~ My 200th Post! ~

I'm in the midst of knitting a wa-na-na-na-na-na-na-na bat shawl from the current issue of theanticraft; I've got a Halloween themed Buck n Doe to go to in 2 months, I hope to have it done by then! I just got my yarn in the mail a couple days ago, so I'm elated to get it started!
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I just finished the first bat chart though, as you can see, and have already found a very minor problem with it - I'm supposed to have 75 sts across at this point, but only have 73. I wasn't about to frog it, because I've already done it once before yesterday, and it's too tedious to undo.
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So, naturally, I adjusted the pattern slightly. For row 77, which is the row that follows the first bat pattern, I've added an extra yo + k2tog stitch over each point of the bat's wings. That way, the yo increase at each end of the shawl can still be made, and now I'm at 75 sts across w/o increasing the number of rows to the shawl.
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Since I have to pick up sts at the end to add a border, I can't risk having so many extra rows.
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Just goes to show you - once again, I can't avoid adjusting patterns. :P
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Oh, and I've had the brilliant idea of hanging a cloths pin to the end of my shawl, to weigh it down. I've noticed on a few shawl projects that, if it's worked from the bottom up, the bottom ends up curling up on me, which is frustrating while knitting. This way, it's held down w/o stretching the fabric!

Transit Bookie Oddly Ribbed Hat

Finished measurements: Hat fits approximate 21” head circumfrence.

Materials needed:
- ½ skein Patons Classic Merino Wool (100% pure new wool; 223yds/204m, 100g/3.5oz skein); colour: Retro
- 1skeins Patons Classic Merino Wool (100% pure new wool; 223yds/204m, 100g/3.5oz skein); colour: Camel
(there's enough yarn in this pattern to make both this hat and the matching transit bookie book cozie)
- 4.5 mm/US 7 circular needles, 12”
- 4.5 mm/US 7 dpn’s, set of 4
- 1 7mm snap fastener
- darning needle or small crochet hook

Tension in pattern: approx 26 stitches = 4” (10cm)

With Camel, CO 105 sts. Join, place marker.
Ribbing pattern: *k1, p1, k2, p1* around. Continue rib pattern in Camel for 4 inches.
Next row: switch to Retro, and continue in ribbing pattern for 2 inches.
Next row: switch back to Camel, and continue ribbing pattern for 1 inch.

Decrease rows: (switch to dpn’s when needed)
Row 1: *(k1, p1, k2, p1) twice, then k1, p1, k2tog, p1* around; 98 sts.
Row 2: *k1, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2tog, p1, (k1, p1) twice* around, 91 sts.
Row 3: *k1, p1, k2tog, p1, (k1, p1) four times* around, 84 sts.
Row 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14: *k1, p1* around.
Row 5: *(k1, p1) four times, then rearrange next four stitches on needle so that it looks like k2, p2 (knit stitches in front, purled stitches in the back), then k2tog, p2tog these four stitches* around, 70 sts.
Row 7: *(k1, p1) three times, then rearrange next four stitches on needle so that it looks like k2, p2 (knit stitches in front, purled stitches in the back), then k2tog, p2tog these four stitches* around, 56 sts.
Row 9: *(k1, p1) twice times, then rearrange next four stitches on needle so that it looks like k2, p2 (knit stitches in front, purled stitches in the back), then k2tog, p2tog these four stitches* around, 42 sts.
Row 11: *k1, p1, then rearrange next four stitches on needle so that it looks like k2, p2 (knit stitches in front, purled stitches in the back), then k2tog, p2tog these four stitches* around, 28 sts.
Row 13: *rearrange next four stitches on needle so that it looks like k2, p2 (knit stitches in front, purled stitches in the back), then k2tog, p2tog these four stitches* around, 14 sts.

To end: place 7 sts on one dpn, and 7 on another so that the two dpns are parallel to each other. Graft close by using a third dpn, passing through 1st stitch on both front and back needle, knit, repeat for next stitch, and bring 1st st over 2nd to bind off. Continue across, break yarn and weave in ends inside of the hat.

© 2008 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. :D

Transit Bookie book cozie

Materials needed:
- ½ skein Patons Classic Merino Wool (100% pure new wool; 223yds/204m, 100g/3.5oz skein); colour: Retro
- 1skeins Patons Classic Merino Wool (100% pure new wool; 223yds/204m, 100g/3.5oz skein); colour: Camel
(there's enough yarn in here to make this pattern and the matching transit bookie oddly ribbed hat)
4.5 mm/US 7 circular needles, 12”
- 4.5 mm/US 7 dpn’s, set of 4
- 1 7mm snap fastenerdarning needle or small crochet hook

Size: book cozie covers trade paperback

Start with ribbed book flap first, in Camel, CO 6 sts and k1, p1 every row using 2 dpns until piece measures 2”.

Switch piece to circulars, add 79 more sts and join. The flap will be the center of your book cozy. Continue in hat’s ribbing pattern (k1, p1, k2, p1) around for 1.5 inches.

Switch to Retro, continue in pattern for 1”.

Switch back to Camel, and continue in pattern until entire piece (excluding flap) measures 4.25”.

Next row: *k1, p1, k2tog, p1* around, 68 sts.
Next row: *k1, p1* around.
Next row: (k1, p1) seven times, k1, on left needle pass next knit st over purled st, p1, slide next 2 sts on right needle psso, put st back on left needle, place marker, k1, p1, k1, on left needle pass next knit st over purled st, p1, slide next 2 sts on right needle psso, put st back on left needle, place marker (64sts)

Rearrange sts so that the two yarn markers are on opposite ends, marking a new beginning and end, respectively. Place 32 sts on one dpn (front), 32 on a second dpn (back). Cut yarn, leaving a 1” tail. Retie yarn at one marker, and graft close like hat. When you get to the tail, tie together and continue graphting close. Break yarn, pass through last stitch, and weave in ends inside of the book cozie.

Separate the two halves of the snap fastener, sewing one half to the tail, and the other half to the book cozy to correspond.

© 2008 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. :D

his black cabled hat

Finished measurements: approximately 18.5” (47.5cm) around, 7.5” (19cm) tall lying flat and unblocked. The hat stretches to fit pretty much any size adult head. This hat fits a regular adult sized head (roughly 21" circumference) although does stretch.

Materials needed:
- 1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (80% acrylic, 20% wool; 108yds/98m, 170g/6oz skein); colour pictured: Charcoal
- 9mm/US 13 circular needles, 12”
- a set of 4 9mm/US 13 double pointed needles
- 1 yarn marker
- 1 cable needle

Note that there’s enough yarn in 1 skein to make 2 adult sized hats, with a little bit left over. Pattern adjusted for a tween sized head is at the bottom of the pattern.

Tension: in stockinette: 9 sts, 12 rows = 4” (10cm)

Instructions:CO 50 sts, join.
Ribbing: *K1, P1, K2, P1* around, placing marker at beginning. Repeat for 3 more rows.

For cabled part of hat: (repeat these 8 rows twice)Rows 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, & 8: p2, * k6, p4* around to last 8 sts, end in k6, p2. (There are 5 sections of k6, where the cables will end up being.)Row 3: p2, *place 2 sts on cable needle and hold in front, k2, k2 on cable needle, k2, p4* around to last 2 sts, end in p2.
Row 7: p2, *k2, place 2 sts on cable needle and hold in back, k2, k2 on cable needle, p4* around to last 2 sts, end in p2.

To decrease: (this will become the third cable repeat in pattern, to be worked over a decrease to finish)
Continue following cabled pattern rows 1-8, and switch to dpn’s when needed. Make rows 1, 2, 3, 5, & 7 as above, adjusting for the decreases indicated below; knit the knit stitches, purl the purl stiches, and work cable in rows 3 and 7.

Decrease rows will be incorporated into rows 4, 6, and 8 as follows:
Row 4: p2tog, *k6, p2, p2tog* around to last 2 sts, end in p2tog.
Row 6: p1, *k6, p2tog, p1* around to last 2 sts, end in p2.

Row 8: sl1, *k6, p2tog* around. Purl last stitch tog with first stitch (this row’s sl1). Move stitch marker to new end.

To close/end hat:
Next row: knit the knit sts, purl the purl sts
Next row: *k2, k2tog k2, p1* around.
Next row: repeat row 3 of cable pattern, but change cable pattern to k2, place 2 on cable needle in front, k1, k2 from cable needle and continue around.
Next row: *k2tog, k1, k2tog, p1* across.
Next 2 rows: k2tog around.5 sts remain after last row.
Break yarn and weave through remaining sts with a crochet hook or darning needle, pull tight to close and weave in ends.

To make a smaller hat to fit a tween, with a roughly 18"-19" head circumference, make the following pattern adjustments:

CO 45 sts instead of 50. Do the ribbing as is in pattern.

For rows 1, 2, 4, 6, & 8: *p1, k6, p3* around instead of *p2, k6, p4*. Therefore, throughout hat you'll be purling 5 sts between each cable instead of 6.

For the decrease rounds: skip the 'Row 4' instruction and continue with the pattern as is.

This ought to make a tighter fitting hat for smaller heads.

© 2008 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. :D

My cousin and her fiance are getting married in November, and are having their Buck & Doe party the weekend before Halloween, therefore having a Halloween themed costume party for it. It's no secret that Halloween is my favourite holiday of the year, so I'm rather excited to put their Buck & Doe gift together for them.

Traditionally, wedding and Buck & Doe gifts tend to be housewares, and DH & Iwill likely gift them a gift certificate somewhere for the such (since they already live together and have pretty much everything they need, a gift certificate can help get something they want) - but I couldn't resist knitting something. And the most appropriate thing I could think of is Halloween themed dishcloths. Homely indeed, with all the fun of the spook of the season.

The 5 patterns I used were a bat (purple), ghost (white), kitty (black), jack o' lantern (orange) and skull (yellow) - a great way to eat up a lot of miscellanious dishcloth cotton I had laying around the house. I found some printable cotton-twill label paper at Wal-Mart, which is excellent for customizable labels, where I was able to print the care info, fiber content, and names for the dishcloths as well.

The great pumpkin-shaped and bat-shaped ribbon I found at Michael's; and a while ago I found a great price for gift bags at Zellers (13 for 4.95!) to which, in that collection, is yellow gift bag with a bit of an antique yellow Victorianesque print to it, which is vintage enough looking to be holiday appropriate for the gift.

ghosty dishcloth

I was also unable to cut-and-paste the graphed version of the pattern into my blog, so I printed it, photographed it, and inserted it for anyone who prefers to follow a graph. I've done my best to write out this pattern, but if are any mistakes, please post it to my blog and I'll make the proper corrections! (Although I'm sure it's ok!)


Materials needed:
34 grams (1.25oz) Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, in Off White
1 pair 4.5mm (US 7) needles

Instructions:
CO 40 sts.
Seed stitch 4 rows. (k1, p1 across 1st row; every row afterwards, knit the purled stitches and purl the knit stitches)
For the next 42 rows, seed stitch the 1st and last 4 stitches of each row in pattern. Knit the middle 32 stitches as follows:
Row 1: knit across
Row 2: purl across
Row 3: knit across
Row 4: p2, k3, p6, k2 p6, k2, p6, k3, p2
Row 5: k2, p4, k4, p4 k4, p4, k4, p4, k2
Row 6: p2, k5, p2, k6 p2, k6, p2, k5, p2
Row 7: k2, p28, k2
Row 8: p2, k28, p2
Row 9: k3, p26, k3
Row 10: p3, k26, p3
Row 11: k4, p24, k4
Row 12: p4, k24, p4
Row 13: k4, p10, k2, p10, k4
Row 14: p4, k9, p4, k9, p4
Row 15: k4, p8, k6, p8, k4
Row 16: p4, k8, p6, k8, p4
Row 17: k4, p8, k6, p8, k4
Row 18: p4, k8, p6, k8, p4
Row 19: k3, p11, k4, p11, k3
Row 20: p3, k12, p2, k12, p3
Row 21: k3, p26, k3
Row 22: p2, k28, p2
Row 23: k2, p28, k2
Row 24: p2, k6, p4, k8, p4, k6, p2
Row 25: k2, p5, k6, p6, k6, p5, k2
Row 26: p2, k5, p2, k2, p3, k4, p3, k2, p2, k5, p2
Row 27: k2, p5, k2, p3, k2, p4, k2, p3, k2, p5, k2
Row 28: p2, k5, p2, k2, p3, k4, p3, k2, p2, k5, p2
Row 29: k4, p4, k6, p4, k6, p4, k4
Row 30: p4, k5, p4, k6, p4, k5, p4
Row 31: k5, p22, k5
Row 32: p6, k20, p6
Row 33: k7, p18, k7
Row 34: p8, k16, p8
Row 35: k9, p14, k9
Row 36: p10, k12, p10
Row 37: k11, p10, k11
Row 38: p12, k8, p12
Row 39: k14, p4, k14
Row 40: knit across
Row 41: purl across
Row 42: knit across
Seed stitch 4 more rows, then cast off in pattern.

© 2008 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. :D

bones indeed

There's something about Halloween I just love. Don't know why. But I've always thought Halloween to be my favourite time of the year. There's something fantastic about dressing up, collecting candy, staying up past your bedtime and getting a sugar high, and being scared out of your bones that's simly fantastic. It wasn't until I read up on becoming Wiccan at 17 that I found out that Halloween - or Samhain - is reveared as the main holiday since it's the Wiccan (and for the most part, Pagan) new year. Maybe that had something to do with why I was drawn to this holiday so much?

Today on the anticraft's blog, announced their Samhain theme: Broken Bones. Brilliant indeed. :) A few issues of the anticraft had recently been - I dunno - somewhat off the wall, although still tie in to an anti-craft theme, as in not what you'd normally think of making. But to have issues going back to the somewhat darker underground of the anticraft's roots is what I like best. A while back I submitted a craft pattern for some skeletons - I won't say made of what just yet - but I wonder if they'll be in this issue? I hope so!

My cousin and her fiancee are also planning on getting married this November, and are having their Buck & Doe party (instead of having separate bachelor and bachelorette parties) on October 24th, and it's a whole Halloween-dress-up-in-costumes sort of theme, which is brilliant. It's been a good long while since I've been to a costume party. I've that to look forward to as well!

done - another scarf

Since my MIL's favourite colour is green (must be the Irish in her!) I knit her a (mostly) green scarf - again, another pattern from my Little Box of Scarves book, like I did for my SIL. I used up an entire skein of Bernat Wool Blend, the colour: Tan & Sky. I only needed a wee bit of a second skein just to finish the bind-off at the end, but otherwise it came out as a good long scarf. The only adjustment I made (because you know me, I love changing patterns) is I added an extra 7 stitches to make an extra pattern repeat - the original width would've been a bit too narrow.

shit, son, that's a good deal on yarn

I stepped into Reitman's today to buy my friend a gift certificate for her birthday on Saturday, when I came across these two scarves.


Originally priced for $20, they were marked down to $6.99, so since I liked the yarn so much (you can't tell, but there's a metallic silver thread running through it) I picked up the last two. I was surprised when I went to pay for them, that they were marked down another 70% off, only paying $2.10 each! Now that ain't bad for that lot of yarn!


These will both get frogged and reknit into a matching set of a hat, scarf, and pair of mittens for my winter wear, but it ain't bad for price. :D

Carboy Cozy

I grew up with my dad always making wine, and now my husband brewing beer at home. In either case, the carboy needs to stay relatively and consistantly warm, which is sometimes
hard in the winter (despite having the heat on) and durning the summer (with the air conditioning). So, I rounded up my partial skeins of Red Heart Super Saver yarn and decided to whip up a cozy for my husband's beer carboy, to warm it up.

In case you want to make your own, here's the pattern:

Materials: Red Heart Super Saver, any colour - scraps and partial skeins encouraged
5mm (US 8) circular needles, in at least 24" long plus one 12" long
5mm (US 8) dpn's
yarn marker
a crochet hook to weave in ends

Tension: 17sts = 4" (10cm)

Pattern: *to fit a carboy with an approx circumfrence of 90cm (39"), which is a standard 5 gallon (23 litre) carboy

1.) CO 152 sts on longest circular needles. Join and place marker.
2.) K2, P2 around for 2 inches.
3.) Switch to St st (knit around) until entire peice measures approx 36 cm (14 inches).

Decrease rounds:
Odd number rows: knit
Even number rows: decrease as follows, switiching to smaller circular needles then dpn's when needed:
Row 2: *K12, k2tog* around
Row 4: *K11, k2tog* around
Row 6: *K10, k2tog* around
Row 8: *K9, k2tog* around
Row 10: *K8, k2tog* around
Row 12: *K7, k2tog* around
Row 14: *K6, k2tog* around
Row 16: *K5, k2tog* around
Row 18: *K4, k2tog* around
Row 20: *K3, k2tog* around
Row 22: *K2, k2tog* around, 30 sts
Rows 23: K around
BO next row, and weave in ends.