The Crazy Knitter

Knitting resources and patterns, personal projects and such. And maybe some crochet too! CURRENT PROJECTS Icelandic Lopapeysa | Quilt | Anita Sweaterdress

[isaknitting]

But Jo had her own eyes to take care of, and feeling that they could not be trusted, she prudently kept them on the little sock she was knitting, like a model maiden aunt.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

[isaknitting]

Meg sat upon her cushion, sewing daintily with her white hands, and looking as fresh and sweet as a rose in her pink dress among the green. Beth was sorting the cones that lay thick under the hemlock near by, for she made pretty things with them. Amy was sketching a group of ferns, and Jo was knitting as she read aloud.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

[isaknitting]

... [W]e will take this moment to give them a little sketch of the four sisters, who sat knitting away in the twilight, while the December snow fell quietly without, and the fire crackled cheerfully within.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

[isaknitting]

Season Greetings

pattern | cherry yarn | ruby yarn | some of the white yarn

It’s been a long time since I posted. Between university and a self-imposed limit on my usage of Tumblr (trying to avoid the trap of the infinite scroll), plus the fact that I keep starting knitting and crochet projects without finishing them, I haven’t found the time to post.

I’ve been thinking for a few years of making a “tacky” Christmas pullover because I base my whole winter style on having a multitude of sweaters, from the not-so-bad to the really-really-ugly-(but-also-kind-of-awesome). Such a sweater just seemed like an obvious addition. A little more than a month before the start of the Holidays, I was at Michael’s with my mother and my aunt and we discovered these packs of really inexpensive yarns. I found a red I liked and decided I would use it to make a Christmas sweater this year, a little project to help me get through what was promising to be an intense end of semester.

I came home that night and started searching for patterns. My criterium was to make a Christmas pullover that wouldn’t be ugly. Tacky, maybe, but not ugly. Which meant no giant Rudolph on the front, no integrated frills or pompoms. So I would basically make a Fair Isle sweater with reindeer (or moose) and/or trees, and Norwegian snowflakes. And I was prepared to go all out with the intricacies.

After about a month of knitting while taking breaks of studying, of procrastinating with TV shows, and of knitting in class, I ended up with a lovely red and white sweater with an elaborate pattern.

I was careful for once to really spend time to check my gauge, which gave me the appropriate size despite me knitting with yarn that definitely did not have the same size. That’s the problem with knitting with scraps and about three or four different brands, in spite of the identical weights. I knew I didn’t have the red, so I tried using a nice darker ruby. I had a good quantity of it leftover from a previous project, but I unfortunately ended up not having enough and having to buy more, which means I’m now left with even more residual yarn...

But the final product was a beautiful sweater that my whole family raved about (many having seen it while in progress) which I may even be using outside of the holiday period because I don’t give a shit and it’s really warm!

(My sister told me it was awesome that I had fleur-de-lys on my sweater, but it’s mostly happy coincidence).

[isaknitting]

Listening to the latest Dear Hank & John and realizing that I've never thought of knitting as a good post-apocalyptic skill But then thinking about myself in a post-apocalyptic scenario making a sweater... "What do you mean you need this sweater right now? The collar is too large so I have to shorten the shoulders. I have to undo a whole chunk of this!"

[isaknitting]

Knitted Quilt Duvet Cover

I’ve been posting about this project for a while now through the compilation of various squares and their patterns. It’s kind of astonishing to believe, but I am finally done!

The completed duvet is made from 120 unique squares, 60 on each side. Here’s an image of the second side (or a portion of it).

Everything is joined together except for one side, which has a row of buttons matching the colours of the squares. (The idea came from my grandmother, who figured it was the least annoying way of making sure i could separate it from the blanket inside to wash it).

This project has been ongoing for almost 10 years. Some of these squares date back nearly a decade. Many have stories attached to them. I have made some during my year in Germany. Others were made from yarn I bought the first time I went to Iceland, when we stumbled on a gorgeous yarn store that still haunts my dreams. I know the ones I did in class. I remember the ones I struggled with, and those that brought me to new techniques.

This project has brought me from a decent knitter to a damn good one, and has even taught me crochet. When I started this, I didn’t even know how to purl!

I’ve made mistakes as well, from recently forgetting a square in a classroom at the university to not planning the number of squares I was making (I have some leftovers and I’m not sure what to do with them right now...).

I never thought I’d see the end and yet here I am. I am so goddamn proud of this project, and it is probably the one that is dearest to me.

[isadelt]

I love yarn shopping!

[isaknitting]

Just but some yarn to finally finish my quilt. I'll take pictures soon to share.

[isadelt]

Favourite way to unwind

[isaknitting]

Top-Stitched Crocheted Coasters

Crochet | Small Project | Pattern

I’m subletting a friend’s apartment for about a year during her Erasmus and she and her boyfriend got a new table just before they left. The first thing I realized when I set it up was that my mugs were leaving rings on the table and they just had no coasters. So I decided to make some.

These are really simple and really cute, and I made them to match the rooms (the walls in the diningroom are blue, and those in the livingroom are red). It’s also a really good way of using various scraps.

[isaknitting]

Virus Shawl

Crochet | Small Project

I’m right in my midterms right now, but somehow I just had to take a few hours off to finish this crochet project. I’ve been working on it for months, mostly during quieter. off moments. I also had to take a break at one point because I ran out of yarn. But I’m finally done! And it’s so much bigger than I anticipated, but I love it!

I used, as reference, Bella Coco’s video. I’m a little obsessed with her channel, and I think that’s a big reason for me getting more into crochet lately. The yarn I used is Caron Cakes in Faerie Cake.

[isaknitting]

My cat just loves my crocheted pieces. She sits and lies on them, kneads them, and, most annoyingly, plays with and chews the yarn.

[isaknitting]

Ribbed Headband

I promised to post more then got sick and school started. Oops. Things got a little crazy.

I’ve been meaning to start running, but due to it being winter here, I needed something that would cover my ears while being able to wear my hair up. So I knitted a headband.

This headband uses some scraps and is a k2, p1 rib pattern all around. It’s quite sretchy so it’s a nice, snug fit (I restarted the cast off probably around 5 times to get it right).

Here’s the (very simple) pattern:

Cast on 72 stitches (or multiple of 3). Join in the round. *k2, p1 repeat from * until desired length. (This one measures 3,5 inches)

Let’s hope that I actually motivate myself enough to actually do this. If not, then I just have a new headband.

[isaknitting]

Christmas Tree 2016

Every year, we have a family project in which we make our own Christmas Tree out of one main material. This year, I was able to make it about yarn. We crocheted pouches (my own pattern), which we pinned onto stuffing (which looks conveniently like snow).

The star is basically two stars that I attached on four sides. (The link brings you to the video I used as reference, by Bella Coco, which is an amazing crorchet reference). It’s made from a shiny silver string-like material, which unfortunately doesn’t translate so well into photos.

[isaknitting]

PROJECT 2: QUILT

Collection of Squares #8

Retwisted Taffy | Ice Storm | Knit-Purl Block | Reversible Square-in-a-Square | Mock Rib | Square #1

Note about Mock Rib: You can always knit the second row instead of purling it. The odd rows will then be the wrong side rather than the right side.

And that’s all the squares. I will now be planning to put the quilt together, and I have a good idea of how I’ll do it. I’m excited!

[isaknitting]

PROJECT 2: QUILT

Collection of Squares #7

Knotted Lattice | Simulated Seed | Frosted Edge | Checkers | Tower of Song | Shaker Rib

Knitting patterns under the cut.

Edit: I think that last one is the Shaker Rib. Let me know if it’s not it.

SIMULATED SEED

Cast on a multiple of 2 stitches

Row 1: Knit Row 2: *k1, p1; repeat from * until end Row 3: *k1b, k1; repeat from * until end Row 4: *p1, k1; repeat from * until end Row 5: *k1, k1b; repeat from * until end

Repeat rows 2 to 5 until desired length.

Note: You may want to not start or end a row with a k1b, depending on the edge you want. I recommend either replacing any first or last k1b by a k1, or maybe doing a garter stitch border.

CHECKERS

Cast on multiple of 10 stitches plus 8 stitches

Row 1: k8, *p2, k8; repeat from * until end Row 2: p8, *k2, p8; repeat from * until end

Repeat rows 1 & 2 five more times, for a total of 12 rows

Row 13: Purl Row 14: Knit

Repeat rows until desired length. It is recommended to bind off after the 12th row.

A note about the patterns above: I think I made these up as an experimentation of the effects of certain techniques (and thus it took me a little while to figure out how I had actually made them). Should they actually be an existing pattern (I looked, but I couldn’t find one that worked), please let me know.

[isaknitting]

PROJECT 2: QUILT

Collection of Squares #6

Hunter’s Stitch | Seven Sisters | Square Lattice | Ring of Fire | Embossed Moss Stitch Ribbing | Horsehoe

The final few collections until I start planning out stitching them together

[isaknitting]

During that week also, Queenie’s darling elegant French nanny, her lady mother’s constant companion, in a fit of maternal compassion began to knit Queenie a pullover. Being limited in materials, due to shortages and rationing, she used a gorgeous sunset-colored wool that she had unraveled from a suit tailered for her by Ormaie’s most expensive modiste in 1912. I mention my sweater’s advent here because I think of it as part of the endgame–as though my poor loving nanny is a sort of Mme. Defarge, knitting my fate inexorably into the stitches of this nobly field-tested woolen garment. It doesn’t look much like military issue, but it has seen active service and has the bloodstains to prove it. Also it is warm and fashionable–at least, the memory of fashion clings to it. It is still warm.

Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity