The weekend before last, we had our monthly Church of the Blankie meet-up. Our host happened to be fostering a two-week-old kitten just for that weekend, while the kitten’s official foster family was away on vacation. Yeah, we’re as crazy about kittens as we are dogs. Needless to say, we were terribly distracted every time we went into the bathroom. Kitten in the bathtub!

Here we have Connie playing with her.

My first project is Pele (link to pattern), a Berroco pattern for a pair of convertible mittens. Flip back the mitt, and viola!! Fingerless gloves. I’ve never knit gloves before—oh sure, I’ve knit mittens and wristers and fingerless mitts, but never anything where fingers were involved. Since I’ve been telling Matt for at least a month now that I would knit him gloves, I figure this would be the perfect challenge.

I am also a meticulously slow knitter, and projects tend to sit on my needles for quite some time. I mean, how long have I been working on Aquaphobia? While someone else may be able to whip up these gloves in a few hours of watching Law & Order on one of the many cable channels, I know I will need a deadline to turn the yarn into something wearable.

I’ve got at least two other patterns on my must-knit list for the Olympics, and a few more in the queue if I really feel up to it, but the point is to be realistic while still being challenging. I think three projects in 17 days is challenging enough for me. But who knows? Maybe I’ll catch the Olympic spirit and push myself to try knitting even more awesome stuff.

Discreet enough to keep on your nightstand or dresser, large enough to hold Chloe or G-Swirl, or anything in between. (Please note, those links are probably NSFW!)

View this pattern on Ravelry

Materials

• 1 skein Artful Yarns Candy Sweet Tart
• 1 skein Lion Brand Yarn Fun Fur Violet (optional)
• 1 set US size 8 double-pointed knitting needles

Sizing

Gauge: 20 sts + 32 rows = 4″ on size 8 needles
Dimensions: 4″ x 10″ without fun fur

Directions

CO 42 st, divide evenly across 3 DPN (14 sts on each).

Rnd 1: P
Rnd 2: K
Rnd 3: P
Rnd 4: K
Rnd 5: K

Rnd 6: [K5 YO K2Tog] to end

Knit next 70 rounds.

Begin decrease

Rnd 1: [K4 SSK K2 K2Tog K4] to end
Rnd 2: [K3 SSK K2 K2Tog K3] to end
Rnd 3: [K2 SSK K2 K2Tog K2] to end
Rnd 4: [K1 SSK K2 K2Tog K1] to end
Rnd 5: [SSK K2 K2Tog] to end
Rnd 6: K2Tog to end

Finishing

Pull yarn through remaining stitches. Turn inside-out and weave in ends. Turn right-side-out and thread a ribbon through the YOs.

To add fun fur, pick up all stitches on the cast-on edge. K 1 round, BO and weave in ends.

This pattern originally posted on my personal blog, freakapotimus.com.

Can you guess who has a fondness for vintage clothing? Yeah, that would be me.

I knit this from a pattern, the Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits. (The hat is featured on the cover of the book if you click the link.)

I used some yarn I had in my stash (2 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Painted Desert) and the flower embellishment was found in a sale bin at Michael’s on Friday night. All told, the supplies for this hat cost $6.

It was a rockin’ quick knit. I started the band on Friday night, getting as far as joining the two ruffles. While watching a couple movies Saturday morning (Netflix catch up day) I finished the band and started picking up stitches for the crown. Over the course of a couple hours on Saturday, over conversation with friends, I picked up all the stiches and got about an inch into the crown. Sunday, I finished it all off while watching tv, doing laundry and tidying up. (Why no, I did not block the band as the patter suggests. Does this make me a bad knitter?)

The pattern was fairly easy to follow. The only bit I had trouble with was understanding exactly where to start picking up stitches from the band. For some reason the way it was described in the pattern wasn’t exacly clear to me. The pattern notes say the hat is meant to be worn with the ruffles facing forward. I prefer it the other way (as you can see in the photo). I though it was funny that the cover of Boutique Knits also has the model wearing the hat ‘backward’.

Considering the cost and time spent, this would make a fantastic last minute holiday gift. But I’m keeping this baby for myself. :)

That $6 supply cost makes me rethink my stance on selling knits. Maybe I should knit up a box of accessories, rent a table at a craft fair or two next fall and see what happens. It could be a fun experiment. If I can coax some other crafters to join me, it may be worth it. But that’s a topic for another post. (Of course, I wouldn’t sell anything that wasn’t my own design. Just thought I’d mention that before I get comments about selling knits from other people’s patterns.)

There is only one problem with a hat like this. I now want a scarf, or some other type of neck warmer, to match. I like to match. For that to happen, I have to be just a little creative.

I have about half a skein of the yarn left. I also have about 30gm of a complimentary variegated yarn. Between the two yarns I should be able to come up with a pattern that will look nice with this hat as well as the hat I made in the variegated yarn. One neck warmer that works with both hats? That would be a wonderful thing.

My initial thoughts for a pattern: Make a short scarf using the band pattern of the hat. It should be at least two ribs wider. The bottom, larger, ruffle knit in the variagated yarn. I’ll keep you all posted on my progress. :)

August’s theme is Nerdy Knitting, so fire up your Firefly DVDs and roll out your dice. In this episode, we discuss fandom knits (including Whedonverse, Warcraft, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter) and knitting for nerds and geeks; Joanna reports from the Gencon floor; Andrea interviews Terrycloth Green; we steal the “Stick It in Your Queue” segment from the sadly defunct Dharmalars podcast.

Episode playlist

• “Engines Make Me Hot (Kaylee’s Song)”, Lauren Fairweather
• “Roll the Dice”, Sinister Six
• “The Gary Gygax Song”, Uncle Monsterface
• “Game Store Girl”, Beefy
• “Nerd Lust”, Schaffer the Darklord

A mostly complete list of show notes and links can be found at Show Notes!

If you’ve got any comments or questions for the podcast, call our feedback line! The number again is 215.839.6373 (215.839.NERD), or use the handy little Google Voice widget we’ve installed on the blog.

As you work it may be helpful to think in terms of “inside” and “outside”. Throughout the pattern all knit stitches make up the outside of the bag, while all purl stitches make up the inside of the bag.

Additional instructions on double knitting can be found online. KnittingHelp.com has a nice one that includes a pattern and video.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email the designer at joanna@socialknitworking.org. She can also be found on Ravelry as springviolet.

Click to download this pattern as a PDF.
Queue this pattern on Ravelry

Materials

• worsted weight yarn in two contrasting colors
• one US 3 (3.25mm) 16″ circular and five double-pointed in the same size
• one cable needle
• one darning needle