The freaky knitter

Today I am at Eurogamer, for those of you not in the know, this is the gaming equivalent to The Knitting & Stitching show. I am not much of a gamer myself, I am a demon Crash Team Racing player and have in my time had to battle several addictions, currently in need of Candy Crush detox. But I come here with my husband and my son who are big gamers.

How is it, I sit here with my needles working away on my knitting and I am getting the looks, you know the look, the one that suggest I have issues! I have walked past zombies and jokers and barely dressed women from other planets. Hundreds of teens who rarely see daylight or soap and I am the freak!

Happiness is a design featured on the front cover… and ….

My design made the cover of Let’s Knit Magazine this month, big grin from me!

I have a couple of really cute [even if I do say so myself] baby bonnets featured in this issue.  The first is a vintage look  lace bonnet, in a contemporary colourway.

The second is a snuggly winter bonnet with a pretty 3D butterfly.

Isn’t the model beautiful?

Both these bonnets are worked in the new Jenny Watson yarn, Babysoft DK.  The yarn was a dream to work with,  45% extra fine merino, 50% polyamide and 5% cashmere, it is butter soft.  It’s manmade content makes it laundry friendly, making it perfect for baby knits.  I can not recommend trying this yarn for yourselves enough!

Tubular Cast Off Tutorial

This cast off method is similar to the sewn K1, P1 tubular cast off, but much simpler to do.  It produces a lovely rounded cast off edge that is similar to that of commercially made garments.  It is a good stretchy cast off that maintains its shape well.

I recommend using this cast off when working my Patch Pocket design

To try this for yourself

(I am using 3.25mm needles and DK yarn,  I like my pockets to be quite firm in structure)

Cast on 25sts

Work 20 rows in stocking stitch

Rib:

Row 1: (k1, p1) 12 times, k1

Row 2: (p1, k1) 12 times, p1

Repeat rows 1 & 2, three times in total

Using same size DPN’s,  slip first knit stitch onto DPN held to front of work

Using second DPN, slip first purl stitch onto DPN held to back of work

What the Butler Saw.. Knitted Maid

I have just published another free pattern on Ravelry.  Inspired by my trip to the cinema in the summer to see Despicable Me 2.  Which was possibly the funniest film I have seen in a number of years! (I laughed more than most of the children, not sure what that says about me).

After working my way through the amazing blog tutorial by ‘All about Ami’  I made a crochet minion and adapted it to make a French maids outfit, including frilly pants.  This inspired me to make a mini knitted version.

Check out those frilly bloomers!

Me and my mate

For all you crochet and music fans – Vinyl

Also in this months Let’s Knit Magazine Christmas Special is my Vinyl record inspired placemat.  Just add a band patch of your favourite group or artist and you will be the envy of your dinner guests!

For our wedding we had 7″ records as placemats,  each one chosen with the guest in mind.  My sister wasn’t quite sure how to take ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’, But I assured her it was because it was No.1 when she was born.  Not sure it would be fair to say who got, ‘Wild Thing’ or ‘Firestarter’, but you get the picture!

I am a BIG fan of vinyl records, at home I have a selection of retro vinyl albums (Wham, Blondie, Status Quo) that I use as placemats on the dining table.  They are great for protecting the wood from marks,  you can use a matt varnish on the centre label to protect it.  I scoured the charity shops for vinyl as there was no way I could bring myself to use some from my record collection!    I am quite a vinyl fan,  I have album covers on the walls also.

I would love to see pictures of your finished vinyl placemats.

Pimp your knitwear – Quick and easy Christmas makeover

Let’s Knit Christmas Knitting Special is out,  and I have been really lucky to have not one but five designs featured this month.

The stores are packed with inexpensive sweaters and cardigans this season just crying out for a personal touch.  The full on reindeer sweater a bit too much Christmas for your liking?  Why not add a little touch of festive fun to your garment with this quick and easy project?

I have designed some Christmassy pockets, which knit up super fast using a mixture of intarsia and fairisle (or if you prefer you could knit the pocket then swiss darn the motif on).

My top tips for matching your pockets to the original garment are; look really closely at the garment that is getting the make over.  Match the weight of the yarn to that of the garment, the pattern specifies 4ply yarn as this was fine knit cardigan.  Would DK yarn or even Aran weight be a better match?  remember to adjust your needle size accordingly!

Take a close look at the cuffs and edging of the garment, is it 1×1 or 2×2 ribbing or even moss stitch? try and match it.

Finally the cast off edge,  I recommend using a tubular cast off.  This best matches the cast off produced by commercial knitting machines. To do this, transfer all the knit stitches to one DPN and hold at the front, all the purl stitches onto another DPN and hold at the back.  Graft the stitches together using kitchener stitch.  I will be posting a tutorial here on the blog shortly, so watch this space!
View my video tutorial or photo tutorial

Pockets not your thing?

Why not try these elbow patches, they are another quick and easy knit and perfect for getting that on trend look at a fraction of the high street price tag!

These are just ideal for practicing your stranded colour work, they have minimal shaping and are worked in DK yarn, a whole new look in no time at all.

Crochet in Progress and the tortoise in crochet, well it is Wednesday!

Ready for your weekly dose of wacky, wild and whimsical Wednesdayness?

Instant Gratification

Despite having to sack my house elves this week, I have managed some me time this week. I wanted to make something that would grow quickly, not take too much brain power and would look cool with my autumn wardrobe.

A quick look on Ravelry resulted in this beautiful find, the Half Granny Square Shawl by Anastacia Zittel. It is working up really nicely. I am using Zauberball sock yarn and a 4mm crochet hook the pattern is very intuitive. Why not have a go yourself, Anastacia has very generously offered it as a free pattern. I would love to see your finished shawls, why not post a picture on my Facebook page.

In other news

Tonight is the launch of my new knitting, crochet and sewing group. I am really looking forward to meeting all my new crafty friends. We are pretty much full for tonight’s group, but there are places still available for future meetings https://bookwhen.com/knit-southend, follow the link for further details and booking information.

Katie’s cute and funny picture for this week is in keeping with crochet theme……

Enjoy the rest of your week fellow hookers and stabbers.

Jane x

Situations Vacant – New house elves needed!

I went to bed last night leaving a couple of piles of knitted pieces that required sewing up.  I once read a book about a crafts person,  who would spend their days cutting out pattern pieces and leaving them out at night.  They got up in the morning to find perfectly stitched shoes and clothes.  Now,  I spent a long time yesterday knitting tiny pieces for two separate projects.  I went to bed at ridiculous o’clock, sure that I had been a very productive girl and that my efforts would be rewarded with some nocturnal assistance.

I woke to these!

and these….

Apologies,  I am a bad blogger!  I forgot to take the second picture before I did some of the knitting,  but you get the idea.  The last picture is a glimpse at my next free pattern, can you guess what it is?  First person to comment with the correct answer will receive a copy of the pattern via email before it goes up for general release AND I will name the pattern after them.  (Watch the blog to see if you are the winner).

So my house elves have been sacked!  I left them a note:

Snowman with a mohican, why not?

Did I mention it has been a busy few months?  Also out this week,  my snowman clan. They have been published in the Hand Knit Christmans A-Z, by Simply Knitting.

Also appearing in Simply Knitting this month,  my quick and easy tea cosy.  Add a little colourful spooky humour to your tea time.

What knitty plans do you have for your weekend?

Fancy a peek inside Simply Knitting Magazine? see what I have designed for this Halloween

The new issue of Simply Knitting Magazine hit my doorstep today and I got my first look at the pictures for this years Halloween gifts collection.  I thought I would share them with you.

 

You can still buy last years Halloween designs collection from The Making Spot  but they are only available until the end of September.

Pete Doherty knitting on stage? Snotty yarn, well it is Wednesday

Ready for your weekly dose of wacky, wild and whimsical Wednesdayness?

As I mentioned previously, my pattern Bones became available to download on Ravelry at the weekend. Whilst working on the pattern template we had some fun with one of the images, although it didn’t make the final cut, I hoped it might make you smile…………………..

In other news from the Knittyverse

Sad news hit my inbox this week, The Making Spot will be closing it’s virtual doors at the end of September. Please pop over and download any freebie patterns you had been meaning to acquire before the 30th September and make the most of their great tutorial videos before they disappear.

Unfortunately, this means that my patterns will no longer be available to download from the Making Spot. Good news is, I am working flat out to get them up for sale on Ravelry. If you hurry over to The Making Spot you can buy my Halloween Gift Collection for a fraction of the price you will pay for the Handmade Halloween magazine they are featured in. Don’t forget to purchase my Christmas Tree Decorations Collection whilst you are there (cheeky?)

Diary Worthy News

MacMillan Cancer Support ‘Crafternoon’ at I Knit London

I Knit London are having a crafternoon tea party Saturday 28 September, 106 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7AB. Everyone is welcome. There will be lots of cake, tea, knitting, a raffle, pass the parcel and lots more.

Lots of knitters/crocheters have generously donated hand knitted items such as Lace Shawls, scarves, gloves, bags, as well as books and patterns. Follow I Knit on Twitter to see some of the amazing donations they have received.

For every donation received they will put the donors name into a draw for the chance to win the fabulous hand made gifts. The draw will be held on 28 September, at the tea party, and winners will be announced the following Monday. If you can’t attend in person, please donate via the JustGiving page.

Breaking news!

As I sat here writing this entry, my little sister called me to say she had just seen Pete Doherty, playing with Babyshambles at The Engine Shed in Lincoln. “So what?!” I hear you say…….HE WAS KNITTING. It would seem that Pete appeared on stage, with what looked like a knitted union jack, he seemed to be casting it off before throwing it the audience. All of this was seen from a distance, can anyone confirm this story?

One of Pete’s finished objects? I wonder if he has a Ravelry page?

It is getting late, so I will sign off here. But, I have more music related ramblings to share. I will be back, there is no escape now my pretties…. (well there is, but please don’t go), we have only just begun…. how many more cheesy song titles can I throw in?