It’s Market Season!

….and what better way to celebrate than with a new market bag!  My latest project was a blue market bag made from Sugar N Cream cotton yarn.  It was made with a knit base so there are no holes in it, and mesh sides, with a garter stitch shoulder strap.  Now I just need to find a farmer’s market!  I’m making a second one in pink to go along with it since it was a fairly easy knit.  The pattern I used was the Let’s Go Shopping Market Bag.  It had the option of having either one or two handles, I chose to go with one.  I definitely suggest this bag to anyone looking to make a market bag.

More Fingerless Gloves

I haven’t posted in a while, but I’m still making new knit creations.  My latest project is a pair of fingerless gloves.  Between these and hats, they are my favorite projects.  The pattern I’m currently using is called Fetching, and was found on Ravelry.  It combines double pointed needles with cable knitting.  There’s something about double pointed needles I absolutely love, they just seem to be a little bit more versatility than straight or circular needles.  The yarn I’m using is Debbie Bliss Eco 100% organic cotton yarn.  It’s extremely soft to the touch.  One thing about this pattern is the finished product doesn’t stretch as much as I’d have liked.  This could be because of the fiber I used, wool tends to stretch a little bit more.  I think the pattern itself probably has something to do with it since it’s a 4x1 rib stitch.  This pattern also involved my first real thumb hold I’ve made, and it wasn’t just a matter of leaving a hole in the stitching on the side of the glove.  I think it turned out pretty good.  Now that I’ve done several pairs of fingerless gloves I think I’m going to start thinking of designing my own.  I have a couple stitch dictionaries that give me some ideas, but we’ll see, I might just have to get a little more creative. 

As for the other projects I’m still working on my Doctor Who scarf, and I’m sure it’ll be quite a while before it’s finished.  I really don’t have a strict timeline for it, and since it’s a 14 foot scarf I’m in no rush.  I’m also working on the afghan that was mentioned in my last post.  It’s coming along nicely and quicker than I expected.  I haven’t worked on it in the past week or so since I’ve been working on these gloves.  I’m hoping it’ll be ready for next winter since this winter seems to almost over.

If you’re in the Milwaukee area remember to stop by for Stitchin’ in Stallis.  We’ve changed the day to Tuesdays, and our next one is on Tuesday, March 8th at Stacey’s Bar in West Allis.  Come join us for some stitching and drinks!

New Projects

With the new year comes new projects.  As I mentioned in my last post I visited Ruhama’s yarn store on Milwaukee’s East side in January and picked up some new tweed yarn.  I’m happy to say I successfully turned that yarn into a cable knit hat (pattern referenced in last post).  Unfortunately while working this pattern I misread a couple steps, and when I was almost finished I realized my mistake.  I ripped out the whole project, since undoing my cable knitting was too difficult for me.  Thankfully after another attempt I successfully completed the hat.  This was my first project cable knitting in the round.  It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, and the results look pretty good.

I’ve started another afghan (or albatross as some would say).  My last one got ripped out after I accidentally joined it in the round, and wasn’t far enough along on it to consider saving it.  This time I’ve decided to use a little bit heavier yarn and bigger needles to to end up with a more traditional blanket.  The yarn I chose was Loops & Threads Impeccable worsted weight, which seems to be carried exclusively by Michael’s, and the needles are size 10.  The pattern I chose was out of a book entitled 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns, which features both knit and crochet patterns.  This afghan will feature black, dark purple, and burgundy colors.  More to come on this project as it develops.

Knitting in the New Year

It’s been a couple months since I’ve done an update, and now that the Christmas gifts I’ve been knitting are complete, I can begin sharing my projects again.  I currently have two major projects I’m working on, the Doctor Who scarf, and a hat made from a teal tweed yarn I got at Ruhama’s Yarn & Needlepoint yesterday.  Ruhama’s seems to be one of the better yarn stores in the area and carries a pretty good selection of different types of yarn, I will definitely be going back.

Last year (as you may have read in a previous post) I took on the challenge of making a Doctor Who scarf.  This involved finding various yarns in specific brands and colors to match the original as close as possible.  I acquired all the yarn last year, however with several projects going, I put the scarf aside.  This past week I decided to pick the project back up.  I’m only about 2 feet into the 14 foot scarf, however it’s definitely coming along.  The pattern I’m using can be found here.  I’m knitting the original season 12 – 14 version.  It’s an extremely easy stitch, just very time consuming.

My next project (since I can’t seem to have only one going at a time) is a slouchy beret I found on Ravelry.  The pattern can be found here after you log in to  Ravelry, or search for Star Crossed Slouchy Beret.  It’s a pretty easy hat pattern, uses a combination of double pointed needles (which really aren’t that scary) and a circular needle.  Since the needles used are size 10 and 11, it’s a pretty quick knit.  It uses a basic cable pattern, which would be good for someone who hasn’t cabled before.  The yarn I’m using for this project is Berroco Blackstone Tweed, I chose the color Saltwater to get away from my obsession with purple.  Any worsted weight yarn would be great for this hat.  An update will be posted once this project is complete.

Happy Knitting!