The Grand-puppy Misses Us!

I haven't posted for a while. The 'Crazy Christmas Craft Craze' was on and, boy, was it a doozy this year! I'll be catching up over the next week, but Spunky posted this picture today and I decided to just do a quick post.

I sent 6 mini-stockings to our daughter, Spunky, who moved far away this fall. We miss her. Apparently her dog does, too.

This is one of the stockings I sent. I think Surry stole it off the tree. Spunky says that she carries it around with her all day! It probably still smells like our house. Surry used to come visit and we would always puppy-sit when her 'parents' were gone camping or on vacation. She loves the farm and our dogs. They get along well and play for hours in the yard.

Once in a while, when they lived closer and I was visiting for a minute or dropping something off, Surry would run out the front door and sit by my car. She wanted to come visit her 'cousins'. So... Spunky would let her get in the car and come with me. Then she would stop by later and pick Surry up.

What a funny puppy!

Next project... done!

Over the weekend I knit three more Christmas stockings for a friend who lives about three hours south of here. She wanted some for her family similar to the ones I knit for my family last year. She bought the yarn, I did the knitting.

Last year I made matching, but opposite coloring, socks. Each couple had the same colors, but the colors were reversed. Each of my children got to choose their two favorite colors. I also knit pairs of stockings for the children who are not married so that when they do get married, I'll already have the stockings for the new couple!

I knit ten more large stockings between last Christmas and today. I knit in the winter when there is no outdoor work to do, since it snowed on Saturday, I had the perfect opportunity to finish up the last three stockings. I had seven done from last year, it was nice to have more than half the project finished when I got back to it this weekend.

I wish I had taken a picture of them. I was so excited to get them done and packed in a box that I forgot the picture. Maybe she will send me a picture when she hangs them on her mantle.

One wonderful thing about winter is I get to work on my indoor projects! I love checking things off my project list!

Little Stocking

My neighbor-niece, CutiePie, came over on Thursday morning to learn how to knit Christmas Stockings on the knitting machine. I spent about 1 1/2 hours teaching her how to use the knitting machine and make a stocking. She is only 10 and the daughter of a dear friend. All her children call me 'Aunt' and my children call her 'Aunt' as well.

CutiePie came over because she wants to help me with a bigger project. In a few weeks we will be having a class on dying wool. My 'brilliant' idea is to have enough mini-stockings knit in white wool so that each child can dye their own stocking! I'm not sure if that will happen since I will need to have 15 stockings made by then. When CutiePie heard my idea she said, "I can help!" So of course I wanted to let her help. Hopefully the learning curve won't take too much time!

We made one mini-stocking on Thursday. When I am knitting by myself, instead of teaching, I can get about 4-5 stockings knit in an hour. It takes me another 10-15 minutes to stitch up the toe and the side of each stocking.

Hopefully one day I will write up my pattern notes into a real pattern that someone else can follow. When I do, I will post it to my blog. For now, here is a photo of the stocking we knit.

This mini-stocking is about 10" long. It isn't too hard to adjust this pattern to make other sizes. The number of stitches cast on is the same as the number of rows for the leg. The number of rows for the cuff is the same as the number of rows for the leg (the cuff is doubled over so it looks as if it has fewer rows).  The number of rows for the foot is 1/2 the number of rows for the leg.

Photo of the inside of a mini-stocking after it has
come off the knitting machine.

  Photo of the right side of a mini-stocking after it has
come off the knitting machine.

When our children were younger I would knit three stockings for each child to give away to their favorite friends for Christmas. The stockings were filled with small candies, pencils, erasers, small toys, or anything else that our children could think of for their friends. When I meet one of my children's childhood friends, they often let me know that they still have the little stockings that were knit for them so many years ago. That brings a smile to my face every time. I'm glad to know that it is something that they treasure and have fond memories of.

Machine Knit Christmas Stockings

This is a pattern I worked up last year, but I thought it would be a good idea to store it here so I could always find it!

Here is a close-up of two of the stockings I made. I think I made over 40 in 2008! Thank goodness for knitting machines!

Materials:
Wool Ease worsted weight wool from Lion Brand. Also some Patton’s wool.

Gauge: 
not really important since these are not meant to fit anyone. I used tension 6 on my mid-gauge Silver Reed knitting machine. Use whatever gauge that gives you a stitch that you like to look at.

• Cast on 48 stitches with scrap yarn using whatever method you prefer.

• Set row counter to 000.

• Using Main Color yarn (MC) Knit leg for 76 rows. Leave carriage on the right if you are knitting the heel on the right. You may knit a solid or stripe pattern. Take MC from the carriage and tuck it under the machine and to the back.

• Put a contrast color (CC) if you want a different color heel, into the carriage.

• Set machine up for partial knitting. You will be knitting on the right side of the stocking, the left side is in hold position.

• Short row heel on right side (it really doesn’t matter what side you knit your heel, it is easiest to pick a side for the heel and toe and stick with it so that all your stockings match). End with carriage on the right. See the end of this post for a description of how I short row.

• Set row counter to 000. Return machine to normal knitting.

• With MC knit foot for 34 rows. Continue stripe pattern. End with carriage on the right. Cut MC yarn if you are using CC yarn on the toe.

• Set machine up for partial knitting. Leave the left half of the needles in hold position. End with carriage on the left so that your tail is by ‘0’. Leave the tail the width of the knitting x 1.5 plus the length of the stocking plus about 5 inches. This tail will be used to kitchener (knit or weave) toe together and sew sides together.

• You should start with the carriage on the right. That means you must either take the carriage off the machine and put it back on the right side, or you might have a lever or switch on your carriage to move it from the left to the right without knitting or dropping stitches.

• Short row toe.

• Knit scrap yarn across all the stitches on the machine and take stocking off the machine.

Production Tip: If you are making more than one stocking, instead of taking the stocking off the machine, knit a row of ravel cord, knit 4 or 5 rows more of scrap yarn. Re-hang the weights above the ravel cord, and start a new stocking. Then pull the ravel cord to separate the first stocking from the second stocking.

For the edging on the top of the sock use size 3 needles, pick up stitches along the top of the stocking. Knit 6 rows of garter stitch starting with the knit side facing you. Bind off.

Kitchener together the toe, sew up the side. (Here are written directions for kitchener stitch.)

Stripe patterns

• The stockings with a narrow/wide stripe pattern use a stripe pattern of MC 10 rows, CC 2 rows. When close to the heel is reached, divide the MC stripe by knitting 6 rows, knit the heel in CC, finish MC stripe with 4 rows. The heel is set into the MC stripe.

• The stockings with a wide stripe use a stripe pattern of MC 10 rows, CC 10 rows. Divide the CC stripe (8th stripe) by knitting 6 rows CC, knit heel with MC, finish CC by knitting 4 rows CC, knit foot.

Every other needle cast-on is done by bringing every other needle forward (other needles are left in non-working position). Set the yarn into the carriage and knit one row. Hang weights or cast-on comb.

• Bring non-working needles forward to the front of the bed so that you have the full number of cast on stitches in working position. Knit one row.

• Bring all needles forward, knit one row.

• Knitting 4 or 5 rows is usually enough to start a stocking.

How I Short Row
There are different techniques for short-rowing. This is the way that I do it. You may have to experiment with different ways before you find one that you like. These directions will take you step by step through a heel or toe for the Christmas stocking.

Step 1 With carriage on the right, change levers on your carriage for short row. The carriage should be on the right. Put all needles left of ‘0’ into hold position (usually this is the furthest position toward you.)

Step 2 Move the carriage from right to left, knitting one partial row (the needles to the left of ‘0’ will not knit.

Step 3 Pull out needle R1 (1st needle to the right of ‘0’ into hold position. Knit one row from left to right. There will be an extra loop on needle R1.

Step 4 Pull out needle R24 (the needle furthest to the right.) Knit one row from right to left.

Continue repeating Step 3 and Step 4 until only ⅓ of the needles are left in work.

Here is the tricky part:

Step 5 Put the needle on the carriage side into hold position, put 2 needles opposite the carriage into work position. Knit 1 row.

Continue repeating Step 5 until all needles to the right of ‘0’ are in work position and carriage is on the right.

Step 6 If you have used a contrasting color of the heel, clip the yarn of the CC and tie off with the other tail where you began. Put MC back into carriage yarn slot, place all levers for normal knitting, change row counter to ‘000’, continue knitting foot.

Here are most of the stockings I knit. There are actually 2 of each stocking-one for our child (in the color they chose) and one for their spouse (whether they are married right now or not).

Here is a PDF version that you can download:
Machine Knit Christmas Stocking pattern