Happy Sunday! This weekend I finally had a chance to take photos of my California crop top I made with ribbon cotton yarn Stone Washed by Wool and the Gang. Summer crop top was on my must-knit list for ages, but for some reason I kept postponing it, maybe because my stash yarn didn’t sparkle the imagination – nothing felt as the perfect match for this kind of project. But when you find the right yarn, you have to go for it!
Ribbon yarn creates a very interesting fabric that has some structure to it, without losing its drape. It worked perfectly for the loose cropped shape of the top – it keeps its form, without being too stiff.
I improvised the pattern, but kept my notes. I will post the instructions for it and all the FO details next week, so if you feel like it, you can repeat it for yourself or your dear ones. It is a very quick and relaxing project to work on, I’m sure you will like it! I used only three skeins of Stone Washed for it. This is a great project to take with you on your summer vacation – you don’t need to pack lots of yarn, the process is pretty simple and straightforward and as it’s short and sleeveless, you’ll be able to finish it in several afternoons.
California croptop is for hot summer days; for unplanned road trips with dear friends; for signing along Pink Floyd way too loud in the car; for messy hair and sun burned skin…
Happy Sunday! Today I would love to share with you one more visual yarn story that I created for the review of Pima Cotton by We Are Knitters. I worked with pima cotton before and I can definitely say this is the best type of cotton for me – it is so incredibly soft, light and silky. I love its slight sheen that adds depth and luxurious feel to the fabric.
The pima cotton is loosely spun and feels very light to the touch. It creates a wonderful crisp stitch definition that works perfect for basic stitch patterns. I am casting on for a simple light summer sweater – I haven’t made any notes, I will just keep knitting and see where it brings me. This is the best way for me to experiment on the needles!
From what I can see so far the yardage is very generous in the skein and I have a feeling I will have enough for more than one project! I’ll see what I will have left at the end and experiment on my knitting machine with it.
For this review I chose Denim shade out of 25 available colors – basically slightly faded grey/blue.Great choice for those who wants to add more color into their knitting, but still stick to a neutral soft palette.
I’ll be knitting away and hopefully share the results of my experiment soon! Thank you, We Are Knitters, for creating such an inspiring yarn! At the end of this knitting story, I will organize a giveaway for you. You can subscribe to my blog to receive the latest giveaways announcements and never miss them!
Happy Wednesday! Today I decided to share with you a sneak peek into my small contribution to Moeke 2017 knitwear collection that is going to go live in September. It’s time to send the samples all the way across the ocean and before they go, I wanted to capture all three pieces together. Heritage you’ve already seen, but two that are coming are a surprise that I hope you will like 🙂
It was wonderful to work with Heritage, Elena and Merino. I loved how distinctive each of them felt – with its own character; subtle variations in shade, texture and softness made the whole experience so enjoyable. Though each of the yarns is unique, they all felt “so Moeke” with its slightly uneven thread, smell of wild fields and natural shades.
I am looking forward to seeing them in Moeke 2017 lookbook! I hope you will like it and knit it, of course 🙂
Happy July! I hope you haven’t lost me. 🙂 Amid some personal turmoil, day job and many missed deadlines, I felt like I needed a break and step away from the online presence for awhile. Though I didn’t post much in June, I was still working on several projects – there has been a lot of behind the scenes knitting going on that I am sure I’ll be able to share with you in the new knitting season.
Now I feel revived and ready to come back to weekly blogging. I thought celebrating it with the splash of color and textures from my latest trip to one of the local farms.
I was so inspired by this place that is a true hidden gem – small family farm covered in mango trees and all kinds of vegetables and greens. The taste of fresh oranges cannot be compared to any supermarket produce!!! I will definitely keep supporting this hardworking family!
And with that I will leave you with colorful and juicy images of this magical oasis.
Happy Monday! Last week I finished a cute little hat for my friend’s nephew. If you remember, I started with the pattern from “Simple Knits for Cherished Babies”, the pattern is great, but there were two things that weren’t quiet right for my project. First, my gauge was very off, as I was using a completely different yarn and I had to recalculate all the decrease intervals. Second, the pattern offered to knit the hat flat with a seam. Paloma yarn is pretty thick, so the seam would be quiet noticeable and it could be uncomfortable for the baby. So, at the end of the day I ripped off my progress and just quickly calculated my own numbers. This project is very simple and can literally be knit in one afternoon!
How To Knit A Simple Baby Hat
SIZE:
Baby age – 0-3 months.
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
Finished circumference: approx13 1/2″ (34 cm)
Finished height: approx 6″ (15 cm) (with the rolled edge).
MATERIALS:
Yarn
Debbie Bliss, Paloma, 60% alpaca, 40% wool. 1.8 oz. (50 g), 71 yds. (65 m) in Silver.
I used approximately half of the skein.
Needles. 6 mm (US 10) circular.
GAUGE
4″ (10 cm) = 13 sts. The round gauge is not essential in this project.
Note: When using instructions, you can click on each bullet point to mark it as done. This will help you to keep track of your progress.
Making sure not to twist stitches, join the knitting to work in the round using the invisible join – How To Knit The Invisible Join In The Round. – 44 sts left. Place BOR marker.
Work even in Stockinette stitch for approx 5 3/4″ (14.5 cm).
Dec Rnd: *K2tog; rep from * across to the end of a round – 22 sts.
Next Rnd: Knit.
Dec Rnd: *K2tog; rep from * across to the end of a round – 11 sts.
Next Rnd: Knit.
Dec Rnd: *K2tog; rep from * across to one st, k1 – 6 sts.
Finish a hat, following the step-by-step tutorial How to Finish a Hat below.
Weave in ends.
How to Finish a Hat
If you need to see a bigger image, open it in the new tab.
After all decreases you have 6 sts left.
Cut a yarn tail aprox 5-6″ long. Note: the yarn tail is coming out of the last st on your left. Thread a tapestry needle with the yarn tail.
First slip all the sts to the opposite end of the circular needle (so the tip is facing right). Insert the tapestry needle into the first st.
Slip all the sts to the tapestry needle
Pull the yarn tightly through all the sts, closing the hole.
Find the center of the top and insert a tapestry needle in it.
Pull the yarn to the wrong side of a hat.
I love the simplicity of this hat! It’s also a great project for your leftover precious yarn that is too good not to put in use.
I hope you enjoyed this little project, please share on your Pinterest board to come back to it again 🙂
Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
To recharge before a long week I try to fill my day with simple rituals that make me feel like I am really using my time off for something that makes me and other people happy… I happen to love routine, making plans and to-do lists. The perfect weekend should include friends, music, sport, good food, reading, limited time in front of the computer, walking, mint tea with milk, calling my family, organizing the house and yarn in my hands…
This weekend besides finishing some big projects, I am working on something very quick and mindless – a lovely baby hat for my friend’s nephew who is just a couple of month old! I’m using Baby’s Beanie Hat pattern from “Simple Knits For Cherished Babies” – a very basic and mindless knit that will make a perfect gift. The chainette Paloma yarn is perfect for it – the thread is thick, but very light and the softness of it is beyond words! Hope to finish it today! I would also love to mention that the book itself is so beautifully photographed – each page is inspiring!
Another mindless and straightforward knit is the crop top with Stone Washed. I have just three skeins, so I think it will be really cropped 🙂 It’s also the first project that I am working on the straight needles – I actually miss it!
I hope you will have time today for some special rituals that make your weekends relaxing!
I'm Alina and I am in love with knitwear!
Here I share my knitting and crochet experiments, interviews with crafters from all over the world and lots of yarn pictures.
Contact me alina@giftofknitting.com
