Inspiration By Design
Sometimes the simplest project can make you the happiest. These basic hearts make us grin. They’re made as a rectangular swatch (ours are in Poems 100% wool), then felted, cut into a heart shape, and blanket stitched around the edge make a cute home decor project. Glue or needle-felt on whatever phrase moves you.
So, crafty valentine, what’s your needleart of choice?
Universal has a project in the works that has the knitters in the office wanting to brush up our skills a little, so today seemed like a good day to practice Fair Isle.
Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Merino XF Superwash on US Size 7 (4.5mm) needles. Amy Gunderson whipped up a little heart chart for Valentine’s Day and we just couldn’t resist giving it a try. Cute!
It’s Free Pattern Friday, and we have a new design in Poems!
The Cross the Night Sky Vest by Sandy Huff is worked in one piece from side to side, with stitches picked up for the arms, hem, and neck. The garter stitch tie that threads neatly through the crossed stitches is a nice accent.
Side to side construction creates flattering vertical stripes in self-shading Poems 100% wool – a great use of variegated yarn.
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
Today, a fabulous piece in Deluxe DK Superwash 100% wool.
The In Flight Pullover is knit in the round from the bottom up. The Flight Lace pattern resembles little wings, hence the name. This is a classic and versatile piece that works beautifully in a solid color yarn like Deluxe DK Superwash. The lace really has a chance to shine.
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
You know, I love show season, don’t get me wrong. Stitches, TNNA, VKLive, they’re all great opportunities to show our stuff and to reconnect with other knitters and crocheters. But man, do they take a lot of work! I guess this is my way of saying I apologize for missing the last couple of Free Pattern Friday posts. Now that show season has waned a bit, things should get back to normal here. To make up for it, let’s do two free patterns for baby today!
First, the Little Dreamer Pullover. It’s a charming baby sweater knit from the bottom up. The raglan sleeves are easy, and anybody who has ever tried to dress a baby will appreciate a v-neck that slips easily over a little squirmer’s head. The slipped stitches in solid Little Bird (344yds/100g) give a lot of interest along the stripes where the color changes. It’s an easy technique that looks great – one of our favorite tricks. We’ll bet this would look great in Little Bird Multi (284yds/100g), too!
Next up, the Lace Sampler Baby Blanket by Amy Gunderson. Knitted in the round from the center out, it combines several different lace patterns into a lacy heirloom. This design is also in Little Bird solids. Little Bird is a soft and smooth 100% acrylic yarn that is machine washable. It’s a great choice for a project you want to stand the test of time.
How about you? What’s your favorite kind of knit or crochet for baby?
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
I don’t know about you, but I’m nowhere near being done on my holiday stitching. At the same time, I’m ready for a break. Today’s free pattern fits the bill.
The Faux-ret takes one skein of Deluxe Chunky 100% wool and one skein of Wicked Fur and works up in a flash. The contrasting brim makes it a little more visually interesting than your basic hat, but it’s the addition of our super-soft Wicked Fur that takes it to the next level. This is going to be my mindless knitting that takes me away from all the other projects and cares I have this time of year. And I’ll feel like a million bucks when I wear it out and about.
If my friends are very lucky, they might get one of their own for the holidays. But no promises!
Here’s hoping your days are merry and bright. Happy knitting!
It’s the end of the month. How’d we do on the 30-Day Sweater Challenge?
A few of us finished. A few of us got close. A few of us are plowing ahead, slow and steady.
At right, my Mystery Sweater in Deluxe Worsted wool (100g/220yds). I chose the harder path, but after a misreading of the pattern (completely my fault!) that left me ripping back three inches, I decided to skip the pockets in the interest of finishing in a timely fashion. I’m planning on finishing hem by tomorrow. Even though I didn’t make the 30 day deadline, this was definitely a worthwhile knit. There were a lot of opportunities to learn and to challenge myself, which is what the project was all about.
At right, a designer’s sweater in Llamalini (50g/109yds), so very close to being finished! She chose to move her pockets further forward and to finish her hem with the twists at the collar rather than the garter rows called for. So far she wins the unofficial award for “most customized sweater.”
How about you? This is certainly a project that is as much about the journey as the destination. Are you pleased with the work you did? Any project we learn from is worthwhile. We hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve done so far.
Don’t forget our giveaway – if you complete your sweater in a Universal yarn by November 14th and send us a photo, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a set of Deborah Norville interchangeable needles. We’ve seen some great sweaters already!
We’ll share the office’s finished sweaters in a couple of weeks. See you then!
It’s here! Clue 8 of the Mystery Sweater KAL is live!
I made it to Clue 5, then took a little knitting break. Back on the horse for me tonight – I hope to plow on to the hem!
Take a look at this sweater knitted by Jen in Accounting. The variegated Poems Silk looks great with this design – it’s not overwhelming or busy. Jen also opted to do her side panel in stockinette instead of reverse stockinette. It’s fascinating to see the ways people are customizing this design.
Jen wants to put her pockets in before tackling the sleeves, so she was excited to get today’s clue. Clue 8 contains a photo tutorial on different methods of finishing your pockets. The mattress stitch is a great choice – invisible and not at all bulky.
Jen, like many of us at the office, is using the same Deborah Norville Interchangeable Needles that we’re offering as the prize in our 30-Day-Sweater KAL drawing. As a reminder, if you complete your sweater in a Universal yarn by November 14th and send us a photo, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a set of Deborah Norville interchangeable needles. We have found these to be very pleasant needles to use, smooth and quick in their action. It doesn’t hurt that they’re so pretty to look at.
Clue 8 brings us to the end of the pattern. How are you doing on the 30-day aspect of this sweater? Think you can make it? We’ll be back with photos of how we’re doing here at the office. We can’t wait to see how you’re doing too!
It’s here! Clue 7 of the Mystery Sweater KAL is live!
How are we doing? I’m still slow-poking along with the body of the sweater, but I’m very encouraged by how it looks! The nice thing about the top-down seamless construction is that I can try it on and see how it fits. I considered doing a modified waist shaping, since my figure is less hourglass than some, but decided to put in a lifeline and try the waist shaping as written. I figured if things didn’t look right when I tried it on, I could always rip back and make some modifications. Fortunately, it looks good!
Speaking of modifications, let’s look at the sweater to the right inLlamalini (50g/109yds). First of all, I love the lines of the Llamalini linen/royal llama/silk bourette blend. This is going to be a decadent sweater. There were some things about the construction of this sweater that made me curious, so I spoke with the designer who’s knitting it, who told me her secret.
This knitter has a sweater in her wardrobe that she loves. It fits beautifully and makes her look like a million bucks. When she makes a new sweater, she compares it to the sweater she already has and modifies the pattern so that it fits the measurements of the Perfect Sweater in her closet. It’s a great idea and I’m definitely going to incorporate it into the next garment I make. Imagine every sweater fitting you like the one you love the best!
She also has plans for the hem – instead of garter stitch, she’s planning on repeating the twists from the collar. As for me, I’m sticking with straight garter stitch as it is in the pattern. A few folks here in the office have already bound off their hem and it looks great.
Clue 7 sees us adding sleeves. Looks like we’re in the home stretch of our 30 Day Challenge!
