Learning Intarsia

I have this idea for some fingerless mittens I want to make for Christmas.  I found  a very simple pattern for the basic fingerless mitten.  But, I want to insert a cable of a different color into the pattern.  When I get this project completed I will share it on the blog.  However, in order to do this I needed to learn how to knit vertical stripes to create a color block, and then I also needed to learn to knit cables.  As you know, I am a beginner.  So, I will share with you my process, though I am not a teacher.  I have mentioned previously that I am largely taught by YouTube videos and am so grateful to those individuals who have used their teaching talents to help people like myself learn.  

Intarsia is a method of knitting which changes colors within rows and allows the knitter to create stripes or columns, blocks or other shapes.  I have learned the basics by watching the YouTube video How to Knit Intarsia knitting Part 1-k1p1 TV.   

Beginning Intarsia Knitting:

Since this was going pretty well, I added a cable to the center section.  I learned the cable technique from the stitch booklet Knit Stitches by Leisure Arts.  

This swatch uses three colors for no reason, except that I needed three different "sources" of yarn as I learned to put them together.  Ok, let's see if I can include this idea into my mittens.  If you like puzzles, or a challenge as you knit, and you have not tried Intarsia - I recommend giving it a try.  Very fun.  

Freestyle Cowls

Since making my first cowls I have had fun doing variations of the same idea.  This is a great way to express your creativity.  This cowl below is made of cotton yarn and alternates knit and purl rows.  It is embellished with some beads in lime green. This is a favorite of mine.

Another view:

Another example of a "freestyle" cowl is the one below which is done in single crochet.  This is an alpaca/wool yarn and it is also embellished with some beads.  I had fun making this one for my friend, Pam.

Cowls for Christmas

Many of my family members live in cold weather climates during the winter months.  (I don't, but I try not to remind them of this fact :) A couple of years ago I thought cowls would make nice Christmas gifts for my sister and her three daughters.  I started knitting in October and was done in time to get them in the mail for the holiday.  

The pattern below is the Colwick Cowl by Lion Brand.  I love lionbrand.com.  They have thousands of free patterns and you will see that I reference them often throughout my blog.  This pattern introduced me to knitting in the round with a circular needle (size 10, 24 in. long).  I've since learned that circular needs are great for knitting many projects, not just those in the round.  

I will mention that, because I wanted to make sure the cowls were going to be warm enough to withstand Nebraska snow storms and Chicago wind, I made them a bit "tighter" by casting on 68 stitches, instead of the 80 stitches in the pattern.  The original pattern will make a cowl that has more of a drape.  These are made from Lion Brand Homespun yarn -so soft and the girls say they are really warm.

Garter Vest

The vest I made below is the Easy Garter Stitch Vest by Daylily.  I used Nashua Handknits Daylily yarn in blue.  I love this yarn because of the metallic-like strands of blue and the weight of the yarn.  

For a beginner, this is a great vest.  The pattern uses the garter stitch throughout, but also introduces you to a simple button hole and decreasing for the arm holes and neck line.  The garter stitch is formed by knitting every row and looks the same on both sides.  

Vests are  so versatile and great for all kinds of weather. Even in the warmer weather you can wear a tank under this vest or a short sleeve top.   Looking at this one again, makes me look forward to knitting another one.  

Freestyle Pillow

I began knitting freestyle.  My first project was the pillow cover you see below. If you are just beginning, this is a fun way to start and you can learn as you go.  I had a small pillow form that I spontaneously bought one day while standing in the checkout line at a Swedish home products store in northern LA (you know the one).  After learning my knits and purls, I thought this would be an easy way to start and experiment.  

I used two shades of green yarn.  A lighter shade is on the front of the pillow.  Here I just changed from knit rows to purl rows to create the texture.  As I mentioned, this was freestyle.  I had no pattern so I just kept laying my piece on the pillow as I went to gauge how many more rows I needed to create my design and cover my pillow.  

I used a darker shade of green on the back, and here I used a moss stitch.  I picked up a small booklet at a large chain craft store (with great weekly coupons) in Goleta, CA (you know the one), with 26 different stitches (Knit Stitches, by Leisure Arts/little books).  The moss stitch looked the easiest.  No secret, it is very simple and a standard stitch.

Multiple of 2 sts.
Row 1 (Right side): (K1,P1) across
Row 2: (K1,P1) across
Row 3: (P1, K1) across
Row 4: (P1, K1) across
Repeat rows 1-4 for pattern.