Inspiration: Twin Trouble

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One of my dear friends just gave birth to not one, but two adorable little baby boys!  So, let’s all say a big warm welcome to the twins!  (And congratulations to their amazing (and probably exhausted) parents!)

In honor of the boys, let’s take a look at some double-trouble patterns!

This lovely afghan features entwined twin trees is so beautiful, a real heirloom in the making… but you’d have to make two, one for each of the boys… and that’s a lot of work.

Twin Trees Afghan by Shirley Rhyne

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These fraternal twin hats are completely darling!

Twin Baby Hats by Shayna Bright

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These sweaters are freaking fantastic!  Twin Power!

Twin Power Sweaters by Sarah E. White05.01_medium[1]Welcome to the world, baby boys!  I can’t wait to hang out with you and teach you how to knit (you know, once you master the language, sitting up, and all those little skills).

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

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Oh man, you guys.  It’s time!  Time to give away those free copies of Twist & Tweed!  I’m so excited!

75206DBut, before that, I just wanted to say that you’re all making me very wistful for autumn.  I can’t wait to do all the apple-picking, cider-sipping, forest-hiking and sweater-wearing that everyone has been talking about.  It’s just about killing me that it’s going to be in the 80s again today.  Oh well, I suppose we’ll get back to lovely rainy autumn days soon enough…  but patience was never my strong suit.

In the meantime, let’s get the drawing underway!

As of right now, 72 people entered the drawing, and I’ve got 2 copies of Twist & Tweed to give away– one e-book and one paper book.

Let’s go to the random number generator:

For the e-book:Capture 1Kristen!  You’ve won the e-book!  You can look at it while your apple pie is baking in the oven!

 

And for the paper book:

Capture 2Lana!  You’ve won a copy of the paper book!  You can take your book up north to your favorite apple farm and read it while sipping hot cider!

Congrats, ladies!  Keep an eye out for an email from me with the details!

If you want a copy of your own, head over to the Knit Picks website here!

For the Dogs

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So, you know the Woven Stitch I talked about last week?  Well.  I worked up a nice big square of woven stitch in big squishy Biggo yarn.  It measures about 2 and a half by 3 feet.  It’s thick and squishy and warm and lovely.  And it was going to be a fantastic new bathmat for the guest bathroom.

But Ollie had a different idea.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA(These are the best pictures I could get with him wiggling around and carrying his blanket around the house.)

So, it looks like Ollie has a new blanket.  (How could you say no to that face?) Whoops!

***OH!  And the Twist and Tweed giveaway has been extended until Wednesday!  Be sure to comment here to enter!***

Not just knitting!

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Of course knitting is my One True Love, but sometimes… sometimes I get itchy fingers and have to break out my sewing machine, my embroidery hoop, or my crochet hook.  It’s not that I don’t love knitting.  It’s that sometimes I need something… else.

And this time, it was my crochet hook.

I had a pile of Knit Picks Biggo in several random colors (leftover from making some Human Beans).  Not enough to make a sweater, or even a really satisfying scarf.

But I did have my giant (size N crochet hook) and a crochet stitch that my mother-in-law taught me over Christmas break (she was making a huge, gorgeous afghan for a friend’s wedding).

The stitch, called the “Woven Stitch” looks a lot like the knit “Linen Stitch,” except that it’s crocheted.  Which means it goes way faster.

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All you do is chain 1, single crochet 1, across, making sure your sc’s go into the ch1 space of the row before.  Over and over again.  So easy!

And the fabric made with the super-chunky Biggo was thick and warm and cozy.  Such a fun little break from my every-day knitting.

I think I’m in love!

What do you do wen you need a break from your usual crafting routine?

(And, don’t forget!  Two more days before the drawing for the Twist &Tweed giveaway!)

Inspiration: Bates Motel

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I’ve been churning through several feet of stockinette over the last couple weeks, and you know what that means: binge-watching Netflix.

I had finished most of the shows I had been working on, so I had to find a new show to watch.  Preferably one with sweaters.  Lots of sweaters.

Enter: Bates Motel.  A show from A&E, it’s a sort-of prequel/reboot/bizarro version of Psycho (the Hitchcock movie).  It’s actually really good, or at least I enjoyed it.  Lots of twists and turns and intrigue (and murder… and drugs… and taxidermy).

It’s based in modern-day, but the costumes have a very fifties-feel.  Which, for Norman Bates, means sweaters.

Bates-Motel-season-2[1]Lots of sweaters.

5423d7f957094809d841b0040b7755ad[1]Norman’s sweater game is on point.

13-emma-and-norman-study-the-manga[1]Even though he is a (maybe) insane murderer, and definitely creepy weirdo, I kind of want to copy his sweater action.

Want to make yourself a Norman Bates sweater, too? Try one of these vintage-y Fair Isle creations:

Fair Isle V-necked Jumper by Shetland Museum Textile Archives

8245318946_605ef2271e_z[1]Ovaltinie by Patricia Roberts

My_homemade_sweaters_037_medium2[1]South Atlantic by Rita C Taylor_SMM3462_cover_medium2[1](And, don’t forget to enter your name for a free copy of Twist & Tweed!)

Free! Free! Free!

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So, you know my new pattern (the Ballard Pullover)?  It’s not being published on it’s own.  It’s part of a fantastic collection of gorgeous, autumnal knits.  Twist and Tweed!  Here’s what you’ll find inside:

Amazing cables! Cables! Cables!

75206D120[1]Tweed and heathers!

75206D110[1]And more (freaking amazing) cables!75206D115[1]Holy cow, are my fingers itching to start knitting up these projects.  Do you think I could finish that dress by the time fall rolls around if I start now and skip stuff like going to work and sleeping?   Maybe.

Are your fingers itching to cast on, too?  Well, today’s your lucky day!  I’m giving away two (count ’em, two!) copies of Twist and Tweed– one e-book and one paper book– to two lucky readers!

Want to enter? Just comment below with your favorite autumnal activity!  I can’t wait to read all about apple picking and cozy blankets and imagine that I’m back in autumn!

Pattern: The Ballard Pullover

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I’m so excited!  I finally get to share one of the patterns I’ve been working on!  And it might be my absolute favorite!

Here it is, the Ballard Pullover:

51910220_7Oooh, aah!

The Ballard Pullover is inspired by (ahem) Ballard, my favorite neighborhood in Seattle.  Ballard was historically a very working-class neighborhood, full of Scandinavian fishermen and boat hands.  But, in the last couple years it has become the newest cool neighborhood in Seattle to find fantastic tapas, a vintage records, and hand-made jewelry.  I think this pullover captures that feeling: traditional comfort with a slightly modern edge.  It’s an updated version of the traditional Fisherman’s Sweater.

51910220_12Knit seamlessly from the bottom up, the sweater is knit in a fantastic squishy texture  that looks and feels great, and make this sweater ultra-warm and cozy.  Generous panels of cabling on the underarms and sides flow smoothly into the raglan shaping of the shoulders.

51910220_14This quickly became my favorite sweater (which killed me, because I couldn’t show it to you guys for months!), and I’m sure it will become yours, too!

You can find the pattern here:

Ballard Pullover

Flower Loom

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A few months ago, I received a little package from my mom.  Inside was a letter from my Great-Aunt Coletta and tiny brass instrument that looked like something Dumbledore would use to cast some esoteric spell.  Or maybe stab people.

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The letter said that the instrument (just about 3.5 inches long and about 1.25 inches wide) was a little loom for making flowers that had once belonged to my Great Grandmother Anna (Coletta’s mother).    Coletta wasn’t sure how it worked, and didn’t have the box or any instructions about how it worked, but if you looked closely on the height adjuster (the second spoked wheel can move up and down), you can see a name and a patent number.

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Flower Loom, Pat. No. 2011617.

My mom had done a little Googling and figured out how to make a simple rosette using the loom, and had even sent along a couple finished ones that she had made:

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Cool right?

But I wanted to know more!  What else could this little bad boy do?  When was it made?  Where did it come from?

A little more Googling later, and it turns out that the patent for the “Bucilla Floral Loom” was filed in August of 1935, and manufactured shortly thereafter.  It was designed to be super adjustable, so that you could make all sorts of flowers-different shapes, and sizes.

sizes[1]But, I still wondered what you were supposed to do with these little flowers.  Sure, they were cute, but not entirely practical.  Well, the internet provided answers for that question, too.  I found a booklet of patterns for the Bucilla Flower Loom (published in 1937, and available for a low, low price of 20 cents!)

lg_302A[1]In it, they show you how to make all sorts of things- baby blankets, afghans, dresses, jackets, and even a glamorous nightgown!

lg_302P[1]This has got me itching to break out my Floral Loom and going to work on some fantastic flowery garments!

Manly Socks

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Here’s the annoying part about being a knitter:  When people learn about your hobby, they all want knitted things for their birthday/Christmas/Arbor Day.

And here’s the sick part about being a knitter:  You want to make stuff for everyone.

For example,  my father-in-law is notoriously hard to find gifts for, so when he mentioned to me that all he wanted for Christmas was a pair of hand-knit socks each year, I couldn’t help but oblige!  I even had a pair of fairly large manly-looking socks in my stash of finished projects in a lovely burgundy-brown color.  Easy-peasy!

He loved them, and wore them the rest of Christmas break (which made me very happy-it’s always great to see your work being appreciated).  But there was a problem:  They were WAY too small.

Not too small that he couldn’t get the socks on or anything, but my knitter’s eye couldn’t help but notice that the sock was pulling across the ball of the foot and the heel was much too close to the toe.

It drove me nuts!  I pulled out a couple skeins of sock yarn from my suitcase and started working on next year’s Christmas Socks then and there (what?  Don’t tell me I’m the only one that travels with a selection of yarns and needles.).

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Unfortunately, these socks are slow going, for many reasons.  First off, I kind of forgot about them for a while and they hid somewhere in my knitting studio.  Second, I’ve been crazy busy with a bunch of pattern writing and haven’t had time to finish these guys.

But most of all, these socks are annoyingly large.  A few extra stitches per row and several inches longer than my standard socks.  And, I picked a cool-looking, but annoyingly complicated basket-weave stitch.  It all adds up to very slow going,

Ugh.

Oh well, at least I have 5 more months to finish them!

Inspiration: Ziggy Stardust

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I think it’s time we talked about David Bowie.

Specifically Ziggy-Stardust-era David Bowie.

Specifically his knit onesies (jumpsuits?).

Have you seen these?  And if, so did you realize they were knit?

tumblr_m6slctzmex1qh1g19o1_400[1] 9c8beedd3dd227fafffc073743173e49[1] david-bowie-ziggy-stardust-02[1]Amazing, right?!  Maybe this is due to my age, but I only just recently realized that these outfits existed, much less that they were knit.

(Also, can you imagine performing a big rock show like that covered head-to-toe in wool?  I love my sweaters, but that’s just crazy.  Though, I guess no one ever accused David Bowie of being a practical person.)

I’m kind of obsessed with these outfits, designed in the 70s by avant-garde fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto.  I only wish there was a socially acceptable place for people to wear knit one-arm-one-leg-colorworked onesies in public.

You could make a plain one for yourself with this pattern:

Salwar Jumpsuit by Margery Winter

33_39_jump_window_medium[1]Or you could try making up a pattern yourself by combining these two patterns (minus one leg and one arm):

Nether Garments – Adult (September) by Elizabeth Zimmermann

1551948317_b5dccd83bd_z[1]Polar Dip by Amy Miller

ABU-PolarDip_148_medium2[1]Now I’m wondering if I can justify making a jumpsuit… Maybe?