Insomniac Tatting

So what's a girl to do when she can't sleep? A bit of tatting of course! I didn't want to do anything major since I did want to go to sleep sometime that night. Just something small and simple to relax me and hopefully help me to drift off into slumber.

I had Youtube already up on my laptop as my new addiction has been watching Rick Steves' Best of Europe travel videos. His videos are as close as I'll ever get to traveling outside the US.

I got interested in many of the tatting pattern tutorials, especially those from other countries. I soon found myself, with needle and thread in hand, trying out the patterns presented. I did eventually go to sleep that night, but not until after I made this lovely flower from one of the tutorials:

Here is a link to the tutorial if you are interested in watching: 

Making Rings Around Saturn

I'm in full craft-making swing for the holiday season. My husband and I are saving up our money for something really big next year, which means that this year everyone is getting homemade gifts instead of store bought.

Currently on my tatting needle is the 'Saturn Ring' doily that I am making for Ann, my husband's grandmother. Ann moved into a beautiful assisted-living community earlier this year. Having lived in a large house for over 30 years, she really had to downsize, which meant giving up her large dinning room table and all the handmade tablecloths that went with it.(Don't worry, the tablecloths got divided among the kids and grand kids.)

Now she has a little white table perfect for her and a couple of her friends to sit and have coffee. But without her colorful tablecloths, the table looks a bit bare. So I figured a doily would help brighten things up.

This pattern is from the book, "Traditional Tatting Patterns", edited by Rita Weiss.

In the upper right hand corner you can see the two colors that I'm using to make the doily.I'm alternating between a solid and a variegated thread every couple of rounds.

At the bottom slight left of this picture where the thread turns an olive green,  you can see my use of a split chain that carried me out of the second round and into the third round of the pattern.

Both threads used are Lizbeth size 20

Loop-D-Loop

Working on a loop design this morning. Not sure if I want to make it into a headband or a bracelet. Despite it being so simple, I am prone to having brain farts and not remembering later what I did. So, I wrote down the pattern just in case I would like to use it again in the future.

Re-knitting An Old Friend

A while back, when I first started designing, I made grand plans to take over the world with my two-needle sock knitting. I even created my first minion, "Sunset In Sedona" sock, which was to be the start of my sock army.

Well, a lot has changed since then. I no longer have plans to take over the world, (just my own little corner of the world). I also found that even though I love knitting socks, I much prefer knitting other accessories- especially those that are worn around the neck.

But the Sunset In Sedona sock is still one of my most popular patterns. Many people have commented about how it has helped them to make their first sock and get over the fear of knitting with small needles. Those who have found it awkward to knit in the round have shown relief in finally being able to enjoy the pleasures of sock knitting.

However, the pattern did have a few glitches in it and as more people attempted to make the socks, they brought to my attention those pieces in the pattern which needed some correction.

So, currently, I am revising the pattern in the hopes of making it more user friendly. I still plan to have the pattern available for free. I believe it is an excellent pattern for beginners and I enjoy reading the wonderful comments from beginner knitters who find the written out instructions to be very helpful.

I hope to have the pattern back up and running this week for all to enjoy.

New Pattern : Tia Cowl

Well, here it is, what you've all been waiting for- a brand new pattern!

This is the Tia Cowl. It is named after one of my nieces who was also my model for many of my knitting adventures. This cowl reminds me of her and is definitely something she would wear.

I was unsure about publishing the pattern so late in the season, but the recent storms on the east coast has reminded me that its not time to put away the winter clothes just yet. Hopefully this pattern will help keep a few necks warm that desperately need it.

The pattern is knitted using yarn from the lovely folks over at Made In America Yarns. The company has been around since the 1904's, producing wonderful yarns right smack in the place of brotherly love, Philadelphia.

Made In America produces several different yarns in gorgeous colors. It was hard for me to settle on just one. But eventually, the American Lamb yarn in color Wine Glass won me over. American Lamb is a bulky yarn, but it has a great feel and fluid movement on the needles.

Knitted with two strands held together on large needles, this project is indeed a quick knit with lots of style- instant gratification!

I am hoping to work with Made In America Yarns again sometime in the near future. I'm thinking a lace scarf made with their Wayfarer yarn. What do you think?

Cooking Up a New Pattern

There is something I've got cooking in the sink and its almost ready for its debut. I have to confess just how much I love this yarn. This is the first time I've worked with this yarn company and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last.

So, when is this pattern going to be released, you ask? This Friday, I plan to show off this pattern to the world. Considering the heavy weather hitting the east coast, I think this little number might come in handy.

Sorry for not much details, but what is a pattern teaser without a little tease? You'll just have to wait until Friday to see this pretty thing in all its glory.

I Submitted to Knitty

Well, I finally did it! At 2:00 am this morning, I submitted a design to Knitty for consideration in their Winter 2011 issue. It took a lot of guts- and a good pattern- for me to actually submit a design.

I checked over the application process about twenty times and reviewed my work over and over again. The hardest part was to actually will myself to press the 'send' button. Prayers were made, good vibes sent out to the universe, faux rabbit foot rubbed and anything else I could think of was done before I could bring myself to sending off my design. (I also considered dancing around a fire and offering up a sacrifice to the gods, but my father-in-law would have been very upset if I started the grill at two in the morning and burnt one of his good steaks).

Why such the big fuss over this submission? Well, its Knitty! I mean, so many designers got their start on Knitty. They have helped to launch numerous careers with almost overnight success for some people.

After my twitchy finger over ruled my fear and the 'send' button was pressed, it was both a relief as well as a new fear- Rejection. Yes, there is that chance that my design, like many others, will be rejected by Knitty. So, I came up with a plan B for myself in case that happens. I will of course, use my reject as a great excuse to have a drink and then since I have pictures and a pattern all ready to go, I'll just convert everything to PDF and post the pattern for sale on Ravelry.

I must say, it was very calming to receive that sweet autoreply message from Amy, (head honcho of Knitty), after submitting my design.

Don't know Knitty? You can check outthe online magazine here: http://www.knitty.com

 

The Mystery of B.A.

In case you didn't know, I volunteer as a knitting expert on Allexperts.com. Today I got a question from a knitter that has really stumped me.  Her question is as follows:

"pattern reads *K2(K1 wrapping yarn round needle twice) 5 times k1, rep from*
next row reads *K2, B.A., K1 rep from*

Have not come across this abbrev. before, so wonder if you can work it out - picture on pattern looks a bit like a blackberry stitch with a hole in centre.  Have lost the pattern part with the abbrevs.

Many thanks for any light you may be able to shed."

Well, after doing some research online, I couldn't find anything that told me what the 'B.A.' in the pattern means. But I did find out that back in 2009, someone else had a question about the same pattern and had provided some more details on it:

Here is the full pattern
1st row -(Wrong side) K1,P to last st.,K1.
2nd row- K.
3rd row-K1,* K.1 wrapping wool round needle twice,rep. from * to last st., K.1.
4th row-K.1,*B.A., rep from * to last st., K.1
5th row-K.1,P to last st., K.1
2nd to 5th row forms the patt.

Unfortunately it is an old Paton book and the page with the abbreviations I have lost.
Thank you for your assistance.

This information gave me a few ideas. I wrote back to the knitter to let her know that I was working on finding out this mystery knitting abbreviation then I worked my way over to Ravelry. I've learned that on Ravelry, if someone has knitted it, chances are good that there is a group for it. Once again, Ravelry did not disappoint as I found a group dedicated to collecting and knitting Paton patterns. I posted my question to the group and then headed over to Paton.com. There I found the email address of the person to contact for pattern inquires. I shot her an email and now I wait.

I'm a sucker for a good knitting mystery and this one has sparked my own curiosity. I do plan on knitting a swatch of this baby shawl myself once the mystery is solved. I'll add the swatch to my swatch book along with this story so future knitters can know that sometimes a pattern isn't just a pattern, but a mystery in itself. Who knows, maybe 50 years from now this story and the pattern will end up in Piecework.

I'll let you know how this mystery unfolds.

(Feel free to try out the pattern above and see if you can figure out what B.A. means. If you can solve it, please let me know.)

Wash Your Face Washcloth

This was a simple washcloth that I made as punishment to the yarn for not acting right in another garment I was trying to use it for. (Yes, I punish my yarn when it acts bad. Let this be a lesson to all other yarns in my stash. Don't make me angry!)

Well, despite the initial reason for using the yarn, I must admit that the washcloth came out looking really nice. So if you are looking for a quick knit gift item or just something to do with an odd ball of cotton yarn, well, here you go:

Materials-

1 ball  patons Grace, 1.75 oz / 50 g, 6136 yd / 125 m 100% ultra-soft mercerized cotton, color 62901 Tangelo

US size 2 knitting needles

Cast on 48 stitches.

Garter stitch the first 3 rows.

Row1-4: Knit

Row 5-8: Purl

Continue rows 1 through 8 until you reach your desired length or the washcloth measures 7 inches without being pulled.

Gater stitch the next 3 rows. Bind off. Weave in ends.

The washcloth should have a nice ridged look to it that will soften a bit with use.

Now, go fourth and clean thy self!

Made for Maggie

I knitted these arm warmers for Maggie, our daughter's godmother. Maggie happens to be married to my hubby's best friend,  John - the second half of the godparent set.

To knit these arm warmers, I used the pattern by Vickie Howell found here: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/09/alice_wrist_warmers.html