Free iPhone Cover Knitting Pattern May 14, 2013

I went to the cell phone store “just to look” at iPhones and walked out with one–haha, the joke’s on me! And of course the geek guys tried to sell me cases, skins, covers, etc.  They tried to scare me by talking incessantly about how easily iPhone screens break, but I held out and only spent $15 on an iPhone cover. But because of that, my big fear is dropping this thing! So I decided to knit a little case to at least cushion a fall. Here’s what I did:

Materials

Size 4 (US) Double Pointed Needles and some worsted weight yarn (I used Noro Silver Thaw), tapestry needle, button, thread, and scissors.

Pattern Notes

iPhone case is knit from the bottom up with a rectangular flap, a buttonhole and button. You should be familiar with some knitting terms to complete this pattern.

Cast on

Cast on 36 stitches using Judy’s Magic Cast On.  Google it, and watch the YouTube video.

Body

Mark the beginning of the row and knit as a tube in the round stopping when the depth of the tube is one row taller than the iPhone itself. My case is 5.25″ tall.

Flap

Bind off first 18 stitches. Then work the remaining stitches back and forth in stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) to make the flap as follows:  Row 1: K;  Rows 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10: P.

Row 3: Sl1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1

Row 5: Sl1, SSK, K10, K2tog, K1l

Row 7: Sl1, SSK, K8, K2tog, K1

Row 9: Sl1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1

Row 11: Sl1, SSK, K4, K2tog, K1

Make Buttonhole

Row 12: P 3, bind off 2, P3

Row 13: Sl1, SSK, cast on 2, K2tog, K1

Row 14: P all stitches

Row 15: Sl1, SSK, K2tog, K1

Row 16: Bind off all stitches.

Finishing

Tuck in all ends with tapestry needle and sew on cute button in appropriate place. Enjoy!

Two Earring Holders May 9, 2013

Use your earrings and simple frames to create your own wall art!

This isn’t my usual knitting post; I’m straying from needlecrafts for this post to include crafts and organizing stuff!
These are two 8″ x 10″ frames. the frame on the left has standard aluminum screen in it for post style earrings. The frame on the right has 1/4″ hardware cloth in it to hold hook style earrings. Do what I did and get two frames at a thrift store!

 

Nine Patch Update March 2, 2013

Since we’re just coming out of “Finish It In February” month, I feel motivated to get busy working on my original design, “Nine Patch Mitered Square Afghan.”
Check it out here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/nine-patch-mitered-square-afghan
I am going to make this 4 squares tall and 6 squares long. It’s going to be more of a throw or a lap afghan. I really like how it’s mixed media (sort of), because it’s knitted, but it looks like a quilt!

Salt and Pepper February 27, 2013

I think my outdoor gear closet has reached scarf saturation. So my solution? Knit cowls! I just finished this one, a free pattern for you! And I have another on the needles, using someone else’s pattern along with sock yarn that’s just too gorgeous to put on my feet. To knit this, you should know how to read a knitting chart, be able to work ribbing, and be able to work 2 strands of yarn at once. But if you’re new to any of this, I’m sure you can look up videos on youtube to help you

.Salt and Pepper Cowl

So, enjoy the pattern and give yourself a new neck accessory. (Sorry about the not-so-awesome photos. My photographer-daughter-blogger just moved away and I’ m stuck photographing my own stuff and I hate photos in front of a mirror. Please bear with me!)

Dorothy and Tara Hat January 26, 2013

Oh to float across the ice like skaters from the past! I love ice skating. I grew up on a lake where the neighbor kids took turns shoveling in the evenings so the hockey rink would be free from snow. There’s nothing like invigorating cold to wake up the senses during the darker days of winter.  But staying comfortable is a must! Keep yourself warm at the ice skating rink with a modified tam hat with spiral cables from top to bottom.  Imagine doing figure eights and scratch spins in style!  Using just one skein (200 or so yards) of worsted weight yarn, you can whip this beret up in a few evenings.  Doesn’t every knitter have an odd skein of worsted lying around?  Pattern comes in two adult sizes (S/M, and L). You can purchase it in my Ravelry Store: Nancy Wilson designer

And, I still ice skate occasionally, even though I’m not a kid anymore!

 

2012 in review January 1, 2013

Yes, I’m still here! I haven’t posted in a few months, but I mean to be more active this year. Our family is in the process of moving from Indiana to Utah! Needless to say, we are busy and excited!  I have a new hat pattern coming out soon, but in the meantime, take a look at my blog’s year in review:

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 9 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Knitting Book Giveaway! September 22, 2012

I love those One Skein Wonder knitting books. It seems like I always have a skein of something or other hanging around and I don’t know what to do with it. I always find patterns to use for those oddballs!

Enter Christine’s Bay Area Knitter Blog giveaway! She’s having a contest over at her blog:

http://bayareaknitter.blogspot.com/

She’s giving away the Luxury Yarn One Skein Wonders book!

How great is this? If you don’t have an oddball of a luxury skein of yarn, you can go out and buy one!

I’m posting about this because it constitutes another entry, thus making you aware of the contest and decreasing my chances of winning.  Good luck to us all!