Facial Features vs. Featureless

Posted on August 30, 2013 by jackiees

For my design of Kitty In Your Lap Towel, I left the facial features to the viewer’s imagination. I usually like the minimalist approach when it comes to adding facial features vs. not, but you might prefer to add them.

For example, here is a knitted bunny without features. Do you miss them? Or can you just imagine them according to your mood?

Knitted Bunny from a Square

Or maybe you feel more comfortable seeing the facial features actually in place such as on this little knitted teddy bear.

Knitted teddy bear

If you’d like to add facial features to your Kitty Towel, you can use tapestry needle and contrasting light weight yarn or thread to embroider eyes, nose, mouth and whiskers. You might want to first try sketching on paper some different positions, eye angles, cat whiskers, etc. that will give your kitty the desired expression. The various playful cats pictured on this month’s prize giveaway, the “Feline Friends” tea towel, can give you ideas and help as a guide. Have fun!

Feline Friends Irish Linen Towel

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Beyond the Holes of Lace

Posted on August 27, 2013 by jackiees

I hope you’ve found that Kitty In Your Lap Towel is an easy to follow and enjoyable “moose lace” project. For beginners, it should be a nice experience in lace since it is on larger needles with larger yarn than the typical lace. Even more experienced lace knitters can enjoy knitting moose lace. Who says that lace has to always be knit on tiny needles with teensy yarn/thread, lol?

The resting rows (i.e. alternating plain knit/purl rows without lace patterning) can help to move things along smoothly. It’s another plus for beginners, and even for the more experienced wanting a knitting project where we can “zone out” now and then.

In its most elemental form, lace is just a bunch of holes arranged into a pleasing pattern. For example, here is a simple graphic of the Kitty In Your Lap Pattern showing the lace holes only.

Rectangular Kitty In Your Lap

I think that what makes lace design so intriguing beyond just the holes is the texture that complements the lace. The slant of the compensating decreases, and other twists and turns of the stitches in the fabric create an extra dimension of interest.

My kitty lace motif above was inspired by Dorothy Reade’s “Peruvian Cat”. Although I never actually met Dorothy, she definitely was an inspiration in my introduction and upbringing in lace. Most significantly, in her designs I noticed how she liked to make a k1tbl 2 rows above where a yarn over had been made. It is a subtle detail that gives a bit more definition/sharper line above the yarn overs than if just working a plain k1. This is because the k1tbl twists the loop of the stitch just below it, therefore giving a firmer line to the upper part of the yarn over hole.

Kitty In Your Lap Towel

Kitty In Your Lap Towel

Making a k1tbl 2 rows/rounds above a yarn over is a technique that I introduced in the Pretty Awesome Yarn Pouch project earlier this year. For a discussion of it there, see the “A Subtle Detail” section of Part 2 of Knitting the Lace Edging of Pretty Awesome Yarn Pouch.

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Kitty Spa Cloth

Posted on August 25, 2013 by jackiees

I had yarn left over from making my Kitty In Your Lap Towel and decided to make a companion wash cloth to coordinate with the towel.

“Spa Cloth” is just a fancy term for a wash cloth. In keeping with the feline community, somehow it sounds more dignified. We want to keep the kitties happy, right?

Using the same yarn type and needle size/gauge as in the Lap Towel pattern, this smaller cloth comes out to about 8.5″ square. I used just slightly less than 45 yards.

Kitty Spa Cloth

Since the spa cloth is smaller than the original lap towel, I planned the garter stitch border to be narrower. But still needed wide enough to control the kitty motif stockinette fabric square against curling.

Here are the terse instructions for how I revised the original Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern to make this smaller Spa Cloth —

Overview: Simply put, I worked just the center kitty motif with a slightly narrower border.

Cast on 3 + 31 + 3 = 37 sts.

Begin each row with sl 1 wyif, k2.

Begin and end the spa cloth with 3 garter stitch edging rows (instead of the 5 rows called for in the Lap Towel pattern).

Work the center 31 sts of the Kitty Area chart on the center 31 sts of the non-garter border rows. I worked rows 1 – 43 for the kitty motif.

p.s. Next time, I think I will work through row 45 to give a little bit extra space above the ears before doing the upper garter stitch edging. What do you think?

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Square Version of Kitty In Your Lap pattern

Posted on August 23, 2013 by jackiees

With a simple change in the pattern instructions for Kitty In Your Lap, you can easily convert the rectangular towel shape into a smaller square lap cloth or pillow top.

Square Kitty In Your Lap To do a square 13″ x 13″ lap cloth version, you’ll only need about 125 yards if you are looking for quicker project or have limited amount of yarn.

You’ll start off the same as in the pattern instructions, so no need to even decide until you have completed the 48 rows of the Kitty Area. Then, skip the Plain Area instructions of the pattern, and go immediately to working rows 3 – 9 of the Cat’s Paw Border. Continue from there as given in the pattern.

I intentionally set up the border vs. kitty area vs. plain area of the pattern sections in a way that could be described and done with minimal changes to the pattern instructions. Kudos to suzismf who already caught onto this earlier this month and completed a cute kitty square lap cloth the same day the pattern was available for download! Thanks to her for posting a picture and notes here on her Ravelry project page.

I hope this gives you additional ideas of ways you can enjoy the Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern. Stay tuned … I have a Spa Cloth version to coordinate with the Towel that I will post in the next day or two.

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Win this delightful Feline Friends Irish linen towel

Posted on August 12, 2013 by jackiees

To go along with the theme of this month’s Kitty in Your Lap KAL pattern, for August’s prize drawing I am giving away a delightful “Feline Friends” towel.

Feline Friends Irish Linen Towel

This towel is 54% Irish linen / 46% cotton, with pictures of 9 playful cats surrounded by a border of yarn. The towel measures approximately 20″ by 30″.

Enter now to win

Be sure to stop by the Prize Giveaway page to see how to enter. A random drawing  will be held September 1, 2013. Good luck to you!

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Oops — corrected pattern

Posted on August 10, 2013 by jackiees

I hate when this happens and I can only blame it on myself for incorrectly typing in the changes that were marked on the editing proof of the Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern. Serves me right for getting behind this month and then rushing to get the pattern out. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience.

I’ve made the corrections the pattern that is available for download (and it also has been changed for any premium members who already had put the pattern in their Ravelry library).

If you had already downloaded the pattern (B11-3212), you can either re-download the corrected version (B11-3228), or mark up your copy with the following changes to the written instructions on pages 2 and 3 –

Kitty Area

Rows 7,15,23,31,39,47: there should be a k1 between the first two k1tbl’s rather than a yo.

Row 33: the first “(” should be before the K2tog (not before the K2togtbl).

Plain Area

Row 7: there should be a k1 between the first two k1tbl’s and last two k1tbl’s rather than a yo.

The charts are correct.

Thanks so much to Sue and Ellen for letting me know about the typos.

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Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern now available

Posted on August 10, 2013 by jackiees

Thank you for your patience while I caught up between summer travels. As promised a couple days ago in the August KAL Kick Off post, the pattern for Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern is now available. Yay!

Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern sample cover page

Click picture to enlarge

For a limited time, KnitHeartStrings members can download the pattern for free. So hurry, don’t wait to get the pattern. And do share this news with your kitty-loving knitting friends, too, so they won’t miss out. This free offer expires the end of this month, August 2013.

Get the Kitty In Your Lap Towel pattern now and let’s start knitting!

p.s. To go along with the theme of this month’s Kitty in Your Lap KAL pattern, for August’s prize drawing I am giving away a delightful “Feline Friends” Irish linen towel.

Feline Friends Irish Linen Towel

August prize giveaway for
Feline Friends Irish Linen Towel

Check it out here along with how to enter to win.

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