stretchy cast on for ribbed edge

After watching Garnstudio's video, I thought to myself that there must be a way to work the cast on while holding the yarn in the left hand.  Here are written directions for doing so.  The cast on is very stretchy and works for both 1x1 and 2x2 ribbing.

Make slip knot on LHN. (The slip knot is not counted as a cast on stitch and will be slipped off needle later.) 
* With yib, place RHN under LHN. Wrap yarn under (from left to right) and over LHN and then under (from right to left) and over RHN.  (Loops made on both needles.)  Pull loop on RHN through. Yarn forward (under LHN). With yif, slip st from RHN to LHN purlwise. Two sts cast on.  Yarn back (under LHN). Repeat from * until desired number of sts are cast on.

picking up stitches for the thumb

This is mainly for my benefit....
I've looked around for information on how to pick up stitches at the side of a thumb-hole opening and haven't found anything that works better than this:

This is for the simplest thumb-hole opening, an afterthought thumb.

The first step is to pick up stitches from the top and bottom of the opening and then remove the scrap yarn.
(There will be as many stitches on the bottom as were knitted with the scarp yarn.  There will be one fewer stitch on top.)
Attach yarn and knit the picked up stitches on the bottom of the thumb opening.
Knit together 2 stitches at the side of the opening (or, in other words, knit the next stitch together with the one above it).
With a second needle, knit the picked up stitches on the top.
Knit together 2 stitches at the side of the opening.
Then proceed to knit in the round.
(You may want to work an ssk as the last st on each needle on the first round.)

binder clips

just a short post...
I really like using binder clips for intarsia.  For the project I'm currently working on, I have every other strand of yarn on yarn bobbins.  The rest of the yarn is wound into balls and clipped onto the project with binder clips.
Binder clips are a bit heavy, but the yarn doesn't get tangled.  Yarn bobbins are lighter, but the yarn often does get tangled.

Trek Potholder

I really like the potholder I made for NerdWars (on Ravelry) this month. (I used Peaches & Creme and size 7 needles.) Ilana MacDonald's pattern can be found here.



It's my first try at double knitting. It took me quite a few tries to get it looking the way I'd like. And, as a bonus, my gauge got more nearly even with each try. ;)

I probably did the edges "incorrectly". But, at least, they're something I like.

Here are my adventures:

The first thing I tried for the cast on edge was casting both colors on at the same time. But, I didn't like the look and so ended up working a provisional cast on in red and then knitting yellow on one side and red on the other.

For the side edge, I first tried working the edges just as I would any other stitch in the row. The edge looked sloppy. And, I wasn't sure how easy it would be to crochet the edges together when done. Then I tried slipping the first stitch of every row. That was a little better. Then I tried knitting the 2 yarns together at the end of a row and slipping the first stitch at the beginning of a row. That gave an edge that was thicker than the rest of the potholder. I finally ended up slipping the first 2 stitches of every row (1 st in each color) and then twisting the yarn so that the edges would hold together even before the crochet edging was added.

Finally, for the top .... (since I was pretty sure I had broken most of the "rules" for double knitting anyway) .... I repositioned all the sts (2 at a time) and worked a sc in red through each pair (1 of each color).

From there it was easy to single crochet around (working extra sc's in the corners).

bunny mask

My DS2 completed his first knitting project -- a bunny mask -- a couple of weeks ago. I'm really proud of how well he did.

He's going to wear the mask during a charity online video-game-playing marathon just after the first of next year. As I understand it, for the game he's going to be playing, the main character pretends to be a rabbit for a while. He's going to don the mask for that section of the game.

edited to add link: Speed Demos Charity Marathon, January 6 - 11, 2011

The hat is a combination of two different patterns: a panda ski mask pattern for the main part of the hat -- with changes to the nose and mouth to make it more bunny like -- and a bunny ears pattern for the ears. (I scouted the patterns for him.)

I didn't tell him how difficult the pattern was until he was finished. ;)

Diamond Spiral Socks

The August 2010 voluntary challenge in Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous group is to finish the second sock of a pair. I had knitted one of each of the socks at the right. Both are based on the Diamond Spiral pattern from Stanfield and Griffiths’s Encyclopedia of Knitting. But, I couldn't figure out which of the two uses of the pattern I liked better. Then, it finally dawned on me that I could make both.

While reading another thread in the same Ravelry group, I came across a new (to me) heel, the yo-yo (German Jo-Jo heel). There is a nice description of the heel at tessknits.com and also with Silke Pieper's Farnkrautsocken. I've grown to love the heel!

So, I frogged half of the sock with the zig-zag front and reworked it with a yo-yo heel. The pattern is now in Ravelry under the name Twin Diamond Spiral Socks.

Now, another thing about me is that I often run out of yarn. This was the case here. I had only 2 skeins of Stroll Inca Gold Tweed -- which just wouldn't make it for 4 socks -- even with my narrow feet.

So, the cuffs for both socks are now Stroll Navy Tweed (which I had less than a skein left of). I still didn't have enough Inca Gold to work 2 more socks. So, the toe for the second pair of socks is also Stroll Navy Tweed. This pattern is in Ravelry under the name Diamond Twin Spiral Socks. Its cuff has 2 rows of eyelets instead of just the 1. To keep the cuff from flaring out, there are decreases in the middle of the cuff.

The pdfs can be downloaded directly from these links:
Diamond Twin Spiral Socks
and
Twin Diamond Spiral Socks.

Toby's Sweater

This sweater is based on Lion Brands' Turtleneck Dog Sweater. It's been changed to fit different measurements and a different choice in yarn – and also to eliminate seaming. I hope it fits. The dog lives in another time zone.

NOTES:
I chose a 17 st cast on at the end of the BACK section since 17 is about a fourth of 70. I made the leg opening increases and decreases a few sts from the edge but think they'll look better as written below. I made the increases for the BACK 3 sts in from the sides.

SIZE:
girth: 21"
neck: 11"
length: 16"

MATERIALS:
1 skein Vanna's Choice Colonial Blue (MC)
½ skein Vanna's Choice Mustard (CC)
size 9 [5.5 mm] knitting needles
crochet hook

GAUGE:
16 sts + 32 rows = 4 inches [10cm] in garter st
Garter st pattern: When knitting back and forth, knit every row. When knitting in the round, knit one round then purl the next round. Repeat.

BACK:
With MC, cast on 29 sts. Work in garter st, increasing 1 st near beginning and end of every RS (knit) row 4 times (to 35 sts), then every other RS row 9 times (to 53 sts). Knit 3 more rows.

Change to CC and knit across 53 sts (on RS). Mark start of round. Cast on 17 sts. Place a second marker. Join to start working in the round. Purl 53 to reach end of round. Work in garter stitch to 6 ridges of CC (10 more rounds).

LEG OPENINGS:
(The chest is worked in CC, the back and sides in MC.)
Row 1: In CC, ssk, k to 2 sts before marker, k2tog. In MC, ssk, k to 2 sts before marker, k2tog. Turn.
Row 2: In MC, knit to marker. In CC, knit to marker. Turn.
Repeat Rows 1 – 2 three more times.
Row 9: In CC, knit to marker (9 sts). In MC, knit to marker (45 sts). Turn.
Row 10: In MC, knit to marker. In CC, knit to marker. Turn.
Repeat Rows 9 – 10 once more.
Row 13: In CC, k1, make 1, k to 1 st before marker, make 1, k1. In MC, k1, make 1, k to 1 st before marker, make 1, k1. Turn.
Row 14: In MC, knit to marker. In CC, knit to marker. Turn.
Repeat Rows 13 – 14 three more times (to 17 sts in CC and 53 sts in MC).
Break MC to begin knitting with CC only (in the round).

FRONT:
With CC, work in garter st in the round, to 6 ridges of CC (12 rounds), starting with a knit round. Decrease on every knit round by knitting to first marker (17 sts), k3, ssk, k to 5 sts before end-of-round marker, k2tog, k3. End on a purl round.

COLLAR:
With MC, knit around.
Set-up round: (k1, p1) 9 times, (k1, p2tog) 4 times, (k1, p1) 13 times, (k1, p2tog) 4 times, k1, p1. (50 sts).
Work in (k1, p1) rib for 4". Bind off in pattern. Fold collar back.

FINISHING
Single crochet around each leg opening in MC. Weave in all ends.