Evelyne....again

One of the first designs I came up with (if you can call it a design), was a simple lace scarf for my MIL. At that time I hadn't yet discovered bulky and superbulky yarn, so I swooned at the thought of all things lace! I still love lace, but the "bulkies" give me such awesome instant gratification that I keep forgetting my first love. Anyway, I just wanted to share a few pictures of this sample of my Evelyne scarf, handknit by my friend Sara (a friend I made in college in 2001!).

   

As always, I'm so grateful for my partnership with my fellow small business owner and photographer extraordinaire, Kwaku of Nkadu Photography, and my ready-for-whatever go-getter model Lilia!

I hope you enjoyed the photos, and see you next week!

Throwback Thursday - Colliding Stars Scarf pattern

A year or two ago, my friend Melissa of Colliding Stars (who just got two adorable baby hats that I wrote about here), asked me to knit a lacy scarf for her. At the time, I had just lucked into a huge stash of Classic Elite Waterlily yarn, and quickly whipped up this lacy scarf for her using a diagonal lace stitch I had fallen in love with recently.    

Now that the temperatures are heating up and we are very clearly heading into summer, I thought I’d pull it out so you could also whip up your own Colliding Stars scarf.

   

I'm thinking this pattern would look great in cotton yarn (I have some Classic Elite Sprout yarn that would work perfectly for this! ).

With this scarf, you can stay cool when out in the sun, and wrap up all comfy-cosy when indoors in air-conditioning. Check out the pattern instructions below, or easily download the pattern PDF from Ravely here: Colliding Stars Scarf.

See you next week!

Colliding Stars Scarf

Finished Dimensions

8in x 80in

Yarn

Classic Elite Yarns Waterlily (100% extra fine merino; 100 yd [91m] /50g): #1919 Petunia, 2 skeins

Needles US #13 (9mm) straight needles

Notions Crochet Hook E/4 3.50mm Tapestry Needle for weaving in ends

Gauge Not important

Notions 2 stitch markers

Abbreviations k2tog - knit 2 stitches together wyif - with yarn in front yo - yarn over

Pattern Instructions Cast on 21 stitches (or a multiple of 5+2 stitches, and 4 edge stitches)

Setup

Knit 2 rows, keeping 2 edge stitches on each side separated by the stitch markers. Knit the first stitch on each row and the slip the last stitch purlwise on every row to create a selvedge.

Diagonal Ridges Pattern (Edge stitches not shown)

Row 1: K2tog, yo, *k3, k2tog, yo; rep from * to last 5 sts, k5. Row 2: P2, *K3, p2; rep from * to end. Row 3: K4, k2tog, yo, *k3, k2tog, yo; rep from * to last st, k1. Row 4: K1, *p2, k3; rep from * to last st, p1. Row 5: *K3, k2tog, yo; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2. Row 6: K2, *p2, k3; rep from * to end. Row 7: K2, *k2tog, yo, k3; rep from * to end. Row 8: *K3, p2; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2. Row 9: K1, k2tog, yo, *k3, k2tog, yo; rep from * to last 4 sts, k4. Row 10: P1, *k3, p2; rep from * to last st, k1.

Repeat pattern until scarf is as long as you would like. Knit 2 more rows and bind off all stitches (or until there’s one stitch left on needle if you want to work the optional crochet edging).

Optional Crochet edging 1. Switch to crochet hook, chain 4 stitches, and sc to first selvedge stitch on the side. 2. Sc into next stitch, chain 3, and sc into same stitch. Repeat row 2 all along one side of scarf and cast off.

Finishing Instructions Weave in all ends. Soak/wet scarf and block to desired dimensions, making sure to open up eyelets so the scarf is light and airy.

Gifts Ahoy!

I love gift knitting more than I like knitting for myself. This past holiday season, in the midst of all the crazy hours I pulled to fulfill some of my knitting orders, I was able to squeeze in some gifts for my son's teachers at his former school. They were a great bunch, and the care and love they showed my little poopoola left a lasting impression on me. I wanted each scarf to be a different design for each teacher (since they work in the same school). Armed with my all-time favorite superbulky yarn, Loops & Threads Cozy Wool, I set out to craft individual gifts for these rockstar teachers. Let's take a look.

I knit this first one using the Mid-December Easy Knit Infinity Scarf pattern from A Crafty House in a rich, Forest Green color.

I went with my trusty Procragratification Infinity Scarf pattern in Sapphire Blue for the second scarf (you guys aren't tired of seeing it yet, are you? :P )

For the third scarf, I went with a recently discovered pattern that I've fallen in love with - the Columbia Cowl by Cirilia Rose.

I chose the simple but always stunning Drop Stitch Cowl by Abi Gregorio for the fourth scarf, knit in an alluring Velvet Purple colorway.

And last but not least, the scarf that I knit last, late at night, and which I call the ToNoRi LaNiLaMi...for...Totally Not Original Late Night Night Last Minute scarf. Teeheehee. I originally started out knitting the original cowl version as outlined in the Katy Cowl pattern, but changed my mind halfway through and added buttonholes and large, coconut shell buttons. I fell in love with the finished product, knit in the breathtaking Thunder colorway, and wanted to write up the pattern and share it with other knitters. Then I discovered that I would be reinventing the wheel if I did so, because there's already a gorgeous version of it written up - The Woodland Cowl by Kalurah. I guess great minds think alike? :P I still love the pattern though, and might end up making a few more of them.

So, what do you think? I loved knitting each one of these scarves, and from the reaction of the recipients, I think they liked them too! Which scarf is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below.

Have a lovely week!

Updated Berry Lacey pattern

I thought I'd pop in quickly and share some fun news. I updated my Berry Lacey pattern, complete with new pictures and two versions of the scarf, so you can quickly knit one if you'd like. It's a very quick knit and the results are extremely gratifying. All the samples were knit in Malabrigo Silky Merino, but the scarf can be knit in almost any yarn you like. It looks pretty great in chunky weight yarn too.

You can size it up or down, make is a scarf, or expand it to a shawl. Either way, you'll love Berry Lacey. If you aren't a knitter, email me at niseyknits@gmail.com and I'll be glad to knit a custom one for you.

You can download the pattern here: Berry Lacey 2013 or visit my Ravelry pattern page for the Berry Lacey pattern.

Have a great week everyone!

Evelyne Revisited

It's a new month, and time for some new things! Or in this case, some new old things. Evelyne was one of the first patterns I designed, and is named after my MIL. I hadn't yet planned to be a knitwear designer, and thought any photo is better than no photo. So I listed the pattern on Ravelry with this photo:

I took this photo indoors....and at night. Tsk tsk tsk. Now I know better, and I was able to get a professional to take some better photos of the shawl for me. Thanks to my friend Sarah for knitting the new sample for me. As always, I'm thankful to Lilia for being such a professional model, and to my friend Nana Kwaku (who I've been bugging to take photos for me for years!) for going above and beyond what I even imagined. Check out some of the new photos of the Evelyne shawl. It's free! I never offered a PDF copy of the  pattern because I didn't have pretty photos, but that is going to change shortly.  I'm so excited!

This new sample was knit in KnitPicks Aloft Sky colorway. It's so soft and light that the stole looks ethereal! I just love how it turned out, and now I want to knit Evelyne in as many Aloft colorways as I can. I never learn do I?

Be on the lookout for a PDF of the Evelyne pattern, for those who would like a copy for your records. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

The Fisherman's Rib (knit 1 below stitch) - A video tutorial

It's really cold here in the Bay Area (and looks like it will be still chilly for the rest of the week). The Procragratification Scarf is a fast, easy infinity scarf pattern that will definitely keep you warm during this cold spell.

This pattern uses the fisherman's rib stitch pattern, which requires you to knit and/or purl into the stitch below. I was asked a few weeks ago about how to knit this particular stitch. I thought I'd post this video tutorial that I found on YouTube which does a great job of showing how to work this stitch pattern.

How to Knit the Knit One Below Stitch (K1B) by newstitchaday

http://youtu.be/_g_E31DnTUg

The Purl Bee, one of my favorite knitting websites, also has a photo tutorial of how to work this particular stitch, with two accompanying patterns for a scarf and cowl here. Enjoy and stay warm!!

PS:If you aren't a knitter, I have these chunky, ultra-warm infinity scarves for sale in my Etsy shop!

Melody's Stole Knit-a-long: Recap

I'm feeling quite under the weather today so this blog post will be hopefully short and sweet. Remember the Melody's Stole Knit-a-long that I was holding with Sandra Singh on her Ravelry group? Well, I promised to keep you updated on my progress with the stole. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the stole in time for the deadline. However, two people finished the stole (one even made TWO of them), and have graciously given me permission to share photos of their finished Melody. Here we go. One of the participants, Laurel, made 2 stoles. The first one was in KnitPicks Aloft, in the Tranquil colorway.

For her second one, she used Saffron Dyeworks Odara: Silk/Merino in Parrot Blue. I love that you can see the zigzag nature of the pattern very well in this second stole.

Gini H. who also took part in the knitalong knit her stole in Sandrasingh.com Lace, the yarn that I designed the pattern for. She used the Cinnamon Girl colorway and it come out looking quite delicious. :)

Finally, here are photos from my friend Catrin (whom I've never met, but she's awesome, and we've had numerous chats online about knitting and other stuff), who test knitted the pattern for me and also knit 2 of the stoles for herself.

The pattern is really easy to knit, and you can even go up to a fingering, dk or sportweight yarn if lace isn't your thing. You can even double up the lace yarn to make your own version! Make your own Melody's Stole (pattern is free and can be downloaded via that link) and support Sandrasingh.com by using her Sandrasingh.com Yarn-Lace. You get 950yds of gorgeous lace-weight yarn in one skein, so you can make TWO Melody stoles if you so wanted.

Thank you so much for visiting today, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

And the winner is...

This is sooo hard because....well...I only had 3 people comment on last week's giveaway post, and one of the commenters wasn't entering the competition. I can't pick, I can't. Soooooooo...both Pious and Nik are going to get copies of the book! Yay!! Please email niseyknits@gmail.com with your mailing addresses so I can get the books to you, Pious and Nik. In other news, I'm running a week-long 25% off sale on a few items in my Etsy shop right now. Take a look at the items and snag something warm and cosy for yourself or a loved one.  Visit the sale section in my Etsy shop here.

And finally, I'm going to slow things down a bit here on my blog for the next couple of weeks - a month. I'm taking a bit of a vacation, meaning that my blog posts for the next few weeks is going to be full of pictures, with no real theme. I need a bit of a breather, but I also don't want to lose touch with you all. So, if you see mostly pictures in my blog posts, please do not fret. I hope you'll like the pretty pics all the same.

To end, here's a quick roundup of items I've worked on recently.

Some Procragratification Scarves...

And a few Scrunchable Scarves...

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone! :)

Melody's Stole: A new free pattern

Earlier this year, I was contacted by Sandra of www.sandrasingh.com about designing a shawl using her newly launched lace yarn line, Sandrasingh.com Lace. I have to tell you that this yarn is one of the softest I've worked with. I really wanted to do justice to this yarn with my design. My initial plan was to redo my Evelyne pattern for her, but the more I looked at and played with the yarn, the more I wanted to do something different. I wanted a zigzag design to the shawl, but not one with sharp turns. I wanted it to be super lacy like Evelyne, and I knew that I wanted some garter bands separating the lace sections. I also wanted a zigzag border to match the zigzagging of the stole's body. After a few swatches, I finalized the pattern and got to work on this stole in May. It took a little bit of time as I was working on this design and a few other secret projects. I finished in June and sent it over to Sandra, who loved it (Thank God!). Here it is, Melody's Stole.

I'm so glad the pattern is out now. I hope you love it as much as I do. Did I mention that it's free? Visit this link to download it from Sandrasingh.com. Here's what you'll need to make your own Melody's Stole.

Size 21in x 61 in

Yarn Sandrasingh.com Lace (100% merino; 950 yd [869 m]/100 g [3.53 oz]): Electric Blue, 0.5 skeins

Gauge 14 sts and 16 rows = 4" in Right or Left Diagonal Openwork Pattern 32 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch.

Tools US #8 (5 mm): 32" circular (cir) needle or straight needles 2 Markers (m) Yarn needle

We are planning a KAL (Knit-A-Long) for this shawl, just in time for Christmas gifts. Please leave a comment below and let me know if you would be interested in participating in this fun activity.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

PS: Please share with your friends and family who might also be interested. KALs are more fun with more people, don't you think?