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Ravelry

stephanie — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:26:35 +0000

Oh my. Oh Ravelry. Poor Knitfish has been completely tossed aside because of Ravelry. I know, it’s pathetic that I have such narrow bandwidth, but I just can’t seem to keep them both up.

It started on July 24, when I won Jackie’s contest to get a Ravelry invite. I was on the waiting list, about number 1700 in queue, when she posted a contest whereby if you donated to Doctors Without Borders you’d get an entry into the drawing for the invite. And, wouldn’t you know it, I won! I never win anything – and this was, to me, a major prize. So I immediately started doing what one does in Ravelry – uploading photos, inventorying my needles, picking out patterns for my queue, photgraphing my stash (well, the last hasn’t gotten very far, but I’m trying!).

It’s an amazing resource and also really addictive – I spent nearly an hour this morning looking for a sweater pattern to use up yarn I have in my stash. Last week I spent a huge hunk of time flipping through stole/scarf patterns.

From Ravelry I’ve already downloaded and used a few patterns, including the utterly adorable Spur-of-the-moment Baby Hat. You can work this hat for any kid in any yarn - just figure out (from a gauge swatch) the number of stitches per inch you get, then figure out how big the kid’s head is (circumference in inches), then multiply your gauge by their head measurement – add 2-3 inches if you want it loose – and voila, you’ve got the rough number of stitches you need to fit the head. Now adjust so that your number is divisible by 8 (I recommend adding stitches rather than taking away) – and you’ve got the number to cast on.

(This concept of determining how many stitches to cast on works for nearly any in-the-round bottom-up hat pattern. As long as you have a number divisible by 8, you can decrease (near the top of the hat) starting with 8 stitches per section (k6, k2tog*), knit one round plain, then decrease with 7 stitches per section (k5, k2tog*), knit one round plain, etc. until you have only a few stitches at the top that you draw the yarn through to close.)

If you’re not yet on Ravelry, sign up for an invite now – they are still beta testing but rumor has it they’ll be opening up to the public soon. And come find me there – I’m ‘stephanies’ on Ravelry. Looking forward to connecting with you!

Free Sock Knitting Patterns

stephanie — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:13:42 +0000

I’m just getting into knitting socks, and I’m loving it. I was, as many new knitters are, skeptical at first. Why knit socks? They are easy to buy, come in great colors already, and they actually fit me off the shelf. But once you pick up the slinky yarn and the double-pointed needles….there’s definitely an allure to knitting the tube, turning the heel, finishing the toe. I get it now. People knit socks.

So here are a bunch of free knitting patterns that are all socks. They’re all links directly to the free patterns (no PDFs, just web pages) and they all have pictures of the finished products.

Alpaca Cable Socks

American Flag Socks

Amy’s Toe-Up On Circular Socks (knitted toe-up on circular needles)

Basic Ribbed Socks

Basketweave Socks

Boyfriend Socks

B unny Hop Socks (caution, not for the faint of heart)

Chevron Lace Socks

Double Knit Two Needle Socks

Diamonds In The Rough Socks

Falling In Love Socks

Falling Leaves Socks

Feather & Fan Lace Socks

George’s Socks (good for handspun wool)

Globetrotter Socks

Goosebump Socks

Happy Socks

Impossible Socks (knit on tiny needles)

Lace Anklet

Lacy Mock Cable Socks

“Little Chippers” Socks (stripes with a racing stripe on the side)

Matt’s Fixation Socks

Men’s Berlin Socks

Milanese Lace Socks

Mock Croc Socks

Monkey Socks (name doesn’t do it justice – very pretty lace and twisted rib)

More Fun Than Cables Socks

Peacock Socks

Picot Eyelet Socks

Pinetree Toe-Up Socks

Pom-Pom Ankle Socks

Queen Of Cups Lace Socks

Quick Knit Eyelet Socks

Sideways Knitted Socks

Split Toe Socks

Sunset Socks (cool slipped stitch pattern)

Free Food Knitting Patterns

stephanie — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:50:11 +0000

I’m a foodie + a knitter, so the concept of knitting food works out really well for me. I love to knit unusual things, and these little projects are mostly pretty quick. Knitting food is also a great way to use up leftover yarn (or to quickly “hide” a stash that’s gotten way too big).

Here’s a fantastic list of free knitting patterns that are all foods. They’re all links directly to the free patterns (no PDFs, just web pages) and they all have pictures of the finished products.

Apples (felted)

Fruits & Veggies (eggplant, cucumber, banana, carrot, orange – pattern is for baby rattles, but can be made without the rattles of course)

Ice Cream Sundae

Oreo Cookie (called a biscuit in the UK where the pattern is from)

Pumpkins (felted)

Peas

Pizza

Strawberries (scroll down for the pattern, it’s in the comments section)

Sushi

Vegetables (corn, celery, broccoli, carrot, tomato)

Fingerless for Spring

stephanie — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:45:38 +0000

It’s starting to feel like spring, and I hope we won’t need bulky mittens and gloves for too much longer. So here are some fingerless glove patterns.

Knitty’s “Fetching” fingerless gloves: knit with only a thumb, these get complicated with cable detailing. These are knit in Debbie Bliss’ Cashmerino Aran- a truly yummy yarn.
Wendy’s Striped fingerless mitts: knit up pretty quickly with a slightly bulky wool, like Noro Kureyon.
“Hooray for Me” fingerless gloves: this is a pair I’ve been working on (and off) for a while, with this great sock yarn from Schoeller.

Get knitting while it’s still sorta chilly out – and while you can enjoy your fingerless gloves for at least a month or two more.

10 Free Scarf Patterns

stephanie — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 02:45:06 +0000

The first project new knitters usually take on is a scarf. It’s not necessarily the best first project – scarves take a long time (as compared to, say, a baby hat, or even an adult hat), but it’s definitely easy to grasp the concept of a first scarf – cast on, knit, knit, knit, knit, bind off.

If you’re beyond that basic scarf concept, here are ten free scarf patterns to try (with some yarn recommendations to boot!).

Lace “Touch of Whimsy” scarf – Yarn: Patons Classic Merino
Seed Stitch scarf -Yarn: Misti Alpaca Bulky
Lengthwise Stripe scarf – Yarn: Tahki Bunny Alpaca
Basketweave scarf – Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease
Feather & Fan scarf – Yarn: Noro Silk Garden
Woven Stitch skinny scarf – Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted
Simple lace Drop Stitch scarf – Yarn: Caron Pizazz
Keyhole short scarf – Yarn: Moda Dea Bow Ties
Cable Scarf scarf – Yarn: Any bulky weight yarn
Big Wool Ribbed scarf – Yarn: Any two colors of Merino wool

Have fun!

Three fun and different things to knit

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 01:49:51 +0000

Here are three things I hadn’t thought of knitting. I’m sure most of you will say “duh, of course you could knit that,” but I’m just not that quick.

1	A knitting needle case. Check out this great pattern from Berroco – I want to try it just go work on cables.
2	Another cool Berroco pattern – a knitted necklace! I’m not a big fan of suede yarn but this seems like a great use for it.
3	A slice of pizza. And I actually have someone to make this for – perfect!

Sushi Knitting Patterns

stephanie — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:12:18 +0000

I am a big fan of novelty knitting – so I was so excited when I found these free sushi knitting patterns. Plus one really adorable knitting kit…

1. Sushi Platter by Amy Polcyn.

2. A series of Sushi bathroom accessories by MK Carroll:

Sushi Toilet Paper Holder

Sushi Washcloth

Bamboo Sushi Mat/Tank Runner

Sushi Bathmat

3. Here’s a knitting kit for a Sushi Wallet from Pickup Sticks. Too adorable not to include here, even though it’s not free.

4. Update 4/15/07: Salmon Sushi Bag pattern from Blah Blah Blahhhg – so cute!