Sweet Hearts for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Now one thing that you need to know about me is that I am not big on the candy, flowers, and tell someone "I love you" days. Valentine's Day, Sweetest Day, days like that are not important to me. I don't need a special day to tell my husband that I love him. I keep hearing "deals" for jewelry that's been marked down to prices that I still don't think is reasonable. But, what do I know.

To me the small gestures are the best. On our first Valentine's Day as a married couple my husband took the day off. We were working different schedules at the time, so this was a big deal. He offered to take me out. But, it was a Wednesday and I knew that the wait time would be way too long. We ended up getting pizza and staying in. For me it was not important because of the day that it was, but because of who I was spending time with. It could have been any Wednesday of any month and it still would have been special to me.

I think part of my disinterest of these types of days is that people feel obligated to do something. To me it is just another day either way. A small gesture whether on this day or another will still be just as nice. Maybe this just stems from my dad. He would always tell my mom that flowers and candy would not last, so how does that represent his love. Yes it is corny and maybe he was just being cheep, but I think he has a point.

Now that you understand my feelings on the day in general let me explain my favorite part of the holiday. The decorations are the best part and the only reason that I even acknowledge the day. I do not need a reason to want to decorate and switch out one set of decorations for another. But, Valentine's Day gives me one. A reason to pack up my Christmas decorations and put up something new. Sometimes I even get a little creative with it.

This year I decided to make a heart garland and hang it up in my living room window. Here are instructions on how to make your own Simple Heart Garland.



However, it can be so much more than a garland. I can think of a dozen ways to use these hearts. Here are just a few; sew onto a pillow, attach four together to make a centerpiece, use one as a coaster, put them on the bottom of a scarf or blanket, make a lot more and use it for a photo backdrop at a wedding or baby shower. I'm sure others can think of more ways to use them and have fun with it. To me that is one of the best parts of crafting. With a little bit of creativity the possibilities are endless.

Although I might not know how this pattern will end up being used, I do know two things.
1) This pattern is very quick. I made four or five while watching a movie the other day.

2) It is perfect for using up left over yarn that you have lying around.

This is a project that I had fun with and I hope you will too. Let me know if you have more ideas on how these hearts can be used. If you make any I would love to see them. Post a picture here in the comments section or on my Facebook page @Joywithyarn1. But, most importantly just have fun with it.                 

Vintage Knitting

Recently I stumbled across a collection of knitting patterns from the 1940s. Seeing this collection got me searching for even more collections of vintage patterns.

"Mrs. Rosevelt's Mittens"
https://www.allfreeknitting.com

"Victory Jumper"
https://www.vam.ac.uk

Here are a few of the collections that I have found. I highly encourage you to check out these vintage knits whether you knit or not. They are interesting to look at. They give an idea of what people were wearing during different eras, I saw at least one pattern that called for knitting shoulder pads to add to the sweater. Some of the names even invoke the time period such as "Mrs. Rosevelt's Mittens" or "Victory Jumper".   

Patterns from the 1940s

Patterns from the 1950s


Patterns from the 1930s-1970s

Apparently a lot of these patterns have entered the public domain and are now uploaded to be used by anyone who dares to try. Some of these have been typed up and other are digitized straight from the original book or magazine. 

Now this is not the first time that I have looked at vintage knits. I just find them fascinating, they give a little bit of glimpse into the past. Back in college I found a knitting pattern for lace stockings. I had never seen anything like them and I had already made socks using modern patterns. I was excited to try something new (at least new to me).

I quickly found out that sizing can be an issue with vintage knits. Even feet and calves where smaller back in the day. To get around this issue was a lot of trial and error. I had to repeatedly try on the stockings while working on them.

I highly recommend trying on vintage projects while working on them to make sure that the adjustments are working correctly. I find that the best way to try on a project is to put the live stitches on a long scrap of yarn. Doing this gives the stitches the ability to move and hang like they would off the needle. I always use this technique when making dresses or tops in the round. It allows me to see the fit without being concerned about dropping stitches. You can also use this vintage knit sizing tool to see how the vintage sizes compare to today's sizing before you start knitting.

Having found these vintage patterns, I decided that I would try to do another vintage knit. Going into this process I knew that sizing would most likely be an issue. With this in mind I looked for patterns that wouldn't need any adjustments. So I settled on this "Little Scarf" pattern.

Reading the pattern I realized that I would still need to make changes. The pattern calls for a decorative crochet edge done with tinsel and little purls. Do I have purls? Do I even know where to get tinsel? Do I own a tiny crochet hook? Since I answered no to all of these I knew that I had to come up with a different plan.

I decided that I would keep the decorative picot, but would do it with yarn and knitting needles instead. I had never done a picot bind off. However, YouTube videos quickly gave me the confidence to believe I could do this. Now just to pick a color for the edge. To do this I made a Facebook poll asking my followers to choose between red and grey.

I had assumed that this would be my only adjustment. I was wrong. One thing about vintage knits is that they had be a bit vague. For example instead of explaining the technique they want you to use to increase stitches they might just have increase one stitch. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to see what technique would lay correctly and look the best.

My rule is to use the simplest first and if it looks good, continue to use it. No reason to make things more complicated than they need to be. But, the adjustments did not stop there. Apparently even necks were smaller back then. Luckily scarfs are one of the easiest projects to try on while knitting.

In the end I was able to finish up the scarf in less than a week. Now I have a cute little scarf that makes me feel like a 1940's flight attendant. I can easily add a bit of class and vintage flare to any outfit.

If interested in trying a vintage pattern I would offer a few pieces of advice:

• start small;
• try on frequently;
• be prepared to make adjustments;
• have fun. 

In the end you will have a unique vintage knit that is guaranteed to impress.    

This Tie Had Me in Knots

A few months ago I was looking for a knitted tie pattern. I found a few ties that were being sold, but not a pattern. After a while of going down the internet rabbit hole of knitting websites and blogs I finally found a pattern, but I didn't love it. There was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn't the image that I had in my head.

However, I went ahead and started on this pattern. I assumed that it would grow on me and maybe it would look better in person than it did online. But, I was wrong. I still didn't like it. This tie pattern was a rectangle and did not look enough like a tie to me. Personally I think that ties should always come to that point at the bottom. Without that point can I even call it a tie? It looks more like a very narrow scarf. As a hand knitted scarf it would have the tendency to look more like a scarf, so I wanted to move away from that.

Snake Tie

I decided at this point that I would use this pattern, but I would make it my own and start it as a point. This was an utter disaster. In the end it looked like neither a tie or a narrow scarf. It most closely resembled a snake or an extremely narrow tube sock. It just ended up being a funny looking puffed up tube that had a pointed end. My husband had pointed out while I was knitting that it needed to be flatter, but I had stubbornly pressed on. 

Back to the drawing board for me and my tie idea. My husband was right I needed a flatter design. But, how to accomplish this was the problem. I didn't want to do it in straight stockinette because then the edges would roll and that would be just as bad as the snake tube.

I wanted the tie to not only look good, but to also be recognizable. I don't often wear ties, so obviously this would be a gift for someone else. There is nothing worse than to gift a handmade item and to have the receiver be confused about what it is or how to use it.

I started brainstorming some ideas, but nothing was working out the way that I was planning. It was then that I took a step back and decided to take a break. Sometimes ideas come to me the quickest when I am not thinking about them.

This is exactly what happened this time. It was during this break that an idea hit me and all the pieces seemed to fall into place. I had made some pot holders a few years ago using a technique called Double Knitting. Basically with this technique you knit both sides the project at the same time. Often with two contrasting colors. In the end both sides are stockinette, but the item lays flat.

As soon as I thought of this technique I realized that I could adapt it to be pointed at the start and widen out to whatever width I wanted (I made my first one a little too wide and have corrected this in the pattern). After several attempts I finally got the look that I was desiring.

One of the best part of using Double Knitting is that I was able to easily add color. All the color changes are done in the middle, so they will never see the light of day. This is how the Reversible Men's Tie pattern was created. Look for this and other patterns on the pattern page of this blog. You can also find this pattern by following this link Reversible Men's Tie.

It works with variegated or striping yarn too.

In this pattern I have included the charts for making the same design. Adding a little bit of color to each side. However, I have also included written instructions without any color changes. This would produce a tie that is solid on either side, but has a border of both colors.

The main reason for including the written instructions is that I hope others adapt it and use what ever design they want. I want these instructions to be used as a blank canvas because that is how I view most patterns. They are a guide and not the law. I like to make my own changes and adapt them whenever I feel like it.

I am excited to finally put this pattern out there for others to see. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. If you try it put a picture in the comments or post to my Facebook page  Joy with Yarn.

Also if you do try this please check your gauge. Don't be like me and end up with a tie that is too thick and unwearable. The knot on one of the ties that I made is just ridiculously large.

Now I'm off to knit some more. I'm thinking that in the future I'll make a tie and sock set. Maybe I'll even see about adding some texture. We shall see. My list of project ideas and things I should make keeps getting longer and longer.                     

Something New

Creating an original pattern and sharing it with others is new to me. I have been adapting, changing, and making my own knitting patterns for years. I write ideas in the margins of other patterns and will use sticky notes or a note app on my phone. However, these adaptions or patterns were always just for me. Even when making a pattern I wasn't expecting anyone to look at it.

However, recently I realized that if I was looking for a pattern to make something and didn't find it then maybe others might have this same problem. Maybe others are getting frustrated over not finding exactly what they want. This is actually the reason I started this blog in the first place (that is a story for a different day).

A week to two ago, it happened to me again. I wanted to make a quick knit hat with some chunky yarn that I had. However, I had a very specific idea of what I needed this hat to look like. I wanted this hat for my blog post about The Big Comfy Couch and I wanted to look as much as Loonette as possible. Click here if you missed that post.

I found a few patterns, but they were not exactly what I wanted. They didn't look enough like Loonette's hat. So, I decided that I needed to make my own hat. This was never anything that I was planing to keep or wear more than just for that photo. But I fell in love with it. I loved how the hat looked so much that I had to make a matching scarf.

For once I let the yarn do it's thing when it came to the color. I used Caron® Tea Cakes™ color Oolong and for once in my life I did not try to manipulate it. I didn't worry about the color changes. Even when I was adding a new cake. Usually when joining more yarn I will unravel it to the point where it matches the pattern created with the color work. This time I joined the new cake when it was needed without any thought about the colors. This yarn allows these patterns be knit up quickly and beautifully without any stress.       

Below I have included the instructions for the hat and scarf. This pattern is also available for download or to be saved at this link: Easy Chunky Hat and Infinity Scarf. I hope that it will be the quick and easy hat and scarf set that someone out there is looking for. I enjoyed this quick knit. I was able to finish the set in about a week.

If you are looking for a hat and scarf set that knits up quickly than this pattern is for you.

One of my favorite parts of the set is the doubled over band on the hat. Because it is knitted folded over then it will not roll. I can not stand it when the band on a hat rolls down when I am wearing it. I want the band to cover stay put and do its job which is to keep my ears nice and toasty.

Scarf is wrapped three times. 

I also love the length of the scarf. I made it extra long, so that it can be wrapped around several times. My favorite winter scarfs are always infinity scarfs. Personally I think they are easier to wear and less likely to slip off. Even if I get warm I can just loosen it and keep it still around my neck. I might be known for losing a scarf or two or many many more. But all of those were traditional. Hopefully I can keep track of this one, at least for a winter or two.   

Now all I need is some colder weather to wear my latest creations. Not that I am asking for winter. I'm patient and can wait. Winter can take its time and come when it feels like it.