Less The Life-Size

 min i a ture    | ˈmi-nē-ə-ˌchu̇r, |  n.   a replica of something of a much smaller size than normal.

Every year I give a Christmas ornament to my grandsons.  This started years ago with my nieces and nephews, so it only seemed natural that I should do this for my grandchildren, too.  I can't believe I must admit this, but I have NEVER given a knitted ornament that I made!  Well, I've corrected that this year.  I've been knitting ...

  Mini Christmas Stocking Ornaments

(click to go to a printable pattern)

They are fast (it takes me about an hour and half, start to finish) and fun and cute!  And, especially for my Minnesota sister who hates knitting in the round on dpns, these socks are knitted flat with a seam along the bottom of the foot and back of the cuff.   The possibilities for variation are endless -- incorporate Fair Isle or intarsia patterns, use interesting pattern stitches or stripes.  You can even vary the size simply by changing the yarn and needles.

The base pattern uses a lightweight (weight 3) yarn and US size 4 needles.  The finished sock is about 5" long.

I also did a few smaller stockings using sock yarn with US size 2 and 3 needles.  

I plan to "fill" the stockings with a small toy or a candy cane.  

Working in the miniature inspired me to try something else in a small scale.  This was fun, but ... seriously ... winding tiny balls of yarn is HARD -- not to mention knitting on toothpicks! 

Have some fun trying to work in the miniature.  -K

access |ˈakˌses|  n.  the action or process of obtaining or retrieving information stored in a computer's memory.




I've been doing some upgrades, fixes and changes to this blog -- mostly "behind the scenes" kind of stuff.   I found out my blog has been getting a lot of "hits" from Ravelry.  And with those hits come comments.  A consistent comment has been a request to have the patterns in a printable document format.

After consideration of a number of ways to achieve this, I've settled on using Google Documents.  The slow process of converting the patterns to Google Docs has begun.  As they are done, I'm inserting a connecting link and taking out the text of the pattern.  This will save a lot of space, while making it easier for anyone to print out the patterns.

I hope to have the rest of the patterns converted over the next few weeks.

Re-calculating

cal·cu·late | kal’ kye lāt |     v.   1. To ascertain by computation; reckon:  2. To make an estimate of; evaluate:  3. To make for a deliberate purpose; design:

Summer is over and with the return of fall, I return to my knitting.  I always think I'll knit just as much through the summer, but that never actually happens.  Gardening and baseball and barbeques all distract me. 

One thing I did do, however, was to revise my pattern for the Toddler Neck-Down Pullover .  It came to my attention that my numbers didn't add up right.  I re-calculated and revised the numbers; then I added instructions for two more sizes.  The pattern now ranges from 12 months to 5T.  I have knitted each of the new sizes (4T and 5T) to test them and they fit accurately.

So to end my summer sabbatical from blogging, I offer the new and improved pattern!

TODDLER NECK-DOWN PULLOVER

(click to link to the pattern in a printable Google Doc.)