Autumn Rose Cowl

Autumn Rose Cowl

While I love (virtually) all knitting, I especially love designing pieces with a certain person in mind. This cowl was inspired by one of my kids' teachers, who has definitely earned something extra through her kindness and patience despite my kids' occasionally, ahem, * energetic *, behavior. As an added bonus, this cowl's simple design shows off the beauty of the yarn, and is also suitable for beginning knitters or as something to keep your hands occupied during a good movie.

Yarn: Malabrigo Mechita (100% Merino Superwash; 420 yards [385 meters]/100 grams); #862 Piedras – one skein 

It's amazing what you can do with a few knits
and some purls!

Needles: One 16" or 20" circular needle in size US 2

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 26 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette on size US 2 needles

Which brings us to the cowl-making! With that in mind, cast on 140 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. And then we'll begin our edging rows, as follows:

Edging Rows 1 - 4: * k10, p10; rep from *

Austrian Block Hat

Austrian Block Hat
Size Adult Small

I wish I had a super-good story for this hat, but I don't. Basically, I had the yarn (left over from the Little Red Hooded Cowl), I saw the stitch pattern, and the hat-baby I imagined would result from the combination of the two seemed neat. And, whaddya know, it IS neat, and makes a quick, unisex knit perfect for your last-minute holiday gifting needs (not that we're there yet!).

Sizes: Adult Small (Adult Large)

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Chunky (75% Acrylic, 22% Wool, 3% Rayon; 143 yards [131 meters]/100 grams); #999  - one skein 

A closer look at the pattern.
So blocky!

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 9, one 16" circular needle in size US 10, one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size US 10

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 14 stitches = 4 inches on size 10 needles 

And now it's time to make a hat! Using your size 9 needle, then, cast on 70 (80) stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Then we'll work a ribbing row, as follows:

Ribbing Row: * k1, p2, k2, p1, k2, p2; rep from *

Knit this ribbing row 8 times (10 times) and transfer your work to your size 10 needle. Now it's time to begin the main pattern, which is a Austrian Block Pattern from page 146 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. To do it, we'll need some terminology, as follows:

rt (right twist): knit two together, leaving stitches on left-hand needle; next, insert right-hand needle from the front between the two stitches just knitted together, and knit the first stitch again.  Finally, slip both stitches from left-hand needle together

Lizard People Fingerless Gloves

Lizard People Fingerless Gloves

My husband had just one job with this project: to convince me not to call these mitts the "Lizard People Fingerless Gloves." Obviously, he failed. Luckily, it doesn't matter what I name them, since these fingerless gloves will remain beautifully textured and fun to make either way. So break out your favorite sport weight yarn and get started on a pair of fantastic gloves for all of your lizard friends!

Sizes: small (medium; large) (the small will fit a hand roughly 7 1/2" - 8" in circumference at the base of the thumb, the medium up to 8 3/4", and the large goes up to about 9.5")

Yarn: Cascade 220 Sport (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 164 yards [150 meters]/50 grams); #8910 Citron - one skein

A closer look at the pattern.
It's lizard-y, no?

Needles: One set of double pointed needles (dpns) in size US 5, one set of dpns in size US 6

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches

So let's make some mitts! Using your size 5 needles, cast on 40 (44; 48) stitches loosely, join in round, and then divide among three double-pointed needles as follows: 12 stitches, 16 stitches, 12 stitches (14 stitches, 16 stitches, 14 stitches; 16 stitches, 16 stitches, 16 stitches). Then we'll work a ribbing row as follows:

Ribbing Row: * k1, p2, k1; rep from *

Knit this ribbing row 6 times (all sizes). Transfer work to your size 6 needles. Then, we'll begin to incorporate a pattern stripe. All sizes can follow the same directions, below:

Row 1: knit

Row 2: knit across first needle, k4, p8, k4, knit across third needle