Rough Sea Shawl

Rough Sea Shawl requires 360-440 yards of fingering weight yarn. I have 462 yards, assuming that I have 50g in each ball of palette. I have 99 g between the two balls, rather than 100g.. but this should still be enough. (I'm kept my fingers crossed!)

This is my first triangular shawl. I knit the shawl on size 7 needles. In the end, I used 86 g of wool for this project (you can see my notes as I kept weighing what I had left as I knit below.)

I finished the first ball of palette on row 97 (out of 110 before beginning the lace edge)- I am only a tiny bit worried about running out of yarn. However, this is the K2, YO row, and I didn't want to start a new skein of yarn on a YO. Therefore, I made a K2tog with two strands held together to help make the change secure.

• After row 110, 35 g remain. I was starting to get concerned that I would run out of yarn, but I knew I could just do two repeats of the lace not three like Remcat put in her chart.
• After the first 8 lace rows (repeat #1) - 27 g remain.
• After 16 lace rows (repeat #2) - 18 g remaining
• Although I had plenty of yarn left to do a third repeat, I decided to just repeat row 1 (or really row 17 of Remcat's chart), do a WS row and then bind off. Looking at pictures of these projects, I like the way the 2 repeats looks a bit better.

Now came the next dillema, how to bind off. In the Polaris shawl, the bind off needed to be tight to provide structure for the shawl, so this wasn't a concern. I therefore decided to do a crochet bind off where I would chain 1 in between each stitch. (I don't really know crochet nomenclature, so this is the best description I can give to what I did!) I used a size H (5mm) hook.

I used my grandma's knitting needles for this project. I have been using these needles for a lot of projects lately because I like feeling like I am holding her hand as I use a tool she also used for so many hours.

One thing I love about knit shawls is that you cannot find them in stores. There are many fantastic knit scarves you can find, but knit lace shawls are so unique that they are bound to be a conversation piece.

Hexipuff Update

The hexipuffs continue! I seem to use between 12-14 yards per hexipuff (with fingering weight.) At this point I have mostly unique hexagons, I have not yet started creating duplicates (with one exception - I made two out of a self striping sock yarn.)

First symmetric unit

All about lace. I was looking at my leftover lace, wondering what I could do with it. Of course there are doilys and even a remnant lace scarf (I'm thinking of using mostly scraps for an advent scarf.) But then I realized that lace held double is bascially fingering weight. Horray for some lace hexipuffs!

I wanted to join the Mini Skein Mania, so I purchased some hand dyed miniskeins from Mermaid Knitting. My set had 9 colors in it, 6 of the 9 skeins pictured below (but 9 hexipuffs.) There is enough yarn that I should be able to make two hexipuffs from each miniskein, I expect to get 18 hexipuffs total out of this lot

At this rate it is going to take me years to finish this quilt, but didn't I expect that from the beginning? If you want the most up to date information on this project, check out my BeeKeeper's Quilt Ravelry page. I am trying to keep track of the yarns used and yardage consumed. Happy Knitting!

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P.S. Don't forget about the Knitting Project of the Day Submission contest running through April 17. Enter for your chance to win a free copy of the Anemone Coat Check Scarf pattern pdf.

Hermes Winged Baby Socks

The Greek god Hermes is famous for his winged sandals. I thought that that it would be cute to adapt this image into some baby socks!

The socks are a fast knit, and you can put either one or two wings on each sock to make your favorite baby fly!

Materials

• Shine Sport (or other sport weight yarn) in White and Yellow (Cream and Butter were the color names.) This project consumed: 28 g yellow (~62 yards), 15 g white (~33 yards) making two socks and four wings.
• Needles -size 2 (2.75 mm) double pointed knitting needles (or round sufficient for magic loop)
• Yarn needle for weaving in loose ends
• Sewing thread and needle (optional)
• Gauge (of sock): 13 sts/2 inches; 17 rows/2 inches over stockinette.
• Finished Size - Width: 2.25 inches, toe to heel: 4.5 inches. (Should fit a 3-6 month baby.)

The Pattern for the Baby Socks (Make 2)

• The Cuff
• Cast on 33 sts. Join to knit in the round.
• Knit in 2x1 ribbing (K2, P1 across) for 10 Rounds.
• Next Round: K31 sts, SSK (32 sts)
• K 14 rounds of stockinette (K all stitches.) A total of 25 rows have been knit at this point.
• Short Row Heel - Note: The heel is knit flat in short rows across a total of 16 stitches.
• Heel Round 1: K 15, turn (16 sts on the needle - one is left unknit on the needle.)
• Heel Round 2: YO, P 14, turn (17 sts)
• Heel Round 3: YO, K13, turn (18 sts)
• Heel Round 4: YO, P12, turn (19 sts)
• Heel Round 5: YO, K11, Turn (20 sts)
• Heel Round 6: YO, P10, turn (21 sts)
• Heel Round 7: YO, K9, turn (22 sts)
• Heel Round 8: YO, P8, turn (23 sts)
• Heel Round 9: YO, K7, turn (24 sts)
• Heel Round 10: YO, P 6, turn (25 sts)
• Heel Round 11: YO, K6, K2tog, turn (25 sts)
• Heel Round 12: YO, P7, SSP, Turn (25 sts)
• Heel Round 13: YO, K8, K3tog, turn (24 sts)
• Heel Round 14: YO, P9, SSSP, turn (23 sts)
• Heel Round 15: YO, K 10, K3tog, Turn (22 sts)
• Heel Round 16: YO, P11, SSSP, turn (21 sts)
• Heel Round 17: YO, K 12, K3tog, turn (20 sts)
• Heel Round 18: YO, P 13, SSSP, turn (19 sts)
• Heel Round 19: YO, K 14, K3tog, turn (18 sts)
• Heel Round 20: S1, P14, SSSP, Turn (16 sts)
• Body of the Foot
• Next Round: S1, K 14, [S1, M1 stitch from instep, PSSO], K 16 (32 sts)
• Next Round: Pick up (but don't knit) one stitch from instep, K2tog with first stitch of the round, K 31. (32 sts)
• K 15 rounds.
• Toe Decreases
• Decrease Round 1: K1, SSK, K10, K2tog, K2, SSK, K10, K2tog, K1 (28 sts)
• Decrease Round 2: K across
• Decrease Round 3: K1, SSK, K8, K2tog, K2, SSK, K8, K2tog, K1 (24 sts)
• Decrease Round 4: K across
• Continue pattern as established, decreasing 4 sts in pattern on odd rows, knitting across on even rows until 12 stitches remain. (End on an odd row)
• Graft the final stitches together using the Kitchener Stitch.

The Pattern for the Wings - Worked Flat (Make either 2 or 4, depending on how many wings you want on each sock.) You can also refer to the chart below these written instructions.

1. CO 19 stitches.
2. K1, SSK, K15, M1, K1 (19 sts)
3. K1, M1, K18 (20 sts)
4. K1, SSK, K16, M1, K1 (20 sts)
5. K20
6. K17, K2tog, K1 (19 sts)
7. K1, SSK, K13, K2tog, K1 (17 sts)
8. K14, K2tog, K1 (16 sts)
9. K1, SSK, K13 (15 sts)
10. K1, SSK, K11, M1, K1 (15 sts)
11. K1, M1, K1, M1, K13 (17 sts)
12. K1, SSK, K13, M1, K1 (17 sts)
13. K1, M1, K16 (18 sts)
14. K1, SSK, K14, M1, K1 (18 sts)
15. K18
16. K1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1 (16 sts)
17. K1, SSK, K13 (15 sts)
18. K1, SSK, K9, K2tog, K1 (13 sts)
19. K1, SSK, K10 (12 sts)
20. K1, SSK, K8, M1, K1 (12 sts)
21. K1, M1, K8, K2tog, K1 (12 sts)
22. K1, SSK, K8, M1, K1 (12 sts)
23. K1, M1, K8, K2tog, K1 (12 sts)
24. K1, SSK, K8, M1, K1 (12 sts)
25. K9, K2tog, K1 (11 sts)
26. K1, SSK, K5, K2tog, K1 (9 sts)
27. K1, SSK, K2, K3tog, K1 (6 sts)
28. SSK, K2tog, K2tog (3 sts)
29. K3tog (1 sts)
Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.

The chart summarizes all rows of the wings.

Chart key

FinishingWith yarn needle and yarn (or sewing needle and thread, whatever is your preference, sew the wings onto the socks. I decided the placement of the first wing by pinning the wing on while the sock was stuffed, and then using that placement as a guide for the other sock.

If you are making the two wing version of the socks, make sure you attach the wings to opposite sides of each sock. (you don't want one wing on the outside of the foot, and the other wing on the inside of the other foot!)

Tip: So your little one doesn't actually start flying across wooden floors, make the soles non-stick with puffy paint.

Other Pictures from Construction of the Wings

My initial sketch of the wing.

The graph paper doesn't have the correct gauge for the wings, but I wanted to get a sense of the size relative to the sock.

My attempt of a stockinette wing - it was turning out too large so I adjusted the design to fit the sock better.

The wing pinned onto the sock.

I do not have a model available to show you how these socks fit on a baby. I would love to see pictures!

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Abbreviations Used in this pattern:

WS - Wrong side of the fabric

RS - Right side of the fabric (the side of the project that you will see in the end)

S1 - slip one stitch purlwise
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
M1 (Make 1)- increase stitch by picking up yarn between two stitches, twisting and knitting.K - knit
P - purl
I-cord - knit stitches on dpn's without ever turning the needle (effectively knitting in the round with a small number of stitches.)
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.

SSP - Slip two stitches as if to knit, transfer back to the left hand needle. Purl the two slipped stitches together through the back loop.

SSSP - Slip three stitches as if to knit, transfer back to the left hand needle. Purl these three slipped stitches together through the back loop.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.

K3tog - decrease by knitting three stitches together. (2 stitches decreased)

Kitchener stitch - a method of grafting live stitches together to make an invisible seam.

This knitting pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. You are not to distribute or sell this pattern without the permission of ChemKnits. © 2012 ChemKnits

Snowflake Hat

I love the stranded mittens I made from SELBUVOTTER: Biography of a Knitting Tradition with my koolaid dyed yarn. The problem is that these mittens don't really go with any of my hats. I wanted to make a hat to "match" (in color if not pattern.) When I came across the picot hem snowflake hat pattern I thought it was stunning and couldn't wait to cast on.

I knit this hat on size 1 (2.5 mm) knitting needles with KnitPicks Palette yarn. The hat consumed 25 g of the black yarn, and 17 g of my hand dyed yarn. You cannot really tell from this picture, but my stranded knitting was MUCH tighter when I first knit those mittens. (I used the same size needles for both projects.) I'm not sure which I like better, but I will need to pay attention when I begin my first fair isle sweater.

There are two versions of the chart for this hat. The longer version is for 8 rows/inch, but my gauge is closer to 7/7.5 rows per inch. I would rather the hat be too long than too short, but I knew I was going to have to keep a close eye on the length as I went along. When I got to the crown decreases, I followed the revised longer chart until the hat was an appropriate size for my head. I then sped up the decreases (decreasing every round, alternating from the separation pattern and main pattern sections.)

I only made one minor modification to the revised chart (besides the alternate decreases.) I liked the 4 stitch stars on either side of the snowflake from the original chart, so I included those in my hat.

I basted the picot hem under before stitching it to the hat. I wanted to make sure things lined up correctly.

I am in love with this hat. It is a good hat to wear when I don't want to end up with a crease in my hair (and for when I want to coordinate with my favorite mittens!)

Baby Love: 25 Knit & Crochet Projects for Baby

Baby Love: 25 Knit & Crochet Projects for Baby is the second eBook I was asked to review by FaveCrafts.com. Baby knits and crochets are fun projects because they are fast to complete and are always appreciated by expecting moms. It is always nice to have some fun patterns in your back pocket for when you get a last minute invite to a baby shower!

The patterns in this free eBook include:

• Crochet Blankets: 8
• Knit Blankets: 3
• Toys: 2 (1 knit, 1 crochet)
• Hats: 6 (3 knit, 3 crochet)
• Booties: 1 crochet
• Miscellaneous Baby Items: 5 (3 crochet, 2 knit)

The miscellaneous baby items include a coccon, some soakers and some sweaters. The patterns in this bookk come with charts (where applicable) in addition to written instructions.

This eBook contains a full page ad in the middle of the patterns for the Broomstick Lace (Crochet) Baby Blanket, a darling blanket that is unfortunately not included in this ebook. Thankfully this pattern is still available for free, just through the RedHeart website. I did not include this in my pattern count above.

Overall I think this book has a good balance between knit and crochet baby items. In the last eBook I reviewed, the knit/crochet balance swung heavily to crochet patterns. What about the balance in this book? 16 crochet baby patterns and 9 knit baby patterns. In only one instance (the Cupcake Hats) is there a pattern shown twice, once with knitting and once with crochet instructions. The patterns in the Baby Love eBook are very simple and classic, and many are appropriate for beginners. I think this is a great place to start when you need to knit (or crochet) for a new baby.

Get free craft projects, ideas & special offers + a FREE ebook, “Baby Love: 25 Knit & Crochet Projects for Baby."

Knit a ChemKnits Logo!

Do you love the new design of ChemKnits as much as I do? Well now you can knit your own ChemKnits logo!

Chart - 49 sts x 10 rows

The Pattern

• Caston 59 stitches
• Knit in stockinette for 4 rows (K right side rows, P wrong side rows)
• Knit 5 stitches, work 49 sts of the first row of the chart, K 5 stitches (The chart is worked from bottom up, right to left on right side rows, left to right on wrong side rows)
• P 5 sts, work the second row of the chart, P 5 stiches
• Continue until all 10 rows of the chart have been knit.
• Knit 4 rows of stockinette. (K right side rows, P wrong side rows)
• Bind off K wise.

I hope that you like the new design of the site! There are a few other components (such as the Free Patterns by ChemKnits button) that still need to be redone, but I know I like the new look!

Thank you Little Cotton Rabbits for the C and K of the logo.

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Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
M1 (Make 1)- increase stitch by picking up yarn between two stitches, twisting and knitting.K - knit
P - purl
I-cord - knit stitches on dpn's without ever turning the needle (effectively knitting in the round with a small number of stitches.)
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.

This knitting pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. You are not to distribute or sell this pattern without the permission of ChemKnits. © 2012 ChemKnits

KPOTD Submission Contest

Today Knitting Project of the Day has begun the second year of continuous daily posts. To celebrate this anniversary KPOTD is running a contest! The prize? A digital copy of the Anemone Coat Check Scarf knitting pattern (a $2.50 value).

Anemone Coat Check Scarf

How do you enter? Between today (April 1) and April 17, 2012 nominate a knitting project of the day. What kinds of things should you nominate? It could be a knitting pattern, blog post, yarn, Flickr picture, knitting book, Ravelry project page... the possibilities are endless! Just fill out the nomination form with your name, email, the URL of the project and a brief description of why you think that project deserves to be KPOTD to be entered for a chance to win. You can nominate as many knitting projects as you like, but you will only get one entry into the contest.

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One winner of the KPOTD submission contest will receive the Anemone Coat Check Scarf Knitting Pattern ($2.50 value) for free. Pattern will be delivered through Ravlery to the email address provided on the submission form. This prize is non-transferable. Valid email address and short description of why nominated URL should be featured on KPOTD are required for entry between April 1 and April 17, 2012. No purchase necessary. While multiple KPOTD nominations are encouraged, only one submission will be considered for entry to the contest. The Anemone Coat Check Scarf pattern is © ChemKnits and is intended for personal use. You are not to copy or distribute the pattern without permission from ChemKnits. Winners will be selected with a random number generator. Every entry will be considered for inclusion on Knitting Project of the Day.