Thick & Thin

Juxtoposition of different textures and materials has always fascinated me. I always wondered if there was maybe a way to knit something using two seamlessly joined thicknesses of yarn.

This new pattern set explores the possibilities of using two very different gauges to make one piece.

The effect is subtle, but visible enough to be interesting.

 

The pattern includes a scarf and a hat

The hat is sized for a teen-adult (18-20") or an adult large (21-23").

The scarf is nice, it is 50" long and uses a full skein of lanaloft worsted and a half skein of lamb's pride burly spun.

If you like the pattern you can buy it via ravelry.

YUMMY COLOR FREEKY (STEEKY) SWEATER

I was making a cowl out of this Lanaloft yarn, and it was just begging to be a sweater.I went and got some contrasting colors of yarn for the sleeves, and started knitting.

6 skeins later, there was a tube with appropriately placed steeks.  Steeks were new to me, but I followed Eunny Jang's comprehensive writings and tutorials. If you know a bit about drop sleeve patterns, you should have no trouble making your own simple sweater. 

Below is a chart of my stitch pattern.

I used the crocheted steek technique.

                                         

Cutting a sweater is not as scary as it sounds.

The sleeves are a semi set in shape, meaning that I put a set in sleeve into a drop sleeve hole. This requires a bit more math. 

Here are some more strange pictures:

Testing Now: Midnight Blazer

 Midnight Blazer: Super quick cold weather knit with accented shoulders and a fitted silhouette. Like it?

 If you do, Sign up to test this new holiday pattern on Ravelry

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST

I've noticed recently a spike in traffic on the Tie Dye Tights Tutorial Page because of the upcoming Halloween holiday.

If you do plan on making some tights for your or your child's costume, you have a chance to win something.

I will be giving away a set of 4 felt fortune cookie ornaments to the person who has the most creative use of the tie dye tutorial. These ornaments are not available in my Etsy store and are specially made for this contest. Here is what you need to do to do to get the cookies:

1. Follow this blog if you aren't already.
2. Take a picture of your costume which uses the tutorial.
3. Email your picture to saxarocks(at)gmail(dot)com. Please identify your google account name in the email - you know, the one that is shown when you comment on a post. By emailing your picture, you are also agreeing to let me post it publicly on this website.

The deadline for entries is 11:00 est. Sunday, November 4th, just in case you don't wear your costume until the weekend. All qualified entries will be published online on this blog on November 6th, the winner will be announced on November 7th and will be notified by email. I'll ask for an address to ship to via email as well.

This contest is only open to residents of the US and Canada. If you aren't into "holiday" ornaments, I am willing to convert these into nondenominational key chains.

Oh, and I really don't want to see pictures of unwilling participants such as crying children.

graffitti yarn

It must be true about the hip-hop culture seeping deeper into the mainstream consciousness, or maybe just deeper into my yarn stash. This is a swatch of the "hand painted" result.

Yes, I hip-hop-ified my stash.

This is what you need to do yours:
Mercerized cotton yarn
Montana gold/black (krylon if you are old skool, spray paint in simple terms)
Some cardboard

Wrap your yarn around the cardboard, you can see that mine overlaps quite a bit, but, as long as the wraps aren't too condensed, the painting will be OK.

Note the box with my 12 favorite Montana colors, it is always good to keep them around for projects like this.

So shake the can and trow yo' piece up (Mix your paint as instructed on the can of your given brand. Spray with a quick, close burst. You should have a dot of color).

Continue to use this technique with as many colors as you want. I used 5. Note how close the can is to the cardboard.

I used vertical lines of color to ensure that the colors that I wanted to show more were actually hitting more wraps.

You can keep your colors dense like mine, or really spread things out and keep things monochrome.The amount of craziness infused into your yarn is really up to you.

Below is my swatch before washing:

 

And after.

The color and texture will soften and even out, and surprisingly the paint is safe in the machine. The marled, variegated color character is hard to find in a store, yet it is becoming a big commercial trend.

You will really have to try this technique yourself to see how it works. It is deceptively easy for something with such a finished, coherent look. I would recommend starting with Patons Grace cotton yarn ($5) from a craft store rather than an expensive cone of french cotton, but you can go with just about anything in your stash. Fuzzy fibers like wool, acrylic, or even an un-mercerized cotton will not paint as neatly, so always test with a swatch first.

Have fun!!