Spud says (the blog)

Archive for ‘How To’

April 25, 2010

Stitching a Dream

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

My son helped set up a video shoot of me stitching the Dream Catcher blanket together at my kitchen table. It is shot over several days but is put in fast motion to only last a few short minutes. The video is pretty funny to watch and my only wish is that my hands could actually move that fast. That would be the best thing ever. Enjoy!

I’ll be back in a couple of days with the complete free pattern for the Dream Catcher Baby Blanket. I’m waiting for the sun to appear around my neck of the woods so I can get some sunny photos of the completed project. It has been one rainy weekend.

I’ll also be back this week with some Spud & Chloë color news for our yarn line. You are going to love the new colors coming out in June! I can’t wait to get my hands on the new colorways. The new color names are just as good as the current names if that’s even possible.

I also spotted Spud & Chloë Outer in the new issue of Knitscene Easy, a special edition for 2010 from Interweave Press. The project is by Tanis Gray and is called, Seed Stitch Wristers. Click here for a photo of the Outer Wristers. You will love this project. This is a great issue of Knitscene geared toward quick and simple projects. We all need those now and again.

Have a great start to your week everyone! Until we meet again…

April 19, 2010

Dream Catcher Blanket Tutorials

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

I have 3 video tutorials to help you with the seaming of your blanket squares. I share a few tips along the way and here are some of them written out:

1. For this blanket place all of the squares in the same direction, with the cast on edge at the bottom and bind off edge at the top.

2. Use the ends from the cast on and bind off edges placed on a yarn needle to stitch up the squares whenever possible. If there isn’t an end available where you need it for a certain seam use a cut length of the desired color to stitch the seam.

3. Weave in the ends as you go along. Don’t leave all of the ends until the end. You can easily weave the ends in to the seams on the back of the blanket. It is such a treat to have a clean patchwork blanket when you are done with that last seam.

I usually start of the bottom of the blanket and work my way up to the top of the blanket but you can work any direction you’d like.

I work in little time spurts. I will do several seams and then I get up and do something else and then I come back and complete several more. Eventually you end up with a beautiful patchwork blanket. It feels like magic. It is also very motivating when you see several rows stitched together and you realize how gorgeous the blanket is going to be in the end.

Above you can see how I arranged my squares.

Have fun! After I am finished with the seaming I will be back to put a border on the edges that will give the blanket a clean and finished look.

September 17, 2009

The Purl Stitch

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

Today I am demonstrating how I do the purl stitch. I hope these basic instructional videos are helpful if you are learning to knit, teaching someone else how to knit or maybe it’s just fun to see how someone else works a stitch. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this quick video.

September 2, 2009

Long Tail Cast On

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

In my quest to get as many people knitting as I possibly can and to get more kids knitting, I have shot a few basic knitting video tutorials that I want to start sharing with you. I have been asked a bunch of times to share how I cast on and how I knit and how I purl. I taught myself to knit as a teenager so sometimes I do things a little unconventionally but it all works the same in the end.

I have to admit that in reality I cast on in a kind of funky way but for the video I showed a more traditional method. Maybe later I’ll show how I actually cast on. You may get a kick out of that. I still need to shoot a binding off video, too. Even if you already know how to do all of these initial knitting steps sometimes it is fun to see how someone else does a certain skill. I always learn new things when I watch someone else do just about anything.

Anyway, here is a short video of the long tail cast on and I also share a couple of funny tricks that I use along the way.

Enjoy!

June 22, 2009

Blooms

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Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

Before I went to TNNA, a couple of weeks ago, I quickly whipped up 9 tiny flowers in our Spud & Chloë Fine. My goal was to make my store-bought cardigan a bit more special. I think it worked. A little flower here and there is always a good thing.

If you want to add a flower or two to something or other here is the simple pattern for you to follow.

Blooms

Yarn: Spud & Chloë Fine (80% superwash wool, 20% silk), a tiny bit in each color, Popcorn #7800, Glow Worm #7801, Clementine #7802, Dachshund #7803, Cricket #7804, Anemone #7805, Calypso #7806, Tutu #7807, Sassafras #7808

Crochet hook: Size 1

Chain 4 and join to form a ring with a slip stitch.

Chain 1. Single crochet 8 into the ring. Join the round with a slip stitch.

*Chain 4. Slip stitch in the next stitch.* Repeat from * to * 9 times to make 9 petals. Join the round with a slip stitch.

Cut the yarn and pull it through the stitch. Weave in the end to the wrong side if not using it to attach to another item

That’s it! How simple is that? Now, I used a needle and thread to stitch my Blooms on my cardigan. If you are going to stitch your Blooms on something you knitted or crocheted leave a longer tail and use that threaded on a yarn needle to whip stitch on. I left the petals free and stitched around the center.

Let me think of all of the things, knit or store-bought, you could flower up in style:

bags, sweaters, hats, blankets, hairbands, headbands, barrettes, buttons (if you made the ring bigger the flower could fit around a buttonhole and the button could pop through the center when buttoned up), scarves, gloves, mittens, dish towels, napkins, etc. This list could go on forever.

Have fun. Flower power rules!

June 16, 2009

Spud & Chloë Pattern Box Folding 101

Hi Spud & Chloë Yarn Friends,

I’ve put together a video tutorial on how to fold the pattern box to hold the Spud & Chloë patterns. The steps are simple on the instruction sheet included but sometimes it just helps to see someone do the thing you are trying to do, right? With that being said, here is the video. Let me know if you have any further questions on the box.