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There’s always a bit of work involved to make a place feel like home. Moving boxes and setting up furniture is only the start. For me, though, it’s the small things that have the biggest impact. So, when house hunting began in earnest, I dug out my cotton stash to make a piece of home. Three kitchen towels were finished soon after moving day and, after a few months of use, they look like they belong here. It finally feels like I do too.

Linoleum Dishcloth by Kay Gardiner (ravelry)

Mosaic Stripe Set (ravelry)

Mosaic Flower Dishcloths (ravelry)

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Posted 1 hour ago

Play

Pattern: Konnichiwa by Judy Summer (ravelry)
Yarn: Cascade 220 - Ruby
Needles: US 6 (4mm) DPN’s
Date: Feb 1-13, 2010

March’s socks, Konnichiwa, were so much fun that I finished them in less than two weeks. They’re a combination of a good pattern, a good yarn, and a good technique. Those things aside, what made them really fun was that I didn’t hold myself to the pattern. My version is toe-up, a larger size, and has alternating cable crossings. In other words, I let myself play.

I know play doesn’t seem like much. After all, shouldn’t I be working and productive? Shouldn’t I be doing something important? What I’ve come to realize, through knitting and architecture, is that play is very important. Play is the driving force behind serious work and focus. It is the motivator behind great work and great feats because it pushes people to keep experimenting and pushing limits. Without play, work (or anything else) becomes something to finish so you can get onto something you like. People can tell difference. So, don’t be afraid to play. You never know where it will take you.

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Filed under  //  knit   SAM2010   sock  
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Posted 3 days ago

Quick Knit for the Win

Pattern: Argyle Cuff by Lee Meredith
Yarn: Cascade 220 - 801
Needle: US 7 (4.5mm)
Date: Feb 14, 2010

Last weekend, I wanted to cast on to something new and the Quick Knits Club came to the rescue. One of February’s patterns, the Argyle Cuff, looked fun so I dug up some scrap yarn and got started. The 2 stitch cable made it a fun project that was finished in an afternoon but the finishing took a bit longer. Blocking was definitely required and the cuff seemed to take forever to dry. The wait was worth it though. The cables really popped and the width was perfect. Once I sewed on two orange buttons, it was perfect and quite cozy. 

Part of the cozy-ness was due to changing the yarn because it allowed me to make the cuff longer and fit my wrist. I added a few rows of garter at the end to make up for the missing length. The garter rows make a nice ending and beginning too. Once I can scavenge some more white yarn, I definitely going to make another one. It’s too fun not to.

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Posted 14 days ago

February's Quick Knits Club

My love affair with the Leethal Quick Knits Club continues. Being February, this month’s theme is Valentine’s Day but it’s really about the act of giving as an act of love. The patterns and yarn are geared to a multitude of people but aren’t boring or bland like one might expect. Both patterns are for wrist cuffs which,through some strange coincidence, I’ve been thinking about a lot. The first offering. the Argyle Cuff (@rav), is a buttoned band done up with small cables in an argyle motif. Bolt (@rav), the second pattern, looks like a bolt of lighting tied to your wrist and it seems like a pretty fun project.

The yarn for these cuffs really grabbed me and I really wish I had a few more yards of both. The dyed yarn stripes red, blue and green and has a slight halo that I find irresistible. Also irresistible - the matching buttons. Anyway, the spun yarn is 100% cotton and a combination of grey, blue, purple, and yellow. It has a wonderful barber pole look and it’s hard to resist hanging the skein up as a piece of art. I think I’m going to put both of the skeins aside for a special project because, as I’ve been thinking about cuffs, I don’t wear them often and would rather use the yarn for something I’d really enjoy. 

I’m also really enjoying the goodies this month - a dinosaur card, nice paper, some fun foam stickers, and even a double sided crayon. I think the dinosaur card and the octopus sticker are going to stay with me but I can’t wait to do some crafty things with the rest of it for gifts.

On the whole, I’m going to have a lot of fun with this package and I can’t wait for March’s fun to show up in my mailbox. 

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Posted 18 days ago

Yarn takes Center Stage

Pattern: Center Stage
Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks FX - Cascade Colors
Needles: 2.5 mm
Date: Jan 8 - 29, 2010

I’m very happy to say that my January socks, the first of my personal Sock-A-Month KAL, are finished and on time too. That second week into 2010, I started these socks because the yarn was calling me and I was helpless to resist. Since the yarn was my main reason for casting on, I wanted it to be the center piece and the dominate the pattern; however, plain stockinette just sounded really, really boring. Plus, interesting sock constructions were still bouncing around in my head. 

To meet all of my specifications, I added a simple rib detail and went from there. It definitely kept the socks interesting and let me play around with the gusset and the heel flap. All the experimentation and fiddling with details was really fun. Once the experiment was over, I had a pair of warm, comfy socks.  I’m also releasing the pattern here, so you can make a warm, comfy pair of socks too.

When I purchased this yarn, I was drawn to it because of its long stretches of color and I was not disappointed after knitting it up. The colors create wide stripes which move from light to dark. I did find it prone to a bit of splitting but not annoyingly so. The yarn is also a bit on the hairy side but I think that lends itself to the warm, cushy-ness of the finished fabric. Compared to Patons Kroy Sock 4-ply, the fabric is very similar even though I found the FX yarn to be slightly thinner. One of the downsides is that the socks look a bit different in spite of being the same dye lot. My other complaint is the smaller put-up (166 yds), which led to shorter socks, but I still liked the yarn enough to buy another pair’s worth.

These socks were a great way to start off 2010 and I’ve already made some good progress on February’s pair.  I hope your knitting resolutions (and the other ones too) are going as well as mine.

P.S. The winners of the Diagonal Sock pattern are Theresa and Barbara Wright. Email me at studiostrategos at gmail dot com 

(download)

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Filed under  //  FO   free   knit   pattern   review   SAM2010  
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Posted 27 days ago

Finally Diagonal

Near the end of 2009, I wanted a pair of simple, yet engaging, socks to work on both at home and around town. The yarn was wound and ready to go but I didn’t have a pattern. Nothing was quite right. Too complicated, too boring, etc... So, I started playing around with stitch patterns until I came up with something I liked. It was love at first stitch. 
The stitch pattern kept it simple while the construction kept it from being mind-numbing. Since I wanted to play with how socks are constructed, I hid the gusset on the instep and put it on just one side before continuing in a more conventional fashion.  
In the end, I got a pair of toe-up socks that were exactly what I was looking for. Now, you can make a pair for yourself too.

$5.00

In order to celebrate the sock knitting love, I’m giving away 2 copies of this pattern. Just leave a comment and you’re in. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, Feb. 5.

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Posted 1 month ago

Importance

I often find myself prioritizing my to-do list by what is most important. It’s a pretty handy technique since it helps keep me on track. Lately though, I’ve been questioning how I decide what’s important since knitting always seems to end up at the bottom of the list. Obviously, sending out resumes and doing the laundry are necessary things that shouldn’t be ignored but their importance doesn’t lessen the necessity of knitting. The opposite also stands true; however, my knitting comes second (or third or fourth) place to these things. Why?

Knitting has helped me do some amazing things. It kept me going through an all-consuming architecture degree. It helps me help others and make people happy. It makes me happy. These are important things that shouldn’t be ignored. Still, I know all of this and still manage to completely ignore it when I’m deciding what to do with my day. No more. Hopefully, I can balance all those pesky important necessities with all the enjoyable ones, knitting and otherwise, in the future. 

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Posted 1 month ago

Sock-A-Month 2010



Several months ago, I came across this post on the Kelp!Knits blog about knitting a pair of socks for each month of 2008. The idea really appealled to me since, A, hand knit socks are awesome and, B, it usually takes me about a month to knit a pair of socks anyway. Also,C, I only have about 34 pairs worth of sock yarn.

So, on January 8th, I took the plunge and cast-on with some Patons Kroy FX. What first attracted me to this yarn was the graduated color changes and I haven’t been disappointed. In order to best display the long color repeats of the yarn, I came up with an uncomplicated but not boring pattern. So far the pair is coming along nicely and should be finished by the end of the month. I might even have the pattern up at the same time.

P.S. Diagonal is almost ready too.

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Filed under  //  knit   SAM2010   sock   WIP  
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Posted 1 month ago

Diagonal

Recently, I finished up my last bit of business from 2009. SOCKS! Since Christmas and all of its assorted activities were coming up, I wanted a simple, yet engaging, patten to tote around to various gatherings and shopping lines.  In November, I was seeing all these beautiful socks online that were just unassuming combinations of knit and purl. The simplicity was too much to resist and, eventually, I came up with a fun, slanting stitch pattern to decorate my socks. The gusset was my other favorite part of this pattern but I’ll tell you more about that when I release the pattern at the end of the month. In the mean time, you can check out some of the other details over on Ravelry.

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Posted 1 month ago

Snow Cat Set

Usually, I don’t put much stock in New Year’s Resolutions but the start of a new decade seems too powerful not to take advantage of. I have my small list of resolutions but, before I can get started, there’s some unfinished business from 2009 to put to bed.

Pattern: Snow Cat Hat from Cosymakes.com
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool - Burgundy
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm)
Date: Oct 29-31, 2009

I thought the Snow Cat Hat was really cute when I first saw it and I was thrilled when I won the pattern. After some obligatory yarn shopping and during a break from Christmas knitting, I quickly cast on. The hat was a fun, quick knit that I finished just in time to wear for Halloween. The only change was an additional .5” to get one more full repeat of the lace pattern.

Since there was half a skein leftover, I decided to make a pair of matching fingerless mitts. The base pattern is my own with the lace and a similar rib pattern added in. I had just enough yarn to make them too but I was a bit worried over the last few rows. 

These hat and mitts have become my go-to set ever since, not only do they match my coat, they also keep me warm near drafty windows. You can’t beat that.

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Posted 2 months ago