Sock Pattern: Cuff Down

This is a generic cuff-down sock pattern, intended to have the information on yarn and gauge filled in once a test swatch has been done. Most sock patterns want you to use the kitchener stitch or mattress stitch to close up the toe, but I prefer to turn them inside-out and do a 3-needle bindoff: it gives the toe a much cleaner look.

This is one of a pair I did in fine merino wool, that were almost immediately absconded with by my older daughter:

This is the same pattern with the numbers filled in for the sock pictured above.

Plank-Walking: Patterns

It occurs to me I might have followers I don't know about, and that hey, they might want to see some patterns for stuff. Obviously, due to copyright laws, I can't post patterns I purchased from other folks, but I will start uploading original patterns as I post. Unfortunately, when it comes to original patterns I might never use again, I tend to wing it based on hastily-scribbled pictures and a few mathematical notations. Thus, in some cases, I have to go back and re-create the pattern by looking at the finished object. That said, if there is old non-copyrighted stuff on here you'd like to see the pattern for, let me know and I'll do my best.

Just to make this post a bit more colorful, here's a pic of a kitty in a basket lined with yarn. The basket was a dollar store purchase; I made the liner using a Nifty Knitter with standard instructions for a tube and two strands of yarn. There's no telling what project it is she's laying on, but I think it's a blanket.

Scurvy Yarn Project

I have to admit that my Hubby isn’t the only one who occasionally picks bad yarn. A year or so ago I found some yarn that, in ball form, looked rather pretty. Once I started knitting with it, though, it became not so pretty. To be more accurate, knitted up, it looks like someone ate a van Gogh and then threw up. Not one to waste yarn if I can help it, I made a small placemat and coaster that I use at work. I figure if someone swipes them or accidentally throws them away, no loss. Naturally, that probably means I’m stuck with them forever.

 

If you happen to like this yarn, it's Plymouth Yarn, Italian Collection, Ms. Jones in color 2619; content is acrylic/ nylon/ mohair. I think it's been discontinued.

Crazy Yet Cool

Okay, this just has to be seen to be believed:



This brave man has a website too. I am amazed, impressed and speechless, and had to watch the entire video, jaw hanging open. One persistent thought kept going through my mind: Do you have any idea how hard it is to knit with gloves on?

Plank Walking: Center-Pull Yarn Ball

Okay, I stand (or sit) corrected: you can indeed make a center-pull ball of yarn by hand. Thanks to the kind folks at Knitting Daily, I've learned how to do this.

Originally, I thought this was rather useless for me and somewhat of a pain since I already have a winder. However, this little trick came in quite handy (pardon the pun) recently.

I am currently working on an overdue baby blanket for a co-worker using Vera, and needed another small spool of the contrast yarn. Unfortunately, both balls of contrast yarn were already attached to Vera at the edges of the blanket, so I used Knitting Daily's technique to make a small center-pull ball of the contrast yarn from the outer strand of one of the spools, and it worked! Granted, it doesn't pull out as smoothly as the yarn spooled via the winder, but it wasn't too bad, and in this case, was a lot easier than trying to spool it while attached to Vera.

Knitting Daily's instructions for the center-pull ball can be found here (in about the middle of the page), but please don't make me walk the plank! Sometimes it's good to be wrong!

Rogue Hat

We have a friend in the Army who's been overseas for some time, and has very recently (as in, just a few days ago) come back to town.  Though my Hubby and I are always proud of our friend, he ascended to a special place in our hearts while he was away by earning himself the nickname "Rogue."  So, not moments after we learned of his then-new moniker, we plotted how best to memorialize the moment, and of course, it had to involve yarn.  Conveniently, I have a pattern for a reversible hat designed by Theresa Gaffey (whose copyright statement precludes me from posting the pic from the original pattern - a shame, really, it's a nice hat).   A bit of graph paper later

and we had our plan.  One side of the hat is camo, the other black, so when you flip the brim, you have either a black hat with a camo band, or a camo hat with a black band bearing the word "Rogue" in camo via some stitch duplication.  I considered putting the word on both sides, but ended up only putting it on one side, in case he needed it to be "speechless."

Unfortunately, we were so excited to see him and his wife and give him the hat that we completely forgot to take pictures of the finished product - oops (I'm sure the beer and coolers they brought had nothing to do with our forgetfulness, nor the fact that our entire stove - range and oven - died while I was making dinner).  That said, here's a sketch of the hat:

The actual hat, I'm happy to say, looks much better than my scribble. Perhaps you can see why I work in yarn and not pencil and paper: yarn is much more forgiving if I lack talent.

p.s. the hat is knit in worsted weight RedHeart and is very, very warm.

Lost at Sea

Well CrapCat has reminded me that it's been while since I was able to post or even read my email or the blogs I follow, due to working a lot of overtime and catching up at home as a result. However, I've nearly completed another project, so stay tuned and bear with me and I'll try to make it worth the wait :-)

Meanwhile, here's a random pic of the castle blanket I crocheted with a cute kitten named Jet and his friend, whom I think is a stuffed pokemon: