Daisy Potholder

I guess I have more potholders (or coasters or doilies) than anyone actually needs. But I think they are a great project for trying out new knitting techniques or to knit motifs.
Here is the pattern for a circular potholder with a flower motif – an idea that I had for quite a while.
Since this is a three colour intarsia project with three colours that also uses short rows, it can be quite fiddly. If you've never done intarsia and/or short rows before, this wouldn't be the pattern to start - sorry.
It is definitely NOT a beginner pattern.

The pattern PDF is available via

• Ravelry 
• Loveknitting
• Payhip and
• Gumroad

The document is 11 pages long and contains:

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting this piece – including four photos of the different stages 
• pattern chart
• short photo tutorials for the following techniques
• provisional CO with a crochet hook and how to undo it
• short rows with wrap and turn and picking up the wraps 
• intarsia knitting 
• weaving in yarn while carrying it (backwards and forwards)
• grafting in garter stitch
• photo tutorials and step-by-step explanations of
• undoing the provisional CO in this pattern (i.e. catching stitches in different colours)
• grafting with colour changes

The pattern instructions and the chart comprise only 2 pages - the rest are the technique tutorials and explanations of their specific application for this motif.

To knit this you need the following materials:

• Cotton yarn in three colors – I knitted these potholders in Aran and DK weight yarn
• for Aran, I used a total of 50 grams
• for DK weight, I used a total of 25 grams
• knitting needles – straight or circulars: I used 3mm needles for Aran weight yarn and 2.5mm needles for DK weight yarn, i.e. smaller than the yarn usually requires because I wanted a firm texture. 
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about the same size as your knitting needles) for the provisional CO - I used a 3mm crochet hook
• two tapestry needles for grafting and to weave in ends

Tulpenzwiebeln Scarf

A while ago, I became quite obsessed with two-colour brioche – so obsessed that I even ventured far out of my colour comfort zone. This scarf is a fun and colorful two-colour brioche project – and once you get into the rhythm, the pattern is easy to remember.
You start with a few stitches and increase until the scarf has the width you like. That's why it can easily be used with other yarn weights as well.
As to the name, "Tulpenzwiebeln" is the German word for tulip bulbs.

The pattern PDF is available for purchase

• on Ravelry, 
• on Lovecrafts and
• on Payhip. 

It is 9 pages long and contains:

• row-by-row pattern instructions
• photo tutorial for the following brioche stitches: 
• brk2inc
• brk6inc
• working a brk6inc in the next row 
• brk6Ldec
• brk2Ldec (on top of a brk6Ldec) 
• a schematic of the construction and the increase/decrease stitches

To knit this pattern you need the following knitting skills:

• basic two-colour brioche

The following materials are necessary to knit this scarf:

• 150 to 200 grams of fingering weight yarn (in at least two colors) –  the pattern is written in a way, that you can use it for other yarn weights as well
• 3.25 mm knitting needles – straight with double points or circulars
• a tapestry needle for weaving in ends

The scarf I knitted is (blocked) 210 cm long and 19 to 21 cm wide. It is constructed in a way that you start with a few stitches only – and you gradually increase until your scarf is as wide as you want it to be.

Two Patchwork Cardigans

Recently, I bought an overlocker. It was threaded in four colors (blue, gree, red, yellow). Of course I tried it out with these threads because I was too lazy to change them (it's probably less complicated then it looks in the manual, but still ... ). I really liked the color effect on my grey test piece, so I thought seams like that might make a nice feature on the outside of a garment.
That thought matured quite some time in my head, and this weekend I thought I'd give it a try and started to construct a cardigan. I used different grey(ish) jersey fabrics - leftovers and recycled old t-shirts. I didn't use a pattern but eyeballed the pieces when cutting and assembling them (with my measurements in the back of my head).
Unexpectedly, it actually worked and I had a finished jacket on Saturday evening. The piece fits me well - even though the seams are not what you'd call neat and tidy ;-)

So, I decided to make a second one on Sunday - using two old XL sized t-shirts - also in the "seams on the outside"-look.  Unfortunately, the two of the thread bobbins were empty, so I had to learn how to thread the machine (and it wasn't that difficult - except for the fine motor skills that you need to thread the needles :)

This second one (in light green and teal) is less successful in terms of fitting, but it's still basically a wearable jacket.

There are several things that I learned when making these two jackets:

• threading an overlocker is easier than it first seems
• when using an overlocker I use up much more thread than I ever expected
• thread tension is important
• two XL t-shirts (especially if they are old and a bit distorted) are not quite enough to make a jacket for me
• when cutting pieces, better err on the generous side :)