August Accessory SALE

In the northern hemisphere, August tends to be the hottest month of the year. Here in the pacific northwest though, it never gets really hot and typically is upper 70s to low 80s (25C to 30C) with low humidty. Most other places it is too hot to be knitting or crocheting on large projects.

Hat Patterns on Ravelry

Now is the perfect time to cast on one of my smaller accessories and what better incentive than a SALE.

Purchase 2 of my accessory patterns and receive a 3rd one free. 

Simple head over to Ravelry and place 3 accessory patterns in your cart and $4.00 will be discounted off the price (no coupon needed). Sale valid for the month of August 2016.

Sock Patterns on Ravelry

I hope you are finding a spare moment somewhere cool to knit or crochet your favourite project!

Review: August Issue of I Like Crochet

The August Issue of I Like Crochet has been out for a few weeks now. Have you looked at the new patterns? There are some really cute ones.

Subscribe to I Like Crochet

My most favourite of this issue is the Owl See You At School by Kristi Simpson. Any little girl or boy would be adorable bringing this bag to thier first day of school. It uses mostly double crochet but has crocodile stitch on the outside pocket to give it some texture.

Owl See You At School by Kristi Simpson

This Boho Tote by Nanette Seale is also very fashionable. These colours work very well together and create a very "beachy" feel. The bag is worked in single crochet with instructions for the mandala as well.

Boho Tote by Nanette Seale

There are many more patterns in this issue, so go check them out.

August Issue of I Like Crochet

Happy Crocheting!

Updated Patterns

I've finally updated my Carry On Hat and Fingerless Mitts patterns with new, easier to read charts and my updated layout. 

These patterns were created in 2013 and I didn't have any charting software at that time so I used excel which isn't really optimal for charts.

Find these patterns on Ravelry, Patternfish, and LoveKnitting websites.

Happy Knitting!

Vacation

With July half over and August not too far away, vacation time in the northern hemisphere is well underway for most of us. Maybe this sums it up for you ....
Do you take a knitting or crochet project with you on vacation? Do you get much time to work on it?

I usually have lofty ideas of sitting on the beach for hours on end working on my knitting and bring a huge bagful of yarn/needles just in case. Of course when it comes right down to it, I don't get much time at all. I come home with only a fraction of what I had intended to complete.

Where is your favourite place to vacation?

I love the beach ... any beach ... though here in the pacific northwest even the beach in summer is not warm. We recently went to Seaside, Oregon for the first time. It is a beautiful little community with a 3 mile boardwalk along the beach. Perfect for strolling and looking at all the beautiful gardens (maybe dreaming of living here).

Cannon Beach, Oregon is only 20 minutes away and there is a little yarn shop called Coastal Yarns. Lots of gorgeous yarn and some locally dyed skeins as well. Of course I picked up a skein of sock yarn (S)

And crepes (gluten/dairy free options) ....

A wonderful vacation for us ... but now back to reality!

Hope you all have a great summer and some good knitting/crocheting time!

Setting Goals

Do you set any goals at the beginning of the year for your knit and/or crochet hobby? Maybe how many cardigans you plan to make or baby blankets? How many dollars you will spend on yarn and patterns (I probably should do this)?

For me, I try to set some business goals at the beginning of the year and also review the previous year to see what worked and what didn't. There were some trends .... like the fact that I like to knit, crochet, and write patterns but not write blog and facebook posts! You can probably tell that from the fact that there is only one post here every 2 or 3 months LOL!

If you have a crafty business/hobby you may be familiar with Tara Swiger and her blog and podcasts on setting goals and running an effective craft business. She has some awesome resources! In particular, today's email really hit home. Be Consistent! Which I have consistently failed at (does that count as consistent)!

So I am once again setting a goal to be more consistent with posting here! Will you hold me to it? At least once a month.

One of my other goals this year has been to submit designs to magazines both in paper and online. This is one of the reasons you haven't seen many pretty pictures of new designs. I do have quite the stack of swatches though, and I will have some new patterns in print coming in a few months. 

Keep an eye out here for two crochet patterns soon to be released in the I Like Crochet October Issue. 

A SNEAK PEEK ....

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

Yarn Weight Frustrations

I've had this frustration for a while now, but most recently with my latest cardigan design. Yarn labels that don't correctly label a yarn as the correct weight. What do I mean ....

Gorgeous Hazel Knits Lively DK in Frost

Here's a couple of examples:

Cascade 220 has 220 yards in 100g and is listed as worsted weight

Hazel Knits Lively DK has 275 yards in 130g and is listed as DK weight

Louet Gems Fingering weight has 185 yards in 50g and is listed as fingering weight

Quince & Co. Chickadee has 181 yards in 50g and is listed as sport weight

How do you then successfully substitute yarns in a pattern if the weights are all over the place?

Crafty Yarn Council yarn weight chart

You could look at this yarn weight chart found on the Crafty Yarn Council's website which looks a bit daunting to me or you could just go by the yards (or meters if you like metric) in a 50g ball.

Another example .... I used Hazel Knits DK Lively yarn which mentioned about has 275 yards in 130g. Doing the math this works out to be (275/130*50) 105 yards in 50g.

When substituting I look for something similar like maybe Cascade 220 which has 110 yards in 50g or Madelinetosh Vintage which has 100 yards in 50g or even Jo Sharp's Classic DK Wool with 107 yards in 50g. 

To me, looking at yards to figure out a substitution is much easier than looking at other options like stitches per inch or the yarn companies weight designation.

My latest knitting pattern, Strolling Cardigan can be purchased on Ravelry.

Strolling Cardigan Photo © KLM Photography

Happy Knitting!

Japanese Lace Stitch

In a few of my designs I use this pretty lace stitch that I found in a couple of Japanese stitch dictionaries. It's really easy to work and creates a different fabric depending on if you work only one stitch or multiple stitches in a row. 

I call it the pkyk stitch for Pass Knit Yarnover Knit

On my Strolling Cardigan it is worked multiple times in a row to create a lacy lattice.

On this grey cable and lace cardigan it is worked once in a column with 2 purl stitches on either side to create a faux cable.

To work this stitch (pkyk):
Worked over 3 stitches.

• Pass the third stitch on the LH needle over the first two stitches and off the needle
• Knit one stitch
• Yarn over
• Knit the second stitch

Work to where you want to create the pkyk stitch

  

Slip 3rd stitch purlwise  

Slip stitch over first 2 stitches and off the needle

Creates a "bar" across the first 2 stitches

Knit one stitch

Yarn over

Knit one stitch

Result of finished pkyk stitch

Knit to end of row

Pkyk stitch with 3 rows of stickinette in between on a stockinette background

Happy Knitting!

Wood Work

Just released ... Wood Work. Knit in the beautiful Malabrigo Rastita with a slip stitch rib pattern on the cowl and hem. Pattern available on Ravelry and Love Knitting.

Wood Work © Paulo Chow

Wood Work © Paulo Chow

Wood Work © Paulo Chow

Happy Knitting!

Finished Objects

It has been quite a long time since I have knit something from someone else's pattern. I have to remember that it is all written down for me and I don't have to figure out for myself what the next step is. 

Have you checked out the Indie Designer Gift-A-Long forum on Ravelry yet? You still have a few more days (until Friday November 27th) to cash in on the 25% off thousands of indie designer patterns. 

Use coupon code giftalong2015 on select patterns. You can find all the participating designers and patterns in the sale on Pinterest.

My first GAL finished project was Collingwood by Carolyn Macpherson. Love the texture on this hat and the fit is perfect.

Collingwood Hat Pattern by Carolyn Macpherson

I've already gotten a start on my second project, Waverleaf by Faye Kennington. This is a gorgeous scarf that uses short rows to create the colorwork design. I love the bright colours with the dark purple.

Waverleaf by Faye Kennington  © UkeeKnits  ~ Used with permission

And one more shout out to Carol E. Herman and her Passport Mitts. These mitts have a beautiful cable running down the backs and are worked in DK weight yarn. I think they would be lovely in a merino silk blend yarn.

Passport Mitts © Carol E. Herman Designs (used with permission) 

So ... what will you be knitting for gifts this year? 

Happy Knitting!

Gift-A-Long 2015

Are you participating in the Indie (Independent) Designer Gift-A-Long this year? Do you even know what that is?

What is the GAL all about?

It’s prepping for the holidays as only fiber folks can, with special deals from tons of indie designers!

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by 335 independent designers. Starting November 19th at 8pm (US-EST) through November 27th at 11:59 pm (US-EST) these 335 indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% off sale for this event.

But it's more than just a sale ... there are over 15,000 prizes of all sorts given out, games, and generally a lot of fun! The Gift-A-Long KAL/CALs will run from November 19 at 8pm US EST through - December 31, 2015 at 11:59pm US EST. 

This graphic is a great summary of what is happening over on Ravelry.

It's almost time, so head on over to Ravelry to find out more and join in the fun!

And if you're looking for the list of participating knit and crochet designers you can find a summary of all 335 of us here ... GAL Designers.