Tag Archives: scarf

Linen Stitch!

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Lately, I’ve been feeling some knitting wanderlust.   You know that feeling- when you’re just not content working on any of the projects on your needles.  I’ll do a couple rows on my husband’s sweater.  A few stitches on a pair of socks that have been languishing since December.  I’ll make something tiny and silly.

But, sometimes you just need to go digging through your stash of patterns and leftover yarn and start something new.

linen_JJF_0108_medium[1]I found my copy of this pattern (the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas).  It’s been on my to-knit list for years.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the beautiful multi-hued yarn it calls for.  But, I do have a bunch of little scraps of pretty Patton’s worsted wool.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo far so good!  I love the way the colors get blended together. It’s funny, how such disparate colors end up looking so nice together (there’s no logical reason that neon green and bright orange should look good together).

And, I have totally fallen in love with the linen stitch.  For whatever reason, this stitch is scratching my knitting itch.  I love anything that uses slipped stitches, and changing color every row keeps me entertained.

Want to try the linen stitch yourself?  Think about one of these fabulous patterns:

This over-sized cowl lives somewhere between cozy and classy.  I love it!

honey cowl by Antonia Shankland

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I don’t think I’d actually wear this jacket, but I’d love to make it.  It looks like so much fun!

Linen Stitch Jacket by Doreen L. Marquart

039_medium2[1]This little draw-string bag is so cute!  I bet you could find a million things to do with it!  And, what a great way to use up little bits of leftover yarn.

Little Linen Stitch Bag by Cindy Walker

 

 

Linen_Stitch_Bag_medium2[1]What would you use the linen stitch for?

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!):

32490Want 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.)

51851220_5 51851220My 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.

51850220 51850220_10So, 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.)

Pattern Spotlight: Baktus

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I might have been late to the Hitchhiker party, but I’ve been a member of the Baktus fan club for years.

This super simple long, skinny, triangular shawl/scarf is one of my favorite patters for several reasons:

1.  Garter stitch.  Love.

2.  It’s crazy versatile.  I’ve made Baktuses (Bakti?) from everything from bulky yarn down to fingering weight yarn.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA3.  It looks great worked in those pretty hand-spun skeins you have in your stash that you can’t figure out what to do with (You know, the ones you couldn’t leave at the yarn store, but you have no idea what to use them for.)4357513044_2288fc815f_z[1]4.  The Baktus uses only as much yarn as you happen to have.  If you have three skeins of bulky, it’ll use that much.  If you have one skein of lace-weight, that’ll work, too.  (No weird little leftovers to fuss with!)  Actually, the pattern has you weigh your yarn at the beginning.  You begin the pattern by increasing, then when you have exactly half your yarn left, you decrease, for perfect results every time!

3592484405_e3fa9a5775_z[1]5.  The Baktus scarf is really and truly unisex, and super cool.  P1100072rav_medium2[1]6.  People have used the idea of the Baktus and came up with their own (gorgeous) versions.  Want lace?  Add cool geometric edging?  Or leaf edging?  Maybe you prefer crochet?

5717416916_2d555e0368_z[1]Baktus might be the perfect project.

Have you ever made a Baktus scarf?

Inspiration: Bulky, Bulky Pins

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As I mentioned on Friday, I’ve started Pinning (Pinteresting? Someone tell me what the proper word is!).  And, well, I can see it becoming something of a problem.  I’ve been spending way more time than I probably should poking around Pinterest and looking at all the beautiful things that I will never have time to make.

(Also, sometimes I like to look at the Everything tab.  It’s about 15% hair tutorials and makeup tips, 30% extra-calorie cheesecake recipes, 25% diet salads that “Actually taste good!,” 15% workout routines, 5% inspirational quotes, and 10% stuff I’m actually interested in.  Point in case, I just spent 20 minutes looking at “Super Simple Manicure Ideas.”  Why?  Because they were there.)

Anyway, I looked over my pin boards (is that what they’re called?)  and I found a trend in some of the knitting I’ve been pinning:  Super bulky stuff.

This scarf/shawl/shoulder blanket is part of the new Ferragamo Men’s collection, and was shown in Milan (so you know it’s chic).  I’d wear one, even though I’m not a dude.  It looks like a great long swath of stockinette, maybe knit in the round, so that there isn’t a “bad side.”

628x471And I just love this fantastically chunky Brioche Cowl from Diane L. Augustin.  Aren’t those colors to die for?  I would like to just wrap myself up in a cocoon made from this.IMG_4128_50_medium2[1]If we’re talking about chunky knitting, you can’t get much chunkier than this amazing arm-knit blanket.  It’s of super-thick yarn, but you could use slightly felted wool roving, if you wanted.  Using arm-knitting for this project is really smart; that way, you don’t have to worry abut finding knitting needles two inches in diameter.Untitled-3-copy-1024x854Well, now I’m off to dream of Pinterest and spend more time looking at a particularly interesting list of “the 52 easiest DIYs.”

Pattern Spotlight: Hitchhiker

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I’ve finally jumped on the bandwagon.  And, I kind of love it.

I’m probably the last knitter to make a Hitchhiker shawl.  (There are 17,685 projects up on Ravelry, and I’m pretty sure it’s been in the top 50 or so patterns for the last couple years.)

CIMG7885The Hitchhiker is a triangular (ish) shawl/scarf knit in garter stitch, which is my absolute favorite.  Garter is great for scarves, since it lays nice and flat.  Plus, it’s super warm and squishy.  (And it’s great for knitting while you read or watch TV, since you don’t have to worry about following complicated stitch patterns.)

The shawl is a long, skinny triangle, with a sawtooth border along one side, which is worked as you knit.  You begin at one point of the triangle, and just keep going until you run out of yarn, or get bored.  And the simple 8-row repeat is super easy to memorize, so it’s almost mindless (but still just interesting enough to be fun).20150112_122126_medium2[1]This project is super versatile.  You can use whatever yarn you have on hand, and whichever needles you like best.  The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn, but this would make an epic deep-winter scarf in worsted or bulky, and if you were to use teeny tiny needles and lace-weight yarn, you could make something lovely and delicate.

IMG_1979_medium2[1]I made mine with a skein of Knit Picks’ Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn in Thunderhead.  (I bought it to get the $50 free shipping, because free. Don’t judge me.  You know you’ve done it, too.)  It turned out lovely.  The sock yarn is wonderful and soft, and the hand-painted, monochromatic colors of the yarn looks great in a garter stitch.  (Sorry for the terrible picture.  The shawl was adopted out before I had time to find my real camera for a decent photo.)

WP_20150102_014I love how this shawl looks with semi-solids and self-striping yarn.  It’s so easy, and the results are spectacular.

DSC06485_medium2[2]Have you made a Hitchhiker?

Pattern: Hogwarts Scarves in a Weekend

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Sometimes you need a little more magic in your life. Sometimes you need something to keep the chill away while reading your favorite teenage-wizard-themed novels. Sometimes you’re invited to a Harry Potter party, and you need a quick costume accessory.

This Hogwarts Scarf is just what the Medi-Wizard ordered. It’s crocheted at a huge gauge with extra-bulky yarn, so it works up in almost only a few hours. Feel free to make the scarves longer (or shorter) by adding more (or fewer) stripes.

So get out your magic wand (or crochet hook), and conjure up a scarf this weekend!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGet the pattern for free here:

Hogwarts Scarves in a Weekend

Three Months

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(Sung to the tune of “Christmas is Coming”)

Christmas is coming

My list is getting full.

Please knit a sweater

From my bag of wool.

If you cannot knit a sweater,

A simple hat will do.

If you cannot knit a simple hat,

Then god bless you!

032ce3630d50f0a28cfbdd01681a791b[1](In case it wasn’t clear, this is my round-about way of reminding you that we have three months until Christmas.  I’ve got to get knitting!)

Inspiration: Knitting the Sky

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My friend Jenny visited me last weekend.  We have known each other for years (since college).  Actually, we met through the Knitting Illini, our university’s student-run knitting club.  (I’m still trying to find a knitting club as fun and welcoming as that one, but that’s a whole other story.)

Anyway, Jenny pulled out her needles and several shades of blue and gray yarn.  She whipped up a couple little garter stitch squares and put her knitting back in her bag.  I was curious what she was making, and she said she was “Knitting the Sky.”  I had never heard this concept before, and had her explain.

Apparently, Knitting the Sky is the idea that you put aside a few minutes each day to look at the sky and then pick a yarn color closest to the color of the sky to make an afghan square, or a few rows of garter stitch to add to a scarf.

As far as I can tell (and correct me if I’m wrong), the first person to do this was Leafcutter Designs.  They sell a kit (yarn plus directions) to make a Sky Scarf.  It’s a simple garter-stitch scarf, but the subtly shifting grays and blues make the scarf look almost like it’s made with hand-painted yarn.

sky-scarf-kit-3 Gorgeous, right?

But Jenny is an overachiever (in the best possible way), so instead of just making a sky scarf, she’s making a sky afghan, like this one.

Finished+Sky+Blanket+4How beautiful is that!  Who could have imagined that wrapping up in cloudy and rainy days could be so cozy?

And, imagine extending the idea of using a color to represent a day in other projects.  How about a striped cardigan that shows your mood each day for an entire year?  Or what about a pair of mittens that represent what you ate for breakfast for a month?  OK, I’m getting silly now.  But, the point still stands.

This is a fantastic idea, and a great way to get some knitting in while getting more in touch with the world around you.  Too bad that if I was to make a sky scarf it would end up being a uniform Seattle-gray.x354

Pattern: Sailor Jane

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September in Seattle means fog rolling in and waving goodbye to the sun until next Spring. But, it also means breaking out your favorite squishy, cozy woolens and curling up with hot apple cider. This scarf is the perfect accessory to keep the winter drizzle at bay and protect against the chilly winds that come off the Puget Sound.

Sailor Jane is knit on the bias, starting from one corner and finishing at the one opposite. A thick cable, reminiscent of nautical sweaters works its way continuously around the entire border, framing a pane of thick and cozy garter stitch. It’s a remarkably quick knit, worked in bulky yarn, the scarf is finished in no time. And, the suggested undyed superwash merino makes the scarf both cozy and virtually indestructible.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGet the pattern for free here:

Sailor Jane

Tutorial: Shawl Pins

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I’ve got shawls on the brain. When I wear a shawl, especially if it’s a particularly oddly-shaped one, I like to break out a shawl pin.  You can find super fancy ones, but basically a shawl pin is a stick of some kind that you use to hold knitwear in place (I’ve been known to use pencils, chopsticks and knitting needles in a pinch). There are as many kinds of shawl pins as there are shawls, all gorgeous, most expensive.

So, in the name of DIY Cheapskate-y-ness, let’s make some functional, fashionable, and simple shawl pins.  An accessory for your accessory… what’s not to love?

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A ¼-inch dowel
  • Small hacksaw (or other dowel-cutting implement)
  • Pencil sharpener
  • Sandpaper (I used 120-grit)
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paintbrush

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAStart by cutting your dowel into pieces. I made my pins about 5 inches long, but you could go longer or shorter, depending on what you like.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen, sharpen one end of each pin with the pencil sharpener.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGrab a piece of sand paper and sand your shawl pin until it’s nice and smooth (get rid of anything that could catch on your shawl and make a hole. No bueno). Sand the point down a little bit so that it isn’t dangerously pointy, and don’t forget to smooth out any corners on the other end, too.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABrush off any sawdust, and break out the acrylic paints. I like how they look when they’re mostly wood with just a pop of color on the end, but feel free to experiment. How about stripes? Polka dots? Let the paint dry, and you’re ready to go.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGrab a shawl (or scarf, or cardigan) and pin away.

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