Val's Nimble Needles

Van freebie - afghan square

2009-01-17T23:15:00.000-08:00

I have adapted my original van design to make an afghan square to participate in the Ravelry group "A Year in a Blanket." Here is the pattern:

VAN (afghan square)

Copyright 2007 and 2009 by Val Campbell (http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com)
Supplies: Afghan yarn and 5mm needles.
Model stitched in Bernat Berella “4” in “Sage.”
Finished size: 13 1/2” wide by 13 1/4” long.

Cast on 50 stitches.

Rows 1 to 6: Knit across.
Row 7 and all remaining odd-numbered rows: knit across.
Row 8 and all even-numbered rows to row 22: k3, p44, k3
Row 24: k3, p11, k3, p17, k3, p10, k3
Row 26: k3, p10, k2, p1, k2, p15, k2, p1, k2, p9, k3
Row 28: k3, p5, k4, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k13, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p4, k3
Row 30: k3, p6, k4, p1, k3, p1, k15, p1, k3, p1, k4, p5, k3
Row 32: k3, p6, k5, p3, k17, p3, k5, p5, k3
Row 34: k3, p6, k33, p5, k3
Row 36: k3, p6, k33, p5, k3
Row 38: k3, p6, k33, p5, k3
Row 40: k3, p6, k22, p8, k2, p6, k3
Row 42: k3, p6, k22, p7, k2, p7, k3
Row 44: k3, p6, k22, p6, k2, p8, k3
Row 46: k3, p6, k22, p5, k2, p9, k3
Row 48: k3, p6, k28, p10, k3
Row 50: k3, p7, k26, p11, k3
Row 52 and all even-numbered rows to row 68: k3, p44, k3
Rows 70 to 76: Knit across.

Bind off.

Copyright 2007 and 2009 by Val Campbell.
http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com/

More pattern adaptations and new patterns to come!

Happy knitting!

Christmas Past

2009-01-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted on here lately, but I have been knitting constantly. The multitude of Christmastime scarves that I knit as gifts were well-received.

Super-Fast, Ultra-Cozy Scarf by Jen Reilly (free):

These were very fun and very fast to knit up. These went to my kids' teachers and I received great raves for them.

Palindrome: A Reversible Cable Scarf:

Filippi Scarf from the book "One-Skein Wonders" by Tamara Del Sonno:

The Big Little Dude Scarf in linen stitch (my design):

LINEN STITCH: Multiple of 2 stitches.

Row 1: * wyif sl1 purlwise, wyib k1 *

Row 2: * wyib sl 1 purlwise, wyif p1 *
Cast on with darkest colour of yarn and knit 2 rows. Add in second colour and repeat these 2 rows. Continue alternating between two different colours of yarn to achieve desired pattern.
--FO: Cast on 20 stitches. Final finished scarf is 7” x 40”

Cameo Faggot Stitch Scarf (free):

Easiest Farrow Rib Scarf (free):

More photos of these works are on Ravelry

Happy knitting!

My first sweater

2008-07-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

I've decided that since I've been knitting for almost a year it's time to start on my first sweater project. My niece's 15th birthday is coming up at the end of September and so the sweater will go to her when it's complete.

Ravelry is a haven for patterns (read: free) and so I selected the Springtime Tee designed by Melissa Leapman. I think it's gorgeous and surprisingly there are only three of us on Ravelry who are working on it. (I'm using Bernat Handicrafter yarn in off-white: it's soft, inexpensive, and because it's 100% cotton so will wash up easily.)

Here is the back, with the first lace pattern repeat completed:

This is a close-up of the same:

This is how the lace repeat on BACK piece looks when finished:

I'm loving how this is going and I think that my niece will like the completed sweater. I've finished the St st (measuring 13 1/3 inches from the bottom) and right now I'm working on shaping the armholes. It looks like I may need to frog a bit - either I'm counting wrong, or the pattern is wrong... :-)

I'm back...!

2008-06-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Things have been utterly turned upside down in my life as of late. It has been an extremely stressful time, but I have found some time in this chaotic life to knit.

I've finally delved into the famous ballband dishcloth. I enjoyed knitting up the pattern and the colour choices are virtuously endless:

Friends have been my saving grace during this trying time, and so I knitted this Relay Angel for one such friend:

I've always wanted to knit up the Little Houses cloth. It is a more detailed pattern and, I admit, it was frogged a few times because I wasn't paying close enough attention...

A wonderfully fun project to do was the mother earth illusion cloth. It was wonderful to see the pattern come together. I would like to eventually design my own illusion cloth, time permitting!

I love how it turned out with an incomplete border (the little bookworm was also appreciated).

It seems that I always know someone who is pregnant. Three friends have already had babies this year and there is one more baby waiting to arrive next month. This free pattern for Bunny Blanket Bunny is just so cute that they are probably all going to get one! (Photos of the completed bunnies to come!)

Inspiration! (At last!)

2008-02-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

Okay. After a few weeks of hiatus I've finally been inspired to resume my knitting. This comes after a lot of frogging of my first hat project.

I guess that inspiration comes in many forms, and one of the best forms of inspiration is that of other knitters who are still utterly enthusiastic about their work.

Such is my book club friend, Pat, who knit yet another sweater for my eldest son (this was the second one). She actually asked me if I wanted the sweater! She has been knitting a while, and she clearly knits because she loves to. The sweater fits very nicely (photos to come) and is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so much for your generousity, Pat!

Another friend is from Ravelry. Brad is quite an accomplished knitter for being a newbie. He recently began crocheting, and is now knitting and crocheting with a vengence. If we can both get our acts together we will be knitting a hat together. He, unfortunately, has a growing list of WIPs. We've discussed this problem. Then he met a REALLY nice yarn lady who, after he told of his hat-knitting frustrations, "inspired" him to buy Alpaca ($$) to knit a sweater. She lured him in with the line, "If you can knit a sweater, you can knit a hat." I burst out laughing when he told me that. Of course "she was SOOOOOOOO nice!" ;-) In all fairness though, he IS finishing off projects, so it's not like his WIPs aren't being worked on.

I took pics last night of the Easy Rib Hat that I'm finally working on again. Here is my progress:

Happy knitting!

The hat from H- E- double-hockey sticks land

2008-02-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Well, I am temporarily giving up on the rib hat that I was going to do. I got frustrated and frogged it no fewer than four times before my friend told me that my cast-on stitches were much too tight. (Ummm... duh? Why didn't MY brain think of that?!) I think that the hat will go on a hiatus for a little while so that I have enough time to forget my lack of progress. Maybe next year...

Anyway, since I am wanting to knit dh a hat while it's still cold (and snowy!) I thought that I'd chose another "easy" pattern. (Anyone else see the irony of something being labelled "easy"?) I am currently working on Paton's free pattern called Easy Rib Hat. It's being done in Bernat Softee Chunky, with grey for the main colour and dark blue for the alternate. It's slow going because I'm now back at school - pics to come of the progress soon.

Time for a new poll. This one is about frogging - what is your patience level? Submit your answer to the right -->

The Never-ending Scarf est complet

2008-01-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, is the scarf going to be as big as the house?"

Kids. Gotta love them when they blurt out what everyone else is thinking. Now I know that I wasn't the only one gettting bored with what I am now calling "the never-ending scarf" that was no longer fitting the category of take-along knitting (think: bulky yarn stuffed into a shopping bag). So I decided to call it "fin" after the 16th repeat (at ~4' 10"), BO, and pack up my supplies:

I am very pleased with the end product although in my usual grumpiness (otherwise known as me epitomizing a control-freak) there are things about the scarf that are really ticking me off.

One is the fact that this scarf curls inwards (this is not only my complaint - refer to Ravelry for more opinion). There were no suggestions in the pattern to block the scarf. Would this even fix the problem, I don't know.

Secondly, my scarf measures only 7" in width instead of the 8" indicated in the pattern. I have no problem with this as I like how my scarf looks and I can't imagine how very loose the pattern would be if I didn't knit so tightly. (I have yet to do sweaters or anything using real gauge, so I'm not worried YET.)

Thirdly, there is no way I could knit the full 21 repeats without wanting to do something morbid with the huge needles needed for the project. I'm content in knowing that less is more. :-)

Cable; repeat.

2008-01-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

Yea, I have finally had time to do some knitting lately! (Hmm... do I knit or do I read? Sorry, I can't do both like some people I've spoken to! At least, not yet!)

I can confidently say that I now know how to knit cables, thanks to Lion Brand's free "Learn to Cable Scarf" pattern. I will say that knitting from this pattern really is a good way to learn cables. If you haven't done cables before, you really have nothing to worry about! I couldn't believe how easy a technique it really is, and with such nice results.

Here is a show of my progress at the end of the third repeat:

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but this scarf has an unusually long agenda of 21 repeats (making it a monstrous 6' long). I'm about 1/3 of the way through the first of two balls of yarn. We'll see how long the allure of cables lasts with this pattern.

I have decided that my next cable project will be one with a reversible pattern (unless it's a sweater, of course). Although the back looks nicely patterned with knit and purl stitches, I would have liked cables there too. Ravelry lists a few nice ones that I've added to my ever-growing list of favourites...

Generation X

2008-01-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Here's my line of thinking, or rather, my version of word association. So I'm sitting, watching tv and knitting my cable scarf, and on comes an interview with Douglas Coupland on CBC. (As you may or may not know, Douglas Coupland coined the term "Generation X" in his book of the same title.) Amazingly, at this same point in time that I'm watching Coupland's interview, my scarf resembles an X:

Talk about coincidences! (Maybe I should write to let him know of this miraculous happening.) Anyway, I am knitting along and watching the interview because I loved Coupland's book, Hey Nostradamas. I have yet to watch the CBC series based on Douglas Coupland's book, Jpod. It could be because of the fact that I hated the book and I really don't feel any strong urge to watch Canadian-born actor Alan Thicke in it. Hmmm... Did you "get" Jpod? Are you watching the show, perhaps curious to see just what CBC will allow Coupland to show on air?

The photo shows my progress to the end of the first repeat. Only 21 more repeats to go (less, if I get bored; more if I pick up some butterscotch yarn)...

You can see my book reviews on Jpod and Hey Nostradamas here.

2008: Year of the Cable?

2008-01-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

In order to advance my knitting skills I have decided to take on cables. At the same time I am also attempting to try something other/larger than dishcloths. For my first cable project I have decided that I want to make a scarf, and I finally found a scarf pattern that looks simple enough to attempt. As Lion Brand's free pattern is called "Learn to Cable Scarf", it quite aptly fits my needs.

This pattern is also listed as "Easy," so that immediately moved this scarf into contention. The pattern calls for 9mm needles (US13), which I had to go out of my way to get (20+ minutes each way). At least Michael's had a 30% off sale and I got my yarn, knitting needles, and cable needles a little cheaper. (My dh, James, wants a scarf done in grey tones so I had to get a raincheque for some grey yarn. Is grey yarn that popular?)

I am not thrilled with the sample colours chosen by whomever knitted it up. Sorry, the "butterscotch" and "taupe" together just do not make me happy. Others' work on Ravelry looks great for this scarf and has been done in a multitude of colour choices (note: none of them is in the butterscotch and taupe combination). I choose Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Fisherman (Fisherperson???). I've grown to love the look of cream or off-white in the final result of knitting. Boring? Maybe. But I'm knitting it for me, and if all goes well it should turn out beautifully. :-) Wish me luck, and answer my poll (up on the right -->)!

End of the year knitting

2007-12-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

Happy (almost) New Year!

I did some knitting for Christmas. There were a few items that I forgot to take photos of, but these are the few that I remembered:

These cloths are all free patterns from Knitting Knonsense. I would eventually love to do the entire alphabet... now doesn't that sound like a good resolution for the new year??? (I think that all of the colours together would make a beautiful baby blanket.)

Happy knitting!

How knitting connects the world

2007-12-13T18:36:00.001-08:00

During my blogging experience I have come across other knitters who have emailed to let me know that they are enjoying my free designs. I am very happy to offer these designs to anyone who (obviously) will respect the copyright implied when downloading one of my patterns.

I have heard from a lot of knitters who have found their way to my blog from the Yahoo! groups that I belong to. One such knitter, Shirley, is all the way from South Africa - how exciting! Shirley has so generously sent me a photo of the garbage truck that she knit up:

I never would have thought of using white, but I love it!

Here is mine, in green:

I need some ideas for upcoming knitting designs. Anything that you'd like to see?

Happy knitting,

Val

Another freebie - Garbage truck

2007-12-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest design. It has been written up and tested, and is now available for you to download! (Isn't that exciting?) Enjoy your knitting!

GARBAGE TRUCK

Cast on 48 stitches.
Rows 1 to 3: Knit across.
Row 4 and all remaining even-numbered rows: knit across.
Row 5: k3, p42, k3
Row 7: k3, p42, k3
Row 9: k3, p8, k3, p3, k3, p13, k3, p9, k3
Row 11: k3, p7, (k2, p1) x 3, k2, p11, k2, p1, k2, p8, k3
Row 13: k3, p3, k3, (p1, k2) x 4, p1, k9, (p1, k2) x 2, p1, k4, p3, k3
Row 15: k3, p4, k3, p1, k3, p3, k3, p1, k11, p1, k3, p1, k4, p4, k3
Row 17: k3, p4, k4, p9, k13, p3, k5, p4, k3
Row 19: k3, p4, k34, p4, k3
Row 21: k3, p4, k34, p4, k3
Row 23: k3, p4, k34, p4, k3
Row 25: k3, p4, k24, p7, k2, p5, k3
Row 27: k3, p4, k24, p6, k2, p6, k3
Row 29: k3, p4, k24, p5, k2, p7, k3
Row 31: k3, p5, k18, p1, k4, p4, k2, p8, k3
Row 33: k3, p6, k17, p1, k9, p9, k3
Row 35: k3, p7, k16, p1, k8, p10, k3
Row 37: k3, p8, k16, p18, k3
Row 39: k3, p9, k20, p13, k3
Row 41: k3, p10, k19, p13, k3
Row 43: k3, p42, k3
Row 45: k3, p42, k3
Rows 46 to 49: Knit across.

Bind off.

Note: To make this cloth square rather than rectangular, add a few more rows of k3, p42, k3 before and after beginning the design.

Photos here!

Correction to taxi pattern

2007-12-03T22:54:00.000-08:00

I have finally had a chance to knit up the taxi pattern. To anyone that has already downloaded the pattern: there was an error in row 17. It has now been corrected.

Happy knitting,

Val

Get out your red Christmas yarn - Fire truck freebie!

2007-12-01T11:35:00.001-08:00

This is my latest design. I have it written up but have yet to test it.

(Click on picture for larger graph.)

FIRE TRUCK Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell (http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com)
Supplies: Cotton yarn and 4mm needles.

Cast on 48 stitches.

Rows 1 to 3: Knit across.
Row 4 and all remaining even-numbered rows: knit across.
Row 5: k3, p42, k3
Row 7: k3, p42, k3
Row 9: k3, p9, k3, p17, k3, p10, k3
Row 11: k3, p8, k2, p1, k2, p15, k2, p1, k2, p9, k3
Row 13: k3, p3, k4, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k13, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k5, p3, k3
Row 15: k3, p4, k4, p1, k3, p1, k15, p1, k3, p1, k6, p3, k3
Row 17: k3, p4, k5, p3, k17, p3, k7, p3, k3
Row 19: k3, p4, k35, p3, k3
Row 21: k3, p4, k35, p3, k3
Row 23: k3, p4, k35, p3, k3
Row 25: k3, p5, k2, p7, k4, p20, k1, p3, k3
Row 27: k3, p6, k2, p6, k6, (p1, k2) x 5, p1, k3, p3, k3
Row 29: k3, p7, k2, p5, k6, (p1, k2) x 5, p1, k3, p3, k3
Row 31: k3, p8, k2, p4, k1, p1, k2, p20, k1, p3, k3
Row 33: k3, p9, k6, p1, k23, p3, k3
Row 35: k3, p9, k6, p1, k23, p3, k3
Row 37: k3, p11, k2, p29, k3
Row 39: k3, p11, k2, p29, k3
Row 41: k3, p42, k3
Row 43: k3, p42, k3
Rows 44 to 47: Knit across.

Bind off.

Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell.
http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com

If you have downloaded this pattern to knit or cross-stitch please leave a message. (And let me see a photo of your completed works!) Enjoy!

My newest freebie - a taxi!

2007-11-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

(Left-click to get larger image.)

It has been a while since I've posted, but I have a new pattern written out and have decided to post it early. Please be forwarned - it has not been tested yet. Please let me know if anything needs to be corrected.

UPDATE (3 Dec 2007): I have now tested the pattern. There was an error found in row 17. The pattern, as listed below, is now believed to be correct. (Corrections to the pattern are listed in red.)

TAXI
Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell (http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com)
Supplies: Cotton yarn and 4mm needles.

Cast on 42 stitches.
Rows 1 to 3: Knit across.
Row 4 and all remaining even-numbered rows: knit across.
Row 5: k3, p36, k3
Row 7: k3, p36, k3
Row 9: k3, p7, k3, p17, k3, p6, k3
Row 11: k3, p6, k2, p1, k2, p15, k2, p1, k2, p5, k3
Row 13: k3, p6, k2, p1, k2, p1, k13, p1, k2, p1, k2, p5, k3
Row 15: k3, p4, k2, p1, k3, p1, k15, p1, k3, p1, k2, p3, k3
Row 17: k3, p3, k4, p3, k2, (p1, k1) x 3, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, (k3, p3) x 2, k3
Row 19: k3, p3, k9, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k9, p3, k3
Row 21: k3, p3, k9, (p1, k1) x 3, p2, k2, p3, k8, p3, k3
Row 23: k3, p4, k29, p4, k3
Row 25: k3, p9, k1, p6, k2, p7, k1, p10, k3
Row 27: k3, p10, k1, p5, k2, p6, k1, p11, k3
Row 29: k3, p11, k1, p4, k2, p5, k1, p12, k3
Row 31: k3, p12, k11, p13, k3
Row 33: k3, p17, k2, p17, k3
Row 35: k3, p17, k2, p17, k3
Row 37: k3, p36, k3
Row 39: k3, p36, k3
Rows 40 to 43: Knit across.
Bind off.

Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell.
http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com/

Photo to come...

Another freebie for you - Van

2007-11-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

Here is another freebie:

Click here to go to larger graph.
(If you download my charts, please leave a comment on my blog. :-)

VAN
Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell (http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com)
Supplies: Cotton yarn and 4mm needles.
Model stitched in Bernat Handicrafter’s “Jute.”
Finished size: 8” wide by 5” long.

Cast on 47 stitches.

Rows 1 to 3: Knit across.
Row 4 and all remaining even-numbered rows: knit across.
Row 5: k3, p41, k3
Row 7: k3, p41, k3
Row 9: k3, p9, k3, p17, k3, p9, k3
Row 11: k3, p8, k2, p1, k2, p15, k2, p1, k2, p8, k3
Row 13: k3, p3, k4, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k13, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p3, k3
Row 15: k3, p4, k4, p1, k3, p1, k15, p1, k3, p1, k4, p4, k3
Row 17: k3, p4, k5, p3, k17, p3, k5, p4, k3
Row 19: k3, p4, k33, p4, k3
Row 21: k3, p4, k33, p4, k3
Row 23: k3, p4, k33, p4, k3
Row 25: k3, p4, k22, p8, k2, p5, k3
Row 27: k3, p4, k22, p7, k2, p6, k3
Row 29: k3, p4, k22, p6, k2, p7, k3
Row 31: k3, p4, k22, p5, k2, p8, k3
Row 33: k3, p4, k28, p9, k3
Row 35: k3, p5, k26, p10, k3
Row 37: k3, p41, k3
Row 39: k3, p41, k3
Rows 40 to 43: Knit across.

Bind off.

Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell.
http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com/

Happy knitting!

New freebie pattern! - TRUCK

2007-11-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished knitting up my latest design:

Click here to get a larger graph.

Enjoy!

TRUCK
Copyright 2007 by Val Campbell (http://nimbleneedles.blogspot.com)
Supplies: Cotton yarn and 4mm needles.
Finished size: 9" x 6" long.

Cast on 48 stitches.

Rows 1 to 3: Knit across.
Row 4 and all remaining even-numbered rows: knit across.
Row 5: k3, p42, k3
Row 7: k3, p42, k3
Row 9: k3, p10, k3, p17, k3, p9, k3
Row 11: k3, p9, k2, p1, k2, p15, k2, p1, k2, p8, k3
Row 13: k3, p3, k5, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k13, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p3, k3
Row 15: k3, p4, k5, p1, k3, p1, k15, p1, k3, p1, k4, p4, k3
Row 17: k3, p4, k6, p3, k17, p3, k5, p4, k3
Row 19: k3, p4, k34, p4, k3
Row 21: k3, p4, k34, p4, k3
Row 23: k3, p4, k34, p4, k3
Row 25: k3, p4, k24, p7, k2, p5, k3
Row 27: k3, p4, k24, p6, k2, p6, k3
Row 29: k3, p4, k24, p5, k2, p7, k3
Row 31: k3, p4, k19, p1, k4, p4, k2, p8, k3
Row 33: k3, p4, k19, p1, k9, p9, k3
Row 35: k3, p4, k19, p1, k8, p10, k3
Row 37: k3, p4, k19, p19, k3
Row 39: k3, p4, k19, p19, k3
Row 41: k3, p4, k19, p19, k3
Row 43: k3, p42, k3
Row 45: k3, p42, k3
Rows 46 to 49: Knit across.

Bind off.

Please send me photos if you stitch/knit it up!

More designs to come!

October is FINALLY over; New freebie coming

2007-11-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

October was the most emotional month that I have ever experienced in my life. In October there were: two important milestone birthdays celebrated (both 5th birthdays), the death and funeral of my sister (which led to a reunion with my now-18-year-old nephew who I haven't seen since he was about 4), bullies (and their flaky parents) at the playground, and a slew of personal health problems. The stress on me has gone down now. I don't claim to be religious, but I thank God that October is now over.

I have finished writing the instructions for a new freebie which can be used for both cross-stitch and knitting. I will post it after I have it knitted up (which shouldn't take too long).

Happy stitching!

Learn about the poor and help to feed them, too

2007-10-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

There are a few web sites that I've come across lately that I feel are highly worth mentioning:

http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/ is a free simulation game in which you farm animals and/or crops that are subject to drought, theft, and other situations that can leave your family forced to find outside work or with no food, medicine, or a chance of having an education. A mere glimpse of what living in the "Third World" is like.

www.freerice.com is a site where you can play to increase your word power and also, for each correct answer, you earn rice to be given to the poor by advertisers to the site.

Canadian Association of Food Banks. Hunger is also a problem in your area. Next time you go shopping, please remember to buy a few extra items to give to the food bank on your way out of the store. :-)

Busy, busy

2007-10-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have been busy lately (as the title suggests).

I'm currently working on a picture cloth of a Christmas Ornament from Harvest Moon Designs in Bernat's red Holiday Sparkle. I have mixed feelings about the yarn; although it is looking nice, it is difficult to work with because the metal thread separates easily from the yarn. To me, it is the same as the difficulty faced with cross-stitching with metallic thread.

I have finished Rachel van Schie's knitting freebie, "Quilted Hearts Dishcloth". I love how it looks in Ivory:

Since my last post I have also since knitted up a skull and crossbones design based on the simple chart from http://www.toysaregoodfood.com/. I did mine in just one colour (black) using just knit and purl stitches. It has proven a challenge to photograph, so I will post a pic when I'm satisfied with the results of my camera. It is a very small cloth - something like 3" x 5 1/2" - and cute, if you could say that about skull and crossbones...!

I also went nuts yesterday and have created a few more designs. I would like to cross-stitch and knit them up myself before posting them as freebies, but we'll see. Stay tuned.

More slipper photos; "love cloth" freebie

2007-10-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

I finally got the batteries working in my camera!

These are the other two pairs of Two Needle Slippers that I knit:

Here is my latest knitted cloth:

I love it! This is called the "Love Cloth" and is another freebie from Rachel van Schie. (Thanks, Rachel!) This was done in Bernat Handicrafter "Hot Pink," although the colour shows as slightly lighter in the photo.

Why old ladies knit

2007-10-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I pulled out my cross-stitch after taking a long hiatus from it because I was having carpal (LOL, not "carpool") problems and I was also learning to knit.

Lately things just seem to be getting smaller all around me. A cross-stitch chart that I've used before now seems miniscule in its detail! I've noticed that of late the scores of hockey games are impossible for me to see. I thought that maybe it's just that our TV is getting "old" and is incapable of getting HD. DH has also noticed the small-score phenomenon, and we are constantly asking each other if it's just us. Come on, we both wear glasses but I am still a few years away from turning forty!

Until I can make my way to make an enlargement of the cross-stitch pattern I will do as the old ladies do - knit. There is rarely a chart to follow, and my eyes can take their much-needed rest to focus on making out the hockey score.

I have pictures to post of my latest knitting, but those new-fangled rechargeable batteries for my camera have thrown me for a loop again.

Slippers galore!

2007-10-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been 3 weeks since I last posted. But - I DO have an excuse!

I found this free pattern for slippers and have been feverishly knitting away (along with reading for my book club - A Lesson Before Dying is very good!). It is a very simple pattern, and good for beginners because it only uses a pair of straight needles. Oh, and it did take me much more than the 1 hour that they suggested to knit each slipper - I did get faster, but nowhere near 1 hour!

Here's the second pair:

Is it just me, or do my feet look fat?! LOL! Maybe it was a little too close up? :-)

Does THIS look better?

So far I've knitted two pairs, and am finishing up my third pair. Okay, I'll be moving on to something a little different for the next little while...

Do you know who your neighbours are?

2007-09-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ever hit the button above that says, "Next blog"? I have some interesting neighbours, to say the least! Some blogs are in different languages, and others contain interesting content... Click on the button above (after visiting with me, of course) and see what blogger.com has to offer to anyone who signs up for free. Very interesting! Now, if I could figure out how to go back to visit my neighbours on the other side of me...

I hope that if you are visiting my site for knitting patterns you have downloaded my free snowboarder instructions (see link to the right under "Val's Freebies"). If you do the design I would love to see your work! I have a few thoughts in mind for my next freebie offer. Let me know if there is something that you would like to see charted.

As for knitting, I've signed up for a few Yahoo! knitting groups. Several of them do a KAL (knit-along) that I've participated in. Here are a few. The Snoopy cloth was KAL #5 from Rachel's Knitting Room. I did it in Bernat's "Sage Green."

The whole idea of a KAL is that everyone who knits it doesn't know what it is until they are nearly done.

Hmmm... is it a tree? Okay, it's a BROWN tree!

Nope! Not even close! It's a.....

BIRTHDAY CAKE!

The "Birthday Cake" was MonthlyDishcloths' September KAL. Mine was done in Bernat's "Jute." I wish that I'd done it in any other colour than brown... It's chocolate, maybe? Hmmm...