Category: Knitting

Mist Drop Stole revisited

Marie Haigh5 Comments

I made this shawl for myself about five years ago. It is my favorite shawl. I wear it everywhere. It was knit with superfine alpaca. The design is not really a design at all. I simply cast on 117 stitches and then followed the stitch pattern directions to Mist Drops. Mist Drops was designed by Hildegard M. Elsner and featured in Barbara Walker’s A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns book on page 233.

After finishing, one is supposed to block and stretch the pattern. I never have. I love the way it bunches together. It adds much more texture, weight, and warmth.

I have located a sock design that utilizes the Mist Drop pattern: Figheadh’s Lace & Lattice sock. See the detail around the ankle cuff. This is the way it is “supposed” to look.

Since I remember the pattern to be tedious and requiring my full attention, I have not used it again. I prefer patterns to be relaxing, yet interesting.

Still, I want desperately to remake the stole. So, I have revised the stitch pattern four times over. I think I am finally happy with it. Last night, I started to knit up a small swatch. I’m using Alchemy’s Synchronicity (50% silk and 50% wool).

Evie’s Tag Blanket

Marie Haigh1 Comment

I have named the tag blanket pattern after my friend’s daughter Evie. It was her fascination with taggies (she has two tag blankets and one tag toy) that inspired me to alter my XandO cloth into a tag blanket.

After working for a whole week on the pattern, it is finally complete. The pattern contains two full pages of charts. The written directions take up another 8 pages.

Please don’t let the length of the pattern scare you. The pattern itself is not difficult. It was my desire to present the pattern in the most user-friendly manner that caused it to grow out of proportions.

The pattern can be instantly downloaded through The Knitting Vault.

If you are on Ravelry, this link will escort you to my pattern store where you can read the full description and/or purchase the pattern. Upon purchase and payment, the pattern will automatically be added to your Ravelry library.

A word of caution: It is assumed that double knitting takes twice as long as plain knitting. I would assert that it takes three times as long. Double knitting requires a great deal of manipulation with the two strands of yarn being used. Typically, before and after each stitch, one of the strands of yarn must be maneuvered into place. Thus, this project should not be started the night before the day it is needed. Of course, if you do manage to complete it in one day, I’d love to know about it!

Tag Vote

Marie Haigh8 Comments
My XandO design started out in life as a not-a-blanket. It then morphed into a dishcloth, but was found to be too heavy. Then, it tried to be a washcloth, but it was too big. Now, it is auditioning for a tag blanket title.

I asked Dan what he thought of its new purpose, but he didn’t quite understand why one would put tags on the outside of a blanket. It didn’t make any sense. Tags are supposed to be sewn on the inside of clothing. So, clearly, he isn’t any help.

So, I need your help.

With tags?

Or without tags?

The idea for turning my XandO into a knitted tag blanket came from my friend’s daughter. We attended her christening on Sunday.

For her gift, I had purchased a tag blanket from BabyLoveBlankies, since I didn’t have time to make her anything. She started playing with the tags on it right away. Her mother told me that she has a taggie toy that she plays with when she’s laying down in her crib. And here I had just bought it because I liked the fabrics.

The christening card in the pic above is made from my button stash. I just used Zots dots to glue them in place.

To perhaps encourage my card fetish, my MIL sent me down a present with Dan’s early b-day present. (Thanks, Mom!)

It’s full of great ideas! I can’t wait to try the weaving and frame techniques. Since I have enough birthday cards made for everyone’s birthday this year and a few even for next year, I think I’ll start on mini holiday cards, like Halloween and Thanksgiving.

XandO question mark

Marie Haigh3 Comments

Thank you to everyone who wished me good health! I managed to escape the worst of it. It took me a few days to get rid of the sore throat and the weak feeling, but I am grateful that it wasn’t any worse.

During my time away from Blogland, I got a bunch accomplished. The XandO thingamabob is finished. I have almost completed a doll quilt, cheater style. And I cooked … a lot. I am a firm believer that good, hearty food always cures what ails ya. So, I made a beef stew, pork with sauerkraut, danish rolls for breakfast, and butter cookies for snacking. Sorry, but I have no pictures of the quilt (since it’s not finished) or the food. I never remember to take pictures of the food. By the time I am ready to serve it up, I’ve spent hours in the kitchen and all I want to do is go sit down and enjoy my hard work.

So, I’ll just show off my XandO thingy.

I’m not sure what to call it anymore. It’s too big to be a dishcloth or a washcloth. It’s too small to be a blanket. It might be perfect as a burp cloth or a baby stroller lovey. Despite my naming problems, I am still working to type up the pattern. By the end of it, I had gotten into a rhythm. I actually enjoyed knitting the last 8 rows, so long as I didn’t have to knit another one until the next blue moon came around.

A X and O Washcloth

Marie Haigh9 Comments

I was rooting through my WIP basket last week and found a half-finished washcloth. It was more than a quarter of the way completed. I had enough yarn to finish it. I could think of no reason to leave it sulking in UFO land.

Then, I started to knit on it and remembered quite clearly why it had ended up in the UFO basket in the first place.

Remind me to never double knit anything ever again. Ever.

Well, maybe not ever.

I might double knit again as long as the following rules were enacted: one yarn only (no switching between colors) and one side knit at a time (slip stitch technique rather than knit two sides at once technique).

I do love the way double knitting looks.

This is the back side of the washcloth. It has been knit in all reverse stocking stitch and plain stocking stitch. As you can see, there is no curling. It lays perfectly flat.

So, the dirty secret behind this washcloth is that is wasn’t supposed to be a washcloth at all. It was simply going to be my swatch for a X and O baby blanket. Unless the blanket knits itself, it will never be. I’m exhausted just trying to complete the “washcloth”.

Here’s a pic of the front side and the reason it’s titled X and O.

Mailing the Afghan Today

Marie Haigh3 Comments
I talked to Dan about just keeping it. And kept it I did for a week, nicely folded, in our guest bedroom. It sat there all week long. It was never used. I never even touched it, except to occasionally pet it.

I thought of all the people I could give it to. It would make a great baby blanket until I realized that it would have to be hand washed and air dried. The chances of either my sister or my SIL hand washing a 36-inch afghan are not good. If I were a betting woman, I’d put a good thousand on it becoming a felted afghan.

I thought about keeping it myself. I wouldn’t use it; that’s for sure. I would want to display it, but we have no room for such displays.

Since I can’t think of a good home for it, I am sticking to my original plan. It will be shipped off to Syracuse, NY where it will join 800 other panels on an abandoned gas station. It can serve a purpose rather than sit in my cedar closet for months.

A final picture of it:

At the last moment, I crocheted a border around the outside. It was my neighbor’s idea. She recommended that I single crochet a border on all the edges. I inquired about doing a double crochet, but she was hesitant to agree. Not because she didn’t think it would look good, but because she is a one-crochet-stitch-kind-of-a-woman.

It appears I am too. I could only remember how to do a single crochet stitch. So, that’s what the afghan got. I should know better. I was taught how to crochet by both my MIL and my Aunt. It’s just different from riding your bike. You do forget if you don’t use it.

3 Ties Down …. 6 to Go

Marie Haigh5 Comments
I finished my 3rd tie to the Christmas Tree Skirt last night.

I have one more tie to make out of this hand spun yarn and then 5 more white ties. The goal is to finish it by August – well in advance of Christmas. In order to make sure I don’t fall off the wagon, I have made myself a strict schedule. One tie must be completed each month; no excuses.

This schedule thing is working well right now. The best laid plans always do start out with a fine flourish. I just hope I can keep this going in the middle of summer when it’s hot and the last thing I want to work with is wool.

Well, I’m going to try not to think about that now. It’s still winter and hopes are high.

Ode to Quilting Afghan

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I finished the last seam this afternoon. I think I let out a hoot. Jake was excited for me until he realized that we weren’t going outside to play and I didn’t have any treats for him.

Since I finished this afghan before the deadline to enter Lion Brand Yarn Slideshow Contest, I entered it. Vote for me! There are 400+ entries already, so I have no illusions of winning. Yet, this contest provided good motivation to complete the afghan early. Now I can take 6 zillion pictures before I have to mail it off early next month. It’s headed to the International Fiber Collaborative.

Although, I had originally planned to add a border around the whole afghan, I hesitate to add one now. I think it would detract from the blocks. What do you think?

On a side note, I can now boldly proclaim that I am a Master of Seaming. This project has taught me much about seaming.

As mentioned to both Knitsy Bitsy Spider and Mr. Puffy, I plan to compile all 9 block patterns into one downloadable PDF pattern. Please don’t expect to find it listed on my blog by tomorrow morning. It is going to take me some time to compile everything together. Additionally, I will be adding schematics, charts, and a seaming tutorial. Hopefully, I can pass some of my tips to you before you attempt to seam the blocks together.

One of my tips will be to not wait until the end to seam everything together. Jumping off a bridge will seem like a better idea. Ditto for weaving in your ends; the back side should Not look like a shag carpet.

OK, I’m going to shut up now and let the pictures say the rest.

The Front

The Back

Want more pictures? You can find the whole pictorial story from beginning to end in my Flickr album.

Scarf Applique Block, 9th and Last in Ode to Quilting Series

Marie Haigh4 Comments
Although I said I would post this pattern yesterday, I didn’t. I have a good excuse though. Yesterday was my 8th anniversary. Dan and I were supposed to go out for dinner to one of our favorite restaurants, Spinnerstown Hotel. The weather had other plans for us. It insisted that we stay home.

So, we did. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner while watching a baseball documentary. Then, we toasted with a glass of port and played Parcheesi. It was a fun and relaxing evening.

Pattern for Scarf Applique Block

Recommended Knitting skill level: Easy

Yarn: Lion’s Wool by Lion Brand or substitute any wool yarn from your stash that meets the below gauge specifications.
1. Color A = Ebony, 1 skein
2. Color B = Scarlet, 1 skein
3. Color C = Winter White, 1 skein
4. Color D = Pumpkin, 1 skein
5. Color E = Purple, 1 skein
6. Color F = Goldenrod, 1 skein

Needles: Lion’s Wool recommends size 8 (I used size 5)

Materials: Large blunt sewing needle and safety pins

Gauge: 3.75 stitches and 7 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Garter Stitch.
4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Stocking Stitch.

Garter Stitch Pattern: Knit all stitches.

Stocking Stitch Pattern: Knit all the stitches on the right side of the work; Purl all the stitches on the wrong side of the work.

Knitting Instructions:
In Color A, cast on 34 stitches.
Knit in Stocking Stitch until piece measures 8 inches.
Bind off all stitches.

In Color B, cast on 32 stitches.
Knit in Garter Stitch for 14 rows or until piece measures 2 inches.
Bind off.
Repeat these instructions, making two long rectangles.

In Color B, cast on 10 stitches.
Knit in Garter Stitch until piece measures 12 inches.
Bind off.
Repeat these instructions, making two tall rectangles.

Finishing Instructions, Part 1:
Take one Color B Long rectangle and place it directly underneath the bottom edge of the Color A square. Line up the edges. Make sure both pieces are facing up. Secure in place with safety pins. Seam together.

Take the second Color B Long rectangle and place it directly above the top edge of the Color A square. Line up the edges. Secure in place. Seam together.

Take one Color B Tall rectangle and place it directly next to the right sided edge of the Color A square. Line up the edges with the top and bottom of Color B long rectangles. Secure in place. Seam together.

Take the last Color B Tall rectangle and place it on the left sided edge of the Color A square. Repeat the above instructions.

Weave in all seams.

Scarf Instructions:
With Color C, cast on 6 stitches.
Knit in Garter Stitch with Color C for 16 rows.
Then, join in a ball of Color D. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a ball of Color E. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a ball of Color F. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a ball of Color B. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a new ball of Color C. Work 16 rows in Garter Stitch.
Repeat the last 5 rows of instructions once more.

Then, join in a ball of Color B. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a ball of Color F. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a ball of Color E. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a ball of Color D. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.
Then, join in a new ball of Color C. Work 16 rows in Garter Stitch.
Repeat the last 5 rows of instructions once more.
Bind off all stitches.
Weave in all ends.
If desired, add fringe to the bottom of scarf.

Finishing Instructions, Part 2:
Position the scarf to your liking inside the Color A square. Secure in place with safety pins.

Hand tack the scarf down only in the Color C sections. Using a running stitch, tack down all four sides down of each Color C section.

Pull the ends of the Color C yarn to the back of the block.

Weave in all ends.

What is Wrong with this Picture?

Marie Haigh8 Comments
Can you find my mistake?

Even with the dark light (the weather consisted of cloudy skies, snow squalls and howling winds), I think my mistake is fairly obvious.

You see it, don’t you? At first, I thought I could leave it. Surely, nobody would notice. Who looks at a scarf to see if the pattern is the same on both sides? Then it occurred to me. I do that.

I never thought to invert the striped pattern at the halfway point. I was too busy patting my own back, giddy that the block was knitting up so quickly. What did the Yarn Harlot always quote in her first book? Pride goeth before a fall? Yes, that was it. Apparently, someone should sell those t-shirts.

Now that I am officially more humble than a week ago, allow me to present to you my final Ode to Quilting block.

Scarf Applique Block

I won’t tell you that I was so darn proud with the way this final block came out, because I am determined to stay humble. I will tell you that the free pattern will be published in tomorrow’s post.

After finishing this block, I pulled out the other 8 blocks and laid them on my dining room table. I shuffled and reshuffled the blocks. This was the final resting point for them.

What do you think?