Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Village Girl


This is cross-stitch embroidery using silk threads on mat.


A closer look at the piece.


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The Sheep Dog

This is a cross-stitch embroidery on mat-fabric. The mat came pre-printed and all I had to do was, to put the correct colored stitches on the right squares.




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The Face

For this painting I used watercolor on thermocoal. The picture is of goddess Durga.



For the added effect, I used golden fabric paint over the jewels and eye-lids.


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Pink Tulips

It is oil on stretched canvas.



A closer look to show more details.



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Morning Hibiscus


Oil on canvas-board. Oil usually takes 4-6 months to completely dry and thus, this painting was framed without glass-cover.

You can see the effect of light on the color. I wanted to capture the beauty of the morning light as it illuminates the flower. I almost got the desired results.



I love working with oil. It's very fluid media. It gives you freedom to merge colors for dramatic effects or completely dominate one shade on another.

As long as there is harmony in the colors, the oil paintings are very effective in conveying the mood of the painting.

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Eyeglass Cover



I used the chunky yarn for this. Few highlights of this project are -

I-cord

The handle is made using an I-cord. An I-cord is a knitted tube that is made with two open ended knitting needles. The result is so pretty that I would like to make a bigger rug using this technique.

Fancy Ribbing

In the back of the case I used a slightly different ribbing called - twist-stitch rib. It really stands out in thick yarns.

Nosegay Pattern

The pattern is fairly complicated. I wanted to try it to compare how much effort would go into a bigger project if I choose this pattern. And I am glad I did as this took a long time for the pattern to show up - one and two, if you twist a stitch or slip one wrongly, the entire pattern looks messy. Too much for a cute pattern :-)

Button

A transparent button is fastened using a back button. You really have to look at the picture hard to find the button.


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Hooded Sweater

The beginning of this sweater was quite ambitious as I had not knitted any hooded sweaters before and didn't have any notes on how to proceed for the hood. But I did it anyway as I wanted one for Adya before valentine's.

I picked pineapple yellow in synthetic low-maintenance yarn using 10.0US needles.

In this one, I used all the basics carefully. Casted on using cable method using needles one size smaller, measured the gauge of the 4x4 piece. The ribbing was done in simple knit and the body in stockinette.

It was made in classic two front pieces and one back cardigan style and arms were joined in raglan pattern (another first - raglan cardigan - yay!). With raglan the bonus is that front and back are joined at shoulders invisibly and the sweater can be worn for longer time as there is no issue with the shoulder fitting. Then I picked up the stitches for the hood.

Making hood
- Pick up all the stitches needed for the hood
- Mark the center
- Incr. one just before the marker
- Slip marker, incr. one right after the marker
- Rep until piece is 10.5cm
- Dec one just before marker
- Dec one right after the marker
- Bind off
- Fold in 1/2 and sew the seam

Button Band
I made the button band by picking up all the stitches horizontally and knitting in rib of k2p2.Bound off after 1/2" in ribbing. Used the two colored buttons in different shapes.

Here is the finished sweater!



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White Cap

The snow-white yarn is used in 10.0US needles.



This is how it looks when worn.


Pattern Info

Preparation
1: Cast on 96 stitches and purl all stitches
2: Rib for 2cm
3: Work even till the piece is 9cm

Shaping
1: *K7, k2tog, rep * to end
2: K1 row even
3: *K6, k2tog, rep * to end
4: K1 row even
5: *K5, k2tog, rep * to end
6: K1 row even
7: *K4, k2tog, rep * to end
8: K1 row even
9: *K3, k2tog, rep * to end
10: K1 row even
Till 11 stitches remain on the needle

Finishing
Cut the yarn leaving a tail enough for sewing. Pull it through the stitches. Sew the open ends. Weave in the loose yarn.


The close-up of the finished center.


Embellishments
A pompom, i-cord knot, or a knitted flower can be added to the finished piece. For a seamless cap, use circular needles.


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Golden Dress


I loved this project for many reasons - new yarn, new needles, and new stitch-patterns. It was made in lion's brand 'Chunky USA' in Yukon gold color using clover US10.0 and US 11.0 bamboo needles.



Complete Sweater Pattern

Gauge info

12 st x 16 rows

Preparation

The initial idea was to make a dress for Adya in some sort of lace pattern. So I designed a sweater on the paper that has center all ruffled-up at the waist. I considered mock cable, diamond-and-pearls, chevron and eyelet, and honeycomb patterns. The measurements are as follows:

Size to fit 2-3 year old girl.
Chest: 21"
Center back: 18"
Back waist: 8.5"
Cross-back (shoulder to shoulder): 9.25"
Sleeve length to underarm: 8.5"
Quantity of yarn used = 3 skeins

Keeping the scrunch of alternate stitch, I casted on 48 stitches using guerney method (a first). For ribbing simple 1k1p was used.

Front

Ribbing

Row 1: k1 p1
Row 2: repeat row 1
Row 3: Repeat row 1
row 4: *k1 p1 4 times*, then MB, and rep *
Row 5, 6, 7 & 8 are same as 1.

Pattern

Eyelet:
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Repeat these 2 rows for 6 rows, end in WS
Row 7: *P1, yo, p2tog*, Rep *
Repeat the pattern till the piece measures 10"
Stitches on the needle 48


Woven-cable pattern:
Multiple of 4
Row 1: (RS)*C4F, Rep *
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: K2, *C4B, Rep * till 2 rem, K2
Row 4: Purl
Repeat these 4 rows till end



Shaping Neck

Row 1: BO 10 central stitches and add another ball as the work divides into two parts
Row 2: BO 2 adjacent st
Row 3: rep row 2
Row 4: knit in the pattern even for the next rows until the front and back are of same length.

Back

Knitted the same way as front

Sleeves

Row 1: CO 19 st in thumb style (to allow room for stretching and still staying in shape)and purl the entire row.
Row 2: (RS)rib in k1p1
Rib for 2cm

Introduce eyelet pattern as above.
Increase 2 every 2" until the stitches on the needle are 30 and the length is 10". Bind off.

Blocking

Block the pieces to measurement. Very light blocking is desired.



Finishing

Sew the back and front at one shoulder. Make a button band on the other shoulder. Pick-up the stitches along the neck and knit for 3 rows in rib. No need to make the button-holes due to the chunkiness of the yarn. Attach sleeves. Sew in 3 buttons. Weave in the loose ends.

The finished dress!


Please leave a comment if you visited this pattern. Will make me a happy knitter!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Pink & Blue Cardigan

This is the close-up of the baby-cardigan.


More on this will be updated soon.

Grey Vest

This is to fit a 12-18 month old. Its a fitted piece and is designed fully-fashioned. It's made to be worn over a skirt with a co-ordinated collared shirt.



Cast-on is by crochet that makes the edge look like a tube. The crochet CO is really easy but not as elastic as done by thumb-method. It can also be used in scarves or those pieces that require matching of casting-on and the binding-off.



The pattern used is mock cable. It added texture and extra chunk to the vest.



Notes for self

Cast on: Crochet method
Sleeve type: N/A
Neck Shape: U
Stitch type: Mock cable
Yarn: Mohair look synthetic
needle Size: 10US
Color: Silver grey
16st x 17 rows = 3.5" x 3.1" swatch

Complete Pattern

Back

Desired width = 9.5"; Cast on = 42 stitches
Row 1: Cast on 42 stitches.
Row 2 & 3: make preparation rows in knit and purl
Row 4: K1 and start the mock cable pattern
Continue this way until the piece is 7"

Shaping armhole:
Row 1: Dec 3 from both sides; Stitches on needle 36
Row 2: Dec 2 again, Stitches on needle 32
Row 3: Dec 1; Stitches on needle 30

Shaping neck:
Row 1: BO the central 6 stitches
Row 2: Dec 2 on either side
Row 3 : Rep row 2
Row 4: Knit in mock cable pattern till the shaped neck and turn the work
Row 5: add another ball on the other side and continue
Row 6, 7, 8: Work even till this length is 1.4"
Row 9: BO in WS

Front

Row 1: Cast on 42 stitches.
Row 2 & 3: make preparation rows in knit and purl
Row 4: K1 and start the mock cable pattern
Continue this way until the piece is 7"

Shaping armhole:
Row 1: Dec 3 from both sides; Stitches on needle 36
Row 2: Dec 2 again, Stitches on needle 32
Row 3: Dec 1; Stitches on needle 30

Shaping neck:
Row 1: BO the central 10 stitches
Row 2: Dec 2 on either side
Row 3 : Knit in mock cable pattern till the shaped neck and turn the work
Row 4: add another ball on the other side and continue
Row 5, 6, 7, 8: Work even till this length is 1.4"
Row 9: BO in WS

Finishing

Join front and back in invisible stitch. Sew the side seams in basket stitch. Using crochet make single chain(sc)edge on both armholes. The front and back neck edging is not needed if BO neatly.

Measurements

Chest = 6.4", 9.5" when stretched
Length = 7" bottom to armhole, 10" bottom to shoulder


Design Copyrighted. Please do not use anything from this site without my consent.

The Black Scarf


Dated for May 5, 2008 12:22 PM

This is the current project I am working on. Knitting a scarf is a rather a relaxing experience especially after completing a dress. Mostly because it doesn't require much of attention (the same stitch repeats), gets completed in relatively no time, and can be embellished even months after completion.

This is the second scarf I made. The first was a long time ago. That had nice colored stripes and a purple border. I didn't make any scarves after that...for no particular reason.

a few days back, I just wanted to knit and this yarn was lying around for some time. So, it it got started!

I used 11.0US needles with 24 stitches in knit stitch. I am planning to add some tassels or pompoms to the edge for a funky look.

Design Copyrighted. Please do not use anything from this site without my consent.