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Creative Friday

By Linda on June 14, 2013 in Crafts, Creative Friday, Tutorial

Today, I showed Kye how to weave God’s Eyes or Ojo de Dios.

Materials:

1 sosati stick

Some pretty wool

Cut the stick in half, make a cross and wind the wool around the centre few times to secure them.

Wrap the wool around each prodruding stick and then move to the next one, click on the link below for a video I made with Kye when he made his.

I have added a little video here: God’s Eye Weaving
***(Once you have watched the video, close it and click on backspace to return to Creative Friday)***.
Happy weaving, this little project is perfect for small hands and wonderful for hand-eye coordination.

Welcome to Creative Friday,

Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry…etc…

I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)

1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday. To join the group, please go here.

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely or pin, share on Facebook and Twitter

Rustic Earth Cowl Pattern and Drop Stitch Tutorial

By Linda on January 21, 2013 in Knitting, Mamma4earth, Shop, Tutorial

Here is the Rustic Earth Cowl ©, it’s wider than most of my other cowls and cozy and warm:) For this pattern I used a drop stitch technique and really found it to be quite a lot of fun. This beautiful yarn was handspun by dear daughter Jenna.

I thought I’d include a short tutorial here on the drop stitch.

Place the right needle through the stitch on the left needle as if you are going to knit a regular garter stitch.

Instead of winding the yarn around the needle once, wind it 3 times. Then continue to knit the stitch and slide it off the needle. Try to push the stitches up on the right needle by keeping them all together, I find using my thumb nail really helps:) The stitches can become very tight the on the needle because they have been wound, so try to just push them along together. Knit across the whole round like this.

When you reach the next round, this is when you will make the drop stitch. Knit into the first stitch and let 2 wound stitches simply slip off of the needle. You can see the dropped stitches on the right hand needle in the photo above. Stretch the work out nicely to make sure the stitches are even.

The dropped stitches

Rustic Cowl Pattern

Materials:

Double knitting yarn, I used handspun in a BFL silk spun in dk weight, about +- 200 grams not sure of the yardage.

5mm circular needles

Sewing needle for the ends

Stitch marker

Measurements:

5o inches in circumference

7 inches high

Pattern:

Cast on 200 stitches

Round 1: Join for knitting in the round, place stitch marker, knit round.

Round 2: Drop stitch round. (Knit and wrap yarn around needle 3 times before taking the stitch off the needle.) Repeat across the round.

Round 3: Knit round and let the 2 loops slip off the needle after every knit stitch (the loops being the yarn that you wrapped round the needle 3 times in the previous round), creating the dropped stitch. Repeat across the round.

Rounds 4-7: Knit

Round 8: Rep round 2.

Round 9: Repeat round 3.

Rounds 10-13: Knit

Round 14: (Knit 1, yo) Repeat around the round.

Round 15: (Knit 2 tog) Repeat across the round.

Round 16: Drop stitch round. (Knit and wrap yarn around needle twice before taking the stitch off the needle, knit 1 stitch) Repeat across the round.

Round 17: (knit 1 unravelling the loop (forming the drop stitch), knit 1 stitch) repeat across round.

Round 18: knit

Round 19: knit

Round 20: Repeat round 2.

Round 21: Repeat round 3.

Round 22: Knit

Round 23: Knit

Round 24: Knit

Round 25: Knit

Round 26: Repeat round 2.

Round 27: Repeat round 3.

Rounds 28-31: Knit

Rounds 32- 45: Repeat rounds 14-27

Round 46: Knit

Cast off loosely with a bigger needle, 6mm to have a loose edge.

Sew in ends.

Happy knitting!

Please just email me if anything isn’t clear lindadawkins@mweb.co.za

Ravelry notes here.

Wishing you a wonderful week of goodness…

The Forest Glade Cowl Pattern

By Linda on January 8, 2013 in Knitting, Mamma4earth, Tutorial

Wrapped round twice.

Wrapped round three times.

Hi, I have finished the Forest Glade Cowl, I’m really happy with the stitch technique that developed from a yarn over and a knit 2 together. Such simple stitches and together they have manifested into a slanting pattern forming a cowl. This cowl has been designed in multiples of 2, so it’s really easy to make it larger or smaller by reducing or increasing the stitches by 2 either way.

It measures 58 inches around and can wrap 2 or 3 times depending on how cold you are I guess:)

I enjoyed knitting in this Hartlam yarn, it’s a Merino with a hint of luxurious cashmere.

I have added the pattern to Ravelry and it’s a free pattern:) Yay I love sending patterns out into the world.

If you do knit this cowl, I would love to see your finished item, please would you link to the pattern on Ravelry and share it on my group or send me a photo if you like:)

Forest Glade Cowl Pattern ©

Materials:

5mm circular needles

100 grams of DK yarn

sewing needle for the ends

stitch marker

Abbreviations:

yo: yarn over (wrap the yarn under the needle and over to the back) This creates a hole.

Pattern:

Cast on 220 stitches and join for knitting in the round, place a stitch marker at the start of the round.

Round 1: Knit

Round 2: (yo, knit 2 together) repeat across the round.

Rounds 3-5: Repeat round 2.

Round 6: Knit

Round 7: Purl

Rounds 2-7 are the rounds that make up the pattern, I have done 6 pattern repeats altogether with my 100 gram skein of yarn. If you would like your cowl to be thicker, just continue with the pattern repeats, you will need another skein of yarn. When you are finished with your last pattern repeat just finish with a knit round and not a purl for the border.

Bind off loosely (use a larger needle size if you prefer)

Remember, if you would like to shorten or lengthen this cowl, just use multiples of 2:)

Happy knitting!

A Topiary Christmas Tree Ornament

By Linda on December 11, 2012 in Knitting, Mamma4earth, Tutorial

The last few days have been so busy and full, visiting markets, singing Christmas carols in the park with friends and our community. We have also started helping my mom to pack up her home and sort through my dad’s things. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for her, to take his clothes out of the cupboards and let them go… It seems so final and hard… She is thinking about this for now, we have cleared a few items so far but I think his clothes will be the most difficult for all of us.

I have been thinking about Christmas decorations and the season and a few Christmas tree ornament designs. It’s so amazing when an idea enters your mind, like a light going on. When I knitted up this little ornament, I was thinking about the English country gardens in the time of Jane Austen. I love topiary trees and then I though, perhaps a topiary Christmas tree ornament! I have added the pattern here for you if you would like to knit one:)

Topiary Christmas Tree Ornament:

Materials:

Small amount of brown variegated yarn for the tree trunk, aran weight

SMall amount of variegated yarn for the tree, aran weight

3.5mm circular needles

Stuffing

Sewing needle

Scissors

Dark cotton

Beads

Abbreviations and Tutorial Video Links:

kfb: Knit into the front and the back of a stitch to increase a stitch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILcTB5hc0XM

Pattern:

Cast on 4 stitches and join for knitting in the round with the magic loop or use dpns

Round 1:kfb into each stitch (8 stitches)

Rounds 2-6: Knit

Join the green yarn for knitting the tree.

Round 7: kfb into each stitch (16 stitches)

Round 8: kfb into each stitch (32 stitches)

Round 9: knit

Round 10: Knit 1, kfb across the round (48 stitches)

Round 11: knit knit 1, knit 2 together across the round (32 stitches)

Round 12: knit 2 tog across round (16 stitches)

Round 13: knit 2 tog across round (8 stitches)

Round 14: knit kfb into each stitch (16 stitches)

Round 15: kfb into each stitch (32 stitches)

Round 16: knit 2 tog all across the round. (16 stitches)

Round 17: knit 2 tog all across the round. (8 round)

Round 18: knit kfb into each stitch. (16 stitches)

Round 19: k1 kfb around the round (24 stitches)

Round 20: knit

start stuffing your tree now and push the stuffing firmly into all areas of the tree.

Round 21: knit 2 st tog all across the round (12 stitches)

Round 22: knit 2 sts tog across round (6 stitches)

Round 23: knit 2 tog k 1, knit 2 tog, knit 1 (4 stitches)

Leave the 4 stitches live on the needle, cut the yarn and thread it onto a sewing needle.

Thread the needle through the live stitches and pull tight, pulling the top of the tree into a point.

Use the remaining yarn to make a little hanging loop for your tree.

Sew in all ends.

Thread some dark cotton and sew a few beads onto your tree.

Happy knitting!

Linda

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