Stash Sorting

Let me see... Wool Ease (worsted); Wool of the Andes (Avocado); Cotton Ease (red); Merino Style (Coal); Alpaca (Rusty Heather); Angora (cat); Cascade 220 (black)...

Wait a second... Did I say "cat"? Hmm... That's going to be tough to knit.

French Press Cosy Pattern

I believe I actually used less than an entire 70 g ball of kitchen cotton for this pattern. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Photo of the cosy I knit here. If you have any questions about the pattern, leave a comment and I will answer you there.

Materials
About 70 g any 4-ply kitchen cotton yarn
Thread to match yarn, sewing needle
Knitting needles, size 4.25 mm and 3.75 mm
Two buttons (1/2” / 2.5 cm diameter)
Darning needle
Crochet hook, size 4.50 mm

Gauge
20s = 4” / 10 cm on 4.25 mm needles or size needed to obtain gauge.

Filler Pattern
I used the Double Moss (Double Seed) Stitch as a filler for my cosy, but any stitch pattern worked in a multiple of 2, 4, or 8 can be substituted. (For symmetry, I shifted the starting point of the double moss stitch pattern on my cosy to be: p1, k2, * p2, k1, repeat from * to last s, p1, etc. This shift centered the V of the spout opening above a p2.)

Double Moss (Double Seed) Stitch
Row 1: (RS) *k2, p2, repeat from * across
Row 2: (WS) *p2, k2, repeat from * across
Row 3: (RS) *p2, k2, repeat from * across
Row 4: (WS) *k2, p2, repeat from * across
Repeat rows 1 though 4.

Special Abbreviations
(Just the ones that might not be too obvious.)
FS = Filler stitch
WS = Wrong side facing
RS = Right side facing

Note for open handles: My French press has a closed handle. If the one you are knitting for does not have a closed handle you may eliminate the button closure and work the body of the cosy entirely in the round until it reaches your handle. In this case, you would not cast off stitches after the 5 rows of 1x1 ribbing, and you would not need the two buttons or a set of 3.75 mm knitting needles.

Body
CO 61 s on 4.25 mm needles and work a 1x1 (k1, p1) rib for 5 rows.
Row 6: (RS) cast off 3s, K1, work FS to last s (56s total filler stitches), k1, turn.
Row 7: (WS) p1, work FS to last s, p1, turn.
Repeat previous two rows 16 times (39 rows total worked in piece), turn.
Row 40: (RS) k1, work FS 26s, k2tog, turn. Place unworked stitches on holder or waste yarn.
Row 41: (WS) ssk, work FS to last s, p1, turn.
Row 42: (RS) k1, work FS to last 2s, k2tog, turn.
Repeat previous two rows to 48 rows total have been worked in piece, turn.
Row 49: (WS) k across, turn. (21s)
Row 50 through 58: work 1x1 rib, turn.
Cut yarn. Place ribbed stitches on holder or waste yarn.
Pick up 29s from first stitch holder/waste yarn with a 4.25 mm needle. Follow the instructions for Row 51 through 58, substituting WS for RS, and WS for RS. Do not place stitches on a holder or waste yarn.
Place stitches from holder on 4.50 mm knitting needle.
At this point you should have two knitting needles with 21s each. Viewed RS, the needle on the left should have the stitches that are attached to the yarn ball. This is Needle 1. The other is Needle 2.
Row 59: (WS) work 1x1 rib as set on Needle 1, then work 1x1 as set on Needle 2 across, turn. (42s) All stitches should now be on one needle.
Row 60: (RS) work 1x1 rib as set for 20s, increse 1s by knitting into next s twice, work 1x1 rib as set across, turn. (43s)
Row 61: (WS) p2, (yo, p2tog, p3) twice, yo, p2tog, p4, yo, p2tog, p3, yo, p2tog, p4, (yo, p2tog, p3) twice, yo, p2tog, p2, turn.
Row 62: (RS) *k1, p1, repeat from * to last s, k1, turn.
Work 1x1 rib as set 4 rows. Bind off as set.

Button Flaps
Part 1:
Pick up 15s from center of the edge of body with 3.75 mm knitting needle, turn.
Work in 5 rows 1x1 rib, beginning and ending with a knit stitch on RS. Bind off as set.
Part 2:
(WS) Pick up 15s from center of the opposite edge of body with 3.75 mm knitting needle., turn.
Row 1: k1, p1, k1, BO 2s, p1, (k1, p1) 3 times, BO 2s, k1, p1, k1, turn.
Row 2: p1, k1, p1, CO 2s, work 7s in 1x1 rib as set, CO 2s, p1, k1, p1, turn.
Row 3 through 5: Work 1x1 rib as set, turn. Cast off, cut yarn.

Drawstring
With 4.50 mm crochet hook, make chain 16”/ 40 cm long, or desired length, leaving 2”/ 5 cm tails of yarn at either end.

Finishing
Thread tail of drawstring on large darning needle and run through yo’s in body. Sew buttons on flap with sewing thread and needle. Sew edge of bottom ribbing together with darning needle. Weave in ends. Place cosy on Fench Press. Make coffee.

The One Slipper Wonder

There's a multitude of patterns out there on the internet and in books. I don't know about you, but sometimes I suffer from information overload. So tonight I am going to post links to some of my favorite free internet patterns to save you from having to go running all around the ether and taking a chance on an unknown pattern. Think of me as your test knitter.

I think the pattern I knit the most is the seaman's cap. It's a simple pattern with nice details, and everyone I have made one for reportedly wears them obsessively. I've made it in yellow, pink, and black, and I am about to make it in black again. I'm planning to knit my dad a second cap in navy blue Cascade Tweed 220 with cables on the crown.

I tried the pocketbook slipper pattern because it looked so easy, and because I couldn't help wondering how it would actually work out. (There's a pattern out there for making them with a button, but since I am surfing on a dial-up, I'll save that link for another day.) I admit my expectations were not very high for this pattern, but I wasn't really risking much yarn. I am happy to report that I wear them. When I had the flu recently I wore them at nearly all times. I am, in fact, wearign them now. Or rather one of them. I can't find the other. But my wearing one slipper says something, doesn't it? I mean, aside from how odd I am.

The Irish Knit Tea Cosy was a nice knit, even though I have yet to size it to a teapot I actually own. I knit up a towel that hangs from my fridge door that I'm inordinantly pleased with, also. Both items can be seen here.

And that's it for now.

F.Y.I.

I haven't been laid up for the past two weeks with the flu.

What I have been is a lame ass. I seem to have very little motivation to get on the computer once I get home. I don't know why. Obviously, I love computers, because I spend nine hours a day on one, right?

Well, maybe that it's quite the definition of love.

Knitting
No pictures. Sorry. Soon, though. I will deliver! And when I deliver the goods that is pictures, it will be of a new sweater and a finished pair of purple/yellow socks. Have I finished these items? Well... No. But soon. Very soon, I will. I am knitting the sleeves onto the body of the sweater as I type this. With my toes.

Ok, maybe I that's not entirely accurate. But it is on my lap and I am knitting the sleeve between hitting "Save as Draft", etc. (Oh, good ol' Pentium II. Believe me, if I had a different home PC, I wouldn't have so much knitting time.)

I did get a substantial amount of knitting on this sweater done while ill. I'm trying to work from the stash - which is also substantial, I'm pained to say - and I desperately need another black cardigan. Black cardigans go with everything, especially if you're like me and everything you wear is black, or might as well be. (Yes, it's true. I wear 90% black and gray. The remaining 10%? Brown, orange, and burgundy. Sometimes red. But mainly orange and burgundy. Together. Over something black and gray. I know, I'm terrrible. I don't know how I have evaded the fashion police so far.)

Wow! Am I rambling on. What do you want to bet that Blogger loses this post because I have invested so much time in it? How about two skeins of that discontinued KnitPicks sock yarn, "Sock Garden", in Zinnia? (Red, orange, yellow! Or was that three skeins? Gosh, I have alot of sock yarn!) If this post goes through, the first person who comments gets it. Even if you don't realize I'm giving away sock yarn! So there! (Don't that sound kind of like a threat? The yarn really isn't that bad, really.)

Boy, I'm in high spirits tonight. Must be all those fumes from cutting rigid foam with an electricified wire all week at work. Enjoy it while you can!

And now, I press the dreaded "Publish" button...

Edit: Arianna got the three skeins, although she insisted on doing something in exchange for them. So I got a decaf soy latte. (I think I came out ahead.)