October 2009 – Knitwerks

Getting Ready for the Wedding

October 17, 2009October 17, 2009 by T, posted in wedding

It’s two weeks before “I do” day and we are busy preparing for the wedding. So far we are guessing there will be twelve guests. I say guessing because everyone still has not rsvped and my aunt is planning on trying to get my 80 year old grandmother on a plane without picture id. This is not going to turn out well. We got a few extra supplies, stopped by a few places to price platters, and picked the car up from the mechanic.

My favors consist of two different items. I took sea shells that we have around the house and wrapped them in two layers of 10 inch tulle, tied with a ribbon and tagged with a wilton printable tag, finished off with tying a bow with the ribbon. I think these came out simply perfect.

I also have these wax lips and vampire teeth for myself, the groom, and all the guests. We are afterall getting married on halloween. We ought to celebrate in that spirit. We’re planning a goofy picture or two.

Finally, we have plastic champagne glasses for all the guests, but I wanted two glasses for us. I went to World Market and picked up these two for $1.99 each and I plan on decorating them each with a tag and a small piece of ribbon near the rim. The picture is just the test product as I still have to clean both.

Organization, Projects, and More

October 11, 2009 by T, posted in knitting

Trying to organize. This is what taking up knitting really means!

I was wandering through ravelry and the many groups that I have joined there when I stumbled upon Gabriella’s post. She wants to donate at least 50 scarves to the Abused Women’s Shelter here in Naples by Christmas. My mind immediately started rumbling through ideas. I have a stash of many scarves that I’ve finished with fun fur and similar materials that I’ve tried to sell before. I made some mad money last year with these fuzzy scarves but I have plenty of extras. I also have a tremendous stash that has overtaken my bedroom. I have yarn in tubs, under the bed, in dresser drawers and even in the walk in closet. If you think that’s bad- half my closet is books instead of clothes.
I pulled everything into the livingroom so I would have no choice but to go through everything and organize it. I put my needles away and even found a helpful tip online to organize circular needles. I put them in clear binder slots that would normally hold my patterns and other important papers. I have them in order from size 0-15. I went through yarn, winding and untangling. I now am the proud owner of an organized mess. I have to destash and what better way then by helping others.
I also love that I can make scarves because I can create new designs. I am brainstorming on what might work and still look good. I just wish that I was giving these to people who’d appreciate the warmth of a good scarf. We live in Southwest Florida and a scarf is rarely needed here.
I haven’t spoken to Gabriella yet but I do know that she is setting up kits for the project. She is merely looking for people to volunteer their time and energy. If you are interested in helping, Gabriella’s contact information can be found on her website http://ready2knit.com. I will try to keep everyone updated in the meantime.

Wedding Garter

October 10, 2009November 4, 2009 by T, posted in knitting, pattern, wedding

Wedding Garter

I wanted a couple of special knit accents to my wedding ensemble, seeing as I am a bit of a knitting nut! If I had more time, I am sure Iwould have knit my own wedding dress, but with less than three months for an engagement, I just was not prepared to rush a design and dress out- especially for a beach wedding. Instead, I’ve made a beaded scarf and now I have finished the garter. It is a bit different from the traditional garters that I have seen, but I think that it will be treasured.

I used Aslan Trends Class Yarn, which is a sport weight yarn as the main part of the garter. For the blue edge, I used a lace weight yarn that I had bought years ago and never found a use for. Any lace, light sport weight yarn should do. The ribbon is 1/8 inch wide. I knit the ribbed section with white elastic held together with the aslan yarn. Also,I recommend using a stitch marker to keep track of where the row begins.

The gauge is 14 stitches = 4 inches wide, 8 rows = 1 inch for the ribbing with size four circular needle 16 inches long.

Cast on 70 stitches.

Row 1: Join without twisting stitches, K5,P2, Continue to end.

Row 2: K5, P2 holding yarn and elastic together.

Continue for 6 more rows, end using elastic in row 8.

Row 9: K1, Yarn Over, continue to end (140 stitches)

Row 10: K2, Yarn Over, continue to end (210 stitches)

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: K2together 3 times, K1 Yarn over 6 times, repeat to end.

Row 13: Knit

Row 14: Knit

Row 15: Bind off using blue or other colored lace/light sport weight yarn.

Lace ribbon into the wholes that were created in Row 9. Tie the ribbon to hold the garter up on the leg.

wedding garter

garter

Quick Knit Easy Tie Scarf

October 8, 2009October 11, 2009 by T, posted in knitting, pattern

This is a quick project that is easy for beginners as well. You can make a fuzzy scarf like this from many materials such as fun fur, but I prefer Paton’s Cha Cha. For a thicker scarf, use two balls of yarn held together.

For this scarf:
1 ball Paton’s Cha Cha
10 1/2 needles (6.5mm)
Gauge: 5 stitches equals 1 inch
Cast on 15 stitches
Row 1: K1, P1, continue to end
Row 2: K1, P1, continue to end
Continue until scarf is about 24 inches in length.

Then:
K1,P1 5 times- you should have 5 stitches remaining on right needle.
Turn and P1,K1,P1,K1,P1
Turn and P1,K1,P1,K1 P1
Continue until this mid section is about 1 inch long

Rejoin middle to the rest of the scarf:
Continue rest of row: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1
Next Row: K1, P1, continue to end
Continue for about 4 more inches or to the length you desire.