A Little Yarn On The Side

I've been thinking about a new ornament design, and this afternoon it was a bit too warm to work in the garden, so I thought it would be a perfect time to try it out. First, I dug out 5 blue Christmas fabrics, ironed them just enough to get by, then cut two 1 1/2-inch strips and one 2-inch strip from each color.  Then it was time to play with one of my favorite feet: I have 3 different 1/4-inch quilting feet (one came free with the second Husqvarna), but this is the only one I can truly manage 1/4-inch seams with.  While I think I'm staying on the edge of the other feet, I don't always stay as close as I should.  This one has a guide for me to use, and I am happy to say that even I can manage 1/4-inch seams with this one.  I laid out the strips in the order I wanted, sewed them each together with the 1/4-inch seams, then pressed the seams toward the dark fabrics.   One thing that always amazes me with fabric is this: every last one of these fabri...

This scarf was inspired by the wonderful smell of herbs in the summer (in spite of the fact that I can't seem to keep thyme alive).  It is worked with a seed stitch border at the bottom and on the sides to prevent rolling, which will be listed as "ss" in the pattern.  Stitch markers are highly encouraged This can be done with any yarn/needle combination.  For my scarf, I used a DK weight mohair blend with size 8 needles. Cast on 31 stitches. Work 4 rows of seeds stitch border as follows: Border row 1:  K1, [p1,k1] to end Border row 2:  slip stitch as if to knit, [p1, k1] to end Border row 3:  slip stitch as if to knit, [p1, k1] to end   On the last row , work 3 stitches as established, place marker (pm), work 5, pm, work 15, pm, work 5, pm, work remaining stitches NOTE: The number of stitches in the center panel will vary slightly as you work.  No need to panic, unless perhaps it has doubled in size--then feel free to panic slightly. ...

This a very simple scarf pattern involving exactly one pattern row.  This pattern is not copyrighted and you are free to share. Materials:  Pick the yarn and needles of your choice.  I'd recommend a large needle in relation to the yarn.  For example, for the example scarf I used a DK weight mohair blend with a size 8 needle.  For a worsted weight, I might use a size 9 or 10 needle.  For a fingering weight, maybe a size 6 needle.  The idea is to create a very drapey fabric.  I prefer lighter colored yarns for this scarf, but that's just my personal preference. Cast on 31 Rows 1 through 4:  Knit Rows 5, 7, 9, 11 - Knit 4, *(k2 tog) twice, (yo, K1) 3 times, yo, ssk twice, k1; Repeat from *, knit 3 Rows 6, 8, 10, 12 - Knit 3, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3. Repeat rows 1 through 12 until desired length.  Finish by knitting 4 rows.  Bind off all stitches.

This scarf is actually very simple, but I'm trying to make the directions as thorough as possible.  It has a moss-stitch border of 6 rows on top and bottom and 4 stitches on each side, and uses the stitch pattern KNOWN as Ostrich Plume (hence the name).  There's a 3-stitch decrease using a slip 2, k1, pass slipped stitches over, which creates a nicer look than the traditional slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over technique, but feel free to use the more traditional decrease if you choose.  I used a shorter bottom and top edging to allow the wavy stitch pattern to pull the border into the wave effect, but you could certainly add a few extra rows of moss-stitch to the top and bottom if you would like. I have written this to slip the first stitch of all but the very first row as I think it makes a nicer edge, but you may choose to simply knit them.  As a matter of personal preference, I never slip the first stitch of the first row--it doesn't work with some cast-o...

So....last night when I was about halfway through the edging on the hat, it became quite obvious that I was going to run out of yarn. I ripped back, then thought I would just do a normal K1P1 ribbing rather than an edging so I could just stop wherever I wanted, but by the third round it became obvious that I had far too many stitches to create anything even resembling a hat ribbing. So, I ripped back again, then ripped back a few extra rows for more yarn, then started the edging again--this time using one less stitch. Which brings me to here: which is about where I was last night. Sigh...... Since all existing projects were basically thumping me, I moved on to an idea for an upcoming birthday gift--copying from a similar project I ran across in a book. I cut 3 circles of about 4.5 inches in diameter (turns out a vase downstairs makes a perfect template), then putting the right sides of two together, did small seams of about 3/4 of an inch (turns out it will need to be about 1/2...