Category Archives: Knitting

Interview and Giveaway

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If you have been reading this blog or have been active on Ravelry in the past couple of weeks, chances are you have heard of Gift-Along. Independent designers have come together to promote one another’s designs, organize KALs and CALs and offer lots of prizes. As part of GAL promotion, I am interviewing Mindy (many of you will recognize her very popular Holden Shawlette) on the blog. There is a giveaway too!

Mindy is a US based designer with a stunning collection of shawls/shawlettes making up a majority of her designs. Her first design Holden Shawlette is immensely popular on Ravelry. She is an active blogger and tweeter. Mindy took some time off her busy schedule (holidays are around the corner too) to chat with me.

Q. What inspired you to become a designer?

What started it all was my desire to knit a shawl that had a wavy stitch pattern at the bottom. I couldn’t find an existing pattern that was what I had in mind so I set about designing it. Once I was deep in design work, I realized I really loved the design process.

Q. What aspect/phase of knit design do you enjoy the most? And which one do you enjoy the least?

I really don’t like to sit down and write the actual pattern. I’m not sure why I don’t like it, but I always leave it for the very last thing. I have a pattern to write right now, and I’m finding a lot of other things to do instead! I just need to sit down and do it. As for what I like the most, I really enjoy charting. I work from charts 99% of the time so when I have a chart that works, I know I’m ready to start knitting.

Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes

Q. Holden Shawlette is one of the most popular patterns on Ravelry. How does it feel to see your design do so well?

I had no idea when I designed Holden that it would be so well-received. It was my very first design ever. Nothing can brighten my day like receiving a kind note or comment from someone who knit Holden (or any of my patterns) telling me how much they enjoyed the knitting and how much they love their finished project.

Q. What has been your experience with GAL so far?

I haven’t been too active, but it’s been a lot of fun so far. I love seeing what other people have knit. There’s been a project or two that have blown my mind with how beautiful they are.

Strawberry Moon by Mindy Wilkes

Q. Which patterns in your store can be made as quick holiday gifts?

Almost all of them! I have a variety of shawls that can be made with one skein of yarn, and I have a variety of shawls that are made in heavier weights of yarn so they knit up pretty quick. I think my side to side shawls (Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, and Hunter’s Moon) would be great gifts.

Q. Do you find time to knit from other designers’ patterns? Who are your favorite designers?

I don’t have a lot of time nowadays to knit other designers’ patterns since most of my knitting lately has been deadline knitting for publishing. I do occasionally start a project from someone else’s pattern. I work at a LYS, and I like to have a project that uses a yarn we carry in store. I can work on that small project when I’m working at the store. It might take me months and months to finish though. I have a ton of favorite designers. Lately, I’ve knit patterns from Bonnie Sennott and Amy Christoffers.

Q. What gifts are you making/knitting for this holiday season?

None! I rarely knit for other people. I am a completely selfish knitter. Right now, my kids believe that clothing cannot be gifts so they’re not getting anything handmade because it won’t be appreciated. Really the only thing I’ll make this holiday season will be food. Just as soon as my kitchen is finished (We’re right smack in the middle of a major remodeling project) I’ll be baking and cooking.

I hope you enjoyed this little chit-chat with Mindy. If you like her designs (who wouldn’t, ha ha), Mindy has generously agreed to offer a copy of any of her self published designs to readers of this blog.
1. All you need to do is comment on this post telling us which pattern you would like to win. Do ensure I have some way of contacting you, via email or on Ravelry, so leave an email ID or your Ravelry username.
2. Entries will close on Dec 24 2013, 12 PM IST.
3. A winner will be chosen randomly and the winner’s selected pattern will be sent to you as Ravelry gift or PDF file will be emailed to you.

All images are copyrighted to Mindy and have been used here with her permission.

Yarn Shopping at Lewes

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I had the opportunity to stay at Brighton for a work related travel. Though my hotel was at Brighton, due to my office hours, I didn’t get to do any yarn shopping in Brighton itself. I made up for it by visiting some yarn shops in Lewes, which is where my workplace is located. When this travel was finalized, I knew I had to buy some yummy yarn because who visits UK and does not buy yarn? Especially when there is such a dearth of pure wool yarns in Bangalore.

The Needlemakers


A lovely, not-so-serious knitter at my work suggested that I visit the The Needlemakers where a lady sells yarn on the first floor, or so I was told. I took a trek up the steep hill and reached this place and landed in a beautiful fabric shop. The cheerful fabrics displayed everywhere and the sewing supplies almost made me buy some, but I reminded myself why I was there. The very helpful lady at the fabric shop was very surprised when I asked her about a yarn shop. She had no idea there was anybody selling yarn in that building and that cannot be because she has been in that building since many years. After going back and forth, she suggested I visit ‘the art and crafts store, just down the station road’ where I will surely find some yarn. My colleague who originally suggested this place is very sure there is yarn in this building and the fabric shop lady is equally sure there isn’t any, so I leave it to you to decide whether to visit this place or not.

Tash Tori Art and Crafts Store

This cosy, little store is quite close to The Needlemakers, so if you can do both on a single visit. This is mainly a sewing, embroidery supplies shop which also stocks some knitting yarn. I found some Debbie Bliss, Sublime and some acrylic yarn. They have supplies too like needles, tapes and knitting books. I bought two balls of yummy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in Pink. I have no idea what I am going to make with it, but wanted it in my stash. The lady at the counter was very helpful in letting me know they don’t stock much yarn and I am lucky I found some that I liked.

The Knitting Basket at The Stitchery

This leaves us with the best place to shop yarn at Lewes. The Stitchery is a crafts store on the first floor of The Riverside building. This is a prominent place on the very popular High Street. This street has cafes and pastry shops on either side of the street and you can see people enjoying lunch or a beer out in the sun. The Stitchery is run by the very charming Saira who knows what good customer service is (more on that later). I saw so many varieties like Rowan, Sublime, Wendy, Robin and many more, that I felt dizzy. I bought some Rowan Tweed which will become a sweater/jacket soon for my son. The Stitchery has such a dizzying collection of buttons, fabrics and other sewing supplies and they often have items on clearance. I had such a great time chatting with Saira, as if I was meeting a long lost friend. More on Sarah in my next blog post.

Hope this post helps in your yarn shopping adventures when you are in Lewes!

Giveaway Winners

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I had a lot of fun going over the wonderful suggestions posted by everybody. I had a hard time choosing just one name, but after a lot of head-scratching, I picked Penstemon. And this name was suggested by MamaLemon on Ravelry.

The random number generator picked contemax as the second winner.

Congratulations Kiel and Carla on winning this pattern. Hope you enjoy knitting this shawl as much as I did.

Giveaway Winners

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Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I had a hard time picking a name, but when I was googling the suggested names, I stumbled upon the word ‘Dyvest’, which is a take on ‘divest’, but with a Y to denote the Y’s in the cable. So, Dyvest is live.

I ended up with this name after reading the suggestions of staceyknitsit, so we have our first winner. Congratulations Stacey.

And the random generator has shined upon Amanda Kate. Congratulations Amanda!

Stacey and Amanda, please let me know your Ravelry IDs or email IDs so that I can send the pattern.

Thanks for playing everybody. I am giving a copy of this pattern on my group. If you want another go at winning this, please head over to the thread, but hurry because the giveaway will end tomorrow, Jan 26th.

New Pattern: Entropy Vest

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I am so excited that my Entropy Vest is published as part of Petite Purls Issue 14.  I have always admired the patterns published in Petite Purls, so I am very happy to have a pattern of mine published by them.

Entropy Vest is a take on the classic argyle vest. With its off-center argyle motifs, the vest tries to bring in a disorder in the otherwise ordered universe, hence the name Entropy. The vest is knit bottom-up in the round until the armholes, and the fronts and backs are worked flat separately. The argyle work is just 20 rows, so this is ideal for a beginner colorwork knitter.

Sizes: 4 [6, 8, 10, 12] years
Chest sizes:  23½[25, 26½, 28, 29½] inches

Ravelry Pattern: Entropy Vest
Yarn Suggested: Cascade 220 (Worsted)
Needle Size: US #5 3.75 mm for the body

What’s cooking?

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The next pattern has been ready for release since a week now. I even managed to get decent photos of a very restless kid this time, but Bangalore’s weather has been so bad since a few weeks now, we all are taking turns to fall sick. First it was the kid and now it’s me. Since I can’t wait to show this pattern to the world, here is a sneak peek.

Inspiring…

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Davey Hulse took up knitting because he couldn’t keep his hands still and wanted to do something with his hands all the time. He started knitting and was disappointed with the knitting books and patterns, so he decided to write one himself. Did I mention he is blind? His book The Touch of Yarn has instructions and charts in Braille.  Read the full story here.

There are many reasons why this story inspires me. I see quite a few physically challenged people around who want people to take pity on them. There are some who stoop to begging. Amongst all those miserable people, Davey shines through. Instead of sitting in a corner and sulking that he is blind, he took up knitting in his free time. How many blind people do you know who can knit? I know none!

After being disappointed with the knitting books, Davey decided to write his own. He wanted to help other blind people who might get interested in knitting. He did not want them to get discouraged and he wrote his own book to cater to them. It shows how positively he treats life. Instead of complaning and whining that the knitting world does not care about blind people, he is sincerely doing something to change this world in whatever little way he can. Since morning, how many things have you complained about? Weather, traffic, the guy who you almost hit on the way, your work, your boss? And what are you doing about those things? I am reminded of Gandhi’s words – “We must be the change we wish to see in the world”.

Itsy Bitsy – Knitting baby stuff

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It’s been ages since I have talked about any FO. That does not mean that I haven’t done any knitting, but just didn’t have the time to write about it. Well, what have I done during the hiatus? Lots of things actually.

It’s difficult to choose a pattern when it comes to baby sweaters. All the patterns look so cute. One pattern that stands out is Baby Sophisticate. It is cute, no doubt, but it also has a distinguished look to it which gives babies that grown-up look. I personally think kids look cute when they act all grown-up. I almost made this for Anya, Rima’s little princess, but when Rima knit the same one for her, I decided to knit something else. I am keeping this one for a baby to come along and claim it. The yarn is 3-ply yarn from Pydal. Really soft and has a nice sheen to it. The only problem is the yarn is so thin that I used 3 strands held together for this cardigan.

I decided to make this Pebble vest for Anya. Just when I was about to sew the buttons on and mail it to Rima, she too made the same vest for Anya. I didn’t want to send this vest, but since the day of Anya’s arrival was nearing, I decided to send it anyway, consoling myself that the one Rima made is bigger and mine is smaller, so can be used immediately. The DK yarn is from Pydal and is soft and squishy.

The vest looked so adorable, I made another one for Ninad. I modified the pattern to make it a bit bigger and knit the body in round. This vest looked great too, but I realized that this yarn was not the best choice only after I started using it. The yarn is so squishy that it doesn’t hold any shape at all. Anya’s vest can be easily used by a 2 year old, that’s how stretchy the yarn is. Now I am feeling guilty for using this yarn for Anya’s vest. I should have used a tried and tested yarn. Sorry Anya and Rima if the vest turns out to be unusable.

The moment I saw this pattern on Knitty, I knew I would knit it some day. Kids and ice-cream go well together, don’t they? I was waiting for an opportunity to knit it and I got it when my mom asked me to knit a sweater for my brother’s kid. I finished the front part in just 3 hours. Intarsia was addictive. It’s another matter that I took 2 days to finish the back and 2 weeks to finish the sleeves. One cute sweater and a great pattern. The only drawback is it is not knit in round, but intarsia can’t be knit in round, so that’s how it is. The 8-ply yarn is leftover yarn from Ninad’s blanket. I love this yarn. It’s strong and has good stitch definition. It’s thick, so knits up fast.

So, this is what I had been upto. I also made a adult size sweater for my husband, but that’s for another blog post, when I get to write it.

Pretty sweater for a pretty baby

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My friend was impressed with the Feather and Fan blanket I gave her and asked for a newborn sweater. We knitters are just waiting to knit something, so I readily agreed. I love the delicate, lacy sweaters which look so cute on girl babies and I always wanted to knit one of those. Unfortunately, I didn’t know any girl babies to knit for. Sanskriti came along and has opened a lot of doors for me. Time was a restriction, so I made this simple, yet pretty sweater for the pretty Sanskriti. There is something wrong with this photograph, the edges are jagged. Because of the black background? The sweater in reality is much better. Really.

I am impressed by the construction of this sweater. You start knitting from the neck edge, knit the yoke, divide for body and sleeves, knit the first sleeve (flat, not round), then close the sleeve seam back up so that you are back at the underarm join, knit the body across, knit the sleeve, back at the underarm join and then finish off the sweater. Umm, did it make sense? Never mind. It means you don’t have to break yarn and rejoin yarn for sleeves and body. You have only one loose end to weave in apart from the cast on end. You need a bit of crochet skills for closing the sleeve seam. Hey, does this count as my first crochet project? I guess not.

On other knitting stuff, remember that kimono and Twinkle sweater I made? The kimono doesn’t fit yet and the Twinkle is not all that practical. I had to sew on press buttons for the sweater to make it useful. It doesn’t really help in keeping my baby warm, but it does look cute. Sweaters that Rima and Sanhita gave are big and won’t fit yet (intentionally so) so what this means is my little fellow needs a sweater. I search for patterns on Ravelry and the only ones I like are all girlish. I want to knit something that looks like a sweater meant for a boy. Any suggestions?

Baby and the blanket

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I started working on this blanket when my friend told me she was expecting. I was into a few rows when my baby made an appearance and the blanket had to be kept aside. I picked it up again a few weeks back when I realized my friend is due in the third week of June. I would have finished it on time, if not for the early appearance of the baby. My friend’s immediate family had not yet arrived in Bangalore and the baby decided to give a surprise to everybody. This cutie pie is the reason I could not meet Rima this time. Since my friend didn’t really have any help, I had to be with her in the hospital all day long. Sorry once again Rima, I hope you understand! This is Sanskriti when she was 8 hours old. Don’t miss those pink cheeks!

Now about the blanket. This is the classic feather and fan pattern adapted for a baby blanket. I changed the original pattern to make the purl ridges appear every 8th row instead of every 4th row. This makes the feathers sparser and I like this effect.

Original pattern:

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times*
Row 4: Knit

Modified Pattern:

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times*
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times*
Row 8: Knit

I used Vardhaman 4-ply acrylic yarn and held it double to speeden up the knitting. Six feather and fan for a row and fifteen repeats of the 8-row pattern. I was not sure of the gender of the baby, so I used red. Now that I know it is a girl, I am making a sweater for her in pink. Hope it fits.

Rav link for the project.