Today, I have prepared the bubble knit stitch. The texture of this simple stitch is achieved by slipping stitches with yarn held in the front of the knitting (wyif) and at the back (wyib). The stitch requires a multiple of 8 plus 4 stitches and is knitted over 16 rows.
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| Madeline Hatter Ever After High First Chapter Doll (tanned skin tone) |
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| Madeline Hatter Ever After High First Chapter Doll (tanned skin tone) |
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| Madeline Hatter Ever After High First Chapter Doll (tanned skin tone) |
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| Madeline Hatter Ever After High First Chapter Doll: Differing Complexions and Varying Make-Up |
After an initial test knit and following some minor adjustments to the design, here is, as promised, my new knitting pattern for the Jera Lace and Cable Choker.
As mentioned in a previous post, which is featuring an earlier version of this design, the pattern for this choker was inspired by the Jera rune, the twelfth rune from the Elder Futhark.
Jera in its literal translation means ' (good) year' or 'harvest'.
The Jera rune is a symbol for connection and perpetual movement, representing the seasons and the natural cycle of recurring change at a steady pace and regular intervals.
With the vernal equinox now behind us, the release of this design celebrates this seasonal flow - the passing of long, dark nights and short, gloomy days and it welcomes the arrival of spring as we are approaching summer solstice.
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| Jera Rune Inspired Lace Choker Knitting Pattern |
Just like my earlier lace choker knitting patterns (the Nameless, the Brocade Choker, the Cascade Choker, and the Virga Choker) the Jera Choker is a quick and beginner-friendly knitting project, incorporating elements of both lace and cable knitting techniques in a quick-to-knit project. The choker can be completed in a day or two, including the time it requires to block the finished piece. It's also ideal for using up tiny amounts of yarn. (For my choker I used approximately 6g to 7g of Scheepjes Maxi Sugar Rush mercerised cotton yarn.)
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| Jera Rune Inspired Lace Choker Knitting Pattern |
The choker's simple elongated cable motif is created over 6 rows, consisting of knit and purl stitches, a variety of standard in-and decreases and by creating elongated stitches, which are subsequently worked as cable stitches.
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| Jera Rune Lace and Cable Choker Knitting Pattern - I-Cord Detail |
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| Jera Rune Lace and Cable Choker Knitting Pattern |
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| Jera Rune Lace and Cable Choker Knitting Pattern |
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It's been a busy week in cat care terms.
Pebble had to see the vet for dental extractions (five teeth). Though she is a healthy, almost ten-year-old cat, her teeth appear to be a weak point. Following her first trip to the dentist back in 2019, this was the second dental she has had in as many years. She appears to be recovering well from the procedure and will hopefully feel the benefit of the extractions going forward.
During the course of Pebble's dental intervention, we decided to take advantage of the anaesthetic and had a small lump removed from her thigh, which thankfully turned out to be a lipoma and not a dreaded mast cell tumor. (Following Pickle's death from colorectal adenocarcinoma I was preparing myself for the worst.)
We also had abdominal x-rays taken to see whether these would provide a clue as to why Pebble appears to be constipated at times and has a tendency to scoot across the carpet after visiting the toilet for a number 2.
After ruling out the obvious culprits, including parasites and anal gland issues, x-rays were the next logical step.
I am now pleased to present the two most expensive images taken this year so far:
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| Abdominal X-Ray Pebble (Feline) |
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It's been a productive weekend in crafting terms. The first test knit of my new choker knitting pattern is finished, blocked and I have finally decided on a name for this design. Looking at the lace pattern motif, which is achieved by a series of elongated cable knit stitches, I was somehow reminded of the Jera rune, the twelfth rune from the Elder Futhark, which in its literal translation means ' (good) year' or 'harvest'.
Made up of two separate charachters, which appear to spin around one another from the centre, this rune symbolises connection and perpetual movement, representing the recurring seasons and the natural cycle of perpetual change at a steady pace and regular intervals.
I am currently working on a new choker pattern, which will be up on the blog very soon. The new choker design (no name yet, and I am having a hard time finding one...) is a quick and simple lace project, which incorporates a cable stitch motif with some simple lace.
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Following up on my plan to explore more cable stitch motifs in my weekly swatch motifs, I have prepared another simple cable stitch for this week's swatch post, the Braid Cable Knit Stitch.
The cables are worked on the right side rows and following the completion of the set-up rows (1 and 2), the stitch is worked over three rows.
Time for another fix of 1980s knitting patterns.
As no review of 1980s knitting patterns would be complete without making reference to the knitwear designs of Kaffe Fassett, a designer synonymous with 80s knitwear and best known for his elaborate colourwork creations, I decided to feature some of the patterns from Glorious Knitting, Fassett's seminal 1985 collection of knitting patterns, in today's instalment of my ongoing series on vintage 1980s knitting patterns.
Even though the patterns in Glorious Knitting may seem daunting at first sight and some of the bolder statement pieces in this collection may not be to everyone's taste, Glorious Knits is a fantastic showcase of the possibilities offered by integrating colourwork into knitwear design.
The book has an extensive section on colour knitting, in which Fassett sets out his approach to colourwork (not colour theory!) and knitwear design, before introducing us to the elements and motifs constituting the building blocks of his designs.
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| Kaffe Fassett Striped T-Shirt |
After a series of more involved knit stitch motifs over the past few weekly swatches, this week I have prepared a very simple lace knit stitch, the Bud Knit Stitch. On the right side, the stitch pattern produces what appear to be staggered columns of bud- or droplet-shaped motifs.
This stitch is knitted over twelve rows on a background of reverse stockinette stitch and the texture on the wrong side has a nice look and feel, too - making this a good candidate for a reversible stitch motif.
It's been a sock knitting kind of weekend...
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| Stylecraft - Head over Heels Sock Yarn (Shade: Olympus) |
I haven't knit socks in ages, but a return to sock knitting has been on the cards for some time. Having picked up two skeins of Stylecraft Head over Heels sock yarn on a whim some time late last year, I finally got round to starting on my socks this weekend.
I am pleased to say, the first sock is now finished (I always knit them individually) and presently blocking on a makeshift cardboard sock blocker. Looking at my homemade sock shaper, I think it's fair to admit that the instep section will have to go on a diet.
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| Sock Blocking in progress (on homemade cardboard sock shaper) |
Today, I am planning to cast-on for sock number 2.
I am not following a pattern or attempting to produce anything fancy with this project. Instead, I wanted to get back into sock knitting by starting off with a simple, ankle-length, top-down stockinette stitch sock with a ribbed cuff.
This project is predominantly an exercise in (re-)familiarising myself with basic sock anatomy, revisiting sock construction techniques (turning the heel / picking up stitches / working toe decreases) and the calculation of measurements to achieve a good, personal fit.
All in all, a fun, simple and quick knit, which, most importantly, allows me to knit a portable project on small needles. I have just finished a condo knitting, openwork project with mohair yarn, the Winter's End Scarf, on size 2mm and size 8mm straight needles, using Yeoman's Elsa mohair fingering weight yarn, which comes on a cone, and was thus confined to my work desk to accommodate the cone and the growing mohair scarf for the duration of this project. The current sock project certainly feels like a relief in this respect. I can even knit this project standing up.
Now, after completing sock number one with my first skein of Stylecraft Head over Heels, I wanted to share my experience of knitting with this sock yarn, especially after reading some of the reviews of the yarn on the web and on Ravelry.
It's been absolute ages since I last worked on a cable knit project and only one of my weekly swatch posts features a cable knit stitch. High time to address this absence of cable knitting and so I have decided to prepare a cable knit swatch for this week's weekly swatch post.
I have chosen the Lattice Cable Knit Stitch, a classic and simple cable knit stitch, which is knitted over 10 rows (once the set up is done, 7 rows) on a multiple of 6 stitches.
I am still in love with openwork knit stitches and have prepared another super simple openwork knit stitch for this week's weekly swatch.
This knit stitch is worked over two rows on a multiple of three plus two stitches, making this an extremely simple, yet highly versatile lace ribbing stitch. This stitch looks (and feels) entirely different, depending on the yarn used. To showcase the look of this stitch in different yarn weights, I knitted my swatches in the images below with Araucania Botany Lace (sock yarn) and Rowan Bamboo Soft.
Catching up with the weekly swatch posts today, next up is the Ratchet Eyelet knit stitch.
This stitch motif is knitted over 28 rows, making this a more elaborate stitch. When complete, the stitch results in what looks like garter stitch medallions, which are framed in a circle of eyelets, resembling ratchets. All the wrong side rows are purled throughout, allowing you to take a break from all the in- and decreasing on the right side rows.
