Snowy Owl Cardigan

I had this idea in my head, and I was sure that if I worked hard enough at it, I could make one for my little girl.  What I wasn't sure about, was if it would translate to a pattern that people could read and produce into a little cardigan of their own.  After tons of work and testing, the Snowy Owl Cardigan pattern is complete and up for sale!

$ 2.99 USD
The pattern is up for sale on Ravelry here

For non-ravelry members, you can purchase the pattern directly

The Snowy Owl Cardigan is a baby/toddler/child cardigan with an adorable owl perched on a tree branch across the front.

The owl and tree branch are worked using the intarsia method.

The cardigan is knit in one piece (with exception of sleeves), worked flat.

There are both written and chart directions in this pattern. The chart is for the owl section of the cardigan.

Yarn:

Main Color: Madeline Tosh DK 2 (2, 2, 3, 3) skeins

Color B (tree branch): Less than 12 yards of DK weight in contrasting color

Color C (owl): Less than 6 yards of DK weight in contrasting color

Small scraps for owl eyes, if you do not want to use buttons

Needles:

US 6 or any size needle that will give you the correct gauge

US size 6 double pointed needles, or your preferred knitting in the round

Materials:

Stitch markers

Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Scrap yarn for holding stitches

Removable stitch markers or coiless safety pins to mark where you’d like to put buttons on button band

Two buttons for owl eyes, OR you can use a small scrap of yarn to stitch eyes onto the owl for a more kid-safe owl

Buttons for cardigan (button band)

Skills used:

You will need to be familiar with the intarsia method, as it is not taught in the pattern

knitting flat

knitting in the round (for sleeves)

grafting (for underarms)

picking up stitches (for button bands)

working cables (for owl)

Thanks for looking!

xoxo,
Liz

Episode 02 - A Sweater Goal

Things I heart

Baby Cardigans.  They're quick to knit, take only a small investment of yarn and are so satisfying.  Baby knits are also a great way to practice different techniques without having to put a whole lot of time into a project.


On my needles


(All Ravelry links)

Still working on the Habitat hat for my Husband.  And I talk about how I would adjust the pattern for a child.

Still working on my Spectra scarf.  It seems to be a very popular pattern and has been mentioned in a few podcasts that I listen to.

I have a goal to complete at least one cardigan for each of my immediate family (son, daughter, husband and myself) before it really gets cold.  I'd like to do the same thing every year.

Finished a cardigan for baby boy out of Madelinetosh merino DK.  I used the Elizabeth Zimmerman percentage system and if fits great.  Finished it off with some choo-choo train buttons and it's adorable!

I've been working on a cardigan of my own design for my little girl.  It's worked seamless and uses intarsia to create a tree branch and little owl that is perched on the branch.  Sure, it all makes sense in my head, but that doesn't mean it'll make sense to anyone else.  :-)

I made a Coraline cardigan for my little girl.  It's actually an adult womens sweater, but I found some great notes here, here and here to adapt the pattern for a toddler.  Love the finished sweater, but baby girl doesn't like the yarn very much.  I'm hoping that once she is wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath, the scratchiness of the yarn won't bother her.

Still working on the sweater who must not be named.  I found the original garment that I am using as a guide, but have realized that it needs to be ripped back...AGAIN.  Ripped it back, started it again (for the 3rd time now...ugh) and have finished the back piece.  I'm about 7" or so up in the front, and I'm hoping I can finish this soon.

For my own, I'll be knitting the Heart Yoke Cardigan.  I want to use a more subtle color variation than the one used in the pattern.

I have two skeins of Pluky Knitter Primo Fingering in Ballpoint, that are just begging to become another little cardigan for baby boy.
 
I've finished my Hemlock Ring Blanket with 27 grams of Cascade Eco Wool left over.  That's only about 50 yards, and even though that may seem like a lot, it's not enough for another repeat.  I worked through row 65 on the chart, worked the knit on edging and am THRILLED with the way it turned out.  Can't wait to use it.

The Hex Blanket has been completed...sort of.  All of the hexes are complete, and some have been seamed.  I've seamed together enough hexes for three strips, and seamed those three strips together.  It's so pretty, but I may be buried with the rest of these hexes.  I just can't find the motivation right now to put it all together.


Pitter Pattern

Current Cardigan.  It's a fingering weight cardigan that is knit from the top down.  I LOVE the cabling detail on the collar and button band.  I only wish I had enough fingering weight yarn to knit one for myself right now.


Head over wheels

I haven't been spinning, but my husband and I recently talked about starting to spin again.  We've got TONS of fiber that is waiting to be spun into yarn for two sweaters, and it's not going to spin itself.  He's going to spin the yarn for his, and I'll spin the yarn for mine.  I'd like to practice a little more before I dive into a project that large.  I've got a braid of roving that I want to spin, but I need to decide whether I want the finished yarn to become a shawlette, or a pair of handspun socks. 


A Little Random

Saturday knitting at the LYS.  I'm always so happy when my husband has a Saturday off, so that I can leave the kids with him and go to my LYS and knit alllll day.  Unfortunately, it doesn't happen very often because he almost always works on Saturday and has Sunday off.  I got the most FANTASTIC email from my LYS saying that they will be open on Sundays from noon to 4pm during this season.  Can't even begin to explain the joy that this announcement has brought me.


Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews to the podcast.  You've made me a very happy girl!


Big hugs to everyone.

xoxo,
Liz

Episode 01 - Here's to the first of many!

I talk a little about how I learned to knit...FROM YOUTUBE! Yes, youtube...for shame.


On My Needles

(All Ravelry links)

The Habitat hat for my Husband.

A Tweed Baby Blanket that I've adjusted to make larger by using a little math, thicker yarn and larger needles.

A Whispy Cardi that I'm knitting from Madelinetosh Lace. LOVE IT!

A Hemlock Ring blanket. This is just so beautiful and adapted from an antique doily pattern to make this beautiful blanket. You can read more about it and get the free pattern here.

Vanilla Socks...always have a pair of these on the needles.

The Spectra scarf. SO addicting. Also, the Pitter Pattern of this episode.

The Salvio Hexia Pullover. The Knitter's Quarrel for this episode....ugh....just ugh.

And my first crochet project in a billion years! Hex Blanket. I'm working this blanket inspired by This one. I'll be putting it together a little differently, and I used different amounts of each colorway. Instead of using half and half, I did almost all in the lighter colorway, and only one ball of the darker one. I'm going to have the darker hexagons randomly scattered throughout the blanket. I guess it'll sort of look like a bee honeycomb that is filled except for a few random spots...know what I mean?


Pitter Pattern

This episodes pattern is the Spectra scarf. SO much fun and SO addicting to knit, while still being pretty simple to do. LOVE working on this!


Head Over Wheels

I talk about the very first fiber I spun. Great wool for teaching someone to spin. Long staple length, very "catchy" on itself so it doesn't slip very easily. I bought 8oz. of it from Smoky Mountain Fibers on etsy. Here is a listing for the exact same stuff. It's fairly inexpensive, which is another added bonus to using that as a teaching or learning wool. Aside from that, it's a little scratchy, I'd say spin what you love...life's too short.


A little Random

I share a little swatch tip, that I use to remember what needle size I knit the swatch with. This is particularly helpful if I don't get to cast on for the project right away. I guess you could always pin a note to it, but my way leaves the needle size built right into it and it can't get lost. Well...unless you lose the swatch, but then I guess you're out of luck no matter which method you use.

I cast on however many stitches I need to get a minimum of about 4.5 to 5 inches in the center plus 3 more stitches for each side. I always like to swatch to get a good 4 inches of stitches that I can count, without getting too close to the garter on the side. That way I don't get a wonky stitch in there that can throw off my gauge. Knit a few rows to get a garter stitch bottom, and keep knitting the first and last 3 stitches throughout the swatch so that it doesn't curl.

I never really try to get row gauge unless the pattern specifically calls for a certain number of rows and not inches or cm.

I'll work my swatch in pattern or stockinette (whichever is called for) and when I've got two or three inches, I throw in the corresponding number of purl bumps to the size needle I'm using (on the right side of the fabric). If I'm using a size 3, I will put 3 purl stitches somewhere in the middle of the row by doing a purl, knit, purl, knit, purl then knitting to the end. Then I work a few more rows in the swatch and bind off. If I'm trying to get a different fabric with another size needle, I will just knit a few rows to get a couple garter ridges to separate the different sections, and repeat. If you're swatching in pattern, you can always knit a couple rows of stockinette before you do the purl stitches, so that you'll be able to see them easily. Just make sure you have enough rows in pattern, so that the stockinette portion doesn't affect it where you count your stitches.

Gee, that took more typing than I thought.

Also, a big hug and congratulations to the Knitmore Family for the new baby that will soon be in their lives! Yay Baby! Babies are great! New human smell is way better than new car smell, hands down!



I mention the charity segment that I had forgotten to include in the Preview Episode. Big Hearts



A Knitter's Quarrel

I talk about the Salvio Hexia pullover that I'm reverse engineering for my husband, and how everything can go completely wrong by taking measurements from an ill fitting sweater. A word to the wise, make sure the recipient tries on the garment that you're using for measurements. Just trust me on this.

Here is a good tutorial on setting in sleeves for a sweater.



That's all for the first episode. I hope you all enjoy it and tune in for the next episode! AND I hope that it's in a more human volume level this time...lol Thanks so much for listening.

You can download the episodes directly from libsyn here.

And it's available Here on itunes.

You can also subscribe with your chosen feed reader using this feed link.
http://myknittedheart.libsyn.com/rss


Big hugs to everyone.

xoxo,
Liz

Just moved!

Hi everyone!

I've received some questions about the podcast. I promise I'll answer all of you. We've just moved to a new home and I'm up to my eyeballs in boxes and babies. As soon as we're settled in, I'll have some time on the computer.

Thanks for listening!

xoxo,
Liz

Episode 00 - Preview episode for My Knitted Heart podcast

I DID IT!

I got my equipment and finally recorded the preview episode for the podcast.

This preview episode covers a little about me and the show segments.  Not a whole lot of information as far as knitting goes, but I wanted to make sure everything is working as it should before I try to post the first real episode. I'll be submitting this to itunes as well and will update this post with the info once that is up and running.

Have a listen and let me know what you think!




xoxo,
LIz

Equipment Ordered!

That's right!  I ordered the equipment for the podcast.  I already have the software, so all I needed was a good digital recorder with a decent mic.  I didn't want to be one of those podcasts with terrible sound quality early on.  Very soon, I'll have my first episode uploaded for all to hear.  Stay tuned!

xoxo,
Liz

My Knitted Heart... A Podcast!

Well folks, I'm jumping into the podcast pool.

I've been mulling this over in my head for a while, trying to get my thoughts organized on what I want the podcast to be....and I've finally decided it's time.

I'm working on getting all my equipment purchased and set up right now, so I should be recording my first episode really soon.

Here is a list of my show segments and the type of content they'll cover.

Things I heart - This can be knitting related, or just something I love in general.  I will try to keep it knitting related, but I won't limit it strictly to knitting all the time.

On the needles - This will mostly just be about my current works in progress.

A knitter's quarrel - Here I'll talk about things that have gone wrong with my knitting.  Whether it's my own mistake, or just errata in the pattern.  I'll also try to make sure I include what I've done or found to correct it.

Head over wheels - This will be my spinning segment.  I'll talk about what fibers I'm spinning, how I'm spinning them and what I'd like the finished yarn to become.

Pitter Pattern - It just doesn't get as cold here (or for as long) as other more northern parts of the country.  Living in Florida usually means that you get a smidge of spring, a loooong summer, a bit of fall, and a few days of winter temps (without the snow).  It's not uncommon to wake up to 30 degree temperatures in the morning, and find mid 60's at lunch time during the winter months.  Because of that, we tend to do a lot of lighter layers that we can peel off into the afternoon, and put back on into the evening and night.  This segment will cover patterns that I love for our type of weather, such as cute shawls and shawlettes, cowls, fingerless mitts, lightweight cardigans and pullovers. 

From time to time I'll also include reviews.  They'll be knitting related in some fashion.  Probably mostly consisting of patterns, pattern books, yarn and tools.

I think there are a lot of podcasts that are knitting related, but I haven't heard of any that focus on warmer weather knits.  Regardless of how beautiful a design, I find it a little hard to cast on a sweater with a bulky weight yarn for our type of climate.  I'm hoping to shed some light on things for all of us knitters that don't live in a wintery wonderland three months of the year.

Here's to a new adventure!  Wish me luck!

xoxo,
Liz