Swaying Spring Leaves Bookmark

Swaying Spring Leaves by Mylyne De Jesus

Copyright © 2009

Supplies Needed:

Coats and Clark Aunt Lydia’s Classic Crochet #10 (Frosty Green) or other equivalent yarn

US #1 (2.25mm) Knitting Needles (I used a pair of dpn’s I already have)

Tapestry needle

12 inch of 1/8” Satin Ribbons (each of White and Light Green)—Optional

1 ladybug button (Optional)

Abbreviations:

yo = yarn over

cdd = centered double decrease (On right side rows, slip 2 stitches together knitwise, k the following stitch and pass the 2 slipped stitches over it.)

Directions:

CO 29 sts.

Bottom Border: Work garter stitch for 4 rows (K right and wrong side rows).

Side Borders: Work first 2 and last 2 row sts in garter st throughout.

Work Pattern as follows.

Pattern:

On right side rows, work according to pattern. On wrong side rows, work stitches in pattern (knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches) and purl yarn overs.

Row 1 (Right Side): P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k9, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 3: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, yo, k1, yo, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k3, cdd, k3, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 5: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k2, cdd, k2, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 7: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, cdd, k1, p1,yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 9: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, cdd, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 11: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k9, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Rows 13 and 15: Repeat Row 11.

Row 17: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k3, cdd, k3, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, yo, k1, yo, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 19: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k2, cdd, k2, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 21: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, cdd, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 23: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, cdd, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 25: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k9, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 27: Repeat Row 25.

Work on Row 28.

Repeat Rows 1 to 27.

Top Border: Work garter stitch for next 4 rows.

BO. Break thread, leaving a 4-inch tail. Weave in tails.

Block as needed. Lace ribbons through hole at the bottom of bookmark. With thread, sew ladybug between holes.

To Bead or Not to Bead?

To bead! And knitting with it is the answer. There are two ways of introducing beads when working on a piece. One is with the use of a fine crochet hook to pick up the bead and hooked onto a knit loop sliding the bead onto the work (the method I used with the Beaded Butterfly and Flower Buds Bookmark-- pattern to be posted next month).


The other is pre-loading the beads on the thread before knitting the piece, then sliding the bead in between stitches on the wrong side to make the beads appear on the right side. I have to say that it was truly an experience to load it just as much as to knit with it. I followed the instructions on loading that says to tie the bead thread to the knitting thread which I did over, and over, and over, as the finer thread is sensitive to the sliding motion exerted on the bead especially at the junction of the two threads.


And if that isn't enough, since I'm not one to take the easy way in learning things so for this project, I purchased a purse brooch kit (from Purse Paradise) which uses a "0000" (hey, that's 4 zeroes!) or 1.25mm knitting needles.


So, what was supposed to take two hours to finish turned out to be a six-hour adventure-- and every minute was worth it! What do you think?

The "Newest" Health Nut

It’s the walnut. This nut is said to originate from Persia and has been around even much longer. The “newest” things are what doctors and researchers are finding out:

• It lowers your cholesterol levels.
• The polyunsaturated fatty acids from walnuts are important for a healthy diet and may keep your arteries healthy and elastic decreasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
• It’s high in anti-oxidants which may lower your risk of cancer.
• It’s higher in omega-3 fatty acids compared to any other nuts so much so that it’s been claimed to be one of the “Super Foods.”
• The minerals found in walnut also benefit bone health.
• Including walnuts with fish in a diet favorably lowers the risk of heart disease.
• Reports about the walnut are so impressive that the USFDA approves a daily serving of 1.5 ounces or a handful of walnuts as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet which may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

These are some things we all can be “nuts” about. : )

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References:

http://www.riversideonline.com/health_reference/Cholesterol/CL00002.cfm (content provided by the MayoClinic.com)

California Walnuts; http://www.walnutinfo.com/health.html.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajcn.2009.26736Sv1.

It's the Little Things

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Little Things

By Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

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“Little Things Mean a Lot." We hear this saying so many times and relate them to gestures, moments, and memories-- the touch of a loved one, watching the sunrise or set, baby’s first word.

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But there are yet other little things that have recently taken its dwelling in the hearts of many modern toy collectors worldwide and have taken a hold of mine. I am speaking of the many faces of miniature thread crochet animals, with emphasis on teddy bears. Yes, bears less than 4 inches tall. Below is an example of a miniature bear by artist, Jessica Felton.

Chrissy by Jessica Felton

While there are a number of online groups that promote this latest trend in teddy bear-making, none is as popular as the Thread Animals Group as it boasts a membership of 1,447 (as of 04/15/09). This group, which is owned by Debbie Nicholas, is unique in that it teaches its members techniques of miniature teddy bear-making, show-casing the volumes of amazing works of members in the group’s website as well as its blog, and holds a monthly raffle for a free artist pattern. In addition, the very creative moderators, Bobbie Ripperger, Berta Hesen-Minten, Beverley McKenzie and the talented owner, Debbie, take turns in thinking up monthly challenges for the members. Let's take a look at some of them.

With so much concern over the state of the economy, Debbie started the year with a January challenge called Bargain Basement Bears using free to almost free and recycled thread as its requirements. “Glitzy,” featured below, was my entry.

Then came February’s Little Red sponsored by Beverley using 75% of red in each entry. Mine was “Prisoner of Love” inspired by the song of the same name and dedicated to the romantic in all of us.

Bobbie thought up with a unique theme for March called March Music Swap featuring minis of instruments, notes, anything music-related. I didn’t join the swap, but not wanting to be left behind I made a trumpet dedicated to Louis Armstrong and his song, “West End Blues.”

April calls for a challenge by Debbie with a theme called “Show off your bear’s ‘purse’nality” using a purse as a prop for a bear. My entry is still a WIP. I’m using a light yellow fingering yarn for my bear and will be making a knit beaded purse brooch from a kit. I will feature the final result in a later post as I’m off taking care of the little things.

Widgets

As you probably have noticed, being a newly established blog I've been doing a lot of editing and "redecorating," making sure that everything is just so. This weekend I decided to investigate the rage about widgets and got totally lost in so many of them. Widgets are inter-active, side-bar plug-ins which are used to customize a computer screen or a blog page. I stumbled upon this particular one, which I tried very hard to embed on one of the side-bars to no avail. I can't let this awesome "discovery" go without sharing it with you. So without further ado...

Hope you enjoy it!

Waiting for You

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Remember the song, Right Here Waiting for You, by Richard Marx that goes…

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you

That’s exactly what my UFOs (Unfinished Objects) or WIPs (Works in Progress) would have said if they could speak.

Garter stitch scarf yarns

Here’s one example—a garter stitch scarf with 2 kinds of yarn alternating every few rows which I started in November and was supposed to keep me warm for the winter. All I need is to knit a couple of rows, a few finishing rows, then weave the loose threads in and it’s done.

Full shot of garter stitch scarf on needles

Instead I’ve put it aside as an in-between-the-challenges project. Well, winter has passed and they’re still on the needles.(Sigh)

Close-up of garter stitch scarf

I have at least 3 other projects—2 shawls and a stuffed toy bear on the needles hidden away somewhere or deep inside one of my closets. FO (Finished Object), a bag of 7 knitted baby hats for the neonatal unit at the local hospital for charity, that still hasn’t left for the hospital yet because it’s been recently put aside somewhere in the garage by mistake. I only hope that DH (Darling Husband) does not find it and sell it at one of his garage sales. What about you? Do you have anything “in progress” that’s put aside somewhere and waiting for you?

Life is Full of Challenges

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It has been said that we are living in times that are “critical” and “hard to deal with.” No sooner has one ordeal passed than another one comes and shakes us up even more. Some are driven to despair thinking that they will never come out of a downpour of trials. But just like the rain lets up, gradually we notice our burdens seem to lighten and things take a turn for the better. Though we don’t eagerly look forward to these, we come out of it wiser and stronger than we were before when things got rough. “What doesn’t kill us can only make us stronger,” as the saying goes.

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In the world of the artisans, on the other hand, challenges are viewed very differently as they are presented in various themes to take the artists to the outer limits of their imagination. For example, the Freeform Crochet list, a group promoting a new crochet technique which at the same time is actively involved in charity work, is hosting one under the subject of, “Four Seasons.” Many of its members, myself included, eagerly signed up to join the challenge, but having no experience at all in freeform crochet, I later realized that I may have jumped in too soon. But I’m determined to enjoy the process and learn the new technique whether or not I make the deadline.

Spring is my season of choice and will be using this picture of a field of California poppies as an inspiration.

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In this challenge, participants are allowed to choose one or more seasons as their subject(s).

The object of the freeform crochet is to form one finished piece from small motifs of different shapes, textures, and colors randomly.

The palette I'm using for the piece

It sounds easy, but it’s an art of which its principles I haven’t grasped yet so I’m using a couple of books to help me out with this project.

A richly illustrated Japanese crochet book from my bookshelf

Stitch book recently bought from Knitpicks

I’m just as curious as you probably are of how the piece is going to look so I’ll post the “big reveal” when it’s done.

The First Hello Bookmark

The First Hello by Mylyne De Jesus

Copyright © 2009

Supplies Needed:

Patons Silk Bamboo (Moss) or other equivalent sport wt. or fingering yarn

US#5 (3.75mm) or US#3 (3.25mm) for fingering yarn knitting needles (I used 2 dpns I already have)

Tapestry needle

7/8” White Organdy Ribbon (optional)

Abbreviations:

yo = yarn over

cdd = centered double decrease (On right side rows, slip 2 stitches together knitwise, k the following stitch and pass the 2 slipped stitches over it.)

Directions:

CO 15 sts.

Bottom Border: Work garter stitch for 2 rows (K right and wrong side rows).

Side Borders: Work first 2 and last 2 row sts in garter st throughout.

Work Pattern as follows.

Pattern:

On right side rows, work according to pattern. On wrong side rows, work stitches in pattern (knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches) and purl yarn overs.

Row 1 (Right Side): P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, yo, k1, yo, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Rows 3 and 5: Repeat Row 1.

Row 7: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, yo, k1, yo, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 9: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 11: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 13: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 15: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k9, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Rows 17 and 19: Repeat Row 15.

Row 21: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k3, cdd, k3, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 23: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k2, cdd, k2, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 25: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, k1, cdd, k1, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Row 27: P1, yo, cdd, yo, p1, cdd, p1, yo, cdd, yo, p1.

Top Border: Garter stitch for next 2 rows.

BO. Break thread, leaving a 4-inch tail. Weave in tails.

Block as needed.

Lace 12 inches of organdy ribbon through the holes at the bottom of the bookmark. (Optional)

Mark My Words

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It’s the month for the air to give way to warmer weather and light showers and for plants to show some signs of life. In this really cool Yahoo Group called Monthly Threads KAL-CAL Bookmarks, owned by Maile Mauch, leaves are the theme for April. Every month, Maile picks out a few designs for sharing with the members and this month I’m thrilled to have my 2 knitted designs, The First Hello and Swaying Spring Leaves, chosen. I’ve also just finished another bookmark, a beaded one, for May. It has an overall pattern of beaded lace flower buds and butterflies. I will share all mentioned patterns with you after they’ve been posted at the group’s website. I’ll first show you how they look.

Here's The First Hello and below is Swaying Spring Leaves.

Below is Beaded Butterflies and Flower Buds, my first bead knitting piece.

A Knot of a Different Kind

This has nothing to do with literal knitting, and everything with its figurative sense or as it’s commonly referred to as “tying the knot.” I guess you could say that I play around with paper, too and with the love for paper came the joyful task of making invitations, birth and graduation announcements for close friends and family. The latest of these is a wedding invitation for Jennifer and Glenn—my first one. I was so nervous about its undertaking as it's for a major event, and specially because I’ve been using a very old Microsoft desk-top publishing program called Pictureit Platinum to do the job. (I promised my sons I'd learn Photo Shop as soon as I install the program in my computer.) But thanks to the gracious reassuring of the bride and her MIL-to-be, Lisa, doubts of making the grade gradually faded.