Girl on the Rocks

Sock yarn Beer Cozy April 23, 2008

A long time ago a bunch of knitters had a dream… They wanted to have a book published that was full of their knitting patterns. Not just any patterns, mind you, but lovingly designed beer cozies. The proceeds (if any) would go into a fund to supply beverages to thirsty knitters at their weekly knitting night. Each design reflected the preferences of the designer. Not just in stitch patterns and yarn, but also in beer: 40 oz., tall boy, bottle or can. Alas, the book has not come to be as the “market is saturated” with kitschy knitting books. And though they continued to make new cozies, the designers mostly forgot about it. Or did they….

With the advent of Ravelry, and its awesome pattern delivery service the dream can become a reality. Now I know that you are itching to get your hands on some more beer cozy patterns so I have excerpted a pattern available for free. the pattenr is hosted on Ravelry, but I think everyone should be able to download it Behold! The Sock Yarn Beer Cozy!

Luck o the irish March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

last week I was goofing off with my crochet hook and thinking about St. patty’s day. i thought I might make a four-leaf clover… I found a few shamrock patterns, but none of them had 4 leaves! After a few failed attempts, here is my version.

This pattern is probably intermediate in difficulty: it requires that you are able to cast on in a magic ring, double crochet (dc) and treble crochet (tr). it can be done in any yarn as long as you use an appropriately sized crochet hook. The larger one I made used caron simply soft worsted weight yarn and a size F hook.

- [sc in ring, ch 1] 4 times end sc 1.
- sc 2 so you begin work in the space created by the ch1 of the first row.
Work each leaf in the space created by the ch1 of the first row.
- ch1, tr1, dc1, tr1, ch2. slip stitch into sc from first row to end the leaf. sl into space created by ch1 from first row to start the next leaf.

Repeat the leaf pattern 4 times (3 times more) and you should be almost all of the way around.

Make stem:

- ch 5
- sc 4 starting in second ch from hook. (you are working your way back up the stem toward the leaves.
- sl st. break yarn, pull through and weave in the end.

Let me know if you have any problems with the pattern! See if you can trade them for some free beers tonight!

Sniffles – Knitted Tissue cover November 25, 2006

The season for colds and coughs is here. I can’t head out of my apartment without a package of tissues in my purse just in case. Inspired by craftapaloola’s tutorial that I read on whipup, I thought I would knit myself a cozy for my mini-pack of tissues. I’ve seen a bunch of adorable sewn cases and thought it was time for the knitters to represent. This project is also perfect for last minute Christmas or holiday gift. (For other quick Christmas gifts, check out my Manos Scarf pattern, and Coaster Pattern).

You will need a bit of worsted weight yarn and appropriately sized needles. I used some leftover Ejido from handpaintedyarn.com and size 7 needles – i think the pattern looks extra-nice with variegated yarn. You might want to scrounge up a button or clasp for extra cuteness.

Materials
About an ounce of worsted weight yarn.
Tapestry needle for sewing up edges
US #7 needles
Button
Sharp needle and thread for attaching the button
Crochet hook or double pointed needles for making button loop

Pattern Notes
The pattern is just a stitch pattern on a rectangle that is folded and sewn together. I added selvedge stitches to either side to make it easy to sew up int he end. The first stitch of every row is slipped as if to knit, and the last stitch of every row is purled. It is important to note that the selvedge stitches are slipped with the yarn in the back (knitwise), while the slipped stitches in the patterning are slipped with the yarn in the front (sl wyif).

Pattern
Cast on 26 stitches. I used a long-tail cast-on and it makes a nice decorative edge.

R1 and all WS rows: sl 1, purl remaining stitches.
R2: sl 1, *sl 3 wyif, k3* 4 times, p1
R4: sl 1, k1 * sl 3 wyif, k3* 3 times, sl 3 wyif, k2, p1
R6: sl 1, k2 *sl 3 wyif, k3* 3 times, sl 3 wyif, k1, p1
R8; sl 1, *k3, sl 3 wyif* 4 times, p1
R10: sl 1, sl 1 wyif, *k3, sl 3 wyif* 3 times, k3, sl 2 wyif, p1
R12: sl 1, sl 2 wyif *k3, sl 3 wyif* 3 times, k3, sl 1 wyif, p1
Repeat until cover is about 6.5 inches long, or desired length

Once your tissue cover is about 6.5 inches long, or long enough to wrap around your tissues, bind off. I like mine to have a bit of a tight fit, so that it will remain snug even as the tissues inside get used.

With the wrong side out, fold up the top and bottom to cover the tissues and hold in place with pins. The fold lines are indicated by dashed lines in the pattern schematic.

Sew up the edges. This is made much easier by the selvedge stitches, so even though they are a pain to remember, they are worth it. I also stitch about 1/2 inch along the two edges of the opening on the tissue cover. This helps secure the tissues inside.

Position and sew on the button. To make a loop for the button, either crochet a short chain, or knit a short i-cord, and attach to the edge of the opening.

The final step is to add tissues to your cover. The ones i bought open on the short edge, which is not cute, and not compatible with my cozy. I just took a pair of scissors and cut an opening along the long edge. Then I put them inside, and everything is complete.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.

http://www.girlontherocks.com/knit

Free pattern alert September 17, 2006

DSCN2008.JPG

Originally uploaded by abmatic.

It seems that while I was away, fall has started to sneak its was into the Northern Hemisphere. Don’t get me wrong, it is flat out warm outside in the Bay Area right now, but the last few nights have been a little chilly (The hint of a diurnal temperature variation qualifies as a change of seasons around here). This reminded me of an awesome free pattern by my friend abmatic that i have been meaning to tell you about….
Ta-da! The bulky cabled hat. It uses SUPER bulky yarn and knits up in a jiffy. I bet you could hold together two strands of worsted weight yarn to get the same approximate gauge, but I haven’t tried it.

While you are visiting her page, leave her some encouragement…. she has ony 3 days until her big Ph.D. qualifying exam….. Knock ‘em dead!

I thought I made a new pattern… March 23, 2006

But it turns out I just recreated one that already exists….

I used some of my handspun
leftovers to knit a cadbury egg cozy. Mine looks a little ashamed…. like he just found out he’s not an original after all.

Quick Manos scarf November 11, 2005

I needed a quick gift project and was looking for an excuse to use some nice yarn, so this what I came up with. In a moment of weakness while at Article Pract the other day, I bought 2 skeins of Manos del Uruguay. I figured it was acceptable because I need to get started ASAP on my Christmas projects. I decided that it will be a scarf and got started right away. Since two skeins isn’t really that much, the plan was to keep the scarf skinny and long. I found the stitch pattern in the Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

Here are the specs:

I cast on 23 stitches on 10 1/2 needles and knit in “mistake rib.”
Right side and Wrong side rows are knit the same:
K2, P2 for the whole row and end K2 P1.

It makes a gentle rib that doesn’t bunch up too tightly. It Is half done already!

Edit: Finished size is 84 inches.