Shorties in a new to me yarn…

I noticed a new to me yarn, “Cotton Collage” by Premier Yarns, during a recent trip to a big box craft store. I probably had a magnificent excuse for being in the yarn section of said store.

Two details immediately caught my attention: affordability and fiber blend.

I bought a skein of 246 yards (225 meters) for $3.50 USD on sale. Regular price is $4.99 USD. The blend is: 46% cotton, 33% super wash merino wool, 12% polyamide and 9% PBT which stands for “Polybutylene terephthalate”. This engineered material helps with the elasticity of the yarn. Read more: here.

With the help of a stitch dictionary, I came up with my own “sock recipe”. Pattern considerations: it had to be shorties and needed some structure given the yarn composition. Knitted on US size 1 (2.25 mm), I was able to finished a pair of socks and have leftover for a third sock. Two skeins for approximately $10 USD (before taxes) gets three pairs of hand knit shorties in a 79% “natural” material. Not too bad, ha?

The yarn has high twist and it feels nice to knit with, in my opinion. The downside is the limited selection of only five colors. I guess one could over-dye and hope for a happy accident.

PS: I took notes of my sock “recipe” and will share here for free, of course, in the near future!

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Finished Object: Papillon Creations Sampler

I finished my first cross stitch sampler!! I had to made a few modifications due to my inexperience measuring and cutting fabric to fit specific design sizes. When I noticed the original design was not going to work, I made the decision to omit several rows and move motifs around.

Nowadays, I use an online cross stitch calculator to get an accurate fabric size. The Yarn Tree calculator is a reliable online tool.

The pattern is a digital download of Flamenco by Papillon Creations. I stitched the sampler on 14 count Zweigart Aida in light blue/gray using two strands of DMC cotton embroidery floss in colors no. 924 and 926. Overall, I am pleased with the final result and look forward to framing the piece.

Third is (still) a charm

I did it again! I knit another Rikke hat. This one was a birthday gift for my mom, who attempted to steal Rikke no.2. To be honest, I don’t get tired of knitting this pattern.

Enjoying the process and the product is priceless!

• Pattern: Rikke hat by Sarah Young. Free on Ravelry.
• Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in colorway Pocion (Spanish word for potion).
• Needles: US 7 for brim and US 8 for body of the hat.
• Ravelry: project page.
• Modifications:
  • Cable cast on – 96 stitches
  • Crown decreases: k12, pm…

Cross Stitch: Celebrate Barb Adams

This small project took a couple of days from start to fully finished. I enjoyed every second worked on it. Most specially, I stitched it to celebrate the life of Barb Adams, one of the designers from Blackbird Designs, who passed away recently. My thoughts are with her family, friends and the cross stitch community.

• Free chart: “Now I Know My ABC’s” by Blackbird Designs
• Thread: Mostly two strands of the DMC threads listed on the chart with a few exceptions. Comment below and/or contact me if you are interested in the full list.
• Cloth: 18 count Zweigart Aida in Ivory
• Needle: John James size 26
• Frame: 4×6 from IKEA
• Modification: Omitted last row of the chart so I could fit into a 4×6 frame with mat.

Rikke Hat Is So Popular, But Why?

There are thousands of Rikke hats in this beautiful and chaotic world. Why is this free pattern so popular? The pattern can be easily adjusted to any yarn weight and looks great in semi-solids, variegated, commercial and/or handspun yarns. Also, the garter stitch makes it for a comfortable and squishy hat.

This is my second handspun Rikke. Doubt it will my last.

Modifications to the pattern:

• Handspun yarn wraps per inch = 16. Due to the inconsistency of the handspun, I would it classify as DK weight. Pattern was written for Worsted weight.
• Cast on 82 stitches.
• Placed marker every 14 stitches for decreases (only 12 stitches following the last marker). Knit two together (K2tog) and knit one after each marker whenever there were sufficient stitches. Started decrease sequence after each marker.

Ravelry link to project page.