Not Knitting, (but still crafty?)

As I stated on page one, I occasionally will chat about things other than knitting(gasp). Although it is unthinkable, at times I am drawn to projects that do not involve string and sticks. These paintings were inspired by a bathroom that is gradually becoming a true oasis, with shells and artifacts and paintings of tropical places and things. Every time I am in the islands, I am inspired by the amazings flowers, so bright and lush, so different from the grey Canadian landscape I leave behind (we always go in the Winter).









These are 8 x 10 size acrylic paintings on 140lb acid free cold press paper, in white matts with dark brown wood frames.



They lean up against a huge canvas of the island in the bay at the Couples, Ocho Rios, in Jamaica. An absolutely lovely resort we visited.

The large canvas was done last year shortly after our return from the place. It is also acrylic on a stretched canvas (no frame).



The last of the new series is a bright Bird of Paradise, same size, painted as a wedding gift to a nice young couple who will honeymoon in Hawaii. I hope they will be as captivated by the flowers as I was, and this will remind them of their trip.

Yarn That Appears in the Mail (a.k.a: Joy in a Box)

The Sock yarn arrived! My Knitting Group are going to dye them in a few weeks (photos will happen!). You can see in the photo, peeking through from the bottom of the box some burgundy Esprit from elann, a cotton stretch yarn that I love for summer wear.... Design to be worked out as the weather gets warmer. I also got the new Vogue Knitting winter magazine, and found this amazing cardigan / jacket. WOW. I happen to have in my stash, waiting for the perfect (deserving) pattern, and this may be it. The yarn is Ram Wool's Inca Silk, a yarn I have used before and LOVE. I will have to swatch (yes, it's true, I actually swatch to check gauge!)

I have finished the hoody from Son of Stitch and Bitch, here, and it has turned out to be a cute, girly, version of the male hoody, don't you think?

Next project: I have some 100 % silk, from Hand Maiden (Canadian hand-dyed yarns). It is Two Four Silk, worsted weight, knit on 4.5mm needles. The colour is blackberry, a mix of red, purple and blue. At first I thought a loose pullover (drapey), but upon swatching (again, the swatch reference?), and blocking, I found it behaved like many silks and relaxed and became VERY soft. I think it is much better suited for a shawl or wrap than a structured sweater, so the beginnings of a new wrap pattern is in the works.... stay tuned!

Unexpectedly Excellent Scarf

So I had leftover superwash 100% wool, same yarn, in 2 vastly different colours. No way these two would look nice together, much less look EXCELLENT together, but me, I have rarely conformed to traditional (or any) rules, especially in knitting, so here it is.

Yarn: 2 balls of each of two colours Walmart Easy Knit 100 % mercerized wool. Colours lime and stone. One partial ball of black (worsted weight from stash) You could use any number of colours of left over yarn, separated by one constant colour (like the black), good de-stashing project!

Needles: 5.0 mm

Gauge: 28 sts in rib pattern = 4 inches.

Pattern:

With 5.0 mm needles, and lime, cast on 36 sts.

* Work in K1, P1 ribbing for 4 inches. Break off lime yarn (leave about 5 inches to darn in later)

Attach black and work ONE row in rib. Break off and attach stone colour.

Knit 4 inches of stone, and switch again to black for ONE row, then repeat from *

Continue alternating lime and stone, separating with one row of black, until desired length (mine is 6 feet long). End with a lime block and cast off in lime. (symmetry makes me happy).

Ta da! looks great with bright sweaters, and looks great with khaki and brown coats. Such a talented scarf.

Big Checkerboard Scarf

Beautiful, Big, Checker-board Scarf.

This came to be, when I found 6 fuzzy balls of yarn in a clearance bin at Cloth and Clay along with matching silky ribbon yarn. The whole 7 balls came in at less than $25, and the resulting scarf is luxurious. The pattern is not too obvious, but allows front and back to be the same, and shows a bit of texture.

Yarn: Substitute yarns currently available: Patons Divine, your choice of colour, and coordinating ribbon yarn (from stash) or clearance bins! Elann has a Ribbon yarn, Victoria, Stacy Charles that would work.

Needles: 7.0 mm staight needles, crochet hook for fringe.

Gauge: 10 sts and 14 rows = 4 inches.

Finished measurements: 12 inches wide and approx 7 feet long (plus fringe).

Checkerboard pattern: Cast on 30 sts.

Row 1: K10, P10, K10

Row 2: P10, K10, P10

repeat these 2 rows until 14 rows have been completed.

Row 15 (right side): P10, K10, P10

Row 16: K10, P10, K10

repeat these 2 rows until 14 rows in this section are done.

Starting again with row 1, work these 28 rows repeating until last ball of yarn is almost done, or desired length of scarf is completed. Cast off 30 sts.

Using crochet hook attach fringe as follows. Use a book to wrap ribbon yarn to create approximately 20 inch lengths. Hold 3 strands and fold in half, thread through edge of scarf with crochet hook, and pull ends through loop, then pull tight to secure. Place evenly across each end of scarf. Make as thick as you want.

Rastapus (octapus-with-attitude)

Rastapus:




Octapus with attitude, eight legs and eight dregs, too cool for the pool...




Quick project and good practise for double point needle knitting. Nothing too tricky and can be made of left over yarn, worsted weight, even using different colours for the legs and dregs.

Yarn used: Patons Decor, 100 gm, 192 m per ball, one ball each of: Black (hair), Country Blue(body), and Mountain Top Varigated (legs). Bit of white for eye. This is enough yarn for 2 or 3 Rastapuses (rastapies?).

Needles used: Double point set of four needles size 4.5mm
Other stuff: Darning needles, poly stuffing.

Legs; (make eight of course): Cast on 12 stitches and divide onto 3 needles, join without twisting. Work in Knit stitch around the 12 sts for 8 inches. Next row, [K2 together] repeat across (6 sts left). Break off yarn and with darning needle, thread tail of yarn through last 6 sts, and gather and fasten off.

Dredlocks (make 8 or more): Using 2 needles only of the 4.5 DPN's, Cast on 4 sts. Make 4 stitch I-cord..... Knit across 4 sts. WITHOUT turning to back side, slide yarn from right edge back to left edge of needle, and holding yarn to back side of dred', Knit across again using 2nd needle... this will form a small tube with all the knit stitches on the outside. Keep knitting the right side only, sliding across the needle to get into position after each row. Work until 6 inches, then break yarn and gather the 4 sts together and fasten.







Base (bottom of body): Cast on 8 sts, and split onto 3 needles. Join (without twisting) and knit around one row. Row 2: K in front and back(Kf&b) of each stitch (16 sts). Row 3: Knit only.
Row 4: [K1, Kf&b] repeat around (24 sts).
Row5 and all odd number rows: Knit only.
Row 6: [K2,Kf&b] repeat (32 sts).
Row 8: [K3, Kf&b] repeat (40 sts)
row 10: [K4, Kf&b] repeat (48 sts)
Row 12: [K5, Kf&b] repeat (56 sts)
Last row, cast off all sts. Close tiny hole where the cast on started, with darning needle and tail of cast on yarn.


Body: Cast on 48 sts. Place on 3 needles, and join without twisting. Knit 2 rows. Row 3: Increase: (K5, Kf&b) across.(56 sts). Work even until 5 inches have been completed from cast on row. Decrease row 1: [K5, K2together] repeat across this row.
Row 2 and every even row: Knit only.
Row 3: [K4, K2tog] around row.
Row 5: [K3, K2tog] around row.
Row 7: [K2, K2tog] around row.
Row 9 [K1, K2tog] around row.
Row 11: K2tog around row.
Break yarn. Group all the dredlocks into the remaining opening in the top of the head, and gather the remaining 8 stitches tightly around the dreds, taking needles several times through the hair, to secure the hair and the opening.



Lightly stuff the body.
Lightly stuff the legs.
(the Dredlocks need no stuffing)



Use darning needle and matching yarn, to sew the legs to the base , evenly spaced around the circle. Sew the base to the body, leaving the legs to dangle freely
.

Eyes: (use 2 needles only) White part: with white cast on 2. Row 1: Kf&b in both sts.
Row 2: Purl, Row 3: Knit, Row 4: P2tog, P2tog. Break yarn and gather 2 sts.
Eyelid (blue); Cast on 3. Row 1: Kf&b, K1, Kf&b. (5 sts). Row 2: purl. Row 3: cast off.(note : cast off edge is lower part of lid, sew halfway over eye)

Sewing eyes to face: Using white yarn, stitch eyes into position (see photo). use black yarn and darn pupils to lower half of white eye. Then, stitch eyelids over white to just touch black pupil for that perfect lazy look.

Mouth: This is made with a long piece of black yarn, fastened at the base of the dredlocks, carefully needled through the stuffing to come out at one side of smile, then put needle back into stuffing at other side of smile and feed needle through center of stuffing back to base of dredlocks, and fasten off (if you pull it slightly, you will make an indented smile- play with it a bit before you secure it off and cut yarn.)


Yah mon!

What's Chris Working on?

Today I update works in progress. I have been working on and off on a cool knit-from-the-hood-down, hoody, from the new "Son of Stitch and Bitch" book... of course it is a men's design, and of course I have altered it a bit to fit me. I am making it the smallest size and shortening the length by about 2 inches, and it should be fine. The yarns used are a superwash stone colour wool, and one ball of left over Silk Garden (noro) for the stripe. I have never done a knit from the top down, but is is easy, increases instead of decreases through the raglan shaping.

The other is my next original pattern...

I wonder what this could be???

I have just ordered a bunch of cream coloured sock yarn, featured today on http://www.elann.com/ for less than $2.50 a ball. My knitting group are planning "an evening to dye for" which involves a bit of wine and a lot of dying of sock yarns. Pictures will surely be taken and posted!

Angel Chunky Hoody Coat - free pattern

Angel Chunky Hoody Coat
I love sweater coats, and hoodies in particular, so when I found this chunky, boucle, fuzzy, multi-coloured yarn on sale at http://www.elann.com/, well, I ordered it immediately, then spent 2 months deciding what to do with it. I chose a slightly ribby, basic shape with saddle shoulders for stability and a generous length for chilly days. Finished with big buttons, I can wear it outside, almost all year round.

Yarn: Tahki – Angel, 70 % wool, 30 % acrylic: 10 balls, 50gm, 90 m. Colour used, #6 a black based multi, with green, rust, purple tufts. (substitutes: any fluffy or nubby chunky yarn that can knit to the gauge)
Needles: 6.0 mm (US 10) straight needles for sweater, 5.5 mm (US 9) long circular for finishing rib.
Gauge: 10 sts & 16 rows = 4inches
Finished measurements: 40 inch chest and 29 inch from shoulder to bottom edge.
Back: With 6.0 mm needles cast on 48 sts. Start rib pattern; p3, k2, across, end with p3 (wrong side k3, p2, across, end with k3.) Work straight as established until piece measures 21 inches.
Armhole shaping; Bind off 4 sts at beginning of next 2 rows. Decrease 1 at each side every other row, 4 times.
Continue working until piece measures 28 inches.
Shoulders: Bind off 2 sts at beg of next 2 rows, bind off 3 sts at beg of next 4 rows. Bind of last 16 sts of neck.
Front: Make 2,[reverse shaping of 2nd front].
Cast on 24 sts, and begin body rib pattern. Work as for back including same armhole shaping, and when piece measures 28 inches shape center neckline: Bind off 7 sts at neck edge, then decrease one more on next right side row. Finish shoulder shaping as for back.
Sleeves:[make 2]
Cast on 20 sts, work in body rib, Increasing one stitch at each end on 8th row and every 6th row , until there are 38 sts on needles. Continue until length of sleeve is 19 inches [or desired length].
Cap shaping; Bind off 4 sts at beg of next 2 rows. Dec 1 sts at each end, every right side row 6 times . bind off 3 at beg of next 2 rows , then 4 at beg of next 2 rows (4 sts remain). Work center 4 sts in stocking stitch for 4 inches [for saddle tab]. Bind off.
Sew shoulders of fronts and back to saddle tabs of sleeve, sew sleeve caps, then side and sleeve seams.
Hood: Using 6.0 mm needles, and right side facing, pick up 9 sts on right front neck, and pick up 16 sts across back neck [placing marker at center of back neck] and 9 sts from left front neck.
Work in stocking stitch for hood, increase one stitch on each side of center back marker, every 4 rows, 9 times. Work until piece measures, 11 inches. Bind off and sew hood top seam.
Finishing; Using Circular needles (5.5 mm) pick up 90 sts up right front edge, then 50 up and over the hood (front edge), then 90 sts down the left edge. Work in k1, p1 ribbing for one inch, then bind off in rib st. Sew big buttons to one side and crochet a loop to correspond on opposite edge.