Two Furballs, Two Hearts, One Pattern :D

With the help of my two trustful furballs, I finally published my second heart shaped dishcloth. They helped by distracting my attention when I needed it most. They wanted to be fed and rubbing when I unravel my tangling yarns. They slept on the computer keyboard when I needed to do typo correction on the computer document. Oh well, the list could go on and on, but I guess that make them as loveable as ever.

The second heart involves more complicated stitches to achieve the look.  The cloth goes well with as a companion gift with a bottle of lotion, body scrub, a bar of handmade soap, etc.  I particularly like the sharp shape of the heart and blocking is not essential (that will save a lot of time, and the shape will still be maintained after usage).  It features a garter stitch construction with neat and tidy selvedge. The centre knit stitch column makes a distinct decoration for the piece.

The pattern is in both written instruction and chart. It is now available from my Ravelry store.  Special thanks to all the volunteer knit testers to make this pattern as error free as possible.

Happy knitting :)

From Furballs with Love :D

How much love could a cat give? Oh well, none or many depending on his / her mood. My two furballs only show me love and affection (and associated attention seeking) when I am busy doing something else, like knitting or staring at the computer screen typing out this blog lol).

 

 

My latest Heart in One String is a heart shaped cloth knitted without breaking the yarn. In one colour, there will only be two weaved in  loose ends. Depending on your preference for knitting texture, sizing could be adjusted using different needle sizes.  I would not say it was my very own concept, but saw one on the Ravelry.  I decided to challenge myself to knit one and what a challenge.  It took me by surprise that it was not the mirror type of knitting and the flaps need to be adjusted (and totally surprised me with the adjustment needed) to obtain a pretty heart shape.  I also tried with using two colours and some experiments were more successful than others.  It is because with using two or more colours, the piece has now the RS and WS. The garter stitch is not helping with the problem either as the basic inherited purl bumps show off the change in yarn sharply (now we have the RS and WS) and thus the management of yarn change become a bit more difficult as the creativity increase.  I don't want to do more yarn add, so have to content with what garter stitch can do (and can not do lol).

I also like a neat and tidy edge, and I nearly achieved that with the cast on and selvedge (and yeah - a big sigh - nothing could be perfect, not even my two furballs, but their imperfections are admirable).

This knitted cloth is perfect to go with your personal holiday or special occasion gifts, like facial or bathing essentials

The pattern is now available in my store in Ravelry.

Enjoy the knitting :)

Dishcloth or Cat Mat?!

In order to take myself away from the cat coaster pattern for a bit, I started to knit dishcloth for the first time. It is pretty addictive, and totally satisfying my need to explore the perfect square lol. Already find 4 different ways to knit a square: miter, centre out, straight bottom up and bias.  Each one has its own merit and to choose which technique to use really depends on the stitch pattern.

The cotton yarn also made it a challenge. Being less stretchy and "compressible" (the problem magnified when trying to knit in rounds with a typical magic loop cast on, it is impossible to close the gap comparing to wool / acrylic yarn), adaptation is needed and reflected in my choice of stitches in the pattern.

The test pattern, My Square box, is inspired by my furball, Oscar, as he loved to sit on the finished project. And yes, only this one particular pattern, but not the others. He even wrapped his tail around to fit his whole body to the square confine of the dishcloth (cutie \o/), so my friend Cornwall suggested to call the dishcloth cat mat instead.

The pattern has a modern look to it and it is near to perfect two sided. I cant really make it so as there are ends to weave in and knots to tie making one side just a little bit different from the other.

Instead of alternating colours for the main body (which will definitely make it one sided), I opted for variegated yarn and solid colour border. Also this will minimized loose ends (I think it is important as each loose end / adding yarn represent a potential weak point in the fabric and with dishcloth being use daily under vigorous condition of pulling and what not, less loose ends the better) but still with enough colour variation to make thing pretty lol

I changed the pattern format a bit and included an End Note to put in all the little details about the pattern that I had accumulated through repeating it, so it is something like my knitting journal. Hope the pattern users will find it helpful

Thank you for participating in the test in advance :) and enjoy your knitting :D

The Rebellous One .... Black CAT or Black and White CAT

I don't have a black cat at home, but Moo Moo, the black and white one is close to it.  Definitely defying medical assumption and drink normal cow milk daily without ill effect :D

This second coaster pattern, Black Sheep (CAT) of the Family, is a technically easier  way to make the cat coasters for intermediate beginner.

The simple cast on make an easy start. One of my testers suggested an alternate crochet cast on which did well too for the pattern.  In fact, it "stabilized" the wavy edge a little bit better. So if you are a crocheter turning knitter, this cast on will be easy for you. Below on the left is the original knitted cast on and on the right is the less wavy crochet cast.

Also, the comment I gathered from last pattern, Rub My Tummy Please, was that the short rows were particularly bothersome as it was executed in such a short space of stitches, and yes, by the time you did a few turns, you lost your bearing.  That is why I suggested to place marker at the start of the rnd. And this time, I have written the curled tail slightly different to make away with any wraps or double stitch in short rows.  In a lot of cases, wraps are not totally essential.  Usually, it is that the pattern welcomed the gaps as part of it (same effect as k2tog, yo) or that the knitting is tight enough to hide the gaps. So if you try out my pattern and find a noticeable gap, switch to needles 1 to 2 sizes smaller and do it again). One of the testers also find a new way to make the curled tail too ... .I am not spoiling the surprise, so please check it out at the project page.

In order to make this pattern interesting, I added simple stripes and intarsia to the body of the cats.  There is no limitation to the patterns you can create and customized .... I made a few new one later on with spur of the moment intarsia pattern (although they are knitting from inside out, it still could be translated to pattern outside in if needed be).

For the face of the cat, I have lower down the difficulty level to knit front and back. Obviously there will be a purl bump noticeable on the RS but with all the eyes, nose and whiskers sewn on, the distraction should be enough to hide this. I also find out there is a way to do the kfb without a purl bump (I recognized it as a two rows L1R, but nobody really agreed with me :p) which you can try, but notice that it is still a directional leaning increase, so it will not be as perfect as a Lift One or Make One increase with direction in a symmetrical increase.  The simplest way to describe this modified kfb will be instead of knit into back loop in the 2nd step in executing kfb, just slip that loop purlwise ...continue knitting until the next row or round, and purl or knit the loop as needed.

The bind off of the face / head has made easier by doing a three needles bind off all the way which I think is an acceptable finish to the head.  The bind off ridge actually gives the face a simple rustic characteristic which will suit the décor of a cabin or cottage in the forest ..... big sabretooths prowling the indoor looking for treats and warm human laps to sleep on :D (Sorry, can't bear the idea my furballs are outside facing unknown danger lol)

The pattern is now available for purchase at Ravelry store.

Finally thanks to all the testers for their valuable comments and hard work :) Enjoy the knitting :D

Furballs and Butterflies :D

I knitted socks for a few years now.  First started with a very basic pattern with picking up stitches and short rows heel. It was not my favourite way of making socks. I preferred afterthought heel.  It is much easier in making the heel and in designing the general pattern as well. One of the drawbacks is the fitting around the heel area which takes a bit of getting use to.

As for Upward CAT, the heel area is still a concern for me. I have tailored the heel opening for a better fit and also a sturdier appearance with using the 1 x 1 ribbing to appeal as a gift. The infamous rolling edge of the stockinette stitch might taken some beginners knitters by surprise. My first prototype is without the ribbing on the sole section and now I have been wearing the socks for two days, I have no problem and once putting the socks on, the rolling edge seems to be tamed immediately (I did not wet or steam block the socks, oh well, I do "natural" blocking by wearing them lol).

I came up with this idea and pattern because the furballs at home is already planning for Christmas and would like to give their favourite auntie a pair of socks. The intarsia pattern is inspired by them, and featuring cat, heart and butterfly. I always like "3D knitting" (my interpretation: making bumps on the knitted surface for texture lol) and the butterfly came out better than I thought. In term of colour choice, I will suggest two contrast colours. I tried with variegated (cat / heart) and solid main colour and it did not show case the pattern that well. I think maybe solid colour for cat / heart and variegated for the main colour might work better.

 



All the specialty cast on / bind off, techniques and stitch are readily available on the internet when you google.  If you are new to button hole making, the gap mending I am talking about in the pattern might not make sense to you, but if you are a avid socker/ mitteners, you will be able to apply your experience in this case. Now that I have the pattern written out, it is time for testing.  Thank you in advance for assisting in the test :)

Stop Tickling me ..... and just Rub My Tummy Please

Finally, I have taken Rub My Tummy Please pattern to the market.  It is now on sale in my store in Ravlry.com.

I need to thanks all the testers that had participate in the pattern testing and for their valuable feedback :)

This pattern is the start of my journey in knitting the round and perfect disc. For experienced knitters, the most logical way is to knit from center out. It is easier for sizing as well, so one can stop when the size (diameter) is reached. Really no brain work in here. The drawback is that you will need to know some kind of special cast on, like Emily Osler's cast on, Judy's magic cast on. Those cast ons are not that difficult but practice does make everything perfect ;)

The challenge then presented was the untamed wavy edge. The stockinette stitch likes to curl up and in a disc shape, it becomes wavy instead of curling up at both edges as in a long rectangular scarf, for example. So I did a "mock cuff" ("real one" will involve double knitting lol) to stabilize the edge. It also gave me a chance to add in the little cutie paws too.

The head and tail are fun to make too.  Different facial expression and tail curling will certainly bring out the charm and resemblance to your feline friends at home.

And if you are an intermediate beginner or an advance knitter looking for challenge, there are two more patterns, Black Sheep (CAT) In The Family and Over CATchievers coming up that might be right down your alley. Similar cat coasters but different in construction :) Stay Tune

To find out where my inspiration for this pattern came from, visit my other page in this blog.

Happy Knitting :D

Over (C)A(T)chiever

Could your cat be an over achiever?  You ask how will I know.  The answer is simple. Did you recognize all the meows and their corresponding commands? I do. Firstly, I can differentiate the meows from my two cats. Secondly, when Oscar meows in distress, it means he needs human elevator service.  Not that he cannot find his way to ground floor, but that he is just too special and need his beloved human to climb the two step ladder and gently pick him up, tell him he is a silly cat, a kiss on the forehead and off he goes four paws on the floor. Thirdly, when I talk to him and he meow back, it means he is in total disagreement with me, and he always has the last meow. Nowadays, when he stared at me while I was knitting, it means he needs his food bowl filled. My other cat, Moo Moo, will meow loud when he needs a human goon to follow him around the place while he is patrolling for intruder. So the name of this pattern is inspired by my two cats and the difficulty of this pattern compared to the last two patterns, Rub My Tummy Please and Black Sheep (or is it Cat) of the Family.

This should be my last cat coaster pattern and to mark the end of my journey in studying the round and perfect knitted disc. I go all crazy to set out to "conquer" the pinwheel intarsia pattern. The challenge is to make a flat tummy (yes, it is for both human and coaster lol), or at least as flat as possible.

 

The small coaster will be able to hold mug / cup / glass about 3 - 3.5" in diameter; the big one can hold water bowl about 6 - 6.5" in diameter

This time I made it two ways to achieve the pinwheel pattern and both has its pros and cons.

Actually, I tried out with the Pinwheel Kitten when I developed the Rub My Tummy Please pattern. It did not go the way I wanted it, so I left it aside. I picked it up again when I had more time and here it is. Make sure you pull the body in all direction after it is done, pay more attention to the centre, to loosen up the stitches.  I am using a one direction / hand to change colour, but perhaps using two strands technique (that is, the Fair Isle technique) will be better in term of achieving a looser tension needed in this piece. I welcome a tester to try out both ways for me if anyone interested.

The Pinwheel Kitten will also need the knowledge of crochet, maybe intermediate beginner level, to do the cast on. It is not just simply magic circle cast on but need to switch colour yarns too.  So it will need someone to be quite comfortable with the cast on technique together with the know how to switch colour in crochet

The Quick Silver (Blue) Kitten is really quick to make, at least for the body, as soon as you get the hang of the pattern. So far, this is the pattern I like the most for simple cat coaster. It took me some time (counts in days please lol) to find a perfect solution for the ridge problem. If you have test knitted my other cat coasters, you will see how different it is :D

As for Happy Papa, he is a pinwheel as well but constructed differently to his kitten. There are many roads to Rome lol. I hope you can see, once you finish the project, how the kittens are related to their Papa :)

Happy Testing :)