Tag Archives: knit

Inspiration: Knitted Food

This post is inspired by a friend of mine, Wendy. Wendy is a fantastic knitter, but she has a little quirk. She almost exclusively knits toy food.

I know! How fantastic is that?

She makes big picnic baskets of food, cornucopias of food, full Thanksgiving dinners, and an array of “fresh” fruits and vegetables that would make a greengrocer (ahem) green with envy.

Let’s spend today talking about knit food, in Wendy’s honor. (And because knit food is ridiculously cute!)

You could always go the healthy route, and knit up some lovely produce:

Pears…

Pear-fecto! by Susan B. AndersonMushrooms…

Knitted ‘Shrooms by Abby Kroken

Carrots…

Heirloom Carrot by Sara Hills

And peas.

Peas in a Pod by Hansi SinghBut sometimes you’re in the mood for something a little fancier. A nice plate of sushi perhaps?

Sushi by Joanna Rankin

And, of course, there’s always room for milk and cookies after a delicious (knit) meal.

Milk and Cookie by Raynor Gellatly

Have you ever knit food? Are you going to now? (I might- these projects are just too cute to ignore.)

Pattern: Committee Socks

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We’ve done it, guys! We’ve finished our socks. The ones we started talking about way back in March.

You picked out the item, the style and even the colors. And, over the last couple months, we’ve been knitting up the socks piece by piece.

And, here’s the day we’ve been waiting for! It’s Finished Sock Day!

They are the perfect comfy-cozy everyday socks. Featuring a classic ribbed leg with bold stripes of contrasting color and a slip-stitch reinforced heel, these socks are perfect for hiking up to your mountain cabin, beachcombing on the Puget Sound or lounging in front of the fireplace. Simple, classic, cozy and perfect.

Thanks, everyone for your input! I hope you had fun working on these socks together… I know I did.

Want a nice copy of the finished pattern? Get it here:

Committee Socks.docx

Design Process Series: Twinkle Toes

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We’re almost done! These socks that we started talking about months and months ago, are almost finished! Whee!!

(Can you tell I’m excited?)

OK. Down to business. We finished the main part of the foot last week, ending at the middle of the bottom of the foot. We cut the MC yarn, and now we’ll work the toe. This is my favorite, classic, simple toe.

Here’s what we’ll do:

Join the Contrast Color and work as follows:

Knit 1 round even.
*K to 2 before end of the needle, k2tog. On the next needle, ssk, then knit to end. Repeat from * for the next two needles. You will decrease 4 sts per decrease row.

Repeat these two rows, alternating even and decrease rows, until you have 20 stitches on your needles (5 stitches per needle). Finish with a decrease row. K 5 more stitches (your yarn will now be at the side of the toe, instead of at the bottom of the sole).

Then use the Kitchener stitch to close up the toe. If you need more detailed instructions, this should help.

Weave in your ends, give yourself a pat on the back and make a second sock!

Blocking: The Basics

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OK, so if you’ve blocked before, this’ll be a refresher for you. If you haven’t tried wet blocking before, you’re in for some excitement (but maybe it’s just me that’s excited about blocking…).

I’m using a little bitty swatch for this example, but you can use this technique for just about any shape for basic blocking. This swatch is a little piece of stockinette. Stockinette is super curly when it’s unblocked, so I definitely need to block it.This is a tiny little project, so I’m just using a little cereal bowl to soak my knitting. I’ve filled it with warm (think bathwater) water, and I let the swatch hang out for a bit (about 20 minutes) or until its completely soaked through. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll squeeze the knitting gently to get all the air out and really soak the fibers.

Next, I’ll get out a clean towel and roll up my wet knitting, squeezing it to get out the extra water. You want your knitting to be damp, but not dripping. Sometimes, I’ll even step on the rolled-up knitting (like squishing grapes for wine), especially if it’s a really big project.Once most of the water is squeezed out, I’ll break out my foam blocks (or your carpet, if you have carpet) and lay a new, dry, clean towel on top.

Then, I’ll take the damp knitting and pin out the corners to the dimensions I want. I want this square to be nice and, well, square. So I’ll start here. The sides will pull in at first, but that’s OK. We’ll fix that in the next steps.

Next, I’ll grab more pins and tack down the center points of each side. And then I’ll add another pin in-between each existing pin. Since this swatch is so small, I’ll stop here. If I was blocking something larger (like a scarf), I’d keep adding pins until I had surrounded the whole item and gotten rid of the little swoopy edges.

You’ve finished the hard part! (If you can even call it hard.) Let your knitting dry completely (if you’re in a hurry, point a fan at it or put it in a sunny window), and remove the pins.

And, voilà la! A perfectly finished project! (Or at least an almost perfectly finished project.)Next time, we’ll talk about blocking something a little more complicated- sweaters!

Inspiration: Inspector Jack Robinson

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Have you guys watched Miss FIsher’s Murder Mysteries yet? If you haven’t, go watch it now. I’ll wait. For real. Go watch it. The first two seasons are available on Netflix, and you 100% need to watch them. Do it.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is a show about Phryne Fisher, a lady detective living in Melbourne, Australia in the 1920s. She is a “thoroughly modern woman” (read: she carries a golden gun, fights for what she believes is right, and entertains a series of “gentlemen callers”). With her faithful sidekick Dot, and the help of the charming Detective Inspector, Jack Robinson, Miss Fisher kicks butt and takes names, taking down dozens of Melbourne’s worst murderers. And she does it all with a smile on her face and a sassy quip on her tongue.

And, her outfits.

Oh God, her outfits.I mean, honestly.Just look at them.

So gorgeous.

But, while Miss Fisher loves her fur, silk and feathers, she doesn’t wear a lot of knitting. So, I haven’t been able to bring her up on the blog. Until, that is, a friend of mine pointed out a beautifully knitted vest in Season 2, Episode 11 “Dead Air” (Thanks, Jenny!)

In this episode, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson goes undercover to find a serial arsonist who’s targeting local radio stations. He “lets his hair down,” which in his case means a tweed jacket and fair-isle vest instead of his usual three-piece suit.

They even oblige us with a close-up of his fantastic sweater. (I suppose they’re really showing a close-up of some evidence, but we can pretend.)I’m usually against knit vests, but this one might have me changing my mind. I might even make one for myself (or my husband, though I don’t think he’d wear it). Let’s look at some Jack Robinson-inspired patterns.

Vaila Slipover by Ann Feitelson

This one’s super classic, and based on a pattern from the 1910s. I always enjoy historical accuracy in my knitwear. (Yes, I know that makes me a dork. I am OK with that.)

Abbey Mill Farm Vest by Anne Podlesak

I love the color scheme on this one- rich browns, cinnamon reds and sage-y greens. So pretty!

Luke’s Diced Vest by Mary Jane Mucklestone

But this one might be my favorite. I like the buttons, and the use of three different fair-isle patterns across the front and back. The styling-not so much. Why would you wear a knit vest with a T-shirt and jeans? Come on.

Now, go get your fair isle yarn and turn on Miss Fisher. I’m not even joking. Do it. You’ll thank me.

Pattern: One Row Wonder

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Weee-Ahhhhh, Weee-Ahhhh! (That’s the “New Pattern Alarm”… couldn’t you tell?)

I came up with this project on vacation, in the back of a minivan, when I was stuck with a ball of lovely blue gradient hand-spun, a pair of needles, and no pattern. I wanted to make a shawl, but not a normal shawl. A shawl that was easy enough to knit in the back of a minivan while sightseeing. Something with an interesting shape, but virtually no pattern to memorize.

Thus was born the One Row Wonder.

The One Row Wonder Shawl might just be the perfect pattern. With only one row to memorize, you’ll have a brand new shawl with almost no effort! It can be knit at any gauge and with any yarn. It’s a perfect way to use up leftover yarn or that extra-special skein that’s been waiting in your stash (you know the one). The finished shawl has a unique shape, which wears like a scarf, but has the look of a triangle shawl. The One Row Wonder will knit up in no time and quickly become a favorite part of your wardrobe.

I made mine with a lovely, chunky yarn, but now I’m itching to work one up in fingering yarn. How cute would it be made with stripes of leftover sock yarn?

Get the pattern for free!

One Row Wonder Shawl

EDIT 9/20/2015: Sorry for the confusion about the “Loop Increase.” Apparently lots of places have different definitions. This tutorial from Knit Picks outlines how I do the Loop Increase.

Blocking: Gear

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A lot of people love shopping. To them, there’s nothing more exciting than starting a new project and collecting all the gear they’ll need. They enjoy dropping a couple hundred bucks on top-of-of-the line tools and professional-grade materials.

I am not one of those people.

It’s probably because I was raised in the Midwest, that most pragmatic portion of the country.

I like to get the bare minimum, and, if I can use stuff I already have around the house, all the better. (After all, the money I save can go to buying more yarn!)

Sure, you can go buy fancy blocking wires, specialty blocking pins and expensive, nice-smelling blocking detergents. I’m sure they’re all nice to have, but when you’re just beginning to block your knitting, do you really need these things? No. (And, frankly, even now, I use these materials for 90% of my projects.)

Here’s what you really need:

(And, FYI, these are all materials for wet-blocking projects. It’s what I do for almost all my projects, and so far it’s served me well.)

1. Something to put water in. Do you have a sink, a bowl, a bathtub? Is it clean? That’s all you need. If it can hold warm water, and isn’t gross, you’re good to go.2. Pins. I just use regular sewing pins. They’re dead cheap, and you probably already have a little box of them squirreled away. If you don’t, you can get a pack of a couple hundred for a few bucks at your local fabric store. Some people will tell you that sewing pins will rust and discolor your knitting. But, I haven’t seen that happen; the amount of time a pin is in contact with moisture is too short for rust to develop. Of course, I wouldn’t use a rusty pin to block my knitting, but that’s just common sense.3. Something squishy to stick pins in. For years, I actually used a clean towel, spread out over the Berber carpet in our attic. The carpet held pins in place nicely, and was free. But, our new house is unfortunately all wood and tile. I know some folks block on a spare bed, or the back of a couch, but that’s a pain. Instead, I went to the kids’ section of Target and got a $20 pack of foam tiles (the kind you’re supposed to put out on the floor so kids don’t crack their head when they fall). They lock together into whatever shape you need, and work great. You can get foam tiles that are specifically made for blocking, but they cost a bunch more.

4. Your knitting. Obviously. FYI, wet blocking works best with animal fibers (wool, alpaca, etc.). I have blocked some cotton things, which works a little, but blocking plant and man-made fibers never has the same amazing results.Now that we’ve gathered the things you need from around your house (or maybe a quick trip to the store), next week we’ll start with blocking something simple!

Inspiration: Talavera Tile

Design Series: Inspirations

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All right, knitters! The votes have been tallied and it looks like socks are the big winner!

When I’m working on my own designs, the next thing I decide on is the inspiration behind my project. This isn’t anything technical; I’m not doing any math, or even picking out any stitch patterns yet. This step simply lets me figure out what the feel of the project will be. Once I decide on an inspiration, the rest of the design will start to fall into place.

So, here are a few options for the inspiration of our socks:

Option 1: Fun and silly, like this little goat.

Option 2: Sleek and sophisticated, like the Singapore skyline.Option 3: Delicate and feminine, like these forget-me-not flowers.Option 4: Warm and cozy, like this mountain cabin.Option 5: Light and breezy, like this tropical beach.Option 6: Natural and outdoorsy, like this mountain range.Option 7: Cool and practical, like the Pacific Northwest coastline.