Little Boy Blue

Materials:

4 skeins Caron Simply Soft, worsted weight yarn - about 1320 yards
Size 8 US (5.00 mm) circular needle - 40” is probably the most convenient length
Size 8/H (5.00 mm) crochet hook
Stitch markers if desired.

Terms:

K - knit
P - purl
K2togB - Knit two together through the back loops
P2tog - Purl two together
KFB - Knit in the front of the stitch and, without removing stitch from left needle, knit again into the back of the stitch (creates a second stitch) and then let the stitch drop from the left needle.
Sl - Without working, slip purlwise the number of stitches indicated

Note:  The K2togB and the SSK are interchangeable is this pattern.  I usually use the SSK (which is why I wrote the pattern that way) but the K2togB is sometimes faster and easier.  To my eye there isn’t much difference in the result so use whichever pleases you :)

Instructions:

Cast on 99 stitches.

Starting triangles:

P2, turn
K2, turn
P3, turn
K3, turn
P4, turn
K4, turn
P5, turn
K5, turn
P6, turn
K6, turn
P7, turn
K7, turn
P8, turn
K8, turn
P9, turn
K9, turn
P10, turn
K10, turn
P11 - do not turn.

The first triangle is complete.  Create another triangle exactly the same way and continue to create triangles until you have used up all of your cast on stitches and have nine triangles.

First tier blocks:

Starting side triangle:

P2, turn
K2, turn
KFB, SSK, turn
P3, turn
KFB, K1, SSK, turn
P4, turn
KFB, K2, SSK, turn
P5, turn
KFB, K3, SSK
P6, turn
KFB, K4, SSK, turn
P7, turn
KFB, K5, SSK, turn
P8, turn
KFB, K6, SSK, turn
P9, turn
KFB, K7, SSK, turn
P10, turn
KFB, K8, SSK - do not turn.

Tier One Broken Rib Blocks:

Pick up 11 stitches down the side of the first triangle, turn

1.  Purl 11
2.  K1, *P1, K1* 5 times, K2togB.  The K2togB consists of the last stitch of your block and the first available stitch on the left-hand needle.
3.  Sl1, Purl 10, turn

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you have acquired the last stitch of the first group on the left-hand needle.  Do not purl back.

Continue making blocks this way in the broken rib pattern until you have ten of them.

Ending Side Triangle:

Pick up 11 stitches.

Purl 11, turn
K9, K2togB, turn
P10, turn
K8, K2togB, turn
P9, turn
K7, K2togB
P8, turn
K6, K2togB, turn
P7, turn
K5, K2tog, turn
P6, turn
K4, K2togB, turn
P5, turn
K3, K2togB, turn
P4, turn
K2, K2togB, turn
P3, turn
K1, K2togB, turn
P2, turn
K2togB - don’t turn

Tier 2 Stockinette Blocks (there are no starting triangles on this tier)

First Block:

Pick up 10 stitches, purlwise (plus one stitch left over from previous row = 11 stitches)
1.  K 11
2.  P 10, P2tog, turn (P2tog consists of the last stitch of the block and the first available stitch of the next block).

Repeat rows one and two until last stitch of available group has been acquired (final P2tog) - do not turn.

Second (and each remaining) Block:

Pick up 11 stitches, purlwise (plus one stitch left over from previous row = 11 stitches)
1.  K 11
2.  P 10, P2tog, turn (P2tog consists of the last stitch of the block and the first available stitch of the next block).

Repeat rows one and two until last stitch of available group has been acquired (final P2tog) - do not turn.

Repeat the procedure for Second Block for the remaining eight blocks of this tier.

Repeat Tier 1 and Tier 2 blocks, alternating until you have the length you want - about 45” - ending with a first tier row.  The blanket measurements, of course, aren’t hard and fast - you can work any length and width you like.  Something smaller than this will require less yarn and something larger will need more.

Ending triangles and bind-off

With 1 stitch on left needle, pick up and purl 10 stitches along the side of the next block, turn.
Knit 11, turn.
P2tog, P8, P2tog, turn.
K10, turn.
P2tog, P7, P2tog, turn.
K9, turn.
P2tog, P6, P2tog, turn.
K8, turn.
P2tog, P5, P2tog, turn.
K7, turn.
P2tog, P4, P2tog, turn.
K6, turn.
P2tog, P3, P2tog, turn.
K5, turn.
P2tog, P2, P2tog, turn.
K4, turn.
P2tog, P1, P2tog, turn.
K3, turn.
P2tog, P2tog, turn.
K2, turn.
P1, P2tog, turn.
K2, turn
P3tog.

Repeat this procedure for each required ending triangle.  One stitch remains.

Insert crochet hook into the remaining stitch and ch2.  Work a round of hdc (half double crochet) evenly around the blanket edge, working three hdc into each corner.  Bind off.  If desired, more than one round of edging may be worked; more yarn will be needed, in that case.

Patern is also available as a free download from Ravelry.

Clearly, a clever post-title is beyond me today :)

I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday weekend.  Dad is doing better - even finding some of his appetite again.  We had headed out to our favorite diner yesterday, only to find that while it indeed had been open, we had missed it’s abbreviated holiday hours by about 20 minutes.  So we wound up at Friendly’s, across the river.

Nothing to write home about, I guess, but reasonably good.  Dad managed about half of his clams and cole slaw which is a whole lot better than he’d been doing.  And I had something I haven’t tasted in years - a hot fudge sundae with peppermint ice cream.  Heaven!

I am terribly relieved that dad is finally showing some signs of improvement but it is a mixed blessing.  He’s much less obnoxious when he’s not feeling too chipper :)

His new furniture arrived Saturday morning and he is very happy with it.  I have begun work on his afghan and right now, I’m a little concerned about being able to find enough of the Country Blue color.  So far, I’ve only located (and bought) 2 skeins of it.  I’m going to need a lot more than that!  The Light Gray is plentiful so that color won’t be a problem.

Yup, this is the same blanket I made for both Myria and myself earlier this year (there should be links to the pattern on both of those pages).  What can I say?  You don’t mess with a winning formula.  There are only two colors this time so the whole will be a bit simpler than either of the previous two incarnations.  It will be rescued from complete tedium by inverting the color scheme on alternate squares.  We live exciting lives around here :)

While I am trying to focus almost exclusively on the blanket, an alternate project is sneaking in now and again for a few minutes once in a while.

This is the wool/mohair lace weight I found last week.  I’m liking it so far.  It’s not bad at all to work with and works up nicely.  This is just part of a garter stitch triangle - what should have been the beginning of a new entrelac design.  Unfortunately, this is the second try and it still isn’t right.  That doesn’t have anything to do with the yarn; apparently I have forgotten how to count.  The first time I cast on I wound up with way too few stitches because I had mis-remembered the number of stitches for each lace unit.  It should have been, for four units of 25 stitches, 100 stitches cast on.  For some totally inexplicable reason, I thought the lace units were only 21 stitches across… I got the count right the second time - or thought I did - but I suspect I’m going to have to rip this back too because I keep coming up with extra stitches.

Oh yeah - and this frogs just as you would expect any mohair to frog - reluctantly.

But I did discover something totally neat :) I have had good luck, when casting on for entrelac, using a needle about 2 sizes larger than the one I want to work the piece with.  So, using the above piece as an example, I want to work with a size 6 US (4.25 mm) needle.  I did the cast on with a size 8 US (5.00 mm) needle...and suddenly realized that if you’re using circular needles (I was) and further, if those circular needles belong to an interchangeable set (they do) then all you have to do, making sure the cast on stitches are all safely on the cable, unscrew the larger needles and screw in the smaller ones!  Yee-hah!

I also did some dyeing a couple of days ago - how long has it been?  I had used 4 balls of pink Peer Gynt wool to make the Here, Kitty, Kitty scarf and I had 4 balls of it left.  The pink was not a color I loved and I’m trying to move away from that anyway - so I dyed the remainder.

As this was drying, I kept thinking what a nice hair color it would make :) For 200 grams of wool, I used (Easter egg dye tablets) 4 yellow, 3 orange, 1 red and about 1/4 to 1/3 blue.  Standard Crock Pot procedure, wash, rinse and hang to dry.  I really like the color but it is a bit more vivid than I was going for.





That’s because I’m sill working out just how much of the damping color (in this case, the blue) to use in order to mute a tone.  Too little and you wind up with something that may just be vivid - or may scream it’s head off.  Too much and you’ll wind up with mud-colored yarn.

Myria and I are headed up to Maine tomorrow and hope, for the first time in a long time, to make a day of it.  I plan on bringing my new camera and filling its little memory card with pictures of everything under the sun, but especially the ocean.  I love the ocean :)

And I love my camera :)

If I don’t make it back to the blog this week…

See the “Knitting Chatter” button on the side bar for more information.

...Chatters is definitely on for Saturday night.  Bring your knitting (crocheting, tatting, what-have-you!) and drop in for some pleasant conversation!

Captain Cranky is home and, for the moment, maintaining.  Doctors appointments and tests are still going full bore though - we’ll be heading back into the city on Thursday.  At least things are stable for now :)

He has ordered new furniture - a sofa (which he refers to as a divan) and a new recliner.  It’s long since time that he replaced the pieces in his living room which have no more than sentimental value now.  I stretched out on his sofa once last week and honestly, it felt like it was stuffed with rocks!  The new one will be a medium dark dusty blue and the new recliner is a medium antique gold. 

I decided that he needed a new afghan to go with his new furniture.  I mean, there are plenty of ancient afghans hanging around the house but really, they should all be taken out and buried!  I wanted him to have something new and nice and especially his.  However, his likes and mine differ.  Where I couldn’t wait to have a wool blanket all my own, he doesn’t want any part of one.  Acrylic or nothing.  Sigh…

Still, it’s inexpensive, easy to find, comes in every color under the sun and is sturdy as hell.  It could be worse :)

What free time I’ve had, I’ve devoted to working on swatches for this beast, hoping to come up with something new and brilliant.  Hah!  I finally realized that if I want to get this to him any time before Christmas, I had better crochet it.  And I would like him to have it as soon as possible - it was only about 60°F this morning when I got up.  While I found it pleasantly invigorating, dad would find it uncomfortable.  I don’t want to think of dad being uncomfortable in our unseasonably cool weather - and I don’t want him nestling under the ratty, god-knows-how-old afghans he’s got floating around the house :)

I’ve also been thinking out a stole - entrelac, of course :) As it happened, I lucked into the yarn for it (or at least for the prototype) at the Classic Elite Mill Shop this morning.

It’s called Kid Mohair and is a product of Twinkle Handknits.  It’s only 35% mohair, the balance being mostly wool with a soupçon of acrylic.  It has a nice hand which will, I believe, be even nicer once it’s been washed.  The color is French Grey - a light sort of grey/beige.





This is definitely not in my normal range of colors - in fact I would ordinarily think of this as more of a condition than a color :) However, it was the right price, comes 310 yds/ball (I got 4 balls) and will go with anything at all.

That’s not all I came away with either - and Opal? This is all your fault.  Flagrantly posting about spinning merino tencel like that - what did you expect a poor girl to do?

This is Classic Elite Miracle a 50/50 blend of alpaca and tencel.  I had the good fortune to work with a single hank of it several years ago and let me tell you, nothing feels like this.  That time, I ooohed and ahhhed over it so much that Myria suggested we get a room :) I got all they had of this color - which, admittedly, I adore.  I have been trying hard to move out of the exclusively pink/purple range but the only other color available was a sort of sick-looking (to me) olive and I really didn’t like it.  On the other hand, its presence only encouraged me to grab the good color - so perhaps the olive isn’t all bad!  I’m thinking a scarf/hood type thingy for winter - which, given the temperature tendencies, seems to be around the corner!

These projects will wait, however, until dad’s blanket is completed.

Maybe :)

The last bit of news is that I have a new camera.  It’s small enough that I can easily tuck in my pocket or drop into my purse.  As these things go, it’s not terribly fancy and it wasn’t expensive but it’s about 10 times better than my old one and was 1/7th the price.  That picture above - the mohair close-up?  If I had tried that with my old baby, all you would have seen was a jumbled, grey blur.  Now that’s progress :)

Jade just adores the cool weather and becomes exceptionally affectionate in the fall and winter.  She does, however, feel that this entitles her to unlimited lap time and, well, sometimes it just isn’t convenient.  Sometimes I can knit around her, but if Myria and I are gaming on-line, having to lift an 8-lb weight to launch my Firebolt is a little much.  Fortunately for me, Jade is a pissy little thing so all I have to do is jiggle her a little and she goes off in a huff…

...sometimes a minute and a huff :)
(Thanks Groucho!)

Well, at least he called me this time.

Dad is back in the hospital.  He called me yesterday afternoon and asked me to come drive him in to the VA in Boston - which I did.  His blood pressure was so low I couldn’t believe he was still kicking.  But he’s tough and sounded better when I called this morning.

I really only have a couple of things to tell you.  For the time being, I’m not going to be posting regularly as the situation with dad seems to be gradually worsening and it’s likely I will be going back and forth to Boston on a regular basis for the immediate future.

Second, I have converted all the patterns on Ravelry (Ravelry name: Robbyn) to .pdf format and all are now available as free downloads from Ravelry.  The service provider for my blog has made some changes that make accessing the blog somewhat problematic for some folks at some times and I felt this was the best way to insure that those patterns remained available to those people who wanted them.  Any future patterns will be handled likewise so that even if the blog is funky, the patterns are obtainable.

I hope the world is treating you all well!

I’ve been running dad around this week so not a lot of knitting has been done.  What knitting there has been has revolved around swatches like this…

And this…





These are Elsebeth Lavold type cables though I don’t use the increase method she does.  These cable have been running riot in my imagination for a while now and I’m determined to find out what they want with me - since they are apparently not going to leave me alone :)

I’ve also been working on afghan pieces…

...for an organization that collects pieces, makes afghans and sends them to wounded veterans.  If you’re interested, you can find out more about this at The Handmade Afghan Project.  These don’t take a lot of time and are a wonderful fill-in project for odd moments.





See the “Knitting Chatter” button on the side bar for more information.

Chat is definitely on for Saturday evening.  Come one, come all - it’s a blast :)

Hope you all have a splendid weekend!

The scarf is finished and so I present the pattern for your pleasure and, hopefully warmth!  The lace is very simple and the work goes quickly and easily.  The little kitty face lace comes from the agile mind of Jennifer Fleury (of JenLa fame) who very kindly gave me permission to use it.  The catspaw lace is old.

As I am currently owned by two members of the feline persuasion and as I know knittendom has a great many cat lovers, the combining of the two lace patterns seemed just the thing.  As always, if you find any mistakes or if you have any difficulties with the pattern, please let me know - I will be more than happy to help.

Note: When uploaded, the number of stitches to cast on was off - considerably off :) Comes from having too many projects on my mind!  Anyway, it has been corrected.

Enjoy!

Here Kitty, Kitty...

Materials

DK yarn - about 400 yards.  Yarn used for model was Peer Gynt.
Size 7 US (4.5 mm) needles, circular.
Size 9 US (5.25 mm), circular.

Finished (blocked) length - about 68”
Finished (blocked) width - about 8”

All stitches are slipped purlwise unless otherwise noted.

With the larger needle, cast on 22 stitches.  Transfer to the smaller needle to commence work.

Beginning triangles

First triangle

P2, turn.
K2, turn.
P3, turn.
K3, turn.
P4, turn.
K4, turn…

Continue this way, adding a stitch on each purl row until you have done a P11 row.  Do not turn.  Repeat procedure for second triangle.

First tier

Right side triangle

1.  K2, turn.
2.  P2, turn.
3.  Kfb (in the front and back of the first stitch - an increase), SSK, turn.
4.  Sl 1, P2, turn.
5.  Kfb, K1, SSK, turn.
6.  Sl1, P3, turn.
7, Kfb, K2, SSK, turn.
8.  Sl1, P4, turn…

Continue this way until you have completed a Kfb, K8, SSK.  Do not turn.

Cat Face Lace block

Pick up 11 stitches along the selvedge edge of next triangle (or unit)

1.  P11, (turn after each row except the last)
2.  K10, SSK (last stitch of block with first available stitch of next unit.)
3.  Sl1, P10.
4.  K10, SSK.
5.  Sl1, P10.
6.  K10, SSK.
7.  Sl1, P10.
8.  K3, yarn forward, sl5, yarn back (keep the float a little loose), K3.
9.  P10, P2tog
10.  K3, yarn forward, sl5, yarn back, K3.
11.  P10, P2tog
12.  K3, yarn forward, sl5, yarn back, K3.
13.  P4, M1, K3tog, M1, P3, P2tog.
14.  K5, K1 inserting the needle beneath the floats created on rows 8, 10 and 12, knitting the stitch and drawing it back out from under the floats before letting the old stitch drop off the needle, K4, SSK.
15.  Sl1, P10.
16.  K3, K2tog, yo, K1, yo, SSK, K2, SSK.
17.  Sl1, P10.
18.  K10, SSK.
19.  Sl1, P10.
20.  K10, SSK.
21.  Sl1, P10.

Left side triangle

Pick up 11 stitches along the selvedge edge of next triangle (or unit)

1.  P2tog, P9, turn.
2.  K10, turn.
3.  P2 tog, P8, turn.
4.  K9, turn.
5.  P2tog, P7, turn.
6.  K8, turn…

Continue this way until you have 2 stitches left, P2tog.  Transfer last stitch back on to left-hand needle.

Turn work.

Second Tier, Catspaw Lace Blocks

Having one stitch on left-hand needle, pick up 10 stitches along selvedge edge of next unit.

1.  K11, turn (turn after each row except the last).
2.  P10, P2tog.
3.  Sl1, K10.
4.  P10, P2tog.
5.  Sl1, K2, SSK, yo, K6.
6.  P10, P2tog.
7.  Sl1, SSK, yo, K3, yo, K2tog, K3.
8.  P10, P2tog.
9.  Sl1, K1, SSK, yo, K1, yo, K2tog, K4.
10. P10, P2tog.
11. Sl1, K10.
12. P10, P2tog.
13. Sl1, K5, SSK, yo, K3.
14. P10, P2tog.
15. Sl1, K2, SSK, yo, K3, yo, K2tog, K1.
16. P10, P2tog.
17. Sl1, K3, SSK, yo, K1, K2tog, K2.
18. P10, P2tog.
19. Sl1, K10.
20. Sl1, K10.
21. Sl1, K10.
22. P10, P2tog.

Pick up 11 stitches along selvedge edge of next unit.

Repeat procedure for second block.

Turn work.

Alternate Tiers 1 and 2 for length of scarf, ending with Tier 1 and having worked Teir 1 fourteen times.

Ending Triangles

Pick up 11 stitches along selvedge edge of next unit.

1.  K11, turn (turn every row but the last).
2.  P2tog, P8, P2tog.
3.  Sl1, K9.
4.  P2tog, P7, P2tog.
5.  Sl1, K8.
6.  P2tog, P6, P2tog.
7.  Sl1, K7.
8.  P2tog, P5, P2tog.
9.  Sl1, K6.
10. P2tog, P4, P2tog.
11. Sl1, K5.
12. P2tog, P3, P2tog.
13. Sl1, K4.
14. P2tog, P2, P2tog.
15. Sl1, K3.
16. P2tog, P1, P2tog.
17. Sl1, K2.
18. P2tog twice.
19. Sl1, K1.
20. P1, P2tog.
21. K2.
22. P3tog.

Repeat procedure for second ending triangle.  End off and cut yarn, leaving a tail long enough to weave in securely.  Weave in ends and block as desired.

Oh yeah - the charts!





Notes:  The dimensions can be varied by using different weights of yarn and different needle sizes.  Sport weight on size 5 US (3.75 mm) needles would yeild something a bit more delicate while bulky yarn on size 11s US (8 mm) would give a heftier result.

I used Peer Gynt DK wool for this scarf because it’s what I had on hand.  However, this is a sturdy, rough-ish wool really intended for outer garments and is somewhat scratchy.  Something softer would be a better idea if this is going to go next to your skin - Knitpicks Merino Style is a nice soft yarn :)

I finally was able to finish the baby blanket this week as the temps have been quite nice - low 70s and even in the 60s overnight.  There wasn’t much to finish up really, the end row of triangles (which constitutes the bind-off in entrelac) and the edging.  I had thought I wanted a border on this, but I’m not going to have time.  The birthday of the child this was made for is this weekend.

Instead, I tidied things up with a half-double crochet all around the blanket.  It neatens the edges a bit but isn’t at all fussy.  And, with only a single row worked, it doesn’t separate itself out as something added on afterwards - I rather like that.  It looks integral :)





The pattern is very simple - basically worked in the same way as the swatch in All Aboard the entrelac Express.  The blocks are 11 stitches wide and the tiers alternate between stockinette (Row 1: Knit, Row 2: Purl) and mistake rib (Row 1: *K1, P1*; end K1, Row 2: Purl).





I cast 99 stitches onto size 8 US (5.00 mm) needles and just worked until the length was just a bit more than the width and the yarn used was Caron Simply Soft (worsted weight) - about 4 skeins.  The final measurements are approximately 40” x 49” - perhaps a little grand for a toddler, but he’ll grow into it :)

If anyone is interested in specific instructions for the blanket, let me know and I’ll get something written up.

See the “Knitting Chatter” button on the side bar for more information.

Drop in if you have time, bring your knitting and join the fun!

Have a wonderful weekend :)