Lazy lace ~ how well can lace knitting kill time

Hi knitters,

Finally I'm done with this pattern.  It was such a long process.... I have to admit that I'm not a fast knitter.  And it was not easy to knit with #3 needles.  I bought the yarns and started the project  2 years ago (if I recollect it correctly).  I started knitting this lace scarf and stopped...and back to the lace knitting again.  2 balls of Caracara was used.  The colorway is gorgeous.  And I consider that the costs of yarn fairly low.

And perhaps because it was the first time I knitted with mohair yarn, I needed to be extra careful not to drop any stitches.  I counted the number of stitch more often just to make sure I was on the right track.  Perhaps that's what made me dropped the projects several times.

Anyway, I got this pattern when from ABCs of Knitting.  And I cast 50 stitches on.  As you can see, I'm not too skillful and definitely need more practice on knitting with fine needles.  I really hope that I can squeeze some time next year to do another lace knitting with mohair yarn.

By the way, I was glad that I got addi needles for this project.  Seriously thinking of getting the lace interchangeable set for my future.  The addi sets are now on sale on Amazon..........

A new free hat pattern will be posted very soon.  Stay tuned, stay warm and 

Happy Knitting!

What's missing in the Turbo Click set

Hi Knitters,

The above yarn bombing item is located in downtown San Mateo.  Funny?

Recently I've got a few balls of yarn.  And I'm done with my last project and continue on the lace scarf that I've been working on (over the years). Yeah....I'm just not a lace knitter, yet..so I kind of knitted and stopped, and skipped to other projects. 

This is what the lace scarf looked like.  Shall be finished soon (hehe......)

So CHUNKY is the opposite of lace.  And I got some yarn from Daiso for a quick knit, and I was about to do magic loop again...then I found out, there is NO U.S 10 1/2 (6.5mm) tips in the Addi Turbo set....AH......! HELP!

I searched online and found out it would be cheaper if I get it from local yarn store (the shipping is expensive).  I also found out the the Turbo Click set is on sale....BIG sale

See! It used to cost more than $160.  And now it's less than $130...on Amazon. I hope it's a piece of good news to you.  The reason for the big cut? I don't know.  Perhaps something new is coming up?  

So, at the end, I got my pair of tips from a local yarn store from San Mateo, and purchased some more yarn ( Trust me, it wasn't planned)

I will report more about the tips, the yarn and the lace scarf.  And I'm seriously thinking of offering some of my pattern in collection as e-pub format.  What do you think?

Anyway, hope you all enjoy your weekend and

HAPPY KNITTING

Op. 10 Scarf Knitting Pattern

Hi Knitters,

Op. 10 scarf knitting pattern is now available!!! Hurrah!!! Please feel free to check it out on Ravelry and Etsy.

I tried to make a sharp contrast, in terms of the density of the pattern, of this kid-sized scarf: first with intense stitch and the second half with some simple lace patterns.

Op. 10 is good for knitters who wants to challenge themselves to become an intermediate knitters.  Yeah...by learning more techniques, you will have more fun knitting.  Op. 10 is apparently a good choice.  I enjoyed knitting this scarf so much.   Techniques you need to know:  cast on, bind off, knit, purl, yarn over, k2tog, skp, slip stitch.  

 And of course, as I told you before,  I love the Sublime yarn.  Kiss kiss kiss....

Obstacles? Yes.  Posing the scarf for photography was not easy. It gave me headache.  How to make this scarf look good?  How to show this beautiful scarf its best to the public, and make people fall in love with it even though  they cannot touch it at the moment?   And with reference of some knitting pattern collection, I finally got relieved by placing the scarf on a piece of floral cloth in dark background color.  Hope you like it.

HAPPY KNITTING

Encore! Sublime Extrafine Merino yarn in YELLOW!!!!

Hi Knitters,

I'm working on Op. 10 scarf right now.  The first half is made up by Noro Yarn and Patons Yarn. Just finished the first half of it. Wanna preview?

Op. 10, as I promised, knitted with the yarn ball "arranged" from a skein of Noro's Iroha.  Made of 50% of wool, 40% of silk and 10% of Nylon, Iroha in purple gave me a sense of warmth.  But I didn't sweat due to knitting it continuously for 2 hours.   Happy with that during so-called summer time in bay area.    Too bad I only got one skein of it.  I do like the yarn just the way I like other Noro yarn.  

The milky part you can see is made of Patons Moorland Shetland D.K.  Absolutely  yarn for cold weather. 

In the second half of Op. 10 scarf, I will knit with my beloved Sublime yarn.

Just a friendly reminder, I used sublime yarn in pink to knit Op. 8 scarflet.  

This time I will work with yellow color.  Shall I call it mustard? ??

Sublime yarn is just as gorgeous as usual.  So silky and soft to touch; so easy to knit with; so adorable to keep your eyes on....  Magnificent.  It's not only good for kids, adults will love it too....I just adore the colorways of this yarn.  Compared to Noro's Iroha, Sublime is much lighter in weight.  

Op. 10 is coming soon.  Stay in tune and

HAPPY KNITTING

Op. 6 Scarf Pattern

Hi knitters

I'm glad to announce that scarf Op. 6 is done and the pattern is now available for free.

Op. 6 is a three-section scarf.  Though it's knitted with a combo of three different yarns in terms of color and texture, with three different stitch patterns for each sect, hand making  Op. 6 is in no mean technically difficult.  It's not for total beginner. Yet, it's fun to knitting for whom wants to do something more than just knit and purl.  I believe Op. 6 is good as a step stone to the intermediate level.

If anyone ever finish this scarf, can you be kind to add to your project on Ravelry.  Your compliment and referral would be my best comfort and encouragement.  

Happy Knitting

So here it is. 
Op. 6.

*********************************************************************************

Material:

Yarn A:      3/4 skein of Stitch Nation's Full O'Sheep color Aquamarine

Yarn B:      2 skeins of  SMC Select Brioletto color Natural/Undyed

Yarn C:     1 skein of Alpine Wool color Chili

Tool: 

US #9 (5.5mm) Needles

US #10 1/2 (6.5mm)Needles

Length:

204cm =             37cm + 118cm + 49cm  

Width:               A-17cm/B-22cm/C-14cm

Gauges:             Sect B 10cm X 10cm = 12 stitches X 22 rows (garter stitch)

Abbreviations:

K                            = Knit

P                            = Purl

Sl 2 WYIF            =     Slip 2 stitches purl-wise with yarn in front.  

*********************************************************************************

Overall Structure:

Cast on 34 stitches with Yarn A with US #9 needles

Section A  X 43

Change to Yarn B with US #10 1/2 needles

Purl 1 row.

Section B X 264

Change to Yarn C with US #9 needles

Purl 1 row.

Section C X 45

Bind Off all 34 stitches.

*********************************************************************************

Pattern:

Section A

Row 1:          <K2, P2>                                     X8 , K2

Row 2:          <P2, Sl2 WYIF>                            X8,  P2

Section B

Every Row:    Knit

Section C

Row 1:          <K2, P2>                                     X8, K2

Row 2:          <P2, K2>                                     X8, P2

 

P.S. Upsetting news: I just found out that Stitch Nation's Full O'Sheep yarn has been discontinued.  

Copyright 2013 by  eatinglemonknitknitknit.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas!!!

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

Ho ho ho
Merry Christmas!!!!

I just sent an email to Santa Claus and gave him my gift lift.  What I want most at the moment is another ball of this yarn.

Urgent!  I need another all of SMC Select Brioletto from Italy as I'm on my way knitting Op. 6.  Santa, please help!

Oh my goodness!!!This scarf is unbelievably soft even though  Brioletto contains 40% Polyester.  (Polyester is not always a negative 'ingredient')  The remaining 60% is Merino...oh, that's why the softness....

The appearance of this yarn  indeed is very interesting.  And due to the uniqueness of its outlook, one only knit to do something simple and the scarf will stands out by itself.  

Will let you guys know the progress of Op. 6.  Again,

HAPPY KNITTING

Yarn Tasting

Hi guys,

Merry Christmas!!!!  It's now holidays.  Everybody should be happy.  Although it rains like cats and dogs outside, I am still having fun inside doing yarn tasting and watching A Nightmare Before Christmas.  What a movie! What a holiday!  (I do wanna go see Les Misérables, and I heard that some members from a group in Ravelry will have a cinema meeting this Christmas seeing Lemis.)  Oh, the funny pic above was taken with an IPhone app called Manga Camera.  So funny..ho ho ho...

I'm testing some stitch patterns on the skeins which I bought a year ago.  Yes,  a scarf is in progress.  Hurray!!!

It will be a scarf with a combo of nice patterns as you see here.  Will show you more once I'm done with it.  Again, 

HAPPY KNITTING

The Ugly Duckling

Hi Knitters,

The "awful" picture above is in fact the draft of Op. 4 scarf.
Yes, it is.  I admit that I am never good at drawing.

I just bought the Rowan yarns from a local yarn store, then I didn't know what to do.
Hahaha...Then I decided to make a draft and test on the iPad app called SketchPro.  It was fun.

Well, I did know that I wanna knit a scarf.  Then I thought of making some bobbles.  Yes, the dark dots you see represent bobbles.  Then I wanna add some nice border.  Cable knitting then came up to my mind.  See the curves I drew..............

The result, as you can see here, is quite different.  They are not even in scale.  Ugly Duckling then became a Swan!!!

"I never dreamed of such happiness as this, while I was an ugly duckling."

I am surprised and very happy too.  You may want to meet the swan here:

http://eatinglemonknitknitknit.blogspot.com/2012/12/op-4.html

P.S. I forgot to mention in previous blog that I knitted with my beloved Takumi Velvet needles.

Thank you very much and

HAPPY KNITTING

Op. 4

Hi Knitters,

Scarf named Op. 4 is finally done.  Hohohohoho....

I'm just so happy that MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED.  Surely a lot has been learnt: photography, pattern writing, color matching, using props....etc etc.  It was a time consuming project, but the result is, as you can see: A picture is worth a thousand words. Thrilled that I am for the great support from the public.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH.  I'm eternally grateful for all the support from my family and friends.  My cats were also very helpful for not sleeping on my lap while I was knitting and counting at all.

I purposely distinguished the two sets of patterns by using yarns of two different colors, kind of constrasting in the sense of the   The outcome is satisfying.  Surprisingly, the back sides of the two patterns look very pretty too, almost like reversible knitting, which was not in my plan at all.

The major technical challenges for this scarf are bobble making and cable knitting.  They are in fact easy to learn and can be recognized apparently when mistake is made. Once you get used to it, they are just two sets of repeating 4-row and 12-row patterns.  I may just use the pattern for two separate scarfs in the future.

If you like Op. 4 scarf, don't just look.  Try to knit it yourself.

The pattern is now available in both Ravelry and Etsy.

Thank you again and
HAPPY KNITTING

Working on the pattern

Hahahahahaha...

Hi Knitters,

IT'S DONE!!!!  Finally I've finished knitting this gorgeous scarf.  I spent a lot of them in design and knitting and I believe it is worth spending the time.  

After posting this blog, I will start working on the pattern.  It will be available in both Ravelry and Etsy very soon.  Besides the pattern, I'm also planing on filming some tutorials.  Don't you think it's a good idea?

Happy Knitting

Op. 3

Hi Knitters,

Here is another easy scarf pattern.  This scarf was made several years ago.  It's for little kids aged 2-4.  Well, the selling point for this scarf is the subtlety of the pattern.  Due to the nature of the yarn this scarf is made of, you can hardly see there's a clear pattern of it.  But it looks much better than just garter stitch for the yarn is in one color.  Mode Dea's Cheerio is the chosen material.  Beautiful!!!

Sorry, I didn't take picture before I started knitting.  That's what has been left.  And here is the label.

And yet, it is actually made of a combo of three stitch patterns: garter stitch, square, and enlarged pattern stitch.

Length:  92cm

Width:  12.5 cm

Gauge: 16 stitches X 21 rows = 10cm square

Needles:  U.S. #6 (4.0mm)

Yarn:  2 skeins of Moda Dea Cheerio, color #8402

*******************************************************

Overall structure:

Cast on 20 stitches

Garter stitch  section          

Square section

Elongated section

Garter stitch section  

Square section

Elongated section

Garter stitch section  

Square section

Elongated section

Garter stitch section  

Square section

Elongated section

Garter stitch section

Square section

Bind off all stitches

***************************************************

Garter stitch:

Knit 20 rows

Square:

Row 1:      P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 2:      K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 3:      P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 4:      K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 5:      K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 6:      P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 7:      K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 8:      P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 9:      P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 10:    K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 11:    P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 12:    K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 13:    K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 14:    P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Row 15:    K4, P4, K4, P4, K4

Row 16:    P4, K4, P4, K4, P4

Elongated stitch:

Row 1:      Knit all 20 stitches.  But wrap the yarn twice instead of once.

Row 2:      Purl all 20 stitches.  Drop the extra wrap while pull off the needle.

Row 3:      Knit all 20 stitches.  But wrap the yarn twice instead of once.

Row 4:      Purl all 20 stitches.  Drop the extra wrap while pull off the needle.

Copyright 2012 by  eatinglemonknitknitknit.blogspot.com

                   *****************************************************

One thing I need to mention is to watch carefully when you knit.  With this yarn, it's somehow very easy to insert the needles into wrong place.  Also, once you made a mistake, it's not easy to find out (you may want to just pass), and thus not easy to fix.

But the texture of this yarn is so soft to knit.  I do love it!!!

Anyway,

HAPPY KNITTING

YouTube Tutorial for Op. 2

Hi knitters,

How is the long weekend?  I am very satisfied with Black Friday shopping this year.  I am also very happy to announce that a tutorial video is accomplished and posted on YouTube.  

Yes, now I have a YouTube channel.  Tutorials which are helpful for the patterns available in this blog will be posted.   The first one will be a tutorial for Op. 2 scarf.

http://eatinglemonknitknitknit.blogspot.com/2012/11/op-2.html

Happy Knitting! 

Op. 2

Hello knitters

Here is Op. 2.  A scarf that is made of ONE-ROW pattern.  Easy, yet beautiful.  Well, of course it's due to the colorfulness of Noro Yarn from Japan.  

Width:          20 cm
Length:         170 cm

*************************************************

Material:
1 1/2 Skeins              Noro's Kochoran       Color No 81

Tools:
US# 15 needles

Pattern:

Cast On  24 stitches  (Multiple of 3)

Repeat these 2 steps for the whole row. 
1) With yarn in front, slip one stitch purl wise.  
2) With yarn in front, knit 2 stitches together.  

Repeat until you reach desired length.

Cast Off all 24 stitches.

Copyright 2012 by  eatinglemonknitknitknit.blogspot.com

             **************************************************************************

As you can see from the pictures, the stitches of this beautiful scarf are loose as I used big needles to knit with yarn that is best knitted with US # 8-10.  This is a fast project for whom would like to make a woolly present in last minutes.  I hope you enjoy knitting it and stay cozy. 

HAPPY KNITTING

Waffle Scarf

Hi knitters,

I've just posted blog where the original pattern is written.

http://yarndreams.blogspot.com/p/malabrigo-waffles-scarf.html

Here is a scarf I knitted a year ago.  You really can't tell by looking at the stunning pattern that the technique required is rather simple. 

All you need to know is how to:

Cast on
Cast off
Knit
Purl

I didn't do blocking.  So it kind of curl on the sides.  And I made it with 

Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool, color Natural with U.S. #9 needles (5.5mm)

What's shown is the left over.

For me, this knitting project was wonderful for practicing Norwegian knit and purl as it requires ribbing for first two rows.

Happy Knitting.