Knitter’s Doodles (ZIP)

Earlier this week I discovered PaintFont, a site that allows you to turn your handwriting into a font. My handwriting isn’t particularly interesting but I thought it would be fun to create a dingbat, and so I drew some knitting-related doodles in Paper by 53, then cut and pasted them into the font template using Gimp. The result is a cute, though somewhat haphazard font which I think will nevertheless be useful for adding character to your project photos. Allow me to demonstrate, with apologies to Bouguereau:

The zip file includes an OTF and a TTF version. You’re welcome to use the font in any personal, educational or commercial projects. I only ask that you do not redistribute it.

If you’d like to use the font to jazz up your Instagram photos, I’ve found it’s possible to install fonts on iOS using the AnyFont app. You can then edit your image with any app that uses the system fonts. I’ve had luck with Moldiv, but do let me know if you have any other recommendations. Enjoy! :)

ETA: Connie has done what I was too lazy to do & put together a cheat sheet. Vielen dank! :)

P.S. The knitting background is available here.

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I’m looking for up to 6 test knitters for each ebook. Please leave a comment letting me know which ebook you’re interested in testing & I’ll be in touch! Here’s an overview of what’s in each…

Counterpane Shawls Ebook

Mitre-Square Shawl (matching my current reading!)

Moiré Square

Bright Star Square

Hydrangea Square

Sideways Shawls Ebook

Rosarian Shawl

Trigonometrician Shawl

Details

Deadline: 10 June 2013!!

Counterpane Shawls: You can either just test the counterpane squares, OR knit your own counterpane shawl using the worksheet OR knit the mitre square shawl. Again, I would mostly like feedback to make sure the technique is clear, so any mods are welcome.
If you’d like to knit the mitre-square shawl as given, you’ll need: 550m / 601yds of light-DK-weight yarn. Variegated or self-striping will work well. I used Creative Yarns Reflections, but it’s now discontinued, which is some indication of how long it’s taken me to publish this design!

Sideways Shawls: You can either choose your own stitch pattern, or use one of the included stitch patterns. If you choose to knit the patterns as given, the pink shawl requires: 480m / 525yds of 4ply-weight yarn. I used the Ice Yarns Pure Alpaca I hauled here.
And the grey shawl requires: 750m / 820yds of DK-weight yarn. I used Nako Süper Saf Yün.
I just need some general feedback to make sure the worksheets work as intended, so by all means, make any modifications you please.

Photos would be nice, but aren’t necessary. I know the deadline is a bit tight, but I’d really like to get these out by my birthday (20 June). I may be dreaming, but it’s my birthday & I’ll try if I want to! :)

More Shawl Ebooks

I thought it would be nice to unite my shawl ebooks by designing matching covers for all of them. These are some very rough first drafts to see how they would look together. Do you like them, or do you prefer ebook covers to have photos?

As I think I mentioned before, Fill-in-the-Blanks Shawl Design II will be all about shawls knit in the round. Are there any other shawl shapes you think I should write worksheets for? I can’t think of any more at present, but I really enjoy coming up with the worksheets, so I’d love any suggestions!

Also, I’ve had many knitters ask me whether it’s OK to sell / knit-to-sell shawl patterns they’ve created using my Shawl Ebooks. The answer is: nothing would delight me more! If you currently have such a pattern for sale, please comment with the link, and I will create a list on the relevant ebook pages.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has left me kind and thoughtful comments during my unplanned absence. I LOVE YOU ALL; YOU MAKE MY DAY / MONTH / YEAR! Thank you, thank you!

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KNITTING PAPER – PDF

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that one of my new year’s resolutions for the past TWO years has been to knit a Fair Isle slipover, possibly with matching socks or legwarmers (& a jumper for Teddy?) and I haven’t even come close to designing one. The trouble is that there are so many wonderful possibilities! Where to begin?

More Fair Isle inspiration on Pinterest.

Do I want colours of similar hues, or do I want to mix them up? What about keeping the background colour constant throughout? I do know that I’d like to combine modern patterns with the traditional ones, and I’d quite like each design to have some sort of symbolic meaning, even if I’m the only one who knows about it.

With so much to keep in mind, I thought it would be better to start small, and use this knitting paper I designed to doodle Fair Isle patterns I liked, when I came across them. Mary Mucklestone’s amazing 200 Fair Isle Motifs (more on that later) gave me a head start on patterns, and when I have time I’ll be working through her Fair Isle course on Craftsy. Of course I could do the job in iWork, but it wouldn’t be half as much fun, would it? You all know how much I enjoy colouring in! :)

Once I have the patterns I like, I can cut them out in strips and play with the positioning until I’m happy with the way they look together. I may need to find some more coloured pencils though… ;)

KNITTING PAPER – PDF

The PDF includes both large and small versions of the stitch paper, in both orientations. I hope you find it useful! :)

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Yes, hearts again! I made this heart garland nearly 8 years ago and it’s been hanging on my wall ever since (you can actually catch a glimpse of it in this post). I thought some of you might enjoy making it as a pre-Valentine’s Day weekend project. It’s so quick and easy!

For my hearts I used about 32cm of wire (any wire will do, as long as it’s thin enough to thread the beads through, but sturdy enough to hold its shape), 30 pink beads and 30 sequins. For some reason I tied them together with pink string, but I think transparent nylon line would be better, or, to make them even prettier, some organza ribbon.

They look lovely on the wall, but for best effect, hang them in the window and watch the facets of the beads catch the light!

Things to Try

• Tie the hearts together side-by-side.
• String the hearts on a length of ribbon.
• Make a garland with hearts that decrease in size.

Love,
Derya.

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MRS. DAVENPORT’S MESH – STITCH PATTERN
OR QUEUE ON RAVELRY

My Mum (Güneş Davenport) unvented this mesh stitch the other day, and I was amazed by how easy and effective it is. Even a beginner could work it! I’m sure it exists somewhere in some form, but as I’ve never come across it before, I’m taking the liberty of naming it (taking my cue from a long tradition of stitch pattern collators), “Mrs. Davenport’s Mesh”. Here’s what it looks like:

Hmm, well admittedly not quite so attractive in its infant state, but when blocked… ta-da!

It works with any number of stitches. All you do is knit a stitch, place it back on the left-hand needle and knit it again. Then on the next row, you purl a stitch, place it back on the left-hand needle, and purl it again. When viewed from the RS, the knit rows lean left, and the purl rows lean right, forming an open zig-zag.

Like most mesh stitches, it grows a LOT when blocked, and therefore requires a very stretchy cast-on (even more so than the bind-off, I find). You can use your favourite cast-on technique, or work as follows…

Instructions

Cast on
Make loop or slipknot, *cast-on 1 st (using knitted cast-on method), k1, return st to left-hand needle, rep. from * as many times as necessary.

How to work the stitch pattern
CO any number of sts.

ROW 1 (RS): *K1, place resulting st back on left needle without twisting, k1, rep. from * to end.
ROW 2 (WS): *P1, place resulting st back on left needle without twisting, p1, rep. from * to end.

Rep. ROWS 1 & 2.

Bind off
K1, *place resulting st back on left needle without twisting, k2, pass right-most st on right-hand needle over left-most st, rep. from * until all sts have been bound off. Cut yarn and pull through final loop.

Increasing & Decreasing

I played around a little with increasing and decreasing using the basic principle of the mesh, but there are so many possibilities that I think it would make more sense to experiment with a particular project in mind.

Methods to Increase
Yo: Worked as usual.
Kfb: K1, place resulting st back on left needle, kfb.

Methods to Decrease
Ssk: Ssk, place resulting st back on left needle, k1.
K2tog: K2tog, place resulting st back on left needle, k1.

Garter Variation

If you knit in the western style, you will probably find that your purl rows go easier when working this stitch, because the movement you use to replace the stitch you’ve just purled back on the left-hand needle puts you in the right position to purl again. You’ll find the same thing happens when working knit rows in combined knitting. This made me wonder what a garter variation of the mesh stitch would look like, so I worked only ROW 2. I think you’ll agree that it forms a very nice textured fabric, without blocking.

In-the-round Variation

I’ve saved the best till last! Mrs. Davenport’s Mesh also looks beautiful when worked in the round. It’s as easy as repeating ROW 1 (and ignoring ROW 2) every round. When you eliminate the return rows that form the zig-zag, the stitch pattern continues in one direction, resulting in a lovely, lacy spiral, without the bother of actually having to count and shift stitches (or work a single yarn-over). I see some mindless arm-/legwarmers in my future! ;)

What I Love About Mum’s Mesh

• Works with any number of stitches.
• Super easy to work. Even a beginner knitter can manage it.
• Easily modified.
• No bias.
• No curl.
• Works the same whether you’re a western or combined knitter (or anything else).
• Worked in exactly the same way in the round.

My Mum & I would love to see your projects using this stitch. Please leave a comment to urge her to keep unventing! :)

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