Tag Archives: knitting

A yarn made for improvised knitting

Posted in August 2019 by

The Yarn: Lion Brand® Comfy Cotton Blend™

Improvised knitting: to knit spontaneously without a published knitting pattern in front of you.

The knitted item: A Comfortable Cardigan (more details on my Ravelry project page)

The knitting experience: It was enjoyable, relaxing, creatively satisfying, engaging, and gave me a chance to apply some of the knitting techniques (such as cables, short rows, single crochet edging etc.) I had already learnt.

The yarn experience: The yarn is machine washable, budget friendly, so soft to knit and so comfortable to wear.

August Hat for the #WNHyearofhatsKAL2019



Yarn used: Lion Brand® Touch of Alpaca®

Summertime and knitting

Posted in June 2019 by

Somehow for me knitting with worsted weight yarn and summertime don’t go well together. So every summer I try to knit with cotton yarn or lighter weight yarn. Those projects do take more time to complete. This summer though will be different. With a loom no matter what yarn type or yarn weight I use I can still complete weaving projects in less time than my knitting projects.

Woven Wrap

coffeeteaknits_wovenwrap

June Hat for the #WNHyearofhatsKAL2019

The potential of yarn

Posted in May 2019 by

Does the potential of yarn make it difficult for you to give it away? It does for me.
Is it easier to knit and give away the finished item? It is for me. Although finishing knitting projects take time sometimes weeks to months or years.
So in an effort to reduce the time it takes to finish a yarn project, I began dabbling in weaving using a large size pot holder type loom I put together.
Add a rigid heddle loom and it opens up a whole new way to realize the potential of yarn! Watch this space for more weaving projects.

May 2019 hat for the #WNHyearofhatsKAL2019

Knitted with Premier Chamonix® Yarn

~coffeeteaknits.com

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

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.

Revisiting minimalism and the craft of knitting

Posted in November 2018 by

My January 2016 blog post (Minimalism and the craft of knitting) was about my focus that year to knit as much as possible with the yarn I already had. Since then, I have completed several projects using the yarn I had and have also limited my yarn purchases. Still the amount of yarn I have left is not comfortable for me. So after more than two years of trying to practice minimalism in the craft of knitting, the time has come for me to let some of the yarn go.

I read a few knitting blogs on some yarn de-stashing tips and the KonMari method seems to be the one mentioned most. I will try to use this KonMari method but unlike this method I will do this gradually not in one or days. Since I didn’t get all the yarn in one day, discarding or donating most of it in one or two days doesn’t work for me. At the end of this process, I would like to keep yarn that I have specific projects for. One of my goals by the end of 2019 is to have all my yarn fit in two clear storage bins (not including project leftover yarn or yarn already in use).

My journey of letting go of yarn will include:

  • sorting the yarn (synthetic and natural fibers, project leftover yarn etc.) and donating some to knitting charity etc.
  • organizing yarn and making sure I have enough yarn for knitting patterns (including modified or personal patterns) before I begin new knitting projects – most of my limited yarn purchases this year was because I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the modified blanket pattern for the year-long knit along by Hannah Wallace.

I will repeat these steps a few times during 2019 till all my yarn fits in a couple of storage bins. I know all this sorting and organizing will eventually decrease clutter and reduce stress, but at the moment it seems to be taking my time away from actually knitting those unfinished projects.

Do you have any other helpful tips on de-stashing yarn?

~coffeeteaknits.com

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

When knitting is more about the craft

Posted in August 2018 by

When knitting is more about the craft and less about the yarn, more knitting time can be spent exploring and learning the various knit and purl stitch patterns as well as enjoying the process and benefits of the versatile craft of knitting.
It has been so with me this year with the square a month year long blanket knit-along. Since I’ve modified the pattern so that the squares are twice the size of the squares in the knit along pattern and all squares have the same number of rows and stitches, I’ve spent much time exploring the different knit stitch patterns and selecting the ones that would fit with this modified pattern. Most of all I’ve been able to explore and enjoy the creative process involved in the making of this knitted item.

Knit-along by Hannah Wallace in Knit Simple Magazine, Holiday 2017 issue.
August 2018 square: Stitch pattern for both squares are different from the knit-along pattern.
Yarn: Lion Brand® Vanna’s Choice®
Project details on my Ravelry project page

August 2018 Square 1

August 2018 Square 2

The woven look of the linen knit stitch

Posted in May 2018 by

The linen stitch pattern gives the knitted item a flat woven look on one side and a textured look on the other side.

The flat weave side

Textured side of the linen stitch

Why this stitch pattern is fast becoming a new favorite of mine:

  • Like the garter stitch it lays flat

Dishcloths with linen stitch

Linen stitch dishcloths

  • By varying the knitting needle sizes, it can be knit tightly without much stretch or elasticity or knit loosely with some elasticity
  • It creates a dense fabric-like look when knit tightly
  • It’s a simple 2 rows repeat pattern that can be used to create a plethora of single colored or multicolored knitted items
  • There’s no purling when knit in the round

Linen stitch hat

Hat with the textured side

This simple yet versatile stitch pattern is also great for leftover yarn from other knitting projects. I know I’ll be knitting quite a few items with this stitch pattern.

Have you tried the linen knit stitch?

Knit-along by Hannah Wallace in Knit Simple Magazine, Holiday 2017 issue.
May 2018 square: Stitch pattern for both squares are different from the knit-along pattern.
Yarn: Lion Brand® Vanna’s Choice®
Project details on my Ravelry project page

~coffeeteaknits.com

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

Is a designated craft area or room useful to a knitter?

Posted in April 2018 by

For the most part, hand knitting and crocheting is portable and a designated craft area or room although not necessary for a beginning knitter certainly becomes more useful and essential as a knitter’s skill levels, projects, and yarn inventory increases. We try to keep our clothes, our mail, the cooking utensils etc. in designated areas so why not our yarn and knitting supplies?

With a designated craft area or room –

  • All the yarn is in one place so we know how much and what type of yarn we have.
  • Less time is wasted looking for a particular yarn stored in a different place.
  • The frequency of additional yarn purchase may decrease.
  • There is motivation to try more challenging knitting projects and to keep better project details and notes.
  • The non – knitters in the household will be thankful they don’t have to see yarn stored in different places.

There are several craft area/room tours by both professional and hobby knitters on YouTube that give some helpful tips on how to create a designated craft area or room. I’m still working on creating a designated craft area where I can keep all my yarn and knitting supplies.

My first top down hat

Finished Hat with pom pom

Yarn used: Lion Brand Heartland® in Isle Royale
Project details can be found on my Ravelry project page

All the hat patterns I’ve knitted so far (some earlier posts here and here) have been bottom up and seamless. The brim of the hat is knitted first, then the body and lastly the crown shaping. With top down hats the crown shaping is knitted first, then the body and lastly the brim.

After reading and watching several online tutorials on how to knit a top down seamless hat, I cast on 8 stitches and began knitting the hat using the magic loop method (tutorial by Tin Can knits).  I increased 8 stitches every other round till I had the number of stitches I needed. I knit the body of the hat in stockinette stitch pattern for several rounds and then knitted the brim using 2 x 2 ribbing pattern.

Once I got used to the magic loop method, knitting the hat with using a top down construction was not hard. I started and finished knitting this hat in December 2017 but found it a bit short without the brim rolled up.

Hat without pom pom

With a short brim

I frogged a few rounds of the brim and knitted till the length of the brim was twice as much as before. Now the hat fits much better.

Finished hat with longer brim

Hat with rolled up brim

It seems that enough brim length when rolled up makes the hat fit better even if the body of the hat is a bit short or a bit long. Because of the direction of the knitting, it is faster and easier to increase the brim length if needed in a top down hat than it is in a bottom up hat.

Knit-along by Hannah Wallace in Knit Simple Magazine, Holiday 2017 issue.
February 2018 square: Project details on my Ravelry project page

April 2018 square

~coffeeteaknits.com

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