Summer Knitting

My summer knitting projects include a cowl made out of yarn that the lovely kalany got me, and 3+ hats for charity.  This is one of them!

I’ve got about three rows to do before I begin decreases and I’m excited!  This is my first time using Noro, and I love it!  I’ve found myself getting excited to see what the next colour change will be.

I bought this yarn at Serendipity Yarn in Buena Vista, Colorado when I was there last week.  That little shop is amazing!  It’s got looms, tons of different yarn, all the notions you could ever dream of, and the staff is so nice. The entire upstairs is ALL YARN.  I would have taken a photo but I felt it would be a bit rude.

The pattern I’m using for this particular hat is this Noro spiral one-skein hat pattern.  It’s wonderfully easy and adaptable.

The yarn is Noro Taiyo, which is a blend of 40% cotton, 30% silk, 15% wool, and 15% nylon.  It’s softer than the pure-wool Noro, and I generally prefer soft to scratchy, so I went with this.  It has gorgeous colour, too!  Because it’s a blend, the yarn can be a little uneven width-wise, but I think it gives it character.

Yarn: Noro Taiyo
Needles: Two US8 29″ circulars
Pattern: Here

Currently Knitting

TARDIS wristwarmers for Megan, and Rose’s wristwarmers for Megan’s mother.

Megan’s wristwarmers are going along swimmingly.  Her hands are longer than mine, so I added four rows of knitting by adding two rows to each of the windows.  Currently on row 4 of the second row of windows, so very soon I’ll be on the hardest part: the logo.

Starra’s wristwarmers are something she found online and is commissioning me to make.  They’re based on the wristwarmers Rose Tyler wears at the end of Doomsday, S2E13 of Doctor Who.

The pattern for those is here.

TARDIS Wristwarmers

ETA: blindmayhem on Ravelry made an in-the-roud version and posted her edits on their project page for everyone!

Any self-respecting Doctor Who fan can tell you what a TARDIS is.  It’s a blue box.  It’s bigger on the inside.  It’s Time And Relative Dimension In Space.  It’s not just a time machine.  It’s a spaceship, too.

Now you can be nerdy and keep your hands warm while doing so!  Isn’t that brilliant?  Fantastic, even!

Adapted from a visual of someone else’s TARDIS wristwarmers, I bring you my version.

Here’s the Ravelry page if you want to queue it up.

The pattern:

Notes:

·This pattern is written to be worked in the round at first, then flat.  You can, if you find it easier, work the whole thing flat; I just like doing the cuff in the round.

·The chart is worked in a Fair Isle method rather than intarsia.  If you prefer, you can work the wristwarmers in blue all the way and then duplicate stitch the chart.

Materials:

·100 yards worsted weight yarn in a blue of your choice.  The yarn I used is royal blue, more reminiscent of the Eleventh Doctor’s TARDIS.

·25 yards worsted weight yarn, black

·25 yards worsted weight yarn, white

·40” size US #3/3.25mm circular needle

·OR 1 set of DPNs size US #3/3.25mm

·Stitch markers if you need them (I found they kind of got in the way/interfered with the Fair Isle)

Gauge:

5.5 sts/7 rows = 1” in stockinette stitch.  Make sure you do a gauge swatch!

Size:

Adjustable to the size/length of your palm.  I have the squarest hands in the universe so the mockup of this pattern is very short from wrist to knuckle.

To achieve the correct size, measure around your wrist, around your palm above your thumb, and from your wrist to the base of your middle finger.

The pattern is given for these measurements:

Wrist: 7.5in/19cm

Palm: 8.5in/21.5cm

Wrist to base of finger: 4in/10.16cm

If your palm is wider, you can add stitches onto either side of the chart.

If your palm is longer, you can add more rows of blue in between the cuff and windows, windows and “police box,” “police box” and ribbing, or add more rows of ribbing at the end.  It is entirely up to you!  OR, since the windows in the design are rather square, you can add two rows by lengthening the windows to achieve a more “authentic” look.

Abbreviations:

CO: cast on

k: knit

p: purl

sts: stitches

rnd: round

pm: place marker

MC: main color (blue)

C1: color one (white)

C2: color two (black)

BO: bind off

Instructions:

CO 48 sts, 12 sts on each needle.  Join in round, being careful not to twist sts.

Work in 2×2 rib for 14 rows.

Rnd 1-3: k even.

Begin working flat.

Row 4: p even.

Row 5: k even.

Row 6: p 7, pm, p 34, pm, p7

Rows 7-26: Work chart between the markers, using Fair Isle and stranding the yarn along the back.

Rows 27-28: work two rows even in blue

If you prefer a stockinette edge, continue in stockinette until the desired length is achieved, then BO, leaving a tail of at least twelve inches.

Otherwise, work 2×2 ribbing until desired length is achieved, then BO, leaving a tail of at least twelve inches.

Finishing:

Weave in all strands except the tail from the BO.  Use this tail to seam together the edges at the top, down to wherever is comfortable for your hand.  Weave in the end of that tail, and you’re finished!

Happy knitting!