Category: My Knitting Designs

A look at each of my designs from start to finish.

Stream of Diamonds

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My latest design, a lace scarf featuring Kitty Grrlz’s Beautiful Bamboo, can be located within KnitCircus‘ Spring Digital Debut, magazine Issue #9.


Photo courtesy of KnitCircus Magazine

Since it is difficult to ignore the call of the diamond’s simple and elegant shape, the Stream of Diamonds scarf features nothing but diamonds. The exterior zigzag shape was inspired by both Lily’s traditional cotton dishcloth design and Barbara Walker’s 4th Treasury book. The interior lace pattern of interconnecting diamonds is a variation of an old favorite. It was designed to be intricate, yet simple. The sample is knit in 100% bamboo for its lovely drape, sheen, and comfort of knitting (and wearing) year-round.

I hope you enjoy it.

Not a Match

Marie Haigh4 Comments

I crossed my fingers and went with my gut instinct.

 

It didn’t work out. Clearly the mohair yarn is not from the Tapis colorway. Tamsie was right; Tapis is too dark.

Yet I can’t find another colorway in the entire Parisienne color chart that matches better. Heck I’ve even dug through the entire Ravelry database of all stashed Parisienne yarns and haven’t come up with a match. It occurred to me that the color has been discontinued, but I can’t seem to locate a list of Collinette’s discontinued colors. Google failed me. In the fine print, Colinette does mention that all their yarns are hand-dyed and thus no two skeins are the same. Perhaps that is my problem.

So, it’s back to plan B. Basically I’m going to knit every last inch of yarn that I have available and just hope that the shawl turns out big enough to wrap baby Elizabeth in. Then, I’ll knit a ‘Mommy-sized’ shawl to match.

Surprisingly, I’m not upset about my yarn shortage issues anymore. Watching the Phillies become the National League championships last night cured me of any sadness. We’re off to the World Series for the 2nd year in a row! I still can’t believe it. Nobody pinch me please.

Running out of Yarn Again

Marie Haigh15 Comments

Why do I always get myself into these situations? You would think that I would learn. But noooo. I have once again knit myself into a corner.

According to my original design (partially stolen from EZ’s Pi Shawl pattern), I’m supposed to knit 78 more rows in the mohair. Ha! There is no way that is going to happen. Do you see how much mohair yarn is leftover?

Not a lot. So, what’s a girl to do?

There is the obvious answer; I could rip it all out and start over with an adequate yarn supply. Just the thought of this option makes me light headed and nauseated. There has to be another way. Oh, please.

Option B: Knit with the mohair for hopefully 6 more rows so the length matches the previous mohair section. Then, switch back to the red merino yarn and add another lace section. The only problem with this option is that I’m not sure how far my merino skein will stretch. It too is down to half a skein. I really got myself into a fix, didn’t I? giggle and moan.

Option C: Settle for a really small shawl – something only a baby could wear. This seems absurd. I did not spend all this time knitting the shawl so it can be used once or twice while Elly is too young to appreciate it.

Option D: Incorporate a new color into the shawl. I’m worried that this would look odd, since I would be introducing the new color when the shawl is more than halfway finished.

Option E: Explain to Elly when she is older how it is the thought that counts.

I think I’m going to go cry now.

On a happier note, I reached a new milestone in my bump growth. Dan’s clothes now fit. Here I was thinking that I would need to go buy a maternity sweater or two for the upcoming cold weather.

I think this will do just fine.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Shawl and Bump Progress

Marie Haigh8 Comments

I finally had enough stitches on the needle to jump to the next size up: a 40-inch circular. Frankly, I could have transferred it to a 60-inch circular, but since I don’t have one in my collection, this was the best I could do.

I think I cheered to see the shawl finally expanded and no longer crunched up in hat mode.

91 more rounds to knit in the mohair before I can design the border. I’m leaning towards a variation of the Alpine Edging in Barbara Walker’s 2nd Treasury book. Yesterday I ordered Barbara Abbey’s Knitting Lace to peruse her collection of lace edgings and see if I couldn’t locate something more suitable to the diamond motifs featured in the shawl.

Now that I have embraced the maternity clothes, it is hard to gauge whether or not I’ve gotten much bigger. I don’t feel bigger. Pictures don’t lie though.

The bump keeps growing. I should have guessed, since the kicks have gotten harder.

3.5 more months to go, assuming she arrives on time. Let the countdown begin.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Card Frenzy to Hide the Shawl

Marie Haigh5 Comments

I finished all 50 of the birth announcement cards (to be sent out in January after Elly is born).

They are addressed and signed. All that needs to be added are stamps, the baby’s stats and a picture. A dear friend of mine had a great idea on how to include the stats: print them out 4 to a page and slide one into each card. It sounds so much easier than my original plan of hand-writing the info into each card.

Because I couldn’t stop there, I made more cards.

And then more cards

Until finally last night, I packed up all my card supplies and stashed them away. I think my favorite layout of the entire weekend can be seen in these 2 cards.

Now that I overwhelmed you with pictures of cards, perhaps you won’t bother to notice that the shawl doesn’t look any larger than the picture I took of it over a week ago.

That’s what happens when you rip out the entire last section. It was worth it though. The lace pattern had only shifted over two stitches, but it bothered me. This shawl is supposed to be an heirloom for Elizabeth – something she can wear on her wedding day. (Maybe I should have knit it in white.) I knew I wouldn’t be happy with her wearing a shawl that had an obvious-error-to-me in it. So, out it came.

This time not only did it knit up much faster, the lace pattern has no errors. What a relief.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

E is for Elizabeth

Marie Haigh6 Comments

I stumbled across this book, The Real Mother Goose ABCs, in the new bookstore that just opened up down the street from us.
Isn’t it perfect? I just had to buy it for our Elizabeth.

Lately, I have felt like I am dragging around a huge clock, listening to the seconds and minutes click by. Only 4 more months until Elly (our nickname for Elizabeth) is here and all my little projects have to be completed. Ack!
Sooo, I have been busy priming in the nursery and working diligently on the shawl.

Some progress has been made on the shawl.

It still looks like an oversized hat though. There are moments when I could kick myself for including such a detailed lace pattern. 

Progress has also been made in the nursery, but almost everything is white now and thus doesn’t make for good pictures.

In other news, one of my designs has been picked up by a magazine. It will be published in Spring of next year. Woo! Unfortunately I can’t give any more details, but I wanted to share my joy with you.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Weekend of Cards, Knits and a Wedding

Marie Haigh7 Comments

My weekend started off with a crazy plan to make all 50+ of the birth announcements we will send out after the happy occasion. (Yes, I know that the event is still 5 months away, but I’m ever so slightly concerned about my energy level plummeting in another month or so. Best to take the bull by the horns whilst I still have the gumption).

I had picked up a packet of stencils from my favorite consignment store in town, Memories & More. From it I was able to make several different cards.

I made another batch of cards by cutting up some wrapping paper and pairing it with other simple supplies I had in my card drawer.

My favorite card from the entire day of card making was a baseball-themed card I made. The glove is from a button that I cut the back off of.

21 cards later, I finally packed up my supplies and took a well-earned break.

A well-earned break in my mind typically involves knitting of some sort. In this case, I completed 1 section of the Reverse Baseball Blanket. The right “eye” is done.

As a reward, I allowed myself to cast on for a new project. Due to my insomnia (this baby wakes me up nightly to eat and he’s not even born yet!), I finished the project in 1 day.
[Let me reiterate that we do not know the sex of the baby yet. It just seems more personal to refer to the baby as ‘he’ rather than ‘it’. Besides, Tamsie did mention to me that she had a feeling the baby was a boy. On Friday, we’ll find out for sure whether we’re having a boy or a girl, assuming the baby cooperates.]

Details
Pattern: Baseball Bat Dishcloth (Ravelry link)
Designer: Emily Jagos
Yarn: Lily’s Cream and Sugar in Red
Needle: Size 6
Alterations: Changed the border to Garter Stitch from the seed stitch. To ensure that the width of the border matched the height, I added 2 rows to the top and bottom borders.
On the bind-off row, I used EZ’s trick for a cleaner edge and purled all stitches.

In general, this was a fun and easy knit. The design is perfect for the nursery theme.

To top the weekend off right, Dan and I attended a wedding reception. The couple’s theme was Las Vegas, since that was where they tied the knot (and the reason for Dan’s absence during the brutal storm last week … see previous post).

The main course of the reception was a huge pig roast. Delicious!

Since the reception was held at Snipes in Morrisville, we decided to swing by the house where Dan’s mother and step-father used to live before they moved to Maine. During the drive through town, I complemented Dan on his good sense of direction for even after 8 years of absense, he knew exactly where to go. If it had been up to me, we would still be driving through the streets of Morrisville.

We were both shocked by the house’s appearance. It was red!

It used to be white.

In Knitting, There are no Mistakes

Marie Haigh13 Comments

Long time readers may remember a pillow I knit last year while stuck in a car for 15 hours on a drive back from Talbott, TN.

There were so many things wrong with it. The most grievous error was my forgetting to insert a pillow form before seaming up all the sides. Even if that was overlooked, the knitted strips curled inward since I had knit them in stockinette stitch rather than a stitch that would lay flat. The strips did not alternate in color when woven together. The pillow required massive amounts of mattress-stitch seaming. It was so small that only a doll could realistically use it.

So, I scrapped the design, but I couldn’t let the idea go. I loved the way the knitted strips looked when woven together.

Four attempts later, I had finally resolved all those silly, little problems.

I am proud to present my latest two knitting patterns:

Woven Checkerboard Purse

Photography by The Unique Sheep

Woven Checkerboard Laptop Bag

Photography by The Unique Sheep

The patterns may be purchased through my Ravelry store or my website store.

They may also be purchased from The Unique Sheep along with the recommended yarn. Click on the following links to be taken directly to the pattern page(s): Woven Checkerboard Purse and the Woven Checkerboard Laptop Bag .

My advice to new knitting designers: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

From Generation to Generation

Marie Haigh10 Comments

My MIL sent me a wonderful package in the mail filled with hand-crocheted and hand-knit baby clothes.

What makes these clothes so special, outside of the obvious fact that they were made by hand, is that they were worn by Dan when he was a baby. Plus several of the items were made by Dan’s Great Aunt Kathleen, who is no longer with us.

Aunt Kathleen crocheted the cardigan with its matching bonnet, booties and mittens as well as the afghan.

My MIL had saved these clothes for years – waiting.

Receiving these clothes only punctuates the fact that I need to stop knitting for a while and get cracking on the nursery. For the meantime, I have added the clothes to the growing pile of baby goodies in the basement.

One of the items that has distracted me from the nursery is the shawl that I am knitting. I just graduated from 4 metal double pointed needles to an Addi Turbo needle. What an improvement! I should fly now.

Baby Notes:
I met with a midwife at The Birth Center yesterday for my 15-week appointment. I’m healthy. The baby is healthy.
The joy of the appointment was hearing the baby kick inside of me. It sounded like a whoosh on the fetal doppler. Hopefully, in a few weeks I’ll be able to feel the wee kicks.

Yarn Arrived for the Bump

Marie Haigh15 Comments

After failing twice to use yarn from my stash for the baby’s baseball blanket, I caved and ordered yarn from Webs. It arrived today!

The yarn is Schachenmayr Nomotta’s Extra Merino Big. It is 100% washable Merino wool in Ruby Red. The stitching will be done in bright white. Thus, Dan has dubbed the blanket a “Reverse Baseball”.

During the baseball game tonight, I plan to cast on for the swatch. I can’t wait to get started!

Baby Notes:
B6 vitamins are my friend. They are taking the morning sickness away and returning my energy level to me. For the first time in weeks, I’m starting to feel like a real person again.

Since I was a little dismayed for not looking exactly pregnant yet but no longer looking like my normal size, I bought myself a “Walking for Two” t-shirt to wear on the morning walks with Jake.

[Yes, that is my walking partner rolling around on the grass behind me. Silly dog].

As comfy and as cute as the shirt is, it hides the bump. The outfit I wore today showed it off a bit more.