Wee Wednesdays: Ribbon Cardi and Stripey Frog Legs

Pattern:  Little Garter Cardi


Mods: Adjusted the needle size, so knitted a size up from my goal size, in order to balance the two out. 

Notes: I'm not sure how I've ended up with ribbon yarn (I suspect freebies and swag bags), but it's really tough to know what to do with it once it's entered your stash. I thought I'd try knitting it up in a baby cardi, and see how it turned out. I actually think it turned out pretty cute! The garter texture in the ribbon yarn seems fluffy, and I love the blend of the white and green.

 

   

Pattern: Baby Frog Legs

Mods: None.

Notes: Super cute. I love the idea of baby legwarmers (but I know not all my friends totally understand why I'm obsessed with baby legwarmers, and that's okay!), and I was totally charmed by the original legwarmers.  Stripes made this a fun little stash busting exercise, and I'm really happy with how they turned out.

And yes, that is a little yarn wrapped baby hanger! I basically just wrapped some yarn around a plastic baby hanger, since the plastic ones are  super boring, and I like how the yarn just made them seem a little more special.  I was thinking of putting together a quick instructional video for doing it, but it seemed almost too simple. Anyone interested? I won't be offended if you're not!

Modification Monday: Hot Pink Heart Fail Cowl

Original Pattern: Heartfail

Knitter Extraordinaire: Kelly (Ravelry ID, blog)

Mods: Changed the hat pattern into a cowl, recharted it, and adjusted the decreases for a sharper heart definition.  Project page with great details and a chart can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: If you click on over to Kelly's project page, you'll see just how much thought she really put into this modification, which is amazing- lots of detail and planning went into creating this cushy, cozy cowl and a big thanks to Kelly for keeping such detailed notes so that others can easily follow in her footsteps. The cowl is gorgeous- I love the rich texture, and I think her mods are fantastic.

Upcycled Cardi Challenge, Part I

Dreadful indoor/evening photos, but you'll get the idea.  And oh look, a kitty polaroid!

That's one of my kitties, Yarn. You know how cats love photo shoots. 

This is the cardigan I'm planning on using for the the revamp, and this is the yarn- some knitpicks merino style that I've had kicking around in my stash for at least 4 years. I think it's a good match for this. 

I've swatched the ribbing portion in my chosen yarn and needles (6 mm, US size 10), and am getting  5 stitches per inch in the ribbing. The cardigan is 26 inches around, when laying flat.

Now, the first decision to make: do I want the angled fronts, like the original cardigan? Or would I prefer normal, straight fronts?

I think I'm leaning more towards straight fronts. The angles of this are nice enough, but that's not what attracted me to the cardigan. Also, I don't feel super confident about copping the fronts evenly.  What do you guys think? Straight fronts? Or should I go for the chop? I have to decide before I cast on, as the angled fronts would change how much ribbing I'll need from left front to right front.

Modification Monday: Catkin Phoenix

Original Pattern: Catkin

Knitter Extraordinaire: Katrin (Ravelry ID)

Mods: Using the shawl pattern for inspiration, Katrin created a top-down raglan short-sleeved cardigan.  Project page with great details on the modifications can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: Not only do I love the colours, I think it was genius to use the shawl as inspiration for a gorgeous summer cardigan. The way she arranged the design to be flattering around the waist and hips, as well as the excellent inversion of the colours in the droplet/stripe sections are truly remarkable. This is one impressive knit!!

Upcycled Cardi Challenge and Stockholm Scarf Giveaway Winner

The Stockholm Scarf Celebration Giveaway winner is.... Bee, who posted this thoughtful comment:

"Congratulations on your lovely pattern's well-deserved popularity! I've had Stockholm queued up on The Rav ever since the weather turned a touch icy here in Somerset.
Were I to get the chance to knit Stockholm in a Tanis colourway, I think I'd have to plump for Mallard. All that blue-green sheen would zing up my winter clothing for sure!"

congratulations,Bee !! 

I was totally blown away by the sheer volume of comments. It takes a lot of time to go through all the comments, but it's so exciting to make one knitter feel really special and get the yarn they want for their Stockholm Scarf!

I've been thinking about doing a little upcycling with the old wardrobe lately ( mainly because I'm trapped in maternity clothes and they are getting kind of old). Consider this:  

This is a lovely (and expensive!)sweater from Anthropologie, a store filled with clothes I would love to own but most days cannot afford.  I pinned it ages ago as something that I thought would be an amazing project for up-cycling a cardigan- adding knitted ribbing, and embroidering on the stitches.

It occurred to me the other day that I have a cardigan this colour that I hardly ever wear (although more simple, without the reversed seams of this one), because I find it sort of blah. and I certainly have some cream coloured yarn in my stash. I already have everything I need! So- this is my public declaration of taking on recreating (more or less) this sweater at home. Let's see how well I do! I'll be sure to keep careful notes, in case this is a wonderful upcycling success and others wish to give it a go. of course, it could just as easily be a yarn bombed disaster that doesn't look stylish at all.... Stay tuned!

Giveaway: Stockholm Scarf Celebration!

 Yesterday my first ever knitting pattern- the Stockholm Scarf- hit one thousand projects on Ravelry!

To celebrate, Tanis Fiber Arts has generously agreed to send one lucky reader two skeins of Yellow Label (DK weight) in the colourway of their choice.

To enter: leave a comment telling me what your absolute #1 choice of colourway would be to knit up the Stockholm Scarf. And please leave me some contact info- an email address, a Ravelry ID name, something that allows me to get in touch with you! Deadline to enter is midnight on Friday (EST), the winner will be announced on Saturday!

Modification Monday: Koftan Stig

Original Pattern: Vanten Stig

Knitter Extraordinaire: Kristin (Ravelry ID, blog)

Mods: Using the mitten colourwork chart for inspiration, Kristin knitting this top down cardigan with raglan increases and a rainbow palette of colour. More photos can be seen on her project page, here.

What Makes This Awesome: This cardigan turned out so beautifully- Kristin was right to pick this wonderful, interesting stranded design (it's not a motif you see regularly in knitting!) to incorporate into the cardigan, and the extra touch of using the rainbow striping yarn for contrast makes it so much more fun and visually interesting. It looks beautiful!

New Pattern: Wildflower Tank

The Spring 2012 issue of Interweave Knits is now available, so I can share with you some exciting news- my Wildflower Tank is in it!

 Ravelry Pattern Link 

I actually knit this in the summer of 2011, and made a few more changes in the fall, but I'm really happy with the results. it' s knit in 100% mulberry silk and feels amazing on. At the time, we took some test shots, even though I knew I was going to redo the back later on. It has about 1" positive ease on me, and I recommend a little bit of ease, so that the silk can drape. For those that think a drawstring i-cord is way too much i-cord, i bet you could easily crochet chain a drawstring instead- it would be much faster.


 Note: a black strapless bra under this was a bad choice. Wish I had worn the skin coloured one.

I had a hard time imagining summer knitting already until I saw the issue preview- now I'm excited about summer knitting!

Modification Monday: Na Craga Cardiganized

Original Pattern: Na Craga

Knitter Extraordinaire: Beata (Ravelry ID, )

Mods: Transformed the original pullover into a more modern cardigan, with adjustments to the neckline and shoulder construction.  Project page can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: The original sweater is a gorgeous Aran, but very 'classic' in it's shape and cut. Beata modernized it immensely by transforming it into an oversized v-neck cardigan, while maintaining the great Aran textured stitches throughout, and lengthening the body for a drapey-er fit. The result is amazing! I wish this was hanging in my closet right now.

New Pattern: Strada Headband

 

Who says winter accessories can't be glam? 

Strada is the finished pattern for the headband I designed and knitted for my cousin for Christmas. It's a quick project that could easily be done in one day or over the weekend, and (as I can personally attest) it makes an awesome gift!

The pattern is $4, and can be purchased by clicking the 'buy now' button below:

   or you can check out the pattern on Ravelry here.

The details:
This is a one-size-fits-most pattern, but it is easy to make it smaller or larger- just knit the bands a little longer or shorter, as needed. It's easy to hold it around your head while still on the needles to ensure a good fit. I knit this on two (4mm (US 6) dpns. The bow is knit flat, seamed, and sewn onto the headband with just a few stitches at each bow end to keep it attached.

Yarn: 1 skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Yellow Label DK weight (it will take approximately half a skein, so you can make two!) in 'Brick' 

Needles: 4mm (US 6)

And of course, a tapestry needle and a button for the back closure.



You know, when my cousin first requested the headband, I was really dubious- I just couldn't imagine how a big bow could look... grown up. But the trick is proportion- the bow isn't too big and showy, and it's not too small and twee. Positioning it on the side gives this headband a lot more 1920s style, I think. My cousin was right- a headband with a bow IS awesome.

Wee Wednesday: Booties

I know, I know- murky indoor nighttime shots are the worst! I was too impatient to wait until the weekend. 

Pattern: Lavish Baby Booties

Yarn: Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere (the blue ones) and Koigu painter's Palette Premium merino (yellow)

Mods: The blue ones are exactly as the pattern, but the yellow are just the stockinette version of the same pattern.

Notes: I feel like this would be much better knit in a DK weight yarn, as the 4mm needles seemed a little large for the fingering weight, but then again, I bet that gives the booties some extra stretch for when those little feet start growing quickly.

I knit the blue booties first,but wasn't sure how I felt about the garter stitch. So I experimented with the stockinette, and I think I really like both of them- for different reasons. I am planning on embroidering the yellow ones, but I was thinking of putting her name on them. So... I won't be doing that until after she's born. ;)