Mermaid Tail Blanket Part 1

I was just recently reminded of a mermaid tail blanket I came across a few years ago. Christmas is coming up so I couldn't resist making one for my niece. 

The pattern I'm following at the moment uses a crocodile stitch so I found a great tutorial to help me succeed. 

http://www.lostandfoundlane.com/p/croc-stitch-easy-way.html?m=1

I am in love with how it's turning out. It's been a little tricky figuring out how to increase but I think I've managed it. 

Prayer Shawl for my aunt

My aunt has been dealing with a whole crop of health issues over the last year so I decided to make her a prayer shawl. 

I used a basic worsted weight yarn with size 17 needles and followed a slightly modified version of the Classic Seed and Leaf pattern from Great Balls of Yarn. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20130510114418/http://www.greatballsofyarn.com/freepatterns/sc-seedleaf.pdf

Fizzle yarn

Making my first Fizzle scarf. I've used the Sashay yarn before to make ruffle scarfs so I'll be comparing that experience to this one. 

Fizzle yarn is very nice to work with. I like the bigger holes because it makes it easier to tell where the next one is and easier to handle. It also only requires 3 or 4 stitches a row to make a standard scarf. It finishes up in a breeze. 

Of course it still has the same problem that I don't like about these projects which is the finishing. The castoff and sewing on the tail always looks weird to me. 

K'needles update 15

I started a cardigan from my aunt's old knitting book. 

It's been fun, but, now that I'm at the tedious stockinette stitch for 173 stitches back and forth for many many inches, it had me itching to do something else as well.

I've also been sorting through my huge stash (especially the yarn that was donated to me) and figuring out what to keep and what to pass on. During that I came across a cotton/linen blend and just had to do something with it. So I made a scarf. 

Here is a close up of the lace pattern:

It's a leaf and stem lace. I liked it so much, and I had more yarn, that I decided to make another scarf--but this time in the round. The first scarf works well for a little girl, and I'm thinking the second one will be good for a woman. Mom and daughter matching scarves :-)

K'needles update 14

I finished the head band a couple of weeks ago and then had arm issues and knitters block after that. 

I like how the headband turned out. It'll be really warm. 

Today, I decided it was time to knit again. 

I ripped up a blanket I had started a month or two ago but decided it was not a nice blanket. The nobbly yarn wasn't enough to make a blanket feel like a blanket. So I paired it with a soft machine-washable wool and it's going to be fabulous now. 

The blanket is now soft, has a nice stretch, and good body to it. Pairing up a good basic yarn with a novelty yarn is a great way to go. 

Today I also started and finished a simple cowl from some random mohair-esque yarn I found in a donated stash. It was cut up into pieces and wound around clothesline pins so I don't know anything about the yarn but it turned out lovely and just the right amount. 

On the mannequin head it looks a bit loose, but on me it's just flush with my neck. I crocheted it with an N hook and did a simple V lace with a base of hdc. 

It feels great to be back creating. 

Found this photo on the Lion Brand Facebook page. Not sure who came up with it but it's leaving many of us in stitches.

Playing with color

I rarely knit with more than one color. It's a lot of work and I didn't have the technique worked out because I never really tried. But as one of my New Years resolutions I was going to give intarsia a shot. Only took until Feb. 8 to try it out. And it's a lot easier than I thought. It's still more time consuming than plain knitting but opens up a new world. I went with a simple heart swatch of 20 stitches. 

Well, since that was easier than expected and crossed off the list, I had to add to my list. So I figured I'd give fair isle a chance. But this time I wanted to make a project out of it. So I came up with this headband. 

I've been using the one-handed stranding technique because I'm not good at English style but it would be nice to do two-handed stranding because my pinky is so worn out from switching back and forth between the two colors. 

Lastly, I started out using a simple bobbin of yarn just wrapped around a piece of cardboard with the ends folded up. It works okay, but the yarn unwraps freely. I remembered seeing someone make a butterfly bobbin once so I looked for a tutorial. This one was helpful: http://www.craftleftovers.com/craft/how-to-making-butterfly-bobbins/. So I made my very first bitterly bobbin and I love it!