easy socks

This might be my new favorite sock yarn, Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett in color # 4259. These socks were so easy to knit and never boring because of the beautiful colors and varied stripes. Another gift is ready for wrapping!

Who fits these?

I like to imagine what kind of creature could fit into this tiny sweater and these long socks.


Felix has wanted a magnifying glass for ages, we found one yesterday at the swap meet. I called him an inspector; he corrected me by saying "NO, I'm a scientist!"


He doesn't like to wear socks, or shoes, but he really wants these pink socks. Sorry, son, these are for some one else. I promise to knit you a pair soon.

a few of the things that I'm working on and looking at...

I took this photo yesterday when the sun was shining. Today we have rain! Coincidentally, today I'm working with an entirely different palette, pale blue gray.

The shocking pink socks are my first pair of toe up socks.
I'm embracing the pool of this yarn but have to say I'm in no hurry to work a knit 2 purl 2 sock in the near future! Except of course for the mate. Darn, the mate!
Other objects in the photo are a magic treasures bag that I'm hoping my little students will make, garter stitch and felted coasters, a birthday invitation, and some vibrant yarns.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate the holiday.

thank you

Thank you for all the nice comments this past week. I've been busy knitting and taking care of this little guy.....


He had a touch of the flu this week while I was finishing a knitting project. One night, he woke up crying and asking for all his toys that I've made him. The ones that I couldn't find, he described in detail and made me promise that I would find them later, or make them again. It was so sweet. I feel like all the toys I've made for my son were really made for me because I love to knit so much; but knowing that he loves them too is the best feeling of all.

knit ring

It’s mid November and 90 degrees outside! With the fan blowing, I knit up some sweater-y rings...just in case my bracelets got lonely.

sock yarn bracelets

These bracelets are worked with scraps of sock yarn. The other bracelets I made were designed to teach the purl stitch to children, but these recent ones are worked in the round and should be a great project to teach knitting in the round on 4 needles. Besides, they are fun to knit and only take a few minutes.... half an hour maybe.

motif mania

I'm in that kind of mood where I could make pins all day, every day!
If you're interested in details there's more on my flickr site.

candy

While my mom cooked dinner last night, I did some laundry and finished knitting the motif. On such a small piece of work, weaving in all the ends really wasn't such a big deal. I decided to toss it into the washing machine and felt it. What the heck.



This morning, Johnny stopped by the house with three lollipops.
Felix already ate all his Halloween candy, so this was a big treat. Oh, and inside each lollipop is a bug!

color and inspiration

Working with the kids at the Wisdom Arts Club has been such an inspiration. I've been drawn to bright colors all week.

intarsia motif

The motif is fromIcelandic Knitting Using Rose Patterns by Helene Magnusson.

The colors are inspired by the kids I've been working with at the Wisdom Arts Club.

I don't know if I have the fortitude to knit one of Helene's magnificent sweaters, but the small motif is a lot of fun to play with. We'll see about all those ends and how I'll deal with them. Something tells me I might just sew some fabric to the back of it.
A friend on flickr mentioned wouldn't it be great if the ends wove themselves in during the night. Isn't that a great idea for a knitters fairy tale?

knitting his way

While I knit something conventional and wearable, Felix occupied himself with creating an intricate web all over the house.


He told me that he was knitting a trap for his artist Dad. He also declared himself a top designer. "I am Top Designer!"


And, "I am the best knitter!" I was really proud of him, and didn't mind at all that he used an entire cone of fine mercerized cotton or that we spent 48 hours trying to navigate the web and tripping through the house.


Finally, he had to finish his homework. You can tell he wasn't that excited about it. Yeah, coloring in circles isn't necessarily as interesting as being a spider.

free pattern

I've made the Knit Bracelet pattern available as a free download through ravelry.

If you're not on ravelry and would like a copy of the pattern, leave me a message and please include your email address. Thank you!

knitting fingers

knitting fingers, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

After the Learn to Knit class, Grace continues to knit. The sight of little, knitting fingers warms my heart.

knit bracelets

An easy learn to knit project for teaching the purl stitch are these knit bangle bracelets, worked in two colors in reverse stockinet stitch.



Learn to knit class starts this Friday at the Wisdom Arts Club. Details here!

Edited to add, I've made the pattern available as a free download on ravelry. Enjoy!

puppet and shrug

I'm wearing the Alpine Shrug from Rowan 42. It's knit at a smaller gauge than the pattern. I saw Celtic Cast On's shrug on flickr and loved the snug fit. Lately, Felix has been taking photographs. Some of them look really good. I asked him to take a photo of me in the new shrug. Not bad, right?
I'm pretty happy that I have a helper!


The puppy puppet is from JudyKits by Judy Head. I made it for Felix to help get us through these tough first days of school. He has a habit of being mad at me when I pick him up. Instead of running towards me and giving me a big hug, he yells at me! Yesterday, he started in on me and I pulled out the puppet and soon he was laughing and we were making up stories for the puppy to tell us. Felix named the puppet “Vulture”.
I don’t know where that name came from, but he seems very sure of it.




Anyway, I think it’s one of the cutest toys ever! One thing I didn’t take into consideration is that I would have to be a puppeteer, and come up with a Vulture personality. At breakfast this morning, I coaxed Felix into eating by having Vulture tell him how yummy the food was. Felix said, “hm, mom that’s not Vulture’s voice.”

back to school

It's been a busy, and emotional week with the first days of school; rocky for both of us, but after a couple of tearful days, we are now easily saying "see you later".


The night before school, father and son did some serious doodling with brand new markers and notebook. When I think back to my school days, most of what I remember is doodling while dimly listening to the teacher.


To ease the separation anxiety, I knit Felix a little cat toy. He named him Captain America after a friend's darling black cat. I gave him the cat first thing in the morning on his second day. He was so happy; it helped getting him off to school that day.

The pattern for the cat came from Invisible Threads in Knitting by Annemor Sundbo. A knitter's bliss: a project that heals the nerves of two people and uses small left over bits of sock yarn.

yellow bird

Here's my first attempt at a bird toy. I'm pretty happy with her! The next one will have a wider tail and then I want to make some with color work. She's an easy knit for a knitter, but maybe too much for a beginning knitter. I tried a couple of super super easy bird shapes but they didn't please me. One attempt was a finger puppet that I think would work in finer yarn.


The alley cat that protects us from other critters is eyeing us very suspiciously! I tried to get the bird closer to kitty but she wouldn't allow it. Oh well.


And check out these moon jellies that we saw this weekend at the aquarium. Amazing! Ethereal! Mysterious!

more projects for knitting class

Hello, meet two friendly snakes, Scarlet and Grellow, these garter stitch fellows are another project idea for my kids learn to knit class to be held at the Wisdom Art Club this fall!


And, ta da, the sporty wristband!

memories

memories 4/365, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

Drawing is a way to create memories. Dreaming up hat designs, I imagined a sweet summer day, where two kids in whimsical hats played by the shore with paper boats. I wonder will their memories be the same?

Goodbye summer!

red shoe bird

PICT0007, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

I took my knitting with me to the park but decided to enjoy the lake instead. Funny, but my knitting bag was packed with yarn to make birds. In the car on the way over I wasn’t feeling any bird vibes, but now, I have some inspiration for making birds with personality; as well as some fashion ideas. Maybe red shoes and a yellow hat will remind me of this duck when ever I need to remember a very good day.


Happy Weekend!

smiles

Hey do you feel like smiling? Then take a look at this book! Sock Monkey is page after page of sock monkey portraits. Guaranteed to make you smile!