Kaleidocycle

A knitted Kaleidocycle to be exact. I found the pattern on Ravelry and just had to make it. Techniques used are Provisional Cast On (crochet cast on), knitting in the round (clockwise), purling in the round (counter-clockwise), double knitting (knitting both sides at the same time) and Kitchener Stitch (invisible join).

It was a fun knit, but somewhat challenging as you have to pay attention to what you are doing. Definitely not something to knit while watching TV.

It is a tube made up of Tetrahedrons (pyramids). Each Tetrahedron is joined with a “hinged” area that allows them to fold and be turned.

BTW, it is a toy.

Here is my completed Kaleidocycle.

And this is the YouTube video showing how it works.

Designing a New Sock

I am currently designing a new sock for men. I wanted something that was somewhat generic, but that men would wear. I talked with my youngest son. He said it’s all about color, not fancy stitches. So I came up with a plaid sock.

First of all, I worked it out on graph paper. I played around with it until I got it like I wanted. Then I began to implement it.

Now I am no stranger to stranded (colorwork or fairisle) knitting. I know it takes longer to knit and it also tends to draw up the width more so than just knitting with a single yarn. BUT, OMG! This sock is labor intensive. I do like the results, but I don’t think I will be making this again. If I do I will only, repeat, ONLY do the plaid section on the top or cuff of the sock and only for a short distance.

Figuring out on paper where to change colors is so much different than the actual knitting of said colors. As I said, it is labor intensive. And I still have to write it up as a pattern and place said pattern in my store for sale.

After all this work, I certainly hope the pattern sells well.

Oh BTW, I call it Mens Plaid PIA Sox.

Sock Patterns

The past few months I have been working on several sock patterns. I have finally got them listed on Ravelry and Etsy. They are digital downloads for a small fee of $2.50 each.

Now that I am retired from the working world, I hope to be able to create more knitting patterns. It’s not an easy process. I get ideas and not all of them are feasible in a sock. So before a particular pattern comes to fruition, there is a lot of trial and error.

First, I write down my ideas. Then I have to do a gauge swatch and sometimes a pattern swatch to see how the idea looks in a tangible item. Sometimes they look ugly and sometimes they look just like I want them to. Once that is done, then I knit the sock to see how many repeats of a pattern are needed and how it will look as a whole. I write down everything I do as I knit so that I can write up the pattern when the sock in completed.

These are the sock patterns currently for sale on Ravelry and Etsy.

Wearing Socks in Florida

I’m a knitter, a sock knitter primarily. I just love to knit them and wear them. And, yes, I live in Florida. I wear socks year around.

Why? you ask. Well, I’ll tell you. First, it does get extremely hot and humid here. That includes the sand at the beach. That sand can blister your feet in seconds. Then you can give up walking for awhile. The sun can blister the tops of your feet while the sand takes care of the bottoms.

Second, this is the South. Air conditioning is used everywhere. I don’t mean just cool comfort from the heat outside. I mean freezing temperatures, walk-in freezer type temperatures in stores, theaters, homes, businesses, schools, etc. That cool blast feels pretty good the first few minutes you are inside, then you begin to get cold and that includes your feet.

Third, I make my socks with a wool blend sock yarn. Wool pulls moisture away from the skin so you don’t have that yukky, sticky, wet squishy feeling while wearing your socks.

So, I’ll continue to wear my socks year round…in Florida.

Fingering Yarns Are NOT All the Same!

I want to talk to all of you knitters out there who knit socks. I love knitting socks and I love sock yarn or fingering yarn. But they are NOT all the same.

Most patterns call for 50g (grams) per sock. So you know it will take 2 to make a pair. But do you pay attention to the yardage/meters? If not, you should. Why? Because not all 50g skeins have the same yardage/meters. They vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. I know when I knit socks it will take close to 200 yards per sock to complete, so 400 yards for a pair.

Here are a few pics to show the difference in fingering yarns.

As you can tell by the above pic, these skeins are different sizes. Each is 50g or 1.75 ounces, but the number of yards/meters varies in each one. The Patons Kroy has 166 yards/152m; the Knit Picks has 218 yards (doesn’t list the meters); the Regia has 210 meters (yardage not listed, but is over 200 yards) and the Pegasus is 180 meters (196 yards).

This sock I knitted from the Patons had a very, very small amount left over. And that is only because I decided not to complete 5 rounds of the cuff pattern, just 3 rounds. If I had done 5 rounds, I would have run out of yarn on the first sock.

So be careful when choosing your fingering yarn. Compare the yards/meters required in your pattern to what is on the label. You may need more than 2 to complete your socks.

Berries in a Basket Socks Free Knitting Pattern

Berries in a Basket Socks

This is an easy pattern to do. Assumption is made that you already know how to knit socks. If not, check previous entries on my blog for more information on knitting socks. There are also numerous how-to videos on Youtube, including grafting the toe using the Kitchner stitch.

Materials:
2 50/60 gram skeins of fingering/sock yarn (I used Deborah Norville’s Serenity sock yarn colorway Chili color #DN104-07)
Set of 5 US#3 double points (it is critical that you use 5 needles so that the pattern will be easy to follow)
Yarn needle for grafting the toe.

Pattern:

Berries:
1. P2 K2 around
2. P2 K2 around
3. K2 P2 around
4. K2 P2 around
Repeat 1-4 above 4 more times (total of 5 times)

Basket:
1. Knit 1 round even
2. K2 P6 around
3. Repeat row 2
4. Repeat row 2
5. Knit 1 round even
6. P4 K2 P6 K2 P2 around
7. Repeat row 6
8. Repeat row 6
Repeat rows 1-8 again.

FYI: Both patterns above work on a multiple of 4.
Gauge: 7 stitches to the inch and about 10 rows to the inch

Cast on 64 stitches using your favorite cast on method and divide evenly over 4 needles (16 stitches on each needle).
Join and K2 P2 around for a total of 10 rounds.

Do Berry pattern.

Then do Basket pattern.

The leg can be increased in length by repeating either of the patterns above or both.

From here to completion of the sock use your preferred method for the heel flap, turning the heel, gusset stitches, foot and toe.

Repeat for second sock.

I love the colorway of this yarn, but photographing it was a PIA!

Getting those UFO’s Done

I’ve been working on a few knitted items that have been on the back burner for awhile. Now I’m down to only 4 unfinished objects.

This hat, a Jacques Cousteau, hat was rather quick to finish. Easy pattern.

Now this mitt was NOT EASY!! The pattern, a graph, is done in grey and white. Makes it difficult for old eyes to see well. Had to use a line magnifier to be able to read the line I was working on.

Only one more mitt to go and I’ll be done with this pattern. I don’t think I’ll be doing a repeat unless the designer decides to do the graph in color or at least make it larger…like 6 feet by 4 feet.

Here it is December 22, 2012 and I finally finished those Fighting Words Mitts. I will definitely NOT be making any more of these.

Minions!

I was browsing through Ravelry’s pattern base and came across a pattern for a knitted minion. There were several for crocheted ones too. Anyway my youngest son saw it and wanted one.

Yesterday, I went through my stash and gathered my yellow wool yarn and denim blue wool yarn. Then I located my fiberfill, some buttons and glue. Then I pulled up the pattern and began knitting the little guy. It took very little yarn and only a few hours to complete.

I began thinking…not usually a good idea for me. But, wouldn’t it be great if we all had minions to do our housecleaning, grocery shopping, yard work etc. Now where is that Minions, Inc. so I can get me a few minions. I would certainly have more time to craft.

Dave the minion

One Skein Skinny Scarf

Do you knit? Are you looking for a quick, easy pattern for a gift?

Here it is…a one skein skinny scarf.

Materials:

1 skein of eyelash/fun fur yarn
1 pair US 13 straight needles

Cast on 10 stitches. Knit every row until you are almost out of yarn. Bind off. Weave in ends.

You can use any yarn for this pattern.

Have fun.

Multnomah Shawl

I joined the Knit Picks group on Ravelry and there was a SAL (stitch along). We could use any shawl pattern that showed off several of the the Knit Picks color changing yarns. Several patterns were suggested and I chose the Multnomah Shawl pattern.

Initially, I thought this was easy and it was. The hard part was when the shawl “grew”. Each new row was longer than the last one. I had reached a point where I was ready for it to be DONE! It took longer and longer just to finish one row. I worked on this shawl for almost 30 days (1 month) before it was finally done. But I must say, I am pleased with the end results.

I think the next shawl I work on will start off with 300 kazillion stitches and decrease to one. At least then the final rows will go really FAST.