Lucky leprechaun mug hug

"To-go" coffee cup lids have always reminded me of little hats and when I saw this houndstooth-check stoneware cup with the little black "top hat" lid at Michaels, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, what better way to drink your Irish coffee than in a mug wrapped in a leprechaun mug hug in colors of the Irish flag? 

Lucky Leprechaun Mug Hug

Size: 4 inches tall for a 16 oz. mug

Materials

• 24-peg round Knifty Knitter loom
• Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Paddy Green, White and Pumpkin; Black for embroidering face
• Yarn needle

Instructions

(Decrease rows in each section for a smaller cup or mug)

1. With two strands of green held as one, cast on using chain cast on method.
2. Work garter stitch pattern (alternating between flat knit rows and purl rows, ending on a knit row). The green area should measure between 1 inch and 1.25 inches, or about 4 garter stitch ridges.
3. Change to white and flat knit for about 12 rows or 2 inches
4. Change to orange and work the garter stitch pattern as in Step 2. (You should have the same number of garter stitch ridges in orange as you did for the green, but I got sidetracked and added an extra one on mine...oops!)
5. Work a loose basic chain bind off by knitting peg-1 and peg-2 to begin; move the loop from peg-1 to peg-2 and knit the bottom loop over the top loop; return the loop to the original peg. *Working with pairs of pegs and the working yarn at the first peg, knit the second peg and return it to the first peg, knit the bottom loop over the top loop and return it to the second peg.* Repeat between *'s until all pegs have been removed from the loom.
   (Note: When using this method to bind off, I immediately replace each "bind off stitch" back on the empty peg as a "spacer loop" to avoid a "too tight" bind off edge and continue the bind off procedure. After completing the bind off, I remove all the "spacer loops" from the pegs. This results in a bind off that closely matches the cast on edge tension.)
6. Finishing:
   Beard: Use 12 pegs, one strand of orange and chain cast on, work the following modified chain bind off:  *flat knit three times on first peg, one time on the second, return the loop from the second peg to the first and knit one-over-one; return the loop to the second peg; tighten the stitches after each bind off. Repeat from * until bind off is complete on all pegs. Using the picture as guide, whip stitch the beard in place.
   Face: With black, embroider two French knots for eyes and a "V" shaped mouth. Thread the yarn needle with white and embroider a "puffy" nose by working loosely back and forth in the ladders between knit stitches.
   Tie off and secure all the yarn tails.

Little Hearts Shamrocks

Here's another quick little St. Paddy's Day project based on the Little Hearts pattern from the previous post.

All you need for these sweet little shamrocks is the directions for the Little Loom-knit Hearts with the following modifications:

• Use one strand of green on any of the following: 12-peg Flower Loom or either end of the Knifty Knitter or Boye spool loom. 
• Make the hearts following the general directions for the Little Hearts, but to prevent curling work purl stitches on the odd rows and knit stitches on the even row. Also, on the purl row you need to flat knit the last stitch to retain a nice chain edge when slipping the next row. 
• If you are using the 8-peg end of the spool loom, you will need adjust the bind off edge so the point of the heart is formed between pegs 4 and 5. When making these on the 5-peg end of the spool loom, I leave off the extra chain stitches near the beginning and end of the rows and work the heart point between peg-2 and peg-3. This results in a shamrock leaf that is a little off-center, but they still look pretty good (see center shamrock pictured above).
• Make three "heart-shaped" leaves. Turn the leaves upside down and place them back on the loom using the small opening at the point of the hearts and three pegs on the loom. Attach a new strand of green yarn to the pegs and work a 3-stitch I-cord, tightening the tension after each stitch, until the stem is about 1 to 1.5 inches long. Shape the leaves and secure all yarn tails.
• Add a pin or a magnet to use as a fridgie to the back.

Now, wear your shamrock and pour yourself some Irish coffee in celebration! I leave you with this toast:

May your troubles be less,
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness,
Come through your door.

Little loom-knit hearts

Here they are, under the wire for Valentine's Day, I give you my "Little Loom-Knit Hearts".  I have admired all those cute little crocheted hearts that I've seen out there on the Net and just knew there must be a way to create them on the loom. I kicked that thought around for a several years, but the more I tried to "think" it through, the more elusive the solution seemed to be. So, yesterday when I wasn't consciously thinking about much of anything (a habit of late), I had an "loomy heart" epiphany. I had to wait until bedtime to try it out, but as evident from the little red heart in the middle of the above heap, everything worked to my "heart-felt" satisfaction. I'm sorry these arrived so late, but epiphanies seem to ignore scheduled appearances. 

To proof my instructions, I whipped off about ten more of these bad boys to go with the two initial red hearts I made last night. However, once you get started, you are sure to have a "heart-attack", because these things are habit forming. I kept wanting to make one in pink, another in yellow, lavender, or white, etc. and the next thing I knew I had a dozen little hearts in no time at all. I'm including the general directions in this blog post with hopes your enjoy these as much as I have.

Little Loom-Knit Hearts Instructions

Size: 2 inches (size can be altered 1/4 inch in either direction by adding or decreasing rows)

Materials

12-peg Knifty Knitter Flower Loom

Small amount of worsted weight yarn (use two strands as one)

Crochet hook - size G 

Instructions

(Note: These instructions are written from the perspective of the pegs being numbered in a counterclockwise direction.)

1. CO using drawstring cast on method. (Note: The original instructions for the drawstring cast on are listed in the right sidebar. I do this a bit differently now, but the original instructions should work.)
2. Rows 1-2: Flat knit both rows in rounds.
3. Row 3: With the working yarn at peg-12, slip the current peg and flat knit from peg-11 back to peg-1.
4. BO: Begin bind off by slipping peg-1, flat knit peg-2 and move the loop to peg-1; knit bottom loop over the top loop and return the loop to peg-2.
5. Bring the working yarn counterclockwise in front of peg-2 and across peg-3 to flat knit both pegs; move the loop from peg-3 to peg-2, knit the bottom loop over the top loop and return loop to peg-3.
6. Continue binding off pegs 3-5 as outlined in Step 4 and stop when pegs 1-5 are empty and the working yarn is at peg-6
7. With the working yarn at peg-6, bring the yarn in a clockwise direction from behind the peg, flat knit one stitch and repeat for a total of two stitches. Tighten the stitch and reverse the yarn in a counterclockwise direction (still on peg-6), flat knit two more stitches. (Reversing the direction creates the bottom point of the little heart.)
8. Proceed with the bind off again following the basic procedure outlined in Step 4. Stop when the working yarn is at peg-10 and pegs 1-9 are empty.
9. With the working yarn at peg-10, repeat the procedure in Step 5 to add a little extra stitch to the curved edge of the heart top.
10. Finish the basic bind off on the last peg and flat knit an extra stitch before cutting the ending yarn tail and pulling it through the last stitch.
11. Finishing: Cinch the drawstring cast on opening shut with the beginning yarn tail on the right side of the heart. Use a crochet hook to pull the drawstring tails to the wrong side, then bring the yarn tail over the top indention and back through the center to the wrong side again and tighten to close the cast on edge. (You may want to leave a small opening or cinch it completely shut - it up to whatever appeal to you. You can see examples of both methods below.) Next, hook the ending yarn tail at the base of the ending stitch and pull it to the wrong side. Finish by tying the beginning and ending yarn tails in a square knot. Trim and secure the yarn tails.

Now, make a whole garland of these cuties in all the colors of the rainbow or just make one or two to wear as a pin and a token of your love! Happy Valentine's Day!

Hot lips tawashi...showered in kisses

My hubby had to take a business trip to Uruguay last month and since most of the hotels there do not furnish bath cloths, I decided to make a special tawashi for him so he could remember how much I love him while he was away. The results is my "Hot Lips Tawashi", which was inspired by my daughter's Hot Lips Phone that she had as a teenager about twenty years ago.

This tawashi was was designed in garter stitch for the 24-peg large gauge round loom using two strands of Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Red. In lieu of a written pattern for this project, I decided to do a chart; however, I will try to clarify a few things in the following notes:

• The numbers at the bottom of the chart represent the pegs and go from left to right.
• The numbers along the left side indicate the rows. It is strongly suggested that you print off the chart and check each row as you complete it so you don't get lost.
• Cast on is done using a crochet or chain cast on starting on peg-8 and ending on peg-16.
• The first stitch in each row is slipped (sl1) leaving a nice chained effect along the edge.
• Shaping is done by lifted increases (li), slip slip knit (ssk), and knit two together (k2tog).
• The embroidery and hanger loop, done in white or pink, is a crocheted chain. The lip line is formed by pinning and stitching the chain in place.
• To further accentuate the "heart-shaped" upper lip, a strand of yarn is used to gather the mid-top of the lips as indicated on the chart. 

The "Hot Lips Tawashi Chart" may be accessed by clicking on the title at the beginning of this sentence or from the Pattern Box in the right sidebar. Once the project is underway it works up very quickly. So, knit one up for your sweetie and "shower your Valentine in kisses" on this special day!

2011 projects at a glance

 

Taking the lead from June Gilbank from PlanetJune, I decided to make a photo montage of most of the projects I have completed during 2011. I say "most" of the projects, because this montage does not include eight baby hats I designed for Simplicity Creative Group. Also, not included are three UFO projects (Christmas Hat for my grandson, a baby blanket, an adult turtleback shrug) and another project that I have initiated in the past few days. 

As you may have noticed, many of the projects pictured have not been featured in past blog posts. Copyright issues have become such a problem, that I refrain from posting many things that I would have gladly shared in the past. While I have never charged for anything, I do expect to be given credit when credit is due.

So, what's in store for 2012? I have no idea! I quit making resolutions many years ago, because I tend to be a "spontaneous" person who works on whatever inspires me at any given moment. If I make resolutions, I feel locked into a predetermined set of goals, laying inspiration aside, and then when the year is over I feel like a complete failure when I don't meet my original expectations.

So stay tuned and see what "mania" Loom Lore's wild ride will take in 2012.

Holiday projects

I've been busy designing baby hats for Bernat, so I've not had much time for personal knitting. However, before the holidays zipped on by, I wanted to post some pictures of some of the little items I've done on the side over the past month or so. Unfortunately, I don't have time to include pattern instructions, but perhaps you can look at them for your own loom knitting inspiration.

Santa face pin or fridgie

Every since I first spied these crocheted Santa face motifs a couple of years ago, I've wanted to make something similar on the knitting loom. Well, I finally sit down and figured one out. I used 12 pegs of the 24-peg Knifty Knitter large gauge round loom for the most part with one strand of Red Heart Super Saver yarn. The mini-pompoms for the hat and nose were completed using a four-prong fork.  These are so much fun to make!

Loom knitted snow flakes

The Yahoo Spoolknitter Group recently had a Snowflake Competition. There were some really creative snowflakes made mostly with I-cords. The following include some of my experiments:

Two more berets 

I did these berets back in late October. Both were done on the Knifty Knitter large gauge round loom using one strand of chunky Loops & Threads Charisma. The gray one is based on a DROPS design called Basque.

The red beret below is an original design for a basic beret. Both berets are made sideways using short rows, but the brims are made after adding the body of the completed hat back to the loom.  

Make your holidays be bright and joyful!!