Saturday, December 22, 2007

Candy cane Purse by Vicki Howell

http://vickiehowell.blogspot.com/2007/11/candy-striper-free-pattern-of-month.html
Candy Striper--Free Pattern of the Month!

Candy StriperFelted Bag
by Vickie Howell

MATERIALS
2 Balls each of Vickie Howell Collection's Vegas (29% Soysilk, 67% wool, and 4% metallic thread; 50gr/100m) in colors:
Swingers (red) and
Chapel of Love (white)
Size US 15 (10mm), 24" circular needles
Tapestry needle6 yds, strung sequin
Fabric or felt glue
Decorative holiday pin (optional)

Psst!...stay tuned for a future post for instructions on how to make the crocheted poinsettia pin showed.

FINISHED SIZEPre-felting: 18" x 14 1/2"
Post-felting: 10" x 10 1/2"

DIRECTIONSBottom:
With DOUBLE STRAND of red Vegas, CO 10 sts.
Knit two rows straight.
Next Row: Kf&b, k to last st, kf&b.
Next Row: Knit.
Repeat last 2 rows, once more.
Knit straight (garter stitch) until piece measures 12 1/2".

Next Row: Ssk, k to last 2 sts, k2tog.
Next Row: Knit.
Repeat last 2 rows, once more.
Body:Leaving existing 10 sts on needle, pick-up 62 sts evenly around (72 sts--you'll now be working in the round.)

Knit 4 rounds.Switch to DOUBLE STRAND of white Vegas and knit 4 rounds.
Continue in established stripe pattern (4 rows red/4 rows white) until body measures 11 1/2", ending with red stripe.

Handles:Next Round: Switch to white and knit around.

Next Round: Purl.

Next Round: K 13, BO 20, k16, BO 20, k3.

Next Round: P13, CO 20 (using "e" cast-on), p16, CO 20, p3.

Work 11 rows in garter stitch (when working in the round, this means knit one row, purl the next).

BO.
Weave in ends.
FINISHING

Felting:Place finished purse in a zippered pillow case or lingerie bag and machine felt, using hot water and mild soap. Use short cycles, and repeat as many times as necessary to get the amount of felting you desire. Once it's done, roll in towel to squeeze out excess water and let dry overnight, taking care to shape as necessary (you might want to even stuff with paper towels to help shape the bottom).

Embellishing:
Using fabric glue attach sequin to top of each red stripe. Let dry. Add a holiday corsage or brooch.

Line with fabric if desired.Go here for knitting how-to scoop!
For more knitting and crochet patterns and kits, go here!

This pattern is meant for non-commercial use only. Copyright Vickie Howell, Inc. 2007. All rights reserved.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Free Holiday Amigurumi Patterns












Lion's website has FREE amigurumi patterns for the Holidays! You should check them out!
http://cache.lionbrand.com/content-crochetPatternIndex.html?d=Children


Our special podcast episode with popular writer and blogger Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is now available! Click here to listen to episode 4 of our YarnCraft podcast! Please visit our blog at YarnCraft.LionBrand.com to leave a comment or find out more about the show!








Monday, December 3, 2007

Scarf Knitting in the LA TIMES Newspaper!

http://www.planetshoup.com/easy/knit/scarfmb.shtml - this is a moebius scarf which is similar but knitted lengthwise....this is easy..but you should try this one!!!!


Back on to knitting!

Well...on Sunday, my friend Ernestine was sitting in the hospital, waiting for her daughter Amber to delivery their first grandbaby....When we finally got to the hospital, we took a look at the baby and said how cute and HOW big she was! London Jade was so cute!

I made a shrug for her, which I hope will fit her...but it was really cute in PINK!
I didn't get a photo of it, but I hope to get one when she opens it up.....but I did it in GRACE by Paton Yarn....in a k3p3 pattern. I got this from Knit Simple magazine, I think...



This newspaper article was in the LA TIMES and they called it a CONNECTED Scarf.
Knitted with 3 skeins of Cashmere or soft wool yarn like Cascade pastaza 50% Llama, 50% wool (132 yds each), or 300 gms total (2 skeins of gray and 1 skein of red or colors of your choice).

Needles: size 10, yarn, needled, and sewing needle (you need to attach the ends after twisting)

Gauge: 5 sts 5 rows = 1"

Cast on 45 sts in gray (main color)

Row 1: (RS) k3,p3 repeat until the end of the row

Row 2 (WS) p3, k3 repeat

Continue ribbing stitch until scarf measures 32". On right side switch to red yarn and continue knitting in rib pattern until you have about 24" of red (end of skein). End after RS row.

Switch back to gray, and continue knitting in rib pattern, until the whole scarf measures 64". Bind off in pattern on RS row. Using yarn needle weave in the loose ends, and make sure that the colored ends are woven in their same colored pieces of scarf.

Spread out the scarf fold in 1/2 and twist one piece of the scarf once. Pin or hold the two ends together so that the pattern matches up. ...the knits will meet purls and the purls the knits.

Using sewing needle and thread that matches the gray, or main color, sew together the ends of the scarf using basic whip stitch.

You can use one color yarn for a solid color scarf, or more colors for more stripes. You can also vary the pattern with tweed or multi color yarns, or textures...make it fun, make it YOURS!!!

FROM the LA TIMES december 2, 2007

Favorites on Etsy - not made by me, but you gotta check it out!!!