"Réka Knits"

Lovely Ladybugs Toddler Sweater

2011-07-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

I finally edited this pattern, and got it in the right format. Though it is the middle of the summer where I am now, and too hot to even think of knitting sweaters, I had some time to edit it and my page designer had time to get it in the right format. I am posting this for those of you who plan ahead and like looking through patterns for the upcoming fall/winter months and for the knitters from Australia and the rest of the Southern hemisphere, where it is actually winter now.

The edited pattern is available for purchase through Ravelry.

Life... kids...

2011-04-02T22:58:00.001-07:00

this is why I haven't been knitting or blogging for a while... just trying to enjoy my kids before they all grow up...

with my oldest, before his first flight lesson...

my middle child, winning a dance competition...

the baby, riding her bike...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

2011-01-01T11:14:00.001-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year...

Sun Beret

2010-10-01T16:50:00.001-07:00

This pattern was mainly improvised, quite a long time ago, but then since I liked it and others did, too, I wrote it down, edited it, knitted another one and had someone else test knit it for me, too. So it did take a long time, but it's up on Ravelry now, available for $2.00

I Love Knit Picks

2010-09-20T22:32:00.001-07:00

My new Knit Picks yarn just arrived! I am so excited! I can't believe it has taken me this long to actually order something from there... but I'm hooked now! I was nervous about buying yarn before I could touch it... This time it was worth the try! The yarn all looks wonderful and feels sooo soft, especially the baby alpaca! Can't wait to cast on!

Coffee...

2010-09-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Now I can start my day...

Ruffled Scarf

2010-09-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

I finally got together with Cathrine a little while ago! While we were happy to just hang out and catch up (it's been way too long since we've seen each other), we found time to share our latest knitting projects. She showed me a ruffled scarf that she was working on. I was intrigued, amazed about how simple, yet elegant it was, and I was hooked! I'm making the second one! I rarely ever make more than one of the same thing... but this is just too much fun to do; I love short rows!

My Brother's Stone Crop

2010-09-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Like every year, my artist brother, Tibor Egyed, participated in an exhibit of stone crops in Budapest, Hungary. This year his work was selected for the cover of the invitations...

Weekend in Sunset Crater Area

2010-09-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

We camped at Sunset Crater this past weekend. Weather ended up being perfect, though it did get quite windy in the middle of the night... These are just a few of the pictures we took.

here it is... my first pair of socks!

2010-08-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

... my own design, of course...
though I used the heel and toe technique from Ann Budd's book Getting Strated Knitting Socks published by Interweave Press in 2007.

... and it was just another (sad) attempt to make socks....

2010-08-22T13:48:00.001-07:00

So it doesn't look very nice, but it is a sock, even if it's more of a slipper sock... for my mom to wear around the house - or so I thought...

but then sadly I ran out of yarn. So this is what the second sock looks like:

My always supportive husband suggested to go out and get more yarn of the same type. He was even willing to go with me. But he doesn't know about the color problem with different batches of yarn... I've gotten this one a very long time ago, doubt that I would find the same again. Besides, I am done with that yarn, I was just using up leftovers.
So what should this be? Ankle warmer? For now I'm just leaving it as is, had a good laugh about it! Guess socks are still not for me!
Though now it's a challenge an eventually I will make a pair of socks! one day...
After all, someone has called my legwarmer a "glorified sock". Now, if I can make something that is considered a glorified sock (though I hardly think I glorified it, seems to me I said that it was the simplest legwarmer pattern I could imagine), I should be able to make regular socks, too... so I'll keep trying, maybe one day I'll succeed.

... then school started

2010-08-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Our family started high school, middle school and kindergarten on the same day. Of course, none of our children ride the bus this year. Our high schooler is going to a specialty school that we don't belong to, so I'm driving him. We enrolled our kindergartener into an IB school that we don't belong to, so I'm driving her. I am not driving our middle schooler because I'm homeschooling her (and drive her in the afternoon to her dance school)... So it's crazy busy. No time for real knitting....
It's time for socks! Somehow in the middle of all of this I knitted a sock. It took me maybe two hours, after all the kids went to bed Friday night. I needed to relax, and what better way to relax than a new challenge? I didn't use sock yarn, but sport weight wool. I'm almost done with the other one, so this time I'll have a pair! Of course, I'd only wear them if all of a sudden we had to move to Antarctica, but I have them just in case! Just kidding, my mom would love to have these in the winter! Her feet are always cold so she happens to be a warm sock lover (it also helps that her feet are the same size as mine, since the socks fit me perfectly, given the fact that I was trying them on while knitting them)....

Vacation...

2010-08-16T21:36:00.001-07:00

Sorry this blog has been quiet for a few weeks... that's because we were totally "disconnected", on vacation, with no internet, no phone coverage... one of the best vacations ever. I thought I'd share some pics here.

Shells

2010-07-30T22:08:00.001-07:00

Every time I learn a new technique I end up with a washcloth. I can't just make swatches for the sake of having a swatch, it has to have a use.
I wanted to learn this technique for a very long time, finally I found a good dishcloth design with it. The description made sense to me. It's the "Lizard Ridge Dishcloth" from Laura Aylor. You can find it on Ravelry (I tried to post the link here, but for some reason it's not working)

When done, I left the washcloth on the table. The next time I looked at it, it had the shells on it. My five year old placed them there. They looked so good, I had to take this picture.

Legwarmers for my dancer

2010-07-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

.... though she definitely doesn't need them at the moment....

I'll post the pattern as soon as I can write it down : ) it may be a while though... : (

Desert Trails Hat in Knitcircus

2010-07-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

Knitcircus Fall edition is coming out Aug 4th! Again, along with many great designs, it is publishing one of mine: the Desert Trails Hat.
Here is a detail from the picture they will be publishing along with the design. It was taken by the Knitcircus staff:

Here's the link to the magazine, though the new issue is not out until next week... www.knitcircus.com

Here are some pics I took before I sent in the design:

I-Cord Flower Barettes

2010-07-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I felt like making something for the girls, just to decorate some of their plain barrettes. Here are some of the results:

The idea of I-cord flowers is not mine though... I saw a pattern for these type of flowers somewhere online (unfortunately cannot find the site again, if any one of you knows where it is, please let me know so I can link it to this), made into a broch. The idea stuck and when I was making flowers for the barettes, I remembered it... not sure I used the actual pattern though...

They are pretty simple to make, as long as you know how to make I-cords, and have some basic knowledge of sewing. Just make a long enough i-cord to put it together like a flower, make a shorter one out of a different color yarn, roll it like a circle and sew it in the middle of the flower. Attach it to a barrette.

Socks

2010-07-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

Everyone seems to be knitting socks these days... Everyone, except me... I guess I am just not a sock knitter. I tried though.

The first sock I started making turned into this waterbottle cozy.

The second pair was so tiny, it turned into this "banana doll".

Finally, on a long car trip I managed to make a sock that looked like a sock and even fit me. We arrived to our destination before I finished the second one, and later on I never had patience for it again. So I have one sock (not a pair) that I can claim that I made. This is it:

I decided that socks are just not for me. I don't even wear them, why make them anyway? I have bought a lot of sock yarn, but that is turning into a child's dress.

Maybe I will try to knit a pair again sometime and finally succeed and understand why knitters love making them. Until then I'll find other uses for sock yarn.

Name that pattern....

2010-07-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

she buttoned it all by herself... can you tell?

I made this sweater for my little one quite some time ago... I still didn't finish writing down the pattern, mainly because I can't come up with a suitable name (and I usually have little trouble naming patterns).

When I made this I didn't know yet that I was a designer. Two of my friends who are knitters and I decided to get together and knit at the Barnes and Noble coffee shop once a week. This was our first meeting and I had no idea what to knit.

As I was getting ready to walk out the door, I grabbed some yarn from my stash and took it with me. At that point all I knew was that I would make something for my daughter, since I had bought the yarn for her (ok, not exactly, I had bought it for my older one when she was little, but that's another story...).

I cast on as much as I thought I would need for a sweater for a three year old, and started knitting. After a few rows of stockinette, I switched to something else.... I would call it a star pattern. It really felt like I was making up the pattern, and it worked! My friends liked it, and even a stranger, a knitter, who happened to notice us and stopped by, noticed it and commented on how pretty it looked. Now I think that in the back of my mind I must have known this pattern, probably learned it as a kid, or at least saw it somewhere. Anyway, I was in love with my own project. Trouble was, after half the front was almost done, I realized that it would be way too tight, didn't cast on enough or the pattern pulled it together more, somewhat like a cable would. I did not want to frog it or abandon it, so I just continued, while thinking about ways to solve my dilemma. Then it hit me: don't form the underarm, leave it straight, then when I put it together, I can knit more to it sideways. That's what I did, and here is the result.

With a lot of encouragement from my friends - it really helps when someone believes in you! - I started writing down my designs. I have this one in the last stages, as soon as I can name it, it will be (almost) ready. : )

books and knitting....

2010-07-20T11:35:00.001-07:00

No, this is not a new book.... though it is beautiful and extremely helpful for knitters. I've had it for some time now, got it as a present from my father-in-law. He is a wonderful person, if he sees something (especially books) about a subject he knows any of us is interested in, he'll buy it for us. Anyway, I was greatful, but then put the book on the shelf and forgot about it for some time. I just happened to notice it a few days ago and realized what a wonderful resource I have. I love cables so it is the perfect stitch dictionary for me. I'll be using it for some of my next knitted creations.

San Diego

2010-07-18T11:50:00.001-07:00

This really has nothing to do with knitting, but since we just returned from one of our summer vacations, I thought I'd share some pictures from Sea World and San Diego Zoo. It was a very busy week, full days at the amusement parks - we did make it to Legoland and its new Waterpark, too. We need a vacation after this vacation.... The kids had fun though, especially my 5 year old birthday girl. This trip was her b-day present (we all had to "suffer" through it...)

Raspberry Hat

2010-07-17T16:41:00.001-07:00

This is a "feather and fern" based pattern modified for a playful beanie hat. We took it with us when we went camping and both my daughters tried it on, with the matching scarf, these are some of the resulting photos. My daughter named it for me then.

"Does it have a name yet?", she asked. When I answered no, she said "It looks like a raspberry, why don't you just name it raspberry hat?" So I did. I though it playful and fun, just like the beanie itself. It is available for purchase through Ravelry.

Cabled Hat

2010-06-24T09:06:00.001-07:00

This is a new and edited version of the original cabled hat. The pattern includes three sizes. It is geared toward novice knitters who are ready to try cables.

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My first written pattern: Cabled Hat

2010-06-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

So I wrote it down about a year ago.... in my other blog, since this one didn't exist yet. Later I added it to the Ravelry pattern collection. I am very happy that lots of people liked it and made it! I learned a lot from posting this pattern and lots more from the comments of all the people who made it. Thank you all! Now that I've been designing for a while I understand a lot better how much work goes into it. I also learned more about myself. I love creating new things, and I cannot recreate the same thing twice. I always have to change something. That also means that my patterns need even more work and revision than normal people's patterns (but then again, who is "normal"?). I need test knitters and I need a tech editor; when I try to be my own, I mess up. I just submitted a hat pattern to Knitcircus. I thought I had it all figured out, I revised it lots of times, I test knitted it myself about three times, and finally I even asked a friend to test knit it for me. Still, it needs revising. I am soo sad to make the tech editor work so much on my patterns, why can't I do it right the first time? The simple answer is that I am very scattered. This is a fact I just have to live with, I tried changing it, but then I wasn't myself. The other fact is that I don't like following patterns, not even my own, which also goes back to "cannot make the same things twice". I always end up adding something, changing something to make it better, and more often than not the original is better, but by the time I figure that out, it has changed so many times, I have trouble writing it down right again. Sometimes this all makes me just give it up, make one thing for myself or my kids and leave it, don't ever try to share it. But that wouldn't be a challenge then, would it? And I do enjoy it when people comment on things I create and use my patterns to create something that's theirs, their unique version of my vision. So I am learning to be more precise in writing directions, write down patterns for more than one size, etc. The only down side of this is that since I am putting so much effort in this, and I will probably need to compensate my editors, test knitters in some way or another, I won't be able to offer my patterns for free. :-( But then again, they will be worth buying, since I'll be sure that they will be formatted in a way that knitters could follow them. Again, thank you all for the feedback on my first attempts to write down directions for my patterns. Some of them will still be available for free for a limited time. Enjoy them!

Lele's Lilac Beanie in Knitcircus #9

2010-02-01T21:59:00.001-08:00

My daughter's favorite hat is published in Knitcircus #9, spring edition. I made her the lilac beanie last year, in her favorite color. She wore it almost constantly since she first got it... It is great for a tween, very popular among her friends, though I didn't make any for them, to keep it unique... Great for Phoenix winters, and the cooler days of spring in "normal" places, but tweens may wear it just as a fashion statement, like my Lele.....
We are proud to have it published in the Knitcircus collection.

The magazine is all online this time, and it looks great. To read it go to www.knitcircus.com and click on the tiny magazine (the one that’s flipping its pages). Once the issue is up on your screen, you can download a PDF by clicking on the button at the very bottom, in the righthand corner. It’s free to read the articles, and they have a few free patterns to download (the lilac beanie is not free though). You can purchase the entire pattern collection for $7.50, the same price as the former print magazine.

Take a look at it, the least you can do is read some great articles. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Cactus Gloves (fingerless)

2010-01-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

These are matching fingerless gloves for the cactus hat. They have been knitted in the round, starting at the wrist. Perfect thing to keep your fingers warm while knitting with your friends in the cooler months.

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Cactus Hat

2009-12-05T16:21:00.001-08:00

Inspired by the look of the barrel cactus, the hat is knitted in the round, from the bottom up. The special stitches give it a textured, cactus-like look.

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Cables and Stripes

2009-10-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

this photo courtesy of Knitcircus magazine.

I came up with this during one of my knitting club's meetings. I was in a really bad mood, had no idea what to knit, but grabbed some yarn and headed out the door, hoping that getting together with my friends would cheer me up. Of course, it did, it alwasy does!
One of my friends was knitting a vest, in the round, started on the bottom. I thought the idea was ingenious, so I started something similar, at least I took my yarn and cast on enough for me to knit something in the round. After a few rows I switched to cables, just because I like them and made me feel good. Then I even added "holes" to the cables, since living in the desert, I feel that we need it in our garments. It was coming along, and as I was knitting, I was thinking a bit ahead to what it would turn out to be; I knew I wouln't wear a vest, I never do, so that idea was gone before it even started. The only thing I knew was that I would run out of yarn before I could finish it, so as I was talking my issues over with my friends, I came up with this design. It really was born with a lot of input from two of my dear friends!

It is published in Knitcircus magazine, issue #8.

Here's the link to the magazine:

http://www.knitcircus.com/currentissue.html

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Sunshine Twirly Skirt

2009-07-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Skill level: Intermediate

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby in yellow - 1 skein; same in lilac - just enough for a few rows
Needles: circular, US size 5

Size: 4T

Gauge: 1"x1" = 6 sts x 8 rows

Cast on provisionally, with different color yarn, 110 sts.
Work a few rows (about 5 should be enough) in rib sts: K1,P1
Switch to yellow.
Work 14 rows in rib sts: K1 P1 to end.
Next row is worked from first yellow and last rows together: fold the work; then K one sts from fist yellow row, and one sts from last row together, Purl second stitch from first yellow row and second stitch from last row together, repeat to end of row. Carefully cut off the provisional cast-on stitches. You should have a double knit ribbing where you will put elastic in.
Join the work to knit in the round, placing a marker at the end of row.
Next row: you will mark the work for increases: *K7, P1*, repeat to end. You will increase starting next row, in every other row, right before the purl stitch.
Next row: *K6, M1 (K1,P1 in next stitch), P1*, repeat to end.
Next row: knit to end.
next row: *K7, M1,P1*, repeat to end.
next row: knit to end.
continue in this fashion, increasing in every other row before the purl stitch, until skirt measures almost desired lenght
Stop increasing. Start lace pattern: *K3tog three times, then K1,YO three times*, repeat to end of row.
Next row: knit
Repeat lace pattern three times
Switch to lavender.
Continue with lace pattern for 6 rows (repeat of three patterns).
Switch back to yellow.
Knit one row
Purl two rows.
Bind off in purl stitches.
Pull elastic through the top ribbing, and sew it together.

Pattern and photos by Emese Réka Fromm

Please do not resell the pattern. However, you are welcome to use it and even sell garments made following it. If you plan to do this, please contact me and let me know and I would aslo appreciate it if you would give me credit for the pattern. Thank you.

Pointe Work Legwarmers in Blue

2009-07-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy pattern for basic, seamless legwarmers. They are designed to fit around pointe shoes, but you can easily use them without, just make the ribbing for the foot a bit tighter.

They are worked in the round, using 4 double-pointed needles. They could be worked with two circular needles of the same size, if that is your preference for working in the round.

Skill level: beginner.
Needle size: 3
Yarn: Peaches & Creme 100% cotton; 2 skeins
Size: medium - child size 8-10
Gauge: rib sts: 1"x1" = 6 sts x 6 rows
stockinette sts: 1"x1"= 5 sts x 7 rows

Cast on 36 sts, equally divided on three needles: 12sts on each.
PM and join to knit in the round.

Knit in rib sts: K1, P1 for 23 rows, or until work measures 3 inches.
next row bind off 16 sts. knit in rib sts the rest.
next row: cast on (make) 20 sts, continue the rest in rib sts.
Continue knitting in rib sts for 16 more rows.
At the marker, in the new row, switch to stockinette sts: Knit every sts.
Continue knitting in stockinette sts until you reach desired lenght (for this size 21").
Switch to rib sts again (K1, P1) for the last 20 rows.
Bind off in rib sts.

Pattern and photos by Emese Réka Fromm

Please don't resell the pattern. However, you are welcome to use it for personal or charity purposes and even sell garments made following it. If you do the later though, please contact me and I would also appreciate it if you gave me credit for the pattern. Thank you.