Readers, Weigh In!

  Sorry about the lay off dear readers! Labor and Delivery takes a lot of time to learn, especially if you've never had the pleasure of participating yourself!

  Anyhow I have since released all (two) of my patterns for free on Ravelry,  and have been overwhelmed by the positive response that my two bitty patterns have received. Thank you to everyone who left such wonderful words of encouragement, it really means a lot to me to have something I worked on receive such praise. This has also made me think, and that is usually a bad thing!

You all know dear readers that I have been looking for ways to raise some much needed funds to help with relief efforts in Japan. The warm reception of these patterns have gotten me wondering if people like these pattern, do they like them enough to pay for them? This is where you come in dear readers, because your opinions are very important to me and I wouldn't have this blog if it wasn't for you. So please weigh in on this matter;

Q. Would you be willing to pay for these patterns knowing that the money raised would be donated to Red Cross relief efforts in Japan?

Sakura Pattern - 50 cents

Stethoscope Sweater Pattern - $1.00

  Well dear readers it's in your hands now, please weigh in by leaving me a comment about what you think. Please feel free to tell me that I am over charging or selling myself short on price. I'll leave the polls open until next Monday and then make the decision. Look forward to hearing from you!

Sakura

"In the cherry blossom's shade

there's no such thing

as a stranger."

-Kobayashi Issa

  With all the pictures flooding in from the site of the tsunami damage in Japan I have been thinking alot of childhood. Growing up in Toronto, ON there was a very strong Japanese Canadian population.  Every year right around this time when I was a child, grandma and mom would pull the kimono's out from the boxes in the basement and dress my sister and I up for the Spring Festival at the Japanese Candian Cultural Centre. 

  Spring Festival was one of my favorite events of the year, not only was it a day of fun but I got to dress up and not just kind of, it was the whole nine yards. Kimono, obi, wooden sandals (geta)and not to mention those lovely hair pieces of brightly colored flowers. 

  At the center we were always greeted with the sound of taiko drums, flutes and laughter. The scene in my memories is always one of barely controlled chaos as children ran about, bright colors and sakura.  Cherry trees in full bloom were present seemingly all over the gardens out back lending shade to people snacking on traditional festival treats.  No one was a stranger on those days, as we sat together under the shade of the cherry blossoms, we were all friends and family brought together by the promise of spring and the celebration of a new season.

Sakura

-Pink crochet thread
-White crochet thread
-Yellow glass beads
-Crochet hook 2.25mm

Gauge: Not important

Abbreviations: (please be advised this is in US terminology)
SC - Single Crochet
DC - Double Crocet
HDC - Half Double Crochet


Directions:

With pink thread. Chain 5 and slip stitch into first chain stitch to form a circle

Round 1 - SC 15 in the circle
Round 2 - Change to white thread and attach to a SC with a slip stich.
Round 3 - In the next SC. Chain 2, DC3, 1HDC, DC3, Chain 2, slip stich all into the same stich
Round 4 - Slip stitch into the next 2 SC's

Repeat Round 3 and 4 until you have a five petal flower.
Glue or stitch the yellow beads into the center of the flower

Please feel free to share this pattern, I ask that you link to this pattern not copy and post it. This pattern is for personal use, gifts or charity, please do not sell this pattern or items made from it.

Dressed for Success

  So at the beginning of this semester I noticed something, my stethoscope was really cold when I threw it around my neck. Besides being really unpleasant for me I figured this must be very unpleasant for it too. I mean think about how hard it works all day, then at the end of the day is tossed into a bag cold and lonely.  So I decided to make my little work buddy it's very own sweater.

  Classmates began asking how to make them, one even placed an order (which I am still trying to complete) so it got me thinking. I've never written a pattern before, but I sat down and tried to put what I did down in words.  So here it is, my very first pattern. If you find any errors please let me know and feel free to contact me for any clarification.  This is a great project for getting rid of that yarn stash, I used some Caron's Spa that I had left over from a previous project, it's silky soft and I loved the color. I also worked mine in two colors and my pattern is written for a solid color, I think that you should be able to figure out how to add stripes. If your stethoscope has a long forked section just add a couple more rows on the closure flap to make it fit.  This pattern is very customizable and would make a great gift for your favorite nurse or nursing student.

Stethoscope Sweater

Sport weight yarn 

4mm Crochet hook

Velcro

Snap fastener

SC - single crochet

DC - double crochet

Directions:

Row 1 - Chain 20

Row 2 - SC in the second chain from the hook and continue to SC to the end.

Row 3 - Chain 1 and turn, SC in each stitch to the end

Row 4 - Chain 3 turn and DC in to 14 SC  

Row 5 - Chain 3 (counts as the first DC) turn and DC in to each stitch to the end, slip stitch into the 3rd chain at the beginning of the row to join. 

*This will make a V opening at the bottom so the bell will fit through the bottom of the tube*

Row 6 – Chain 3 DC into first DC. Working in the round DC in each DC, joining each round with a slip stitch into the 3^rd chain of the first DC

Continue Row 6 until the length of your tube reaches from the bell of the stethoscope to the fork of the tubing of stethoscope.

Last Round – 2 DC into the first stitch, DC into the next 6 stitches, 2 DC into the next stitch , DC into the next 6 stitches. Join row with a slip stitch into the 3^rd chain of the 1^st DC. (Total 16 sticthes)

Closure Flap

SC in the next 8 DC’s. Chain 1 and turn

SC in each of the 8 SC’s. Chain 1 and turn. Continue for 5 rows.

Tie off and break thread.

Repeat for the other 8 DC’s

This creates 2 “flaps” that when folded will close over the binurals and hold the sweater on.

Finishing

Single crochet into every stitch along bottom opening of the sweater in a contrasting color.

Single crochet into every stitch along the edge of the two flaps with a contrasting color.

Sew a fastener on the flaps. I used Velcro feel free to try something else because it took forever to get it sewn on. I think next time I may use a cute button and make a button hole.

Sew a snap fastener on the little “tail” at the bottom opening closes snuggly like so. This keeps your V opening from gaping open and getting caught in stuff as your go running by. 



Please feel free to share this pattern, I ask that you link to this pattern not copy and post it. This pattern is for personal use, gifts or charity, please do not sell this pattern or items made from it.

Now my work buddy is snuggly and warm, a secondary benefit to using yarn is that it keeps your neck warm in those chilly hospitals!  Please send me pictures of your version of this pattern, I would love to see them.

Procrastination

 "Fashion fades, only style remains the same."

Coco Chanel

 Somewhere between Piaget's Pre-Operational thought and memorizing the immunization schedule for normal healthy children I decided to take a break. Well really I decided to procrastinate, I mean is it really necessary for a nurse to know every  immunization a child should have by the age of 2 years? Honestly I bet the doctor doesn't, isn't that why he keeps the big chart on the wall in exam room? Ha! I bet you all thought that was for your information, how wrong you were!


  Well my aimless wandering through cyberspace in search of something that would nudge me out of this blah feeling it happened.  I found myself staring at beautiful lace, peek-a-boo cut outs, capped sleeves and nipped in waist lines.  I was in heaven!  No I am not speaking of any designers spring line, I only wish!  I happened to find a gold mine of vintage patterns hovering out there on the Internet just begging to be adopted.

 

With all the technology available it should surprise no one that we are able to preserve and re-publish patterns going all the way back to the 1900's.  And since the art of knitting and crochet has not changed much, it is fairly simple to re-create these fabulous looks!

If you take a peek at my dear friend's fashion Blog The Electric Elmo Newsfeed, she reviews Jason Wu's new collection at Fashion Week.  I don't know about you guys but I think I know where his inspiration came from!

Let's be honest, these looks never went "out" so much as were over shadowed by shockingly short, skin baring, let it all hang out looks.  But these beautiful little numbers have modestly and quietly sat in the back of our collective fashion minds and we take them out every now and then when we want to be ladies.



Could you get anymore elegant?

  So now that I have you hooked here is the exciting part, where you get your hands on these amazing treasures!  Read on dear readers.

  For those of us who are more frugal, or just don't have any money to spend, run don't walk over to Free Vintage Crochet and click, NOW! They have a huge selection of totally free vintage crochet patterns they have painstakingly scanned and re-published.  For you knitters here is the sister site they run Free Vintage Knitting. There is a huge number of patterns between both sites and even entire books re-published for sale.  Both sites are run by Purple Kitty LLC please check them out as they do great things by getting permissions to reproduce and redistribute patterns no longer in circulation.  Also if you have or know of anyone who has out of print patterns PLEASE donate them to this site! They even send you a free gift for donating your old patterns! Here is the information where to send any patterns.

Purple Kitty LLC

172 Ellen St

Oswego, NY 13126



Isn't this shrug to die for? And the pattern is free!



 

One of the 16 free patterns offered



  The biggest treasure trove I have happened to find is Yesterknits, which advertises itself as the largest collection of vintage patterns on the web.  After browsing their extensive pattern selection I would have to agree.They are based in the UK and most of the patterns are from over the big puddle so do be careful with the crochet patterns and know whether they are written in English or in US pattern format.  The pattern prices change depending on how many you buy, love bulk discounts, and at an average of $5.00 each they are worth it!  The site offers to send you a single pattern from their list of free patterns via email, I sent off for this one, still waiting on it however.

 

  This site packages together a number of booklets in one big bundle of crafty fun. Vintage Crochet Patterns.Com is a no frills website that looks more like a bad infomercial, they offer a free booklet to download if you fill out the form to request it. So I sent out a request and did indeed receive not one but three PDF booklets!  And for you knitters they also have a sister site with the same deal Vintage Knitting Patterns.Com and I received two PDF books one of stoles and one for hats. How perfect now I can accessorize that cute sweater!

  So in other words go forth dear readers and indulge your inner lady! Oh and by the way, I showed the patterns to the hubby who thoroughly liked them, he said something about more fun to guess what is underneath and to find out later how right you were! He's currently bugging me about when he gets to preview the finished product, so gotta go, Piaget can wait the hubby cannot!

 

Spring has sprung....

 "Spring has sprung,

 The grass has riz,

I wonder where them birdies is."
-Annonymous

  Spring has sprung in the desert (sorry to all you folks on in the heartland and east coast!) I can tell because the grass has definately "riz" and my little garden is looking like it is recovering from that freak frost we had a couple weeks ago.  Yes we actually had three days of freezing temps and got ice on the fountains, ICE! I digress and will share the pictures of the ice another time. Right now the sublime 78 degrees and bright wild flowers blooming is enough to have me singing "Here Comes the Sun". 

 Now my garden is saddly still a little bare and no blossom's in sight.  So, not to be out done by those brazen little wild flowers I decided it was time to make my own flowers.  I have a ton brightly coloured crochet cotton and my husband is ready to declare war on my yarn stash, so I figured this was a great way to use the scraps of cotton left over from previous projects. And this is what I ended up with....





My very own rose garden!



  The large roses were made using size 3 with crochet cotton with a 2.75 mm steel hook, the small yellows and purple were made using size 10 crochet cotton and the blue and pink were made with nylon Cro-Sheen that was sent to me from a friend who gave up on knitting (thanks Lacy!). All the small ones were made with a 2.25 mm steel hook.

  There are a number of free patterns for roses and other flowers out there, check through my links for free pattern sites.  I tend to use this pattern from Crochet Spot as it is the best one I have met yet and as a bonus they even have a great step by step tutorial for how to roll up your roses, believe me it is not as easy as you think! 


  Ok so now that I have a veritable rose garden the next question is what the heck am I going to do with them? I have a tolerant hubby but he is not going to want them hanging around so I needed to find something to do with these little guys. Well while cruising a friends fashion blog I noticed that flowers are HOT this year.  Take a look!

Tasha Chiffon Flower Clip at Nordstroms

  So I figured I could follow the trend and make some cute flower hair ties! 

I started with a flower and decided that it needed a little something something, so I went through my boxes and some ribbon in a number of shades of green. I like the bright green one on the yellow rose.

I made "leaves" by creating a double twist. 

It looks something like this.

                            Then attach it to the base of the rose.

And you get this!



Super Cut Rose



 

Attach your super cute creation to an elastic hair tie with a few stitches of black thread....

Voila! You have a trendy and cute hair tie!

 

Make one or two...dozen!

Now even if you are snowed in you can have your own spring flowers and wait for them birdies to arrive!

Knitting with Neko

Hi All,

  I am Neko, for all of you scratching your heads this is the Japanese word for cat.  When we first started dating my husband used to make comments about how much I had in common with my kitty, so he started calling me that and 11 years later still does.  So I thought it was an apt name for me through this blog.

  Let me introduce myself, I am currently in my 3rd semester of nursing school after taking a year off to work as an LPN in Phoenix, AZ. I grew up Toronto, ON Canada and am trying to adjust to the Southwest.  I began to knit only about 6 years ago and recently taught myself to crochet by watching online tutorials.  I have been married for 11 years to a wonderful husband who tolerates my crazy yarn hoarding habits with great patience and humor.

  So what am I up to now?  Well in order to de-stress from the fun life as a nursing student I play with yarn, can you see the cat like tendencies? I mean how can you really have fun at school when your greatest worry is "Are my shoes white enough?" and how many of you can rattle off Piaget's Pyscho-Social Development Stages while trying to keep all your patients medications straight? Yeah didn't think so. So you can see that in the very complex world of nursing school that I turn to a very un-comple hobby, at I think it's uncomplex.  I laugh every time someone sits and stares in fascination at my busy hands coaxing some bit of brightly colored yarn into shapes.  I find yarn crafts uncomplicated, a series of knits and purls or singles and doubles put in the right order to achieve the right shape.

  Ok so I ran a little off course, I do that...ALOT.  Well right now I try to keep my projects small and easily stashed in my bag somewhere between the 1300 pages of Medical Surgical text and my wallet so that I can whip them out when I am riding on the bus or waiting for my professor to show up.  I have also been lured into the beautiful and painful world of knitted wire jewellery, I have a small cuff on the go but my fingers need healing time from the blisters that created. Thank god I can do my own wound care!

  So in other words stay tuned, I will posting some pictures of the projects on the go and handing out some free patterns. In the meantime please browse my resources and enjoy all the free pattern sites I have listed.

Cheers!
Neko