Many of you dear readers have probably noticed that I haven't been making posts in a nice timely manner as of late.  I feel I should explain, albeit briefly.  My household is going through a rough patch and my I spend my extra time vegging in front of my TV and knitting.  Designing has become one of my true distractions and has helped keep me sane as of late.  I don't expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel until a year from now, if then. 

Since I am still designing, you will still see me shamelessly hocking my patterns every now and then.  I never planned this blog to be all about that but for now that's just where I'm at.  There may be days when my attitude will permit me to have a little fun so keep your fingers crossed for that time.  I'm an optimist at heart so maybe this is just a short funk and I'll be back to my old self in no time at all.

~Many thanks to all of you for spending your valuable time checking my bloggy out!~

I remember looking through a mail order catalog and being inspired by a nylon bucket hat with a quilted grid turned to a 45 degree angle.  My brain translated that to read as Entrelac and I decided immediately to make up a knitted version.

Throughout the trial and error process, I used different textures of yarn.  The result was 2 slightly different versions, one that has enough body to keep the crown shape a bit flat and another version that has a drapeier, softer shape.  For a firmer shape, I’ve concluded that the first important thing to consider if substituting another yarn is that it should be a firm worsted weight which is somewhat rustic in texture, knit at a tighter gauge & smaller needle size than the manufacturer would suggest.  The hat could be lined to help keep its shape better if using a softer yarn.

 

 

There are no seams in making up this hat.  Every part is worked in the round.  A circular needle is used except for the decreasing part of the crown.  This hat was a relatively quick knit due to its gauge.  It will work up even faster if you know how to knit backwards (meaning not having to turn the work in progress and always having the right side facing).

 

 

Working Entrelac in the round is similar to working it flat as there will be knit and purl rows to make the stockinette rectangles.  One round of rectangles will begin with the RS facing and the next round will begin on a WS row.  The brim and crown are both worked in garter stitch.

 

 

This version of the hat done in 100% cotton fit looser on the head than the wool version and would make this a great spring/summer hat.  The idea of trying to shrink the hat a bit in the washer and dryer has been tossed around but hasn't been tried yet.  I could be a possibility some of you may choose.

 

Materials for Version One (wool):

  -Tahki Yarns Donegal Tweed Homespun (100% wool, 100gms/180 yds)  color: Olive #803

  -US #6 (4.0 mm) needles (16" circular & 4 dpns)

 

Materials for Version Two (cotton):

  -Knit One Crochet Two Ty-Dy (100% cotton, 100gms/196 yds)  color: Hibiscus #265

  -US #5 (3.75 mm) needles (16" circular & 4 dpns)

 

Finished size of hat:

 

Version 1: 4 inches high by 24 inches circumference (right at where brim joins at base) & 18 inches circ. (where crown joins at top)

 

Version 2: 4 inches high by 25 inches circumference (right at where brim joins at base) & 18 inches circ. (where crown joins at top)

 

 

Skill Level:

 

This file is available for purchase in PDF format.  Click on the button below and follow the instructions to receive your copy of the pattern.

 

$4.00

 

Or purchase in my Ravelry store here.

Last night, the Sharkitect and I woke up to the sound of explosions.  Our neighbors' house was going up in flames.  The family is okay but quite shaken up, as would be expected.  We don't know yet if the house can be salvaged since we assume there is extensive smoke damage.

This is my reminder to count my blessings again.  It's kind of like having another more personal Thanksgiving day almost at the halfway point from the original.  In the mean time, this sample photo of a new project I'm working on will help distract me from this tragic event:

I will be posting a pattern for my entrelac bucket hat soon, if you're interested.  I've made up several versions and the pattern is being tested so it should be available soon.  The version above is made in Knit One Crochet Two TyDy in colorway 265 Hibiscus.  The hat only takes one 100gm skein.

...of my photos today.  I gave him the task of taking pics of my latest pair of hand knit socks and told him to use his imagination.  My photography style is redundant so I thought his perspective could be interesting.  Here's what I got:

(tricked up with Photo Shop)

(up close and personal)

(with props from the yard)

Pattern: Cable Rib Socks (link to Ravelry site may not be accessible to everyone at this time) by Erica Alexander from the book Favorite Socks   Yarn: Trekking XXL (colorway: 145 Shades of Orange)   Needles: US #0 & 1 (I used the Magic Loop technique)

I didn't follow the instructions 100% because I messed up somewhere at the point where I picked up stitches around the heel flap to continue with the side cables.  I also lost count of some of the rows between cable crosses so some are longer/shorter than others.  I'm no perfectionist (I think I say this all the time) so it's not going to bother me.  They turned out nice enough and I love the colorway.  I've dubbed these my Clockwork socks (cuz they're orange--any Kubrick fans out there?)  Anyway, the socks are going to be much more pleasant than the theme of that movie.  

Here are my own boring photos of the socks:

(on my lumpy Duct foot--I guess fake appendages can loose their shape too)

(cables close-up)

(not the socks--just a close-up of the baby Dogwood bloom that was tricked up in the top photo by DS)

~Inner Monologue: Can one use too many parenthesis?  I count 11 pairs in this post.  I may have a record here.~

This is what happens when you let a dog outside after a long day and night of rain.

You can tell by the feet that she doesn't just dig with her nose.  Right now she's having fun running in and out of the doggie door with her squeaker toy.  She's great entertainment.  We won't mention what we'll have to vacuum out of the carpet soon enough.

Pattern: Buttercream  Yarn: Classic Elite  Wool Bam Boo   Needles: US #6 (4.0mm)

Looking at this scarf, you might think that the vertical rows of contrast stripes are an afterthought, something that was adding at the end, perhaps with duplicate stitch or a crochet chain.  That is not the case here.  They are worked in as the scarf progresses, sort of like intarsia but not quite.  But don’t let it scare you away.  Once you discover that you are actually just knitting one stitch from a different color in its own little tidy ball the process becomes a lot more friendly.  And the curving lines are created by the increased or decreased stitches before and after it. 

The lace design itself is very easy.  The only thing difficult about this pattern, in my view, is the reading line by line of the instructions.  And if you’re used to doing this, then it shouldn’t be intimidating.  I am partial to working from charts so there is one provided as well.

(wrong side of scarf)

Finished Size: 8" wide by 65" long

Skill Level: 

This file is available for purchase in PDF format.  Click on the button below and follow the instructions to receive your copy of the pattern.

$5.00

Or purchase from my Ravelry store here.

Happy Easter!

This Lola Bowla goes to my Mom.  I hope she likes it.  (I'll be keeping the toys.  Mom's too grown up for hopping chickens and bunnies.)

~Inner Monologue: Bock Bock!~

Spring is almost a sure thing in my neck of the woods so I'm reflecting the mood of the season in my choice of colors for my latest project. Actually, when I look at these colors, I think about Highlighter pens.  So as my mind wandered, I did a search for a photo of some pens to compare to my yarn.  Funny, in my search for basic cheapo highlighters, I came across some really neat and, in some cases, bizarre (the syringe, if you're wondering) pens.  My personal favorites are the one with the post-it tabs attached.

I'm currently making up another Lola Bowla for my Mother for Easter.  I hope to have it done in time.

I'm a little afraid to mention this next thing so publicly but here goes: I'm going to let my short hair grow out.  There, its out in the internet cosmos now so there's no turning back.  I used to have very long hair about 20 years ago so I know what to expect.  I love my short hair but my face shape has changed with age and maybe longer hair will compliment my wrinkies better.  Plus I really want to see how the gray will show up.  I love gray hair.  My grandmother had white hair for as long as I can remember and I really hope to follow in her gene steps.  However, its probably not 100% in the cards.  I'll get what I get and I'm getting more every day (I think). 

I mention all this hair business because my latest knitted article of obsession has been headbands.  I'm hoping that wearing headbands will help camouflage the weird hair inconsistencies as it grows.  It'll be too warm to wear hats so this is the next best thing.  I've already made several Quants from Knitty but they are mostly for Christmas gifts (I get points for starting this early in the year).

That pattern is a lot of fun to knit and would be a great project if you want to learn the entrelac technique.

(Don't kill me for posting your piccie, Elizabeth...)  Isn't she cute wearing this version in Jasper by Berroco?  The flowers you see are in the background and not growing out of her head or attached to the headband.  All this headband action has inspired me to do a modular version and here's what I have so far:

It's not blocked yet since it's only about 45% complete.  I'm working it in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift and will be writing up a pattern when its done.

...this would be a bouquet.  I'd even sniff it.  Smells more like a very clean sheep than a rose but we yarnies know what I'm talking about here.  If you've never seen this before, these are some of the new monotone shades of Brown Sheep'sLamb's Pride Worsted.  If it looks familiar, it may be because this is what I used for the Kitka Modular Bag.  I absolutely love this stuff.  Look at it how it works up NOT felted:

Don't ask me what that thing is.  I was just messing around one day and this happened.  There's only 2 colors missing in these photos: One is a deep green and the other is an orange (there may be more than these but I haven't seen them yet).  My LYS just got some of the orange in and I'm itching to go pick some up. 

Speaking of my LYS, its name is Knit Wicks and the owner's name is Elizabeth.  Its a great place and she's a great gal (heh, if you're reading this Elizabeth, I just called you a GAL!)  Here's a pic of last Saturday:

There's a sock class going on the background so everyone is looking down at what they are doing.  In the foreground are the comfy couches.  Delores is blocked by the colorful red feather boa and Leslie is at the lower right side.  Hey, they're great gals too!  (Heh, if you're reading this Delores and Leslie, I called you GALs too!)  I keep meeting some really neat folks at this shop.  If you want to stop in sometime, its located at 103 West Walnut in Rogers, AR (479-899-6442).  Look at who else I caught knitting:

I didn't ask their names but these girls were knitting away in their own little space at the rear of the shop (I Photo-shopped a piece of cotton candy over the girl on the right's face to protect her privacy).  It was great to see the art/craft happening with the youngun's.

My blog posting may be sporadic in the coming months.  I'm getting ready to start a new project at the real job and sometimes those things drain me of creativity and ~Inner Monologues~.  I do have another scarf pattern that I'll post soon so you've been warned.