Afternoon Outing Baby Cap

I designed this pattern to go with a sweater for a friend's new baby.

Materials: 65 yards of Emu Superwash DK and a set of US #6 dpns.

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Custom Knitting

I am starting to do some custom knitting. If you are interested in a custom piece, please contact me to discuss details. The information on this page is given as an example only.

PRICING

Plain Socks - $22
Patterned Socks - $32
Toe Socks - $25
Striped Socks - $32
Fine Gloves - $25
Heavy Mittens - $22
Patterned Mittens - $32
Fingerless Mitts - $16
Tobogan Hat - $22
Patterned Hat - $27
Felted Slippers - $32

Patterned items might have lace or cable patterns, multiple colors or other customizations. See examples in the photographs below or contact me for more details.

COLORS

The colors on the pages linked below may vary depending on your monitor settings. If in doubt about a color combination, please contact me, as I have samples of each color and can tell you how they work together.

Other colors, included variegated colors, are available by arrangement but will be more expensive.


Plain socks, patterned socks, toe socks, fine gloves and patterned mittens

Heavy mittens, tobogan hat, patterned hat

Mitts

Felted slippers

Striped socks

PHOTOS

Bridesmaid's Bags - Erin

Gauge: 20sts in 4" in stockinette

Materials: 1 skein of Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton
US #7 double pointed needles
2.5" square of plastic canvas (optional)
a small remnant of coordinating fabric (optional)
coordinating color of sewing thread (optional)


Bottom of Bag

Cast on 4 sts. Join to knit in the round.
Row 1: KFB in all sts (8 sts)
Row 2: *KFB, K1 repeat from * four times (12 sts)
Row 3: *K1, YO, PM, K1, PM, YO, K1 repeat from * four times
row 4: Knit
Row 5: Knit, making a YO after each marker - each round will increase by 8 stitches.
Alternate Rows 4 & 5 until you have 44 sts
Next Row: Knit
Next Row: *Knit 5, YO, K6 repeat from * four times
Next Row: Purl

Sides of Bag

Round 1: KFB, knit to end
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: *skp, K2, YO, K2; *repeat from * to last st, K1
Round 4 and all even rounds: Knit
Round 5: Repeat round 3
Round 7: Repeat round 3
Round 9: K3, *YO, K2, K2tog, K2; repeat from * to last 4 sts, Yo, K2, K2tog
Round 11: Repeat Round 9
Round 13: Repeat Round 9
Round 14: Knit

Repeat Rounds 3 through 14 twice more.
Knit two rounds.
Next Row: *K2tog, YO, K4, YO, SSK repeat from * six times, K1.
Knit two rounds.
Bind off loosely.

Cord

Cut a length of yarn 70" long and fold it in half.
Twist these strands until they double back on themselves.
When the strands are tightly twisted, fold this length in half and knot the loose ends.
Make sure the cord is evenly folded and then knot the folded end.

If desired, you may stiffen the bottom of the bag.

Cut a piece of plastic canvas 2.5" square.
Cut two pieces of coordinating fabric into 3" squares.
Pin your fabric together with the right sides facing each other.
Whip stitch the fabric together on three sides.
Turn the fabric right side out and slide the plastic canvas square inside this pocket.
Fold the raw edges of the fourth side to the inside and use an invisible stitch to close the opening.
Turn the bag inside out.
Using a coordinating color of thread and making sure that the corners of the squares are lined up with the stitches between the YOs, baste the covered plastic canvas to the bottom of the bag.

Weave in your yarn ends. Thread the cord through the eyelets. Tada!

Bridesmaid's Bags - Amy

Gauge: 20sts in 4" in stockinette

Materials: 1 skein of Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton
US #7 double pointed needles
2.5" square of plastic canvas (optional)
a small remnant of coordinating fabric (optional)
coordinating color of sewing thread (optional)


Bottom of Bag

Cast on 4 sts. Join to knit in the round.
Row 1: KFB in all sts (8 sts)
Row 2: *KFB, K1 repeat from * four times (12 sts)
Row 3: *K1, YO, PM, K1, PM, YO, K1 repeat from * four times
row 4: Knit
Row 5: Knit, making a YO after each marker - each round will increase by 8 stitches.
Alternate Rows 4 & 5 until you have 44 sts
Next Row: Knit
Next Row: *Knit 5, YO, K6 repeat from * four times
Next Row: Purl

Sides of Bag

Round 1: K2tog, knit to end
Round 2 and all even rounds: Knit
Round 3: K3 *YO, skp, K6; repeat from * to last 4 sts, YO, skp
Round 5: K1, *K2tog, YO, K1, YO, skp, K3; repeat from * to last 6 sts, K2tog, YO, K1, YO, skp, K1
Round 7: Repeat Round 3
Round 9: Knit
Round 11: K7, *YO, skp, K6; repeat from * to end
Round 13: K5, *K2tog, YO, K1, YO, skp, K3; repeat from * to last 2 sts, K2
Round 15: Repeat Round 11


Repeat Rounds 2 through 15 twice more.
Knit two rounds.
Next Row: *K2tog, YO, K4, YO, SSK repeat from * six times
Knit two rounds.
Bind off loosely.

Cord

Make a crochet chain 16.5" long.
Single Crochet in the second chain from hook. SC in all following chains.
Fasten off.

If desired, you may stiffen the bottom of the bag.

Cut a piece of plastic canvas 2.5" square. (see template A)
Cut two pieces of coordinating fabric into 3" squares. (see template B)
Pin your fabric together with the right sides facing each other.
Whip stitch the fabric together on three sides.
Turn the fabric right side out and slide the plastic canvas square inside this pocket.
Fold the raw edges of the fourth side to the inside and use an invisible stitch to close the opening.
Turn the bag inside out.
Using a coordinating color of thread and making sure that the corners of the squares are lined up with the stitches between the YOs, baste the covered plastic canvas to the bottom of the bag.

Weave in your yarn ends. Thread the cord through the eyelets. Tada!

Tannenbaum

As a newlywed, I spent our first Christmas trying to find the perfect miniature holiday trees to decorate our tiny apartment. I never found anything that I liked so I spent the next summer thinking about designs for a knitted holiday tree that would be easy to make and durable. At an after Christmas sale, I found short strands of miniature lights on clearance and decided to incorporate those lights into my design. These are fast enough to make a wonderful knitted gift for teachers, gift exchanges and similar events. Or knit up a whole forest of them to use as the centerpiece of your holiday dinner!

Drops of Spring

Bridesmaid's Bags: Colleen

Gauge: 20sts in 4" in stockinette

Materials:
1 skein of Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton
US #6 double pointed needles
2.5" square of plastic canvas (optional)
a small remnant of coordinating fabric (optional)
coordinating color of sewing thread (optional)

Bottom of Bag

Cast on 4 sts. Join to knit in the round.
Row 1: KFB in all sts (8 sts)
Row 2: *KFB, K1 repeat from * four times (12 sts)
Row 3: *K1, YO, PM, K1, PM, YO, K1 repeat from * four times
row 4: Knit
Row 5: Knit, making a YO after each marker - each round will increase by 8 stitches.
Alternate Rows 4 & 5 until you have 44 sts
Next Row: Knit
Next Row: *Knit 5, YO, K6 repeat from * four times
Next Row: Purl

Sides of Bag

Round 1: Knit
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: *k1, p1, k1 into next stitch, p3tog; rep from *
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: *p3tog, k1, p1, k1 into next stitch; rep from *
Round 6: Knit
Repeat Rounds 3 - 6 six times
Knit two rounds.
Next Round: *K2tog, YO, K4, YO, SSK repeat from * six times
Knit two rounds.
Bind off loosely.

Cord

Cast on 4 sts.
Work in i-cord for 16".
Bind off.

Finishing

Weave in your yarn ends. Thread the i-cord through the eyelets.

If desired, you may stiffen the bottom of the bag using the following directions.

Cut a piece of plastic canvas 2.5" square.
Cut two pieces of coordinating fabric into 3" squares.
Pin your fabric together with the right sides facing each other.
Whip stitch the fabric together on three sides.
Turn the fabric right side out and slide the plastic canvas square inside this pocket.
Fold the raw edges of the fourth side to the inside and use an invisible stitch to close the opening.
Turn the bag inside out.
Using a coordinating color of thread and making sure that the corners of the squares are lined up with the stitches between the YOs, baste the covered plastic canvas to the bottom of the bag.

March for Babies

This post is going to stay at the top of the blog for awhile.

I am thiiiiiis close to finishing the Spring Shawl Surprice lace project that I've been working on for months. My shawl is 100% merino wool with some clear glass seed beads in it. The color is "Hollyhock", an intense, deep pink that reminds me more of azaleas. I will post pictures of it as soon as it is finished. After reading Lul's explanation of the shawl design, I decided that I needed to use this shawl to benefit a charity. As some of you may know, March of Dimes is my charity of choice. This year, I'm partnering with Billie over at Micro Preemie Twins to raise money for March of Dimes.

Everyone who donates money to Billie & Holland & Eden's team in Walk for Babies will get one chance to win the completed Spring Shawl Surprice. This is retroactive to everyone who's donated prior to this post, too - you even follow the same rules. Here's the rules:

1) Make a donation (click the banner at the top of this post). Not sure if you want to? Go here and watch Billie's montage and then tell me you don't want to make a donation. Even a dollar will help.

2) Send an e-mail to dzaackML7820 at gmail.com (with the obvious removal of spaces and conversion of symbols. Tell me your name, your blog address and your e-mail address.

3) Team Holland and Eden walk on April 26, 2008. On April 25th, I will draw one name at random as the winner of the shawl. I'll mail it to you by USPS Priority Mail.

More Magic Loop

I would like to take a moment and offer up some thoughts and (perhaps) helpful pictures regarding magic loop. In the past few days, quite a number of folks have asked about magic loop and how you keep it from becoming a giant tangle, especially if you're working two items at a time. The short answer is: It always gets to be a sort of tangle. The longer answer: With a bit of attention, you can keep the tangling to a minimum and whiz right along through your knitting.

Basic Tips:
1) Use a long needle with a flexible cable. I prefer Addis or Knitpicks needles with at least a 32" and preferably a 40" cable.
2) The first couple of rounds will look like utter crap. This is acceptable and will sort itself out as you go along. If it doesn't start to perk up by round 4, pause and look for errors.
3) In this method of knitting, laddering between the needles is best prevented by a good sharp tug on the yarn at the beginning of each half round.

Magic Loop (One Item at a Time)

The cast on
Using whatever method you desire, cast on the total number of stitches for your item. Slide all of the stitches onto the cable of your needle and find the mindpoint of your stitches. At the midpoint, spread the stitches apart, pinch the cable and pull the cable between the stitches. You should now have your circular needle folded in half with 50% of your stitches on each side of the needle. Slide all your stitches back down to the tips of the needle and, like so:


you are ready to knit.

Knitting
In order to keep from a)twisting your work and b) turning the whole shebang into a tangled mess, always make sure that your working yarn runs OVER the cable of the working needle, like so:


Pull the needle with the working yarn attached throught the stitches (so that all the stitches are on the cable and turn it around to make "rabbit ears" and begin knitting your stitches, like so:


At the end of your half round you'll end up with all of your stitches back on the tips of your needles.
Turn the work, repeat the pulling through and work back across to complete the round. Remember: You have to work both sides of the work in order to complete a round.


Magic Loop (Two Items at a Time)

The Cast On
To cast on for two items at a time in Magic Loop, you need to cast on in a specific order. Using whatever method you so desire, cast on 50% of the stitches needed for item A (in this case, the gold yarn). Drop yarn A and cast on 100% of the stitches needed for item B (in this case, the dark blue yarn).

Push all of your stitches onto the cable. Find the midpoint of the stitches for item B and do the pinch and pull described above.

Now cast on the other 50% of your stitches for item A

And you're ready to begind knitting!

The Knitting
Always make sure that your working yarn runs OVER the cable of the working needle, this will keep your yarn from getting tangled up through the center of the items your working on and between the items. (If you do get tangled up, fix it as soon as you notice it. If you're knitting from two seperate balls, I find it most effective to go back to the ball and follow the yarn through the tangle. If you're using both ends of the same ball, you'll need to look very carefully at where the tangle is - often you'll have to finish a half round of one or both items in order to get to a point where you can get the needle out of the midst of the tangle.)
To work two items at a time, you'll use the same pull through, turn to "rabbit ears" and knit across method described above. However, you will knit a half round on item A AND on item B before you turn the work. I find it most expedient to hold only the yarn for the item I'm currently working on.
In this image, I've just finished a half round on item A and have dropped the yarn to move on to item B:


When knitting two items at a time on magic loop, the yarn will get wrapped around one another (as it often does in fair isle or other colorwork knitting). The most expedient way to untangle this is to hold your knitting by the working yarn (between the ball and the tangle) and to dangle the work off the side of your chair. It should spin around and untwist the yarn.

For my Sock Class

As promised, pictures and directions from the Two Socks On Magic Loop class today.

Gusset pictures:

Here, I've knit across the remaining heel flap stitches and picked up stitches along one side of my gusset. I'm about to knit across the stitches in the top of the sock.













This is the bottom of the sock after picking up the stitches on the second side of the gusset.












This is the working view of the sock after picking up the second side of the gusset. The heel needle has far more stitches than the needle holding the stitches for the top of the sock.





Heel Options for Toe-Uppers (and some that would work for top down, as well)

My personal favourite, the short row heel, works with both toe-up and top down socks. Working on your heel stitches only....
Row 1: Knit to last stitch. Move yarn to the front, slip the last stitch, move yarn to the back and slip the stitch back to your left needle. You've wrapped your working yarn around this stitch. Do Not Knit this stitch.
Row 2: Purl to last stitch. Repeat the slipping and wrapping.
Row 3: Knit to last unwrapped stitch. Repeat the slipping and wrapping.
Row 4: Purl to the last unwrapped stitch. Repeat the slipping and wrapping.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until you have 2/3 of your heel stitches wrapped (1/3 on each side), end with a purl row.
Row 1: Knit across the unwrapped stitches. Pick up the wrap that is around the next stitch and place it on your left needle. Knit these two stitches (the original stitch + the wrap) together. On the next stitch, repeat the slipping and wrapping from above. This stitch should have 2 wraps.
Row 2: Purl across the unwrapped stitches. Repeat as above.
Row 3: Knit across the unwrapped stitches. Pick up BOTH wraps from the next stitch and place them on your left needle. Knit all 3 stitches together.
Row 4: Purl across the unwrapped stitches. Continue as for Row 3.
Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until all stitches are worked. You will not need to work a gusset, simply continue into the leg (or foot) of your sock.

Another option is the toe-up heel flap:

Row 1: S1, K1 in the purl bump, k to last 1 stitch, k1 in purl bump, k1
Row 2: S1, purl across
Row 3: S1, knit across
Row 4: S1, purl across
Row 5: S1, k2, ssk, knit to last 5 stitches, k2tog, k3
Repeat rows 4 and 5 until 14 stitches remain
Next row: S1, purl across
Work shortrows
Row 1: S1, k2, k2tog, k4, ssk, TURN
Row 2: S1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 3: S1, k4, ssk, turn
Row 4: S1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 5: S1, k4 ssk, turn
Row 6: S1, p4, p2tog, turn
Row 7: s1, k4, ssk DO NOT TURN. With right side of heel flap facing you, k1 through the slipped stitch immediately below the stitch you just knit, TURN.
Row 8: S1, purl across, p1 in slipped stitch below the last p2tog.
Row 9: S1, knit across, k1 in next slipped stitch
Row 10: S1, purl across, p1 in next slipped stitch
Repeat rows 9&10 until all slipped stitches are worked
Next row: Pick up and knit one stitch in the ladder between the heel flap and the body of the sock. Knit across the top of the sock. Pick up and knit one stitch in the ladder between the body of the sock and the heel flap. Knit across the heel stitches.

You could also use a peasant heel for either toe up or top down socks.