Published August 2012
This is the edging I used to finish my beaded Hitchhiker shawl. It makes small right triangles with a bead at each point. It's on the right in the picture. I do not claim I invented the concept of sawtooth borders--but I made this up as I knitted it, so it's my version.
Crocheted Bike BagPublished March 2012
I made this just for fun but when my friends kept saying how nice it was that it is all seamless, I thought I should share how I did it with everyone. Now I have a place to put my phone when cycling in pants with no pockets! Uses just one skein of Lily Sugar and Cream or other worsted weight cotton yarn.
Published April 2011
I had requests from my students and blog readers for a more detailed version of the pattern below. i enjoy making mitered squares so much that I went ahead and made another similar blanket, only with more squares, and using a diagonal arrangement of colors rather than 4-patch. You can do many things with a rectangle of mitered squares, or make other shapes if you desire. Please use this as a stepping-off point for your own projects, and let me know what you make.
Published March 2010
This is a more condensed explanation for a variation of the same pattern as above. If you don't need all the words, look at this one. I made this for a charity (Project Linus) and liked how it came out. There are 48 mitered squares in the blanket, arranged into 12 4-patch blocks. The four solid colors each repeat three times, but there are 12 different variegated colorways. The border is garter stitch, with each border using one of the solid colors.
I used inexpensive acrylic worsted weight yarn, but you could use any yarn, including lighter-weight yarn for a smaller blanket.
Published February 2009
This is one of those socks where instead of a gusset, you decrease elsewhere in the sock. I made them top down, and decreased by gradually causing the ribbing from the leg portion to come together, creating a V shape. The shape shows up a lot better on the actual sock, which may explain why no one else has tried this one, as far as I know (I did not make this a Ravelry pattern because I don't tell how to make the sock, just how to do the ribbing.
Published July 2007
My most popular pattern, thanks to some nice people doing it as a knit-along. I saw someone knitting a baby blanket in an airport using a really cute but easy pattern, and decided to make socks out of it. The ones you see here are actually my second attempt (the first, alas, were from KnitPicks' first sock yarn, the non-superwash, and got put in the washer).
This is a very simple toe-up pattern, whose only oddity is that the heel flap is slightly narrow. I am not even sure why, any more, I did that. The name of the pattern came from the colorway I knit the socks in, which is Glacier Lake, from Knitivity.
Published June 2008
This is the pattern I used to teach top-down sock classes. It uses worsted weight yarn knit fairly loosely, so they are house socks. But, because they have a very short cuff, you can easily get a student started on the sock and down to the heel in a couple of hours, rather than sending students home to finish the leg before tacking the heel flap. In three hours I can get students past the heel, so they only need to come back for help with the toe.
I have separate instructions for just making the sock and for teaching someone to make socks using the pattern. The latter set tells you what to stress and options for helping people who get confused. The best part of the pattern is the helpful hints for teaching section!
Recorded October 2008
This is not a pattern I made up. It's a traditional feather-and-fan pattern that I figured out in order to repair a friend's old afghan. But, people ask me for it often, so here's a link to this venerable stitch pattern, as well as the story of how I came to work on Nana's Afghan.
Published December 2007
This poor pattern. It is really cool, but you can't tell thanks to my incredibly unfortunate choice of yarn. I used shiny yarn so it would look "wet," to match my rain theme. But it sort of obliterated my cute patterns, which include festive umbrellas down the front and back and raindrops going down the sides. I have a plan to make them in another colorway at some point, but you know there are always more sock patterns out there to knit! Try these--they would very cute in a solid or semi-solid!
Published February 2008
I sure wish I had the originals to this back--they got left in the LYS that closed. They are really, really cute and fit so well. What they are, basically, is classic baby booties, only made larger. The yarn is a super bulky weight, and I knit it as tightly as I could, so they would last a long time. On this pair I added some novelty yarn to the cuffs, which makes them look like moccasins. I made a couple of other pairs with plain cuffs, and they were fine, too. These are a great way to use up super bulky yarn and fluffy stuff you are no longer interested in making scarves out of. They also give you good practice on the short rows and other techniques common to booties, but in bigger yarn, so you can see what you are doing.
Published March 2010
My husband asked me to please make him a bag for his tarot cards, and wanted it to be made of silk (traditionally a preferred type of covering, because it is a natural fiber). The only silk yarn I had on hand was this lovely Tilli Thomas Voile de la Mer, which is wonderful to work with. I decided to knit it on tiny needles, so it would be sturdy. I also wanted to incorporate texture, so I used bands of my favorite linen stitch pattern in it. I added ribbing at the top to draw it in, then doubled the ribs to make it sort of ruffle out. A row of eyelets conveniently allows you to thread i-cord, crochet chain or a ribbon through to secure your precious cards! The instructions linked here tell you how to use your yarn and gauge to customize a bag for you.
Published November 2009
I had an urge to make mitts for teen friends, and teen friends wanted them. It turned out that these are so simple they make a great beginner project or quick gift, so I wrote the pattern up.
The mitts use worsted weight or DK weight yarn, though you could use sport weight with smaller needles and get smaller ones for a younger person. Once you get the basic idea, you can use different stitch patterns and textures for a variety of mitts. They really keep you warm during fall band practice when you need your fingers free to play your instrument!
Published September 2012
I was asked to make a "hairnet" for a curly-haired friend who wanted to dry her hair all scrunched up. I ended up with a fun crochet version of the old-fashioned snood, which also works as a hair net, if you wish. It uses Light weight crochet thread--bamboo is nice because it dries quickly, but cotton is fine. It uses a thin hairband for the elastic to keep it on, or you can buy elastic and make it as tight or loose as you wish.
Published December 2007
Well, I don't know WHY no one else has made one of these! Perhaps because it took like $150 worth of fancy Japanese yarn? Or the fact that it is so thick it would keep an Ice Age out?
It's too bad, though, because I used some interesting techniques. It's knit in the round, which makes the linen stitch easier to do. I love how the linen stitch blurs the striping of the yarn, too--it's such a great stitch. The fringe is really cool, too. I modified a fringe in Knitting on the Edge to come up with dangling strips with bobbles on the end. They curl around and look very nice. I enjoy them as the scarf hangs on a hook, since it is never cold enough in Austin, Texas to wear the scarf!
