Author Archives: Coffee Tea Knits

Knitting with anti-pilling yarn

Posted in March 2019 by

My version of Udina – a top down seamless cabled pullover pattern by Norah Gaughan

Yarn used: Premier Anti-Pilling Everyday Yarn (used to be Deborah Norville Collection when I bought the yarn few years ago).
I’ve knit several other sweaters with this yarn and compared to other yarn (including wool yarn) it doesn’t pill much. It is soft to knit and wear, warm, budget friendly, and machine washable. This yarn is great for knitting sweaters, blankets, cowls, hats etc. and a good alternative for those sensitive to wool.

March Hat for the #WNHyearofhatsKAL2019
Pattern used: Sideways Bobble Hat by Woolly Wormhead
Yarn Used: Premier Yarn Every day and Premier Serenity Sock

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

Photography, a non knitting skill that is helpful to knitters

Posted in February 2019 by

February Hat for the #WNHyearofhatsKAL2019
The pattern used was Fruju Hat by Deb Cunningham
Yarn: a merino bamboo fingering weight yarn by Taylored Fibers I bought few years back.

As a hobby knitter it takes me days and sometimes months to complete my  knitting projects and yet I spend very little time when it comes to taking good photographs of the knitted items. I think it’s important to spend the time to learn how to take good photographs of the knitted items to showcase them on blog sites, Ravelry or any other social media. Nowadays smartphones with good camera resolution can be used to improve photography skills. There are many resources and tips* available online on how to improve picture taking skills with a smartphone.

Here’s a general summary of some of the tips mentioned:

  • Clean the camera lens before taking any picture with a lens wipe or a microfiber cloth
  • Find a good location around the house, outside etc.
  • Lighting – as much as possible use indirect natural lighting
  • Focus camera on the item to be photographed
  • Take as many pictures to get the one that is good for posting
  • Be ready to spend quite a bit of time to get that one good photo.
  • Take time to edit photos using the photo editing tool on the phone

With lighting, location and other tips in mind I took several more pictures of the hat I knit this month for the hat knit – along. Here are the original and edited pictures of the ones I thought were the better ones.

Original Edited

I’ve learnt a few things about taking good picture taking but need to learn more including how to use the picture editing tools. The only downside to taking pictures with a smartphone is that you need to spend a bit more time removing all the pictures that didn’t turn out well!

How do you take photos of your knitted items?

* “Take better smartphone photos with these simple tips and tricks”
* “How to Take Amazing Product Photos With a Smartphone”

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

2019 and knitting hats

Posted in January 2019 by
  • This year will be a year of knitting a hat (or two) a month,

I knit the Antler hat by Tin Can knits and added a pom pom. More details can be found on my Ravelry project page.

Hat made with two strands of sock yarn held together. More details can be found on my Ravelry project page.

  • a year to explore and learn more challenging stitch patterns,
  • and a year to continue knitting sweaters and blankets with the yarn I already have

Finished Sweaters:

Finally after two years this lingering Top down striped tunic is complete. It turned out to be different than what I had initially planned to knit. While I was not quite successful in helical striping (see more details on my Ravelry project page), I did learn how to crochet and sew the duplicate stitch. 

In the Top down moss stitch pullover, I knit a double brim collar after picking up the provisionally cast on stitches.

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

2018 and the year-long knit-along

Posted in December 2018 by

My blanket for the #21 Square of the Month KAL Afghan by Hannah Wallace

Knit-along Blanket

The yarn: Lion Brand® Vanna’s Choice.*

My knit-along experience:
I enjoyed exploring many new knit stitch patterns this year. The knitted squares were joined using the flat single crochet method (a tutorial by ChemKnits). Since I made the blanket twice as big as the knit-along pattern, the blanket fits a queen size bed lengthwise but could be a little wider for a better side drape. I may add additional squares to increase the width or add more rounds to the single crochet edging.

The things I would do differently was to make sure I had all the yarn I needed before modifying the knit-along pattern and joining the knitted squares earlier rather than waiting for all of them to be completed. Knitting a square or two a month with yarn I already have is doable and great for exploring and learning many knit stitch patterns. At the end of the year there’s a completed blanket. This year was a year I learnt new stitch patterns, learnt a new joining method, tried different knitting and crocheting techniques, and took part in a year-long knit-along.

Thanks to all knitters and non knitters who read this blog.

*Click here to read about how this yarn supports the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.