case in point

my mother was complaining that she didn't have a case for her camera. and heard that i could make them. clearly it followed that she requested one. so one morning, before my dad and sister came into the city for chinese new year, i popped in hackers, broke out my needles, and made a little case. in just under two hours. here she is: size 7 needles, midweight cotton yarn. i cast 20 stitches onto two needles. i knit my way across once, leaving the other needle in the loops. (this is not fun.) then i knit back across the stationary needle, and worked in the round. three rows per color, until i reached the size of the camera. next i bound off one half (using both colors held together). on the other half, worked flat, i knit two together at the beginning of every third row to create a flap that can be tucked in. (the time crunch made figuring out a button a bit too challenging.) totally cute, right? and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

andes candes

i always loved the holidays as a kid because we got to eat andes candies. now, they probably existed during other parts of the year, but i was never privvy to this knowledge. what i did know is that they are very very delicious. much like this hat.



a quick knit. maunch chunky yarn on size 10 needles. cast on 24 stitches to each of three needles. k20, p1, k2, p1. do this twice. switch colors. knit a total of 36 rows. the decreases are done between the ribs, starting with k2tog, k8, k2tog, k8, p1, 2, p1. three times. then k2tog, k7, k2tog, k7, p1, 2, p1. three times. and keep going until you have only two stitches between each rib. (6 on each needle). then k2tog, p1, k2tog, p1. draw the end through all open loops and tie off.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
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green beanie

i had some leftover yarn from the blanket. so i made a little green ribbed beanie. size 10 needles, acrylic/wool yarn.



72 stitches in diameter, 2x1 rib. i did 12 decreases with k2togs starting on the 30th row, and it just fits. no folding up the brim, though. i think that 6 decreases per row works out a bit better.



i think i will be able to find someone else this hat looks cuter on. is it you?



ratings:

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funwarmers

so the ninja may start knitting. (not so shocking) professionally. (shocking!!) apparently philadelphia is cold. and stylish. cold + need for style = need for knittenninja! so some wristwarmers were shipped out via a friend. said friend took some photos. and here they are... lovely, ain't they? i have been working on crazy amounts of hats and warmers to go out as well. i should hopefully have a goodly amount done shortly so that i can post 'em for ya. until then. take care. and remember...today's mistake is tomorrow's good story. or something.

brownie

i needed a new hat to match my old scarf. i've started wearing brown more often. which is weird. but rather dashing?



this hat was knit on size 10 needles. cast on 23 stitches on each of three needles. knit 30 rows in the round. then k2tog, k21 three times. then k2tog, k10 six times. then k2tog k9 six times. you get the picture. keep going until you have 6 live stitches (two each on three needles). pull end through live stitches and bind off.



i made this puppy in one night. i was pleased as punch.



and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

grandma blanket

i can't help but thinking that it is somewhat backwards for me to knit a blanket for my grandmother's birthday. but i did. and it is beautiful. i took the idea from the pinwheel baby blanket and just kept going until i ran out of time and/or yarn.



the finished product was about 5' in diameter.



to make this blanket as quickly as possible, i used size 15 needles. now, i was using lion brand wool ease chunky, which calls for size 10 1/2 needles. so i just held two strands together the whole way. this led to some pretty interesting colorways, i think.



sometimes i held two dark greens together, sometimes two light, sometimes one of each. also there was some brown and a variegated yarn that was my inspiration.



and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

sisterwarmers

so you've seen the sisterhat. and the sisterscarf. clearly her hands would be either far too uncoordinated or cold for the ninja to rest peacefully. hence, the sisterwarmers.



my sister is a delicate thing of beauty. these are clearly not her paws. these are the agile extremities of the ninja. just to make that clear. now pay more attention to the warmers. please note...they turned around! the hands that once were violet are now black. severely awesome, eh?



the pattern:

• cast on 32 stitches over size 7 needles. (i used two)
• knit in the round in 2x2 rib for 16 rows in MC.
• bind off 6 stitches.
• knit around to where you bound off.
• cast on 6 stitches.
• knit around 3x more.
• alternate 2 rows MC, two rows CC until you get bored.
• knit 4 rows CC.
• bind off 6 stitches.
• knit around to where you bound off.
• cast on 6 stitches.
• knit 16 rows in CC.
• bind off.
• relish in the awesomeness of your warmers.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

a masculine pompom

so i found some grey yarn and wanted to make a hat. it was a nice chunky one that seemed to have a nice blue/white shimmer to it. so i picked up my handy size 10s and went crazy. i wanted to make a plain hat with just one cable on it. for a little pizzazz.

• CO: 69 st over three needles (23 each)
• 1: k23, k23, k19, p1, k2, p1
• 2: k23, k23, k19, p1, k2, p1
• 3: k23, k23, k19, p1, k2, p1
• 4: k23, k23, k19, p1, RTw, p1
• repeat 1-4: 9 times (36 rows)
• 37: *k11, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 38: *k10, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 39: *k9, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 40: *k8, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, RTw, p1
• 41: *k7, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 42: *k6, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 43: *k5, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 44: *k4, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, RTw, p1
• 45: *k3, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 46: *k2, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
• 47: *k1, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2tog, p1
• close: thread tapestry needle and draw through all loops
• finish: add ridiculous pompom

i was a little unsure of the pompom. they are always ridiculous. but i had planned on wearing this hat with my stripey scarf, and wanted it to match better. the best route to this goal seemed to be through whimsy. what do we think?



and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
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abbreviations:
RTw: K second st on left hand needle then K first st and slip both loops off together.

big red

hello. my name is knitting ninja. and i'm a shopaholic. i shop all the time. but i am painfully cheap. which means i don't often buy all that much. except when it is a bargain. like at a dollar store. (god i love dollar stores). admittedly, i have never spent over twenty dollars at such an establishment. except this one time... dollar stores on long island are special. they're like supermarkets without price tags. gigantic centers of commerce with crap merchandise at a debatably reasonable price. it was on a pilgrimage to one such arena when i first encountered it. some search for the fountain of eternal youth. some for the philosopher's stone. some for a big-ass pile of discount yarn. i am a member of all of these groups. however as of yet i have only been sucessful in one regard. so i dove into the yarn. i had done my research on the internets and it retailed for over $6 a skein. and here it was for $1 each. so i bought all of it. and now i have SO MUCH YARN. maybe i'll make a blanket. i've been toying around with the idea of baby blue fuzzy pants. but that is neither here nor there. my point is that i've gotten started attacking the stash. and here she is: super fuzzy nifty yarn. i think it looks like i skinned a muppet. possibly because i did. size 15 needles. so the pattern on this puppy is kind of rad. i'm not sure if you can see it, but she's knit on an angle. an attempt at the pattern follows:

start
• CO: 1
• 1: k1, ktbl
• 2: k2, ktbl
• 3: k3, ktbl
• 4: k4, ktbl
• ...: see the pattern?
continue until desired width (along side!) is reached. for me it was 26

middle
• RS: k, ktbl, k to end
• WS: k2tog, k to end
• ...: continue until it's really long

finishing
• all: k2tog, k to end

lovely, ain't she? this would probably be super awesome with variegated yarn. if you're a noro lover and give it a shot, send me a pic. until then, the ratings.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

abbreviations:
ktbl: knit through back loop
k2tog: knit two together

go here for some great instructions on all sorts of increases and decreases.