A new Sweater

Thank you for the nice comments about the Chaton Minet basket.
There were a couple questions one pertaining to the basket the other to Miche.
I just want to clarify that the basket is knit using 2 strands of the yarn held together throughout the pattern.
As far as Miche is concerned, we think he is about 2. Miche actually became our cat thanks to one of my customers at the store. He somehow had ended up on her doorstep. Her older cat really did not share her joy at finding a kitten, so she asked me if I knew anyone who wanted a kitten. We did! Miche soon came home with us, and got his name in memory of the cat my husband grew up with. He is the sweetest, and smartest cat. He rings a bell to go out, and says hello when he is on the wrong side of the door, and he is a shameless purring machine enjoying every moment
.



Being done with the basket, I am off to knitting another project. This time it is a sweater for my husband. I picked Cascade 128 Tweed in a lovely rusty color. It will be knit in the round,my favorite way to knit sweaters. I have a design in mind. I want something simple and masculine and at the same time interesting.
I have cast on, and the edge is done...it's on to the design!

Mothers of the World Collection

Before I start telling you about my Mothers of the World Collection, I want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day. I wish you lots of flowers, hugs, and kisses.
I got lots of hugs and kisses this morning, and my husband got me a special gift, a vintage mounted Singer Sewing machine. He has to go pick it up, and I can't wait to find a special place for it in the house, probably in my design studio.

My Mothers of the World Collection is done. I loved the colorways so much that I had to show everyone in the house each and every skein. What I love about them is their harmonious nature. I was so inspired by the theme of the universality of motherhood, that it transpired in the colorways themselves. Each colorway is unique, but at the core of each one is one identical color. That identical color disappears but remains at the core of the soul of each colorway.

This picture above is a collage of some of this weeks' colorways, and I hope that you enjoy them.

Chaton Minet - Free Cat basket Knitting Pattern

The cat basket is finished. The lovely boy in the basket is Miche. Chaton Minet is the name I ended up giving to this cat basket. It is also the title of a famous French Nursery rhyme. I thought the name suited the whimsical spirit of the basket. I really like the chevrons, and the edges which I curled into shape.






The basket is knit in the round, and there is no seaming to do! The basket is then felted.
I hope you will have fun knitting it, and that your feline friends will love it!

Chaton Minet

Materials: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, 2 of each color: M-18 Khaki, M-13 Sun Yellow, M-52 Spruce, M-120 Limeade.
Needle: 29" US 13
Finished size after stretching and shaping 17" diameter

Chevron Pattern:
R1: *K1 f&b, K9, SL2, K1, P2SSO, K9, K1f&b* Repeat from * to *
R2: Purl





Please note that the whole basket is knit in garter stitch using 2 strands of yarn held together. The garter stitch felts thicker, and gives the basket a firm texture.

With Spruce, CO 161 stitches. Join round. Knit 6 rows in garter stitch.

Start chevron pattern above in following order of colors:
*4 rounds limeade, 4 rounds khaki, 4 rounds sun yellow, 2 rounds spruce* This forms 1 color pattern repeat. Knit a total of 3 color pattern repeats. On the last color pattern repeat replace the last 2 rounds of spruce, with 6 rounds of plain garter stitch with no chevron in Spruce.


Base decreases:
Base is knit in Khaki.
R1: K2tog, *Knit8, K2TOG* Repeat from *
R2: and all even rounds purl
R3: Knit
R5: Knit
R7:*K7 , K2TOG*Repeat
R9: Knit
R11:Knit
R13:*K6, K2TOG*Repeat
R15: Knit
R17: Knit
R19:*K5, K2TOG* Repeat
R21:*K4, K2TOG* Repeat
R23:*K3, K2TOG* Repeat
R25:*K2, K2TOG* Repeat
R27:*K1, K2TOG* Repeat
R29:*K2TOG*
Repeat R29 until 5-7 stitches remain. Gather remaining stitches with a darning needle.
Weave in ends.



Put the basket in a zippered pillow case, and throw in wash in hot water with laundry detergent, monitoring the progress.
The basket will be crumpled, and somewhat wavy because of the chevron and will need to be shaped, pulled, and tugged on. If you don't believe me look at this picture.I find that paying a lot of attention to the shaping really pays off, and our feline babies deserve only the best!



Copyright, Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer 2008. This pattern is for personal use only.

I often find dealing with my stash daunting. I dream of being a lace knitter with just one large skein of laceweight yarn keeping me knitting for long periods of time. The sheer numbers of colors you need for my type of knitting make the stash much larger. No matter how big my stash is, I always wish I could find yet another color during a project.

Above is a photo of my current stash - I still try hard to keep it under a certain size because of all the insects in the southwest. I recently knit up and donated my DK weight stash and most of my Shetland yarns.The empty containers are yarns that are in the freezer - I rotate all of them in and out of the freezer for moth prevention purposes.

One of the ways stranded color knitting is different from other types of knitting is that when you finish a project, you have many more partial skeins of yarn than someone who knits with just one color. After multiple colorwork projects it can become a challenge not just to use up all those little bits of yarn but also to store and label them. I definitely try to keep all my weights and brands together but I still end up with small quantities of mystery yarns.

I occasionally measure the wraps per inch of an unidentified yarn to determine the weight but more often I just eyeball a yarn to determine if it is the same weight as the others I want to use in a project. I also have no problem mixing fibers to get the colors I want. Occasionally (gasp) I don't even care and use different weight yarns in the same stranded project.



For my current chullo project I have three yarns of varying fibers and varying weights in the colors shown above. I have some Knitpicks' Andean Treasure (100% alpaca, sport weight), some Elann's Pure Alpaca (100% alpaca, worsted weight), and some Cascade Lana D'Oro (half alpaca/half wool, worsted weight) and I want to use them all for this project. What I'll probably do is use the sport weight for a child's chullo and the other two yarns for the adult hat. If I wasn't going to write up the pattern I'd probably use them all in the same hat just to give me some extra color choices.

Another issue is my need for different color combos to get inspired for a new project. I can knit 3 pairs of Arctic Spring Mittens out of the 4 skeins of Elann's Pure Alpaca Fina sportweight needed for the pattern just by switching the colors for the hand. I wanted to make a few more pairs but did I use the yarn I already had? Of course not - I bought two new colors to make additional color combos instead! sigh

This Little Piggy... (FREE PATTERN)

Yesterday, I was talking to one of my old friends. As we both are mothers, the conversation always ends up on the children. I started talking about my unsuccessful attempt at making S. stop sucking her thumb. (She is 7). She sucks it even during the day. My friend said that she heard of this new device that could be installed in the mouth of the child, and would prick the child's thumb if they tried putting their thumb in their mouth. I was horrified! I know sucking one's thumb is not the best, but it is a soft, comforting thing. I thought there had to be a better way. So I thought up This Little Piggy! The idea is simple, this is basically a single finger glove secured to the wrist with a knotted i-cord. This Little Piggy is knit mostly in the round using Cascade's Fixation in colors 4545, and 7382. The quantities used are ridiculously small, so if you have some yarn walnuts left over from some Fixation project, they will be perfect, or you can purchase the 2 colors, knit This Little Piggy, and then knit yourself a pair of striped socks. I chose Fixation because it is so readily available, it is cotton and lycra, and it is stretchy. I placed the Piggy's face on the top of the thumb, this way whenever S. has the urge to suck her thumb, though the urge is frustrating, she sees the happy little pig. She has already named the piggy Mercy Watson (the wondrous pig whose adventures she adores!)I think This Little Piggy is best for children 7 and older.

Here is the pattern for This Little Piggy (this is a really, really quick project!)



Materials: Cascade Fixation color 4545, and 7382
Needles: 2 16" US 3 needles
Gauge:6 sts/inch in st st

FLAP:
With Pink cast on 3 stitches. Increase every other row at beginning and end of row with bar increase until you have 7 stitches.
Knit even in garter stitch until flap is 1 1/2 inch.

THUMB:
Using knitted cast on, cast on 7 stitches. Transfer 7 stitches to a second circular, and join round. Knit in st st for 1 inch.

SNOUT OPENING:

With front of flap facing you ( the thumb whole will be hidden under your work)on needle 1: K2, put 3 sts on holder, CO 3, K2. Knit all stitches on needle 2.
Continue knitting even for 3/4 inch.

THUMB CLOSING:
Needle 1: K1, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1
Repeat on needle 2.
With a darning needle gather remaining stitches, and weave in end.

SNOUT:
Go back to the stitches on holder. Slip them back onto a needle. Rejoin yarn, K3, pick up and knit 3 stitches with other needle, and knit in round for 2 extra rounds. Gather remaining stitches with a darning needle, and weave in end.

EARS:

Pick up and knit 2 stitches on left side of head. R1: knit. R2: K2tog, tie off.
Repeat on right side of head.

EYES, NOSTRILS, MOUTH:
With brown and a darning needle, make 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, and a mouth. Weave in ends.

WRIST CORD:
With pink, make a 3 stitch 11" I-cord. With pink and a darning needle attach flap to cord, so that cord may be knotted on inside of wrist.

Copyright, Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer, 2008. This pattern is for personal use only.

This summer I'm planning on playing with some eco-friendly yarns. I've already ordered some Pakucho naturally-dyed cotton and several colors of hemp. I'm also really looking forward to trying bamboo, soy silk, and Vermont O-Wool. I'll probably try to do colorwork with them all with varying degrees of success. I've found the Green Knitter web site very helpful and educational with info different methods of yarn production with links to many environmentally-friendly companies.

Speaking of ecological knitting, here are some market bags I knit years ago from long-gone patterns. The one on the left is knit from thick cotton and much too big to be useful. Once you sling it over your shoulder and fill it up the bag will drag on the floor unfortunately. The one on the right is knit from Euroflax linen and much stronger than it looks. Both have been retired from use as a result of stretching and are now used to hold my various handknit items. I will probably make a few more (possibly from THIS free pattern) when my new yarns arrive.

Wednesdays are for Planning

Today was more a day of planning than a day of actual progress on any of my projects.

The cat bed has grown quite a bit, and is a little less than a repeat away from having finished edges. In response to Woolwinder, yes the basket will be felted. I think felting it will give it the body and sturdiness it needs, and make it safe for little claws. I have not yet decided how the base of the basket will be knitted. Should I continue the chevron, of switch to a simple one color base, preferably knit with one of the darker colors in the pattern, which will help hide the results of dirty paws?



In the felted category, I have yet another project that needs just a final touch. I knit these slippers for A. my oldest daughter. I used a Fiber Trends pattern, and Ella Rae Classic Wool in a really warm, luscious chocolate brown color. I had a lot of fun shaping them. I just need to attach 2 buttons, and a little bit of elastic, and they will be done. The only problem is that the buttons I had purchased for it have gone missing since I started organizing my studio. Isn't it funny that as long as things are stored in the wrong places, they can be found easily, but as soon as they are put away in the right place they are basically lost?



I am still working on my studio, and today picked the color for the hutch. It was red, and it will become Pear Green to match the little bit of green that will be in the curtains. The curtains for the bookshelves are up, and my next job is to orgnize the shelves. Maybe I will start the painting of the hutch tomorrow.