This month I’ve been working on the WestKnits mystery knit-along on Raverly. WestKnits is the name that designer Stephen West uses. He designed the very popular Daybreak and Boneyard shawls, among many other great pieces. (Ravelry links to patterns, again.) So, I was quite excited to take part in this knit-along.
Earth and Sky Shawl from WestKnits
I used Berroco Comfort sock in Black and Dusk, and Berroco Comfort Bay in Grape Fizz. I made the smallest size, and did option 2 for the border. And, sadly, I am very underwhelmed by this project. It is clearly art deco/Frank Lloyd Wright inspired, and, sadly, not at all to my tastes.
Why the spoiler alert? Well, it was a mystery knit-along, and the final “clue” (e.g. last of the pattern) was only released on Monday. So, there just might be someone out there who reads my blog, is knitting this shawl, and isn’t finished yet. You never know!
I’ve managed to finish another small project: Pumpkin Man from Mill Hill.
Pumpkin Man from Mill Hill
He is stitched on perforated paper and uses Mill Hill beads and treasures. And he totally makes me want to stitch some more Halloween designs. Actually, I’m starting to get excited about Halloween this year. We are going to dress up the little man for the first time, I think. Trick or treating will be a bit difficult with his peanut allergy, but we will figure it out. (I know lots of treats are safe, but unless they are labelled as such, at 3 1/2-years old I’m not willing to risk a visit to the hospital. It isn’t worth it for a cheap candy, you know?)
I’m also excited because I got to use my hair braider, I mean cord maker for the first time.
Lacis Corder
Doesn’t this remind you of the hair braiders Conair used to make? Well, guess what:
Conair! No way!
The model number even makes me think of IGIA, a Conair sub-brand. I’m pretty sure, too, way back when, there was a Barbie that came with a doll-sized version too.
Anyway, regardless of the possible past uses for this device, it really is a fabulous cord maker. I was able to make that simple orange and black cord in the matter of a few moments, without any help. It is well worth the investment, even though I already have a manual Mill Hill corder. This Lacis one is by far much more versatile. I can’t wait to try more complex cords. Good thing I’ve been stitching ornaments all year, eh? Just don’t ask about August’s ornament… I’m still working on it, honest.
I’m sure you are all pretty aware that I love to knit socks. I find them to be relatively quick projects that are portable and easy to work on when I have the little man sitting on my lap. I also love how they give me the chance to try lace, or colour-work, or something new and interesting on a small scale.
There are lots of great sock designers out there today. Off the top of my head I can think of Wendy Johnson, Cookie A., Lucy Neatby and Cat Bordhi, along with a multitude of others. The last, Cat Bordhi, is one of those crazy minds that comes up with simple ideas that make a big difference. Her new book, Cat Bordhi’s Sweet Tomato Heel, is all about one of those new ideas: an easy to execute sock heel using short rows and no wraps. (I see the eyes of the cross stitchers out there just glazing over. Bear with me, okay?)
The book features nine sock patterns as well as directions for the new heel she has dubbed the Sweet Tomato Heel (STH). (This is a digital book, that is updated about once a month. So far four of the sock patterns and the two heel variations have been released.) And, since I love to try new techniques in my socks, I made a variation of the Minnesota Moonlight sock (Rav link to the pattern).
Close-up of the Sweet Tomato Heels
I used On Your Toes Bamboo in colourway Tropical Dusk. And, instead of doing the lace pattern all the way around the leg, I chose to do just one repeat of the pattern centred on the top of the foot just where the foot and leg meet.
Variation on Minnesota Moonlight by Cat Bordhi
The heel was very easy to do. It is worked in wedges, with the depth of the heel being checked against the foot. This allows for a very customized fit. And, I was able to achieve a well fitting sock on my narrow feet that have high arches. (Although, I have rarely made a sock that doesn’t fit. But perhaps this is because I am very careful to check the fit in all my socks as I am knitting them.)
The only thing I don’t like about this heel is the fact that it requires 2/3 of the sock stitches. Most socks heels only need 1/2, which leaves the other 1/2 on the top of the foot for a fancy pattern. A STH sock can only use 1/3 of the stitches for a pattern until after the heel is turned. So, while it will be easy to use the STH for socks designed for it (e.g. socks that only use 1/3 of the stitches for a pattern along the top of the foot) or for plain socks, it will be all but impossible to, say, add a STH to a Cookie A. sock or any other design that uses 1/2 of the foot stitches for a pattern.
If you want to learn more about this interesting new heel technique, check out this video by Cat:
Overall, I would recommend this book. It is priced at US$20 for nine sock patterns, and given that most sock patterns sell at US$6, you are getting a bargain. It is well written, with great diagrams and pictures, and several free YouTube tutorial videos. Cat has also started a group on Ravelry to provide support, and she is very quick to answer questions. And, best of all, even if you’ve tried socks before and found turning the heel difficult, you will have no problem at all with this method. And who doesn’t want to make themselves some lovely handknit socks?
Work on my ornament of the month is progressing, but my mistake with the fabric has made me a little sad. So, to take my mind off of it, I fished out my nearly finished Holiday Stamp from Mill Hill and finished it up.
Holiday Stamp from Mill Hill
It is stitched on perforated paper, using DMC floss and Mill Hill beads and treasures. I think it turned out nice, but it is certainly not one of my favourites from their little holiday kits. I think that I might like to buy the larger companion-ish piece one day, though.
I’ve made a bit of progress on my ornament of the month (Deck the Windows by Julia Lucas).
Deck the Windows by Julia Lucas
I think it is looking pretty good. But, last night I realized that I had a problem. You see, the model is stitched on a tea-dyed linen. No big deal, you may think. We all change fabric colours all the time. Well, unfortunately, the bricks around the window are only added in using backstitch. That’s fine for a darker linen, but I’m not sure it will look right on the white I am using. I am thinking of giving it a try though, and changing the white flower box below the window to a light grey. All I know for sure is that I don’t want to stitch this again.
I also wanted to let everyone know that Daffycat of It’s Daffycat is having a a wonderful giveaway. Check out her blog for a chance to win a love fob and scissors set, and a cute little gnome needleminder.
Off and on (and much more off than on) over the past several months, I’ve been crocheting food for the little man. He has a cute little kitchen with dishes, and a couple of Melissa and Doug food sets (sushi and birthday cake) which he plays with once in a while. And, being a crafty mom, I thought I would make him some more play food.
These patterns are all from the book [amazon_link id=”B004WB1A70″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Yummi ‘Gurumi[/amazon_link] by Christen Haden (aka NeedleNoodles) and Mariarosa Sala. (I believe that most of them are also available for sale on Ravelry if you poke around a bit. I know the single version of the sushi pattern contains more items too, but I digress.)
Sandwich Platter from Yummi 'Gurumi
A bacon and lettuce sandwich (tomato coming soon!) and a wheel of brie cheese. They are crocheted from a combination of Bernat Satin, Mary Maxim Starlette and Patons Canadiana.
Sushi Platter from Yummi 'Gurumi
And the sushi platter with wasabi and ginger. Again, these were crocheted with a combination of Bernat Satin, Mary Maxim Starlette and Patons Canadiana.
Yummi ‘Gurumi is a totally adorable book. I have plans to make just about everything in it: the vegetables, fruit, dim sum buns, the stir-fry, etc. The little man will have a totally ridiculous amount of play food, especially considering he is much more interested in playing with his Hot Wheels or on the computer, than he is in playing with his kitchen.
On Monday afternoon, I put the last few stitches in Jeanette Douglas’ Royalty ABC. It has been a long but enjoyable project. And one which I made lots of changes too. I am absolutely delighted with the finished product. (Click the picture for a slightly larger, but still un-ironed, version.)
Royalty ABC from Jeanette Douglas
It was stitched using the called for fibres (a combination of Rainbow Gallery Splendor, NPI, Soie d’Alger, Bijoux and Gloriana silk), on hand-dyed fabric from Enchanting Lair in the colourway Heritage. (If you haven’t tried her fabric yet, I highly recommend you give it a go. Her colours are fabulous!)
I did make several changes to the design, as I mentioned. The most noticeable, perhaps, is leaving out row 15, which was three over-one crosses. Instead, I moved up row 23, a satin stitch pattern, in order to keep the spacing more or less even.
On row 10, I added some beads to the middle crown:
Royalty ABC - row 10
I also added beads to row 20.
Royalty ABC - row 23
And on row 31, I left out both of the over-one crowns on the side, and the date in the middle of the heart. Instead, I added the crown charm to the heart. (It is included in the floss pack because it is intended for the box, which I am not going to stitch.) I added the date to the final box, with my name.
Royalty ABC - row 31
My other big omission on this design is row 19, which was a series of diamonds made out of Queen stitches. I seriously dislike Queen stitches. I didn’t replace that row with anything, since I think the spacing looked fine.
Overall, I think this is a stunning design, and I am really looking forward to finishing it into a bell pull. I have the finishing kit, which includes the bellpull hardware, and the leaflet has very detailed instructions. Hopefully, I’ll make some time to finish it up in the next few weeks.
Welcome to Stitching Lotus, a blog about crafting, reading, and creating my own cozy corner of the world. 
Needleworker, Knitter, Crocheter, Sewist, Paper Crafter, and more!
