Misc The Knitting, Crocheting and Quilting/Sewing Thread!

Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
That's OK, in a couple of years it is likely I will no longer be overseas and all going well I will want fleeces!

Here's one part of the scarf I'm working on, I had to go down to a US sized 2 (instead of 5) to get gauge and with the red weaving yarn being so much thinner than the white pattern yarn, I did not decrease as the instructions suggested after the pattern and I think I guess it just about right as the plain area is nearly the same width as the pattern (normally patterned knitting is going to be wider). In other news, my Norwegian band knitting book got here (wonderful hard back) and I am now dithering between starting to tablet weave again or do some pick up weave; meanwhile I knit while I sort that one out lol

Scarf - have one side pattern plus a bit done - I'm hoping to just do a couple of yards, then do the other side - if I look like I'm running low on red I will stop because I can link the sides with a third color (probably grey) if needed but I want the sides to match - this is for husband and he's pickier than I am.
2015-01-27_19.05.43_medium2.jpg
 
Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
Pattern is free at Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/norwegian-snowflake-scarf

I think it is wonderful there are now so many free patterns out there - I still recommend all preppers have a copy of EZ's Knitting Without Tears and the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns (at least the first one) by Ann Budd. That way if TSHTF, you've got basic instructions for nearly everything; filling in with the other EZ books as budget or garage sales allow, makes a pretty complete library along with printed out patterns from the Internet. I'm still using the notebooks I printed out back when paper and ink were cheap (some are from dot matrix) from the old e-mail based Knitting List; including that old favorite 5 hour baby sweater and other stuff.
 
F

Faroe

Un-spun
So many beautiful Nordic pattern variations. About 10-15 years ago, I knitted a Sedestal sweater in black and off white. Never did sew it together, cut the steek, nor finish with the traditional embroidery at the neck. At the time, the embroidery part really intimidated me. The photo of the sweater showed the gorgeous embroidery, but the instructions were VERY sketchy about that part. That particular pattern also charted a different snowflake pattern for part of the body than the photo showed (without notice), and I had to chart that part myself from the pic. The pattern choice wasn't nearly as pretty.

Love the various "snowflake" patterns. I did learn the hard way with a sweater never to be finished, that if the pattern is too large, I find it too hard to knit accurately, and I don't like long spans of stranded color on the inside.
 
S

spinner

Veteran Member
A couple more books that I fine indispensable are Barbara Walkers "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns" and "A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns." "Designing Knitwear" by Deborah Newton and "Knitting By Design" by Mary Anne Erickson and Eve Cohen are very good, too. They give you the tools to design the sweaters that you want.

I use Sweater Wizard, too. There are knitting pattern generators on the net for things like socks, hats and I think mittens. If I can find them I will post the links.

That is beautiful work, Melodi!
 
Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
Thank you, and actually relatively easy because it is a scarf, I don't have to worry about twisting the longer floats as I would for a sweater; that by the way is the secret to knitting designs with long periods of one color, twist the yarns over each other every 5 to 7 stitches and try to avoid long-float designs for most of the sweater. I usually do this by having one or two sections (or part of a yoke) with a big design like elk-hounds, mouse, giant snow flake etc but the rest of the time I stick to the EZ rule of no pattern that is more than 5 to 7 stitches across (depending on gauge). I also only rarely use more than two colors in a row, usually only when knitting very traditional patterns like Icelandic yoke sweaters for my husband where the third color is really needed and usually only for a few rows, I usually do things like cat's eye colors or bits like that with duplicate stitch.

I also learned to knit 2 handed, carrying one color in each hand, which I find is relaxing and easy; I can do it over two fingers (the way I first learned) but prefer the right hand/left hand method. In a silly brain quirk I am able to do this when knitting two colors but trying to knit just left handed makes me crazy on its own, I tried it when I broke my arm and was not impressed with the results! If I seriously couldn't use my right hand much, I'd keep at it until my brain gave up but at the moment I am much more comfortable with right handed knitting for most things, both hands for color work.

Here's a picture of the Icelandic I made my husband years ago, he's already manage to destroy it but he enjoyed it while it was there - I've got enough to make one for myself in my colors, but the person buying the yarn in Iceland didn't get back to the shop to buy enough for his. But he's happy with other sorts of yoke sweaters too, and I've two sweaters on needles for him already, one originally started almost 3 years ago I need to finish (note to self, no more tiny cables on large projects as my hands can't take it).

IS01__3__medium2.JPG

IS01__14__medium2.JPG

IS01__16__medium2.JPG
 
Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow

Heathen Pagan Witch
I finished the Scottish tam! Handspun two ply combed from a blend of wools from three of my sheep. I did dye it with egg dye, but don't have a pic since its still drying. It's a blue shade that came out in lovely swirls of dark and light.

I've been watching too much "Outlander"

TB hates my phone for pic downloads so you can see pics on the FB farm page, link below
 
Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
Yeah - scarf is finished too - husband is afraid that even felted it may be too wide - he will try it next Winter and if it is I will take it apart as stuff as two pillows; that was something a number of people did with that pattern because while lovely it just knits up really wide even when I went to a narrow yarn and much smaller needles.

I am currently working on socks and a sweater.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top