Category Archives: knitting pattern

Bacardi Cardi

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I knew I wanted to knit this sweater the very first time I laid eyes on it.  In 2007.

(c) Barbara Gregory

(c) Barbara Gregory

This sweater was the reason I bought the book: No Sheep for You by Amy Singer.

No Sheep for You

I loved everything about it.  Colors.  Style.  Over-all look.  And the name: Bacardi Cardigan

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The original yarn was not available anymore when I decided it was time for me to knit.  So I had to find a substitute.

I checked out the various projects on Ravelry to see what yarn other knitters used and narrowed it down to one.

With six different colors of yarn required I knew I had to be budget conscious.  My LYS was having a 20% off sale store-wide.  Yes!  They carried the Cascade Ultra Pima that I wanted to use.  I’ve knit with this yarn before and it is divine.

But my plan quickly vanished when they had only one of the six colors I needed.

Yes, the LYS could order the colors I wanted but the policy in the past was that I would have to buy all 12 skeins/hanks/balls per color as they did not want to be stuck with weird colors.   It’s a small store and while I understand that policy, (in my opinion) it’s a dumb one.  The owner was not available to question the policy so I decided to search throughout the store hoping I could find yet another substitute.  I found many yarns that I could use.  Not in the right colors for me.  Or way out of my price range.

Back to the drawing board.

Wait.  Someone used Drops Muskat.  After some quick (or not so quick) math, I figured out what  amounts I would need and the colors.  And it all came in under budget!  I wasn’t sure about two of the colors so I bought enough of each to make that decision when I saw them together with the rest of the colors.

I’ve never ordered yarn on-line before as I like to use all my senses, well, maybe not taste, when I buy yarn.  It was a giant step for me to go ahead with it.

The yarn was shipped on a Thursday and arrived the following Monday!  Fast, fast, fast turnaround.

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I love the feel, smell, sight, and sound of the yarn.

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I love the colors though if I had seen them in person, I might have chosen a lighter yellow.

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What I bought will work for sure.

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From the top and going clockwise: Warm Yellow #51, Light Olive #45, Apple Green #53, Light Beighe #61, Yellow #30, Dark Olive #44, and Khaki Green #77.  I can’t decide on whether to use the light olive…

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…or the bluer khaki green.  Color in the photo is off.

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Khaki green

Either one will look great.  The warm olive will play off the other warm colors.  The cooler khaki green will add another dimension.

What’s your opinion?

I have other knitting to do before I can get started on this.  In the meantime I might just go ahead with some mindless knitting swatch knitting so when I am ready to go, that part will already be done.

I can’t wait to get started!

 

 

Weekend

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I woke up early for a Saturday – 8:00.

Guest bathroom – Fixed the 2-3 year-old water damage on the ceiling.  Still have to paint it.  The bathroom was all clean and shiny until I looked at the trim.  I’ve been meaning to repaint the trim for years but never got around to it.  Until Saturday. Done.

Washed, dried, folded, and put away two loads of laundry.

Made cornbread and soup for lunch.

cornbread

Hung the garland on the front porch with Mr. Aitch.  Finished taking in all the porch and deck furniture.  Rolled up the rug from the front porch.  All put neatly away for the winter.  Mr. Aitch swept the porch.

Cut the fabric for one of the quilt tops.

Jambalaya with chicken (no sausage) for dinner).

Cut more fabric for the second quilt top.

Went to bed.

Sunday morning – church.  It started snowing during Mass and when we left the church, about 2 inches had fallen.

Went to the market.  It was crowded for a Sunday morning when I arrived but quickly cleared out as the snow kept piling up outside.

snowy-drive

Groceries put away.

Pancakes and sausage for lunch.

Roast beef with carrots, celery, and onions in the oven.  It smelled so good.

Pieced one quilt top together.  No photo as it was a dark dreary day.

Added potatoes to the roast beef concoction in the oven.

Watched a part of “The Crossing” with Mr. Aitch until dinner was ready.

crossing

Lovely roast beef and vegetables.  And a bottle of wine, of course.

Finished watching “The Crossing” with Mr. Aitch.

Checked email.

Pinterest.

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Did an Internet search for a free knitted pattern for a newsboy cap aka bakers cap, golf cap, ivy cap, English driving cap for a small child.  No luck.  Found crocheted patterns.  Don’t crochet.

cap-2

Turned on the dishwasher and went to bed with a book, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.  Couldn’t stop reading until my eyes got too tired.

The_Book_Thief_by_Markus_Zusak_book_cover

The alarm clock went off at 6:00 this morning.  I turned it off and fell back asleep for 45 more minutes.  That happens more often than I care to admit.

The schools and colleges were closed today due to the snow storm and freezing rain.  I had no trouble getting to work.

And so it goes.

Seamed slippers – a pattern

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A reader of my last post needed a simpler slipper pattern that did not require double-pointed needles, knitting in the round or a lot of increasing or decreasing of stitches.

So I found the original pattern from my grandmother and made it into a pdf for you to save for yourself.   These are the slippers that my grandmother and my aunt made for many, many years.  I remember my mom was collecting clothing for a rummage sale and someone donated a hand knit wool dress.  It was purple with hot pink, grey, and white stripes and easy to see why it had been donated.  My grandmother ripped the dress apart and saved the yarn.  I have no idea how many of these slippers she and my aunt made with this yarn but we received some variation of purple slippers for years and years and years.  This is not an original design and you can do a search to find many variations on this pattern.

The pattern is easy and knitted flat.  It’s a great beginner pattern for someone learning how to knit and purl.  There are two decrease rows.  Two seams are sewn for each slipper.  The end result is almost the same as the seamless slipper but the heel part is a bit wonky as it isn’t shaped quite the same.

Here’s a photo of the bottom and back seam.  Once on the foot, the sole evens out and fits fine.  It just looks weird at first.  Have fun and let me know if you make these.

seamed-slippers-002

The pattern is listed on the “My Designs” tab at the top of this post as a pdf pattern.

Opportunity

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Doing the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) has been a challenge to say the least.  My postings have been few and far between for well over a year.  When the opportunity to get back in the saddle came along, I decided to accept the challenge and post every day during November.

Todays post is about the Olive Oil Drip Catcher pattern I put in the My Designs page of this blog.  This little pattern has been one of my most popular.

Olive-oil-sleeve-003.1

It’s a quick knit using a small amount of fingering yarn.  Although I haven’t measured the amount of yarn, I do believe it is under 20 yards.

And it’s useful.

Want to learn how to knit with double-point needles but don’t want to commit to knitting a sock?  Here’s your opportunity to try this pattern.

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If you don’t like the ruffle edge, just bind off before the increases.

Are you planning on gifting anyone with a bottle of flavored dipping olive oil or vinegar for Christmas (or Holiday of your choice)?  The Olive Oil Drip Catcher would be the perfect accompaniment, well, along with a loaf or two of great bread.

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And while I’m at it, I’m taking the opportunity to plug one of my favorite stores:  Olive My Heart in Hudson, Ohio.  Yes, they do ship!

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