Searching for Peace

My nephew Joel touched so many lives during his short period on this earth.  One of those people is Patty.   Like an aunt to him, Patty and Joel were lucky enough to share a special bond.  This is what I knit for Patty, sent with the prayer that peace will find her.


Cables and Flower Cowl

Materials:

US 8 needles
3 Skeins Queensland Collection Sweet Pea
3 buttons
Stitch markers
Cable Needle

You can buy the pattern here.

A Scarf for my Daddy

My father is the only man in my life that it is easy to knit for.  My husband loves the scarf I made him for Christmas last year and that is all I am going to say about that.  The older of my younger brothers lives in San Diego, where, as he pointed out, he has no need for knitted garments.  My youngest brother seconded that thought, even though he lives in southwest Missouri.  Thankfully, my father has no such qualms.  Here is what I made him for his birthday this year.

A scarf, complete with cables and double moss stitching.  Made from Berroco Floret, in cookies and cream, it's a quick, soft, cozy knit.





Directions:

Materials:
3 Skeins Berroco Floret, cookies and cream
Size US 7 needles

Gauge:
16 stitches and 16 rows = 4 inches in double moss stitch

Finished Measurements:
67 inches long and 9 inches wide

CO 40

Row 1: k2, p2, c4f, p2, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p3, c4f, p2, k2

Row 2: k4, p4, k3, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k2, p4, k4

Row 3: k2, p2, k4, p3, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p2, k4, p2, k2

Row 4: k4, p4, k2, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k3, p4, k4

 Repeat these 4 rows until desired length ( I did 73 repeats)

 For those fellow chart lovers out there, here is the chart:

A special thanks to my gorgeous husband for modeling for me!

A Birthday Gift for my Mama

 

Both of my parents celebrate birthdays in November.  While my father is actually very easy to knit for, my mother is not.  I love my Mama, she is one of the most amazing people alive.  However, my mother would rather hang a shawl I knit for her on the wall than wear it.  After 8 or so years of knitting for her I finally grew wise and started knitting house hold items, it has worked great!  Here is what I made my Mama this year.

A table runner!!!!!!  She loved it, yay!!!!!!!

 

Here's how I started: with one skein of Yarn Hollow Quest and a 8mm crochet hook (one of the very few times I've ever used one), I chained 140, then fastened off.  After I fastened off, I spread the chain out on the table and marked where I wanted my leaves to be placed.

I used the patterns for the oak and elm leaf from Martin Storey's Winter Warmers book.

For the smaller leaves I cast one stitch onto US size 8 needles.  

Row 1) kfb, k1

Row 2)kfb, k to end of row

Continue repeating rows 1 & 2 until 13 stitches are on the needle.  Knit 3 rows. 

Next row begin decreases: ssk, knit to last to stitches, K2T

Repeat decrease row until 3 stitches left on needle.  

Last row: Slip 2 stitches, knit last stitch, pass two slipped stitches over knitted stitch.  Break yarn, feed yarn tail through final stitch on needle.

kfb: knit into the front and then the back of the stitch

ssk: slip two stitches together, then knit into the back of the slipped stitches (decreases one stitch)

k2t: knit two stitches together

I made a couple of variations to the size of the leaves based on how big I wanted them.

Finally, I connected the leaves to the chain by using my crochet hook to pick up a stitch at the base of each leaf I had made.  I then chained 6 or 7 (until I had my desired stem length).  My next chain connected the stem to the main chain (the 140 count original) by using a slip stitch.  I then fastened off the stem and wove in my ends.

A very special thank you to the lovely Lindsey for helping me with crochet lingo.