Op. 15 Hat : Spelled by magic loop and cable knitting

Hi Knitters,

I have to tell you how much I love doing magic loop now.  As I mentioned in another blog, when I first tried my hands on magic loop, I was surprised that it was not as difficult as it seems. And I do feel more comfortable that I do not to worry about stitch dropping.  Relieved!   Now I don't really knit with double-pointed when I do hats.  Oh...there is no turning back once you tried on magic loop!!!!!!  And I was 'warned' by some friends on Instagram a while ago.  Thank you guys!

Back to Op. 15.  I did it mainly to test out the cable needles I bought from Daiso.  Here is what I think about them.  One word: secure.  I didn't need to worry about dropping the stitch from the hook at all.  For this reason, I highly recommend needles in this shape for first-time cable knitters.  

However, the material these needles are made of, probably plastic, as not in good quality as those of Clovers.  Well, $1.5 for three hooks, what do you expect.  But they served me well and as you see, I finished a hat with them.  Mission completed. That's good enough.

I do recommended knitting with stitch makers.   Or you may get lost easily.  This is optional.

About the Pom Pom.  Isn't it cute? I made it with Hamanaka Pom Pom makers.   May blog about this in another entry.  So many things to blog about......... good to be busy.

Back to Op. 15 Hat Pattern. Again... Here is the basic info:


Material:                One Skein of Cascade Yarn Longwood
                          Colorway #12

Tools:                US#6 double-pointed needles
                      US#7double-pointed needles
                      A cable needle
                      A Pom Pom Maker with 7cm diameter 
                      Stitch Markers (Optional)

Size:                Fits head of 40-48cm circumstances

Gauge:             20 Stitches X 27 Rows = 10cm X 10cm

Skills you need to possess are: Casting on, Knit, Purl, Knit 2 together, Purl 2 together, Make 1, Pom Pom Making, Cable knitting.

Oh please note: I knitted with #7 Knitter's pride Cubics for the body of this hat.  The the gauge is bit tighter than knitted with #7 of other brand.  

I would say Op. 15 will be good for children of 8 to 14.  Not too big.  Not too small.  Pattern is now available on both Etsy and Ravelry.  Have Fun and

Happy Knitting

Secret weapon: tools for cable knitting

Hi knitters,

It is so good to talk about cable knitting.  Just by understanding the concept of cable knitting, you will be able to create a lot of irresistible knit.  Let's start.

First of all, let's talk about our special tool required by cable knitting.

Unlike most of the stitch you can just deal with the knitting needles, you need something extra.  And the secret weapon is called "cable needle".

The shape of Cable Needles comes in two forms.  One is symmetric one with the middle part concave a little bit.  Don't know what it's called.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

And the other one is in a J shape with one side longer and the other one shorter.  I prefer J-Hook to the other options.  As a forgetful person, I made a habit to insert the stitches from the longer side and knit the stitches from the shorter side.  This is not what everybody does.  They often do the opposite.  Just suit yourself.

Is there any way you can save money by not buying any cable needle?  Yes, there is.  If you have double-pointed needles, you can just pick one of the right size.  But do use the short double-pointed.

So basically what you need to do is to follow:

1. Separate the stitches involved into two groups.  For example, when you see a C6F, there are 6 stitches involved.  Divided them into 2 groups.  Let's call them group A and group B.  Then it will make 3 stitches belong to group A and 3 to group B.
2. Insert all the stitches of group A into the cable needle.
3. Place the cable needle either in front or back of your project.  The abbreviation will tell you.
4. Knit all the group B stitches from the left needle.
5. Knit all the group A stitches from the cable needle.

Done.  Easy?  What you need to know is what the instruction says.

To reinforce what is written above, I made a YouTube tutorial to demonstrate how to do cable knitting. You will see how simple it is.

There is one more thing I would like to share.  I usually pick a cable needle with a bit smaller than the needles I'm knitting with.  For instance, when I knit with US #8 needles, I use cable needle with something like #6 needle.

There is no size mark on cable needle. However, it is very easy to tell which one is smaller.  No need to worry about that.   

Knowing how to do cable knitting is an invaluable benefit for every knitter who wants to have more fun.  There are some knit I create that requires cable knitting skills.  Op. 4 and Op. 13 are both good exercises.  Later I will talk about other kind of cable knitting.  Excited already?  Anyhow,

HAPPY KNTTING

Op. 14 Hat Knitting Pattern

Hi Knitter,

I'm so so happy to announced that Op. 14 Hat Knitting Pattern is finally finished.  Though the skills needed for this patterns are not difficult, writing out this complicated pattern made me dizzy...and it would be very easy to make mistake in the pattern.

Well, it does not mean that knitting Op. 14 is difficult at all.  It was the writing,  not the knitting that held me back.  Skills required are in intermediate level: Cast On, Sewing for bind off, Knit, Purl, K2tog, P2tog, Cable knitting, twisted cable knitting.  Nothing difficult.  Just follow the instruction step by step and you will be fine.

And as I mentioned, I did it in Magic Loop style.  It is not a must.  You can always do it with double-pointed needles as the pattern says, or with circular needles.  

I do encourage you to use stitch makers for this pattern.  And put marker wherever I have it "spaced out" in the written pattern.  It helps understand the structure of the pattern.

Material: On Skein of Plymouth Yarn Company 
Encore Colorspun colorway #7750

Tools: US#7 (4.5mm) double-pointed needles
US#8 (5.0mm) double-pointed needles
A cable needle
Stitch Markers (Optional)

Size:         Fits head of 50-55cm circumstances

Gauge: 17 Stitches X 25 Rows = 10cm X 10cm

Unfortunately I didn't take any pic of the yarn before I started working on Op. 14.  My fault.  This lovely yarn is made of 75% acrylic and 25 % wool.  Product of Turkey.  Like other worsted yarn, this Encore Colorspun is a little bit rough, not as soft as Uptown Worsted.  That is probably before there is wool in it.  And as you can see, it's very good for cable knitting.  The colorway is named Lime Frost.  Fresh....

And what did I put beside the left yarn?  That's a tillandsia.  Cute?

Oh, almost forgot to mention.  Op. 14 pattern is now available on both Ravelry and Etsy.  Go for it!!!

Next project will not be a hat.  It will be a project that needs more than one skein of yarn.  Stay tuned and

HAPPY KNITTING

Cosplay is fun: Review on Unofficial Harry Potter Knits

Hi knitters and cosplay fan,

I've heard about this very special issue: Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, just didn't get a chance to go to bookstore.  And one day I went to San Jose and visited Barnes and Noble.  Yeah, there are only a few mortar bookstores left.  Nice atmosphere inside the bookstore.  And of course I went to check on the magazine section.  There are not as many knitting magazine as the one in Tanforan Mall.  But something just got my attention promptly.  The YOU KNOW WHAT special...

About this special issue, I am sure not the only one reviewing it.  But here are my little thoughts that I would like to share.

My favorite pattern:
Ginny's Cardigan

This one is so adorable.  And I love the color too.  It's the one on cover.  Isn't the back of this cardigan beautiful?

Best cosplay character:
Severus Snape

He's just so easy to recognize.  And there are three knits that are presented with Severus Snape.  Dark.......

Besides all those beautiful patterns, there are two interviews in this issue.  One is with the OFFICIAL Harry Potter custom designer Jany Temime.  She mentioned something of the Ron's sweater in the Goblet of Fire the most popular sweater.  I wonder if she will have an OFFICIALl Harry Potter Knits book published in the future.  

My favorite character is Ron Weasley.  Too bad there is no knit particularly inspired by this character in this unofficial collection.   Hmmmm... 

The average level difficulty of this collection is pretty high.   They are all well crafted and designed by  amazing designers.  I would say the knits of this collection aims for intermediate and advanced knitters.  The easiest is probably the one called Modern Stripes House Scarves.  And it's very cool one too.  Nice color.

Anyway, all Harry Potter fans, go for it!  Or you've already got one....

HAPPY KNITTING

Now You See Me: Op. 13 Hat Pattern

Hello Knitters,

I'm so happy to announce that Op. 13 is finally up...Yeah...finally...I've already finished knitting it for 10 days..but just feel more like knitting....literally..so..

Anyway, as some of you may know, Op. 13 is done in NEON YELLOW color while I had always wanna dedicated to careless bike riders who like to to ride in darkness without any flash light on the bike...But I have NOT tested it whether it works or not.  Errr..anyhow, here are some details for Op. 13.

Material:  1 skein of Uptown Worsted Yarn color way #337

Tool:        US #7  (4.5mm)Double-pointed needles
                US #8  (5.0mm)Double-pointed needles
                One Cable Needle

Size:         Fits head of 52cm-58cm circumstances

Gauges:     25 row X 20 stitches = 10cm X 10cm

Skills needed for Op. 13 are only a few: cast on, bind off by sewing, cable knitting, knit, purl, purl 2 together, Make Bobble.  

Sounds fun?  This simple cable hat pattern is suitable for beginners on cable knitting.  And they are now available on Ravelry and Etsy.

Thank you very much and 

HAPPY KNITTING

Acrylic Reigns: Review on Uptown Worsted Yarn in Neon Yellow

Hi Knitters,

I'm now done knitting Op. 13 and would like to share with you what I think of the yarn I picked.

A few weeks ago I went to a LYS.  I was looking for something acrylic.  It was ok whether it's 100% acrylic or mix with other material.  Just wannna to be a yarn explorer.  Acrylic yarn is certainly for people with  limited budget.  I then went to have happy hour since I saved some money from buying yarn.  Hurrah!!!

Universal Yarn's Uptown Worsted was one of my pick of that day.  I was debating: should I get the hot magenta or neon yellow (please note that there was bright yellow too)?  Since I had knitted quite a few pink items, neon yellow was my choice.  And then a genius idea just pop up: Neon Yellow is the perfect color for bike riders who don't install any flash light in their bike.  Then putting something on their heads will help people noticing them.   Ride safe!

Now you know I love the color.  How about the touch?  This yarn is called worsted yarn.  And yet it is quite soft to touch.  I would say compared to acrylic + wool, this 100% acrylic yarn somehow resembles the quality of baby yarn.  And the knit is not itchy at all.  This is a good news for wool-sensitive friends.  And the appearance of this yarn is a bit shiny, despite the fact that it is in such SHARP color.  

When knitting, this Uptown Worsted yarn was a bit slippery.  If you are a beginner knitter, I don't recommend knitting with steel or aluminum needles.  Using bamboo needles would be a wiser choice.  When I unfortunately undid some of the stitches, the anti-pilling feature of this yarn helped keep the yarn in shape: you won't need to worry that the needles will frequently insert into the yarn by mistake.  I do love this quality.  To conclude, I am satisfied with Uptown Worsted and I highly recommend this yarn to beginner knitters.  Next time I may pick a mellower color way since there are more than 40 options.  

Here is a peek for the project Op. 13.  You may wonder: What the hey is EatingLemon doing with needles in 2 different sizes?  Stay tuned and your curiosity will be fulfilled. 

HAPPY KNITTING

P.S. Here the link to my fb page.  https://www.facebook.com/Eatinglemonknitknitknitpage
Spread the words!

Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc.: Holly Dolly

Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc.: Holly Dolly: SNICKER: Today we've got Holly here to talk about how she came to be here at BCR! Holly, it's great to see you girl, how are you tod...

Magic~ First try on Magic Loop / Comply Sample Set Review Part 2

Once upon a time, there is a magic spell called Magic Loop.  Who ever tried on challenging the Magic Loop would never be able to knit with double pointed needles or regular circular needles again.  There was no return...........

Do you believe in this myth?

Due to my slow learning pace and lack of courage, it took me quite a while to get the idea and try on knitting the Magic Loop.  The official inventor is Sarah Hauschka.

However, it was said the idea of Magic Loop is actually derived from knitting with 2 circular needles.   And please forgive me, I forgot the name of the the smart lady.

Anyhow, the basic concept of knitting in Magic Loop "style" is to separate the total number of stitches into two and keep these two sections apart on circular needles with long cords.  The cord is suggested to be at least 40 inches long.  It is not difficult as it seems.  I used a few stitch markers to help me.  Long cord worked much better.  This time I only did one hat.  We can actually knit two items all at once.  Hmm..I will try it next time.

I Will talk Magic Loop more profoundly once I master it.  

This time I knit with the Knitter's Pride Interchangeable needles with US #7 and #8 needles.  And I was very happy with the Cubics.  The actual size of Cubics, which is US#7 in this set, is smaller than regular needles of the same size.  And in my opinion, the stitches results in smaller than regular.  Well, that may due to my inexperience of using it and my inconsistent gauge.  Or it is as the official description of the Cubics :  they are very good for knitting uniform stitch.  Hmm.. that means they are very good for Fair Isle.  Good news!  If you want to have a regular #7 gauge, try one size up.  

Not 100% sure.  But do I find it comfortable holding the needles for the 'The cuboid shape in square cross-section"?  Yes I do.  They are not difficult to handle as I assumed once I got used to them. The needles are made of rosewood.  Pretty light in weight. Not as light as Nova though.

The quality of the cords is best tested with Magic Loop.  Now is the time.  The cords available in this sets are 24" and 40".  They are very very flexible.  Very easy to pull.  There is no information on what material the cord is made of.  My guess is plastic.  Again, they are very good for Magic Loop.  I'm glad I tried them.  

Some updates on the joints of this set of IC.  I find that YOU HAVE TO USE THE KEY PIN.
If not, the joint will break, which leads to dropping of stitches.  It happened to me twice.  But once you lock them tight, they are ok.

To conclude, I do like this set of Comply Sample of IC.  It's a really good deal.  And I just discovered some fun way to knit which can only be done with interchangeable needles.  Will blog about this later.

Now I'm having fun knitting Irish Cables and in Magic Loop style.  Wanna know what I am making?  Stay tuned and 

HAPPY KNITTING