Furballs and Hearts :)

The two furball CEOs in the "office" is hurrying me to publish the latest heart pattern so that they will not need to model with the hearts anymore, and as I wrote this blog, one of them is sitting next to me pawing me for attention.  Sometimes, I wondered why my progress was that slow.

Eighth Heart in One String is my second last pattern in the Heart / One String series.  In this pattern I explored surface texture by incorporating a seed / moss stitch pattern.  I also experimented with a different set up in knitting in bias and it turned out nice.

It is not a pattern for colour work.  The purl stitch will make it impossible to have it both sided using two colours or more. Also with the pattern repeat, it became very difficult to find a repeated pattern to change the colour yarns.

This pattern is a quick knit as gift for holidays and special occasions.

The pattern is now available on my Ravelry store .

Happy Knitting!

Long Fish or is it Unagi?

One late night at home while I finished the sample for a new design, we held an adhoc conference and the furball CEOs insisted on naming the dishcloth in something they like ...... like catnip, mouse, fist, etc.  They said the special edge resembled a long fish, so we finally decided the name to be "Modern Unagi"

Modern Unagi is my latest dishcloth design with a special two colour "flat twisted" edge.  The main bodies is constructed with a sharp corner wave pattern that accentuatse the corners of the twisted edge.  Also since the wave pattern is made with knit and purl stitches (no slipped stitches like the herringbone), so the rectangular shape is maintained pretty well without blocking. 

The three sections of the dishcloth is held together seamlessly by intarsia.  Although there is a right side and wrong side to this dishcloth, the intarsia in the wrong side is well arranged and presentable (meaning there is no need to hide :p)

The pattern is now available in my Ravelry store.  It is in both written instruction and knitting chart. Mini photo tutorial is also included to help in explaining the intarsia technique.

Happy knitting!

"Too many hearts, too little time", said Moo Moo

All roads lead to Rome and Sixth Heart in One String is my latest attempt to knit a piece of heart dishcloth using a very different approach.  Instead of mitering, I changed to knitting in bias which is a more familiar technique to dishcloth knitters.  But to make sure everyone on their toes, I changed the normal increase pattern to make it interesting.

Just like all my previous hearts, the Sixth Heart is knitted in one string of yarn from start to finish without breaking or adding yarn to construct the shape.  It guarantees the integrity of the piece and less yarn tail to weave in.

This piece also let me find an ideal place to use the modified kfb and an unusual bind off  technique (at least for me, I don't do it that often and didn't see a lot of it in other patterns).

Sixth Heart in One String and my other heart patterns are now available in my Ravelry store

Enjoy the knitting :D

Working Cat

Cat Mat was conceptualized after knitting the bias Grandmother's Favourite Dishcloth a few times and started to realize its potential.  GFD has inspired me to write out 3 knitting patterns, and Cat Mat is the first one.

It is called Cat Mat because my two furballs lay on it as soon as it was off the needles, so my friend said should name the piece Cat Mat.  The design is of a sophisticated cat looking back at you ...... and you can see his wavy tail and one could tell the mischievous thought in that little brain that is wired for world domination 😁.

Instead of using the tradition knit and purls stitches to construct the cat, I opted to use modified cable slip stitches, bobble stitches and picot stitches to create a 3D space from a 2D surface of the dishcloth. Also being a perfectionist myself, I make sure that the purl bump selvedge is all round without interruption which made it different from the GFD.  That requires a different cast on and bind off from GFD.

During the test knit, the testers gave me valuable input for improvement and thus the addition of a mini photo tutorial to guide the knitters through the two  most difficult rows in the pattern.

In the pattern, I also include simple instruction in making a stockinette and seed / moss stitch body.  This is also inspired by the testers. To say the least, this is a one string piece - no cutting or adding to yarn and only two yarn tails to weave in. 😃

The pattern, Cat Mat, could be purchase from my Ravelry store and I hope you will enjoy as much as I have knitting up the cat knowing they will probably be sitting on the kitchen counter looking pretty and cute lol

"Heart Fatigue" for Furballs

I am too happy to publish two patterns at the same time, Second Heart in One String and Third Heart in One String, but looked like my furballs were not as enthusiastic as me (facepalm). I think they were tired my heart knitting.  They are now napping and not helping in photo bombing (sigh)

The Third Heart is particularly suitable for a two colour combination (half and half). The two decrease columns in the centre make a decorative focal point compatible with the knit stitch column in the Second Heart.

Special thanks to all the test knitters to make this pattern error free (if you find more error in the pattern, blame it on the furballs, HAHA)

You can find the pattern on sale in my ravelry store.

Enjoy the knitting and thank you for your support :)

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 :)