Yarn + Make = Love
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Standard Gauge Flat Bed and Ribber
T5 on both dials
Main bed and ribber racked so needles align in pitch
2 strands worked together of JaggerSpun Maine Line 2/20 – wool yarn
Knit stitch gauge – 4×4” = 32 st x 40 rows
Chest circumference dimensions: S(M, L) = 39” (42”, 46”)
Continue reading “Machine Knit Pattern for Yamasaki Sweater”
Last year I was on an architecture tour of the Wayne State University campus in Detroit, MI. Part of the tour focused on the buildings that were designed by Minoru Yamasaki. He designed four buildings for the campus between 1957 and 1964. My previous experience with Yamasaki’s work was from my college days at College for Creative Studies in Detroit where I received a BFA focusing in crafts. The building that the crafts department resided in was designed by Yamasaki around the same time frame of the Wayne State buildings. The four years that I had spent learning and growing in his building had already given me an emotional connection to his work.
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After graduating from art school in Detroit, I went to work in the automotive design industry. Although my job led me to work with global design teams and on major projects, I still felt like something was missing. I wanted (and often needed) to create with my hands and not just work on the computer. I felt like I needed to make what I wanted to make. I always wanted to have the designs be what I wanted, in the colors and materials I wanted and not be limited to what a corporate environment limits the choices to. With a family and limited space at the time, I started crocheting. Crochet hooks and yarns can be inexpensive to purchase when on a budget, and they can easily store in a small space. My great-grandmother had taught me when I was around 7 years old, and I remembered some of the basics but luckily there was the internet to teach me more how to chain stitch and single crochet a big square. As I learned more and more with crochet I found magic in the process of taking a ball of yarn and making a fully constructed garment out of it.
As time went on, and many hours on Ravelry, I began looking at knitting. The weight of the fabric and the versatility of the stitches intrigued me. In the beginning, my left hand was just not used to having such an active role in the process. As we managed to get space and a little more income, I found myself with a knitting machine from Ebay. I could now make the knitted items I dreamed about, but had struggled knitting by hand. Also, the mechanical and repetitive process of using the machine becomes meditative at night after a long day of work. And, I am able to make knit items that I adore in a matter of hours instead of months!
Over the past year I have attempted to knit again. I have learned that the continental style of knitting has helped me the most since it most resembles crochet, and my left hand is starting to become a little more educated in doing something other than holding the fabric. I am now on a streak of hand knitting socks. They take me forever, but I am on my second sock of my second pair. I have found that at home I work on either crochet, machine knitting, or spinning and then while traveling I work on the socks. They are portable and quickly show progress, which is necessary for me after being a crocheter and machine knitter where you can get through the item much faster. On vacations I am also trying to buy yarn to make into socks. The ones I have completed and working on I have mostly worked on during family trips, and I think of those great family times while I am working on them and now wearing the first pair. It actually now has become almost a hunt to find a yarn store while we are traveling to some of our off the beaten places.
Fiber arts have now become more than just a personal creative outlet. They have become a way for me to meditate and mentally process the stresses of the day. They have become memory holders of our trips and special time with the family. I am also now able to see in our daughters’ eyes how they look at crafts and appreciate the process and can find joy in making gifts, decorations, and just making something and enjoying the time being together. There are many beautiful things that would be missed out if any of it was in my life.
Last month I posted the Easy Skinny Ladder Scarf, and here is a modified version blinged up as a bracelet. It is a great item for a gift, or as something special for yourself. I used Bernat’s “Satin” yarn (find it here), but any yarn can work. I was looking for a smoother yarn with shine to make the bracelet look more refined. Different weights of yarn can also be used to get a thinner or wider bracelet. Just adjust the hook size and beading numbers accordingly. Another great thing about this pattern is that with everyone’s wrist being a bit different, just like everyone’s gauge, this pattern doesn’t have a set gauge. Work with your own yarn preference and gauge to make the length work for you.
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Continue reading “Pattern for Crochet Blinged Beaded Bracelet”
Get the printable PDF version of the pattern (without ads) HERE
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1 hank of Splash of Color hand dyed yarn – Woodland Camo – 100% Superwash Merino wool yarn worsted – 4 ply – link to her Etsy shop here
Gauge – 1×1 ribbing – 4×4″ = 28 stitches and 32 rows
Sizes – Baby (Toddler, Child)
Earlier this year, the family and I went to the Ann Arbor Fiber Expo. We came across this local yarn dyer called Splash of Color, and my eye was caught by this yarn that had camo colors with fluorescent orange speckles in it. The sample she had swatched of it I really liked. The camo wasn’t overwhelming it, it didn’t look like mud, and the orange had just enough pop to brighten it up. When the girls saw it they loved it so we bought 2 hanks to make two hats.
Get the printable PDF version of the pattern (without ads) HERE
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Buttercream Thick & Thin – Dahlia color – 2 skeins (find it here)
12″ high and 40″ Dia at bottom.
Hook size N
Continue reading “Crochet Pattern for Cotton Candy Popcorn Cowl”
Recently I have started spinning my own yarn from wool, and of course it looks like beginner yarn. After plying I found that some areas are thick and chunky, while others were thinner than a DK weight yarn. I thought crochet would be a great way to highlight the weight differences and make the item really textural. So, I asked myself what I would like out of wool would be chunky and thick.” A cowl! After living in Michigan for nearly 20 years (originally from Texas) I have finally come to realize that no matter how warm your coat is, if your feet and head/neck are cold it means you are cold. So, a thick and chunky cowl made out of wool would be a great item to have for this winter.