socks and flowers

socks and flowers, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

I love these flowers! The socks aren't bad but next to the flowers they pale. Ah well, can't beat Mother Nature. I just found out that the flower is a type of cactus: Epiphyllum. I've been growing it for years from a clipping. The flowers only bloom once a year and each flower only lives a couple of days.
The socks are Child's First Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.

fun knitting

I bought a fun book of knitting patterns, Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark. What can I say; I have to make those Witches Britches. So I am. Eek! Striped of course.
I haven’t worn shorts in over ten years, so I’m not sure if I’ll wear these. That’s why I sketched them to see if I’ll wear them. Ha ha ha. Hiding underneath the striped fabric is the part of the sketch where Felix is pulling me.
The style is a lot like the skirts I knit, which is why I like them and think there’s a chance I’ll actually wear them. I’ve lengthened the leg from 10” to 15”.
Stripe knitting is my current love so they have to be striped and striped britches are very witchy. They're worked in yarn from my stash, in two shades of Naturelle Cotton. I’m not crazy about the colors but striping them is giving them a new life that is just plain fun.

Indigo Ripples Skirt Errata

Hello Friends,
Here is a correction for the Indigo Ripples Skirt pattern from Interweave Knits Spring 2007.

Lace Section on page 72:
Rnd 11, 13, 15, 17, 19: * Yo, k3tog, k3, yo, k1, yo, k4, sl1 – k2tog – psso, yo, k1; repeat from *.

mask

mask, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

that's a claw snappin' scorpion

stripes

Sometimes I daydream about what I want to make for a long time.
Even if it isn’t a difficult project if I really want it the daydream may last for years. This was the case with these simple black and white knee socks.
I guess I’m still playing dress up and these perform well with fairy tales in mind.

The pattern is top down with short row heels and toes. Right and left heels worked on different needles so the join runs along the inside of the leg.
Yarn: Lang Jawoll in black and ecru.


I’m very satisfied with my socks and ready to cast my next spell.

night owl

night owl, originally uploaded by katcoyle.

w i r e d

feets

happy socks, originally uploaded by katcoyle.

I love the toes!

happy stripe knee socks

happy stripe socks, originally uploaded by katcoyle.

Finished this afternoon. It is way too hot for socks, so these will be put away for awhile.
The main yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel Color #5110
(1 ball) and the contrast yarn is Cascade Fixation Color #7192 for the heels and toes. There was just a yard or so of the main color left.
I might be more excited about my socks if I could wear them.
Next up, swatching for a wool sweater...

hall of fame

"This uncommon bundle has always been my comfort, my happy burden. Yet I have found it unwise to attach myself to the souvenirs within. For as soon as I focus on a certain object I misplace it or it just disappears."

From Indian Rubies in WoolGathering by Patti Smith, Hanuman Books 1992.

One of my heroes entered the rock n roll hall of fame this week.

The Johnny Cap

Felix wears a snarl and papa’s hat.



I don’t have to worry about the boyfriend curse in regards to knitting him a sweater, as my guy doesn’t wear sweaters; but he does wear hats. Everyday. A couple days ago he asked me to knit him a new hat in a dark, plain color. I was so pleased that he wanted another hat even though he wears the ones I’ve knit all the time. For some reason I’m never sure if he really likes them. My insecurity knows no bounds.
This was knit in one night with wool my father brought back from the Falkland Island’s over four years ago. You never know when stash yarn will be put to use.

Johnny Cap
by Kat Coyle

This is the basic beanie pattern I use to which I embellish with stripes or simple color work when I’m in the mood.

Finished Size 21 1/4” around.

Yarn Worsted weight wool

Needles Size 7 (4.5 mm) 16” circular and set of 4 dpns.

Gauge 18 sts and 27 rnds = 4” in St st.

Pattern Cast on 80 sts. Work 2 x 2 rib for 2”. Work in St st increasing 16 sts on the next round: *K5, M1 *, repeat between * and *; end 96 sts.
Work 4 inches of St st. Decrease next round: * K10, K2tog * repeat between * and *. Knit next round. Decrease every other round until after the K5 K2tog round then decrease every round. Switch to dpn when sts get too tight.
When you have 8 sts cut the yarn and weave through the rem sts. Weave in loose ends.

progress

Much progress has been made on the leg since yesterday; it is almost time for the heel.

happy stripes

Self-striping sock yarn is yesterday’s news. I am late, very late indeed to the party but I can still be happy about arriving at all. The simple pleasure of watching the stripes appear with no effort on my part is making me happy and working its magic charm.
Felix has his lucky charms cereal and I my Meilenweit.

Spring Green Socks

Sock wearing season is just about over here in L.A.
but I'm hooked on knitting them.
Currently, my favorite thing is plain old stockinet.



Working in the round and around and around is very relaxing, perfect knitting for those in-between times. Those moments while waiting for a file to download, or while watching television or when I just don’t want to think but feel restless.
These useful tubes of knitted goodness are the remedy, 15" of mindless knitting for the leg, some thinking and paying attention at the heel, then 7" of foot tubing and again a little thinking for the toe.



A quick graft and a couple of ends to weave in and you're done. I have three more pairs in the works using different yarns.
The yarn used for these spring green socks is Katia Mississippi #762 as the main color and Cascade Fixation #2706 for the heels and toes.

Vine Leaf Sweater

I knit this sweater in January of last year after a road trip to New Mexico. On the drive home we stopped at a truck stop for gas and refreshments and as it turned out yarn. Amongst the wall of potato chips were hanks of handspun wool. At two dollars a hank I scooped up thirty of them. I gave my mom a few and kept the natural unbleached color for myself. I used the vine leaf lace pattern found in one of the Barbara Walker dictionaries as the main stitch and on the hems a shell stitch that scallops nicely. The front is asymmetrical and closed with four buttons and instead of buttonholes the lace serves this purposes.



This sweater gets a lot of wear. I even sleep in it. I like it so much I'm thinking of reknitting it in a manufactured wool and writing up the pattern but am not sure what wool to use. Any recommendations? I thought about Manos but the gauge is a bit bigger. Still, I think it would work nicely.

Update: Here is more information on the yarn I used. It is a loosely spun single ply and the gauge is 16 sts and 25 rows = 4" in Vine Leaf Stitch with a US 8 (5 mm) needle.

Popeye

It felt like spring today. This morning there was a bit of rain, and then blue skies with white clouds. Felix ran around. I chased him.
He is a night owl and stays up to watch Popeye cartoons. A few weeks ago he started calling me Olive Oil. It must be the hair do.

aqua striped la la scarf

aqua striped la la scarf
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

black striped la la scarf

black striped la la scarf
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

When I get a minute between work projects I like to make scarves and shawls. Recently, I've been making variations of the La La Scarf (pattern in Greetings from the Knit Cafe). These two are striped in carnival colors. Most people prefer to wear bland muted colors, or solid basic colors but that makes for dull knitting.

hearts and stars forever

if you say so...

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

apron skirt

apron skirt
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

A few years ago I made a long denim coat. I rarely wore it because it felt so heavy on my shoulders. Last year, I cut off the bottom half and refashioned the top part into a short jacket. This is the bottom half I rediscovered last night while organizing my yarns. I picked up some stitches around the waist and turned it into an apron skirt.

Indigo Ripples Skirt

A preview of the skirt I designed for the Interweave Knits spring issue.

greenish knee socks

greenish knee socks
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

Greenish Knee Socks for the Nervous Knitter
(That would be me, nervous not about the knitting but about life outside of knitting)

Pattern notes:
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, Camouflage color (215 yds, 2 oz); 1 skein for each sock (with not a lot left over).
Needles: 4 dpn size 2 (for cuff and leg), 5 dpn size 1 (for heel and foot)
Gauge: 7 1/2 sts and 11 rows = 1” with size 2 needle.

To fit a foot that wears a size 8 1/2 shoe. Alter the length from heel to toe for a different size foot. Though if you’re going to make it longer you will need more yarn.

Basic Pattern:
Cast on with size 2 needle 64 sts. Work 2” of 2x2 rib (about 22 rows).
Work St st until pieces measures 14 1/2” from cast on edge (about 138 rows in St st).
Change to size 1 needle to work heel and foot. Work short row heel on 32 sts on needles 1 and 2 for left sock and needles 3 and 4 for right sock.
Work 7” of St st from the heel (about 85 rows). Then, work the short row toe on 32 sts with same needles as heel sts.
Graft (32) toe sts to top of (32) foot sts.

Weave in ends, put on socks and party.

Pretty socks, done

finished socks
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

These fancy socks sat on my desk for the last nine or so months, patiently waiting for me to complete the second sock. Finally, I got around to it. It took a while getting back in the swing of a pattern that has been put down for so long; and the yarn had issues. Some critters had chewed bits from the working skein so I had to do quite a bit of splicing. But in the end, all is well. What a relief and the good news, they fit really well, much better than I suspected. The pattern is Petticoat Socks in the book Weekend Knitting. My feet thank me!

buzz

bzzz

doorway

doorway
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

He was about to go out with his dad, and wanted to show me that he will wear his hat. Standing in the doorway, looking out, waiting. This moment was so tender for me.

beret

beret
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

Here we are at year's end. New Year's and Easter are my favorite holidays. Something about endings and being reborn makes me woozy with hope. A new hat for the New Year, pattern here.

gift knitting

I managed to knit a few simple items for gifts. The yarn for this scarf came from the swatch for Sweet Rose in the most recent Knitscene magazine. It is a beautiful cashmere. My swatches are generally huge so I figured I could make a scarf from the unraveled bits. Actually, another bowtie scarf was squeezed from these left overs as well. Sweet! My aunt likes to wear something around her neck during work and who doesn't love cashmere?



This purple confection is another incarnation of the La la Scarf. The pattern can be found in the book Greetings from the Knit Cafe. This is one of my favorite patterns using my all time favorite yarn, lace weight kid mohair and silk. I never tire of the beauty of lace in thin mohair.




My other aunt is receiving this scarf, also made from recycled swatch yarn. The yarn is a Classic Elite merino blend with a touch of cashmere. I was too lazy to wash the yarn to remove the kinks caused from sitting in the bobbled swatch and the stockinet stitch looked pretty bad, so I jazzed it up by running a strand of mohair throughout, altering the colors in broad bands.

stranded

I just finished a big (lace) project and have yet to finish another huge (book) project. So, of course I'm staring at my computer daydreaming and eating cake. *sigh*. I found a great link for stranded knitting. Peace!

hey strand-a-longers

amazing post at habetrot about a massive amount of mitten knitting...

Rosy Tams

rosy tams
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

I bought this book, Knitted Tams by Mary Rowe, earlier this year from Interweave Press; but have yet to put it to good use. It is full of thorough directions on designing your own stranded colorwork tams, something I have longed to do for years but never got around to it. I've never joined a knit a long before as well, so seems like a good time to get into action. Uh, actually, there will be no action on that front until after the New Year but in the spirit of the knit a long I thought I would post what projects I have in mind. There are a couple of amazing sweaters that I’m dreaming of too but I don’t know if I have the time to commit to something huge; on the other hand does it matter how long a project takes? I usually like to knit something as quickly as possible otherwise I loose steam and move on to other projects. I have a couple of UFO’s in the workbasket. Sadly, languishing with just a few missing details. Hmmm, there are only two of those, not too bad for a mad knitter! Anyway, what is quick in the world of knitting? I would say two weeks and that usually entails a couple of sleepless nights and missed meals. It is doubtful that a sweater from Poetry in Stitches could be worked up in two weeks.
Well, I’ll start small with a tam; a beautiful circle of radiating colors.

Irene's backyard

shelf, pot, mirror, purple wall
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

While at my mom's house for thanksgiving I took a few pictures in her backyard. Her place never lets me down, it is always alive with color and her every growing collection of pottery.

Irene

Irene
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

Happy birthday mom!

Thankful

for whimsy and Florine Stettheimer

Picnic at Bedford Hills, 1918

Family Portrait #2, 1933

From Manhattan Fantastica

Inspiration

Top hat and heart are the tender and bittersweet handwork of a love never known. Quilt made for Squire Baldwine signed "Old Maid", 1850 Yonkers, New York; from The Quilt Engagement Calendar Treasury.

Peruvian pilgrim. From (un) Fashion.

alligator chair and EZ knitting

Felix has grown out of his high chair, so Johnny cut off the legs and upholstered it. The upholstery part is a little wacky, inspired by a late night burst of energy. When Felix woke up he was afraid of the chair and tried to pry the black cushion off. Then he threw all his toys on it hoping he could "fix" it. I saw him trying to work the cushion off with his alligator and so I decided to take a picture of the alligator and the chair in the hopes that Felix would see the chair as special. And it worked. He loves it.

I've been doing loads and loads of knitting. So I wouldn't feel so isolated and nutty with all the counting and pattern writing and rewriting, I placed the great knitting thinker EZ next to me at my desk. Good company!