La Marea cowl + Treehousehat

In the previous post you can find a free pattern for La Marea cowl.
A simple, versatile and easy to wear garment.
You can wear it solo, with a hat that repeats the color of one of the sections.
Or you can choose a contrast color, like this Treehouse hat I knitted for my daughter.
I knitted it like a test knit. My friend from Moscow asked me to knit this hat so I wanted to see how this pattern works with the yarn we chose.

I knitted it with Garnstudio DROPS Lima yarn. It is a bit thinner then required in pattern and I always prefer the hats with more positive ease. So I knitted 4 instead of 3 repeats of main pattern.
I made the 2×2 rib.
The crown is knitted also in different way (I used Il Giardiniere pattern, free pattern you can find in the following post).
You can find this project here on my ravelry page.
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/NatieKnits/treehouse-hat

Duffle coat for Sara.

I started this project... let me see, I was still pregnant... and my son is almost 27 months old... the 10/01/2015.  I used Lana Gatto machine knitting wool and DROPS Alaska. I completed all the garment and left only the closure to be finished. This coat was too big for my son, and then it was too warm to wear it... so the years have passed and my son has grown up... Meanwhile our long-awaited niece was born so I decided that this garment will be more useful for her. And last Saturday we presented her this duffle coat for her Christening. Also I've knitted a cute dress, using DROPS Baby Alpaca Silk. I will publish the pattern as soon as I've tested bigger sizes of this design.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/NatieKnits/cappottino-celeste

A cute summer hat. Very long story...

Two years ago I knitted this cardigan for my son.
Striped cardigan with anchor.
Like always, it was too big for him.
When he was born I knitted another smaller cardigan using the same lime-yeallow cotton yarn. No stripes, no anchor. I also knitted a striped hat.

Then we lost it, so I knitted another one.

This year the cardigan fits perfectly well, all we needed was a scarf.
Ok, let's knit a scarf!
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/NatieKnits/summer-scarf-for-ale

But the hat was a bit worn out, so I started the third striped hat.

And here we are, after more than 2 years the set is completed. As you can see I always reduced the number of stripes. And the last hat is knitted with 4 threads instead of 3 threads of yarn. Just like the cardigan and the scarf. Always with 3,5 mm needles.
All we need now that the spring comes back and we can show all this beauty to somebody outside!

Spring colorful coat.

The spring is coming and my son doesn't have any medium season coat. He is still small and can't decide what to wear. And this colorful red yarn (Tulipano 100% lana merino colorway 80) spent too much time in my stash. I had only 8 skiens, not enough for the sleeves. 

So I decided to make a kind of spring cleaning and make something colorful, but rather boyish. 

First I've knitted the back and front, and it was just enough yarn to knit a collar. So I started to try different stash yarns. The best was Peruanskaya Alpaca of Pehorka (colorway 876). I had 2 skeins. Held double, it was right for the gauge. 

After knitting the first sleeve I realized that the yarn was not enough. So,  I re-knitted the sleeve, omitting the scuffs. Completing the second sleeve I was ready to knit the ultimate part in other color, but fortunately, the yarn was just enough. 

For the scuffs I chose Garnstudio DROPS Lima (colorway 0701), which  was thinner then the main yarn, but it was even better for cuffs and i-cord finishing.

And this is it! I was asked about the pattern. I didn't use any pattern, just general measures. Maybe one day I'll publish this pattern, as it has it's peculiarities: different number of stitches for back and front, asymmetric sleeve shape, different back and front length. And I used short rows for the neck line, which is absolutely symmetric. Everything according to my meticulous personality(:

Let me know if you're interested in this pattern!

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/spring-coat

New pattern of mine: Fall Colors Poncho and Scarf.

Last night I've finally published on Ravelry  a mini-collection of patterns, including Fall Colors Poncho and Fall Colors Scarf.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fall-colors-poncho

These garments combine romantic lace pattern with modern structured edge which make them suitable for any occasion and any style.

For the poncho I used short rows technique which permits to create the warm garment that follow the body silhouette without adding weight to the shoulders. 

Knitted in one size, both of the patterns can be easily modified adding more stitches or rows.

It also allows you to experience with different yarns.

For the poncho I used mixed Alpaca yarn (Peruanskaya Alpaca, 50% wool, 50% alpaca, 150 m per 50 gr), which gives it especial warmths.

I've knitted different versions of Fall Colors scarf, experiencing with different size of needles and different mixture of yarns. 

There is a one important thing about using yarns for machine knitting - the fabric tends to shrink a lot, so for my ultimate Fall Colors Scarf III  I used 7 mm needles with 6 strands of 2/30 yarn (2 brown, 1 green and 3 senape), which after washing and blocking give the impression of using worsted yarn with 5 mm needles.

In any case, this pattern is universal for any kind of yarn.

Knitting these garments, I was thinking of the fall, my favorite season, rich in colors and sensations. I have always imagined them in different shades of green, orange, brown, the colors of the falling leaves... Fall Colors.

Special thanks to my cousin Vicka for these nice old-fashioned photos. 

Striped cardigan with anchor.

A couple of months ago I was thinking about knitting a cute striped set from Phildar N 465

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/phildar-no-465-layette-printemps-ete-springsummer-2007.

I called it "Set a righe":

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/set-a-righe-2

After knitting the main part of the sweater I lost the interest for this project, it seemed to be too small, not very easy to put on a little baby, but I still wanted to knit something with the stripes. So I decided to knit a classic striped cardigan, the model for all the times:

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/striped-cardigan. 

I used the same cotton blu and yellow-green yarns, with 4 threads and 3,5mm needles my gauge was 27 st. per 10 cm. I couldn't resist making the bigger size then needed. 

To accentuate the nautical theme I added a little embroidered anchor, the scheme I found online.

I think it would be a perfect outfit for summer evenings, now all we need is to knit the matching hat.

Baby blanket - Copertina verde II.

Some weeks ago I've published the Baby blanket - Copertina verde. pattern. 

Now I would like to share with you the photos of this blanket completed. 

The size is 57cm x69cm. 

Striped blanket.

For years I was waiting for an occasion to knit some baby blanket, and finally I don't find any reasons to wait. This blanket might be used on the baby bed as well as on the bigger teenager bed. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/striped-blanket

After looking through all my "Le copertine piu belle" magazines of Mani di Fata I chose between 2 patterns, adapting them to my taste. I used Garnstudio DROPS Baby Merino yarn (100% merino, 175 m/50gr). It has a great choice of colors and it's perfect for making blankets, as it grows a lot. I had bad experience with some other yarns, when after washing the garments were reduced in their size. I wanted to have a knitted fabric which grows rather than shrinks.

I used colorways 24, 02, 09. 17.

Here is the summery of the work done: 
27/09 Started the border. 
29/09 Finished the first stripe. Even if the blanket is planned to be rather big (90cm per 120cm), I think it will be enough 1 skein of each color and 4/5 skiens of cream. Still I have to order a yellow color. I like the stitch pattern and with the rest of the yarn I can do some hat and scarf, and even little jacket. 
30/09 I‘ve started the third, green stripe and I’m not sure I need a yellow one. Maybe instead it would be better another brown, and then green, blue and brown again. 

02/10 I’m on the middle of the lenght (9 stripes instead of 8 in total). Not bad, but for knitting 2 stripes I need a little bit more than 1 skein, so I have to reorder one skein of brown. I’ll definetely order more skeins of this yarn to make matching cardigan, hat and scarf.

04/10 The green stripe is on the needles, blue and brown are left. It is much quicker project then I’ve expected. But I need more brown yarn to finish it. And I haven’t ordered it from Fiordilana still (they make 25% discount on it till the 7th of October). So, now I’ll start the hat for me.

07/10 Ultimate stripe, the yarn has just arrived. Then the border, and my biggest (for now) blanket is completed. And then, what should I start? Umaro III (even bigger) or Market jacket? 

11/10 Feeling a bit tired to cast-off, but tomorrow it will be fresh off the needles.

After washing the blanket I had a couple of days of anxiety. The reason was that the blanket has grown more then I had expected, and as I don't have any surface big enough to be able to block the garment in the better way, I had to wait till it had shrunk to its expected size. That was really a stress. 

Baby blanket - Copertina verde.

To my surprise the photo of my recent WIP had a success after publishing it on Facebook. Some knitters had asked me for a pattern, so I decided to write it down. It is simple and quick, but still of a great effect. It was "inspired" by a pattern from Mani di Fata magazine, but after trying to knit the original slipped stitch pattern I gave up and found this simple leave stitch pattern in one of stitch dictionaries. 

The blanket is knitted with Garnstudio DROPS Merino Extra Fine yarn, using 4,5 straight needles (I knit very tightly). 

The pattern is:

Cast on 120 st.

Knit 10 rows in garter stitch

Continue knitting 6 st in garter stitch, 13 st in main pattern till the late 6 st, 6 st in garter stitch.

Then knit 10 rows in garter stitch. 

Make the necessary number of stripes and finish with 10 rows in garter stitch. 

Main pattern:

1, 3, 13 rows - Knit.

2, 4, 12, 14 rows - Purl.

Row 5: K2, yo, K3, K3tog, K3, yo, K2.

Row 6: P3, K3, P1, K3, P3.

Row 7: K3, yo, K2, K3tog, K2, yo, K3.

Row 8: P4, K2, P1, K2, P4.

Row 9: K4, yo, K1, K3tog, K1, yo, K4.

Row 10: P5, K1, P1, K1, P5.

Row 11: K5, yo, K3tog, yo, K5.

Then you can knit a border if you like. I'll knit one. 

Umaro blanket.

The summer has arrived, but I love working with wool and alpaca yarn! I was so happy to hear that DROPS makes a 35% sale on all their wool yarns, and I decided to make the biggest order of my life. 

Several colors of my favorite Alpaca and Baby Alpaca Silk for sweaters:

Lima for Market Jacket http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/market-jacket-2, 

Nepal for some hat and cowl, 

and a lot of Merino Extra Fine and Baby Merino for these baby blankets: 

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/sunny-spread  

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/bear-claw-blanket

And for these Umaro baby blanket (by Jared Flood), which was completed just 2 days ago

 http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Natie379/umaro

Here are some notes on this project:

Having read the comments on this yarn, I decided to experiment with the sample pattern, I had try with 4 mm and 4,5 mm needlesa and washed the samples several times to see how the yarn grows. 

At the end I cast on 119+13+13 st with 5 mm needles, which gave the blanket the effect of the lace shawl. I was going to repeat the pattern 9 times, but stopped after the 8th. I used a little bit less then 7 skeins, and the result is the soft, light and warm blanket. Hope it will resist washing. If not, I'll knit another one! 

Another Cool Wool set.

Last months I've finelly knitted another, original Cool Wool set by Ekaterina Blanchard.  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cool-wool

My first version you can see here Cool Wool set.

It's one of my favorite patterns, take so little time to knit and looks great! This time I used bulky yarn and, following the recommendations, 10 mm needles (instead of 9 mm, because I knit ver tightly). But after washing the hat grew so much that it was too big even for me. The second was still big, and then I knitted the third one with 7 mm needles. I made the smallest size, even if the circumference needed was 52 sm. May be this time it's a little bit smaller that I'd prefer. Now the hat fits perfectly, but for next year I'll knit another Cool Wool (always with Drops Andes) using 8 mm needles.