Flower Cushion, KN Issue 60

So the latest issue of KnitNow hit the shops yesterday, do you have your copy? did you spot my Flower Cushion Pattern?

It would usually be a perfect pattern for Spring but with this crazy weather we are having maybe we should still be on winter theme knits, its crazy that a few weeks ago i was posting about our long walk and then these past few days I've woken up to snow on my car and had to dig my winter coat back out!

Anyway hopefully it wont last much longer, im ready for some nice weather, weekend walks, al fresco eating and eveining fire pits.

But if you've not had chance to pick up your copy yet, here it is, my Flower cushion pattern, this photo is one taken from the magazine and i have got to credit Dominic Crolla and Daniel Walmsley for the fantastic photo,

The cushion is knitted using Cygnet Superwash yarn, its a yarn i have used for a few patterns including my his and hers childrens pajama cases and my love a hug bear, its such a good versatile yarn. it comes in such a good range of colours too and it very resonably priced!

If you fancy giving this pattern ago then a have a few tips to help you get a good finish, the first one is the joining, there is nothing worse than spending so long knitting the piece but then rushing the joining, not done properly can really detract from the qulity of the finished piece. So with this in mind make sure you use the matress method to join the sides. Matress stitch is a very commonly used join and is perfect for joining two pieces of stockinette stitch, it is usually used on jumper seams etc.

Matress Stitch Instructions:
You need to pull the two pieces together I always use stitch markers to hold them in place

using the bar you will find inbetween the edge V, heres a photo to hopefully show you what i mean;

And here you can see the finshed effect;

Attaching the Petals:
You should have no issues following the instructions with in the Magazine for the joining ofthe petals but if you are more of a visual person you may find these help;

So once you have all 5 petals and you have threaded the yarn through the stitches you need to thread the yarn back through the first petal

Then place this over once of the flower centers and pull tight - VERY TIGHT to make sure it is secure and can't be pulled off.

If you have a go at making this i would love to see your photos, you can either link your project to this pattern in ravelry or if your on instagram, use the hashtag #owlinstitches

Thanks!

Love Lace . . .

. . .  not so much . . .  well not so much after my latest commission anyway . . . this commission was to purely knit the garment from the pattern provided.

Don't get me wrong lace knitting looks fantastic and in small amounts I enjoy knitting it but this was a scarf . . . a loooong scarf! 

So what is lace knitting - it is basically a combination of knitted stitches that create holes with in the work to create a pattern, these holes are made by doing a combination of stitches such as k2tog and YO; The YO creates the hole by creating the extra stitch so the k2tog is done to ensure the stitch count stays the same.

The great thing about lace knitting is the most simplest stitch pattern can look so complex, the worst thing about lace knitting is you must concentrate, the last thing you want to have to do is undo a row - picking up stitches when the row is made up of k2togs, YO's, ssk's is not fun at all! So that's why when it came to this pattern I only did it when I knew I have time to sit down get stuck and not get distracted, after a while because the pattern was repetitive I was able to remember the stitches and speed up, it took me 10 separate sessions to complete it in the end and if you follow me on Twitter you would have seen the progress . . . here is a couple of snap shots :)

But honestly don't let my moan put you off, lace knitting is always set to impress and there are some lovely patterns out there from edging on a hat or is your feeling adventurous why not knit a whole wedding dress (I cant say that thought ever crossed my mind).