Yarny Goodness

For those who celebrate, I hope you all had a nice Easter.  As I am Greek Orthodox, our celebration is not until next month.  Orthodox Christians have Pascha (Easter) after Passover.

I want to show you some things in the works.....a crocheted bud scarf pattern using Lion Brands Landscapes....

a simple cowl.  US size 8 16" circular needle.  Cast on 96.  Knit a 2x2 rib for one inch, knit until you like the size, do a 2x2 rib for one inch and bind off.  I purchased this Cascade Yarns Pinwheel on Craftsy.  Huge skein of 440 yards in Hearts and Spades!  You can get quite a few cowls out of that much yardage.

I bought two, because at $5.97 a skein is just too good to pass up!

 

I have a spring garden scarf pattern in the works using the gorgeous Cloudborn Fibers yarn, also from Craftsy.

I'm adding an orange and yellow to the mix, instead of the magenta and purple in the above photo above.  I'll design something else with those.  Maybe a knitted scarf for fall.

 

Here's the orange and yellow, plus, I picked up a 3 color gradient in gray which I think I'll add some color to when I decide on a pattern.

Have a great week,

sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

Kinky circs?  Just run the cable under hot water until it straightens out!

A Nice Substitute

I did a post a few weeks back about mill ends yarns.  It's made by plying together random mill ends of yarns and they make these wacky color combinations.  They are not always easy to come by on line or in your local yarn shop.  We have a new Hobby Lobby store that just opened in my neighborhood!  Weeeee!

I set off to see if I could find anything resembling mill end yarn during their grand opening.  What I found was Yarn Bee Dazzling, by Hobby Lobby, for $5.99.  Two ply yarn with a metallic thread added for subtle sparkle, which you can't see in the photos at all, I'm sorry to say.  

I picked a lovely skein called Pastels fully expecting a rather babyish color way.  I was most pleasantly surprised to find that that was not the case.

 The yarn is super soft, 3.5 oz 256 yards and the label reads (4) medium worsted weight.  It's more like a DK (3) weight to me.

Beautiful shades of soft blue, white, grey and turquoise.  

Here you can see a bit of the iridescent thread.

I knit this one to measure 12" from cast on edge to bind off edge, but could have easily gone to 16" before casting off.

The other skein is called Tropics.

I  did a rolled hem edging on the cast on as well as the bind off.  With the tail I did a simple whip stitch around the rolled edge and gave it a little tug to cinch it up.   The picture doesn't do it justice.  It's actually really pretty.

Here's the purple(ish) metallic thread in the Tropics skein.

I'm sorry my photos are not the best.  It's snowing heavily in Nebraska without the sun.

Shades of emerald green, red, dark purple and turquoise are perfect for Mardi Gras!  Hobby Lobby had a few other colors that I'm going back for now that I have tried it!

 

I used Stacy Trocks free pattern on her Fresh Stitches site.  You can find that here.  Scroll down and you will find the pattern.  You can also purchase some mill end yarn from her while you're there.

If you try out this yarn and Stacy's pattern, I'd love to see them!

Best,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

Think out of the box....I found these Christmas ornament hangers in the 75% off bin.  That's about $.62 for 100.  I'm going to use them as removable stitch markers.

Easy Eyelet Cowl Knitting Pattern

 

I've been so busy the last several weeks.  My husband was let go from his job as a food broker (not to worry, he found another one within two weeks), the cold is making my bones ache, and getting ready for Thanksgiving and now Christmas is tiering.  I do have two fun trips coming up....a wedding in the Washington, DC area this weekend.  Then a family bridal shower is St. Louis next weekend.  Also, I still have to keep designing and filling orders for my business.

So, I've sneaked in a simple cowl. 

Who doesn't need a quick knit, one skein cowl for the holidays?  Actually, you can get two from one skein of Patons Lace.  Yay!

Knit in the round with a k2, p2 ribbed edge, add some knit rows and some eyelet rows and you're done!

Two row repeat for easy memorization.  Cozy up in front of the television or listen to your favorite podcast and knit away.

Lightweight and oh so toasty warm.  I'm getting ready for tons of traveling this month and this will be so easy to wear and pack in my suitcase.  

There's still plenty of time to whip some up for under the tree.  So affordable for your hairdresser, teacher, secret santa, boss or hostess.

Something from you sock yarn stash would be gorgeous.

This one is a skein of Moonlight Sonata by James C, Brett.  You can't tell from the photo, but there is tons of sparkle in this yarn.  Perfect for the season and the coming New Year.  

The pattern is $2.00 for the entire month of December and can be found in my shops on

Etsy

Craftsy 

Ravelry 

Happy hump day,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

When working with fine yarn and doing a lace or eyelet pattern, your knitting will be much more enjoyable if you use really pointy needles.

Free Pattern! Tiffany Cowl & Headband Knitting Pattern

Free pattern on Craftsy

The wonderful folks over at Craftsy and working with Cloudborn Fibers, a new yarn company.  Their yarn is exclusive to Craftsy and can't be found anywhere else.

A few months ago, Cloudborn asked me to design something using their yummy yarn!  A privilege indeed.  They sent some super soft Baby Alpaca Bulky fiber in light blue and cream.  I immediately saw Tiffany's signature blue!

Cloudborn has made this yarn in a perfect blend of baby softness and a lovely halo for the most luxurious feel around your neck.  It has great stitch definition and no splitting as you work.

The cowl is knit in the round, no purls, except for the rib sections.  Wear it down or wrapped around your neck....

(if you look closely you can see me in my daughters sunglasses)!  I always think this is funny for some reason.  Anyhoos....

The seed stitch headband coordinates beautifully without being too matchy, matchy.

I wish you could feel the softness of this squishy goodness!

This is a beginner pattern, however, still satisfying for all levels of skill.

Find the free pattern only in my Craftsy shop

Find the yarn, Cloudborn Fibers Baby Alpaka Bulky only at Craftsy

There are 11 different weights to choose from and all are on sale!

If you do not want to invest in 4 skeins, you can easily make this with two skeins and a shorter cowl.

Here are some pattern details for you:

Measurements:

Cowl circumference - 72” (183cm) 

Cowl width - 11” (29cm) 

Headband circumference - 18” (46cm) 

Headband width - 4” (10cm)

Needles:

*US size 10.5 (6.5mm) 32” circular needles 

*Optional needles: if the circular needles are a bit fiddly when knitting the headband, use US size 10.5 (6.5mm) straight or even double pointed needles will work.

Yarn:

*Cloudborn Fibers Baby Alpaca Bulky (5); 109 yds/100g (100m) 

Two skeins in Sky Blue (A) 

Two skeins in Ivory (B)

Notions:

*one stitch marker 

*tapestry needle

Thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

As gift giving time approaches, think about adding some tags to the gift bag!  I found these by searching on Pinterest.  I'm sorry I don't have the links for you.  While you're over at Craftsy getting your free pattern, type "free tags" in the search box and a bunch will pop up for you!

Print them off, cut them out and you're done!

Granite and Marble Cowl Ta Da!

I've had this on my needles for months.  MONTHS!  When the hot summer days and nights are upon us, I don't know any knitter or hooker that enjoys working with wool yarn or even super bulky weight yarn.  That's what happened to me.  Started designing, cast on, knit a few rows then plop, down it goes on the studio floor.

I had every intention of picking it up again, but alas, there it sat.  Last week was my "finish up" that dang cowl and write the pattern!

 

I receive a fair amount of requests for patterns using super bulky (6) weight yarn and fat needles.  I understand that completely.  Quick, affordable projects that can be whipped up in no time.

 

I love the double thickness of this cowl.  Chunky, cozy and chic.  You can wear it over your coat, my favorite way to wear it, or under.  

It's knit flat and seamed up at the end.  If you know how to knit in the round, you can certainly do it that way. 

As you can see, I've added a clip on embellishment over the seam.  I used the mattress stitch, but some newbies might be a bit daunted by that and use the whip stitch method which makes the seam unsightly.  The clip on hides that.  Big buttons sewn over the seam would work as well.

 

I found these two clips at my local Hancock Fabrics store.  This grey one has the clip already on it.  The black one did not, so I just added a barrette to the back with needle and thread.

Here's a look at how I did that on another embellishment.  Easy to take off, switch out or remove altogether, especially if you need to wash your cowl.

I like it scrunched up too!      

Here's the blurb from the listing on Etsy:

Be chic and cozy at the same time with this stylish cowl. Wear it doubled over or scrunched up. Either way you can’t go wrong with this squishy goodness around your neck!

Easy pattern using two skeins of super bulky weight yarn and big needles. My closet is filled with grey, black and white, but any two colors you choose will look fabulous! My next one will be classic black and white. Two shades of a neutral would look great, navy and cream would be stunning or red and white for the holidays.
Measurements:
13” (33cm) from top to bottom
24” (61cm) across before sewing up
Yarn:
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick super bulky (6) weight; 5oz/140g; 87 yds/80m; 80% acrylic/20% wool.
One skein in Granite
One skein in Marble 
Needles:
US size 17/12mm straight needles

****Selling the finished product is permitted******

If you would like to purchase the pattern, you can find it in my shops on

Etsy

Craftsy

Ravelry

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

Don't forget about YouTube when you're stuck on how to do a stitch, sew up a seam or just about anything.  Just type in what you need....

"how to do a mattress stitch"

and all kinds of videos will pop up for you to choose from.