Some Sheila love

The past few months have been rather hectic around here, so I haven't had the opportunity to knit as much as I would like. It's also summertime, so it's a little difficult staying indoors playing with wool when it's so bright and beautiful outside. What I have been doing though, is playing around with knitting different versions of one of my simplest patterns, the Red Sheila scarf. What do you think of them?

The scarves will be listed in the NiseyKnits Etsy Shop shortly.

Which of these scarves is your favorite? Let me know in the comments section below. Enjoy the rest of your week!!

An unexpected gift

I'm so blown away by what this knitter did that I just had to share! A few weeks ago, a knitter on Ravelry called Selbyin sent me a message asking for help with her Moody Kerchief (pattern by Kirsten Kapur) project. I don't know if you remember, but I knit 4 moody shawls because I just love the pattern so. I made a Twig & Peacock Moody, a Tan Moody, an All-black Moody, and a Sunset Moody(the one that started it all). Selbyin wanted help mixing her colors for her Kerchief, and thankfully I was able to offer some suggestions.

She finished the shawl sometime back, and I only recently went to check on her project. It's stunning!! And she used my favorite color (green, in case y'all hadn't figured that out by now). It was a green and blue combo, and I love, love, LOVE it!! Check it out!

I suggested using alternating stripes as a way to transition between the colors, so she wouldn't have to double up her yarn and end up with a heavy shawl. Turned out pretty cool, right?

So this morning, I'm getting ready for the day and checking my inbox when I received a notification that Selbyin had sent me a gift pattern! WHAAAAAAAAAAT!!! I quickly logged into my Ravelry account, to discover that she had gifted me this beauty: Weathervane hat pattern by Sara Gresbach!

I had been eyeing this pattern for a while now, because I wanted to make one for my son and his friends so they would have matching hats (matching in style, but in different colors). I now have the pattern! Woohoo!!

The original design was knit in Malabrigo Worsted, and I just happen to have a few skeins of Mal Worsted hanging around (ok, a lot of skeins, because that stuff is addictive!). I think you KNOW what I'm going to be knitting this weekend! Can you imagine how ecstatic I am right now?

Thank you so much Selbyin! Your work is beautiful, and I'm glad I was able to help you with it.

Enjoy the rest of the week, and thank you all for reading my super-excited expression of thanks. :)

It's been a long time...and some WIPs

I've missed my blog, and you my lovely friends! How is everyone doing? I hope it's warming up wherever you are, and you can see a glimpse of summer. Woohoo! My family traveled for the whole month of May, and I had intermittent access to the internet, which is why you haven't seen much of me. As I mentioned in my last post, I hope to make it up to you soon. Now that the weather is warmer, I'm sure you are wondering how knits can still be relevant. I used to think that way, until I realized that it's a good time to knit lacy items (like some of the works in progress I'm going to show you). It's also a wonderful time to plan for the second half of the year.  The Christmas holiday season is my busiest time, as people are looking for gifts for their loved ones. Plus, it's getting cold!! Brrr!!!

Anyway, during our travels I didn't get to knit as much as I thought, but I still got a few items finished. I worked on a few Berry Lacey scarves, finished a wrap using a modification of Christine Vogel's Drop Stitch Scarf pattern, and also finished two of the buttoned infinity scarves. Here they are.

I would love to hear what  you think of these scarves. What other colors would you like to see them in? Please leave a comment below and let's have a chat. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Cuviatrix (a cutie in an Aviatrix)

This week I finally put the finishing touches on another Aviatrix hat (by Justine Turner) that my friend Gina ordered for her daughter. I crocheted two flowers using this Crochet Flowers pattern from Mollie Makes (such pretty flowers, right?). I just love this hat pattern! And Gina's daughter looks so cute in the hat doesn't she?

Enjoy the rest of the week, and have a lovely weekend!

PS: I would love to make you your own Aviatrix hat if you ever need/want one for the little cuties in your life. Just send me an email (niseyknits@gmail.com) with the age of the child, and the color/colors you want for the hat.

A pretty little scarf for spring

Spring seems to be popping up in numerous places, (although some places are still dealing with snow). Look chic this spring with this delightful little scarf that will brighten up any outfit. One end of the scarf is inserted into the other so the scarf stays put around your neck. Pretty and functional is how this scarf rolls!

This pretty little scarf is going for $27 in my Etsy shop, and is available in different colors. Let me know what color you are hankering for, and I would be glad to whip one scarf up for you! Go on and enjoy the weather wherever you are. Have a great rest of the week, and savor the weekend!

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!

Happy Birthday my little poopoola!

Today is my son's birthday! I can't believe it's been a few years already. This boy is now talking, singing, dancing and sharing his opinions, likes and dislikes, and even throwing tantrums for good measure! Now I've not knitted many things for him (poor boy!), but what I have knitted for him are hats. I think most of the hats I've knit belong to him. The first hat was the Simple Baby Hat by Alison Williams. I worked a 2x2 rib for the brim, but as you can see, that hat was too big for him. I hadn't yet understood what gauge was for, and didn't even think to check for it. Anyway, I thought he would grow into it so I made him wear it anyway. :P

For his second hat, I chose the Presto! Preemie Hat by Katherine Vaughan because it looked fun and quick. I had also gotten some mystery funky blue yarn from my manager Anna at FVPF (now Futures without Violence), so I whipped this hat up quickly for him. It was pretty tight on him. I still hadn't learned my lesson about gauge. :P

But, you know how quickly little kids grow. Since the Funky Andy hat was small to begin with, he outgrew it pretty quickly and I needed a new hat for him. I turned to the Aviatrix baby hat by Justine Turner. This has got to be one of my favorite hat patterns. It is simple, intuitive, and the finished product is just stunning. For this hat, I actually paid attention to gauge and it fit him much better compared to the other ones.

He wore the Aviatrix hat until he was almost 2 years old, and that got too small for him. It was winter time so I thought he needed a thicker hat. I cast on for the Chunky Dean Street Hat by Nina Machlin Dayton. I forgot all the gauge issues I had had with the first two hats and cast on for this one without checking gauge. Big mistake! Huge! As in, the hat was huge enough to fit my head. LOL! It was still cute, and he got a lot of attention whenever he wore it. Sadly, this hat is almost at the end of it's life too. I have to find a new hat pattern to knit for this fast-growing boy.

I've learnt one thing from all my no-gauge-taking hat-knitting travails - when it comes to knitting in the round, I'm such a loose knitter that I need to go two needles smaller than the recommended size on the pattern. That seems to work well for me. Hopefully I'll have another hat finished for this little one. He told me that he wants a purple and yellow hat. Maybe I'll try the Turn-A-Square hat by Jared Flood?

Or maybe it's time for me to try out a fair isle or intarsia pattern? There are so many to choose from though! The Sheep & Wool hat by Emily Spence is pretty tempting...

as is the Cheesehead hat by Julia Mueller.

Or should I go to a different way and try the Howlcat by Alex Tinsley? It can be a hat or a cowl!

Aaaarghhh!! So many choices, so little time.  Happy Birthday my little love. May you grow up to become a man of integrity with a kind and generous heart. I love you!

Another baby blanket - The Moderne Baby Blanket

The hair stylist I visit saw the baby blanket I knit for my son and wanted one to give to her friend who just had a baby. She chose the colors herself and asked me to knit it in the Moderne Baby Blanket pattern (by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne). She bought some Vanna's Choice and Lion Brand Pound of Love yarns for me to make the blanket with.

After knitting the various sections, I worked a single crochet edging around the blanket to finish it. I think it came out pretty well. What do you think?

Yay!! A finished project!

This month has been a little slow for me in terms of actually having some finished projects to show you all. What with the frequent bouts of sickness we've had, and getting my store ready for the Val's Day flash sale, I haven't been able to finish a lot of items. In fact, right now I'm working hard on completing some custom orders so I can get to work on my spring line and plan ahead for fall/winter. It also means I haven't had time to come up with any new designs. :( Anyway, I finally got the chance to block a pink version of my Sunehri Shawl (knit in Malabrigo Merino Worsted). I finished knitting this shawl way back in November, and I had hoped to have it ready for the December Bazaar Bizarre Fair. However that didn't happen, and I only got to block it last week. Here it is now, in all it's pink glory. Let me just say that I'm not usually a fan of pink, but I could get down with this shade of pink, for sure!

I am glad I finally got this blocked and photographed. Maybe I'll even be able to get a photoshoot with an actual model wearing the shawl? That would be fantastic. This shawl is now listed in my Etsy shop here if you would like to take it home with you. :)

Stitches West update

Oh, and I was only able to make it to Stitches West on one of the days (Friday). I met up with my friend Katharine for lunch and then went to the market to browse. I noted down a few booths I wanted to visit on Sunday, but then life happened and I wasn't able to make it. Boohoohoo! I spied some delicious-looking yarn at Becoming Art and Sweet Fiber Yarns. I think I might have to order a few skeins for my next shawl designs.

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!