Knitted Flowers

Lovely Lavender

My vision was to create a huge bunch of lavender that would last forever, unlike the real thing. Everyone would be impressed by my masterful knitting skills and sheer diligence. Well, we all know how that went, now, don't we? 

After considerable effort, I did manage to knit a few lovely specimens of lavender, and I'm pleased with the final result, if not the quantity. 

First I had to find the right colors of yarn in the right weight, and to determine what size needles worked best. It took a few tries to get good at making a single stalk of lavender, then I had to figure out how to get each one to stand up on its own. 

After unraveling many attempts, I first knitted the 3 light purple ones and tried various means of providing support. I found that I had to knit the icord stem around a piece of wire, so I knitted 3 more in the darker purple color for a change. They worked beautifully, but now I just can't find it in me to make 9 more. Surprise, surprise. 

100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet

I relied on the clever patterns of Leslie Stanfield in her book, 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet: A Collection of Beautiful Blooms for Embellishing Garments, Accessories, and More. There are many types of flowers to make, and the author has the patterns organized in  sections by knit or crochet and by difficulty level within each section. I did not find the lavender difficult to knit; in fact it went pretty quickly with a minimum of sewing up. Sport weight yarn and #2 bamboo needles worked the best for me, and I used picture wire I had laying around the house for the stems. Florists' wire would probably be perfect.


For a little more inspiration, here are more pictures of the real thing.I wish I could provide a simulation of the fragrance, but the instructions in the book didn't cover that.

Extreme Knits

This section of my post is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity. Instead of baking, how about knitting...wedding cakes! These are probably not as difficult to make as real edible wedding cakes, but I'm sure they last longer. More's the pity.

by Alan Dart

Knitted Wedding  from Nina Pope's Photostream

In contrast, this darling little cupcake is one I'm reasonably sure I could accomplish if my fingers didn't cramp up. This picture was found on ravelry.com, is by Anna Hrachovek, and is available in her book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi: More Than 40 Itty-Bitty Minis to Knit, Wear, and Give. 

Rainbow Views

Lighthouse near Seattle

Let's Knit Rainbows!

When I moved to western Washington from the more temperate mid-western U.S., I discovered how many more rainbows there are in rainy places! Lots of double rainbows, too. We have frequent "sunbreaks" which are just what they sound like: in the midst of a rainy day, the sun comes out for a few minutes (or a few hours) and often produces a delightful rainbow or two. 

Mike Elam, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

How about horizontal rainbows? Although  hate to concede that Portland has anything up on Seattle, the finest rainbow viewing I've ever experienced was in Oregon, not Washington. There I saw my first horizontal rainbow among many in the eastern sky one beautiful afternoon.


I found a little rainbow patch design on ravelry.com by Kristin Virén. It had a few errors that I have corrected. Use whatever yarn you want on whatever needles you want. (Yay!) If you want to felt it, use larger needles and real wool yarn that is not superwash. My felted rainbow below is about 3 inches wide; the unfelted one is 3 1/2 inches wide.Very quick and easy—my kind of project. The instructions have you starting with purple at the bottom because that is the actual real rainbow sequence, but I made one with blue at the bottom anyway because I like the way it looks.

Both rainbows were knit on #3 needles.
The smaller rainbow was felted.

Rainbow Patch
Note: Knit all yo's through back loop.
CO 12 stitches (purple).
Row 1: K4 *yo, K4* (14 stitches)

Row 2: (blue) K2 *yo, K5* yo K2 (17 stitches)
Row 3 and every following odd row: Knit
Row 4: (green) *K4, yo* K5 (20 stitches)
Row 6: (yellow) K2  *yo, K4* yo K2 (25 stitches)
Row 8: (orange) K5 *yo, K5* (29 stitches)
Row 10: (red) K4 *yo, K5* (34  stitches)
Bind off.
Weave in ends.



 I also adapted a knitted heart shape from naturalsuburbia@blogspot.com to sport rainbow colors. These patterns, though borrowed, are both so short that I include them in full in order to make my changes clear. 

Rainbow Heart
Cast on 2 stitches in purple.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: KFB on both ends of this knit row. (4 stitches)
Rows 3-6: Repeat rows 1 and 2, cut purple.
Attach red, repeat rows 1 and 2 for 4 rows, cut red.
Rows 7-10: Attach orange, repeat rows 1 and 2 for 4 rows, cut orange.
Rows 11-14: Attach yellow, repeat rows 1 and 2, knit 2 rows, cut yellow.
Rows 15, 16, 17: 
Attach green, knit 3 rows.
Rows 18-end on first side:
k 8 stitches, turn (the remaining stitches can stay on the needle or you can put them on a stitch holder). Cut green.
Attach blue, k 2 tog, k4, k 2 tog, turn (6 stitches on your working needle)
knit row, turn
k2 tog, k 2, k 2 tog, turn (4 stitches on your working needle)
k, turn
k 2 tog, k 2 tog, turn (2 stitches on your working needle)
cast off blue.
Rows 18-end on second side:
Attach green yarn to remaining 8 stitches on other needle.Repeat first side.  
Weave in ends. Felt if desired.


Recently President Obama pronounced June GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transexual) month and I thought I would create a rainbow bracelet in support of tolerance. Some of my favorite people are members of the gay/lesbian community, and their right to the pursuit of happiness is important to me.

Volume 2

I designed this bracelet using a 4-row slip stitch pattern labeled Moss slip stitch in Volume 2 of the Harmony Guides.  At first I thought I would never be able to take my eyes off the pattern instructions, but before long I had it memorized and fell into a comfortable rhythm. I love doing slip stitch patterns. They look so intricate and I'm never exactly sure what the result will look like with different color combinations.


Slip Stitch Bracelet
Moss slip stitch:

Row 1: *K 1, slip 1* K1

Row 2: *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K1

Row 1: K1 *K 1, slip 1* K2

Row 4: K1 *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K2

Cast on 35 (or any odd number-I have small hands and wrists) stitches.

Work the first 2 rows in purple, rows 3 and 4 in red, rows 5 and 6 in orange, 7 and 8 in yellow, 9 and 10 in green and 11 and 12 in blue.
Row 1: *K 1, slip 1* K1
Row 2: *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K1
Row 1: K1 *K 1, slip 1* K2
Row 4: K1 *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K2
Row 1: *K 1, slip 1* K1
Row 2: *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K1
Row 1: K1 *K 1, slip 1* K2
Row 4: K1 *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K2
Row 1: *K 1, slip 1* K1
Row 2: *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K1
Row 1: K1 *K 1, slip 1* K2
Row 4: K1 *K 1,yarn forward, slip 1,yarn back* K2
Weave in ends and stitch the two ends together. Voila!




I used 6 colors of worsted wool that I had lying around (I refer you to Exhibit A to the right.) It might work better in a cotton or bamboo blend to show cleaner stitch definition. It knits up very quickly, and the only problem I ran into was how to seam it together to match perfectly and avoid bulk. I weaved in one of  the 2 tail ends of each color yarn as I knit, then used the other yarn tail of that color to attach to the other side. To "block" it, I wet it thoroughly, squeezed most of the water out, and gently stretched it around a glass that was about the right size. No, you are not seeing things, the bracelet on my wrist is the first one I made, the one on the glass a second one that has the rainbow colors in slightly different order.


Want a really simple one? Use cheap variegated acrylic yarn (thank you Red Heart) to knit an icord of 4-6 stitches for, oh, 14-16 inches or so. If you are clever like me, you will end with the color you began with so that you can sew the ends together invisibly. Twist and double it and slide it onto your wrist. 

Instant rainbow!

Extreme Knits
This section of my post is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity. This unusual knitting project was designed and carried out by a highly crazy creative knitter, Kelly Griffith for Knitty Magazine. Can you believe someone knitted an umbrella?

Too bad she didn't use rainbow colors. I'd be on it like white on rice.

Summer Starfish

Echinoderms for Everyone

Sea stars, or starfish as they are more commonly called, come in many colors and configurations. The ones we see in the Pacific Northwest where I live are beautiful but unadorned. They are usually some variant of orange, purple, or red. Other places in the world produce sea stars that are multihued and opulently decorated. Did you know starfish are related to sea urchins, darling little creatures, and sea cucumbers,which look and feel disgusting? 

My knitted starfish remind me of the ones I've seen on summer vacations as a child. Even now, finding starfish on the rocks at the beach gives me a little thrill. Although today on the west coast,  I grew up primarily in Illinois, smack dab in the middle of the U.S. and quite a distance to salt water. My family used to visit Maine in the summer; a trip of 1200 highway miles unless traveling by station wagon with 6 brothers and sisters, then it's about 12,000 miles.

The pattern for these starfish comes from Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh. It looked like the easiest of her sea creatures to knit. The rest look like they require an amount of patience, persistence and skill that I do not currently possess. Mainly the patience part.

Underside showing ridges along each arm

First you knit the 5 arms, each in the main color and the contrast color for the underside. Then the arms are knit together and the top of the body finished in the main color. Finally the bottom of the starfish is knit together. There is an error in the directions on row 5 of the underside of the starfish arm. Instead of K10 it should say K9 in both places for a total of 20 stitches, not 22. At least that's how I fixed it so the number of stitches matched. Also, when finishing the underside of the body, it seems to me that the decreases are too drastic and I would add rows of knitting around in between the decrease rows. 

One arm? Finger? Toe?

From storrick.cnc.net

I "researched" what real starfish look like by Googling starfish images. Yup, five arms on every one of them. I love the little bumps on some of them, and the color possibilities. After knitting my three starfish one right after another I need a break, but next time I may add embellishments and use some unexpected colors. 

From Wikopedia

From Wikopedia

Extreme Knits

This section of my blog is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity, beautiful and elegant as the work may be.


My niece is getting married this summer, so I thought I would post some pictures of what she will NOT be getting from me as a wedding gift. 

Intricate wedding veil by Calophi on Ravelry

Wedding blanket some really nice aunt knit for her niece, found on Craftster

Sorry, Ali. Maybe I could knit you a garter?

Garter from Knitwerks.com

Slices of Citrus

Orange, Lemon and Lime Slices

Knitted in the round and then felted, these slices of citrus fruits are a cheery dressing to the table and are safe to put hot pots and pans on since they are thick, felted wool. Man-made fibers like acrylics would melt and burn under the heat.

The pattern, called “Felted Citrus Mug and Pot Mats”, is from Dawn Brocco Knitwear Designs at www.dawnbrocco.com and costs $6 as a pdf download. I used two strands of worsted yarn held together because I have lots of it, (I refer you to Exhibit B in the column to the right,) and was too impatient to get bulky yarn as is recommended. You need big needles, US 10’s in this case, in both double pointed and 16” circular, but how big is up to you. Gauge doesn’t matter! Woo-hoo! 

My citrus slices ended up about 10” in diameter. I found that the finished pieces needed a lot of tugging into shape while wet to get a nice flat circle. I even weighted them down for a while as they dried.

I added little orange, lemon and lime seeds near the centers with a few white stitches for each before felting. Don’t you love the way the seed stitches on the rind add peel-like texture? 

With a little red wine, we could make sangria. But always use a designated knitter when drinking.

Extreme Knits

This section of my blog is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity. I know, I know, for the sake of art and all. But still.


May will be over before we know it. As June is the traditional month for weddings, let us look at extreme bridal knits. Never mind that I was married in December.

Julia Ramsey Knitwear

Loopknits

Makepiece

The average cost of a wedding dress in the U.S. is $1,124 (according to unsubstantiated internet sources.) These unusual wedding dresses were hand-knitted by someone who was definitely not paid enough. Maybe they were labors of love, but that's a heck of a lot of love. I'm thinking there's an outstanding balance on the books.

This is more my speed. 

Pleasures of Poultry

Wool Wattles and Wings

I am the proud owner of 3 actual hens, and it was in celebration of their delightful quirkiness that I sought a knitted chicken pattern. Olivia and Sonia have orange coloring and are big, full-feathered girls. Genevieve is black and white, lean and mean, and Queen of the Coop. The little black hen I knitted while reminiscing about Genevieve's younger days, when she was half the size of the other 2 chicks and still afraid of them. 

First  knit the pear-shaped body, stuff it and sew up the opening. Then comes the beak, wattle, wings and tail to knit and sew on. I used beads for eyes.  I stuffed the orangey colored chicken with dry beans so it is chubbier than the others and probably can't fly.

I found the pattern Spring Chicken by Jacqui Turner of Bluesocks Designs on ravelry.com.

Genevieve, Queen of All She Surveys

Extreme Knits

This section of my blog is dedicated to sharing examples of extreme knitting that make me wonder about the designer's sanity. Even if they look kind of cool.

Here we have knitted sweaters for Seattle's TREES! And a light pole or two. Photographer Steve Ringman of the Seattle Times captured Suzanne Tidwell's artistry, or should I say knitistry?