block 'n tackle knitting

I've finally gotten around to learning slip stitch. Tika seems to approve of the sampler scarf I made..

I finished the crocheted capelet, which is the same pattern from Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker that I made out of mohair a few years ago. This pattern seems to lend itself to any kind of yarn, and it was fun to see what mercerized cotton looked like in this drapey little cape. I added some old buttons to make it look even more steampunk. I'm going to wear it over t-shirts or tank tops to keep my cleavage from burning ('cause it does that -- yeah, white-girl problems).

Crocheting a lacy capelet is making me happy today, especially the metallic yarn..

Cowls are trendy! Oatmeal new wool cowl in an old shale lace pattern and cream alpaca cowl in stockinette and garter.  The oatmeal cowl was knit flat, then joined; the alpaca cowl was knit in the round. Here are two knitted cowls and one extra-long crocheted cowl for winter. I love that I don't have to worry about arranging dangling scarf ends -- yay, cowls! Crocheted flat with sock yarns, I had initially added a fringe intending this to be a scarf, but when I saw how beautifully it draped, I decided to join it in a loop and make a big cowl.

Garter and stockinette cap knit in the round, on the bus last month on a trip to Nanaimo and back. It also doubles as a basket lid or tea-cosy.  Kwan Yin approves. ;)

Warm and cosy, in a nubbly wood/acrylic blend. You can't even feel the seams.. I decided to try something different, and because I enjoy knitting on two needles sometimes, I figured out how to knit mitts on them in no time flat.  ;) I simply cast on between 28 and 36 stitches (depends on your gauge, size of yarn, needle size, etc.) and rib-knit for a few centimeters. Then I continued in stockinette stitch until it was as tall as my tallest (er, middle) finger. I reduced in the usual way, by knitting two together until I was down to only two stitches and pulling the yarn through to bind them, and then I started sewing down the seam (with the mitt inside-out) until I got to the place where my thumb would start. I then picked up 5 to 6 (depends on size, again) stitches on one side, knit them back, and picked up 5-6 more on the other. I knit the thumb flat until it was the right length and reduced in the same way I did for the hand. I sewed the thumb seam on the outside of...

I've seen a few ideas online for making a scarf based on the game, "Guitar Hero".  Since one of my partners is a GH fanatic, I decided to make him one.  It features 21 bars of his favourite song, "Thru Fire and Flames". I can't wait to get a picture of him wearing it, holding his guitar.  Heh.