Crackers + Honey: The Personal Blog of Karissa Cove » Knitting http://crackersandhoney.com Sewing, Knitting and all Kinds of General Craftiness Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:50:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2 Learning to Knit http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/10/20/learning-to-knit/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/10/20/learning-to-knit/#comments Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:55:37 +0000 http://karissacove.com/2006/10/20/learning-to-knit/ The moment I spied this vintage “Learning to Knit” booklet at a local charity shop my heart skipped. I immediately fell madly in love with the retro font and the colourful balls of yarn magically suspended in air. There is something so precious and endearing about vintage craft books that always makes me feel inspired.

I heart Vintage Craft Books!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/10/20/learning-to-knit/feed/ 2 Lucky Sweater http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/10/12/lucky-sweater/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/10/12/lucky-sweater/#comments Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:24:41 +0000 http://karissacove.com/2006/10/12/lucky-sweater/ Last spring I set my summer goal: to knit a sweater. After flipping through a bunch of pattern books and visiting a bounty of sites, I decided on the Lucky Sweater pattern in “Stitch n’ Bitch Nation by Debbie Stoller”:http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761135901/ref=nosim/karissacove-20. It caught my eye the first time I saw it, and I decided that it must be “the one” for my summer project!

I started the sweater at the beginning of June and knit my way through the entire summer, mostly in the evening while Kevin and I watched seasons of The Long Way Round, Dr. Who and Entourage. Sometimes I would knit out in the hammock, and on occasion even sitting at a bonfire.

Four months and five balls of yarn later I have completed my masterpiece!

Lucky Sweater 1

Lucky Sweater 2

This sweater has been the longest most detailed knitting project I have attempted, and my knitting confidence has inflated by leaps and bounds. I feel able to tackle just about anything a pattern has to throw at me!

Next up, to draft a sweater pattern from scratch….I’ll keep you posted on how that goes!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/10/12/lucky-sweater/feed/ 6 Knitting Totes Back in Stock http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/09/26/knitting-totes-back-in-stock/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/09/26/knitting-totes-back-in-stock/#comments Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:12:38 +0000 http://karissacove.com/2006/09/26/knitting-totes-back-in-stock/ A new batch of “Pink”:http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=497381, “Olive”:http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=497379 and “Blue”:http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=388703 Knitting Totes are up for sale on my “Etsy Shop”:http://karissacove.etsy.com, and I’m just finishing up some totes in Purple, Peach and Green for posting later this week.

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/09/26/knitting-totes-back-in-stock/feed/ 2 Knitting a Lucky Sweater http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/27/knitting-a-lucky-sweater/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/27/knitting-a-lucky-sweater/#comments Wed, 28 Jun 2006 01:49:38 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=85 Ever since I started knitting a few years ago, I’ve been waiting to feel confident enough to knit myself a sweater. (In all honesty, it’s been a life goal since high school, but keep it under your hat…)

I decided last week that I’ve finally got the skillz to pull it off, and after I poured over my knitting magazines and books looking for the right pattern, I chose the Lucky Wrap Top from “Stitch N’ Bitch Nation”:http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761135901/ref=nosim/karissacove-20. It’s got a simple clover lace pattern throughout, ties at the waist with a knitted band, and is just _toooo_ adorable for words!

Over the weekend I completed the back and blocked it, take a look:

Lucky Sweater

Lucky Sweater Closeup

At this speed, I should be done before I know it, and that’s good, because I can’t wait to wear it!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/27/knitting-a-lucky-sweater/feed/ 0 Knit.1 + Cotton http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/12/knit1-cotton/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/12/knit1-cotton/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2006 04:31:04 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=51 This weekend flew by in the blink of an eye, but I still managed to sneak in some yarn shopping:

Knit.1 & Cotton

I purchased the hank of turquoise Butterfly Mercerized Cotton to knit myself a little pouch for my Nintendo DS. The “cables in my purse”:http://karissacove.com/journal/2006/06/07/cable-knit-purse/ were a real success, so I’m going to incorporate a couple into this pattern as well.

I also picked up the latest issue of “Vogue Knit.1″:http://www.knit1mag.com/. There’s a couple super-cute sweater patterns in this issue, but I have so many WIPs, it’ll be after Christmas before I get a chance to knit anything else for myself!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/12/knit1-cotton/feed/ 2 Cable Knit Purse http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/07/cable-knit-purse/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/06/07/cable-knit-purse/#comments Wed, 07 Jun 2006 04:24:40 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=78 A few months back, I was inspired to make a knitted purse with wooden handles, back when I bought the “two hanks of Butterfly Mercerized Cotton”:http://karissacove.com/journal/2006/03/29/yarn-shopping/ from my LYS. Well, I finally put the finishing touches on my Cable Knit Purse this past weekend, just in time for the summer weather! Perfect!

Cable Knit Purse 1

Cable Knit Purse 2

I designed the pattern using a few different cabling techniques, and added some bobbles, which were time consuming, but turned out so cute — totally worth the extra work:

Cable Knit Purse 3

Once my new site goes up (it’s really coming!), I’ll be putting the pattern up for everyone who would like to make one, too.

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I just received an email with the good news, the “Spring Issue of Knitty”:http://www.knitty.com is online — which means free patterns for everyone!

I haven’t decided just yet, but I’d love to make the “T Twist Tee”:http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/PATTttwist.html in some nice cotton for summer. It’s got a “Tangy” difficulty rating, and looks like it would knit up smooth and quick. Sounds perfect to me!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/04/10/spring-knitty/feed/ 0 Henry the Bear http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/04/04/henry-the-bear/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/04/04/henry-the-bear/#comments Tue, 04 Apr 2006 05:31:50 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=73 My latest knitting project is this cute-as-a-button Henry the Bear from “Jess Hutch’s Knitting Booklet”:http://jesshutch.com/:

Henry the Bear

He knitted up in a jiff and would be a perfect gift, if only I could bear (ha ha) the thought of giving him up. No way, he’s all mine!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/04/04/henry-the-bear/feed/ 0 Yarn Shopping http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/29/yarn-shopping/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/29/yarn-shopping/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2006 03:39:31 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=69 I took a little bit of time off today and spent this beautiful afternoon pouring over the yarn selection at “Serendipity Yarn”:http://wowyarn.ca/ I love being in a well organized yarn shop, it’s fun just taking my time touching and examining all the different textures.

After much browsing, I ended up purchasing two hanks of Butterfly Mercerized Cotton for a “Margaret Nicole”:http://www.margaretnicole.com/index.htm inspired summer clutch. I also plucked up two balls of Debbie Bliss Cotton/Wool from the sale bin for 50% off. Even though I don’t rally have a plan for it, I’m still kicking myself for not buying more — such a deal!

Yarn Shopping

Yarn Shopping

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/29/yarn-shopping/feed/ 0 Pixie Cap Pattern http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/14/pixie-cap-pattern/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/14/pixie-cap-pattern/#comments Wed, 15 Mar 2006 03:29:16 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=62 Pixie Cap Pattern

A few winters ago, I made a bunch of little knitted Pixie hats and put them up on my website, I thought they were just adorable, and they sold out right quick. Knitting them up was pretty time consuming, so I didn’t make any more, and really, I forgot about them. Well, I recently received an email from Rhiannon, who wanted to know if I could send her the pattern for them.

It took a little while to find (Kevin’s Mum had it tucked away with all her knitting patterns), but “here it is”:http://karissacove.com/images/journal/06-03-14-pixiepattern.jpg. I used a modified version, but it’s basically the same.

I know that it’s a little off-season to be posting, with all the spring weather that’s in the air, but I thought that depending on what type of fibre you knit it with (cotton, anyone?) it may be sort of a spring transition cap!

]]> http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/14/pixie-cap-pattern/feed/ 4 Amigurumi XO http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/13/amigurumi-xo/ http://crackersandhoney.com/2006/03/13/amigurumi-xo/#comments Tue, 14 Mar 2006 02:59:21 +0000 http://dev.krewdesign.com/kc/cms/?p=61 I was doing some knitting research, and I don’t know how this feel under my radar because I’m always scouring for cuteness, but I just discovered the Amigurumi craze. In case you’re like me,
Amigurumi is a style of Japanese crocheted toy that follow the same aesthetic as cutesy-anime: large head, low wide eyes and cute beyond belief.

I totally want to make my own, but pattern books are far and few between (Take a look at this “Hello Kitty pattern @ eBay”:http://cgi.ebay.ca/SANRIO-Hello-Kitty-Amigurumi-Pattern-Book-Japanese_W0QQitemZ8263208937QQcategoryZ41232QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). Luckily I stumbled onto “Roxy Craft”:http://roxycraft.com and their “Amigurumi patterns”:http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=98247 for only $10:

Roxy Craft's Amigurumi

They offer a wide variety of amigurumi patterns in pdf format for you to download. I bought this right before bed, and when I woke up the file was waiting there in my inbox — Rise and crochet! My skills are a little bit rusty, but I think I’m up for the challenge.

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