ago but didn't get the chance to photograph them and list them till this past weekend.

The first is a Grey Unisex Scarf (now available in my Etsy shop) with a big fat cable running along the side. I've received a lot of complaints from friends that I seem to only knit for women, so this scarf is my first in the "line" I'm working on for my male customers.

The second item is the Fig Hurrah, a one color version of the Pompom Scarves (sans the pompoms) that I've been knitting. The color is Fig, and it's as soft and cushy as its cousins, but without the pompoms for those who want something simple and warm. It is also now available in my Etsy Shop.

I know during this season you are bombarded with a lot of sales and marketing posts/ads, asking you to buy buy buy. I hate to add to the throng but here's my call for help. :) I'm at 28 sales in my Etsy shop, and I would love to hit 30 sales before the year is out. So, here is a coupon code for all you lovely followers and readers of my blog. If you've been eyeing a particular item in my shop, here's a 30% off code for you: BLOGTHIRTY.

Thank you all so much, and see you on here next week.

The Procragratification Scarf - Free Pattern

2011-12-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

As almost all knitters will attest to, we always have a million works in progress (WIPs) that we need to finish. I have one that’s about 3 years old. However sometimes you want some mindless knitting that doesn’t require you to count stitches or lean over charts. I wanted to knit something late one night, preferably in bulky yarn, and something that would come out looking chunky and uber-fashionista. I had knit a moebius cowl using the fisherman’s rib a few times, and wondered what it would look like without the twist, and with a few more stitches. So, instead of working on the projects that absolutely must be done by early December, I took a size 13 circular needle and cast on for this scarf. Which is why it’s called the procrastination-instant gratification scarf - progratification scarf.

I intended this pattern to be free, but then I got the news that my best friend had given birth to a stillborn baby boy. I would be very grateful if you made a donation in memory of Troy A. to First Candle, an organization working to advance infant health and survival. They are "working to increase public participation and support in the fight against Stillbirth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other causes of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)." Troy is the name my friend and her husband had decided on for their son.

Procragratification Scarf

The pattern is available on Ravelry and can also be downloaded in pdf form from this link: download now

Size
One size

Yarn
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (80% acrylic, 20% wool; 108yd [99m]/170g [6oz]): ##135 Spice, 2 balls

Needles
US 13 (10mm) circular needle (at least 24 inches)

Notions
One stitch marker

Instructions
Cast on 79 sts, slip last stitch to left hand needle and knit together with first stitch to join in the round. Knit around once.

Rnd 1: K1 below, p1; rep till end.
Rnd 2: K1, p1 below, rep till end.

Repeat these two rows until you are almost out of yarn, knit one row around once, and bind off loosely. Block lightly and enjoy the cushy softness of this scarf you cast on for even though you have 10 other projects to complete. :)

Taking a break for this week

2011-11-30T15:56:00.001-08:00

I was all ready to post today, but I just got some extremely sad news of a friend who lost her baby. We are separated by thousands of miles as we are in different countries, and I really wish I could be there for right now, to hold her, to cry with her, to hug her, and to just rock her till the pain dulls a bit. I would like to NOT post anything knitting-related today, to commemorate this baby's passing. I don't want it to seem like nothing has happened, because I'm sure she and her husband feel like their world has ended. If anyone has suggestions on what I can do to help them from so far away, I would appreciate it. Just yesterday I was talking to her, telling her I would send knitted items through a mutual friend for the baby. Just yesterday.

I'm sorry guys. I'll be back next week God willing with a peppier update. As for today, please take a second and pray/send well wishes in your heart to my friend, her husband and their family.

Thank you.

I got published!!!

2011-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you remember sometime during this year when I mentioned that I had a few secret projects I couldn't talk about for a while. Well...one of them is out now so I can spill the beans. I got a pattern published in Interweave Knits magazine, one of the premier knitting magazines around! I'm so excited. They put up the preview of the patterns last week Friday so I tweeted about it and even put it on my Facebook page, but I thought it fitting to put it up on my blog today. My pattern is the Bobble and Eyelet Cowl, knit in Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky yarn, on US #15 needles (the yarn is a dream to knit with, by the way). It's a very quick knit, creating a super chunky scarf (that can even work as a wrap, see the pictures), and the bobbles and eyelets allow you to close the scarf, making it a chunky cowl/infinity scarf. Below are some of the pictures from the magazine. (PS: The actual color of the scarf can be seen in the magazine pictures. Mine were washed out by the sunlight, making the yarn look lighter than it was.)

You can pick up a copy of the magazine at your Local Yarn Store or at Michaels', Joann Fabric stores, Safeway, Barnes and Noble, and most stores that sell craft magazines.

Here are a few pictures I took of my MIL in the scarf before I sent it in to the magazine.

Woohoo!! I have more secret projects in the works, but this is the first one out, and I just had to share with you all. Thank you for following my blog, and supporting my creativity.

Remember, you can shop on http://niseyknits.etsy.com all week for gifts for friends and family with the coupon codes 10PERCENTOFF to receive 10% off your order!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A little bit of selfish knitting?

2011-11-16T12:21:00.001-08:00

I am singing with the Christmas Choir at my church this holiday season, and the colors we will be wearing are black and white with some gold or silver accent. As the knitting gods would have it, I had just attended the Interweave Knitting Lab held in San Mateo from Nov. 3rd to the 6th, and had just snagged 2 balls of Lana Grossa Lace Lux Yarn in Bronze Colorway from the Jimmy Beans Wool booth.

I promise you that I had no knowledge of the color choices until AFTER I had bought the yarn. I got the yarn on Saturday and the first choir rehearsal was Sunday. I realized that the knitting powers that be had decided that I should FINALLY knit something for myself, so I set off to look for the best pattern to showcase this beautiful yarn.

My search for the pattern that would work well with this yarn brought me to Xenia by Vanessa Smith. I have purchased one other pattern by this designer and although I haven't knit it yet, I am in awe of the stunning detail and simple twists she adds to her designs. Xenia took my breath away the moment I saw it.

And she gave instructions for working it in two colors too. Ah, knitting heaven! I can almost see myself in this shawl already!

In order to have this ready by Dec 17th/18th when the choir sings, I need to cast on now, so I can knit it between the 100 projects I'm trying to get done before the year ends.

Do y'all have any other suggestions for a lovely, quick shawl that requires between 339 and 678 yds of laceweight yarn?

Some homespun cowls

2011-11-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

This week's post is going to be a little shorter than I would like mainly because I've received some good news about 3 secret projects and so I have to get to knitting like nobody's business in order to make those deadlines. I also haven't been able to photograph 4 new items I finished (including a free cowl pattern which I'll put up as soon as I have it all written out.)

Today's post is a short tour of my love affair with the Luxe Cowlby Margaux Hufnagel which can be found on Ravelry(click on Luxe Cowl) or on her blog here. I've liked this cowl pattern ever since I stumbled across it last year, especially after I modified it into an infinity scarf. My friend Shionda last year wanted a gift for a friend, and asked me what I could make with Lion Brand Homespun yarn which she had already purchased. I took the yarn, rooted through my stash, and found one skein of Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted in their purple colorway. I realized that knitting with both yarns at the same time created a lovely fabric with awesome color variations. So far I've made 4 in purple , one in a cream/off-white and my most recent one in a cream/soft pink combination. Below are pictures of these items. I hope you enjoy them and they keep you happy until we meet again here on my blog next week.

The Pompom Chronicles Part 2

2011-11-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

So after succumbing to the pompom/Last Hurrah scarf bug as I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to make a few more of the Last Hurrah scarves with pompoms attached.

My next two finished scarves were the:

Purple and Green Hurrah, knit with Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, in the Fig and Cilantro colorways. I'm really liking this scarf because the colors are very vivid and attention-grabbing. It looks like the perfect scarf for anyone looking to add a striking, colorful accessory to their winter wardrobe.

The next one is the one I call the Neopolitan Ice Cream Scarf. I bought a hank of Cascade Eco wool for a design I was working on. When I received the yarn, I realized it was too thin for the pattern I had in mind, so I relegated it to the stash to wait for a more suitable project. Once I got into these scarves, I thought a pink/white/brown scarf would look, sort of like the colors in a Cherry Blossom tree. I went digging in my stash and found a lone ball of Malabrigo merino worsted in pink and brown, and the forgotten Cascade Eco wool.

My initial attempt had me holding one strand of the Malabrigo, and one strand of the Cascade Eco wool, but it looked like I would run out of Malabrigo pretty soon. Since the Cascade Eco has a lot of yardage, I decided to double-strand the Eco, and add it to the Malabrigo, making it three strands of yarn. To accommodate the extra strand, I switched to US #19 needles from the US #17 I was using. This resulted in the perfect, super squishy, super soft Last Hurrah scarf. I called it Neopolitan, but it could be also Cherry Blossom. Whatever the name, it's a gorgeous scarf.

Both scarves are available for sale in my Etsy shop. I'll bring you more on the Pompom Chronicles next week. Due to this knitting stint, I now have 20 items listed in my shop, which I'm very happy about. My goal is to have 50 items on there, but I'm not sure I'll make it by Christmas time. I'll keep my fingers crossed and flying over the needles, so let's see how far I get.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

The Pompom Chronicles Part 1

2011-11-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

Today's is a long post, so please bear with me. The year is hurtling towards it's end, and I'm knitting as fast as I can to make it to the end of the year with a lot of finished items. Even more importantly, I'm hoping to have my Etsy shop stocked with as many items as possible so people can get lovely handmade gifts for their friends and family during this holiday season. In the past few weeks, I've been bitten by the pompom bug. I'm not sure I've ever made pompoms in my knitting life before now. However since I started, I can't seem to stop.

It all started with the Last Hurrah Scarf. This pattern is easy to remember, and the finished item is so soft and squishy that I can't help squeezing it over and over again. I however get a little bored if I have to the same thing over and over again, so to add a bit more spice to my knitting, I decided to use two colors of yarn to knit this scarf. Halfway through the scarf, I decided that pompoms would add the right touch of whimsy to the scarf, so I went online to learn how to make pompoms.

I cut out 4 pompom sets from cardboard boxes before I finally got the size I liked. By the way, POMPOMS EAT YARN! Whoa! The yarn just seemed to disappear inside the pompoms. I wasn't deterred though. I made pompoms for my first scarf, which I called The Purple Mambo Hurrah, seen in the picture below. It is knit in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Fig and Eggplant colorways.

I convinced my friend Josie to model this scarf in an impromptu photo shoot for me, and she also loved it so much that I thought it would be worth exploring the scarf in different color combinations. I'll share the results of this exploration in a 3-part series, with this post being the first one.

The Pink on Pink Hurrah (seen below) is the next scarf I made using the fisherman's rib pattern and Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in the Blossom and Raspberry colorways. The scarf is lovely, and so is the model, my patient, long-suffering Zeina Newman.

Both scarves are available for sale in my Etsy shop. I'll blog about the next two scarves in bonus post on Thursday. Till then, enjoy the rest of your day and see you soon! :)

A new free pattern: Wrapped in Clouds Shawl/Scarf v1

2011-10-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today I have a new pattern for all my knitters out there. It's a very simple pattern that creates a gorgeous, warm shawl, just in time for the cold weather. I actually finished this last year but only got the chance to write it up and put it up now. Here it is, the "Wrapped in Clouds Shawl/Scarf". Thanks to my friend Johanna P. for modeling this at work about a year ago!! The pattern has also been added to Ravelry here.

Wrapped in Clouds Shawl/Scarf

A friend of mine saw a shawl similar to this somewhere and asked me to recreate it. I did my best to imitate the look of the shawl, but I cannot for sure say that it’s the same shawl. I thought I’d share the pattern with anyone who might be interested in a light but warm shawl made by striping thin cotton yarn with bulky single ply wool yarn. Because of the lightness of the bulky wool, this shawl can also be worn as a scarf by wrapping it around your neck. The finished product is classy and elegant for very little work.

Finished Size
12 inches x 60 inches

Yarn
DROPS Eskimo (100% wool; 54 yd [50m]/50g): #01 Off White, 6 skeins (MC)
Aunt Lydia’s Fashion Crochet Size 3 (150yds) White & Ecru, 1-2 balls(CC)

Needles
US 13 (10mm) circular needle (at least 24 inches)

Gauge
8 stitches and 11 rows = 10cm/4 inches
Adjust needle size to obtain gauge. Gauge is not terribly important so if you want a loftier shawl, go up to a US #15 needle.

Notions
Tapestry needle
Crochet hook I (5.50mm)

Instructions
Cast on 40 stitches or any number of stitches to give you width with the MC, and knit 4 rows.
r1: Knit across with MC.
r2: Slide the stitches to the other side of the row and knit across using the CC.
r3: Purl across using the MC.
r4: Slide the stitches across and purl across using the CC.

Note: Please make sure to carry along the non-working yarn when knitting each row, to keep the edge wrapped up and neat.

Keep knitting in this manner until the shawl is almost as long as you want it, ending with a purl row in the CC. Knit 4 rows with the MC and bind off loosely with MC.

Finishing
With MC, make a single crochet edging all around the shawl to neaten the edges. Weave in ends, soak the shawl and block.

A beautiful gift

2011-10-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Irene from LivedStories, who has been my photographer extraordinaire, had her son 12 days ago. She had a very difficult pregnancy, and so we are all relieved and grateful that the baby is here and healthy, and she is also doing well and recovering fast. The hat the baby was given at the hospital was too big for his head, so of course I had to whip up a little something for my little cutie. Since the baby is small, I looked for a preemie hat pattern on Ravelry and settled on Preemie Hats for Charity by Carissa Browning. The pattern calls for sportweight yarn. I had some leftover acrylic sportweight yarn, and KnitPicks Swish DK yarn in Nutmeg colorway, so I used these two to make the striped hat. Here in a few pictures, is the hat I made for this little gift from God.

Since I just recently perfected my pompom-making skills, I topped off the hat with a small pompom. Yay for pompoms!

I will be back later in the week with some new scarves in my Etsy shop. Till then, happy Monday and enjoy the week!

2nd Giveaway Shawl Completed - Snow Drops and Snap Peas in Green

2011-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

I finished a 2nd giveaway shawl!! Woohoo! Those late nights are really paying off. Here is the the Snow Drops and Snap Peas shawl by Kirsten Kapur in the original Quince & Co Chickadee yarn Snap Peas colorway for Anjali. It took me a little while to finish this one as I had to deal with about 400 stitches getting to the end of this shawl. However it's done and blocked and all ready to set sail to Anjali's house. Enjoy the pictures, and many thanks to my friend Josie for agreeing to an impromptu photo shoot.

Anjali, please send me your mailing address at niseyknits@gmail.com, so I can get this package in the mail for you. See you all later and enjoy the rest of your week!

Lime Green Goodness

2011-10-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! I have a new scarf in my Etsy shop. It's a lovely Lime Green chunky weight scarf that will definitely keep you warm during this coming cold season. Buy it for yourself, or give it as a gift to a dear friend. They'll love you for it. A special thanks to my dear friend Josie for letting me arm twist her into being my model for this week's posts. Check out the scarf here, and have a great week!

1st Finished Giveaway Shawl - Sunset Moody Kerchief

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

This shawl was a joy to knit, and so quick to finish too. It's the Moody Kerchief pattern by Kirsten Kapur, and the finished shawl is for Veronica. Veronica wanted the shawl colors to mirror those of the Sunset Multidirectional Scarf (see picture below).

To do this, I used KnitPicks Palette yarn in Sweet Potato, Orange and Serrano colorways.

I held the yarns doubled, and mixed the colors as I went along to give a gradual color change effect. Here's how I worked it:
1st section : Sweet Potato Colorway
2nd section: Sweet potato and orange colorways
3rd section: Orange colorway
4th section: Orange and Serrano colorways
5th section (Border) : Serrano colorway

What can I say about the pattern? Easy, quick and addictive. I finished this shawl in just over a week, and took the pictures this past Sunday. I'm as usual very grateful to my lovely, gorgeous model, Zeina Newman. :) As for the finished product, I loved it so much I felt a wee bit jealous that Veronica gets to have the shawl. I just might knit one for myself.

Veronica, please send me your mailing address at niseyknits@gmail.com, so I can mail this little bundle of gorgeousness to you. I hope it keeps you warm during this coming fall and winter seasons.

The Red mobius cowl as promised

2011-10-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry this took so long to put up. I wasn't able to take the pictures at all last week due to bad weather. But here is the red version of the mobius cowl as I promised in last Wednesday's blog. Isn't the model just fabulous? Anyway this is a quick blog post just so you could see how the red mobius turned out. The cowl is up for sale in my etsy store here. See you on Wednesday when I share with you the first finished project from the giveaway shawls. It's just gorgeous, if I may say so myself!

And we have a winner!!

2011-10-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Claret Mobius cowl is Ethelind Belle!

Ethelind, please email me: niseyknits@gmail.com with your mailing info and I'll send you the cowl right away! I hope you get a lot of use form it this winter.

Thank you to all of you who played along in this giveaway. I just finished a red mobius cowl if you are still interested in one. I'll put up picture of that red cowl as soon as possible. We've had a bit of rainy weather here in the Bay Area so I haven't had the chance to take photos of the new things I knit. HOWEVER, since I can't leave you pictureless, I'll add a few pictures of a new cowl/infinity scarf I finished for a custom order.

I'm taking orders for Christmas gifts and winter accessories, so please get your orders in as soon as possible so I can have them ready in time for the cold season. Look out for pictures of the red mobius tomorrow. :)

Update on the giveaway shawls

2011-09-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone got the chance to enter into the recent Moebius cowl giveaway. You still have till 11:59pm PST today to enter, so just leave a comment on that blog post, follow my blog, like my Facebook page, or favorite my Etsy shop. So easy, no? :)

For this week's post, I wanted to give you a quick update on the giveaway shawls. I'm almost done with Shawl #1, the Snow Drops and Snap Peas shawl by Kirsten Kapur in the original Quince & Co Chickadee yarn Snap Peas colorway for Anjali. Here are a few progress pictures of the shawl.

I also cast on Shawl #2 last night, the sunset version of the Moody Kerchief also by Kirsten Kapur. I'm knitting this shawl in KnitPicks Palette, using the Sweet Potato, Orange and Serrano colorways to create a sunset-like effect. I hope it works. :) This shawl is for Veronica.

Giveaway - My first mobius cowl

2011-09-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Making a mobius ring in knitting has always seemed mysterious to me. It's one of those design elements I felt was easy to do when it wasn't your intention to do so. In almost every pattern that requires knitting in the round, the designer always adds the warning "join in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches" (or something to that effect). In the mobius cowl, however, this twisting is actually encouraged! Once this twist is made, there is no way of untwisting it without unraveling the whole knitted item.

For my foray into the world of mobius knitting, I chose the Mobius Cowl pattern by Bernat. It's a free pattern on the Bernat website. I didn't have any Bernat Roving, the yarn the pattern was designed with, in my stash. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in the Claret colorway, using US #13 circular needles. My version of this cowl has two twists instead of one, making it more cushy.

The stitch pattern called for in this pattern was the brioche stitch. I therefore got to do two new things while working on this cowl. Brioche is also pretty easy, and using this bulky yarn, the cowl worked up very quickly.

I'm holding a giveaway to give this cowl away to one of my subscribers. How do you enter you ask? Let me tell you. You can:
1. Leave a comment on this blog post on how you'll wear this cowl (how you'll put together an outfit with this cowl) and subscribe to my blog (pretty please :) ) OR

2. Follow me on twitter (@niseyknits) and leave a comment on there on how you'll wear this cowl or what you'll do with it OR

3. Visit my etsy shop and favorite the shop/an item in the shop OR

4. Join my Facebook fan page and leave a comment on there on how you'll wear this cowl or what you'll do with it.

The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. This giveaway will end next week Wednesday, Sept 28th 2011.

Remember that until the end of September, you can receive 20% off your order by using the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY20! Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Another grey wisp, a thick winter scarf, and a birthday surprise

2011-09-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Please make sure to read all the way to the bottom of the post for a birthday surprise!!

One of my work colleagues saw the Little Wisp of Smoke I made for Marienell and asked for one in the same color. I used Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in the smoke colorway, but I cast on fewer stitches than I did in Marienell's version, so this shawl is actually the same size as the one in the original pattern by Cheryl Niamath. I was hoping to take pictures earlier in the day but time got away from me, so I improvised and took pictures in the dining hall where the lighting was better. It came out so light and airy that it was hard to photograph.

While working on this wisp for Jessica, I started a quick scarf project that I could take along to meetings and doctor's appointments etc. I settled on the Scrunchable Scarf pattern by Susan McConne. It's a lovely, simple pattern that works in all different yarn weights. I made the scarf with two skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in the Butterscotch colorway, and the scarf is absolutely gorgeous! It's soft and squishy and long (72 inches)! I think this is the perfect accessory for any winter wardrobe. The scarf is now available in my Etsy Shop.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: This coming Sunday is my birthday, so I would like to do something for all you lovely people who keep up with my blog. You can get 20% off anything you order from my shop during this my birthday month. Use the coupon code HAPPYBIRTHDAY20 at checkout, and the discount will be applied automatically. Enjoy!!

The Drop It Like It's Hot (DILIH) Wrap

2011-09-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

I loved this pattern by Alexandra Tinsley (http://www.dull-roar.com/) the first time she put it up for sale on Ravelry. The patter is called Dilih, for Drop It Like It's Hot, so named for the two dropped stitch sections in the wrap. The beauty of this pattern lies in it's simplicity. Apart from a few stitches knitted through the back loop, it's straight knitting in the round, making a lovely stockinette stitch garment. The wrap can also be worn as a cowl twisted around the neck, or even with a brooch like a conventional scarf. You can also wear it stretched around your shoulders, adding a touch of elegance to any outfit.

I knit my version of this wrap in Malabrigo Chunky, using the Cadmium colorway. This yarn is so soft and sproingy (that is a real word. Ask any knitter!). It doesn't get split easily by the needles, and it just moves so smoothly over your fingers that you are barely aware of how many stitches you are knitting. I loved knitting with this yarn! And the color! That yellow is vivid and saturated. I didn't know you could dye yarn with such depth. And because the yarn is not dyed evenly, there are subtle shades of yellow running through the yarn. It's just gorgeous!

This wrap is currently available for sale in my etsy shop. I have plans to knit two more DILIHs, one in green and the other in pink. What other colors would YOU like to see DILIH in?

What in the world? Part 2

2011-08-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have a few more little things to add to the ones I posted last week. These ones are knitted!! Yay! You can all breathe easy now. I haven't fully defected to the crochet camp...yet. :) These pieces were also made with Cascade Ultra Pima. I seriously love this yarn. If you are allergic to wool and want me to knit you something with cotton, I can almost assure you that your item will be made with Cascade Ultra Pima. See the lovelies below and enjoy the rest of your week!!

What in the world??...or I'm crocheting now

2011-08-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Whew! I almost missed today's post! It seems I'm so busy and yet I don't have much to show for it, knitting-wise. It's because I have those top-secret projects, and I can't talk about them until a certain time. So, even though I'm knitting my fingers off, you all can't see any proof of that. Just be patient with me. The proof will be in the pudding, come Christmas time. :)

I know I promised some Malabrigo fun for this week's post, but I haven't been able to photograph them yet. I will do that for the next post, hopefully (unless something more exciting comes along. But I don't know what could top Malabrigo!)

For today's post, I'm going to share something different I've been working on for months now. It's crochet. I'm sure you are thinking "What in the world? But this is a knitting blog". I know, I know. The two crafts though can be complimentary, and a friend needed these for a project she's working on, so I thought I'd give it a try. I went on YouTube to learn how to crochet properly, learned how to read crochet patterns and diagrams, and read the patterns to make these samples. It was hard!! But I think the end product is beautiful. Plus, I got to work with Cascade Ultra Pima, which is absolutely fantastic! The sheen of that yarn is indescribable. Anyway, enjoy this new installment, and I'll see you all next week.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Wham Bam Thank you Ma'am

2011-08-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

This a quickie blog post, because I do not want to leave any of you lovely people hanging for more than a week. So here is the weekly update from NiseyKnits Studios!! Yay!

I've been super busy finishing up on some secret projects, and also starting some other fun projects. First up is one of the giveaway shawls, the Snow Drops and Snap Peas for Anjali. She wanted the shawl in the exact color as the one from the pattern, so I got the yarn from Quince & Co, and got to work. Below is a picture of my work in progress (WIP). I'm on the second repeat of the pattern. The pattern is very intuitive and easy to follow, so I'm always excited when I pick up this project. I can't wait to be done with it and take some beautiful photos of it.

Snow Drops and Snap Peas by Kirsten Kapur

Next up is ANOTHER grey wisp shawl, in KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud, for one of my colleagues at work. She loved the one I made for Marienell so much that she asked me to knit one for her. As the Wisp pattern is one of my favorites, I definitely said yes. It's my "travelling" project i.e. I take it everywhere with me so I can sneak in a few rows while waiting for one thing or another.

I just received more yarn packages containing yarn for the other giveaway shawls. Below is the KnitPicks Palette shipment. This first one here has three colorways that I'll use to make the Moody Kerchief for Veronica. I'll mix the yarns so they give me the same color effects as seen in the Sunset Multidirectional Scarf.

Sunset Multidirectional Scarf

Moody Kerchief by Kirsten Kapur

These lovely green Palette yarns, also from KnitPicks, are for Megan's Roma Shawl. I am quite excited to start this project as I think the combination of these two shades of green in that particular pattern will be just stunning.

Roma Shawl by Kirsten Kapur

Now the next two pictures are yarns for a project that I haven't solidified yet. I'm thinking of a super easy scarf or shawl that shows some color migration as it goes along. Once I figure it out, I'll let you all know. The last three are for some cowls I'm hoping to make and put up in my Etsy shop, just in time for winter! In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of these yarns. They are just too beautiful.

Have a wonderful rest of the week, and see you next week for some Malabrigo love!

Wool People Vol. 1 - A collaborative design project

2011-08-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Since early July I have been working on some secret projects that I can't blog about, and will be doing so until mid-September. As such I thought I would share with you something new and beautiful from one of my absolute favorite designers, Jared Flood of Brooklyntweed.net. He just put together a collection of designs based on his yarn line, Shelter.

First off, Jared is an amazing photographer and his knitted items and patterns are always drool-worthy because of the photos. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent reading his blog posts and looking at his pictures and wondering how I could come up with patterns like him. In this pattern collection, Wool People Vol. 1, Jared has curated patterns from various knitwear designers and put them together in a book that will make you want to knit even if you aren't a knitter. The Look Book for the whole collection can be found here, but I wanted to highlight a few items that I would love to knit if I ever get some free time. :)

Allegheny by Thea Colman

This pattern is the one that grabbed me by the horns the moment I saw it in the lookbook. Now I've only successfully knitted 1 sweater and 2 blouses, and so I'm not sure if I'll ever get to this dress, but if there was a dress I was sure to knit, it would be this one. The simplicity of the design, coupled with that cable panel running along the side of the body, gives this dress some undefinable wow. ( I know, I'm almost waxing poetic over a knitted item. But JUST LOOK AT THE DRESS)! The ribbing at the waist that gives it a fitted silhouette, and the little belt with button detail at the waist all come together to make this the perfect sweater dress in my humble opinion.

Now, what color should I knit this in? Or what color would YOU want to wear this dress in? Let me know. :)

Levenwick by Gudrun Johnston

Levenwick snuck up on me when I wasn't looking. The lovely, lovely golden curry color, and the femininity of the feather and fan edging, just pulled me into the cardigan's loveliness. If I had to knit this I would do so in the same exact color as the designer did. The shape, the fit, the profile it creates for the wearer, all make this cardi a fall wardrobe favorite. If I could knit it in time, that is. :)

What color would you want this cardigan in? And how would you wear it? Paired with jeans? Dressed up with a skirt for work? Please share! :)

Holl by Kirsten Johnstone

I have never owned a sweater with the dolman shape, but for some reason I want this one. I really want this one. The simple garter stitch striping effect going on is just driving me crazy. It's so simple it's stunning. I love it. I don't know how I would wear it, or whether the shape would look good on me, but I want it. I think it's beautiful. And that charcoal grey color just calls out to me.

You could definitely wear this sweater in a casual look paired with jeans, or with a nice pencil skirt and some sexy boots for work. Or a party. :) Please tell me how you would wear this. I'm trying to improve my fashion style. :)

I hope you've enjoyed all this knitting eye candy. Next week I'll have a bit more to report on the progress of the giveaway shawls. Have a wonderful week!

Fall Breeze Shawl Custom Order

2011-08-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Elfriede ordered a Fall Breeze Shawl from me. She came to visit last weekend and I got her to model her own shawl. :) This version of the shawl was knit with Berroco Vintage in the Buttercream Colorway. Yum yum! I got this yarn during my last order from WEBS. You can see this post for more on the delicious yarn I got from WEBS.

I originally designed this shawl using worsted weight yarn, but after knitting two of them, I'm thinking a sport/dk weight yarn or even fingering weight yarn might do better justice to this one. The lacy edging is just three repeats of a lace chart but most of the shawl is just straight stockinette stitch. Anyone out there interested in some mindless stockinette knitting? Just get the yarn of your choice and start knitting. The pattern is free! :)

A Little Wisp of Smoke

2011-07-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

I know I promised in last week's post to put up the pattern for the Megdans shawl. However, a submission call for a new magazine in the UK came out and I thought I'd try my luck and send the pattern in. So in its stead, I'm going to share pictures of my newest finished project, a grey version of the Wisp stole (by Cheryl Niamath) for my friend Marienell. It was a quick knit, and the pattern is just lovely. I used Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud yarn in the smoke colorway (hence the blog title). The pattern is very aptly named Wisp because the finished stole is so light and airy it's barely there.

I took the pictures hurriedly as I wanted to deliver the stole to Marienell on the same day. I used Picnik to edit the photos a bit but they still aren't awesome. I promise you I'm learning and I will get better at the photography thing. Enjoy this little wisp of smoke. :)

Megdans Part 1 - Pictures

2011-07-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

My actual first design was a shawl for my mother. I called the pattern "Megdans" after her. What did I do? I took four lace patterns and placed them next to each other, and added a seed stitch AND a garter stitch border to make this gigantic shawl. It's warm and cuddly, and I was very proud of it.

I had huge dreams of publishing this pattern and submitted it to Knitty.com. The lovely people at Knitty knew that the pattern was soooooooo not ready to be professionally published. I was disappointed, but it was a good learning lesson. I think I've grown a bit since I submitted that pattern, and although I'm not submitting as many patterns as I would like to, I'm still designing.

Looking at it now, it looks like it should be an afghan and not a shawl. Who knows? Maybe I will make an afghan version of the shawl. I'm also thinking that a DK weight and a lace version of this shawl might look nice. Any people out there interested in test knitting this pattern? I would love some help with knitting this pattern in different yarn weights, as I just can't do it alone on my own.

Anyway, I will be posting up the pattern for "Megdans" here on this blog next week, and also on Ravelry. In the meantime, I thought I would whet your appetites with a few lovely pictures that my friend Hector Plahar took (two years ago!!). The fabulous model is my sister Danielle. Enjoy, and stay tuned for the pattern next week!

Yarn for the giveaway shawls

2011-07-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

I ordered some beautiful yarn from Quince & Co to make the shawls that six lucky people won in My First Givewaway. I just had to show how beautiful the yarn I received is, so please bear with me. The yarn came in a brown paper bag sealed with the company's beautiful monogrammed sticker.

Upon opening, I found the skeins of yarn I had ordered from their Chickadee line. First up is the Snap Peas colorway for Anjali's Snow Drops and Snap Peas shawl, followed by the Nasturtium colorway for the same shawl, requested by Reema. The colors are so vivid and eye-catching aren't they?

The last three to come out of the paper bag were the Peacock, Twig and Clay colorways that Alexandra wanted for her Moody Kerchief shawl.

I'll update on the rest of the yarn for the giveaway shawls when I receive them, and also keep you updated on the progress of each shawl when I start working on them.

Check out the post I did on My First Giveaway, and the Quince & Co Chickadee line, and let me know what pattern you would have chosen, and what colors you would have liked for your shawl.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

Fall Sheila and Black Anthro custom order available in Etsy Shop

2011-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finished another version of the Red Sheila pattern, this one called "Fall Sheila", because the yarn colors remind me of fall. This scarf was also knit in Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica, and I must say that I love the colors that pop out of this yarn. I'm really loving working with this yarn. At 7.5 inches wide and 6 feet long, this scarf can be worn all through fall, and also during the spring. "Fall Sheila" is available in my Etsy shop for $30.

Another project I completed was a black version of the Anthro-Inspired Scarflet that Giovanna requested. It's worked in Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn, and came out so soft and squooshy that I can't help squeezing the scarf (and the yarn ball) over and over again. I hope Giovanna enjoys her scarf.
PS: I took a stab at modeling this time. I didn't enjoy it, and I don't think I make as lovely a model as my friend Caroline does in the Fall Sheila pictures.

Let's have a quick poll: So far I've done a Red Sheila, a Mermaid Sheila and now the Fall sheila. In what other colors would you like to see this scarf?

Yinka's Scarf

2011-06-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

My friend Anna gave me this yarn in 2009, and at first I was stumped as to what to do with it. When my sister-in-law came to visit me after my son was born, I decided to knit a scarf for her to say thank you. She wanted a scarf knit in this yarn. Upon completion I realized the scarf was about 12 feet long! If you would like a super long scarf to wrap around your neck during the cool fall, or drape around your neck when your office airconditioning is too high in the summer, this is the scarf for you. Made with acrylic yarn, this scarf is machine washable, making it very easy to care for. The scarf has now been listed in my Etsy Shop for only $15.

Strawberry Lemon Sorbet, or Summer is Finally Here

2011-06-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Summer has finally reached the Bay Area with temperatures hitting 90 degrees Fahrenheit and above. As such, this is going to be another short and sweet post (because it's too hot to be behind a computer. :P). I knit this scarf over a year ago in some luscious cotton yarn for the summer, but I never got around to blocking, photographing and listing it. Here it is now. The scarf will be up in my Etsy shop soon for $10. Very reasonable no? Be stylish and keep cool this summer with this long skinny scarf knit with fun colors in cotton yarn. The scarf is 4 inches wide and about 7 feet long. As usual, here the pictures.

Green, Teal and Lavender scarf available in Etsy shop

2011-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

This week's posting is going to be short and sweet. I finally have something new up in my Etsy shop. It's a green, teal and lavender scarf version of my "Red Sheila" pattern, knit in Manos del Uruguay yarn. Here's the link to the listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/76045223/green-blue-teal-and-lavender-mermaid. So beautiful and simple to knit. I won't talk about it anymore. I'll just let the pictures do their job. Enjoy! :)

Mermaid Sea Urchin, a year in the making

2011-06-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

In the words of Usher "these are my confessions....". I started this blouse for my MIL last year, when she came over to help us with the little poopoola. June last year to be precise. I just finished it this past Sunday. It's been exactly a year since I started this project. There's nothing else to say about that. I have some projects that I started 2 years ago and I'm still not done, so this isn't too bad. Hehehe...

The pattern is Sea Urchin by Ilga Leja. I used the exact yarn she used in her pattern, Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino Dream in the Mermaid colorway, hence the name Mermaid Sea Urchin. I must say I'm quite impressed with myself, because I hate sewing, and I'm not too good at it. I've been avoiding making tops and cardigans and all that because of having to seam the ends together. (I know there are tops that can be knit in the round. I'll be exploring those soon.) I suppose you can see this project marks a new stage in my knitting career: knitting actual garments. So without much further ado, here is the Mermaid Sea Urchin, modeled by my lovely MIL.

BTW, I got a camera!! A Nikon Coolpix L120. It's beautiful, and takes beautiful pictures. Now I don't have any more excuses for crappy photos, and I don't have to bother my favorite paparazzo who is currently...ahem, indisposed. Yay! Okay, more pictures.

The Mitts are done!!

2011-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the Fallberry Mitts by Anne Hanson for Alyssa. I used Malabrigo Silky Merino in Amoroso colorway, with US #2 dpns (double point needles). Once I sat down to finish the mitts, they just flew off my needles. I'm really excited with the finished project. I think I would like to make one more pair in another color. My photographer is back now, and we got a lovely model to help with the pictures. :)

Some Yarn-y Goodness

2011-05-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love yarn. My stash bears testament to this fact, as do the numerous hours I spend each week looking for good deals on yarn. I recently made some lovely yarn purchases and I couldn't wait to share it with you all. I bought some of them from WEBS and others from some lovely fellow knitters on Ravelry. So here they are. I'll try to put the yarns next to the pattern I have in mind for them. Let's see how this goes.

The first up is the Mirasol Tupa yarn in Purple, which I hope to use for the Chiton Pullover by Melissa Wehrle. I love the pattern style, and I'm ready to knit a real clothing item for myself. I'm terrible at sewing and this pattern is knit in the round with no seaming required, so I think I actually might end up making the blouse. :)

I've been meaning to try out Berroco Vintage yarn, and so when my friend Elf placed an order for my Fall Breeze Shawl, I thought "Why not"? So here is some Berroco Vintage in Buttercream (yum yum!), and a picture of the Fall Breeze Shawl that I designed. Woo-hoo!

I also got some more Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica to make more versions of my Red Sheila scarf. The colorways are Mermaid and Caribe. I've already started knitting a sample in the Mermaid colorway. It's so beautiful.

Next is some luscious Malabrigo lace in Purple Mystery, which I'm planning to use for Annis by Susanna IC, for a certain someone with initials KB. I want it to be a surprise.

Hold on, hold on. Just two more. I have another Malabrigo lace yarn in the Cactus Flower colorway, which I can't wait to use for the Citron pattern by Hilary Smith Callis.

And finally, I have some Jaggerspun Zephyr, which is 50% wool, 50% silk in their Admiral Blue colorway. This yarn will make a lovely Geodesic Cardigan, by Connie Chang Chinchio.

I hope you enjoyed my yarn tales as much as I did. Next week, hopefully the finished Fallberry Mitts. :)

PS: Just for fun, here's some Berroco Vintage in Sunny colorway for my friend Zeina Newman. :)

Tease me, tease me, tease me baby

2011-05-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, I ripped my post title from the Chaka Demus and Pliers 1993 song "Tease Me". But it IS pretty fitting for today's post. I have two teaser pictures of new patterns I've been working on, and a picture of Anne Hanson's Fallberry Mitts which I'm currently knitting for my friend Alyssa.

I'm hoping to submit the two new patterns to KnitPicks as I think their new Tonal Worsted yarn line would be great for the patterns.

DISCLAIMER: My photographer is still indisposed and I still haven't managed to buy my own fancing SLR camera, so these are pictures using my phone. I apologize for the bad quality. I'll make it up to you all soon with some drool-worthy pictures.

I'm almost done with one of the Fallberry Mitts. My goal is to finish them this coming weekend so Alyssa gets them next week.

That's A LOT of pink isn't it? Anyway, that's all I have for you this week. I hope to have more exciting stuff and fun pictures next week.

PS: If you are a winner in the giveaway, please contact me ASAP so we can make plans for your lovely knitted gift. I'm ordering some yarn and would to batch order and save on shipping.

Pink Anthropologie-like scarf

2011-05-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Stacey D. asked for one of these, the Anthro-Inspired Scarflet by Kim Seio. It's a lovely, lovely pattern and I had a great time knitting this scarf. The yarn I used was Waterlily by Classic Elite Yarns, Color #1919. It was beautiful to knit with and the finished scarf is so soft. I hope Stacey likes it.

Free Pattern - Pretty Little Thing

2011-05-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to get a foot in the designing door by offering one of my patterns for sale on Ravelry. Unfortunately it's been one year and no one has taken the bait yet. I guess there are hundreds of thousands of patterns available on the site and my pattern got lost in the lot. Anyway, I'm offering the pattern for free now on Ravelry. The pattern is "Pretty Little Thing", a scarf that includes some little feminine details to make any lady feel like the pretty little thing they are. Pictures are by Irene of livedstories, and the model is my lovely MIL, Evelyne.

And the winners are....

2011-04-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

The three designs you all picked are:

1. With 35 votes, the Snow Drops and Snap Peas Shawl

2. With 24 votes, the High Line Shawl

3. With 19 votes, the Moody Kerchief

You are all so amazing for voting, and to show my appreciation, I'm going to give away gifts to 6 people instead of the 3 as originally planned. The lovely people who will be getting a custom knit item are....drumroll please.....Anuli, Vero, Alexandra, Meg, Kenyandesi and Reema! Congratulations to you ladies! Please email me at niseyknits@gmail.com with your address and your specifications. Thank you all once again, and please subscribe to my blog to be notified of other giveaways!

Enjoy the rest of the week. :)

My First Giveaway: Help me choose three patterns

2011-04-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite designers is Kirsten Kapur, who has a lovely blog called "Through The Loops" that I'm currently following. Now Kirsten is celebrating her Birthday/Blogiversary with a sale of her beautiful patterns: buy 2 patterns, get a 3rd free. She has SOOOOOO MANY beautiful patterns that I just can't decide which ones I want. I would love your input on which three patterns to get from Kirsten's shop. And to sweeten the deal, here's my giveaway details: if you comment on this post and pick which pattern you think I should purchase, you will be placed in a drawing to win your own custom handknit version of the design you picked!! Now ain't that sweet! Spread the word people. Three people will be winning some sweet handmade items from my store.

And here are the contestants:

1. Andrea's Shawl and Mitts

2. High Line Shawl

3. Moody Kerchief

4. Snow Drops and Snap Peas Shawl

5. Ulmus Rectangle

6. Roma Shawl

The pictures are used with the permission of Kirsten Kapur. So pick, 1, 2, 3, heck, rank all 6 patterns in order of preference, and help make my decision easier! The deadline for commenting is Tuesday April 26th at 11:59pm PST. I'll put up the results of the winning patterns in next week's blog entry.

Multidirectional Scarf madness

2011-04-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

I made all these scarves using the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern by Karen Baumer. The finished scarves are listed for sale on my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NiseyKnits

This is such an intuitive, easy pattern that I just fall back to it whenever I want to knit outside but don't to carry a pattern or a book around. I just love it! Now for the pictures....courtesy of livedstories

The Necklace Saga - Part 2: Gold Crochet Necklace

2011-04-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Yaawireds loves anything in yellow. It's serious. So when she saw a cute crocheted necklace and realized I could crochet somewhat, she asked me to make one for her. Ever ready for a challenge, I said yes, and we went yarn hunting. Oh yeah!! We found this lovely Mirasol Yarn Tupa in a yellow colorway that looks like spun gold. Oooooweeee! I went crazy with joy. Sorry sorry, back to the necklace.

This pattern is simply titled Crochet Necklace, and is offered for free by a Ravelry user called creativeyarn. Here are the end results of my foray into the world of crochet. The model is Yaawireds herself, who got to take the finished item home after the photoshoot. The rest of the yarn will be used to make a lovely shawl for her.

PS: My photographer was not available, so I had to make do with an old digital camera. The difference in quality is so clear, isn't it?

The Necklace Saga - Part 1: Little Green Scarflet

2011-04-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Of late I'm into knitted or crocheted necklaces. For the past three times or so when either the Gospel Choir or Celebration Choir at my church have ministered, I've knitted a little something to wear around my neck (I'm in both choirs). I can't put the first necklace up as yet because it's a personal pattern and I'm hoping to get it published in one of the knitting magazines. If that doesn't work out, I'll self-publish it here and on the Ravelry site. But, I will share with you the second neck thingy. :)

This scarf is is the Soft Linen Little Leaf Scarf by Pam Allen, which was featured in Classic Elite #9086 - Make it Modern Booklet. I bought this booklet in 2008 and I hadn't made anything from it until this scarflet. When I was told the choir would be wearing green, I felt I had no option but to make myself this little beauty. My friend Yaawireds graciously agreed to model for me. I hope you like it.

PS: My usual photographer wasn't available so I had to use my old digital camera. I'm giving serious thought to investing in an SLR camera for myself.

Test Knitting - The Tree and Arbor Wrap by Michelle Miller

2011-03-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Mid last year, I got the opportunity to test knit the "Tree and Arbor Wrap" by Michelle Miller. This pattern was really easy and intuitive, and I would love to make it again. I used KnitPicks Palette yarn in the Peach colorway, but I found it too pale, so I overdyed the shawl after I finished knitting it. I used McCormick and Wilton food dyes, and white vinegar to set the dye and make the shawl colorfast. It came out a beautiful burnt orange color, almost like the setting sun. I gave this shawl to a friend who had just undergone chemotherapy for cancer. As always, pictures are courtesy of Irene N. of livedstories

Trying my hand at making headbands

2011-03-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Making a headband shouldn't be hard after making lace shawls and such. But you never know what knitting style is going to stump you. So, my cousin came to visit us this past Christmas, and she was such a great help around the house and with the poopoola that I decided to knit her something. She chose the Flower Headband Earwarmer by Elise McLaughlin, which I made with some gorgeous Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Paints in a Pink/Purple Variegated yarn. The yarn looks like a bowl of berries. Deliciousness! Here are a few pictures of this experiment. Sorry I don't have really great pictures. That's my head in the picture. Don't laugh. :)

Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl in Madelinetosh Merino Light

2011-03-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love the Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark. And to get to make it in madelinetosh Tosh merino light yarn is the icing on my knitting cake. :) So, when my friend Lynn asked for a shawl in this same pattern, in a cobalt blue yarn (Lapis colorway), I jumped at the opportunity. Here are the beautiful results of this great pattern/delicious yarn collaboration!

Green Aviatrix

2011-03-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

A number of people have been telling me that Andrew's hat was getting old, and hinting not so subtly that I should make him a new one. I finally felt motivated to make him that new hat a couple of weeks ago. The pattern is "Aviatrix baby hat" by Justine Turner. I made it in the Olive green colorway of Louisa Harding Kashmir Baby yarn. The yarn has quite a few plies on it so it got caught on the sharp needle tips. However the finished product is so soft and squishy. I can't wait to make something for myself with this yarn! Pictures are by Irene of LivedStories, and the model is my little poopoola. :)

Updated version of Long Way Scarf

2010-09-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

My pattern "Long Way Scarf" was designed on the fly, as I had all this extra yarn I wanted to get rid of. I just completed a scarf order using this pattern, and so I've subsequently modified it. I'm going to post some pictures of that scarf, and update the post with the pattern itself. Thanks to Irene Nyavor of LivedStories for the lovely pictures!

Nurse Appreciation Scarf 2 - For Sheila

2010-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Nurse Sheila was my night nurse, and she was extremely patient with me when I struggled to learn how to breastfeed Andrew while he was crying up a storm. She and nurse Della put up with my numerous requests for more and more ice. This scarf is for her.

Red Sheila

This pattern uses the basic feather and fan pattern from "The Harmony Guide: Lace and Eyelets" with a large size needle to create a soft, squishy scarf that is of a sizable length

Notions

Manos Del Uruguay Wool Classica, Flame Colorway (115) - 1.5 skeins or any other worsted/aran weight yarn, approximately 207 yards
US #11 (8mm)
Crochet hook
Darning/tapestry needle

Feather and Fan Pattern (multiple of 18 + 2)
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: K1, *k2tog(3x), [yo, k1](6x), k2tog(3x)*, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 4: Knit

SCARF
Cast on 24 stitches (18+2 for pattern, two border stitches on each end.)
Knit 2 rows, slipping the last stitch of each row purlwise.
Start Feather and Fan pattern, keeping two border stitches on each end and making sure to slip last border stitch of each row purlwise.
Knit Scarf until desired length, ending with Row 4 of feather and fan pattern.
Knit 2 rows, and bind off loosely. Weave in ends of the yarn with tapestry needle.

Optional Fringe: Cut 20 (or 40 for a thicker fringe) 10inch pieces of yarn, and with a crochet hook, attach 10 pieces to each end to create fringe.

Nurse Appreciation Scarf 1 - For Della

2010-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had some amazing nurses during my labor and delivery and also my post-partum stay at Stanford Hospital. In appreciation, I decided to do what? Knit each of them a scarf. Here is the first one, for Della, a lovely nurse who is as bubbly and friendly as I am. We got along extremely well, like fire and petrol! :)

The scarf is a combination of two drop stitch techniques separated by long stretches of garter stitch. I'm thinking of writing it up but I am a little tired right now. :( Maybe later. :)

Blue Shetland Triangle Shawl

2010-06-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

A very, very lovely lady at our church, Pattie Q., was so gracious to me throughout my pregnancy. She gave me a car seat for Andrew, and a Fisher-Price swing that has been a lifesaver! When she gave me these two things in December, I immediately went out and bought yarn to make a shawl for her (what else is new?). I went back and forth on what pattern to use, and never got around to it till two weeks ago. Even then, I changed the pattern at the last minute and switched to the Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark. I've been meaning to knit this pattern for someone else for a while, but I was always daunted by the lace charts and the provisional crochet cast on. Well, it was EASY! So easy I'm a little embarrassed and annoyed with myself that I took so long to make it. And the resulting shawl is absolutely stunning. My friend Irene was kind enough to take the pictures, and I sort of "bullied" my mother-in-law to model it for me. Take a look at the pictures and tell me what you think. I hope Pattie likes it. I think I'll make one for my mother-in-law also. :)

For my son, Andrew

2010-05-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting pictures of my son. Here is a posting about things I knitted for him, with pictures included. :)

I made a bargain with Andrew before he was born, that he would allow me to finish his baby blanket before he popped out. However, my beautiful little one decided he was tired of being in the womb and came out 4 days before he was due. The funny part of this is that when my water broke, I was actually working on his blanket. Needless to say, the blanket was put aside for quite a while.

After he was born, we realized that all the hats we had for him were either too big or too small, so I decided to knit a hat for him. My hat also turned out a little on the big side, but I made it so he has to wear it. LOL!

We had a pseudo-outdooring ceremony for him two weeks after he was born, and my sister-in-law Yinka took some lovely pictures of him wearing the hat I knit him. The pattern I used is Simple Baby Hat by Alison Williams. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and this quick introduction to my son, Andrew. :)

Josie's Wisp - Hand Knit Stole

2010-03-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last year, at the end of July, was my friend Josie L.'s birthday. I started a scarf for her the week before her birthday, and then somehow stopped knitting it when I was halfway through. (The pattern is Wisp by Cheryl Niamath.) I finally finished the scarf about a month ago, and then it languished in my project basket for a hot minute before I finally blocked it two weeks ago. LOL! After blocking, it took a brief nap in my project basket again before I finally photographed it today! So, here is the scarf that's taken me more than half a year to complete. Shame on you Denise, Shame on you!!

Big Mess Again - Hand Knit Scarf

2010-03-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

I made this scarf for my dear friend Lauren K. after she saw the one I made for Seyram. It's also using the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern by Karen Baumer.

Berry Lacey Scarf

2010-03-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

UPDATED 1/17/2012: I've uploaded a pdf of this pattern onto Ravelry. You can also download the pdf here: Berry Lacey Scarf.

This pattern is not totally original. I was playing around with some drop stitch patterns, knit this scarf, and thought I liked the way it looked. Here we go.

Finished Size
6in x 7ft

Yarn
Malabrigo Yarn Silky Merino (51% silk, 49% merino; 150yd [137 m]/50 g [1.76oz]): Intenso colorway, 1 skein

Tools
US #11 (8 mm) straight or circular needles
US #13 (9 mm) straight or circular needles
Tapestry/yarn needle

Pattern Instructions
Set Up
Using the #13 needles, cast on 17 stitches. Switch to the #11(8mm) needles. Knit 4 rows, then continue with the row by row instructions.

Scarf

Row 1: K1, *K1, yo*, repeat from * to * until last 2 stitches, K1, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)

Row 2: K1,*K1, drop yo*, repeat from * to * until last 2 stitches, K1, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)

Row 3 & 4: Knit all stitches till last stitch, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)
Row 5: K1, *K1, yo 2x*, repeat from * to * until last 2 stitches, K1, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)
Row 6: K1,*K1, drop yo*, repeat from * to * until last 2 stitches, K1, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)
Row 7 & 8: Knit all stitches till last stitch, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)
Row 9: K1, *K1, yo, K1, yo twice*, repeat from * to * until last 2 stitches, K1, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)
Row 10: K1,*K1, drop yo*, repeat from * to * until last 2 stitches, K1, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)
Row 11 & 12: Knit all stitches till last stitch, slip last stitch with yarn in front (purlwise)

Continue in pattern until scarf is desired length, ending on row 12. Knit 2 more rows and bind off with US #13 needle.

Finishing
Soak and block, and enjoy the beautiful, long, lacy scarf. :)

Cherry Blossom Wristers

2010-03-04T00:55:00.000-08:00

My friend Christelle saw the wristers I had made for Stacey D. and wanted a pair in brown but with pink trim. I didn't think they would come out nicely but they are beautiful! Once again, Malabrigo's Silky Merino was a dream to work with. I really, really love this yarn. The pattern for the Salad Wristers is by Alexandra Tinsley. It's also available on Ravelry.com. :)

Two scarves on sale in my Etsy shop

2010-02-23T13:04:00.000-08:00

I finished two drop stitch scarves that I'm selling on my etsy shop. Check them out!! http://NiseyKnits.etsy.com.

This second one in variegated jade tones is much longer than the blue one above (7ft long!!).

Flame Scarf is done!

2010-02-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

Here is the flame scarf that goes with the Flame Thorpe I made for Sagine. The pattern for the scarf is "Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks" by beforesunrise. It can also be found on Ravelry here. Please forgive my pictures. The sky was overcast when I took them.

Fluornoy Ascot

2010-02-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post about this one. I made it for LaSundra. The pattern is the Huckleberry Ascot by Kat Coyle. It was published by Interweave Press, and I've been coveting it for a while. They finally re-published it in an Interweave Knits Accessories 2009 so I bought a copy of that magazine. There are so many lovely patterns in there, including the Koolhaas hat pattern by Jared Flood. I used Rowan Pure Wool DK for the Ascot.

Aah...Red-Hot Citron

2010-02-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

Citron is the current rage on Ravelry. (Pattern's original location is here, on the Knitty.com page). This pattern is simple and beautiful, and gives you a lace garment that just makes you happy. I had promised Lisa D a red shawl some months ago, and the Citron pattern from the winter 2010 Knitty magazine was just perfect. I put it down many times to work on other projects, but it's finally done. I'm definitely going to make at least one
more of these.

I gave this one a picot edging, which seemed like a great idea at the time. However, the bind off took maybe two days because of that. :( The yarn I used is Knit Picks Shadow in Hot Rod Heather colorway. :) Hotness!!!

Flame Thorpe

2010-02-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

My second hat, going to Sagine. And it has earflaps! The pattern is Thorpe, by Kirsten Kapur. This hat was so quick to knit, and so much fun! I want to make more! Someone PLEASE ask me to make one for you! The hat is beautiful, and looks good on many people. (Trust me!). I used Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica in the Flame colorway, hence the name. The purple edging is with Malabrigo Silky Merino in the Nocturnal colorway. There's a matching scarf that I'll put up once it's done blocking and I've taken some yummy photos of it. (BTW, aren't the pictures beautiful!! I used the Google Nexus One phone, and the camera is better than my digital camera!)

So, ladies and gentlemen, here is the Flame Thorpe!

The Lustra Falling Water scarf

2010-02-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

Continuing my love affair with the Falling Water pattern by Bonnie Sennott, I finally finished this beauty that's going to Vedalyn. It's absolutely gorgeous. I used Berroco Lustra yarn, and the stitch definition is amazing! Enjoy!

Warning: The pictures might make you drool! :P

The big multi-colored mess

2010-01-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

Now I know the name of this blog doesn't sound promising, and I must tell you that the beginning of this scarf was less than auspicious.

I started out knitting a totally different scarf, but my hubby and my sister both pointed out that the yarn colors looked washed out, even though they were the blue and green shades Seyram wanted. I didn't know what to do now.

Then I remembered that I had some old Malabrigo worsted weight in lettuce (I love that yarn, and especially in that color! And don't get me started on the Malabrigo Silky Merino!! To die for!) So anyway, I picked the two yarns up, and decided on the Multidirectional Scarf by Karen Baumer. It's also on Ravelry if you want to queue it for your next project.

I started out slowly, and the yarn seemed a little resistant. But I kept going because I didn't want to undo another project. The Crystal Palace Merino Stripes yarn is nice, but it's really trying to frog and re-wind for another project. I finally finished the scarf in late December and after blocking, it came to over 7 feet long and about 8inches wide. I asked Seyram to send me some pictures of her wearing the scarf and I am quite pleased to say that it looks warm and thick. I hope she likes it though. :)

Long Way Scarf

2009-08-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

So this is not a very well thought out pattern or anything. I had just a few yards of yarn left over from a blanket I made for some friends, Kwasi and Irene, and I wanted to get the yarn out of the stash. Thus, the Long Way Scarf was born.

Sept 27th, 2010: I reworked the pattern and I'm now updating it with new yarn and pictures.

Long Way Scarf

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore (Worsted Weight) in charcoal grey, 200yds - 2 skeins held double; Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Superwash in green, 218yds - 0.5 skein
Needles: US #13 circular
Notions: Crochet needle E/4-3.50mm
Finished Measurements: 6 inches x 68 inches (including fringe)

Cast on 160 sts or more depending on how long you want the scarf.
Knit about 20-30 rows in garter stitch and bind off loosely.
With the crochet needle, and using the contrast yarn, crochet one row in single crochet across.
Switching to the main yarn, crochet two rows and end.
With a mix of both yarns, cut 10 inch strips of yarn, and with the crochet hook, make loops with two of the strips (one of each color) along the shorter edge to creat the fringe.
Block scarf based on content of the yarn.

Note: My yarn was acrylic, so I steam blocked my scarf using a wet towel and a hot iron. This scarf is very easy, and you can finish it in a day if you so choose.

Enjoy!

Note: The brown and cream scarf is the old version. The updated version is the grey and green scarf.

Evelyne

2009-08-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

I came up with this shawl design as a gift for my mother-in-law. It is a good stash buster if you have one skein of mohair yarn hanging out somewhere in your house. Enjoy!!

Evelyne

Yarn: Madil Kid Seta, blue colorway, approx. 237yds

Needle size: US 10 and US 11

Final Measurements: 16in x 48in

Lace pattern

Row 1: Edge sts, *yo, k2tog, k2, rep from * to edge sts, edge sts

Row 2 & 4: Edge sts, *purl to edge sts, edge sts

Row 3: Edge sts, k2, *yo, k2tog, k2, rep from * to edge sts, edge sts

Shawl pattern

Cast on 60sts with the size 11 needle.

Work 4 border rows in garter stitch with the size 11 needle.

Main body

A: Work 3 repeats of lace pattern with size 10 needle, keeping 4 edge sts in garter stitch at each end.

B: Now work 12 rows in garter stitch with size 11 needle.

Repeat sections A and B until shawl is desired length, ending with a lace pattern section.

Then work 4 rows in garter stitch, bind off loosely with size 11 needle, and block the shawl.

PS: My shawl had 7 repeats of the lace pattern, and 6 repeats of the garter stitch.

For KD and Gifty's wedding

2009-07-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

I made myself a little shawlette, from the pattern "Storm Cloud Shawlette" by Hanna Breetz. I called mine "Red Storm Cloud" (teeheehee) because it was red. :) I just realized I never posted about it, so here it is.

Yellow Elise

2009-07-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this baby blanket for a hot minute, for Audrey. Yes, Nana Elise arrived a few months ago, I know, but I'm almost done. It's just that picking up stitches on the edge of the baby blanket to knit is soooooo darn hard!

I reckon it takes me about three hours just to finish one edge, and that's one whole evening of knitting! Can you blame me if I take a prolonged break before tackling the next edge? Oh well, here are some pics to whet your appetite. :)

Personalized tags for my knitted items

2009-07-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

I ordered these clothing tags for my knitting from JennifersJewels on www.etsy.com.

They are gorgeous, and I love using them. I don't like sewing them on as much because I am horrible with a sewing needle and thread.

Falling Water in Sumatra

2009-07-20T16:10:00.002-07:00

I have just discovered Argosy Luxury Yarns, and my, are they luxurious! The yarn is soft and lovely to work with, and just delicious to look at! Yummy! If I could eat yarn, you know I'll be all over this yarn. The one I used for my sister's scarf is from their Hanna Sport line, and the colorway I chose is called "Sumatra." I used the Falling Water scarf pattern by Bonnie Sennott, which is one of my all-time favorite patterns. I think I will end up making about 5 scarves with this pattern before I get satisfied. :) The count is now at 2. The pictures are not the very best quality. :( I'll see if we can get some nicer pictures from my sister.

Leftover scarflette - Free Scarf Knitting Pattern

2009-07-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

After finishing Min's scarf, I had a bit of the Merino Mia yarn left over so I improvised a quick, skinny scarf. Here's the pattern if you have some leftover yarn that's less than 100yds and you want to do something with it. It utilizes the fishnet lace pattern and a simple garter stitch.

Leftover Scarflette Pattern

Needles: US #7 or whatever size you want. The larger the needles, the airier your scarf.

Cast on 14 stitches or any multiple of 2 stitches.

Knit 2 rows.

Fishnet Lace Row: K3, *yo, k2tog, rep from * to last 3 stitches, K3

Repeat this lace row about 20 times, then switch to garter stitch and just knit 30 rows straight.

Repeat these two sections until the scarflette is as long as you want it, or you are almost out of yarn. Then knit 2 rows, and bind off. :) Enjoy!!

I blocked the scarflette by soaking it in a bucket of water with a few drops of Eucalan wool wash (or you can use a few drops of shampoo) for about 2 hours (30minutes or more is generally recommended), gently wringing the water out, rinsing it out in a bucket of clean water, and then blocking it to make it as open as I could. :)

Min-ee Wiki is done!

2009-07-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

I finally finished Min's scarf using the Drop Stitch scarf pattern that I seem to be addicted to. I cast on 36 stitches, and then introduced 8 rows of stockinette stitch after doing 8 repetitions of the drop stitch pattern. This was my third drop stitch scarf and so I wanted to change it up a bit.

This yarn, Prism's Merino Mia, is like a chameleon! It felt a little hard and unyielding when I bought it, and I wasn’t sure how it would come out in a scarf. After soaking it and blocking it though, it became so soft and airy! The finished product is just amazing! I tell you, blocking is awesome. Although it takes a while, it really does finish your project realy well. :) It's a gorgeous, soft scarf, and I hope Min likes it. :) Plus, it's really long! All of 82 inches.

My love affair with the Drop Stitch Scarf pattern

2009-06-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

I've fallen in love with the Drop Stitch scarf pattern by Christine Vogel. I am on my third drop stitch pattern in three weeks, and I'm very sure that I'll be making at least one more item using that pattern. LOL! You've all seen the stole I made in the Amethyst colorway of RYC SoftLux. I also made a scarf out of one skein of Malabrigo Silky Merino, in the Viena colorway. That yarn is sooooooooooooooooooooooo soft!! Wow! Just a pleasure to knit with. I didn't want to put it down for any length of time. Mm-hmm! Now I'm working on a scarf for my dear friend Min, using Merino Mia from Prism yarns. Enjoy!!

These first two pictures are of the scarf in the Malabrigo Silky Merino yarn, Viena colorway.

These two are of Min's scarf in Prism Yarns Merino Mia. I'm still working on it and hope to be done with it this week.

Hector Plahar Photography

2009-06-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Our friend Hector Plahar, who also lives in the Bay Area with us, is the one I asked to take the pictures of my knitting. All the professional looking pictures are his handiwork, and I must say that I really love his work. If you need someone to take some pictures for you - at an occasion or just for fun, and you live in the Bay Area, just let me know and I'll put him in touch with you. I know he will quote you some reasonable prices. Here are some pictures he took of my yarn and some works in progress, that I just love. He also made the postcard that's the first picture.

The first lace item I knitted

2009-06-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

This pattern is Wisp by Cheryl Niamath. It was featured on the online knitting magazine knitty.com a few years ago. The first time I made it, it was for my mother-in-law. I finished the main pattern, but I wanted to knit a different edging for it. I haven't finished that and that particular project has been hibernating for about two years now. :(

Model: Megan May
Photographer: Hector Plahar

However, just last year, I made the purple version to wear for Irene and Kwasi's wedding on August 08, 2008. As I usually do, I cast on for this shawl a week before the wedding, and I finished it THE MORNING OF the wedding, while my hair was being done! Imagine that! It is a very simple pattern, and I loved working it, but I wanted to make it more fun, so I added the Falling Leaves pattern from the Harmony Guide Lace patterns book, and included some gold beads! :) It was fun!

Amethyst Drop Stitch Stole

2009-06-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

I got this pattern from Ravelry, and the pattern is the Drop Stitch Scarf by Christine Vogel. It's gorgeous! I used 2 skeins of RYC Soft Lux in Amethyst Colorway! Oh, and I knit this in 10 days. Yeah!!!