Archive | yarn along

Yarn Along

By Linda on August 1, 2012 in Knitting, yarn along

I have been knitting and knitting these last few days. It keeps my mind occupied and is quite therapeutic in a way. I knitted down to the edge on my Tea Leaves Cardi and finished the trim edge. I have finally started on the first sleeve and can’t wait to be finished. I really love the feel of this cardigan and the wool I have knitted it in, it’s so soft and light, I think I will wear it all the time once it’s finished.

I have had so much to think about since my dad had his stroke, I almost can’t believe how busy my thoughts are… So knitting in the round repeatedly for the arms of this cardi is a wonderfully calming motion…

I had about half an hour to wait before I could go in and visit my dad today. I started reading all the lovely accounts in My Grandmother’s Knitting of how some knitters learned came to knit. It really is wonderful.

I have some amazing news about my father, when we went to see him today, he opened his eyes for a brief moment and spoke a few words to us. The matron also told us he ate some of his dinner last night! He is still very sleepy, he sleeps most of the time, but occasionally he opens his eyes!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they are giving us such strength and hope…

Seamus the Owl Knitting Pattern and Tutorial

By Linda on July 17, 2012 in Birds, Crafts, Knitting, Knitting Pattern, Mamma4earth, Pattern, Tutorial, Waldorf, yarn along

I am writing today from an incredibly icy Johannesburg. Our temperatures have plummeted below 0 C and it’s been freezing cold here over the last few days. I must tell you, I cannot wait for Spring! Today I was inspired to knit up a little owl pattern, I have been thinking of him ever since I made Beans the Cat so here he is…

I would like you to meet Seamus the Owl. He is quite similar to Beans the Cat, but I have changed the body by making him a little larger and adding a sweet little moss stitch to the front of his body to try and give him a slightly speckled / feathered chest.

Materials:

4mm circular needles

I used hand spun for Seamus but DK wool would be perfect

Sewing up needle

Black fleece and a felting needle to needle felt his eyes and beak

Fleece for stuffing

Abbreviations:
kfb: knit into the front and back of the stitch to increase
dpns: double pointed needles
knit 2 tog: knit 2 stitches together

You can knit this pattern with the magic loop or just use dpns for knitting him in the round.

Pattern:

Cast on 12 stitches and join for knitting in the round with the magic loop or on dpns
Round 1: Knit
Round 2: kfb into each stitch (24 stitches)
Round 3: kfb into each stitch (48 stitches)

Round 4: Knit

Round 5: Knit 12, (purl 1, knit 1) for 24 stitches, then knit to the end.

Round 6: Knit 12, (knit 1, purl 1) for 24 stitches, knit to the end.

Continue alternating rounds 5 and 6 of the moss stitch, finishing on round 18.
Round 19: (Knit 1, knit 2 tog) across the round (32 stitches)
Rounds 20-31: Knit
Cast off

Finishing Off:
Hold both edges together flat at the cast off edge and sew in and out, closing the top of your owl’s head.

Stuff Seamus, make sure the stuffing is nice and firm. Sew the opening closed at the base of his body.

Take a needle and wool, sew into the base of Seamus, secure the wool and push the needle up through his body and pull it out the top of his head, sew back down again and pull. This is going to make a nice big concave depression that will form his two ears.

Once you have sewn back down, pull the needle and wool out the base of the body, pull tight and sew the wool securely onto the knitting, ensuring the depression remains at the top of the head so that two ears appear on each side.

Wing Pattern: Knit 2

With 4mm needles knit your wings in garter stitch:

Cast on 5 stitches.

Knit first and second row.

Row 3: Cast on 2 stitches at the beginning of the row and 1 stitch at the end of the row.

Row 4: Knit.

Row 5: Cast on 1 stitch at the beginning and knit 2 together at the end of the row.

Row 6: Knit.

Row 7: Cast on 2 stitches at the beginning of the row, knit to the end of the row.

Row 8: Knit.

Cast off.

Sew the wings onto the sides of the body.

Sew a few strands of wool onto the points of the ears and then rub them with your fingers and pull apart the fibres to create the tufts on the owl’s pointed ears.

Eyes and Beak:

Needle felt on the eyes and beak with black fleece and a felting needle, two large circles for the eyes and a triangle for the nose.

Happy knitting.

Please do share you projects on Ravelry if you are a member, I have loved seeing all the different Beans the Cat projects there! I have a little Ravelry group called Mamma4earth where you can share your knitted treasures.

PS If you haven’t entered my giveaway you can enter here.

Have a lovely day,

Linda

Joining in with Ginny today for the Yarn Along.

Seamus Owl Pattern Copyright Linda Dawkins, Mamma4earth

The Erin Hat

By Linda on June 20, 2012 in Hat Pattern, Knitting, yarn along

It has warmed up so nicely here in Johannesburg for now, we are aware that a freezing cold front will be arriving over the weekend and our temperatures are going to plummet once again. But for now I am so grateful for the warm sun… We are still battling with illness, Jen has tonsillitis, Kye a cold and Cady seems to be over his tummy bug. Sometimes when the whole family is sick like this, it feels like you are travelling a long road, uphill with no beautiful sunset on the horizon… I am really hoping this bug leaves our home soon… I feel tired…

Last night Richard and I sat working at the computer preparing the document for my Knitting Flowers e-book. We finished editing, my hubby is so clever at formatting, I am very grateful he has been able to help so much with the preparation of the Word file for e-book conversion. We eventually sent it off at about 10:30 pm last night. It was so exciting to see the file upload to the publishers website!! I couldn’t believe how much emotion I was feeling! Such happiness, to have finished writing and then sending it off. I must say a special THANK YOU to Kristen, you have been so wonderful, helping me with all my questions about e-book covers, file sizes, formatting etc… You are such a great and lovely friend, I am blessed to know you! I am sure many of you already know Kristen, she is an amazing writer and the kindest person I know…

The e-book should be available for purchase from Amazon within 2 weeks, it will also be distributed through the iBookStore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Gardeners, Baker & Taylor and Copia. I will keep you updated though.

I have designed a new hat pattern that I would like to share here with you today, Erin has been my test knitter, so we have called it The Erin Hat. It has been knitted with a 2 ply hand spun Angora and Merino yarn that I bought from Nurturing Fibres. This yarn is SO exceptionally soft, REALLY! It is just amazing! Thank you dear Carle’ we both love it so much.

Here is the pattern if you would like to give it a try:

Materials:
100 grams of hand spun 2 ply Merino and Angora yarn. (This yarn isn’t quite a chunky weight, when I look at the ply is looks like 2 double knitting yarns plied together, perhaps just slightly thinner, if that gives you a better idea of the thickness so you can substitute). Just check the hat on your head for size though while you are knitting. The handspun is 9-10 wraps per inch.
5.5 mm circular needles for knitting in the Magic Loop technique
Sewing up needle

Pattern:
Cast on 60 stitches and join for knitting in the round with Magic Loop technique.
Rounds 1-4: Knit in rib, (knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches across the round)
Rounds 5-7: (Knit 3, purl 3) across the rounds
Rounds 8-10: (Purl 3, knit 3) across the rounds
Alternate rounds 5-7 and rounds 8-10 another four times (R 5-7, R 8-10, R5-7, R 8-10, R 5-7, R 8-10, R 5-7, R 8-10) Altogether you will have 10 pattern sections of three rounds each, the pattern sections excluding the rib will be 30 rounds.

Decreasing:
Round 35: You will just be knitting plain now, (knit stitch) and decrease 5 stitches evenly around the round. (55 stitches)
Rounds 36-39: Knit
Round 40: Decrease 5 stitches evenly across the round. (50 stitches)
Round 41-43: Knit
Round 44: Cast off 10 stitches evenly across the round (40 stitches)
Rounds 45-46: Knit
Round 47: Cast off 10 stitches evenly across the round (30 stitches)
Rounds 48-49: Knit
Round 50: Cast off 10 stitches evenly across the round (20 stitches)
Round 51: Knit
Round 52: Cast off 10 stitches evenly across the round (10 stitches)
Break yarn, thread onto a wool needle and thread through stitches, pull tight and finish off.

I have added the pattern to Ravelry so you can link your projects there if you like:)

Happy Knitting!

I have really been enjoying reading Wuthering Heights and then I’m going to read and re-read some of the Jane Austen books. Many of them I read when I was at school and now I feel it’s time to revisit them again… Which was your favourite Jane Austen book?

I am joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along today.

Happy day to you!

WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along… Lavender Flowers…

By Linda on June 6, 2012 in knitted lavender flowers, Knitting, WIP Wednesday, yarn along

I love Lavender, it’s one of my favourite flowers and has so many uses. There are many different varieties growing all over our garden. I add the essential oils to our homemade cleaners and also add a few drops to the vinegar that I add to soften our clothing in the washing machine. A few drops on a Lavender pillow will help you to fall asleep and can also soothe headaches…

The new Lavender we planted has been growing so well in our pot on our veranda, even a few tomatoes have started to sprout all on their own. I was inspired to knit up this Lavender flower yesterday and I have added the pattern to my flower ebook. I am so excited to share it with you. I have almost finished and will be sending the document off the the publishers next week. Then it should be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Apple store etc.. after just a few days.

Happy Yarn Along to you 🙂

Joining with Ginny’s Yarn Along

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