Friday, February 14, 2020, Issue 134: Happy Valentines Day!

There really is no way that you can knit any of these for today but since they are for heart patterns that can be worn any time, they are well worth it!

Valentine Mittens by Anita Viksten are stranded mittens are practical and warm with a repetitive pattern that is easy to learn. There is a Latvian braid and corrugated ribbing for additional interest. They use 219 - 328 yards (200 - 300 m) of sport weight yarn and needles to give you a gauge of 30 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches in stranded knitting. Knit them in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight, Cascade 220 Sport, even Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light! Knit up a pair for your Valentine or for yourself.

These are clarkssl’s LoveSocks by Devon Clement. Clarkssl has not included any notes on her Ravelry project page but the yarn appears to be West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply in the Tequila Sunrise colourway. The pattern is for a basic cuff-down sock with some simple colorwork on the heel using fingering weight yarn. You will need 2.0 mm (US 0) or 2.25 mm (US 1) needles for a gauge of 32 stitches and 40 rows = 4 inches.

ValentineSox by Wenche Roald are cozy socks that are knit with DK weight yarn using 3.0 mm (US 2.5) needles for a gauge of 22 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch. They are knit cuff down in the round. The pattern includes both charts and written instructions. Knit someone a pair and knit yourself a pair as well!

maskerurid’s ValentineSox are knit using a worsted weight instead of DK! Knit them using Navia Faroese Sock using 3.0 mm (US 2.5) needles for a gauge of 22 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch.

I Heart Cables by Justyna Lorkowska is a cute cabled hat worked in the round that is sized for a baby, toddler and child with head circumferences of 14 to 18 inches. The pattern includes 2 versions - one with earflaps and one without. The hat is great for boys as well as girls, depending on the color of the yarn.  Different sizes can be made by changing the cable length as well as how many. The gauge is quite dense (especially ribbing) giving you a windproof hat perfect for winter fun in the snow. Knit it with a worsted weight yarn using 4.0 mm (US 6) and 4.5 mm (US 7) knitting needles or as needed to get a gauge of 24 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches in the cable pattern.

Bottom of My Heart Baby Bloomers by Jordana Paige is a cute pattern for bloomers for that baby girl in your life! They are knit top down in the round, divided to knit flat for the leg holes and kitchener stitched together. The heart pattern is fun to knit and charted for ease. Stitches are then picked up and ribbed around the legs. It is sized for a 3 month old using about 160 yards of sport weight yarn using 3.25 mm (US 3) needles for a gauge of 25 stitches and 34 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch.

WIP's and FO's

I am moving along on my Rug by Junko Okamoto sweater. The yoke is already wider than my 60” needle and as she described it is oversize and a little unique…It is going to be throw on and go type of swoncho (sweater poncho) and I love it already!

Here is my October Hat by Sloane Rosenthal WIP for our Cable Hat class with a tubular cast on and a 5 inch brim. I am knitting mine with worsted weight Navia Trio, a unique blend of Faroese, Shetland, and Australian lambswool.

Progress on my Nightshift by Andrea Mowry WIP! I am on section 9 but will probably knit one more section...It is longer but will still not be as long as I want it after blocking!

I love how everyone who is knitting this for our KAL looks so different, beautiful and as individual as the yarns we chose! I chose to knit mine using three colours with Color A always the same, Color B for rows 1-20 and Color C for rows 21-40. I followed the stitch pattern recipe after the setup section.

I finally finished Section 1 of my Papillon shawl by Marin Melchior! Jen suggested I use the Moth modifications...not sure you can see the eyelets very well until after I block when I am finished!

KNIT GROUP AND GALLERY

The current Knit-Alongs are the Butterfly / Papillon KAL and the Knit Any Shawl KAL and the Knit Your Project: the everlasting knit-along to encourage and support you to knit is running from January 1 until March 31st. Don't forget to post your finished projects so that you will be included in our quarterly draw! As a side note, four Papillons are already finished while mine still has a long way to go!

Our Nightshift KAL began with six people signed up for the Wednesday afternoon Nightshift Shawl - Learn Mosaic Knitting Pre-Pay KAL. Andrea Mowry's Nightshift or The Shift is what we started with. Marilyn is knitting both! This KAL is also open to everyone and there are a lot of Nightshift WIPs and FOs already! Why am I not seeing any posted to the group? I'd love to see them!

Christina finished Comfort Zone by Espace Tricot - Beautiful!

Here is Angie wearing her Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure! She doesn’t normally like hats but she loves pompoms!

Jen has her husband knitting! This is a progress shot of his second hat, the first was a chunky knit while this one is fingering!! Jeff is knitting the same hat that Angie knit...the Sockhead Slouch Hat. Awesome job!

Jen and her mom sporting the sweaters they knit from the Strange Brew Colourwork class!!

Jen knit Moraine by tincanknits using Malabrigo Rios while Judy knit Mountain Mist by tincanknits using West Yorkshire Spinners Blue Faced Leicester Aran!

Linda’s one week old great nephew with the Boy Bear by Little Cotton Rabbits that she knit for him! Such a sweet moment!

Lise knit and finished the Hipster Shawl by Joji Locatelli while away but did not have her blocking wires or pins with her as shown the bottom photo. She brought it back home again to block it as shown in the top photo!

Sandi (sandima) knit these Simple Toe Up Socks by Carmen Jorissen for her daughter using Coopknits Socks Yeah!

Mismatched socks!! Love these knit by Debbie (debsnubs)!

Carol wanted something soft and warm so she knit Getting Warmer by Espace Tricot using Garnstudio Drops Air

Upcoming Classes and KAL...

Last week I posted the new classes (so I hope you don't mind the repetition). We will be be running our Boy or Girl Bunny Class with Kathy again! It is definitely a favourite class but I think this will be the last time we will run it! The upcoming class will run Saturdays, Feb 22, 29, Mar 14 & 28th – 1:00 to 3:00 pm so register soon because the 22nd is next week! It is a great one to knit before Easter!

Sue2Knits will be joining in for Malabrigo Yarns first ever Knit-Along this April! The pattern that Malabrigo has chosen for the KAL is the Odyssey Shawl by Joji Locatelli (a free Ravelry download) and it is to be knit using Malabrigo Dos Tierras. It will be open to everyone but we will also have a Pre-Pay KAL with Kathy for those who wish instruction and help while you knit the project every Wednesday afternoon in April. The class itself will be limited to 6 but I will also add it to our Ravelry group with the links as well.

Signing up

For Malabrigo's KAL, they will need either a Facebook Name, an IG account or Ravelry ID because they would like to see the progress of the winners posted on their social media so that they can share across their social media channels as well. All the information will be confidential and will not be used for any other purpose except for the KAL communication. The link below is Malabrigo's sign up form so their KAL is an added bonus for anyone interested in our KAL class.

Sign up form link

The new shipment of Malabrigo Dos Tierras for the Odyssey Shawl KAL has arrived including some new colours.

Join us for our next Pre-Pay KAL - Summer Commitment bag by Espace Tricot! It is the perfect bag for strolling around town, going to market, or a day at the beach! This will run every Wednesday in March. More yarn arrived for this class as well.

Join us for our Cocoknits Cardigan Class! We will knit Antonia / Antonio by Julie Weisenberger of Cocoknits using her English Tailoring method for this classic, seamless top down cardigan. There will be five 2 hour classes running Saturdays, Mar 14, 21, 28, Apr 18 & 25 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

We are adding another (our third) Learning the Magic Loop Sock Class with Jen! This one will run Saturday afternoons starting March 28th!

Rigid Heddle Weaving Workshop 2 is set to run March 29th, if you are interested in expanding your weaving skills! This additional class was added by request and is intended for those who have put up a loom and woven at least once before. Come to the workshop with your loom prewarped using a number that is divisible by 4 and add 2, i.e. 42. The pattern we will use produces a waffle fabric, therefore we will be creating a textured fabric! There will not be a wrong side to the fabric...perfect for scarves, shawls or wraps.

Happy Valentines Day, Happy Friday, Happy Knitting, Crocheting and Crafting!