Knits 'n' Pieces ← by Asti ← Page 2

Plus One Diamond shawl

Mar

2014

The winter in Estonia tends to be long and dim, the days are short and nights seem endless. When the spring finally comes and clouds disband, you can see the blue sky again. This blue is beautiful! Although the weather is getting warmer each day, it is still quite chilly in the mornings and in the evenings, so it is good to have something to wrap around your shoulders or neck, to keep you warm and cozy. These two ice blue shawls with lacy diamond pattern will do just that.

I finished these two shawls long long time ago (well, not that long ago, it was November 2013) and submitted to Knitty. Unfortunately just a couple of days before the spring-summer edition was launched, I got the rejection letter. This was my first foreign language submission and first rejection, so of course, I was a bit disappointed, but I’ll try again. There is always next time :)

For these shawls I wanted similar blue yarns and I found DROPS Lace and DROPS BabyAlpaca Silk. I wanted to knit the shawls with the same needles, so Lace and BabyAlpaca Silk were perfect for that. Both shawls are knitted following the same charts, the only difference between them is the number and stitch of the rows between pattern rows. For clarity in the pattern I made different charts for the beginning and the end of both shawls.

Shawls are knitted sideways, so obviously the inspiration came from Strikkelise’s Baktus scarf, that I think is just a genius piece of knitting.

The photo shoot took place in November, but we needed spring-looking photos. So that was real fun :) We were actually very lucky, because it was the last sunny and snowless weekend here before the dark autumn and winter. But it was very very windy and quite cold. I found a photo gallery of this exact day from our news portal Delfi. It was the same day we captured photos of Cranberry hat and mittens and Winter Bliss hat, which were definitely more appropriate to wear that day :)

Hope you like the shawls and enjoy knitting them! :)

You can find Plus One Diamond shawl pattern on Ravelry

Braided hat 1

Mar

2014

It was some years ago when I first knitted this hat. I took a random yarn from my stash (as there was no label I don’t know the name or the consistency of this yarn) and just started knitting and ended up with a hat that fit my daughter perfectly. When people started to ask for the pattern, I tried to find a suitable yarn, but I couldn’t find one. So after a few attempts I gave up. At the end of last year DROPS Andes caught my eye and I thought I give it one more try. I knitted and I unraveled. I tried different needle sizes. Finally I managed to get the size I needed now (my daughter has grown, you know). But as I’m still not quite sure how to alter the size of the hat, I decided to make it a free pattern.

Theoretically, if you want to make a tighter hat, try smaller needles. You can reduce the hat’s depth by working less crown rows (you have to adjust ribbing then as well). Or, if you need a deeper hat, work additional crown rows (and adjust ribbing).

So, here it is – Braided hat. I used about 1.5 balls of DROPS Andes (65% Wool, 35% Alpaca, 109yds / 100m, 3.53oz / 100g) in color 3740. It is knitted on two needles back and forth in rows from beginning of one braid to the end of the other. Then the ribbing for front of the hat and back of the hat are worked by picking up stitches from the selvage stitches of the main part.

It is a very easy and quick knit :) Hope you enjoy it!

You can find Braided hat pattern on Ravelry

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Happy Holidays!

Dec

2013

I wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you after the holidays! :)

SALE in my pattern store! 2

Dec

2013

This year is coming to an end. It has been my first year without a day job and my first year as a self-employed designer. I self-published 7 knitting patterns this year – the number I hope to beat next year :). I have lots of ideas I would love to share. Thank you all for your support!

To celebrate my first year as a designer I have an offer – buy 3 of my patterns and get 1 of them for free! This offer is valid from Dec 17 until Dec 31, 2013.

Cranberry hat and mittens 1

Nov

2013

A while ago I had this idea, that I have to get myself a hat with lots of cables and bobbles. And not a nice or neat hat, but really exaggerated, over the top and bulky one. And pink, definitely pink! It took me quite a long time to find the right yarn for this, but finally I did – DROPS Andes. I don’t know how I missed it before. Actually somehow I have only started to discover Garnstudio’s yarns. So far I haven’t been disappointed.

So this is the hat, knitted with DROPS Andes (65% Wool, 35% Alpaca, 109yds / 100m, 3.53oz / 100 g) in color 3145.

The braided band is knitted first, in rows. Provisional cast on is necessary, you can do this with crochet chain or without. The rest of the hat is knit in the round (how to pick up and knit stitches – if you have to pick up 2 stitches for 1 selvage stitch, insert knitting needle first under the back loop of selvage stitch and then under both loops) .

As it is a super bulky yarn, the hat is quite warm. But here in Estonia it gets really cold in winter, so a warm hat is a must.

You can find Cranberry hat pattern on Ravelry

And I couldn’t resist to make matching mittens. These are constructed the same way as the hat but with a rib cuff.

If you are planning to knit both hat and mittens, you’ll need 3 skeins of yarn not 4!

You can find Cranberry mittens pattern on Ravelry

Winter Bliss hat

Nov

2013

The inspiration for this hat was the yarn – Debbie Bliss Winter Garden – soft blend of merino, baby llama, linen and silk (30% Llama, 30% Merino Wool, 20% Silk, 20% Linen, 109yds/100m, 3.53oz/100g). I fell in love with the colors of this yarn the minute I saw them on the shelves of LYS. The subtle tweedy flecks give this yarn a really unique and wonderful look. Although I have heard a lot of complaints about the hard bits in the yarn (pieces of linen), I think these bits give a real character to this yarn (and it is not that difficult to pick them out if they really bother you ;) ).

As this yarn is quite bulky, it knits up real easy and quick and the hat will be done in couple of hours. You can wear this hat either with brim down or brim turned up. You can make a pom-pom for this hat, or not. Many possibilities.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry

First Snow mittens

Oct

2013

It was a really long and warm summer this year. I actually can’t remember the last summer before this one I didn’t complain about the weather. Usually the summer here is too cold or too rainy or too hot and I do not like none of these. Regardless of this perfect summer this year, at some point I was dreaming of winter and the first snow. The first snow in the fall that always melts. Although I don’t like cold, I love when it’s snowing on a windless day. I love how the snowflakes just slide down from the sky and you can admire separate snowflakes on your hat and mittens and coat. So I wanted to capture this image of first snow on mittens.

I hope you like these mittens as much as I do and they keep your hands warm during a cold winter.

I used Regia Angora Merino (65% Merino, 25% Polyamide, 10% Angora, 50g / 1.76oz, 200m / 219yds) – a very soft and warm sock yarn, it felt just right for this kind of colorwork knitting :)

You can purchase this pattern from Ravelry

Honeycomb gloves 1

May

2013

I love gloves and I have always wanted gloves with cables. So I decided to start with something really simple that would give me an idea how to design gloves with a pattern that would continue on fingers. Honeycomb pattern seemed just right for that. The pattern makes these gloves very snugly and comfy, just the way I like it. Love my new gloves!

I used soft and warm alpaca yarn – Garnstudio’s Drops Alpaca (100% alpaca, 50g/1.76oz, 166m/182yds). Purple, of course :)

You can purchase this pattern from Ravelry

Williamina shawl

Apr

2013

The spring is here and it is the perfect time to knit a nice lacy shawl for summer nights, right? I modified my earlier design a bit and knitted a new sample and wrote directions in English.

So here it is – Williamina shawl.

I used Garnstudio’s Drops Lace, which is a blend of alpaca and silk, a very soft and enjoyable yarn to knit with. And purple is my new favourite, definitely.

Finished measurements of the shawl: 68” / 172 cm wide and 34” / 86cm long at centre. Pattern is adjustable, you can easily knit a smaller or a larger shawl.

You can purchase this pattern from Ravelry

Up-and-down hat

Aug

2009

In the spring of 2008 some of my hat patterns were published in Mütsiraamat and now I’ve decided to translate them into English.

First pattern – Up-and-down hat – is now ready for you.

Up-and-down hat got its name from the fact that its sides are crocheted in an unconventional way – not in rounds, but back and forth.

The hat is crocheted from a fine cotton yarn, originally from Coats Eldorado with hook 2 mm, but the yarn is easily substitutable. Making this hat includes a little bit sewing, but really only a little bit :) English version of this hat includes complete written instructions (UK terms) as well as charts. The hat pattern is for three sizes – to fit head circumference 44/48/52 cm. You can trim the hat with ribbon, rosettes or leave it without trims.