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When I was growing up, I loved to visit my Grandma Betty’s house. In fact, it was more than a house; it was the family homestead and included a century-old farmhouse, out buildings, 72 acres of sage brush and sandstone hills, a creek, fossils, artifacts, and when I was quite young, the remains of a permanent mining camp. Part of my visual context for that home was the ubiquitous rag rugs. They were the type purchased for almost nothing at Pamida, woven of mill-ends from garment manufacturing and probably made mostly of polyester blend shirt scraps left over from the 70s. They were a riot of color, and I’d sit at the kitchen table or on the edge of the bathtub and just look at them; they were so interesting.

They can also be quite beautiful, in addition to being easy to create and inexpensive. In their purest form, they’ll be made out of, well, rags; long scraps of fabric left from worn-out garments and housewares. Simple looms are easy to make and easy to buy. The rugs I remember were random, but if you’re like me and gravitate to certain colors, your palette might be more sophisticated just by virtue of the fact that your rags are better-related. Or then, maybe not. Of course, rag rugs don’t have to be woven. Braided rag rugs that are then sewn into circles and ovals with planned gradients are also a popular country-style choice, and rugs crocheted in single crochet are also very traditional. Bathroom rugs knitted of absorbent cotton jersey from worn-out T-shirts are a popular modern choice.

And best of all, you don’t need to make a rug in order to get that riot of color! I’ve been looking at attractive ways to use up yarn scraps, and came across some really beautiful patterns that are reminiscent of rag rugs, but actually wind up as blankets.

Karen Janine from Mittens and Makings created a simple scrap blanket with double-stranded crochet. It’s beautiful and easy and HUGE, and I think it’s amazing.

The Beekeeper’s Quilt from Tiny Owl Knits uses tiny knitted hexagonal pillow motifs to create a quilted blanket out of sock-weight scraps that is just to die for. A more significant undertaking than the granny-style scrap blanket above, but stunning when finished.

Last, but not least, a sort of cross between a rag rug and a string quilt; an afghan from Ulli Stuttgart made of bias-knitted squares. Granted the website isn’t in English, you CAN click to a PDF that has instructions in both English and German. The finished afghan is beautiful.

So there we have it. Bringing the beauty and thrift of rag rugs back into the home, one scrap at a time! Go forth and save.

I don’t actually make very much for myself. In fact, I believe the only two things I own that were crafted by my own hands are my Bedlam hat and the 2nd version of Ruth, and only because I was given it with my Oma passed away. But lately I’ve been going through a flurry of small projects for other people, in a sort of trade-commissions kind of way. Lots of fun stuff, and more to come.

Among the items so far created have been a LOT of crocheted hats. The owl hat pictured left is based on the Child’s Owl Hat by Elizabeth Trantham at Crochet in Color. I modified it to fit an adult and followed the pattern for the facial features. For the same person I also made an adult-sized Kitty hat based on another child’s pattern by Elizabeth Trantham. The final version of the hat has the nose moved up somewhat. Again I adjusted the pattern to fit an adult, and then I just winged the ovals for eyes and nose, made the ears bigger upon request and winged the bow as well. Both hats used Caron Simply Soft in various colors, although the yellow in the owl hat is Caron Natura because it was the closest thing to bright yellow I could find ANYwhere in Lincoln. A very simply crocheted cowl scarf in Lion Brand Hometown, a big beret in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted, from a free Garnstudio pattern, a slouchy hat in an unidentified wool tweed, using a pattern by Adriana Veleda, (although mine didn’t turn out very slouchy), plus numerous coasters and hot-cup sleeves round out the recent finished projects. Currently planned are a couple more Garnstudio hats, but knitted this time, and a big-eared bunny hat/scarf.

In addition to the kilt hose about which I posted last week, this week I also made a gift for Kit’s violin teacher, Miss Jentry. She had a baby in July; a little girl named Penny, for whom I knitted a little jacket. That’s somehow become my thing. Babies get books and a hand-knit jacket from me. For Penny I chose a vintage cotton by Conshohocken. Its soft and similar to Bernat’s Cottontots in texture, and a lovely purple that is both bright and soft. I chose a modified version of this vintage pattern, which has a round yoke with a sort of knitted popcorn effect. The yarn knitted at gauge on size 9′s, and the resulting fabric is exceptionally soft and flexible. I will give the sweater to Miss Jentry at Kit’s lesson next Wednesday.

I’ve made a pair of kilt hose before. They were uncomplicated, like the man for whom they were made, but they were fun to make and fun to gift. Now I’m into another pair of kilt hose, much more intricate than the last pair. Eventually I’d like to make kilt hose for all of my kilt-wearing friends (which is a lot), the order based on an algorithm that takes into account how often they wear kilts, how close to them I am and how much I think they’d appreciate a hand-knitted gift.

So, these hose involve cabled knotwork on the front and in the calf shaping as well as cables and detail columns, and a folded cable cuff with picot edging. They’re beautiful, and they’re coming along very well. They’re made in Cascade 220 Superwash in a heathered tan chosen to go best with a kahki Utilikilt.

Time for another free pattern! This one comes from a knitting/crochet booklet I bought without part of the cover. There isn’t a copyright date on the front cover, the back cover is missing, and I’ve never seen another copy of it with which to compare. Based on the model designer and the style shapes, I’m dating it to the early to mid 40′s, although it’s possible it’s a late 30′s booklet. I can find no copyright renewals for the copyright holder or for the designer. That all out of the way, the pattern is an adorable knitted bathing suit. No gauge is given, but I can tell you that the Shetland Floss would be a fingering weight wool or wool blend. Download the PDF here.

It’s Friday, which means free pattern time! We’ll start with one that’s been around for a little while. It is a knitted hat pattern I call Bedlam. It was born of a strange combination of lackadaisy and ambition. You see, it was cold out and I wanted to take my dog for a walk. I’d been knitting for about five years, and was actually quite startled to realize that I didn’t have a hat. I live in Nebraska, and it gets very cold here. I have a basement full of yarn and a wide variety of skills to use it. It seemed like the universe was mocking me. That’s when ambition struck. I could just make myself a hat. It couldn’t take very long, especially if I used a bulky yarn, and I had plenty of stash I could use. I dug out a skein of Brown Sheep worsted and opted to use it doubled, and then I started knitting. I knew I wanted something more complex than stockinette, and cables are an easy way to add interest to hat. But that’s where the lackadaisy struck. I hate counting rows. I know it’s something I have to do, but I still hate it. I don’t know why. But then I thought, who cares if I count rows? I don’t have to count rows if I don’t want to, so there. The results are interesting and attractive, I think. But my dog never did get a walk that day. By the time my hat was finished, it was also windy and turning dark. Poor dog.

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Ruth and Ruthie

Ruth was my mother’s mother. She was a beautiful Bavarian woman, dignified and aristocratic, with refined tastes. She spent her childhood in the elegant environs of Nuremburg, Germany, the only child of wealthy parents. WWII changed many things about her life and her lifestyle. The years following saw her in love, the wife of a rancher in Wyoming, and just a handful of years more saw her a widow struggling to raise her three children in a somewhat inhospitable clime. But she did not lose her appreciation of fine and beautiful things, and that appreciation and recognition were gifts she passed to her children. Like most women of her generation, my Oma crocheted and knit. Many photos from her youth feature gorgeous and skillfully-wrought knits, and in her later years, when she was no longer able to handle her needles or hook, she was still inspired by luxurious yarns and fibers, beautiful colorways and the craftsmanship of knitting.

For our first Monday’s child, in honor of that love of beauty and elegance, I’m resurrecting my very first knitting pattern; a bolero jacket. Inspired by a photo from a Norwegian knitting magazine, I designed and knitted the jacket for myself out of Joann’s Sensations Licorice in a beautiful red colorway, and I wore it twice. The second time, my Aunt Marge told me my Oma would love it, so I slipped it off and gave it to her to take to Oma with my love. At that time, Oma was wheelchair-bound due to advanced MS and was often chilly. Sweaters either were too bulky and got bunched in the chair behind her or were too light to keep her warm. She loved the jacket and was delighted that I had learned to knit. She asked for another in shades of blue and green to compliment the other half of her wardrobe, and I knitted it for my Knitting Olympics project in 2006. My Oma passed away two days after Christmas in 2007 and the original red wool jacket was not found among her things, but my Knitting Olympics version in blues and greens was returned to me. Wearing it is like getting a hug from Oma. In her honor, I’ve named the bolero jacket Ruth. The modification for a shrug is Ruthie

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I recently participated in the Craftster Be Awesome Swap. My partner was the fabulous PinkMafia.

Lothruin to PinkMafia:

PinkMafia received a pair of modified Lolita Legs, from Knitty. Although the pattern calls for Elann Esprit, I used the comparable (but higher quality, I believe) Cascade Fixation in black, because that is what I had.

The original Lolita Legs lace up the back. Now, this is an interesting idea in a sock, however, I really do not like it in this application. If the stocking were solid, not net, I might like it better. Also, the stitch pattern tends to twist and the lacing up the back of the stocking necessitates persuading the fabric away from this natural tendency. I, personally, think the twist is very flattering to the leg. Meanwhile, the reason for using the stretch yarn is that you avoid having to do significant shaping, but that also means that the lacing looks poorly, because at places it is very wide and others almost overlapping. In short, if I were going to make a stocking that laced up the back, there are many ways in which it would be different than this.

And, if I were going to knit these stockings, there are many things I would change, and, in fact, did. I read a number of others’ experiences with modifying out the back laces (thank you Ravelry!) and then set about it myself. First, I allowed and accounted for the natural twist in the fabric. I started with the toe as written, and worked to the heel. Upon reaching the heel, though, I found that the original “back” of my work (between needles 1 and 4) was approximately a quarter turn off. I essentially adjusted the position of the “back” by simply designating that now, this needle, formerly needle x, was needle y (Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what needles got adjusted to what, but I have faith that you’ll know just what I mean when you get there and see it for yourself.) Then I worked the heel as written, and up to where the pattern calls for the split for working back and forth. At this point, I believe my work had twisted almost a half-turn, and again I adjusted the “back” by designating the needles differently. (And yes, I believe this gave me, over all, about an extra 3/4 round, but the nature of the stocking doesn’t make this obvious.)

The place in the pattern that calls for the split is essentially the same place where, in most long-sock patterns, you would begin shaping for the calf. Having worked it with very stretchy yarn, not SO much shaping was necessary, but I did do some at this point. I added 4 stitches on either side of the new “back”, essentially adding in two new repeats of the stitch pattern. I found the method I used made a really subtle increase that blended ALMOST seamlessly into the stitch pattern. The pattern rows are either “*YO, k2tog*, repeat to end” or “*YO, skp*, repeat to end”. It doesn’t really matter on which of these rows you work the increases. Whatever works out for your measurements. On either side of the new “back” (I worked them all four in a row, not at the beginning and ending of the round), instead of working a YO and decrease, across two repeats of the pattern I worked YO, k1, YO, k1, YO, k1, YO, k1. It’s as simple as that.

After that I just knitted and knitted until I had almost used up all my yarn. Each stocking took almost exactly one ball of Cascade Fixation, which made the figuring easy. The top of the stocking I made narrower than in the pattern, and a trick I used for a good loose castoff (a stumbling point, it seems, with the stretchy yarn) was to cast off with a crochet hook roughly twice the size of the needles I was using. PinkMafia has worn them with a garter belt, and as you can see, they look fabulous on her:

PinkMafia to Lothruin:

And what did I get in return, gentle readers? A bustle and little hat in teal silk. PinkMafia is a burlesque performer, and does her own costuming (it is amazing, and you should check it out on Craftster!) and she created for me a gorgeous little ensemble. What with Cory working on his portfolio and all, we took the opportunity to combine pictures for posting in the swap gallery with a professional-style photo shoot, and the results can be seen at this gallery on Cory’s website. (Yes, the rest of that costume is pieces I already owned, including the gorgeous Victorian-style corset and that amazing black crinoline.)

So, it turns out that the pirate festival was canceled due to weather, and I didn’t need to get that coat altered in a hurry. I plan on finishing it, but it has found it’s way into the ever-growing pile of “someday”. I have to make my child a Princess Peach costume, and probably before this weekend so she can wear it to Boo At The Zoo with Uncle D.

Meanwhile, I did start a Christmas gift project.

These are John Anderson’s Kilt Hose, modified just slightly for size. As you can see, I haven’t gotten very far yet. But I have now had the pleasure to start a sock from the toe up, using a provisional cast on and a short-row toe. It’s magic. I’m in love. It looks so very, very slick.

So, my bonny John (Anderson Kilt Hose), I love you.

Here it is, ‘my’ Cunning Jayne hat. Although, it is not mine, as it was made for Mark. Happy Halloween, Mark! Enjoy!

Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Bulky in Orange You Glad, LemonDrop and Prairie Fire
Needles: Size 13 circulars
Time: Started the evening of September 21, 2009, completed the afternoon of September 23, 2009. But a total of maybe 3 hours of solid work.
Notes: It’s a lovely, easy pattern, although I was discouraged with my inability to find a true replica of the yarn used. I wound up using mostly what the pattern called for, but would have been much happier if I’d been able to find a bulky or a worsted in the same tones of heathered orange and yellow as the original is obviously made from. They just weren’t around, though. Not that I could get my hands on, anyway. Still, it was a fun knit, and turned out well, I think.

Yes, originally, Shknitzel was a crafting blog. I haven’t posted about crafting in a long while now, but the plan was to incorporate Shknitzel into this blog, and that means crafts. So.

This weekend, I finally finished my first sock! (See Jaywalkers 2.0) Ok, yes, it’s only the one sock. (Pics to follow) But I really enjoyed making it. However, now is the time to get started on stuff for other people, not myself.

Project #1 in the works is a Jayne Cobb hat for Alison’s hubby Mark. Alison approached me with “Mark and I are going as Kaylee and Jane from Firefly for Halloween, and Mark seriously needs a funky knitted hat…If someone could make it, it would look way cooler…” My reply: Um, yes, I already have the pattern for Jayne’s hat bookmarked around here somewhere. Yes, I’m a knitting geek. So, a trip to the yarn store today netted me the materials for the Cunning Jayne hat.

Not very much time in the future, I should have this bad boy (along with a secret special early Christmas gift) winging its way to Canada for Halloween, to keep a very special geek’s noggin warm.

Following that, we begin on Christmas gifts. The only one I have well-planned at this point is a pair of kilt hose for Nick. He already knows this, so I can say it out loud. It’s one of those no-surprises gifts, so that I can be absolutely sure he gets something he likes, and that fits him!

Other than that, the yarn will have to speak to me. I have some ideas flitting around, but I have to get organized. More knitting, less smoking, that’s the only way I’ll get everything done.