Monthly Archives: February 2015

Pattern: Maritime Facecloth

The patterns just keep coming! And this one is free!

As part of Knit Picks’ “52 Weeks of Dishcloths” series, I’ve designed a brand-spanking new washcloth, and it’s available for free from the KP website.

The Maritime Facecloth is a generously-sized square of squishy garter stitch bordered by an unbroken cable. Knit in silky Knit Picks Comfy Sport, this washcloth is perfect for even the most delicate skin, and makes a fabulous gift. The Maritime Facecloth is knit on the bias, with two cables worked as you go. To finish, a few stitches of Kitchener stitch join the cables into a beautiful unbroken border.

Not in the mood for a fancy-pants spa washcloth? Use regular old Peaches ‘n’ Cream (I know you’ve got a ball or two hiding in your stash. Everyone does) and make a very cool dishrag. Or, if you want to try something a bit bigger, I think this pattern would make a really nice baby blanket (or an afghan, if you’re really persistent!). Just follow the pattern, repeating the increase rows until your knitting is big enough!

You can get the Maritime Facecloth pattern here!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

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Today’s the day! Today’s the day! I get to give away two copies of the most fabulous Knit Picks Spring 2015 Accessories Collection!

Let’s just say, the response to this giveaway has been fairly crazy (Hello, new readers! Welcome!). The traffic on the blog has jumped by several hundred hits the last couple days, and over 80 people put their names in the hat for the giveaway!

That’s amaze-balls. (It’s a technical term.)

I typed out everyone’s names, printed them out, cut them up into little slips, and folded up each one. I pulled out my favorite ceramic yarn bowl (isn’t it pretty?) and mixed them up.

I closed my eyes and pulled out two names. (Drum roll, please!)

First- to win the physical book:

Congratulations Linda! Soon you’ll be able to flip through this awesome book and knit whatever you want!

And, the second draw, for the ebook:

Congratulations, Denise! You get a copy of the ebook- all the pretty pictures and beautiful patterns, but without having to worry about it taking up space on your bookshelf!

Congrats, ladies! I’ve sent you emails, but if you don’t get them, let me know, and we’ll get it worked out.

If you didn’t win (sorry! I wish I could afford to give away books to everyone, but alas, I am not a millionaire), you can still get a copy of the Spring 2015 Accessories Collection here.

(And, I’ve got something else awesome (and free!) coming on Friday!)

Yarn Spotlight: Hawthorne

Ouch!

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At my “day job” (which hardly even counts as a day job, because it’s too much fun), I spend several hours each afternoon hanging out with elementary schoolers and teaching them how to use a sewing machine. It’s pretty rad. I love talking with them (they’re seriously goofy), and helping them figure out new skills. The best part is when they finish a project they are really proud of, and they go around, showing each other their awesome projects (I had a girl finish an owl-shaped backpack a month ago, and she’s so proud, she wears it to class each week).

But, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in sewing class. When you have more than a dozen 6- to 11-year-olds, sometimes things go wrong, especially with real-life sewing machines, scissors, pins and needles. Each week, we get a couple kids who poke themselves while pinning something and need a band-aid. Sometimes an especially tiny 6-year-old tries to carry their sewing machine and drops it on her toe. And I’ve even had a couple kids sew through their fingers with the sewing machine, while they weren’t paying attention. (I know… horrifying! They’re both OK now, though. Pro tip… always watch where your fingers go when you’re using a sewing machine.)

But usually, I manage to keep myself relatively injury-free. Sure, I poke myself with pins as much as the next person, but nothing bad, no scars or anything.

Until last week.

I reached into a bag of fabric which I thought was pin-free. It was not. The pin sliced a 1-inch gouge on the side of my right index finger. There was blood. It freaked out the kids. I had to step up and be all “No big deal, kids. It totally doesn’t hurt or anything.” But, I really wanted to be swearing like a sailor.

This cut is exactly where I wrap my yarn when I knit. (No!!) I had to forgo knitting for about a week, so I broke out a quilt that I started a while ago, and worked on that instead. It went well. I actually made quite a lot of progress on it. And, my finger was healing up nicely.

Until… the needle slipped and I sliced my finger open again. Same finger, same size injury, just shifted over about a half an inch. (I was at home, with no little kids around, so I swore loudly this time.)

So, I’m still on knitting bedrest, until my finger heals. And, I’ve got to say, it’s not super fun. I’ve still got that quilt to work on, but I’m itching to get back to my husband’s sweater, and a couple other projects I’ve been neglecting. If only it didn’t hurt so much to knit…

What do you do when you can’t knit?

(And, don’t forget to put your name in the hat for a copy of the Knit Picks Spring 2015 Collection! You have until Wednesday morning!)

Patterns: Dahlia Shawl and Puddle Jumper Socks AND a Giveaway!

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Holy crap, you guys! It’s finally here! Today’s the day I can FINALLY tell you about not one, but TWO patterns that I’ve been working on since May! AND, I get to hold my first ever On the Needles giveaway!

(I was going to try to play it cool, but I’m so excited, I can’t even pretend that I’m not freaking out.)

I have two patterns in the new KnitPicks Spring Collection. It’s a book. An actual, real-life book, and my patterns are printed in it.

For real. Here’s the cover (It’s not my pattern on the cover, but it’s still super cute!):

Want to see my patterns?

I’m totally in love with my Dahlia Shawl. I wear the prototype one all the time. It’s the perfect size to wear as a scarf, tucked into my coat, or as a shawl, wrapped around my shoulders. The modern lace edging is super easy to knit because it’s worked at the same time as the main body of the shawl. (And the yarn is merino and silk, and is totally gorgeous and drapes wonderfully.)

My second pattern in the collection are my super-cheerful Puddle Jumper Socks. They’re knit from the top down, with an afterthought heel, so they work up in no time. I love the stripe pattern, especially the way the third contrasting color really pops on the toe and heel.

So, I bet you’ve guessed what the giveaway is.

I’ve got two copies of the 2015 Spring Accessories Collection (one paper book and one ebook) to give away to two lucky readers. (It really is a great collection-there are lots of fabulous patters, not just mine. I particularly like the Pyra Mitts, the Modular Triangle Shawl and the Charm City Socks.)

If you want to try and win a copy, comment below and tell me what you’d knit first if you won the book! (Don’t post your address or anything-we’ll figure that all out later.) I’ll pick the winner at random in one week (on 2/25).

Good luck! (Now I need to go drink a nice, calming cup of tea.)

Husband Sweater: The Body

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My husband’s sweater is coming along (slowly, but I’m still making progress). It’s looking pretty good, if I say so myself.

I split off the arms a while ago and have been working on the body.

See?

I actually modified the body a bit from the pattern, which should make the sweater a little more fitted. When I was measuring my husband’s favorite cardigan to pick the size for this one, I noticed that the torso was slightly tapered. The chest measurement was 40″, while the waist was 36″ around.

I figured, why not add a little waist shaping into this sweater? That’s why we knit, right? To make beautiful, customized garments.

So, it was time to do some math (Yay!).

I knew I wanted to decrease 4″ (which comes to about 20 stitches, based on my gauge). And, I wanted to arrange the decreases in pairs underneath the armpits, along the “side seams” (this sweater is knit in the round, so there aren’t seams, but you can imagine where they would be). This means, that each time I work a decrease row, I’m decreasing 4 stitches (2 under each arm).

So: 20 decreases total / 4 decreases per row = 5 decrease rows.

I wanted the decrease rows to be spread evenly down the torso. Based on the Emilien pattern, there are 88 rows between the armpits and the top of the hem ribbing.

So: 88 rows total / 5 decrease rows = 17.6

Because you can’t knit .6 of a row, round to 18. So, I work a decrease row (decreasing 4 stitches under the arms) every 18th row (ish).

A couple inches doesn’t seem like it’d make a lot of difference, but you’d be surprised. Adding just a few k2togs will change this sweater from a standard, boxy cardigan to a cool, slightly fitted one. I hope my husband will like it!

Happy Blog-Day To Me

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On The Needles is two! It’s going to start throwing temper tantrums soon. (Or whatever it is that two-year-olds do.)

It’s been fun, you guys. I really didn’t expect this blog to go very far, and two years later, I’m still writing it three times a week (I think I’ve only missed one day, but I’m not even sure about that), and I’m getting hundreds of visitors every day. It’s kind of amazing.

I’m actually turning this whole knitting thing into a semi-legitimate job, too, which is something I didn’t expect, even in my wildest dreams. I never thought I would do anything knitting-related in my professional life, yet here I am. How awesome is that?

And, you guys, I have so much more awesome stuff coming up, you don’t even know! I can’t say what it is yet, but you should totally be sure to come back on Wednesday. I have a really exciting announcement and a super cool giveaway! (I know, right? A real, actual giveaway!) You’re totally going to want to get in on this.

So, keep reading, and I’ll keep writing, and together, we’ll keep knitting.

Inspiration: Heart Day!

People are actually pretty great.

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It’s been almost two weeks since the break-in at Casa del On the Needles, and things are going back to normal. We’ve upped security, filed a police report, and begun to replace the things that were taken. I’ll probably never get my class ring back, but I bought a new computer to replace my old one (which was on its last legs anyway). I didn’t even loose that much data-a couple half-finished patterns, and a few hours work on an intarsia chart, but nothing I can’t replace with a half-day of work.

And, I got a surprise package in the mail from my friends over at Knit Picks on Saturday.

Remember how I said the thieves took my set of interchangeable needles? Well, the lovely folks at Knitpicks (Hi Stacey!) took it on themselves to send me not one, but two replacements:

A set of gorgeous blue-green Caspian needles:And, a set of luminous Sunstruck needles:My old set were Caspians, and I’d used them for more than a year when they were stolen. I am a snob when it comes to needles, so I was a late adopter of the whole interchangeable needle thing. It seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth- wouldn’t the cable fall out? Wouldn’t the yarn snag on the joins? They couldn’t work as well as advertised.

But, I have to say, I absolutely love them. I use them for almost every project I make. Circulars are better on my wrists, and the dyed wood needles are fun (I’m a sucker for bright colors). And, there’s nothing better than deciding you need a US10.5 or a US5, or whatever your spur-of-the-moment project requires, and just going to your needle case and pulling out exactly what you want.

So, thanks, KnitPicks! I know these needles will get lots of use! (And, everyone else, I totally recommend getting a set of interchangeable needles.)

Pulled out of shape

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I have a sweater that I totally love. It’s flattering and a really pretty color. It goes with just about everything. I love wearing it.

But.

It gets pulls in it if you look at it wrong.

I don’t know if it’s the yarn or the stitch pattern, but something about this sweater makes it super easy to pull. Velcro on my backpack will totally mess it up, and I’ve accidentally zipped it in my rain coat more times than I would like to admit.

Luckily, pulls aren’t too hard to fix, if you’ve got two minutes and a tiny bit of patience.

First of all: Don’t cut them off!! (I’ve had folks offer to cut off my pulls, and that makes me freak out. There’s nothing scarier than a non-knitter coming at my favorite sweater with a pair of shears. Holes in my beautiful sweater? No! *Shudder*)

OK, so here’s my pull. It was kind of fluffy, because it got velcro-ed, so I tugged on it a little bit to straighten out the fibers in the pulled ply so I could see what I was doing.

This pull is only one ply of yarn, so I have to get the rest of the plys out of the knitting to match this problem one. Look at the knitting at the bottom of the pull to find the rest of the strand of yarn. See it there? (If your pull is a whole strand of yarn, skip this step.)

I used a tiny sock needle to really yank on the yarn to get the whole strand to match the single ply. This will seem wrong, disturbing and uncomfortable. It will look worse before it gets better, but I promise, it will get better.

Now, here comes the fun part. Look to either side of your super-duty pull. See where the stitches are all tight from all your yanking? Use your needle to start moving yarn from the pull to either side and loosening up the stitches.

Keep moving along, tugging the tight stitches and evening out the yarn to make them match the rest of your knitting.

Once you’ve gotten most (if not all) of the pull redistributed, give your knitting a good tug in a couple of direction to set the stitches.

And, voila! Your sweater is good as new!

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