Category: knitting

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Posted in notions, Other Crafts, Pattern, Ravelry knit projects, yarn

Flowers in the Snow Blanket

Posted on by kymhretz

Flowers in the Snow Blanket

I’m an excellent knitter. I love knitting. If I could knit all day long I would. But instead, I’m crocheting. I’m crocheting the Flowers in the Snow Blanket. I love it but I find it is not as comfortable or easy on my hands as knitting. It’s probably because as a newer crocheter I haven’t found the perfect way to hold my yarn and hook.

Why am I crocheting instead of knitting anyway? The simple answer is I fell in love with the FLowers in the Snow Blanket on Ravelry. It’s sort of a granny square with a circle center. It’s circles inside of squares. And that really makes my eyes happy.

Color Palette

When I decided to crochet the Flowers in the Snow Blanket I knew I wanted to knit this as a cotton/wool blend and I was able to find Brown Sheep Company’s Cotton fleece. I purchased this at one of my LYS’s, Yarn Matters. I’ve used this yarn before and absolutely loved working with it so I  was eager to do so again. I also think this yarn would be great for a sweater.

There are so many colors to chose from in the Cotton Fleece. I went back and forth. Back and forth. Rainbow? Blues and greens? Pastels? Rainbow!?!

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Posted in knitting, Pattern, Ravelry knit projects, yarn

Bayside Garter Lace Pullover

Posted on by kymhretz

Knitting sweaters, any clothing really, isn’t for the fly-by-night knitter. It takes planning, measuring, organization, skill and time. Lots of time. Especially when you are knitting with thin yarn and small needles for a plus size gal.

I started this sweater just as I had finished my January Gansey Sweater and after I went to Marie Greene’s class on sweaters to promote her book, Seamless Knit Sweaters in less than Two Weeks. Although, I definitely have not finished this sweater in two weeks.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you.

More about the Yarn

I chose to use Cascade Roslyn which is a DK weight with 383 yards per 100g skein. I’m sure that means nothing to you if you’re not a knitter, but trust me, it’s a nice light yarn made from a blend of wool and silk. It has a classy tweed look to it. The color of my yarn is a light denim color leaning slightly turquoise from the silk. This yarn gets even softer as you wear and wash it.

#cascadeyarns #roslyn #wool #silk #yarn #cascadeyarnsroslyn #knitter #knit #knitting

I’ve used this yarn to make swatch samples, this is my first time for an actual whole project. I really like knitting with it.

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Posted in knitting, Ravelry knit projects

Oliveknits January Gansey

Posted on by kymhretz

I’ve finished my January Gansey sweater by Oliveknits. It took me longer than the 8 weeks that the Knit A Long ran but I’m OK with that.

Marie Greene

Marie Green is the woman behind Oliveknits. She is a knitwear designer with lots of sweater designs under her belt. She currently is touring the country doing talks and book signing for Seamless Sweaters in Two Weeks. I was lucky enough to get a spot during her stop here in Williamsburg.

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Posted in knitting, Pattern

Little Knit Hats

Posted on by kymhretz

Quite a few years ago I worked up a bunch of little knit hats. I had so many people ask me for the pattern for them. I quickly wrote down what I did. Periodically people still ask me for the pattern. I decided it was time to write out a proper pattern, originally I had posted this on my blog in 2008.

This pattern doesn’t take much yarn, any leftover sock yarn works great. It’s fun to take an hour or so to knit one of these wee hats up for a Barbie or other loved toys and make a child very happy. I knit this hat for my nephew’s little dog when he was here visiting from MIchigan.

Knit little hats #hats #knit #knitting #knithats #little #knitter #knitallthethings #barbieclothes #barbie #dog #toys
I knit this a little larger than my pattern is written, casting on 30 stitches

You can easily find my pattern via Ravelry here if you should like to add it to your library, queue it or add it to your project page. It’s also at the bottom of this post.

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Posted in knitting, Ravelry knit projects

Knitting Gussets

Posted on by kymhretz

Knitting gussets are not something new to me. I have knit 100’s of pair of socks with gussets. Also, knitting sweaters are not new to me. However, I’ve never knit gussets on a sweater. Therefore, I will be focusing on the gussets I just worked for a sweater.

I’ve been plugging along on my January Gansey sweater from the Olive Knits Knit-A-Long for a couple of months. You can read more about my sweater here. This pattern has three sets of gussets. The first set is in the underarm portion, where the body meets the sleeve. The second set is on the shoulder working up to the neck. The third is paired on the sleeve section paired with the first pair, these work together.

Knitting Gussets

Why do I want a gusset anyway? A Gusset, which is a weird word if you ask me, is an expanse of fabric intended to relieve stress in a tight fitting area of your clothing. Such as the heel of a sock or the underarm of a shirt.

When knitting gussets you typically create a triangle by increasing or decreasing your stitches. This triangle gives you the extra stretch you need for both comfort and movement.

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Posted in knitting, Reading

My Top Binge-Worthy Movies and TV Shows

Posted on by kymhretz

I’m want to share with you my top binge-worthy movies or TV Shows I can watch over and over again. Sometimes I find it’s hard to carve out the time to sit and knit on bigger projects. But it can be easier if you’re watching a great movie or TV show to sit and find a couple of quality hours knitting to your day.

This may post contain affiliate links. If you click on my link and choose to make a purchase there will be no additional charge to you. I make a small commission from your purchase that helps keep my blog going. 

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Posted in knitting, Ravelry knit projects, yarn

Knit this adorable Baa-ble hat

Posted on by kymhretz

Have you seen or knit this adorable Baa-ble Hat yet? It came out a few years ago for Shetland Wool Week in 2015. Many people knit it. People all over the world in fact.

knit baa-able hat #knitting #fairisle #fairisleknitting #colowork #strandedknitting #donnasmith #baablehat #shetlandwoolweek
Photo Credit Donna Smith via Ravelry pattern

If you haven’t knit this hat yet definitely add it to your must-knit list. You will be in good company. As of this writing, there are 9072 projects listed on Ravelry for this adorable Baa-ble hat. However, they aren’t all hats. The chart from this has been worked into so many other items. Obviously, there are lots of hats, but there are also socks, cowls, and sweaters to give you an idea. The chart itself as exploded into its own identity. There’s white, black, brown, and even rainbow sheep. People have added a Llama in place of one sheep and I’ve even seen a sheep-dog join the sheep.

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Posted in Chickens, Homesteading, Other Crafts

Egg-tastic- How I Present My Eggs For Selling

Posted on by kymhretz

How I Present My Eggs For Selling

Egg-tastic – How I present my eggs for selling is all about the packaging. Earlier I told you about my love for good packaging. The last couple of weeks I’ve been working to come up with great packaging for the eggs I sell. I think I nailed it and it’s egg-tastic!

chickens with fresh eggs

Previously sister-in-law, Ruth, and her husband gathered an entire box full of recycled egg cartons. And they brought them to me when they visited last November. Ruth was also very excited to gather the eggs every day. She defintly had a serious case of chicken fever.

Egg Cartons

The most important supply is the previously mentioned recycled egg cartons. I have many. Which is a good thing. I did sort through them and chose the ones I like the best. There are two styles I prefer.

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Posted in Holidays, Nature, Other Crafts, Reading

Packaging – It’s in the details

Posted on by kymhretz

I’m a sucker for good packaging.

When it comes to packaging, for me, it’s in the details. The quality of any item is instantly elevated when you have good graphics and a pretty package. It is my opinion that anticipation is the best part, gift wrapping adds a special part to that.

For the style of packaging I prefer repurposed, hand wrapping, and a touch whimsy with a historical feel. And if I am being honest, even if it’s just the illusion of those things, it’s good.

If I personally purchased an item and it arrives prettily packaged it feels special. Like I received a gift from the seller, not just a product. Good packaging also encourages me to purchase from the seller again. Susannah’s Kitchen on Etsy is really good at packaging. I love her aprons and wear one most days, I’ve ordered no less than 5 aprons from her, the product is good on its own. The aprons arrive perfectly pressed, are handmade to order, and each package comes in a uniquely sized box and that is wrapped like a gift. But truly, I’m telling you, every detail is pure perfection. I wish I had photographed one when I opened it to share the magic with you.

It’s better to give than recieve

Not only do I like to receive good packaging, but I like to create good packaging. Recently I shared my Halloween goodies that were handed out at Trunk-or-Treat. These are a great example my joy in creating good packaging. And, I theme never hurts.

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Posted in Instagram, knitting, Ravelry knit projects, yarn

River of Dreams

Posted on by kymhretz

Don’t talk to me until I’ve had coffee

The first thing I do in the morning is let out the chickens and clean the coop. Then coffee. Always coffee. River of Dreams is perfect to knit while my brain is absorbing caffeine from the coffee to wake up. Usually, I have Instagram stories playing. I knit about 10-12 rows a day. true too, is i move a little slow in the mornings. So now you can understand why it’s taking so long to finish.

You will remember from previous posts, the pattern River Of Dreams by Lauren Rene, was written in conjunction with the anniversary of LYS Flying Needles. I love that this shawl has a playful mix of colorful stripes throughout. The yarn I’m using was a kit from the shop created for this shawl. It also included an exclusive color, River Of Dreams, there are five colors in all. I’d say I’m about 75% done with my shawl.

Some changes I incorporated

I decided to work a garter stitch border rather just Stockinette as the pattern is written. I knit 10 rows of Garter giving me 5 ridges, then 5 stitches of Garter on each end. It’s my preference that the edges to lay flat. Which is why I went with the garter stitch border.

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