Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Show Me Your Knits!

The "Show Me Your Knits!" promotion I ran a couple of years back was one of my favorite Etsy experiences to date. Since there is probably nothing I love more about seeing my knits out and about in the real world, these pictures still bring a smile to my face. I think it's time to revisit some of the great pictures I received. Thanks again to all who participated, you are awesome!

Howard in her dark teal (iPod friendly) mitts

Tory looking lovely in a ruby red diamond brocade slouch

Darcie keeping warm in a Lake Street Cowl and matching buttoned gloves

Grace sporting custom two-toned mitts is a thumbs-up situation indeed

The fabulous Eve in her navy buttoned gloves!

Miss Eve is back! This time in mint green gloves and a mint chocolate scarflette

Mia modeling her made-to-order gloves and scarflette

Kelly in her creamsicle gloves -- I forgot how much I loved this color combo!

Dana in navy, Amanda in aqua, and my fancy sister Ashley in purple! <3

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Lake Street Cowl

Although we're still creeping toward Thanksgiving, it's never too early to start thinking about gifts for the holidays, especially if you are a knitter. Typically taking only one skein of yarn and one evening to work up, I can't think of a better gift idea than a cozy, adorable, and easy little cowl. Plus, it's a great way to sample those beautiful, luxurious yarns that you could only justify purchasing one of any way.
This cowl uses one hank of Misti Alpaca Chunky Hand Paint -- a 100% alpaca yarn that is beautifully hand painted in a dozen gorgeous colorways. The result is a lightweight, but incredibly warm, cowl. Easy to gift, but easier to keep for yourself.

Lake Street Cowl
Materials:
1 skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky Hand Paint (color: granite) or approximately 110 yards of chunky-weight alpaca
16 inch or 24 inch circulars, size 11
Stitch marker

Gauge:
3 stitches/inch in garter stitch

Abbreviations:
CO: Cast on
st: Stitch(es)
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches together
BO: Bind off


CO 72 stitches. Since this pattern requires the entire skein, make sure you don’t leave a cast on tail of more than 4 inches. Being careful not to twist stitches, place marker and join in round.

Work garter stitch as follows:
Row 1: Knit all stitches
Row 2: Purl all stitches

Repeat last 2 rows 7 times more (16 rows total from beginning).

Decrease Row 1: *K10, K2tog*, repeat from * around. (66 st.)
Continue in garter stitch for 9 rows, starting with a purl row.
Decrease Row 2: *K9, K2tog*, repeat from * around. (60 st.)
Continue in garter stitch for 11 rows, starting with a purl row.

BO all stitches. If you don’t have enough yarn to bind off, you can use a crochet bind off (see below).

Weave in ends. Slip this beauty over your head and look effortlessly put together.

Crochet bind off:
This bind off is worked starting with the stitches furthest from the working yarn. Slip the first 2 stitches from that needle onto a crochet hook (1 to 2 sizes smaller than your needle size is best). Bring the second (top) stitch through the first (bottom) stitch. Slip another stitch onto the crochet hook and repeat until you reach the last stitch. Bring the working yarn through the live stitch to tie off.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

The Experts Agree

Since I let my phone charge by my bed, one of the first things I do when I wake up is check my e-mail. I hope that doesn't sound too pathetic. If it does, at least it's not as pathetic as admitting that 85% of the time, the only new messages I get in the morning are from Netflix or Groupon's Deal of the Day. On the odd chance that I get an order/conversation notification from Etsy (or Facebook, let's be honest), I get pretty excited. The other morning I saw that I had received a conversation from Samantha of desTroy letting me know that my Morning Fog Mitts had been featured in her blog, The Experts Agree. As a fellow San Franciscan, she obviously values the importance of portable layering pieces all year round, but gals all over the place are finally finding themselves in prime mitt-wearing-weather.

Despite today's gorgeous, no-gloves-needed, autumn weather, I'll be spending the rest of my day off cranking out gloves for a bulk holiday order, doing laundry, and of course, a lengthy catch-up call with Mom.