Magic Loop Knitting: Tutorial 2

Hi everyone!

Today I am posting the second installement of the Magic Loop Knitting Tutorials. Yesterday, I introduced you to the amazing Judy's Magic Cast-on, and today you will actually be knitting in the round using the Magic Loop...

Magic Loop Knitting Tutorial

If you look back at yesterday's post, you will see that we ended where you've cast on using Judy's Magic cast-on. Next you need to turn your work around, so that you can knit from the right hand side...

Turn your work clock-wise as seen above, so that the metal needle is still at the top. This will also mean that you need to "flip"your needles so that the wooden needle is at the bottom again, and the "purl " side is facing you.

If you compare the pics above and below, you'll see how you need to "flip"your needles, so that the metal needle is at the top again...

See how clever this cast-on method is...you have already purled your first row... if you click on the pic above, it will enlarge and you can have a good close look at the first row...perfect purl!

It is a little difficult to explain a 3D process like Magic Loop knitting, using 2D pics and words to describe the process, so please send me an email if you are unclear about anything... :)

You are ready to start knitting Round 1. Hold your knitting in your left hand, and using your right hand, pull out the metal needle towards the right hand side. Remember, you always knit with the same needle, ie in this case the metal or "top"needle (see previous post).

Be careful that you don't pull the metal needle out too far, or the cable loop at the other end of your knitting will disappear...not what you want :)

Use your left hand (and in particular, your left thumb and index finger), to hold the cable and wooden knitting needle close together, as you start knitting with the metal needle.

Also make sure that the working yarn lies OVER the back cable...

Although the "purl" side was facing up before, slightly twist the work, so that you knit into the first stitch from the "knit" side. You may wonder why...as your work grows, a little pocket will form in the middle of the needles, growing down, and then it will be easy to see where to knit into from the knit side...but in Round 1, it can seem a bit strange to knit from "underneath"so to speak...

Knitting into the first stitch...

Keep knitting, exactly as you would on straight needles... in the pic above, I have knitted 6 stitches (all on my metal needle)...notice how close my metal needle and cable are at the beginning of the round...this prevents the "laddering" sometimes seen when this join area is too loosely knit...

You've completed HALF of Round 1. Each Row/Round of knitting , must include the stitches on both sides.

Turn your work, exactly as before...

Your wooden needle cable now needs to be threaded backwards through your knitting, so that you can pull the metal needle outwards to the right side again...

When the wooden needle tip is close to the knitting, pull the metal needle outwards to the right hand side, just as before, and start to knit again...

You are starting to knit the second half of the first Row/Round.

Knit to the end of the row...

Well done, you have completed the first round of your knitting... now turn your work, as before, and start knitting Row/Round 2.

I hope you will persevere in learning to do a Magic Loop, it will change the way you knit, my friends!

As it is Easter Sunday tomorrow, I won't be doing a post, but on Monday, I will post instructions for a project, using this technique... It's simple, cute and fairly quick to make, perfect for a gift for a special little someone...

Onto other things...

A few interesting links: this is a dream come true...I want one! No, that would be incorrect, I need to have one... ;) I am definitely going to see this (LOVED the books!), enjoyed this, and

had a good laugh at this (Please note: this is for adults...)

Hope you all have a special Easter...Bless you all!

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)

Easter Tree, a collaboration...and... "A Swap is Announced"

A Travelling Easter Tree

Evening all!

Tonight is a special post for me, and for my dear friend Linda :) We have been chatting for a few days now, and we have decided to do a special blog collaboration! Since Easter is just around the corner, we have decided to do a creativity exercise, a veritable blog-travelling Easter Tree!

The idea is to create an Easter tree (in the same spirit as a Christmas Tree), but something a little different... I will start with the basic tree (and it's a little different to what you may imagine ;) ), add some embellishment, then send it to Linda, who will add her own decorations, etc, back and forth until it is complete...

We haven't discussed specific ideas, so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds... I will try to do each "addition" from my side, as a tutorial, so you can create something similar. Easter is a special time for our family, so I will be doing some extra tutorials that are Easter-related, simple, easy to do, and fun!

"A Swap is Announced"...

I have always wanted to say something a la Agatha Christie, and today is that day :) (although a good announcement, not the big M!)!

Linda and I are going to host a swap!!!! Yay!! The theme will be "Hearts", and in a nutshell, because we love hearts, people who join in will be paired with one another and will swap a heart- related item. There is no limitation except that it must be a heart of some kind, made of any material, small to medium in size, and preferably more valuable by it's creativity and love, than monetary value... We want to share the LOVE folks! We will post a button on our blogs tomorrow, and (hopefully!), set up a Flickr site for everyone to post a pic of their creation to, so we can all see how amazingly creative we are!

We are very excited about this, and would LOVE to have some comments of what you think of our plans :)

If you would like to join in, please email me at
heidibearscreativeblog@gmail.com
or contact Linda at lindadawkins@mweb.co.za

We look forward to seeing you!

Will be back tomorrow,
Have a good evening,
Lots of Love,
Heidi :)

Row Counter for Circular Needles Tutorial

Happy Monday everyone :)

Today is a public holiday here in South Africa, and we are all taking it easy and relaxing on a beautifully sunny day. There is a lovely calm in our garden, the little finches in our porch light are calling, the bees are buzzing around the lavender, and a drowsy sunny warmth fills the air... like the feeling of having a snooze in a patch of sunlight...

My dear friend Linda called me this morning to tell me that she had recieved some enquiries about the row counter seen in her Easter Bunny post... she wondered if I would do a tutorial. It is really such an incredibly easy thing to make, it's almost shameful to call this a tutorial...
In any event, here it is...

Circular Needle Hanging Row Counter Tutorial

Requirements:

Beads (I like to use natural " beads" as well, including pearls, semi-precious stones, glass, quartz etc), but you can use whatever takes your fancy
Bead Caps (these are the small rounded fancy caps that I use top and bottom of most beads)
Bead pins (brass, steel, copper etc)
Sharp-nosed pliers
Wire cutters
Row counters
Clasps, including lobster clasps
Charms
Bezels
Any other embellishments you might like...


I am going to be making an example of how to create this particular green row counter, but again, you can play around and try different things...

Step 1. Gather all your tools...

Step 2. Using your sharp-nosed pliers, open the loop on a bead pin slightly. These bead pins come in a huge variety of lengths, finishes and can have plain loops, plain flat ends, fancy decorative ends etc

Step 3. Slip the bezel, charm (or other looped item), over the open bead pin.
Close the loop with the pliers, ensuring that the bezel swings freely.

Step 4. Slip a bead cap over the bead pin, being careful to insert the pin through the tiny central hole as seen above.

Step 5. Slip a bead over, and then again a bead cap. The bead caps now cover the bead top and bottom.

Step 6. Slip the row counter over the bead pin, again ensuring that the pin passes centrally through the row counter. Some row counters have a central set of flanges that are meant to " hug" the straight needles that they were designed for... you want your bead pin to sit exactly in the middle of the flanges.

Step 7. Slip another bead cap over...the bead caps needn't be the same, I use smaller caps on smaller beads and vice versa.

Step 8. Slip a second bead over, and again a bead cap to make it top and bottom...

Step 9. This is the slightly tricky bit. You need to hold the entire assembly quite tightly between your fingers, so that you have a good deal of tension when you bend the top piece of bead pin. This keeps all the elements nicely together, and stops your row counter from rattling around loose and irritating...

Step 10. Bend the pin to the side first using the pliers. Still applying pressure to the row counter's top and bottom, use the pliers to " loop" the end of the pin over into a circle. Don't close the loop completely.

Step 11. Loop half closed...

Step 12. Slip the clasp onto the bead pin loop, and close snugly with your pliers.

Step 13. Make sure you don't have any snaggy bits of metal (you don't want to snag that gorgeous cashmere you got on sale... ;) )
And there you have it!!

The possibilities are endless. You can customize the row counter as you like, add theme charms, add family photo charms, use bezels that are initialed with the recipients' name, change the size of you clasps if you prefer a smaller clasp hole size, make them fancy and over the top, make them plain and functional....

The nice thing with this particular style of row counter, is that they double up as stitch markers. Just hook them over your cableneedle where you need to mark a place in your pattern. Even if you don't add a row counter, you can use the same basic techniques for making stitch markers as well. A nice gift would be to make a matching set of stitch markers, together with a matching row counter. Relatively inexpensive depending on the beads and accessories you use, quick to make and useful!

This was bit of an unplanned tutorial, so I will post party pics and maybe a little extra tomorrow, my friends...

Off to have an afternoon nap in a sun patch somewhere...

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)

Fabric and Crochet Heart Tutorial: Part 3

Snow over the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. Taken on one of our flights down to the Wild Coast.

Happy Tuesday !

For once I will be able to post a little earlier :) It seems to me on some days, that time has been compressed (it's either an Einstein thing or my middle aged brain needs a service!), because as organised as I am (or at least, try to be!), I find I am always behind on something....

However, today I sorted out quite a lot, including the organising of my daughter's 13th birthday party for this weekend, face-lifted my Etsy shop, joined Twitter, and caught up all my outstanding messages and emails... what can I say, today The Force was with me ;)



Speaking of the force... I watched one of the Star Wars movies last night, while trying to keep my knee rested (another saga for another time!), and an amazing quote struck me... Yoda tells Anakin Skywalker that he senses a lot a fear in him, which Anakin downplays and asks, why it would matter. Master Yoda (man... I seriously dig this dude!..) says that it matter all too much:

"Fear leads to anger, anger to hatred, and hatred leads to the dark side and suffering..." Well folks, I just LOVE this...it's true !!!! I guess if we can control the fears that fill every day, maybe the cycle breaks...


I have been thinking about all the creative stuff I love doing, and after much back and forthing (?word), decided that I needed to amalgamate all the bits into one Etsy shop. Each Etsy shop has a different email address linked to it, which quite frankly will kill me.... so I intend to start selling all kinds of stuff as I manage to make it...crochet, knitting, tutorials, woodwork items, jewellry, sewing, embroidery, patchwork, photography etc, etc....anything that strikes my fancy really, on ONE shop :) I would really appreciate some feedback on this idea... :)

Fabric and Crochet Heart Tutorial: Part 3

This is the third and last part of this tutorial, just a quick show on how to crochet a scalloped edge onto the fabric heart. This will look nice if it is for a little girl etc, but I actually prefer it quite plain...whatever rocks your boat... :)

Step 1. Ok, I have subsequently changed my mind and decided to use a size 3.5mm crochet hook, instead of 3.75mm. Just looks a bit neater all round...



Step 2. Start with a slip knot. If you are not sure how to do this, you can look back at the crochet tutorials.



Step 3. At the point of the heart, insert your hook into the first backstitch you made in the last post. You are going to work into these backstitches as if they are loops on a previous row of crochet.
You will follow this pattern: Each backstitch : sc, 3dc, sc


Again, the tutorials for sc and dc stitch creation are listed on the side of my blog as stand alone pages...looky see !


Step 4. SC as follows: insert hook, yarn around hook, pull through, yarn around hook, pull through both loops on hook...voila, one sc completed! See the next few pics as illustration.

Step 5. SC completed!

Step 6. Now for the double crochet (dc)... yarn around hook, insert hook through same backstitch loop, yarn around hook, pull yarn through (3 loops on hook), yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through last two stitches on hook. Done! Again, some pics below for illustration.

Step 7. DC finished! Well done :)

Step 8. One backstitch completed. I have done sc, 3dc,sc into this loop. Each backstitch loop will have the same set of crocheting.
Continue working all around the heart, into each backstitch loop, until you get back to the point of the heart.

You can now either work your loose tails of yarn into the heart, and hide them, or tie them all in a knot and let them hang down as a tassle.

Some links: this I found really sad (please note it is not for sensitive viewers!!!!!!!), this, I am not sure about... a bit sad and also a bit disturbing, but I guess at least it's about a fairly neutral issue... and this quite heavenly (although somehow I reckon my addictions won't be satiated...) :)

Right! Off to knit...

Tomorrow,

Mystery toy!

Have a great evening...

Lots of love,

Heidi :)