Pattern? We don't need no stinkin' pattern!

We had our SnB group last night, or should I say, two of us met.  It was an ugly, rainy and windy night, which I think kept people away.  The parking lot of our local Starbucks quickly transformed itself into a small pond, and we remarked that we were probably going to need an ark to get home again. 

That being neither here nor there, my friend was working on a mug cozy.  It was a crochet pattern in the round.  She was following the pattern, but the cozy wasn’t quite fitting correctly (she used her latte cup as a guide), despite being according to gauge.  That’s when I suggested she a) rip it out and start over again, using less stitches, and b) keep fitting it to the cup and use common sense—if the cozy didn’t fit that right, chances are, it would be useless with any other mug.  Sure enough, using less stitches and less increases than the pattern dictated yielded a perfectly-fitting cozy. 

This brings me to the topic du jour…madly ad libbing a pattern.  Honestly, I do this all the time.  I constantly come across patterns I just LOVE, except: 

1)  It’s too long or short.  Usually too short—I hate the current trend of shrugs and short sweaters.  It always looks like you couldn’t quite afford the whole sweater (I feel similarly about capri pants and tea-length skirts).  Also, sweater sleeves are usually too short for my taste and have to be lengthened. 

2)  It’s too tight or too loose.  I know myself and I know 40” around is a good sweater size for me.  If a pattern is 38” around and declaring itself a “medium,” I throw in extra stitches to make it 40”. 

3)  It’s not wide enough.  I find I like a nice LARGE afghan, but too often, afghans are too narrow.  How is 36” across supposed to be good enough???  If the pattern is in blocks, it’s simple enough to add another row of blocks.  If not, I puzzle out the repeat pattern to add width.

4)  And don’t get me started on scarves that aren’t long or wide enough…

Of course, any of these alterations usually necessitates recalculating how much yarn is needed—I’m awfully happy I paid attention in math when they were teaching ratios.  Sometimes, it’s just a simple matter of one more or less skein of yarn.  I usually try to buy over the amount—much easier to return a skein or find another use for it, than to hunt all over area stores and online, looking for another skein in the same dye lot…not that I’ve ever had to do this…noooooo…

In Praise of the Lowly Garter Stitch!

I found myself today at the doctor's office. We won't dwell on the utter pain in the nether regions it is to drive down to Hartford, find a spot in the hospital ramp garage, and then sit around for ages, waiting for my doctor. He's an absolutely wonderful neurologist, but today he was running woefully behind schedule...

Anyway, I had brought (yet another) Special Olympics scarf to work on (thank heavens, as I definitely had the TIME). I decided to use up the last remaining yarn by doubling it and making my infamous "Scarf from He**" which can be found at:

http://wildknitter.blogspot.com/2011/04/scarf-from-he-finally-done-pattern.html

I have to say, it looks really nice in red and blue--I figure I'm going to trim it in the red.

ANYWAY, I was happily knitting away when a woman came into the doctor's office and remarked favorably on my scarf. Immediately, instead of simply thanking her, I had to launch into a lengthy dissertation to defend my choice of garter stitch. "Really," I declared, "I'm really capable of much more complicated work! I can cable and everything! I make socks, too! I'm just doing this because I knew it would be a quick knit..." I went on and on.

Afterwards, I had to stop and consider. WHY am I defending my great love of garter stitch??? I know it's the stitch of grade-school children, but it's also the basis for Sally Melville's The Knitting Experience Book 1: The Knit Stitch, Inspiration & Instruction. I think we can all agree that she turns out a mean pattern. I just love the soft, bouncy, squishiness of garter stitch. Blankets, scarves, and casual sweaters made from it are just so cozy. I love to make scarves where I stripe garter stitch vertically, which makes a nice effect. I'd love to try a log cabin afghan someday, as that's more garter stitching!

So, what is your favorite knitting stitch, and why?

P.S. I was mortified to find that if you Google "Scarf from he**" and "WildKnitter" my pattern comes right up...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Helpful Hint #20: Simple projects don’t necessarily require a pattern

I had a spiritual awakening the other day.

Once again, we have a coworker who is showing every sign of having a little bun in the oven. I’d love to knit her a baby blanket, but in keeping with my earlier post, I really want to make a very SIMPLE baby blanket this time around. I stumbled upon a blanket online that completely meets my needs–Stockinette Stitch with a Seed Stitch border. It looks like one can just either knit two worsted weight strands together or use a bulky yarn. It’s just PERFECT.

I remembered that I had this pattern in a booklet at home, but after scouring my entire book and pattern collection (this took a while); I came to the conclusion that I must have either tossed it out with the recycling or accidentally given it away with all my old knitting and crocheting magazines. I contemplating spending more $$$ to buy another one…but then I had my spiritual awakening. Wait for it…wait for it…

IT’S A RECTANGLE.

The way I figure it, I usually knit 2.75 per inch in Stockinette Stitch for worsted weight yarn, using Size 13 needles, and 2.75 x 30 = 82.5. Therefore, I’ll need to cast on 82 stitches for a baby blanket that’s 30 inches wide. Actually, to account for the differing Seed Stitch gauge, I will just cast on 8 less stitches (74), do 10 rows of Seed Stitch, and then add the 8 stitches evenly across the row when I get to the Stockinette section with 5 Seed Stitches on either side. I’ll keep going until I get to around 38–39 inches, then decrease 8 stitches evenly across the row before I do another 10 rows of Seed Stitch. DONE.

As far as colors go, I may go crazy and buy more yarn, or I may just take yarn I already have and mix and match for stripes.

There. I just saved myself money on a booklet that I’m probably going to find again someday when cleaning…

Helpful Hint #18: It's not a mystery novel...read the pattern through!

Stop me if you've read this before:

"k2,p2,k2tog..."

Then the next row:

"k2, p3, p2tog..."

THEN you read:

"At the SAME TIME" or "Concurrently"...

...and then you throw the pattern across the room and scream a bunch of bad words that would have gotten your mouth washed out with soap, once upon a time (some of us are older knitters than others).

We knitters and crocheters have all, at one time or another, been zapped by "simultaneous instructions." A very common place for this is in a pattern where you are making a sweater or a vest with a V-neck, where you are supposed to be decreasing for the set-in sleeve and for the neck at the same time.

This is why it is always best to read a pattern from beginning to end before you start. Some crafters are of the mindset that this will only overwhelm you and make you less apt to persevere. My feeling is that if you read ahead you can be alerted to:

a) Those pesky concurrent instructions.

b) Any stitch patterns you are unfamiliar with.

c) Where you are supposed to change yarns, if applicable. In other words, do you need to buy ALL the yarn at the beginning of the project, or is the pattern going to go on and on with the "MC" for 14 inches? This may necessitate multiple trips to the yarn store, but this is only to the good...

d) Any other odd instructions. Now is probably the time to know if you are going to need to felt the item (some of us would need further instruction on this).

Now, get reading!

Crochet Pattern for Special Olympics Scarf

At long last, I've finished my Special Olympics scarf! Keeping with the basic guidelines at the site http://www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org I decided to create my own pattern...


Crochet Pattern for the Special Olympics Scarf

Measurements: 6" wide x 60" long, excluding fringe.

Gauge: Each V group = 3/4", 13 rows = 4.5”
Row gauge is not critical, as the rows are repeated until almost 6” is reached.

Materials:
1 skein each
Red Heart Supersaver Blue (#0886) - A
Red Heart Supersaver Turqua (#0512) - B
Hook: K (6.50mm)

NOTE: The scarf is worked lengthwise.

Using A, ch 221

Row 1: sc into the 2nd chain from the hook, and then sc across until the end of the row. Fasten off, leaving a long tail, at least 8 inches long (these tails will be part of the fringe). 220 sts.

Row 2: Using B, fasten on and (sc,ch1,dc) in 1 st to form a V, (skip next 2 sts, sv - V stitch - in next st) across to last 3 sts, skip next 2 sts, hdc in last st. Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Should have 73 sv repeats, plus the 1 hdc at the end of the row.

Row 3: Using A, fasten on as a sc in the first stitch, then sv in each ch 1 space across, then hdc in the last stitch. Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

Repeat Row 3, alternating between colors A and B, each time fastening off to leave a tail. When the scarf measures almost 6" wide (ending with A), fasten off, leaving a long tail.

Last Row: Using B, fasten on as hdc, then * (sc,hdc) into the ch 1 space, hdc into next stitch (sc of the previous row, where there is a "dip" in the row). Continue from * until the end of the row. Hdc into the last stitch, and then fasten off, leaving a long tail.

The scarf should now be 6” wide and 60” long.

Fringe:
Cut 12” lengths of both colors of yarn – at least 9 strands of each A and B color.
Taking a strand of A and a strand of B for each fringe grouping, tie a fringe across the ends of the scarf. Incorporate the strands left from the fastening off of each row.

Trim all the ends to be a uniform length.

Pattern for Stealth Baby Square #1

For our SnB's Stealth Baby Blanket knitting project, here is the pattern I used for the first Baby Square:

Used: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn in Rose Mist (1/2 skein, approx. 72.5 yds)
#9 (5.25 mm) Needles
Gauge: 4 stitches per inch in Stockinette
Square should measure 10" square after completion


Cast on 44 stitches

Begin pattern:

Row 1: k
Row 2: k2, p4 -- repeat to last two stitches, then k2
Row 3: k
Row 4: k2, p4 -- repeat to last two stitches, then k2
Row 5: k2, C4F -- repeat to last two stitches, then k2
Row 6: k2, p4 -- repeat to last two stitches, then k2

Continue this pattern until the piece measures 10".

Bind off (sewn bindoff or bind off in pattern).

With the RS facing you, pick up and knit 38 stitches along the side of the square. Knit two more rows, then bind off.

Repeat for the other side of the square.

Weave in all ends.

The Idea...or, why I'm just not like other people...

I've decided I'm just not hardwired like other people...

In my daily existence, I'm surrounded by people whose idea of a good time is yelling their lungs out at a sporting event, (whether this be pro-ball or little league, and whether this be in person or on their own sofa with a bag of Doritos), going to some far-flung part of the globe, but somehow losing their luggage in Albuquerque, or drinking themselves into a stupor and dancing the night away. Okay, I do get the dancing...this is probably the only “active” activity I share with my fellow people...I adore dancing.

However, no one around me, except for the select few who know but tolerate my oddness, appreciates my excitement over completing the Saturday crossword without peeking at the answers on-line. They don't get enjoyment of an entire afternoon reading a Dan Brown book, and getting sucked into Robert Langdon’s crazy existence of conspiracy theories and Pagan symbolism, while sitting in a lawn chair outside, listening to the animal life in the backyard. Between the squirrels, the chipmunks, the myriad species of birds, the deer, the wild turkeys, and the occasional bear, we have more wildlife than Animal Planet.

Most importantly, no one quite gets the excitement of puzzling out a pattern...

I have an idea for a sweater pattern. I want to make a yoke sweater, but—speaking of Langdon—I want to put Pagan symbols all along the yoke of the sweater and around the sleeves. I have searched on-line, I have asked the 200 kajillion knitters on Ravelry, I have asked sentient, in-the-flesh human beings, and no one has any idea where I can find exactly what I’m looking for. I knew it was going to be a crap shoot to find an actual sweater pattern like this, but I figured I could at least find some motif patterns to incorporate into a basic yoke. No dice. Anything I’ve found so far is entirely too large. I want small, subtle shapes that will make a large, beautiful final design.

On my way to the hairdresser the other day, it hit me...I’m going to have to create the pattern myself!

As I drove along, I began puzzling out in my head how I would approach this—what symbols to use, how to arrange them, how large should they be, etc. Do I want to go with one row of each design, or do I want the rows that are varied? Do I want this to be multi-colored, or do I want to do just black and white? Do I want this to be just the yoke, or do I want to do something different with the collar? Do I...?

In this frame of mind I walked into the hair salon.

“So,” my hairdresser cheerfully asks, “What have you been doing with your summer?”

You know telling her that I was in the process of designing a Pagan sweater wasn’t going to be Answer #1...

“Not much...”