The lovely little chunky Grandad cardigan I was knitting is now all finished except for the sewing – which I hate.
I know I’m not alone in this and i also know it’s only a baby cardigan, but I should probably also get on with some of the other sewing up that’s been waiting before getting on with my next project.
Happy Knitting!
http://petitepurls.com/index.html
Petite Purls is a fantastic online magazine that specialises in knitting patterns for babies, toddlers and older children. Having said that, there are crochet patterns and sewing patterns too, all for little ones.
The magazine is published four times a year in January, April, July and October and is packed full of ideas. All of the patterns are free, for personal use only. Although not available to download as PDFs, it takes no time to copy and paste into a Word document to print off.
The magazine was first published in Summer 2009 and was the result of an online friendship between Allegra Wermuth and Brandy Fortune. Joan Bebe joined the creative duo as Technical Editor and Petite Purls was born.
Petite Purls concentrates on independent pattern designers; they will never publish a pattern from a company or a pattern publisher, although sometimes they may publish from a book. There are such lovely patterns available for free, you’ll be spoiled for choice. One of my favourite sections is the ‘Basics’. Here you’ll discover beautiful, basic patterns, which are great for beginners but also ideal for encouraging your creativity by changing stitches or using colourwork.
The latest addition to this ever-growing section is the Garter Bottom cardigan – it’s a lovely design by Amy Grace and is available in sizes 12 months, 2, 3 and 4 years. It is made in Spud & Chloe’s Sweater yarn, which is an aran weight.
All of the patterns are graded by ability, and under the name of the pattern and the designer there is a scale from young girl to older woman. The younger the lass, the easier the pattern.
Issue 14 is the current edition and as per usual there are several patterns I’ve already queued. Who could resist Belle & Beau by Megan Grewal?
It’s knitted in aran weight yarn and has sizes from 3 months to 8 years. Whilst I do adore the tree or the flowers on the bottom cardi, it’s the multicoloured yoke that I love.
My other favourite is the Entropy Vest by Anjali M available in sizes 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 years. The little argyle detail is cute and quirky but the tank top would look just as good plain.
When the latest issue is released the patterns do go up on Ravelry so some of them could look familiar. The site also has an archive of its back issues – all worth a look.
Be sure to check out White Caps by Daniela Nii from the Spring 2100 issue http://petitepurls.com/Spring11/spring2011_p_white.html
and Little Letterman by Danielle Reiner in the Fall 2010 issue
http://petitepurls.com/Fall2010/fall2010_p_littleletterman.html
If you’re still not convinced, I defy you all not to love Capuchon by Tagil Parlmutter in the Fall 2011 edition.
Don’t you just love it?
Happy Knitting!
As you can see from the pictures the shop is now Stash Dash ready for Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March. There is sooooo much lovely yarn included that I will have to try to control the urge to buy it all myself.
Of course if we’re going to be honest then I shall have to admit to having selected several balls (slight understatement possibly?) for some of the projects I’ve cued…….. Who could blame me?
So will I give you an idea of what to expect when you come in for your 20 minutes?
Spring/Summer is supposed to be coming so it stands to reason that there will be chunky yarns, including –
Shades of Wendy Merino Chunky, Rico Galaxy, Bergere de France Duvetine, Twilley’s Purity & Sirdar Folksong to name but a few. We are also clearing Wendy Celtic Chunky & Wendy Norse.
In super chunky were clearing Sirdar Denim Ultra & Big Bamboo, shades of Sirdar Big Softie and there’s a few packs of Rico Super Chunky Tweed there too.
In aran weight there’s Wendy Traditional Aran, Rico Country Aran, shades of Sirdar Supersoft Aran and several lovely cottons from Araucania.
As you might expect there’s loads to tempt you in double knit yarns – shades of Sirdar Baby Crofter & Snuggly dk, we’re clearing King Cole Riot, Shades, Moods, Moods Duet, Baby Alpaca & Haze. Sorrento from Wendy is also included to clear as is Tiny Tots from Sirdar. There are also shades of Wendy Merino Dk, King Cole’s Splash, Rico’s Cotton dk and Sublime’s Egyptian Cotton.
In 4ply and lace there is Sirdar Countrystyle to clear and Rico’s Romance, there’s also sock yarn, shades of Comfort 4ply and loads of odd balls and hanks.
There’s also scarf yarns from Sirdar, Rico & Tivoli, shades of Reflection from Rico, Snowdrops from Sirdar and loads more yarn in lots of lovely colours, too many to mention.
I’m looking forward to having another look myself and hope everyone that’s coming finds something they like.
Don’t forget your list.
Happy Knitting!
For those of you that have been before you’ll know what it’s all about, the rest of you would probably best to read this previous post here http://knitmidleton.com/2012/07/23/everybody-keeps-asking-me/
Basically, we cover up all the shelves and lay out as many tables as we can fit into the shop; on top of these we put all the yarn we’re discontinuing. There could be whole ranges of yarn, shades of yarn and some you might not have seen before. There will be odd balls, several balls and packs of balls, no matter what, all balls are €3 each.
There are things to consider: you have to book your slot, you only have 20 minutes (you’re timed), you have to prepare, dig out the patterns, check your favourites on Ravelry, make sure you know how much double knit/aran/chunky you need. Have a look at the post linked above if you’re not sure and make sure you book your place quickly before they all go.
This is what you should be expecting.
Let the mayhem begin!
As most of you are already aware we are constantly encouraging everyone to knit or crochet for charity. At least once a week I hear the words ‘I use to knit all the time, but my kids/grandchildren won’t wear knitted jumpers anymore’. Hopefully, this is becoming less the case as all things woolly have become quite fashionable of late and some of the coolest people are donning Aran jumpers or oversize sloppy hats, and there’s no denying the current trend for super chunky cowls.
So knitting is the rage once again but if you remain unconvinced perhaps you could be persuaded to pick up the needles or your hook again and get to work on creating some much needed winter woolies for our current charity – The Kyl Assylum in Belarus. If you want to know more have a read through my previous post here http://knitmidleton.com/2012/11/15/our-latest-charity-collection-is/
The lovely scarf above is a beautiful 4ply, yes I did say 4ply, number knitted by Edwina.
This lovely trio of hats were knitted up by Sinead’s mum, they also dropped off a bar of soap to add to the toiletries collection to send out to Belarus too.
In addition to the knitted items, Mary also grabbed a bargain batch of gloves and hats to include and whilst some of them are for children they will still be passed on to needy smallies via the charity.
Teresa O’Flynn has sent in some more baby raglan jumpers and cardis.
Lastly there’s these lovely hats that a lady dropped in to us to forward on. Unfortunately, she didn’t leave her name so if anyone know who she is let me know and we can credit her beautiful work.
So if you’ve the time…….. all donations will be sent to worthy, reputable causes and will be very much appreciated by those in receipt of them.
Happy Knitting!
Having managed to persuade my usual model to pose for a picture, you can no doubt see how she feels about it.
Mistake rib is a great stitch pattern to use for scarves/cowls as it gives you a double sided fabric rather than one with a definite front and back (like stocking stitch). The easiest way to remember the pattern is to cast on an odd number of stitches, in this instance I used 17. With an odd number of stitches every row of your scarf will be the same.
We managed to wrap the cowl around Dina 3 times, but the friend it was made for is very tall and tends to wear it wrapped round her neck twice. if you want to make it wider and a little shorter cast on 2 extra stitches (the pattern remains the same).
Cowl Dimensions
Length 180cm/70″
Width 23cm/9″
Materials
5 Balls Sirdar Big Bamboo
10mm Needles
Darning Needle
Abbreviations
k – knit
p – purl
st(s) – stitch(es)
Pattern
Using thumb method cast on 17 stitches.
Work every row as follows – knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches repeat these 4 stitches to last st, K1
Work until almost all of your yarn has gone ensuring you save enough to cast off loosely (approximately 3 times the width of your knitting).
Sew cast on edge to cast off edge in order to make a large ring and sew in ends.
Tip – When joining in a new ball of yarn try to do this somewhere along the row rather than at the beginning of a row as usual. This will help to keep the edges of the cowl tidy and means your ends can be better hidden.
Six lovely new shades of Rico Creative Galaxy Chunky yarn arrived in last Friday and I thought I’d quickly share them with you.
I’m rather fond of the Saturn myself and am considering knitting the Shalom sleeveless cardigan by Meghan McFarlane in it at some stage – if I can find the time.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shalom-cardigan
Happy Knitting!
At this time of year you can’t fail to notice the impending visit of the jolly white-haired geezer in the bright red suit. The infection spreads like wildfire and before you know it you’re walking around singing carols and driving everyone mad (just me then?).
Anyway, across our three knitting groups we try to encourage everyone to join us for our annual Christmas get together and take part in our Secret Santa present swap.
Every year we stick to the same theme – A Christmas Decoration. The only rule is that the decoration must be handmade, preferably knitted or crocheted. I have been posting up links to various patterns which could be used for these gifts but thought it might be an idea to put them all in one place for everyone to see.
This little tree decoration by Jill Koerner is free and is available via Ravelry on Jill’s blog. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-tree-decoration
Jenna Krupar has an ebook of 4 knitted patterns available on Ravelry for $6 which include this very lovely little tree decoration – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/o-christmas-tree
This lovely little Santa hat by Linda Dawkins is free via Ravelry on Linda’s blog. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-santa-hat-christmas-ornament
These lovely little mittens are free on the Red Heart website http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitten-ornaments-wr2082
I was given one of these little bags of yarn last year by Caroline and I love it. I know she won’t mind me saying it’s a lovely, easy, little knit. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/yarn-basket-ornament
I’m rather fond of these 4 decorations from Linda Regel for £2.50 and downloaded them much earlier in the year. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-knitties
If you’re still stuck for ideas there are literally 1000s of them out there – there’s even my decoration that I posted last week. Another idea if you’re not too confident is to make a felted heart or knit a little scarf and wrap it around a shop-bought snowman/reindeer or Santa ornament. Or you can wind yarn around a polystyrene ball to make it look just like a ball of wool.
It is after all the thought that counts.
Happy Knitting!
(Bleeding awful photos again ain’t they? Sorry! Said in my South East London accent of course)
Size (approx)
Width at widest point 11cm
Height from top of curve to point 9.5cm
Materials
A pair of 4mm needles
Rico Cotton Aran any colours
Darning Needle
Toy stuffing
A 4.5mm crochet hook or ribbon
Abbreviations
St(s): Stitch(es)
K: Knit
P: Purl
Alt: Alternate
Tog: Together
S1: Slip 1 stitch
PSSO: Pass slipped stitch over
M1: Make 1 – From the front, lift loop between stitches with left needle, knit into back of the loop.
K2tog: Knit the next 2 sts together
K3tog: Knit the next 3 sts together
P2tog: Purl 2 sts together
p2togtbl: Purl 2 sts together through back loops
SSK: Slip, slip, knit slipped stitches tog.
Heart – Make 2 pieces
Ornament is knitted in stocking stitch – knit 1 row, purl one row
Using 4mm needles and shade A cast on 3sts.
Work 2 rows in stocking stitch
3rd row: – Using shade B, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1
4th row: – purl
5th row: – Switch to shade A, k1, m1, k3, m1, k1
6th row: – Purl
Continue working 2 row stripe sequence, increasing by 1 stitch at each end on the next and every alt row until there are 21 sts. Work 3 more rows ending with a purl row.
Decreases
Continue working in 2 row stripe sequence except for the last 3 rows, work these and the cast off in the same shade.
1st row: – k1, ssk, k7, turn. (9sts)
Working on these stitches only slip the remaining 11 sts onto a small stitch holder
2nd, 4th and 6th row: purl
3rd row: k1, ssk, k6. (8sts)
5th row: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. (6sts)
7th row: k1, ssk, k2tog, k1. (4sts)
8th row: P1, p2togtbl. (3sts)
9th row: S1, k2tog, psso, cast off remaining stitch.
Rejoin yarn to remaining sts
1st row: k2tog, k until there are 7 sts on right hand needle, k2tog, k1. (9sts)
2nd, 4th and 6th row: purl
3rd row: k6, k2tog, k1. (8sts)
5th row: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. (6sts)
7th row: k1, ssk, k2tog, k1. (4sts)
8th row: p1, p2tog, p1. (3sts)
9th row: k3tog, cast off last stitch.
You need to make a braid to hang the ornament. I crochet 18 chains on a 4.5mm crochet hook, but you could knit a braid, plait some wool or use a piece of ribbon.
Place the hearts right sides together and sew up using a backstitch, remember to sew over your braid in order to hang your ornament. Sew 90% of the way round, sew in and trim ends except the one you’re using to sew up.
Turn heart right sides out, stuff, if you insert the filling a little at a time you will achieve a more even fill.
Sew up remaining opening.
They look great on a plain tinsel wreath like this. Those of you that know me will know I prefer odd numbers so there is one missing!!!!! The wreath was from a euro shop and cost €7 I think.
I love using Rico Creative Cotton Aran for these decorations as it comes in such a wide range of colours and it’s easy on the pocket;however, I’ve also made a good few of these little hearts in sock wool with 2.5mm needles. Once made I omitted the hanging braid, opting instead to put them in a little felted bowl as a gift. They work equally well for Christmas, Valentines or for when you just want to let someone know you appreciate them. They’re quick and easy to knit and can be decorated with buttons and sequins to jazz them up a bit if you like.
OK, so I know we’ve already been busy knitting and crocheting for this charity however, the charity is involved with so many different projects (all as needy as the rest), that I feel sure I’m not asking too much of you all again.
This time we’re hoping to help the 500 residents that live on 5 floors of the Kyl asylum. Many of the children that the charity work with in the orphanages out in Belarus end up going to Kyl asylum when they turn 18. Conditions are hard with the total allowance for clothes and shoes per patient being €3 annually. The Chernobyl Children’s trust have been working with another group The Bureen Chernobyl Project and have recently managed to collect in approximately 1000 pairs of secondhand shoes as the residents had been using cardboard on their feet whilst working out in the fields.
We’ve been asked for hats, scarves and mitts again and in addition maybe some socks and legwarmers, anything to help to try and keep out the cold.
A lot of the links I put up for our previous collection will still be valid as are
Easy hat pattern
http://knitmidleton.com/2012/07/06/quick-chunky-hat-great-for-charity-knits/
Easy scarf pattern
http://knitmidleton.com/2012/06/02/easy-rib-scarf-for-chernobyl/
Previous blog post with links to more patterns
http://knitmidleton.com/2012/06/01/knitting-for-chernobyl-childrens-trust/
Our collection will run until the end of March when the next containers will be traveling to the area, so you’ve plenty of time to get cracking. Items will be accepted in all colours of the rainbow, so break out the stash and use up your leftovers. The residents are both male and female and all are over 18 although they will be slight for their ages.
We’ve also been asked to collect any unwanted needles and wool in for the residents some of whom love knitting. If you can’t knit or crochet maybe you could be persuaded to drop off some personal hygiene products like soap, shampoo, etc. which we will also be collecting in (all new and unopened please, with as long a ‘use by’ date on)
A big thanks in advance for all of your help AGAIN.
Happy Knitting!
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 