A Long Nosed Mouse

I am drafting the pattern for this little friend... take a look at how she is made!




































(this is all the yarn I had left after 2 Mice from the Knit Picks Shine Sport skein!)

Linen Stitch, Something New!

I decided to try out linen stitch to spread around the yarny love and make a bunch of bookmarks.... so far I have part of one complete. Linen stitch is not quick!



I am using the leftovers of my Madelinetosh Lace in Mansfield Garden Party, and this colorway is PERFECT for lovely linen stitch.



I love it!

To make a bookmark just like mine:

Laceweight Yarn
Size 3 US Needles

Cast on 17 stitches.

Row 1(Front): K1, P1, *K1, bring yarn to the front (YF), slip 1 purlwise,  bring yarn to the back (YB), repeat from * until 3 stitches remain, K1, P1, K1

Row 2(Back): K1, P1, *YB, slip 1 purlwise, YF, P1 repeat from * until 3 stitches remain, slip 1 purlwise, P1, K1

Repeat these two rows until bookmark reaches desired length, cast off.

Sew a Project Bag out of a Man's Shirt!

Last week I made this great project bag out of one of David's old shirts! Shirting fabric is perfect for project bags... it is strong and smooth so it is gentle on your yarn.


1. Pick out your shirt! I like the rusty colors in this one, and the plaid is very nice for helping cut and sew straight lines.


2. Decide how long/tall you want your bag.  Keep in mind that you will be folding over the top edge for the drawstring, and you will need some space for seaming at the bottom. I cut mine about 18 inches long, next time I will make it 16 or 17.


3. I just used the width from the button band to the edge (less cutting and finishing!). This shirt has the little split at the bottom edge (see the fold?). I just use that for the drawstring casing!




4. Remove the buttons, with the right sides facing, sew the side and bottom seams (seam allowance doesn't really matter). Then fold over the top (what was the bottom edge of the shirt) and sew it down to make the drawstring casing. I made my drawstring out of a crocheted chain of dishcloth cotton. I also zigzagged any raw edges inside the bag.


Yay! It's not very fancy, but it works - and I'm going to make more!

Helmet Liners for the Troops

Helmet Liner Pattern on About.com

Free Pattern: Priceless Friendship Scarf

These instructions and any projects created from them are for personal use only.


Sometimes there is just no other way to say thank you...
The Priceless Friendship Scarf

Materials:
1 Skein of Beautiful Fingering Weight Yarn
Knitting Needles US6

Abbreviations:
k - Knit
p - Purl
sts - stitches
WS - wrong side
RS - right side
yo - yarn over
ssk - slip st knitwise, slip st knitwise, knit 2 slipped sts together
k2tog - knit 2 sts together
sl - slip st knitwise
psso - pass slipped st over

Pattern:
Cast on 29 sts.
Rows 1 - 4: Knit Across
Row 5(WS): k2, p to last two sts, k2
Row 6(RS): k4 (k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3) repeat ( ) once for a total of 2 times, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k4
Row 7 and all WS rows: repeat Row 5
Row 8: k3 (k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k1) 2 times, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3
Row 10: k2, k2tog (yo, k5, yo, sl1 k2tog psso) 2 times, yo, k5, yo, k2tog, k2
Row 12: k3, yo (ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo) 2 times, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k3
Row 14: k4, yo (ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3, yo) 2 times, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k4
Row 16: k5 (yo, sl1 k2tog psso, yo, k5) 3 times
Repeat Pattern Rows 5 - 16 until scarf measure desired length and ending with a WS row.
Knit 4 Rows and Bind off.