Showing posts with label quick and purly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quick and purly. Show all posts

19 June 2015

quick + purly: 5 square shawls

Now that summer is squarely upon us (no pun intended), and the Solstice arrives on Sunday, I'm looking for some travel knitting. For me travel knitting means shawls: one skein of beautiful laceweight yarn that squishes easily into my purse or carryon + one long circular needle so that no stitches will be lost + one compelling pattern.

Have you ever worked a square shawl? What's your favorite on-the-go type of knitting?

Here are a few that caught my eye this week.



  1. Life Cycle by Laura Nelkin $7 USD 
    Gorgeous progression of patterns
  2. Alcove my Mam'zelle Flo €5 EUR 
    Perfect travel knitting with the garter stitch center
  3. legacy square shawl by bunnymuff $5.99 USD 
    Swoony stitch patterns
    Be careful with those beads when traveling, though!
  4. Spider Queen by Hazel Carter $8 USD 
    The pattern page picture does not do this beauty justice -
    be sure to check out the projects pages!
  5. Poinsettia Shawl 401 by Lucy Neatby $12 CAD 
    Clever structure and beautiful stitch patterns
And I can't forget the square "travel" shawl I designed for myself a few years back: Hap-py (updated pattern layout coming soon!) $7 USD. I just loved knitting this one!
Easy-to-remember center and edgings
make this perfect social knitting

There are plenty more beauties in this category. Click here to see for yourself.

So, what travel knitting do you have planned for the summer? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

05 June 2015

quick + purly: 5 neckties

For those of you in the US, Father's Day is coming up on 21 June, and what better knitted gift for the father in your life than a hand-knit tie. That being said, I must warn you that I am super-snooty about knitted tie patterns: just flat, tiny scarves do NOT count for me. A knitted tie should be fully-fashioned, either worked in the round or worked flat then sewn to create a tube that has the proper heft to be a tie. That being said, I found five ties plus my Dennis that you should check out.



  1. The Jeremy Tie by Amelia Lyon $4.50 CAD 
    a great way to use self-striping yarn or your yummy leftovers
  2. July Tie by Pam Allen $5 USD 
    super-simple and very handsome
    (sample AND model)
  3. Silk City by Alasdair Post-Quinn $6 USD 
    one of two very cool tie designs Alasdair
    published in Extreme Double Knitting
  4. Men's Tie by Sarah Cooke £3 GBP 
    understated elegance on the bias
  5. Hogwarts House Tie by Sarah Jo Burch $2 USD 
    clever use of stitches to create lots of interest
And one from me! Dennis by Kathleen Dames $7 USD
an interesting stitch pattern and lots of smart details

All photos from pattern Ravelry pages - no copyright infringement intended. I just want to share the love!

Have you ever knit a tie? What do you think is important in a tie pattern? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

29 May 2015

quick + purly: 5 tees

It's so beautifully Summer-y here in New York City that I have the urge to knit things with little or no sleeves, so here are five tees with special details for you.



  1. The Perseids by Asami Kawa $5.50USD 
    This sweet top has been in my favorites for ages -
    love the touch of beads at the neckline
  2. Mesh Panel Tee by Myrna Batten $5USD 
    Using laceweight doubled except for the mesh is a great idea
  3. Crown Tee by Jenise Hope $7CAD 
    Lovely, feminine details
  4. Camelia Tee by Playsweetmusic Design kr.30.00 SEK 
    Charming inspiration and execution
  5. Hane by Kirsten Johnstone $8USD 
    Intriguing details and lots of options in the pattern
All images from patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended. I just want to share the love!

Have you knit any short-sleeved items? I tend to think of knits as long-sleeved Winter-y (and Spring- and Fall-y) things, but this year I'm jonesing to create Summer-y pieces. Tell me about your favorite summer knits in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

22 May 2015

quick + purly: 5 lace + beads

Have you tried knitting with beads? I've only done it once, but it was quite enjoyable (so long as the kids weren't nearby, and I wasn't on a plane - little containers of beads have the potential to go everywhere) and the results are stunning. Here are five that I loved this week...



  1. Corryn Shawl by Abigail Phelps $6 USD 
  2. Blackbird by Kieran Foley $4.75 USD 
  3. Queen of the Night by Amy van de Laar $6 USD 
  4. Southern Skies by Audry Nicklin $7 USD 
  5. Tess by Camilla Lieske $5 USD 
All images from patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended. I just want to spread the love!

There are so many beautiful, lacy, beaded patterns to choose from. Here was my search. Which patterns strike your fancy? Let me know below in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

18 May 2015

quick + purly: 5 linen cardigans

I'm sorry to be late publishing this for you - Saturday's trunk show took up all of my bandwidth, but it also inspired this q+p, since Jill has loads of wonderful summer-weight yarns (lots with linen) at Yarns in the Farms. Since it is beginning to feel a lot like summer, here are some lovely options for you...


This ended up being a more challenging search than I had expected. As a woman with an ample endowment, those waterfall cardigans don't often work for me, nor do all those little top-down things that only button at the top. V-necks and U-necks are more flattering for m, though I think they are a little more challenging to design.

  1. Fine Sand by Heidi Kirrmaier $6.80 USD 
    Open-front but with enough fabric to flatter
  2. Le Jardin Cardi by Hélène Rush $6.25 USD 
    Love the different stitch patterns
  3. Kowloon Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio $7 USD 
    Great shape and special collar/buttonband
  4. Morning Glory by Pam Allen $6 USD 
    Just enough little details to make this special
  5. Silver Ghost by Annamária Ötvös $6.50 USD 
    This looks like one of those patterns you might make again and again
All images from patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended. I just want to spread the love!

What cardigan would you want to knit and wear this summer? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

08 May 2015

quick + purly: 5 dolls

Whoohoo! My Jane Austen Knits 2015 patterns and samples are in, which means I can rejoin the world and focus on things other than gauge and stitch counts.

Have you ever knit a doll? I've knit a few teddy bears and dogs in my time, as well as created the Matryoshka Japonais doll set. But I haven't knit a proper doll, by which I mean one with arms and legs and outfits. This week I found five little charmers for you from some talented knitted toy designers.

  1. China Doll by Sara Elizabeth Kellner $4.50 USD 
    I love that she is constructed like an antique china doll.
    Do NOT miss Sara's other patterns, including China Doll's outfit!
  2. Homage to Jane Austen by Noreen Crone-Finlay $6.75 USD 
    How could I not include a Jane Austen doll?
  3. Tulip Doll by Katie Boyette $6 USD 
    Katie's patterns are super-cute!
    I'm still holding out hope that she will publish
    her Henry VIII and Friends projects as patterns.
  4. Marie Antoinette Knit Doll Pattern by Amy Gaines $6 USD 
    More cuteness! The hair makes me giggle.
    Amy is prolific in the adorable toy category.
  5. Theodóra by Hélène Magnússon €5 EUR 
    Don't miss the adorable Icelandic wardrobe and sheep dog!
All images from the patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended - I just want to share the love!

There were so many pages of cuteness that I really had to get specific on which dolls to share. I think we will need a mermaid doll post, soon.

I'm off to decide which doll I want to knit most (right now) and to enjoy a calm Mother's Day weekend. Hope you have a good one, whether you are mother, child, or both.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

01 May 2015

quick + purly: 5 lacy stoles

Perhaps it's that I just blocked my two #seekritknitting projects. Or maybe all the pollen has gone to my head. This week I was drawn to lacy, nupp-y stoles, even if they might take a lot of yarn and a LOT of knitting. These five beauties are the opposite of my recently-published Sly Maid Stole - maybe that's why I like them.

Have you knit nupps (pronounced noops from what I understand)? Any tips or tricks? Let me know in the comments.



  1. Forest Path Stole by Faina Latoutchaia $6 USD 
    I might even venture entrelac for this - divine
  2. Sweet Embrace by Marriana Designs $6 USD 
    nupps on stockinette are so modern
  3. Fairy of Happiness by Meeli Vent 4.90 EUR 
    perfect pattern name
  4. Snowdrop Shawl by Nancy Bush $7 USD 
    Yes, that Nancy Bush
  5. Ophelia Shawl by Miriam Felton $6.50 
    Miriam's photo shoot is as lovely as her stole
All images from the patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended - I just want to share the love!

Looking for your own nupp-y stole option? Here is my Ravelry search.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen
P.S. More on those new patterns next week!

24 April 2015

quick + purly: 5 men's vests

There are lots of knitting patterns for us ladies (and I'm doing my part to bring more of them into the world - more on that next week), but there's good stuff out there for the gentlemen, too, if you know where to look.

Today I found five handsome colorwork vests that any man would be proud to wear. I have yet to steek anything I've knit, but these might tempt me over to (eek) cutting my knitting. What do you think?

  1. Abbey Mill Farm Vest by Anne Podlesak (Wooly Wonka) $5.50 USD (looks like Interweave is having a sale at the moment, so this pattern is currently available for $3.85!) 
    I love Anne's pattern and color choices!
  2. Eastlake - Revisited by Varian Brandon $8 USD 
    Varian TOTALLY knows what she's doing!
  3. Wartime Farm Sleeveless Pullover by Susan Crawford £6 (GBP) 
    TV show-inspired, comes in ALL the sizes...
  4. Windsor Waistcoat by Lorraine Condotta $9 (USD) 
    Isn't this an eye-catching pattern/color combo?
  5. Kelebek by Elizabeth Morrison $6 (USD) 
    I'm entranced by the color pattern!
All images from the patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended - I just want to share the love!

There were a few more stranded vest patterns (including some beauties for the ladies) but not nearly as many as I would expect. Do you have a favorite to share? Even more importantly, do you have any advice on working stranded patterns like this and then steeking them? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen