Wolffy knitting idea for this Fall: VOGUEknitting Early Fall 2013 Review

Hi Knitters,

Happpy Summer!  Though it's summer, it's not too late to prepare and choose a big knitting project for this fall.  I do have some ideas.  And I got them from VOGUEknitting Early Fall.

Last weekend I went to Safeway for grocery.  When I was looking at the jam shelf, something next to it  caught my attention.  It was a  National Geographical Kids Special with ANGRY BIRDS.  And next to it, VOGUEknitting Early Fall 2013.  I ended up getting both of them.  WEE.....

The majority of the patterns of this issue of VOGUEkniting is for sweater.   My favorite is a pullover with a vivid wolf pattern in front and a wide boatneck.  And the color is pretty cool and match my skin color.  I am considering knitting a small size of this pattern for myself.  Well, I haven't knitted anything for myself for a long..long...time.  Let's see if I can squeeze something for that.  I wish....

Besides the wolf pattern, there are also tiger, fox, bird, cat, and reindeer patterns...Wow...  That is included in the Urban Jungle section.

There is also a series of baseball jackets available in this issue of VOGUEknitting.  Cool.  

I really dislike instructions that are squeezed in a few pages.  Luckily, the editors of  VOGUEknitting did a very good job for the layout.  Knitting instructions are well typed in the last pages of the magazine.  There are enough space between lines of text and it makes them easy to read.  Thank you!

VOGUEknitting does not only contain knitting patterns.  There are also tons of advertisement and some articles about some technique issue on knitting as well as on dying.  Seven books reviewed in this issue by Leslie Petrovski.   A book called "The Knitter's Palette" me a lot.   I may get this book soon....It seems useful for designers.

Anyway, the copy of VOGUEknitting Early Fall 2013 I got is International edition.  It costs $6.99 US dollars.  Price reasonable.  Patterns beautiful and they are aimed for intermediate and advanced knitters.  I guess that's the end of this magazine review.

HAPPY KNITTING

Knitting for Save the Children

Hi Knitters,

Today I'm gonna chat about Save the Children in Korean.  Why?  Because they made knitting such a beautiful thing.  

First of all, what does Save the Children do? Save the Children in Korean, Hong Kong, and Australia encourage citizens to knit baby hat for babies in developing countries like Napel. According to Save the Children Hong Kong,

"Newborn babies suffering from heat loss due to lack of warmth on the heads are likely to be more susceptible to infecting pneumonia."

Basically what we need to do is to KNIT. Isn't that exactly what we live for? These organizations do not collect hat until winter.  So, if we start knitting for them today, we will probably have a few.  

In fact, the yarn we need for knitting a baby hat is not that much.  Leftover will always be enough.  So I would say, you really need to pay for anything if you are already a knitter.

Though I am a big big fan of Brown Eyed Girls, I know nothing about Korean the language.  But the above video is quite easy to understand by just watching it carefully.  Of course you can replay and replay...And I'm sorry.  I don't know lots of Korean drama.  Anybody know about the star in this video?  His name is Yoochun.  This campaign is back in 2012.  Winter is coming.  I wonder who is the star representative for 2013.  

The method used in this video is not circular knitting.  Just knit straight with knitting needles with long cord.  Then connect the two sides by sewing.  I've never done this before.  Will try it someday.  

I'm not sure if Save the Children in U.S. have a knitting campaign like this.  Usually I will just collect them and bring them to Hong Kong when I go back home.  Yes. I'm from HK.  But surely there are lots of charity that needs help from knitters in the U.S.  Please feel free to provide info in our comment section.  Thank you.  

HAPPY KNITTING

Op. 12 Free Hat Pattern

Hi guys,

Happy Sunday.  Although it's not that sunny today, I do want to bright you some light and hope by offering a free knitting pattern today: Op. 12 Hat Knitting Pattern.  Hurrah!  I am quite pleased by the quality of the Mochi Plus yarn.  And besides this rainbow yarn, the other colorways are also very attractive and stunning.

Knitting Op. 12 is very easy.  Skills you need are the basics: circular knitting, cast on, knit, purl, P2tog and bind off by sewing.  The knit stitches I did for this pattern are rather loosely done.  The effect will be different if I have the knit stitches too tightened up.

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Material:  Mochi Plus Colorway 551 One Ball

Tools:      US #6 (4.0mm) Double-pointed needles
               US #7 (4.5mm) Double-pointed needles

Size:        Fits head of 44-52cm circumstances

Gauge:     20 stitches X 26 rows = 10cm X 10cm

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Abbreviations:

K           =  Knit
P           =  Purl
K5          =  Knit 5 stitches
P3          =  Purl 3 stitches
X10        =  Repeat 10 times
P2tog     =  Purl 2 stitches together

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Instruction:

Cast On 96 stitches with US#6 double-pointed needles.
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Ribbing:   <K2, P2> X 24

Repeat for 8 rows.

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Body Section: Switch to US#7 double-pointed needles

Row 1-6:     P2, <K1, P5> X15 , K1, P3

Row 7-12:   <P5, K1> X16

Repeat Row1-12 three times for totally 36 rows.
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Last Row:    P2tog X48

It results in leaving 48 stitches on the needles.
Sew all the stitches with the yarn to bind off.

Copyright 2013 by  eatinglemonknitknitknit.blogspot.com

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Op. 12 Hat Pattern is an easy and fun knitting pattern.  All it needs is 1 ball of Mochi Plus.  It's good for beginner to practice on the basic skills.  P2tog is an easy way to stitch decreasing.  I will blog about this very soon.  

Anyway, I will go enjoy my last hours of this weekend.  Questions regarding this pattern? Feel free to contact me.  

HAPPY KNITTING

P.S.  My fb page is now up.  Come by for the latest update and feel free to comment.

Unbeatable Great Deal~ Combly Sampler Set Review Part 1

Hi knitters,

I'm so impressed by the fast delivery of my Combly Sampler Set.  I ordered it on July 4th and I could test the needles yesterday the 8th.  Don't forget that it was holiday....

The whole package came with two layers of cover and very well protected.  Impressed again.  

The package come with:

A plastic bag with a few pockets for the set
Symfonie Dreamz IC US #6 (4.0mm)   (IC stands for Interchangeable Cord)
Cubics IC US #7 (4.5mm)
Nova IC US #8 (5.0mm)
2 Cords : 24"(60cm) & 40"(100cm)
4 End Caps
2 Cord Keys

This package costs less than $25 US dollars.  Now you know why I call it a great deal.  The bag is made of thick plastic with one button; OK, I don't fancy a nice hard cover.

And now, let's take a look at the Nova IC in US #8 (5.0mm)  And here is a petit swatch I did with them.

I'm surprised by the light weight of the needles.  Exceptionally light.  And it is because they are made with hallow brass and plated with nickel.  I feel quite comfortable with that as the bigger the size go up, the heavier they are supposed to be.  They are size #8 and weight like #4.  Nice. The tips are quite sharp and made like lace needles.  I always prefer sharp tips as I do a lot of k2tog and picking.  

The surfaces of this set of Nova are quite well polished.  But somehow they got scratched easily and look like they can be worn out soon.  As long as they perform well, I am fine. And I believe they are good for fast knitting as the stitches do glide smoothly.  Will see how they endure: daughter of time will show up. 

Next, we will take a look at the Interchangeable cords.  Let's split it into two sections: joint and the cord.  

By twisting, the needle joins the cord.  It works quite well and quite smooth for the knitting stitches to go thru. It proves that the technology of interchangeable needles are advancing in fast pace. Good thing to know how science works for knitting.  

One thing I do worry about the joint:   Twisting the joints frequently will loosen them up. I guess that's why we need a cord key, which is eventually a thin needle.  What you do with the key is to insert the key into the hole while you twist, then you can get the joints tightened up.  Thanks for being considerate Knitter's Pride.

About the cord, I would like to discuss it later as I would like to have it tested while I can have the cord function in full: to have some stitches lay on them.  Thinking of do an experiment with knitting a cowl.  

Well, for now, let's talk about something unpleasant.

As the picture shows, the Ear Cap is not well manufactured.  I don't like it.  But I've tested them.  They do function well.  So, at this price $,  I will let it pass.  If you need the needles to work on another project, you can have the stitches lay on the cord, and replace the needles with the Ear Caps.  Yes, again by twisting, you will have the End Caps protect the stitches from dropping from the cord.

Sorry folks, let's end Part 1 of the review here.  I would like to have Op. 12 done first.  It's almost done.  Part 2 of the review will cover mainly on the Cubics IC.  I'm excited too.  Stay tuned and 

HAPPY KNITTING.

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P.S.  The joint broke twice yesterday when I knitted a try-out of Op. 13.  Well, I didn't tightened it up with the key.  So I guess I will give it a third chance.  07/14/13

Happy Independence Day 2013!

Happy July 4th everybody,

I'm so happy to make two announcements:

1)   I bought 3 balls of yarn for only $22.72 yesterday.  Tax included. Wahahahahaha
2)   By typing in "2013JULY4THYEAH" as the coupon code to get any one of my pattern in Etsy,   you will get a 40% off.  Yo ho!!!  Expires on July 5th 2013.

 One of the three balls I got is a ball of intense rainbow color yarn...got powered up by hope instantly.  

Yes, as you can see, this is Mochi Plus yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns. Spun in Taiwan.  But I don't know where the wool came from.   There are also Mochi Mini and Chucky Mochi available in different weights.   By the way, first time dealing with Taiwanese yarn.  

This ball of yarn is made of 80% of Merino Wool and 20% of Nylon.  And knitters are told that the knit made of Mochi Plus is ok with both hand wash and machine wash.    Well, dear knitters, I insist on hand wash.  I consider it in a very reasonable price for its modest softness and stunning sharpness of appearance.  Will tell you more about this yarn once I start working.

With one ball of Mochi Plus, I will probably make a quick baby hat.  Not confirmed yet. 

The "busy" model of these picture is my dear white cat.  Haha, now you know why I have never knitted with black yarn.    And no, she's not Mochi, the follow guest is the real Mochi:

Anyhow, whenever you are not too busy in knitting,  come visit my facebook page for updates and more fun.  

HAPPY KNITTING!!!