Spool Knitting with Wire

This morning in my inbox was an email newsletter from Beading Daily all about spool knitting jewelry with wire. Makes me want to give it a shot since I've been into wire knitting jewelry lately. I don't have a suitable spool knitter though...hmm.

Here's a link to the article: How to Wire Spool Knit in 7 Easy Steps

Flower Loom

Arriving in the mail sometime next week is an order from Joanne.com. I haven't ordered from there in forever. The last time I tried to place an order everything I wanted they didn't have. The Provo Craft Flower Loom was one thing I had tried to order and they were out.

I want this loom NOT to make flowers on (flowers? why would I want to make flowers?). I want this loom to experiment with making itty bitty things with. The smallest Knifty Knitter blue loom is only so good for small things. I have made small things on my super huge small gauge knitting loom - like my freebie pattern for the little stocking holiday ornament. But, that one you have to make flat and then sew up. No fun!

So I can't wait to get my new loom. I've heard I have to glue in the pegs in order to use it as a loom...but I'm going to try it before I do that. A quick search of the web shows only a few patterns (that I can find) using this loom.

1. The first I found that is the most interesting is one from Isela - a mitten ornament pattern.
2. The second is a beautiful snowflake ornament.
3. A skinny scarf on the Provo Craft Site

If anyone has any other cool flower loom pattern goodness, send 'em my way. Otherwise I hope to personally add to this list soon!

Spool knitting hits Craftzine

I was surfing the web this morning before work and came across a Craftzine post for spool knitting. Not having tried that particular segment of the loom knitting world...the link to this article actually made me want to try it. There is a later post about the same topic here.

I love all these blogs devoted solely to crafts. I learn a lot just by surfing around. I subscribed to the CraftyPod blog, too....so I wont miss a thing!

Greetings from Maine!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I did eventually make it out of the Denver airport this past Sunday. My flight took off late and I nearly missed my connection in New York City - BUT! I made it to my family Christmas party on Christmas Eve and only an hour later then scheduled! Knock on wood for my trip back this coming Sunday. Denver is due for another foot of snow on Friday. Sheesh!

The picture above is my mom with the socks I needle knit her. She loves them! Everyone loved their gifts. The Power Scarf hostess gift went over very well. And the sparkly black Power Scarf I made for my Aunt at that same party was an even bigger hit!

The soft as silk Power scarf I made for my brothers girlfriend was also a hit. She's allergic to cats but wanted to curl the scarf up in her lap and pretend its a kitty. It was certainly soft enough to. The picture on the right is Sara and my brother as they mug for the camera with the furry scarf. It actually matched what she was wearing, so she put it right on.

So I'm having a great time in Maine so far. I got several gift certificates to local yarn shops and I'm trying to decide what to make. I've been looking through the archive on knitty.com trying to find something good! Cabled sweaters are in right now, so I'm trying to decide between this one, or this one, or this one, but I really like this one. Any suggestions? I'm also going to browse through the lovely patterns over at Elann.com.

Tough decisions, but I great one to ponder for a while. I get to look over yarn and patterns and think about what will be fun to make for myself. I hope all you needle knitters and loomers got plenty of yarn and/or gift certificates. How fun!

One last little gift...

...is...well, almost done! Yay! Yippee! Woot! The LAST 2006 Christmas gift! Alright. Maybe I'm prematurely celebrating here. But - sheesh...I never thought it would end!

Wanna see the last gift? It's in progress...but oh so exciting...



I think I saved the prettiest for last. This scarf is for my Aunt who's hosting a Christmas Eve family party at her house. This Aunt ogled a scarf a gave as a gift at that family party last year. So as a thank you for hosting I thought it would be fun to give her one this year. Since these Power Scarves are a snap to make, I bought some fancy schmancy yarn and went to work this morning. Of course, it being a Blizzard (with a capitol "B"!) outside - working on finishing up gifts is a perfect activity.

A little bit O' facts about the scarf:

Yarn: Berroco "Optik" in color "Millefleur"
Yardage: 1 skein or 87 yards
Loom: Green round Knifty Knitter loom
Pattern: Power Scarf from LoomKnittingDesigns.com

I took a few more closeups of the beautiful yarn. It's a great yarn that uses many colors, kinds, and textures of fibers all wrapped together. The effect when made is a sparkly, textured, and colorful fabric. Great for this pattern cause it has such an open laciness. At about $10 a skein it's a bit pricey but it's very pretty and, I think, worth the money. Makes a great one skein gift!

Scuffie FOs

Another pair of Christmas Scuffies are done! Ready for the Christmas wrappings! Can't wait to give these...My Aunt will love them!

Here are other shots :

Busy, but still knitting

So busy getting ready for Christmas. I have loom knitting and needle knitting classes coming out my ears! I have gifts left to make and travel plans to get ready for.

BUT - I'm still working on the needles and looms. I've gotten one Scuffie slipper done for a birthday gift for my aunt. Yep - you heard right. A birthday gift. You see...my whole family (except my brother) has their birthdays right after Christmas. (This includes myself....but at least I don't have to make myself a gift!) So, not only do I have to get everyone's Christmas gift made. I also have to get their birthday gifts made.

So I've got one Scuffie done for my aunt. I made a pair for my mom last year and my aunt begged me to make her a pair too. This pair is made using two strands of Lion Brand Homespun held together. This yarn makes great scuffies. It is super soft and easy to care for. It also looks pretty luxurious when completed - always a plus!

So I got one Scuffie down and one more to go. Of course I have a class every night this week to teach...but somehow the other will get done!

I also have another sock 1/2 finished. This one, however, I don't think is a Christmas gift. I think this pair will end up either on Etsy for sale, or on my own little tootsies. I haven't made a pair of socks for myself in quite a while...so I'm leaning toward keeping them for my own little tootsies!

This is self striping sock yarn I got from Joann's online. It's called "Jelly Bean" and it's Lion Brand Sassy Stripes. It's the weirdest self striping I've used. It doesn't seem to have a repeating pattern of stripes. This makes it much easier if you are obsessive and want to match stripes from sock to sock - like myself. With this yarn its just impossible to match so you can just knit away. Maybe I'll eventually reach a repeat in the striping - which would be disastrous for this little obsessive knitter. Then I'd have to waste half the ball looking for the next repeat...*sigh*

Anywho....that's what I've been up to. How's everyone elses knitting coming?

Found a freebie

While searching the Michael's website tonight I found a new freebie project. Its a felted Christmas stocking made on the yellow Knifty Knitter round loom. Of course I haven't tried it yet, but it looks interesting.

Also, while I was teaching this afternoon at my Boulder Michaels, the store manager comes in all excited. In her hand she had a new long Knifty Knitter loom set that they had just gotten in! She said they were selling out and she was dragging the last one off so she could purchase it herself. She was so cute!...and the look of excitement on her face was priceless!

If anyone tries that felted stocking pattern - let me know. Not that there is much time left for Christmas...

Christmas knitting off the pegs & needles!

These have been done for a while now...but I've been too busy to post a pic. These baby's are for my Aunt. They came out nice and the stripes are perfectly matching - a beautiful thing!

I've also been busy on the looms. I made two Power Scarves for people on my Xmas list. The black sparkly one is for another Aunt who's name I drew for the family Christmas Eve party. (We do a sorta secret santa thing where we all draw one name from a hat and get a gift for that person.) I hope she likes it. I've never made anything for her so I'm sorta guessing at her taste. She wears black a lot so I think it'll be OK. I DON'T want to be one of those knitters that makes ugly things for people and then expect them to wear it! HA HA!

The Black sparkly one is made from one ball of Patons "Brilliant" yarn. If you are making a sparkly scarf I'd recommend this one. Unlike most sparkly yarns, the Brilliant is not scratchy! There is nothing worse then a scratchy scarf! The Brilliant is very soft and drapes beautifully.

The furry scarf is made from Moda-Dea "Chi-Chi" Yarn that I had some left over from a demo. It was most of a ball that I had left and it still made a decent length scarf. I'm partial to the Power Scarf pattern (especially at this time of year) because it makes quick gifts for people. It looks like its a complicated pattern, but it's easy and you get an entire scarf done in a evening of TV watching and looming.


Here's some pics of the scarves:

Another classic, Classic Mary Jane's

It's finally ready for posting - the Classic Mary Jane's!

While in the midst of this project I decided to figure out the "never-quite-good-enough" bind off problem that I've always had with looms. It's always either a bit too tight or a bit too loose. The knit stitch bind off is modeled after the bind off used in needle knitting. I hope you are as excited about this as me...

These slippers were a request from a very good customer and I'm glad she did request them! Nothing like a request to get me thinkin'...

More info on this design:
Yarn: Lion Suede
Yardage: 2 balls for a total of about 240 yards
Loom Used: Blue Knifty Knitter round loom
Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Techniques Used: E-wrap cast on, knit stitch, purl stitch, increasing, yarn over, and a new technique I'm calling the knit stitch bind off (detailed instructions included)

Other Notes: I use 2 strands of yarn held together throughout. The yarn used is very soft and a great choice for this pattern as it doesn't stretch out of shape once made. Since these slippers are close fitting this yarn is highly recommended to maintain the desired look after being worn for a bit. The toe up design eliminates bulk at the toe end, making a dainty and less irritating slipper for sensitive feet!

A few more pics

From the other side

The shapely little toe and the cute bow

Off the foot!

Baby, it's cold outside...

I haven't left the house in 3 days. This is doable since I freelance and can work from home if I want to. It's freezing here in Boulder. After a quick Googling - it's 3 degrees right now. BRRRRRRRRR

Sure, it looks all warm and sunny out. Colorado is weird like that...it always looks beautiful until you step outside. Then you'll never know what you'll find. This is the view out our back sun room this morning. You can see from the chair on the porch that we got a tad bit of snow. Over a foot to be exact.

I actually love snow. I'm from Maine originally. We actually don't get enough here in CO for me. I love those long winters where you get snow upon snow upon snow from December through March. And it stays through the winter - not a blade of brown grass to be seen! Here in Boulder you'll get a large snow storm like this one and then it'll be gone by the next day. Then it'll be warm and sunny and like 70 degrees for a few weeks. Yep, Boulder weather isn't my cup of tea...

So, besides freezing my behind off, I've been knitting - of course! I've made spectacular progress on those socks I showed last time. 1 sock down and less then 1 to go. WooHoo!

Unfortunately I think I'll be making a pair for my Dad, too. That means I have one more pair to make this year. His will be thicker, though. I don't think I have the patience to knit another pair in fingering weight yarn. The thought makes me want to poke my eyes out with those tiny little needles I've been using. *shudder


I've also been working on the looms. I had a customer ask me about a pattern for a pair of Mary Jane's using the blue Knifty Knitter loom. Well I didn't know of one and even searched to see if one existed. I couldn't find one...So, as I usually do I set out to make my own pattern. I really like how they came out. I think I may have supplanted the Scuffies as my favorite. What do you think?

The pattern is almost ready and will be posted to LoomKnittingDesigns this Friday. So stay tuned!

New little freebie pattern

While playing around with my new small gauge loom that my Dad made me, I created this Little Stocking Holiday Ornament pattern. It's posted in the free patterns section on loomknittingdesigns.

A little more about the pattern:

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Loom: Small Gauge with at least 10 pegs
Yarn: worsted weight scraps in two colors
Techniques covered: E-wrap, purl, turning a heel in a flat panel of knitting, gathered bind off, and sewing seems.

I provide step by step instructions for turning the heel, since it's a bit different then a regular heel done in the round. It's an interesting technique that I'm hoping to work into other patterns.

Enjoy everyone and happy holidays!

Ruffled Scarflet and Mitts set

After a long wait on my FO's pile, this little set is finally making it into a finished pattern. I actually designed and finished the sample last spring but decided to wait for cooler weather before writing up the directions. It's an adorable set and the sample will be going to someone on my Christmas list. I hope you like it as much as I do!

A little more about this set:

Yarn used: Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair Yarn
Yardage: ~100 yards (approx. 1 skein for the set) double that if you choose to use two strands held together.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Loom used: I used the blue loom for the sample, but any loom with at least 23 pegs will work.
Finished scarflett dimensions: about 31 inches long by 3 and 3/4 inches wide
Techniques used: E-wrap, purl, moving stitches around the pegs, flat panel bind off, mattress stitch seaming.
Pattern link:http://www.loomknittingdesigns.com

A few more pics for yah:

Cozy Mocs pattern - new!

In my quest to make some more male-loomer-friendly patterns I designed these Cozy Mocs. Not only are they more male loomer friendly, they also feature a toe up knitting design that lessens the bulk at the toe. I've gotten several requests from loomers that are trying to make a gift for someone with sensitive feet. Hopefully, these will fit the bill!

The stats on these slippers:
Loom used: Blue Knifty Knitter loom
Yarn: 1 ball of Lion Brand Thick and Quick in color "Charcoal"
Yarn weight: Super Chunky
Yardage: 108 yards per ball
Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Techniques used: E-wrap, purl, increasing, flat panel bind off, turning the heel, and sewing seams.

Link to purchase: http://www.loomknittingdesigns.com/patterns_cozymocs.html

-Some other pictures-

A close up of the toe. Less bulk and great shaping!


A more straight on view. You can really see the fitting in this one.

Flat Panel Bind Off - a how to for loom knitters

So tonight, before working on another pair of needle knit socks I thought I'd type up another set of free instructions. Then I thought, heck...why not put a little post on my blog, too. Since I've heard a lot of questions about this on the yahoo loom knitting boards, I wanted to help clarify. Hopefully everyone will find these helpful.

Go to LoomKnittingDesigns.com in the "Instructions" section and download the PDF or see below for some step by step instructions on binding off a flat panel of knitting from a single rake (like the knifty knitters!):

Materials Needed:

• Any knitting loom used as a single rake. Here I use a red Knifty Knitter loom.

• Lion Brand Thick N’ Quick – or similar Super Bulky Weight yarn for practice

• Knifty Knitter yarn pick

• Large Crochet Hook (about the diameter of a pencil)

• Scissors

Set up:
For the purpose of these instructions, I cast on to 5 pegs across using the Knifty Knitter red loom and knit a total of 5 rows before beginning the bind off instructions below. If you are practicing, I’d recommend having at least 5 rows of knitting on your loom before binding off. Any less then this and your knitting might be a little tough to maneuver.

Step 1:
You have your panel of knitting and you are ready to stop knitting. Since I’m right handed, I like to end on the right side away from the thumb tack if possible. If you are a lefty, it might be easier to end on the left side next to the thumbtack.

Step 2:
Pick up the first loop from the first peg and place it on your crochet hook.

TIP: It may be easier to grab the loop with your fingers.

Step 3:
Without cutting the working yarn, lay the working yarn across the end of your crochet hook between the loop you placed on in step 2 and the hook end.

Step 4:
Now pull a loop of working yarn through the loop from the loom. The loop from step 2 should now be off your crochet hook and you should be left with one loop of working yarn.

Step 5:
Now pick up another loop from the loom from the adjacent peg. If you are a righty, it’ll be the next peg to the left. If you are a lefty, it’ll be the next peg to the right.

Place this loop on your crochet hook just as you did in step 2

Step 6:
Then pull the loop you just placed on your hook from the loom through the loop you made in step 4.

You should now be left with one loop of yarn on your hook.

Repeat:
Now repeat steps 3-6 above until you get all the loops off your loom.

Final steps:
To end the last loop, cut the working yarn leaving a 6 inch tail. Then wrap the end of your crochet hook with a loop of working yarn. Just as you did in step 4, pull a loop of working through the last loop.




Now pull the 6 inch tail all the way through that last loop. Give that tail a little tug after it’s through to tighten that last stitch.

Weave in this tail using a yarn needle.

Been a while...

Oye! Sorry, it's been a while since I've posted. Been busy with Michael's teaching and demoing and starting Christmas knitting. This time of year is when it starts to get busy, busy.

Anyway - I have been working on stuff. I'm working on another Waves of Lace shawl for someone. This one is out of 100% cotton Sonata from Elann.com. I love the color she picked out: Periwinkle (6319). It's a color I would wear myself, so it'll be fun to knit up. I'm going on vacation back to visit my family in Maine in a week and this will be the project I'm taking with me. Hopefully I wont have a problem taking the loom through security. I can't find anything that says I can't take it - so we'll see. Anyone have experience taking a loom onto an airplane?? I hate checking baggage, so I'd prefer to take it in a carry on...

I'm also looming a Zig Zag scarf for display in the Longmont Michael's store. I taught a Beyond the Basics Knifty Knitter class and the Zig Zag scarf was my pattern selection for the month. My students loved it. It was a great choice because it built on skills they have learned so far from me. It really drills in the garter stitch pattern (e-wrap and purl) - great for novice loomers!

This Zig Zag is done in Color Waves by Lion Brand in color 'Sunset Red'. The color is great for fall and I love the way it's coming out. The color waves moves into subtle stripes of bright colors and works well with the geometric zig zags. I got this yarn at Michael's.

In other news, I updated the design of loomknittingdesigns.com a bit. I added a header to the pages with links to contact me, a link to this blog, and a link to my Looming store at Amazon. Check it out if you get a chance. I think it brightens up the page a bit and helps with site usability as well.

Clog Style

Many a request I have gotten over the past year of pattern design for a clog style slipper. The Scuffie Slippers are low in the back, but aren't quite "clog style low". So yesterday I finally sat down and put yarn to loom and figured it out. I'll have to admit, this problem was in the back of my mind for a while. So I think it sorta finally just resolved itself yesterday.

The nice part is there is no heel turning needed with the Clog Style. Heels frighten a lot of people (including me, before I gave it a good try) - so eliminating the need to turn a heel is always a plus. More accessibility for the not so experienced loomer gets people to try things they wouldn't normally. Hopefully, this pattern seems more accessible to the newbie side of the intermediate loomer :)

Anyway, here's some more info about the clogs:

Pattern Name: Classic Clog Style Slipper
Loom used: Knifty Knitter Blue loom (or any slipper size loom)
Yarn: Lion Brand - Super Bulky Weight, Wool Ease Thick 'N Quick in Color 'Grass'
Yardage: About 150 yards (1 skein)
Skill Level: Intermediate
Techniques used: E-wrap, flat panel method, increasing, gathered bind off, I-cord, and whip stitch

-And here's some other pics-

Above is a closeup of the stitch pattern - super easy and looks great

and here's another picture of them on the foot. As you can see they just barely cup the back of the heel.