Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I finished a Chatoyant Vest for myself, just like the one in Knit.Wear , only bigger. I used the same kind of yarn, the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, in the colorway "Sable." I thought this might help people picture it in a bigger size. The one in the magazine seems hard to envision on a larger person. :) Happy Thanksgiving! Lisa Kay

I finished the body on my Handspun Undercurrent. It is ready to join the shoulders and work a collar. There is not going to be enough yarn for a hood. The yarn ball shown is all I have left. I am going to have to spin some more to get enough yarn for the front bands. Another ball of "Buccaneer" has been found and is on its way... That is particularly lucky to find, since it was a limited "club" colorway, so I had to find someone that had it. (Ravelry is a good thing.) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've been interviewed ! Wow! Robin Hunter of Robin Hunter Designs keeps a blog called, " How to become a Professional Knitter ." She posts interviews with knitters and yarn shop owners once a week. She has interviewed designers such as Nicky Epstein, Sally Melville, Shirley Paden and Teva Durham. Cool! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I started a sweater with some of my Tour de Fleece handspun... I used the extra brown I had for ribbing. If I'm short of yarn, I'll have to use a collar instead of a hood... It is supposed to be an Undercurrent , but I'm not sure there's enough yarn for it to make it all the way to a hoodie... We shall see. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I am thrilled to report I have a sweater pattern in the "First Fall 2011" issue of Knitty. It is called Undercurrent. :) Link to the Ravelry Undercurrent pattern page Link to the Knitty Undercurrent pattern page Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

I am just jumping the gun on the test knitters... I gave them until today to finish, and here I am at a few minutes after midnight, posting the pattern. :) The test knitters , a group on Ravelry, were fabulous, by the way. Thanks, everybody! Morgana le Fay is a hoodie and sock matching set. The lace pattern is a simple leaf repeat that is easy to memorize, but the shaping for armholes, sleeves, shoulders, and hood are all charted in the pattern. I'm really pleased with how beautifully the pieces seam together. The yarn is Serenity Sock from Zen Yarn Garden . It is a cashmere blend and wonderfully soft. Roxanne's colors are amazing. I've posted the pattern on Ravelry, and it is available for download. It includes both the hoodie and the sock. Enjoy! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished the second sock in the Socks For My Hoodie . I've been keeping them as a "riding in the car" project, using my time at home working on some Christmas gifts and other items I can't post... secret projects! :) Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

I finished the first sock to match the Alexandra Hoodie. Toe Up Instructions: Cast on 15 sts on each of two needles, using Judy's Magic Cast On or Turkish or your favorite "closed" circular cast on. Increase every other row until you have 66 sts total. Work 18 rows seed st, 18 rows stockinette for pattern. I used the gusset and heel instructions I (almost) always use, from "Socks From The Toe Up" for 33 stitch heels. I start the gusset increases 24 rows before the heel, with 72 rows total before the heel (not counting the toe). So there are four 18-row blocks before the heel. There are five 18-row blocks after the heel. If I did another pair, I’d use 14 row blocks instead of 18. That would make five blocks before the heel, which would end with a seed stitch block. That would make the first ankle block be stockinette instead of seed. The seed is a little looser and appears a bit wider… not the best look at the ankle. Otherwise, love ‘em! Happy ...

Hi, I have my first Shamrock Sock done. I also got a better close-up picture of the stitch pattern. It does look like shamrocks, as intended, but it is a bit more "bubbly" in texture than I really wanted. I may try another pair with more space between the shamrocks. This is the calf, with the top on the left of the picture. Here's the chart pattern that I made up to get a "four-leaf clover" type of shamrock. I used sixty total stitches in the sock, so there are three repeats of the pattern on the instep, and then six on the calf. I used a size smaller needle than normal (2.25 mm instead of 2.5 mm), because it was coming out a little big with all the yarnovers (YOs) in there. Also, the sort of bubbly appearance lays a little flatter if it is somewhat snug. ETA: Download free pattern Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay Previous post on Shamrock .

Hi, I finished knitting the body of the cardigan, and I'm reinforcing the steeks, now. Chris saw this and gave me a disgusted look and said, "Is that the edging?" No. It isn't the edging. This green crochet will reinforce the cut steek and be turned to the inside. Just be patient! I'm anxious to try the sleeves. That means I have to get my scissors out and get cutting... Here's a close up of the crochet reinforcing. Five stitches to the left and right, you can see the "edge" stitch, almost always in green, a column of stitches that defines the edge of the steek. The bands (or sleeves) will be "picked up" at that column of stitches. It will be cut between the columns of crochet, and the five stitches between the cut and the pick up will be turned to the inside as a facing. (It gets sewn down... or whipped down, if you prefer. Ha!) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I've gotten a pretty good start on the cardigan based on the December Lights Tam . You can see the XOX pattern that comes from the tam pattern. It still has the rest of the second peerie repeat (just started at the top of this picture) and then one more XOX pattern repeat to go before the shoulders... and sleeves and bands, of course. Below is the sleeve steek. Isn't it pretty? It seems a shame to cut it. It makes me realize why folks do "seed" stitch on the hands of mittens and gloves. It isn't just simple; it also looks nice! Below is my rough working chart of the peerie pattern. It is colored with my son's crayons. There is a fuschia row at the top that doesn't show up very well. It starts with the right column and continues with the left column. (I ran out of paper...) The red dots are where I'm doing neck decreases. These peerie patterns are pretty standard stuff, seen in several of the fair isle books. I basically started with a pict...

Hi, I finished the second Lattice sock and got all the pattern updates, made. It is a long pattern (10 pages) because it has all the math for any size/gauge. There are example tables for a baby bootie, child's sock, and the women's "lattice" sock, with instructions for modifying gauge and size. It can be downloaded here for free. It is called, "Formula Toe Up Socks For Any Size." Here is the previous Lattice sock post . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the first lattice sock. I've been off doing other things... I have a sweater done (pictures need to be taken), and a vest all done but the bands. I've just been working this sock on travel (CA last week) or in the car on the weekend (going to the grocery store with Chris driving, obviously!) Here's the previous post on the lattice sock. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I'm working on another test sock for the Formula Toe-Up Sock (for any size). It is supposed to allow for any pattern stitch, but this one is a lattice pattern based on " Koolhaas Hat " by Jared Flood ( BrooklynTweed ). I made the lattice have six stitches instead of four, though. I made a Koolhaas Hat last year with Dream In Color Classy, but the sock yarn is a lot more pain-staking to cable. Oh, well... Only one pair of these, then. I'll work them at the end of each month, after KAL socks are done... I've put it aside for the moment, while I do the July socks for the "Socks From The Toe Up" KAL. I'll put my progess for that in another post... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I had enough green (Interlacements, Tiny Toes, in color "Taiga," 402) from "Sprucey Lucy" (Sock #9) left over to make these ankle socks for Mitchell (and maybe some booties... we'll see). I'm playing with a "Formula Sock" pattern that will work for any size and any gauge. This is the first test sock, so it will be a little while before I "publish" the pattern on Ravelry. I need to do some more test socks in different sizes. I'm planning to have test socks for baby booties, women's average, and at least one men's size. I'm also going to make at least one of the test socks in "sport" weight. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, My brother and his wife are expecting a son next month, and there was a baby shower, yesterday. I knitted these baby booties. I made up the pattern. You can download here (for free). Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi! I am excited and proud to report successful and lovely completion of the Central Park Hoodie ( with Viking Cable Substitution ). Yea! I am thrilled with how it turned out! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the CPH sleeves in my "few minutes of knitting before going to work" period. I've been starting my day that way quite a few days (when I don't go in extra early), and it has been a fun way to start the day. Anyway, all I have left is to seam on the sleeves and then seam the side/arm, and then the front band. Yea! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay