New Pattern release: Two Color Baby Cardigan

Give a new arrival the warmest of welcomes with this beautiful jacket. It is quite easy to knit since it is worked in one piece, with simple but effective stitches that even a beginner can manage. The functional two-color design opens to a realm of possibilities: you can even match it to your new baby’s nursery colors!

Give your love to a little love bug with this jacket.

Notes: The jacket is knitted top down: circular yoke worked first, then back and fronts as one piece. Instructions are written for size 3 months, with 6/9 and 12 months in brackets (,). If only one number is given it applies to all sizes. Pink yarn is referred to as Color 1; Green yarn  - Color 2. Make sure your cast on is somewhat loose, as it will go over the baby’s neck.

Materials

Yarn: Angel Baby or any fingering weight (50 g /185 yards)

Size                                 3        6/9        12 months

Color 1 (Pink)                50         50         50 grams

Colors 2 (Green)           100        100       150 grams

5 buttons

Needles: circular US 5 (3.75 mm) or size needed to obtain correct gauge

Gauge: 21 st x 40 rows = 4x4 inches [10x 10 cm] in garter stitch

Bust: 19 ¾ (22, 24 ¼) inches [50 (56, 62) cm]

  

Pattern is Written in words

I am offering this pattern as an instant PDF download 

through Raverly.com

Cost: $3.00 (US)

You don't need to have a PayPal or Ravelry account to purchase the pattern - you can use your credit/debit card. 

Happy Knitting!  Natalia
  
PS: here is another color combination:

 

Free Estonian Lace Pattern - Silvia - June Entry

Happy summer everyone! 
June is almost over - I am enjoying the weather and my ever-changing garden. So far it has been very nice here in New England: not too hot, not too rainy and not too buggy. Flowers are blooming and the kids are finally done with the school. 
Anyway - back to the business of knitting. 

Here is my June Entry for Estonian Lace Shawl Challenge that I imposed on myself in January. By the way if you are wondering what do I do with the shawls - I am selling them in my Etsy store All Knitted Lace.

This month I used a very traditional pattern: "Silvia". Did you know that there are at least 3 variations of this pattern? I should write a blog post about it at some point. Anyway, enough talking, here is the shawl:
 

 

And a close up

 

I used KnitPicks Bare Shadow Lace Yarn
Fiber Content: 100% Merino Wool
Weight: Lace Weight
Yards: 880
Grams: 100
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)

How I did it

Main body of the shawl
Cast on 92 sts, work 8 row in garter st, then continue as follows:
RS rows: k4, * 21 sts follow scheme below, repeat from * 4 times, k4. 
WS rows: k4, p to last 4, k4 (pay attention to nupps!)

I worked the scheme 16 times and finished with 8 rows of garter sts. Cast off all sts. Then I picked stitches  along all 4 sides at once on a long circular needle, and added scalloped edge.
 
Pattern for scalloped edge   (number of sts - multiples of 13): Row 1(RS): *k2tog, k2 tog, k2tog, (k1, yo) x6 times, k1, ssk, ssk, ssk, repeat from * to end. Row 2(WS): Purl all repeat rows 1 and 2 until desired length is reached. 
Cast off all sts.
 
Size after blocking: 62 x 21 inches.

Happy Knitting in July!
Natalia

Mini-entry: frustration

Every knitter knows the anxiety of not having enough yarn to finish the project, and boy it is frustrating!

Last night I was working on proof-knitting (kind of like a proof-reading :) of a baby set pattern that I showed you last time here. That pink and green set took 2 skeins of each color (KnitPicks  Shine in sports weight) - and I had some green left.

For this set I used the same needles, the same yarn, knitted in the same gauge and same size... but almost ran out of  yarn! I actually had to modify and make the sleeves mostly in white, not blue. See that little blue ball of yarn? That's all I have left for finishing, and I am pretty sure it will not be enough... FRUSTRATING! 

Is it possible that 2 skeins of the same yarn type would have such a difference in yarn length? That is the only reasonable explanation... 
So - I am increasing the yarn requirements in the pattern, just to make sure that other knitter will not have the unhappy feelings I had last night.

Happy knitting!
Natalia

6/15/2014
Update: a little white yarn left from another project and a bit of patience can fix anything!

 

 

Estonian Lace challenge: May Shawl

OK, May is almost over and the last Friday of the month is HERE - so, here is my May Estonian Lace shawl.

I used a Slanting Twig pattern

Here is another picture of my shawl  - you can see the pattern a bit better. The difference, of course is that I have adopted the pattern for a triangular shawl and added Old Shale Border on the bottom. 

If you look closer, you can see the nupps on the diamond parts of the pattern, but as I discussed it before here - nupps and multi-color yarns really should not be mixed.... When will I learn my own lesson? :)

On the other note: I am enjoying the end of the teaching year. I did more knitting over the last 2 weeks than I did in 2 previous months. 

One of the things I am working on is a pattern for this darling baby set (coming soon!):

Happy Knitting!
 Natalia

April Estonian Lace Shawl - Water Lily

OK, April snuck up on me, even though it does not feel like a spring here in NH. It is cold, wet and gloomy. You will see it on my pictures of this month's Estonian Lace Shawl Challenge installment. 
For this month I chose Water lily pattern (See here) and decided to make it a triangular shawl.  

 

How I did it: I used KnitPick's  Shadow Lace yarn (unfortunately they have discontinued this line since I bought yarn last year). I used 100 g ( ~800 yards). I also added nupps to last two repeats of lily pattern. 

The finished shawl is a pretty good size: 40 x 80 inches. 

Staying the course with 12 Estonian Lace Shawls in 12  months!
Until May's installment - Happy knitting everyone!
Natalia

Almost late: March Estonian Shawl

It is amaizing how the life gets in way of your best intentions.
I am still committed to my 12-Estonian shawl project, but this month entry is a bit later than promised and does not have schemes - only pictures. It is barely off the blocking pins!

The pattern is called  Head of Grain (Pattern I)  - you can see pattern here

So - here is the shawl

 and another view

and a close-up

How I did it:  

I knitted this shawl with Elann Baby Lace Merino (Baby alpaca 50%, Fine merino 50 %), 50g = 600 yards (550 m). 
It took one skein. The shawl is knitted as a rectangle with Head of Grain pattern. Then the stitches were picked up along all 4 sides at once, and a scalloped edge was added. 
Finished size: 24 x 52 inches

Pattern for scalloped edge  
(number of sts - multiples of 13):
Row 1(RS): *k2tog, k2 tog, k2tog, (k1, yo) x6 times, k1, ssk, ssk, ssk, repeat from * to end.
Row 2(WS): Purl all
repeat rows 1 and 2 until desired length is reached.


Off to the working on the next month's shawl!

Happy Knitting!
Natalia

Royal Quilting Baby Booties - New Pattern Release

A few years back I treated my knitting-addicted self to a set of four books by Barbara Walker "Treasury of Knitting Patterns". Once in while I open these books and try out a pattern, which usually leads to a new pattern.
This is exactly how "Royal Quilting Baby Booties" were born.

The Royal Quilting pattern comes from the first "Treasury" (page 72 if you have the book). I like this sophisticated-looking but simple in execution pattern.

So, introducing:

 Royal Quilting Baby Booties

 Perfect little booties for

Perfect little feet!

Very impressive and cute little project.

 

Two-color knitting looks complicated, but in reality you will never work with two yarn strands at the same time—it is all slipped stitches!

 

Materials

Size: 3-9 months

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft

(25 g each color A and B)

Tools: needles US3 (3.25 mm)

Tapestry needle

Gauge: 5 sts x 10 rows in garter stitch

Notes

Each bootie is knitted flat, then sewn together.

Booties require 2 yarn colors: on the picture color A is pink, color B is white.

Pattern is  Written in words

I am offering this pattern as an instant PDF download through Raverly.com 

Cost: $3.00 (US)

You don't need to have a PayPal or Ravelry account to purchase the pattern - you can use your credit/debit card. 


Happy Knitting! 
Natalia

February Entry: Estonian Shawl Challenge

I am still at it: here is my February entry for 12 Estonian Lace shawl challenge. For this one I used a "Small Willow Leaf" Pattern.

 

"Small Willow Leaf" Chart

Key

 Yarn used: Oki, Super-Thin SIM mohair (mohair 70%, acrylic 15, polyamid 10%, metallic 5%; 50g/600 yards). I used almost 2 skeins, so let's call it 80 g.

The yarn is just OK, not too happy with it - it is very uneven: too thin or too lumpy, but it has a nice little sparkle. The block shawl is very lofty.

Needles: US 6 (4 mm)

How I did it:

• Cast on 85 sts, 
• Knit 6 rows, then work the body of the shawl as follows:
• Odd rows:sl1, work sts 1-18 of the Chart 5 times; work sts 19-21 once, p1
• Even rows: work as established (if a st wa p on RS it will be k on WS, if the st was k on RS, it will be p on WS; ssk, k2tog, ccd and yo are p on WS)
• Repeat 10 rows of Chart to a total of 30 times or to the desired length
• Knit 6 rows 
• Cast off all sts. 

Wash and block the shawl.

The shawl is wide, but not too long.
The finished size:
20 x 50 inches
or, in metric system:
50 x 130 cm