New Patterns and Staying Cool!

 New Patterns!

I haven't posted recently, as I've been busy trying to get the patterns written for this pile of mostly knit design samples I began up to 2 years ago!

About 10 days ago, I published 'Quilt Cloths' - an easy to knit set of quilt block inspired face/bath cloths, worked in KnitPicks Dishie cotton yarn.  Dishie is soft, smoothly spun, and easy on the hands, unlike some cotton yarns I have tried in the past.  It is also reasonably priced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The newest pattern release is this - 'Cable & Rib Tea Cozy', sampled in Brown Sheep
Lanaloft Worsted and Lamb's Pride Worsted.  Pattern has 2-3 cup and 3-4 cup sizes, and sport a braided I-cord cable embellishment!  

The 2-3 cup size only needs about 38 gr of yarn, and the 3-4 cup size needs about 55 gr of yarn, which makes this project a way to use up those small amounts of stash yarns to knit up some gifts for the tea drinkers in your life!

Both patterns are available on Ravelry, Etsy, and Lovecrafts.

Staying Cool

Fall is definitely here, with its decidedly crisp air, which means the holidays start to take over our brains!  I, for one, wish there were more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And I'm sure I'm not the only one wishing this!  I've never liked feeling rushed, and like it less the older I get.  

Winter is supposed to be that slow-down time, for rest and contemplation, but I find that doesn't happen until February at the earliest, after the yearly taxes are prepped to send to the accountant.  And here, on Cape Cod, winter only really begins in late December and lasts until March.  LOL, that doesn't leave a whole lotta rest and relaxation time!

It used to be that I lived for those two all-too-short winter months when I wasn't swamped with responsibilities, as it was the only time I ever slept well.  I always need it cold to sleep - a cool head but a warm body, facilitated by many layers of cotton bedding topped with wool blankets and afghans.  This means that every spring through autumn, sleep was a struggle, and we all now what happens to our health when we don't get good quality sleep.  It takes me down quickly, within a few days.  

Several years ago, I discovered this - a Coolbot. 

It's a contraption that is used by florists and others who need to construct an inexpensive walk-in-fridge.  It overrides the temperature sensor in an AC unit, to allow the AC to cool the space to a much lower temperature than AC's do these days, which, without freon, is only about 62 degrees.

They have an online calculator that shows the size of the AC needed to cool a given room size to one's desired temperature.  For my bedroom of about 10' x 12' x 7.5' high ceiling, the calculator recommends a 10K btu AC unit.  This spec put me off for years!  These windows aren't large enough for a 10K unit.

But this past spring I said to hell with it.  We'll get an 8K AC unit and the Coolbot, because anything lower than 62 degrees is better than nothing and watching my health and functioning fly out the window.  Lo and behold, I can cool my bedroom (in this circa 1947 not well insulated house) to 50 degrees.  I could probably get it colder than that if I wanted, but this is a perfect temp for me, until winter finally settles in, when I sleep with the window open and a twin window fan on.  

So, between the cool room temp every night and the several sleep aids I take, once I fall asleep, I'm out for the entire night.  I cannot tell you what a blessing this is!  Ever since chemo 14 yrs ago, sleep has been difficult at best and almost nonexistent at its worst.  No longer do I need to live for just 2 months of every year - I can actually function decently every day of the year.

If you too struggle with sleep and need it cold in order to sleep well, this gadget is
well worth considering.  Granted, it's not inexpensive, but I'm SO happy we bought it.

Onward!
Dawn

Last of the Grandkids’ Knits

The hat and mittens to go with grandson Alex’s cable sweater are finished and wet-blocked.  As I’ve been eager to get on with my spinning and weaving projects (and heaven knows when I can get to finish the languishing knitting patterns), I knit an easy cap - just 1 x 1 rib throughout, with a fold up cuff via a purl turning ridge.  

For the mittens, I followed the easy Drops/Garnstudio ‘Warmhearted Mittens’ pattern, making adjustments for the gauge difference.  As the mittens are in one color and knit with a singles yarn (Lanaloft Worsted), not stranded like both pairs of Evelyn’s mittens, I knit them snugly, for warmth and better wear. 

I also changed the shaping at the tips, decreasing sts evenly around, instead of just at the sides.  It is how I always shape sock toes, too, much preferring round toes to the side-shaped toes.

Onward!

Kids’ Knits

DS, DDIL, and the kids travel a lot.  The kids are getting some fantastic experiences already in life, including a lot of farm stays.  Since this post I’ve been knitting on Alex’s Minnowknits Faux Fisherman pullover for Christmas.  I still need to do the neck edging and wet block it.

As little Evelyn’s Minnowknits hat was on hold, I searched for another pattern, again, hoping I could be a blind follower and not have to adjust stitch and row count because of gauge diffs.  When I found this Drops/Garnstudio pattern, I just had to knit it.  It will remind Evelyn of her times at the various farms she’s been to. 

I find knitting cables and texture stitches to be tedious sometimes, well, a LOT of times!  I’m really a color pattern knitter, it’s what my hands like to do best, so this hat was a nice reprieve from cabling, even though, once again, I had to adjust the pattern to fit my yarn and gauge.  The hat pattern didn’t come with mittens, but what is a hat without mittens?  So, I designed mittens to match.  As there’s just 32 sts in these wee mittens, I ran the color pattern around the palm as well as the back of the hand, instead of working a separate pattern for the palm.  One can’t get up a head of steam while changing patterns every 18 sts, especially while working a pictorial, like this one.

The yarns used were two Lamb’s Pride Worsted yarns, one Lanaloft Worsted, and two Cascade Yarns Ecological wool yarns - all heavy worsted wt, knit snugly on US 7’s.

The kids’ birthdays also flank Christmas, one in December, one in January, so more knitting is needed.  I’ll design a cabled cap and mittens in the same grey to match Alex’s pullover, and for Evelyn, another cute hat and mitten set.  Also a Drops/Garnstudio pattern - Warmhearted Hat.

But, no blind following for this design either!  It was designed as a tam, with increases then decreases to shape the tam.  I changed it to a regular hat, and changed the color patterns.  I must have re-charted this hat 6 times, before I got the balance of motif and color to please my eye. The hat is wet blocking and awaiting its pompom.

The Warmhearted Mittens that go with the hat has dice around the entire mitten, which I changed to stripes on half the mitten.  2-st patterns go much faster than pictorials!  With the thumbs at the sides, the mittens can be worn with the stripes on the back or on the palm - wearer’s choice.

They have tons of toys and art supplies, so the kids will be getting knits if and until they outgrow wearing things that Grandma (moi) makes.  If I’m lucky, and mindful of whatever trends they’ll be following as they grow up, I might be able to knit for them for a long time to come.  Fingers crossed!

Onward,
Dawn