Monday, December 31, 2007

Strikk 2 m sammen, sticka ihop 2 rm, strik 2 m sm - do you know what these terms mean?
It is "knit 2 together" in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. You will find a handy knitting terms translator on our website.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

New hand painted yarns


Newly dyed yarns are ready! They should be on the website late today. Shop early for best selection. They go fast.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Tiny sox

I have been using my leftover sock yarn to knit tiny socks as Christmas tree ornaments or package decorations. They also sell well at bazaars and craft shows. The pattern is quick and easy.

Cast on 20 st, leaving a long tail to crochet into a loop later. Divide 6,6,8 on three size 0 DP bamboo needles. Do K1, P1 ribbing for 4 rows, or just knit all stitches for a rolled cuff. When the cuff is 1.5 inches, divide for heel, 5, 5, 10 st on 3 needles. On the 10 stitches, knit a heel flap 10 rows long (5 long stitches). Turn heel as follows: on inside, slip 1 st, P4, P2 tog, P1. Turn. Sl 1, K2, K 2 tog, K1. Turn. Sl 1, P to last 2 st, P2 tog. Turn. Sl 1, K to last 2 st, K1 tog. Pick up and knit 6 st along heel flap. K across instep, combining the two needles with 5 st each onto one needle. Pick up and knit 6 st along the other side of the heel flap and K3 st from the heel needle. This will leave you in the middle of the heel on the bottom of the foot. Knit one row around. Decrease 1 stitch at the top of each heel needle every other row until there are 5 st left on each heel needle. Knit every row until the foot is the right length, usually 4-5 rows. Decrease for the toe, 4 st every other row, until 8 st are left. Finish the toe with the Kitchener stitch. The finished socks fit great on my cat Gracie, but she won't stand still long enough to let me take a photo.
Happy Holidays to all!

Thanksgiving and family






I was fortunate to have my whole family together at one of our favorite places, Oceanside, Oregon, for Thanksgiving. My son Mike took Knitty-like photos of his wife, Sarah, in her beautiful socks that she made from our hand-dyed yarn. He posed with Sarah's latest knitting project, socks from Trekking XXL yarn. Everyone had lots of time on the beach, and we shared a big Thanksgiving dinner cooked in our tiny but quite adequate motel kitchen. What a great time!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Knitting in Japan




I recently went on a professional trip to Japan and Korea. However, I wasn't goofing off. Here are a few photos of me knitting in exotic places. My husband and boss are in the temple photo. I didn't find much evidence of interest in knitting or yarn stores in either Japan or Korea.

New Socks




A new pair of socks to show you. The socks are for a woman who wanted purple, not purple striped, not purple patterned, not purple heather, but purple. I found this color in Brown Sheep's Wildfoote sock yarn. It is 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, and a little heavier than most sock yarns. I have not used Wildfoote recently due to pilling problems I had with it years ago, but the new yarn seems much better. I knit it on #1 bamboo needles and 64 stitches. Since it was a solid color, I decided to add a simple lace pattern to make the socks more interesting. After an inch or so of K2P2 ribbing, I used the following pattern: K2P2 for 3 rows. (Yarn over, K2 tog, P2), repeat to the end of the 4th round. Repeat these 4 rows for pattern. I continued the pattern down the instep. When I divided the stitches for the heel flap, I started and ended the instep with a purl stitch so the sock would be symmetric. The socks turned out well and were received with much enthusiasm.