Tag Archives: j&v baby camel

indian cross stitch

Don’t throw the pa-ast away You might need it some rainy day Dreams can come true again When everything old is new again – Peter Allen, Everything Old is New Again lyrics THE LO-DOWN indian cross stitch is one of those stitches that we consider a minor miracle.  it’s the same on both sides, works up quickly and is quite a bit easier to execute once you get the hang of things than it may seem. we’ve provided a step-by-step tutorial to illustrate the tricky…

Read More »

very un-queen of hearts

  I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland   THE LO-DOWN sometime around valentine’s day, we picked up a bit of yarn that we had lying around and started futzing around to make a heart pattern.  we started with one colour knits & purls and constructed…

Read More »

mr. centipede’s crossed stitch

“My friends, this is the Centipede, and let me make it known He is so sweet and gentle that (although he’s overgrown) The Queen of Spain, again and again, has summoned him by phone To baby-sit and sing and knit and be a chaperone When nurse if off and all the royal children are all alone.” – Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach   THE LO-DOWN this two row repeat is easy to remember and just as fun to stitch.  it makes a fun…

Read More »

cabling in the land of illusions

  A couplet in smaller characters was inscribed vertically on either side of the arch: Truth becomes fiction when the fiction’s true; Real becomes not-real where the unreal’s real – Cao Xueqin, The Story of the Stone: Vol 1 THE LO-DOWN we love cables! but often times, we find that faux cabling fits life on the go a bit better (no bothering with a cable needle when riding on a train, plane or automobile).  this faux cable stitch is really a simple rib stitch with…

Read More »

double, double

Double, double toil and trouble Fire burn, and cauldron bubble – William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, Sc. I: Three witches   THE LO-DOWN whenever you spy seed stitch (or point de riz, as the french would say), double seed stitch is never very far behind with all the confusing nomenclature in tow.  double seed stitch is sometimes known as double moss stitch; moreover, there’s  a similar knit pattern, except that it features a “K2, P2” repeat, which sometimes goes by double seed stitch as well. …

Read More »

warrior wicker

The strongest of all warriors are these two—Time and Patience. – Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, War and Peace THE LO-DOWN wicker stitch (aka criss cross stitch) is kind of like a hybrid between a cross stitch and a 2 stitch cable.  no cable needle is required to make this stitch; however, the tightness of the stitch does make the knitting process a bit more challenging.  the wicker pattern produces a surprisingly dense, rigid and unyielding fabric — we kind of imagine it to be perfect for…

Read More »

seeds of time

If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not, Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear – William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 1, Sc. 3: Banquo THE LO-DOWN known in the US as seed stitch,  our cousins across the pond sometimes refer to this stitch as moss stitch, which back on our side of the pond, is something we call double seed stitch.  our minds go dizzy trying to keep the different names for…

Read More »