Wendy Bernard's Blog, page 8

Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale!

Hope everyone is happy and enjoying the beginning of the Winter Holiday Season!

To celebrate, all my HAT patterns will be 50% off from November 28th through December 3rd.

Just click on the pattern links at the left to purchase. Please note, the discounted price will appear once you reach the Paypal page.

Happy Holiday Knitting!

So, I'll Keep Knitting

This past weekend, we all went to the local farm and picked celery, fennel, kale and more kale. Girlfriend told me that she loved celery--that was news to me--and then I realized that she's been enjoying all the hats I knit. A lot. Like, every day, a lot.

Now I have this need to keep her hat wardrobe full. I'd hate for her to get a reputation for wearing the same thing day after day after day.

But then again, I don't want to spoil her.

But then again, but then again, again: I have enough yarn in the joint to keep me busy, and her in new caps, for quite awhile. (Plus, I may as well keep knitting them for her. After all, she'll turn 12 and all of a sudden turn on me like I did when I was that age. I turned on my mom. I wasn't kind to her and it still hurts me that I never got the chance to apologize. I mentioned that to Girlfriend--that I was mean to my mom and never got the chance to apologize and felt bad for it--and she looked at me and said: "I'd never be mean to you, mom.")

Oy.

So, I'll be knitting a lot more caps. I guess it is my way of reconciling the way I treated my mom when I was just a little older than she is now. I suppose I feel that if I knit enough of them, you know, keep them coming, that she won't be like I was when I was a pre-teen and teen.

/feeling sorry.

BTW: See that blue blob in the bottom right-hand corner? That's her 3-year old cousin, dressed up in his batman cape. We had him all weekend and insisted on wearing it to the farm.

 

Dropped Stitches - How to Do it on Purpose, a Tutorial

Sometimes, when you discover a dropped stitch in your knitting, it can be a little scary. Do you instantly rip out your knitting and reknit? Or do you use a crochet hook to fix it?

But what if you want to drop stitches on purpose? 

I have found that some knitters, even though they like the distressed look of a dropped stitch here and there, aren't comfortable incorporating them into their projects. I mean, we, as knitters, spend so much time trying not to drop stitches, and that sometimes doing it on purpose can give us pause.

The following is the technique I used in the Torn-Up Toque pattern. You can follow this tutorial to add controlled dropped stitches--meaning they won't unravel all the way down to your cast on; in fact, you fully control how far down they'll go:

First, start by casting on your desired number of stitches.

Second, work your project to the row or round in which you want your dropped stitch to unravel. Then, work to the exact spot you want your dropped stitch to "end." Next, work a make-one increase. (I'm pointing to my make-one stitch. See that little left-leaning stitch thingy there?)

 

Next, continue working in rows or rounds to the spot where you want your dropped stitch to begin. In this example, I knit about 10 rows and stopped at the added make-one stitch (you can place a marker if you want to keep track. Note, I'm pointing to the original make-one stitch in this picture. This is where the dropped stitch will end.)

So now, after you have knit to the exact stitch that you had added by doing your make-one increase, just slip it off the left-hand needle, release it and unravel. Notice that it won't unravel past the point that you made your made-one increase.

After that, just continue knitting and this is what it will look like:

You can purposely drop stitches in all kinds of ways. Just know that you'll need to do a make-one type of increase (where you lift the bar between stitches to make a new stitch) in order to control how far the stitch unravels. Here is a picture of a couple of my Torn-Up Toques showing how you can stagger them to create a super lived-in and distressed cap:

I have also used dropped stitches in mostly stockinette sweaters just for the fun of it.

Now, go get your knit on!

A Couple Things

The other day, I wrote a post about a top-down cap that I made for Girflriend and mentioned that even though the yarn I was using was merino, that it felt a bit cotton-y.

I later had a question from someone who asked me if my saying that it felt a little like cotton was a compliment or not a compliment.

. . . because not everyone likes to knit with cotton.

Kitchen cotton is one thing; I actually find it rather difficult to wrangle, not to mention some of the colors are not my favorites, but a good cotton or cotton blend can be wonderful to knit and, if you match the yarn to the project well, it can and will make you very, very happy.

Problem is, the good stuff is hard to find. I do like Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton. I like the Spud & Clhoe Sweater (merino and cotton blend), too. I also like the Tahki Cotton Classic, which is mercerized (it is shiny).

So, the other day, I got a message from Figen Cakir who is the founding director of Figgi Yarns based in Turkey. She had read that I have troubles with my hands (I knit too much) and had cotton in her line that has a bit of silver in it and would I like to try it? I guess silver is associated with healing and has certain properites, and even though they make no health claims, why not see what the yarn is all about? They have other cotton yarns, too, at any rate.

It came in the mail and the first moment I saw the Sifa Silver (the natural and the green pictured), I decided to heck with knitting with this gorgeous yarn! This is screaming at me to weave it! These balls of yarn: They're my colors! Bring on the Avocado! Bring on the Burnt Sienna! This belongs in my house!

I instantly pulled out my Zoom Loom and made the most perfect coasters for a girl who yearns for a Harvest Gold kitchen . . .

And that girl would be me.

I am happy. I just wish that they distributed this in the states. Check out www.figgiyarns.com to see for yourself. Maybe if enough of us cotton lovers were to pay attention to this wonderful and not-your-typical-cotton we might see it become more readily available.

BTW: I decided that I needed to knit two huge rectangles on the bias. Yeah, yeah, I know; all the knitting is hurting my hands. I slapped the rectangles together and now I'm knitting some simple sleeves for it. I can't decide if I should add a cowl neck or not. . . (The Fibre Company Acadia in Sea Lavender.)

BTWBTW: Forgive my just-from-the-gym freshness.

 

Just Like Me Knits - A Bittersweet Giveaway

When Girlfriend said that this might be her last Halloween, I realized that my little girl is growing up. My last Halloween was when I was 12 and I *think* I was Raggedy Andy (times were simpler then). I walked door to door with my then girlfriend Carol who was a couple of years younger than me so she was Raggedy Ann (again, times were simpler then). This was the year my sister was born and I remember that times were pretty bad economically and people hung white handkerchiefs in their mailboxes signifying that there would be no candy there. 

I thought of this because today is Halloween, first of all, and second of all, I have this book, Just Like Me Knits by Brandy Fortune (of the online knitting magazine, Petite Purls and blog site Pixie Purls) sitting in front of me. I got it earlier this year and have been meaning to write about it because it is honestly one of the cutest little kid books out there.

The photography is so sweet. Brandy photographs her children modeling her knits like we did with Girlfriend when she was their age. As I look through the pages I have a bittersweet feeling for Girlfriend's fleeting little-girl-ness, if you know what I mean. These patterns are a mixture of knitting and sewing and most of them come in two versions: One for a little girl or boy and a matching one for the child's doll.

Many of the patterns are small enough to knit up quickly: caps, vests, a shrug for a little girl and her dolly, socks, beaded bracelets, whimsical matching bear caps and a little sewn dress.

We're getting down to the wire for Holiday knitting, so I thought I would do a giveaway, just in time.

Leave a comment telling me when you stopped trick-or-treating and what your costume was, and in a few days I'll do a random drawing!

Animal Hats

I know these aren't anything new, but when your daughter finally shows interest in what you make and wants to actually wear the stuff, you pretty much drop whatever you're doing and knit.

I could be on a tightrope halfway across some great expanse and I'd drop everything to make her something she'd wear. Even if it is for just 10 minutes. I'd drop it all.

So anyway, she asked me for an "animal hat," and me, being about as clueless as clueless can be, asked her to design it for me because I had no idea.

She came back with a drawing of a cute cap with cat ears, an embroidered face and long flaps on either side with paws at the end that double as pockets.

And then when I sewed on the ears and asked her to try it on, she wouldn't give it back to me for the remaining face and paws/pockets.

At first, I figured that she just loved the hat so much.

And then I realized that she realized that she's no longer a little girl.

And then I realized, further, that this is just fine. In the past, she "wore" my knits because she was too little to protest or remove them.

It's all good.

BTW: This is Morehouse Farms Merino 2-Strand Sport in Natural Silver and Aster. Oooh la la. This is soft. Normally, I don't get along with most wools when they're on my head--and Girlfriend doesn't either--but this is really soft. It has a washed-wool feel and, well, I just adore it.

I think I need an animal hat of my own.

No-Swatch Top-Down Caps. The Joy.

I was just thinking about knitting patterns that I've knit more than once. There are only a couple. 

The first one that I knit more than once--actually, I knit at least three pair--were those Fiber Trends Felted Clogs. I think HWWV still rocks his pair from time to time. I can't believe, that after more than 7 or so years, that he can still wear them.

The other pattern that I've knit more than once was my Torn-Up Toque. I knit three of them and I'd totally knit another three. 

Other than that, unless I *had* to knit more than one sample for a book or a pattern, I haven't chosen to knit a particular pattern more than once. Not sure why, because there are plenty that I have enjoyed, but I have not really felt the urge.

One thing I do knit over and over are things like hats, mittens and socks from basic recipes. You know, the ones where you generally know your intended measurements and you follow a few guidelines that are easily kept in mind or jotted down on paper so that you can knit without having to follow too many steps.

So, when Girlfriend all of a sudden decided her "signature" look in middle school will be a beanie and her new-to-her prescription glasses, I thought I'd better hand over some of my samples and knit her some new ones or she'll be wearing the same my-name on her head day after day after day--something that she has been known to do; you know, she'll wear a favorite shirt every day until I creep into her room at night and remove it.

Anyway, the other day I asked her to go in my stash and choose some yarn so I could whip up a new cap for her beanie wardrobe. She chose Dream in Color Everlasting (a merino that is interesting; almost knits up like cotton) in the color "Daylily," and I was able to immediately cast on--without swatching.

I know you anti-swatching people will love this because this is the one case I can make for not swatching and coming up for something that actually "works." You do need to find needles suitable for the yarn, though. You can't just grab some 10's and use fingering and come up with a nice cap, otherwise you'd end up with a hole-y mess.

This is what you do:

Get some dpn's and your yarn.
Cast on 8 stitches on to one of the needles.
Double the number of stitches on the needle by knitting in the front and the back (kfb) of each stitch.
Purl one row.
Next row, you'll have 16 stitches. Just *K1, kfb across the row. You'll have 24 stitches.
Now grab a couple more dpn's and knit one row, placing a marker after 3 stitches. There will be 8 sections now.
Join in the round.
Now, work one round where you *Kfb, work to next marker, sm; rep to end (adding 8 stitches on these increase rounds) and work a plain round where you just knit each stitch.
When you've repeated these last two rounds enough times to make about 2 inches' worth of fabric, measure your stitch gauge.
Then, decide how big you want your cap to be.
Using your stitches per inch gauge, work your cap until you have the proper number of stitches on the needles.

Here's an example: Let's say you have a stitch gauge of 5 stitches per inch and you want a 20" hat. You'll work your increases on every other round until you have about 100 stitches on the needles. But since you have 8 sections, you'll knit to the closest number to the magic 100 stitches, which would be 104 stitches, or 96 stitches; pick your poison. When you get there, remove all the markers except for the one that tells you the beginning of the round and then knit, knit, knit! Once you've hit to a length you like, minus some room for ribbing, change to your rib of choice then bind off. 

You'll have a tail at the top there by the hole you created by knitting back and forth. Just use it to sew the few rows you knit before you joined in the round, then weave the yarn through the stitches you initially cast on and cinch.

I know that you know that I know you know what to do from here. . .

Have fun!

BTW: Girlfriend edited the photos, hence the flourish.

BTW2: Disclaimer: If your hat changes size after laundering, don't call me.

 

 

 

 

Torn-Up Toque!

I've been searching for the perfect yarn with which to make a cap. Thing is, what I was searching for had to be soft, yet show off intentionally dropped stitches for a lived-in, cozy look and feel.

I had Malabrigo Finito on hand, and it was a perfect foil for my dream hat of the season. Sock yarns would also make a good choice as long as the colors are semi-solid or solid.

I loved making this so much, I made three.

And no, you don't have to stack them like Girlfriend is here, but I guess you could--especially if it was really cold and you couldn't help but knit three like I did.

This one's a fun knit. It has an allover rib and if you follow the instructions (I give them to you round by round), you'll reproduce this hat with its totally randomly dropped stitches.

Or, you can, once you get the gist of what's going on with the
pattern, plan for more or fewer dropped stitches or just wing it and see what you come up with.

Sized from youth through large adult and unisex, the Torn-Up Toque is the perfect take-along pattern that you can make for yourself, family, and friends of all ages.

This is a fun pattern for an intermediate beginner.

SIZES

Youth/Adult Small (Adult Average, Adult Large)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Approximately 18 (19.5, 21)” circumference, unstretched

YARN

Malabrigo Finito (100% Superfine Merino Wool; 200 yards / 50
grams): 2 hanks #856 Azules (shown as top layer; middle layer is #048 Glitter and bottom layer is #855 Aguas)

NEEDLES

One 16” circular needle size US 2 (2.5 mm)

1 set double point needles size US 2 (2.5 mm)

NOTIONS

Stitch markers in three colors; yarn needle

GAUGE

44 sts and 42 rows = 4” in 1 x 1 Ribbing, unstretched

Click on the button below to buy a pdf copy. It will be sent to you in a zipped PDF file via email when payment is made or eCheck clears. Thanks!

$6.00

New Hat!

I remember those Shrink-to-Fit Levi 501's. They took a heck of a long time to get just right, but they were always, always worth it. 

All of us had our own techniques to shrink them down and wear them out in public without feeling like a kid with brand new white tennies, but what I did was throw them in the pool and let them sit there on the bottom for a week or so.

And then, I'd pull them out, let them dry a bit, and put them on and not wash them for up to six months.

After that, they were pretty good to go. (I was also known to take a nail file to the knees if they still looked too perfect.)

And if you were lucky, you had a boyfriend whose jeans were totally perfect and you'd steal them.

I still dream about my boyfriend's jeans. Not sure what happened to them but those suckers were like pajamas.

So then the Acid Wash jeans came into vogue, along with shoulder pads. *Shudder.*

Fashion is weird.

So, anyway, here's a teaser for a new hat pattern. This one's fun. 

It's an allover rib pattern with intentional and totally random dropped stitches. I'm going to call it "The Torn-Up Toque." 

The pattern will lay out exactly where I put the dropped stitches, but if you want to, you can totally wing it and put your own in for a custom "torn-up" look.

BTW: Malabrigo Finito. Takes two skeins. Love.

2nd BTW: I recently bought a pair of those shrink-to-fit Levi's. I'm still working on them. They can still stand up on their own. Someone needs to put me to work clearing weeds on a huge hill or I will just continue to give them the evil eye willing them to break themselves in on their own. Oy.

Beaches and Boobs

Back in the day, like more than 30 years ago (ouch), Zuma 6 was our hangout. Other high schools hung out at other lifeguard stations along Pacific Coast Highway. At night, you'd find me nearer to Zuma 2 because the tide would come in and we'd still be able to sit on the sand at this wider part of this particular beach and not get wet.

My brother Marc surfed nearly every morning before school. He made a vow at one point that he would wear flip flops and shorts to school every, single day no matter the weather. He even wore shorts and flip flops under his graduation gown. I akin his vow to football players who refuse to shave until they win this or that, or to men who get laid off from their jobs and decide not to shave until they find another one (this happened to HWWV and he now has a nice goatee going despite his finding a new gig).

I can't believe I'm still here in Southern California since I moved here in 1978. I had lived in California before, but that was in Northern California, and that is a completely different animal. In Northern California, you can dig for clams and make sand candles. Here, not so much.

The economy is horrible here in this state. In fact, it is so awful that, well, I can't even begin to describe it. And as we drove home from the beach yesterday, I pondered moving away to another state. A state that has real weather. A place that's cleaner and has better roads (we are notorious for really bad roads). A place where I could wear a sweater more than a handful of times a year. I dream of wearing sweaters. I have vats of sweaters! Do I wear them? (No, not too often.)

But here I am at the beach looking forward to October. October is the best time of the year to hang out at a beach in Southern California. There are virtually no crowds. It's warm because the Santa Ana winds push back the cold air, and what can I say? Who'd not want to knit at the beach in October hoping it'll be finished by February when the weather sorta happens?

I'm knitting a sweater on the bias. The yarn is The Fibre Company's Acadia, which I just love. It is a bit nubby, slubby, or whatever you call it. There is some tone-on-tone action and I can use size US 7 needles for a nice, floppy-ish drape. I've chosen to knit mostly in stockinette, so someone might have to nudge me awake. Oy. I'm planning on this to be about a 22" square (Front) so I'll be knitting and purling like a banshee for quite awhile.

BTW: At first, I wasn't going to post the first picture of me in my suit. Because, uh, Boobs. But I got an email from someone at Caribou Coffee and she was asking me if I'd talk to my readers about a breast cancer awareness program they've got going. Just over a month ago, I lost my dear aunt Sandy to breast cancer. So, this is something that piqued my interest.

Until the last day in October, Caribou will donate 10 percent of their proceeds from sales of Amy's Blend collection (Amy was the Roastmaster who created Amy's blend. She lost her battle with breast cancer in 1995.) to CancerCare. 

In addition, Caribou is also providing warmth to those in need through a social campaign. For every message shared on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #CaribouKnits, one inch of a scarf will be knit by their employees and/or volunteers. After the month is complete, all the scarves will be donated to CancerCare.

I understand they've turned their lobby at their headquarters into a knitting room. Wouldn't it be cool if they had a web cam?