Lace and Cable Mitts

Just put up a new pdf knitting pattern on Etsy and Ravelry. A beautiful pair of lace and cable armwarmers. 

They're  a gorgeous pair of mitts in a lace and cable pattern, with fisherman's rib on the palm. These are very cosy, knitted in a supersoft cashmere blend yarn. Having said that, any aran/worsted weight yarn would do - substitute your favourite! They would make an ideal gift, or a special treat for yourself. 

Design uses 'fake cable' techniques, i.e. left twists and right twists. They are both much easier tp knitthan using a cable needle and practically indistinguishable. It also uses lace stitches k2tog, ssk and yo. Full instructions are included in pdf.  This pattern would be suitable for any knitter from an adventurous beginner upwards!

Handspun Yarn on Etsy

So, my thesis is finished now and I have a few months to relax before starting a PGDE course. So obviously the natural course of action is to spend those months playing with fibre. I've been handspinning with a drop spindle for a wee while now, but for my thesis-finishing present to myself I bought an Ashford Joy spinning wheel. I love it. I am glued to it. How I managed without a wheel for so long is beyond my comprehension.

To cut a long story short, I am going to start selling some handspun yarn in my etsy shop (at least those skeins I can bear to part with). First up is a beautiful fluffy white cloud of a skein of Falkland yarn. It's pretty similar to merino, and I'm leaving it undyed so you can dye it the way you like (or leave it plain and simple). As you can perhaps see from the pictures, it's a wee bit thick and thin, a little fluffy and somewhere between worsted and chunky weight. Delicious. 

Also, to sweeten the deal, I'm going to give you guys a 10% discount on everything in the shop this week, just enter the code MMMHANDSPUN at the checkout. 

Twisted Reversible Hat

Knitted this one up for my mum's birthday. It's a less girly version of my Pirouette Hat in that it has one too few stitches in the round, which makes the pattern spiral as you work it up. The pattern itself is incredibly simple, until you get to the decreases, you're just working knit 2 purl 2. The fact that the number of stitches in a round isn't divisible by 4 means you don't get 2x2 rib, but a lovely spiral pattern. It's reversible too, in fact, I reckon the wrong side is the nicer of the two. This yarn is really gorgeous too, the soy fibre gives it a lovely sheen and I love the gradual colour changes. Hope you enjoy the pattern!

Yarn : Rowan Tapestry, one ball (=120m)


Needles : Four 4mm/US 6 dpns

Gauge:  22 stitches =4'' with 4mm/US6 needles in stocking stitch.

Size: To fit an average 22'' head.

 

Notation: 

k = knit

p = purl

ssk = slip two stitches knitwise, then knit the together with the left-hand needle

CO = cast on

Directions

Spiral Pattern

Just keep working *k2p2* !! The number of stitches in a row isn't divisible by four, so you won't end every row with "p2", but just keep going and you'll get the lovely textured spiral pattern shown. If you have any questions about this please either leave a comment below or email me at d.j.winn "at" hotmail "dot" co "dot" uk. 

 CO 87 stitches. Work in k2 p1 rib for 1 1/2 inches (or around 10 rows). Now work spiral pattern until your hat measures around 7 1/2 inches, ending with a row that ends "k2 p2". Now work decreases as follows:

After knitting a row that ends "k2 p2":

Row 1: *ssk p2 k2 p2* to last 7 stitches, ssk p2 k2 p1.

Row 2: *k2 p2 k2 p1* to last 6 stitches, k2 p2 k2.

Row 3: *ssk k1 p2 k2* to last 6 stitches, ssk k1 p2 k1.

Row 4:  k3 *p2 k4* to last  2 stitches, p2.

Row 5: *ssk k2 p2* to last 5 stitches, ssk k2 p1.

Row 6: *k1 p1 k2 p1* to last 4 stitches, k1 p1 k2.

Row 7: *ssk p1 k2* to last 4 stitches, ssk p1 k1.

Row 8:  k1 *p2 k2* to last 2 stitches, p2.

Row 9: *ssk p2* to last 3 stitches, ssk p1.

Row 10:  *k2 p1* to last 2 stitches, k2.

Row 11: *ssk k1* to last 2 stitches, ssk.

Row 12:  *ssk* to last stitch, k1.

Cut the yarn leaving a 10'' tail. Thread this through the remaining stitches and pull tight. Sew over the hole a couple of times (keeping it neat on both sides since this is a reversible hat), and weave in the loose end (on right or wrong side, but keep it hidden!). I wove the end of the yarn in and out of the stitches in the line of  ssks, this kept things pretty neat.