Tag Archives: knitting

How To: Make a Pom Pom

Oh the pom pom.  I’m seeing them everywhere these days.  They are such a fun way to embellish knits, crafts and even use in home decor. Here’s a simple way to make your own pom poms.

Materials:

Yarn: I find it best to use yarns with plies that don’t unravel- that way your pom won’t have frayed edges.  Wool is my favorite go-to yarn for making poms.  The yarn pictured is Cascade 220.

Cardboard: for making a reusable pom pom template.

Scissors: a sturdy pair that will cut easily though cardboard.

Glass, or a circular object for tracing circles onto cardboard.  Your circle diameter will be the approximate size of your finished pom.  The finished pom shown is around 3 inches in diameter.

Quarter, or other small circular object for tracing smaller circles onto cardboard.

Pen: for tracing

Step One:

Gather all materials listed above.

step1

Step Two:

Trace two large circles onto cardboard using the glass as a guide.

tracing circles 1

Step Three:

Trace a smaller circle in the center of each larger circle using the quarter as a guide.

tracing circles 2

Step Four:

Cut out the cardboard circles, cutting a 1/2 inch wide wedge opening on one side of each circle.

circles

Step Five:

Holding both cardboard circles together, start wrapping the yarn around the circles.  Make sure to cover all of the cardboard and wrap many layers of yarn; the more yarn you use, the fluffier your pom poms will be.

wrapping 1

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Step Six:

Once finished wrapping, cut the yarn end.  Cut a length of yarn about 10 inches long and set aside for later.

length of yarn

Step Seven:

Place your thumb in the center of the circle to secure yarn and start cutting the edges of the yarn by guiding the scissors between the two pieces of cardboard.

cutting1

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Step Eight:

After cutting about half of the yarn, slide the length of yarn you set aside between the two pieces of cardboard to start securing the cut pieces of yarn.  Make sure not to let any cut pieces get loose.  Continue cutting all of the yarn that is wrapped, and tighten the length of yarn around the center, gathering all cut ends tightly.  Tie in a few knots to secure.

secured

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Step Nine:

Remove the cardboard circles and fluff your pom pom into a circular shape.  Trim any long ends.

trimming

Step Ten:

POM IT UP!

pomitup

What will you pom?

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A Walk in the Woods

Today Joey and I went for a walk at a nature preserve near our house.  It was so amazing walking down a winding trail covered in fallen leaves while looking up at massive trees arching over our heads.  It was just what I needed to make me feel centered again.

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We also took advantage of our beautiful surroundings to take photos for my newest design.  I’m working on the pattern now and having it test knitted.  I can’t wait to share it with you.  Here’s a sneak peek:

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Pom Pom Quarterly

Have you heard of the new knitting/craft/food/drink/music/art magazine Pom Pom Quarterly yet?

I came across Pom Pom on Ravelry and was instantly smitten with what these lovely London ladies are doing; this is a beautifully designed/laid out/photographed and printed magazine that is so different than your typical knitting mag.

The patterns are interesting and ones that you’d actually want to knit AND wear and they are photographed and styled so beautifully.  Plus, there are food and cocktail recipes, a bit of music love and some great articles that you want to read while snuggled under your favorite knitted throw.  (That’s what I did!)

There is a lot more to this great new publication, but I don’t want to show you everything here, because I think you should hop on over and buy an issue or subscribe and support what these fabulous ladies are making.  Something this great doesn’t come along too often, but I’m very glad to see that it has.

 

 

 

 

 

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New Pattern: Bushwick Beanie

The Bushwick Beanie is an easy to knit cabled hat that can be knitted as a classic-fitting beanie or with a bit of Brooklyn-inspired slouch.

Both versions knit up quickly with bulky weight yarn (110 yards for the classic version or 130 yards for the slouchy version) on size US 10 ½ (6.5 mm) double pointed needles (or appropriate needle size to obtain gauge at 3.75 stiches per inch). The pattern includes charted and line-by-line instructions for each version and can be purchased via Ravelry by clicking the link below.

Buy it Now  or View Pattern Page on Ravelry

I knit the original slouchy version about a year ago when Joey and I were living in Bushwick and he needed a warm hat. Since then, it has traveled with him on tour and kept him warm in NYC, Texas, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Ireland, England and Portugal. When a hat sees that kind of mileage, sometimes you need a backup (or two!) and so I decided to knit another one for him with a more classic look and fit.

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Free Pattern: Infinity Cowl

I’ve recently updated my Infinity Cowl pattern to have a cleaner layout and more detailed instructions and I hope you’ll take a peek because its FREE!

Download here

This is an easy pattern for a cute and quick cowl that can be highly customizable.  If you want to take it beyond  basic stockinette this pattern is a great jumping off point.  You could knit it in a classy allover textured pattern stitch or even add some trendy stripes or a fun argyle!

I’m excited to say that I have another pattern coming soon that I have been working on behind the scenes.  Something warm and cable-y.

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A Knitting Brunch

On Sunday I met up with two girlfriends for brunch and knitting.   Both ladies know how to knit but wanted to take things beyond just garter stitch, so I suggested my Infinity Cowl pattern as a pretty easy way to learn a new skill (circular knitting) that results in a cute wearable cowl.  With our pattern agreed upon, I sent them out to pick out a bulky weight yarn and appropriately sized circular needles, and we giggled at brunch when we realized that they both picked out the exact same yarn in the exact same color!

I helped them out with the provisional cast on and then they both quickly took off knitting round after round of stockinette stitch while we enjoyed mimosas and chatted about recipes and painting.  It was only after an hour or so that I looked over and noticed that Briana’s circular knitting was twisted and my heart sank as I realized that I must have twisted it when I was joining it in the round for her.  Then I proceeded to rip it out and create a huge tangled mess of her yarn.  I blame the mimosas….

It was such a fun afternoon with the ladies and we’re planning on meeting up again soon to share in each others progress.

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Stash Party

I woke up Saturday morning dreaming of yarn.  I had an overwhelming desire to go through my yarn stash for inspiration, so I decided to do a little reorganizing while I was at it.  I usually keep everything in shoebox-sized boxes from ikea inside my armoire, but keeping everything contained in boxes makes it easy to forget some of the goodies that lurk under those lids.

I still have some yarn in boxes (the brown and white  flowered boxes in the background of the top shelf), but I decided to display my favorite yarns front and center, so I can be inspired.  I open these doors every day and smile while contemplating what I want to knit with each skein on that shelf.  I have many colors of Palette, which are lined up and at the ready for all the hexipuffs I’ve been knitting for my Beekeeper’s quilt; a skein of Shelter, leftover from the Guernsey Wrap I knitted last year which is dying to be knitted into a tweedy beanie; a luscious skein of Jade Sapphire cashmere, waiting for something that is worthy of cashmere; and lots of soft wonderfully tweedy Rowan Felted Tweed, which I am completely in love with and can’t wait to knit with again.

The bottom shelf holds the fabulous crocheted Henry that my sister in law made for me and the panda bear I made after I forced her to show me how to do amigurumi.  I have a basket full of hexipuffs, and some of my favorite knitting books– lots of Elizabeth Zimmerman and a few Vogue Knitting Stitchionaries for good measure.

I’d love to know what yarns and books you’d bring to a stash party.  Please let me know in the comments or post a link to your blog post if you’d like to join in and share.

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The Little Things

My Joey has been working really hard to accomplish one of his dreams- he’s building a recording studio with one of his close friends- and it’s ALMOST finished.  My favorite part is the interior walls, which are covered in reclaimed wood from shipping pallets and planks of cedar.

I’ve been dreaming up ways to get some knitted goodness into this studio, so when Joey asked me to knit some coasters I jumped on the chance. I looked around on Ravelry and decided upon the pattern Calla Coasters by The Purl Bee. I knitted these two with simple Sugar ‘n Cream cotton and sewed faux leather on for the backing so that they’ll look right at home in this wood-filled studio.

 

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Bunny Watching

Its been bunny-watching central around our little house lately.  I had to pause before pulling the car into the driveway the other evening to let two silly buns chase each other across the street and I usually get a cute bunny-grass-snarfing glimpse or two any time I peek out the little window over our kitchen sink.  Joey and I have taken to sending each other text message updates on what the bunnies are up to when one of us is not at home. “Bunny is out front” was one I got the other day as he was leaving for work.

Bunny-watching, it seems, is pretty hard work when it comes to capturing and sharing these sweet little moments with others.  I tried so hard to take a video to send to Joey when he was in Sweden a few weeks ago.  Two buns were just chasing each other in circles around our back yard for almost an hour.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get close enough to capture the cuteness.  And wouldn’t you know, even knitted bunnies are hard to snap shots of.  I was only able to get two quick pics before these little buns hopped off a new home with my niece and nephews.

The one on the right thinks he hears a camera clicking in the distance

Hightailing it outta there

Pattern: Tiny Baby Bunnies by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land

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The Home Stretch

See, I told you the cardigan wasn’t suffering from a lack of interest.

Now we’ll see if my circular needles are long enough to pick up stitches all around for the button band/neckline.

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