The Bun and Pony Show

I wasn’t completely listless during the film fest that I threw for myself yesterday.  I managed to knit GN’s head accessory that will pass her JROTC uniform inspection.  Then I managed to knit a second one in a more fun color for her to wear on other days. 

I call it the ‘Bun and Pony Show’.  It’s basically a watch cap with the shaping necessary  to accommodate a hair bun or ponytail . . . or maybe I should say partial watch cap shaping that allows for the bun and pony show.  Below are photos of GN’s black version.  It actually buttons under her bun so it is less likely to mess her hair.  She can wrap it on, rather than pull it over her bun.

 

I had a feeling she would like it, so I choose a brighter fabric for her to wear on non-uniform days.  The green matches one of the colors in a scarf she  made for herself last year.  I didn’t get the ends woven in until after I dropped her at school today, so you are stuck with the Gram for the Bun and Pony model.  For this version, I skipped the buttonholes and knit the lower portion in the round on dpn’s. (double-pointed needles).

The green one is cute as it is in the photos, but I plan to add some knitted flowers along the top edge of the hole for the bun or pony.  I have yarn in the other colors of GN’s so will make flowers in those colors.  I took the photo without the flowers because a) I wanted to show the hole edge without the flowers.  I used a single crochet to tidy up the diagonal rib decreases; and b) I haven’t knit the flowers yet. 

It’s a fun piece to wear with long hair down, too.  Just pull your locks through the opening.  It’s more covering than an ear warmer. 

I am planning to knit a third Bun and Pony Show in a brown wool that will match that long Teddy Bear winter coat I bought for myself.   Here’s the pdf file for the Bun and Pony Show Winter Headwear Pattern.  Pattern is for the version without the buttons.

Happy knitting!

Skein Cuff

I know there are a number of ways to deal with the tangling yarn issue, but I thought I would throw my choice into the mix. 

I use 2×2 ribbed cuffs to keep the yarn stable and to minimize any unraveling from the outside of a center-pull skein.  I have skein cuffs in various lengths and gauges to accommodate a variety of sizes.  If you make two matching skein cuffs you can use them as wristers (wrist-warmers), too (or vice versa!)

Advent Candles Illusion Knit Table Runner

I know it’s St. Patrick’s Day but I just finished knitting an Advent runner for my table and I promised to post the pattern when it was completed.  Besides, because of the design, I will leave it on my table for the remainder of Lent now, too.

Here’s the techno-deal for the day . . . the light was perfect, I set the table with winter greens and everything, took the photos and then my camera died.  I don’t mean died as in the battery needs charging.  I mean died as in there is no way I’m going to get those photos from that camera.  So I asked Goodnight if I could borrow her iPod to use the built-in camera.  She was kind enough to agree.  (Thank you, Honey.) By the time I realized my problem and re-set the table for Advent, the light had changed.  I admit that I rushed the second photo shoot because we were on our way out the door for green bagels!      Oh well, you’ll get the idea.

The photo below shows the four purple candles with their respective yellow flames.  The image is repeated at the opposite end of the runner.  I left the center section a plain white to accommodate the Advent centerpiece of candles and greenery.

The photo below shows the table runner from a different angle.  As one moves about an Illusion/Shadow knit piece, the images come in and out of view.  I love it!

The following photo is an overhead shot of part of the runner: just stripes.

Like I said, I’m leaving the runner on my table for Lent.  I deep-sixed the winter greens and swapped them out for a vase of brown twigs.  Two-season table runner!

If you’d like to knit my Advent Candles Illusion Knit Table Runner, feel free to click the link to download the pdf.

Happy knitting!

Liverpool Football Club Illusion knit scarf

A knitter contacted me last week and asked if I could help her with a scarf she wanted to make for her husband, an avid fan of the Liverpool Football Club.  She told me that she liked the Illusion/Shadow style of knitting she had seen on some of my Super Bowl 2012 Super Scarves, but didn’t know how to come up with the design.  I agreed to help. 

She sent me a link to the Liverpool Football Club’s website and we discussed the lettering and the colors.  Easy enough.  Additionally, I noticed a red and white checked pattern on the website, so I incorporated the checks into the Illusion work.  Check the link for the website.  You can see the lettering as well as the red and white checked pattern there.

Here’s what I came up with in the end.

 

Every good visible Illusion image photo has a good invisible Illusion image photo to accompany it.  Changing the viewing angle of the knitted piece makes the image appear or disappear.

If you live across the pond from me (or across the street) and are a fan of the Liverpool Football Club or know someone who is and would like to make the Liverpool Football Club Illusion Knit Scarf , click the link for the free pdf pattern. 

Happy knitting!

Pi Day Face Cloth

I know it’s only February 12, but it won’t be long until Pi Day – 3/14 –  rolls around.

Some knitters have recently found my Pi Party Illusion Cloth pattern and someone who felt she knew only knitting basics asked if the cloth could be made using only one color.  It can!  I promised the knitter this morning that if I could find the time in the next few days, I would work it up for her.  I found the time today.  It isn’t Illusion knitting when done as it is in the photo below, but it’s still a Pi cloth.

 If you would like to knit this Pi Day Face Cloth, feel free to click the link for the pdf pattern.  If you know how to cast on, bind off, knit and purl, you can make this cloth!

Happy Pi Day knitting!

Hands-Free XLVI Neck Wrap

In my previous post, I showed a pic of what I came up with to wear to Indianapolis Super Bowl XLVI events.  The pic is a little deceiving, however, though not intentionally.  What I have around my neck isn’t exactly a scarf.  It can double as one when it is unwrapped, but that isn’t how I want to wear it.

I know that long winter scarves can be wrapped any number of ways, tucked here and there to make the ends stay in place, but mine all seem to eventually get blown in the wind or unwrapped to have loose ends.  I didn’t want loose ends in Indy.  I want to be warm outdoors, but keep my hands free for taking photos of Super Scarves and doing other things in Super Bowl Village that don’t involve holding onto a scarf end.

So . . . when wrapped properly, my hands-free neck wrap looks like this:

When unwrapped, it can still be a scarf, though a bit shorter than usual.

It’s not a tough piece to make.  It’s just 2 x 2 ribbing.  But, I wanted to have some fun with the pattern, so in honor of Super Bowl XLVI, I wrote my pattern, directions, dimensions etc.,  using Roman Numerals!   Don’t worry.  I added a link to a Roman Numeral Chart in case you’re a little rusty.  I called it XLVI Neck Wrap because that’s how many stitches I used.

If you would like to knit my Hands Free XLVI Neck WrapHands Free XLVI Neck Wrap, feel free to click the link.

Happy knitting!

A Cautionary Plea to Knitters

This is just a little blurb to all the knitters who have been stopping by here lately.

I can see by the blog stats that two of my knitting patterns are currently being viewed quite frequently lately: Pastor’s Winter Cap and Scarf and my Skunk Scarf. 

      

If you are knitting them both as gifts, I implore you not to get them mixed up.  They both require black and white yarn as I designed them.  I like them both, of course, but you’re bound to upset the pastor if you gift wrap the Skunk Scarf accidentally.  Of course, if the pastor is a different denomination than the skunk . . . carry on! 

Candy Cane Christmas Clutch – the Verse of the Purse

by Goodnightgram.wordpress.com

 

Get your needles – number threes**.

Find white and red – one ounce of these.

Cast on 40, knit ‘em tight.

Two rows each: first read, then white.

At eight inches, bind off, turn hem.

Sew side seams. There’re two of them.

Add a zipper.  Twist pull-cord.

Keep making clutches until you’re bored.

I’ve made a green one.  Now it’s done.

So just start knitting Christmas fun.

**US needle size

Lipstick Caddy

The cap had jiggled off.  The tube inside had twisted upward and my medium pink lip color had smeared over everything!  I guess the answer to the HUGE mess I had at the bottom of my purse would have been  to decide never to wear lipstick again, but . . . that isn’t the option I went with.

I decided to knit a lipstick caddy instead.  It’s big enough to hold just one tube, but at least the cover can’t jiggle off anymore!

Three things influenced me as I designed this little case.  1) I have a collection of Anchor Hocking Blue Moonstone table wear – and the dressing table powder box in the photo, too - so I like the hobnail look.  2) I like vintage textiles in darker colors. 3) I found a set of craft mirrors at a thrift shop for a song!  If I had purchased them at a craft store, I might have had to dance, too.

I used the Trinity Stitch for this piece.  It is also referred to as the Astrakhan Stitch.  It can be what some knitters would call fussy work, especially the P3 Tog.  I understand why.  It can throw off the thythm of knitting, but I like the outcome, so I think it’s worth the patience.

Lipstick Caddy

Dimensions

Width:  3 ½”

Height:  2 ½’

Materials

#3 (US) straight needles

worsted weight cotton yarn in color of choice

blunt end yarn needle

5/8″ diameter snap

thread in color to match yarn

small mirror with self-adhesive backing

Abbreviations

BO: bind off

CO: cast on

K: knit

P: purl

Tog: together

Directions

CO 20 stitches

Row 1 – Wrong Side:  (K1, P1, K1 in one stitch), P3 Tog

Row 2:  P

Row 3:  P3 Tog, (K1, P1, K1 in one stitch)

Row 4:  P

Repeat rows 1-4 until the piece measures 6 inches.

Bind off in P on either the 2nd or 4th row whenever peice measures 6 inches.

Finishing

The finished knit piece can be evenly divided as follows –  two inches for the front of the caddy, two inches for the back of the caddy and two inches for the fold-over flap. 

Fold the piece accordingly and sew the two side seams.

Weave in yarn ends.

Attach snap pieces – one to the inside of cover and one to the front of the caddy.

Remove back from self-adhesive mirror and attach to the inside of the cover, just under the snap – centered on the fold-over flap.

Goodnight saw mine and wants one for herself.  “Not black, though.  Okay, Gram?” 

Candy Caddies

I must admit that I was highly influenced by the Christmas movie that Goodnight and I decided to watch yesterday.  Fa la la la la, and all that cheer!

I picked up my knitting needles and made a couple of these cute bags to fill with candy.

They don’t require much yarn – less than an ounce.  They are done in the garter stitch and evenly spaced yarnovers provide holes for the twisted cord drawstring.  The bags hold about a dozen small, individually wrapped candies.

I also knit one in red, white, and blue for my mother and gave it to her over the Memorial Day weekend.  The candies are soft mints.

And here are two more with something different to tuck inside.  The one with the bubble gum is for my granddaughter. 

If you want to try one, click the link for the Candy Caddies: So much candy, so little time.

Happy knitting!