It’s up! This Little Ziggy has debuted on KnitPicks. It can be knit for sizes 2T and 4T. Do you have a cute little munchkin who needs a little Ziggy pizazz?
Also in the KnitPicks department, I’ve heard from some of you that my Lacy Entrelac Infinity Scarf is in the current KnitPicks catalog. I haven’t received mine yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing it!
Go, me! And no, I haven’t forgotten the vacay photos. Just waiting for the Lantern Moon contest to close…
Posted in Knit, pattern design
Tagged entrelac, knitpicks, lacy entrelac infinity scarf, This Little Ziggy
I couldn’t help myself. I saw the leftover yarn sitting there, and it called my name. Knitted Wit’s Polwarth Wool/silk DK blend is so lovely to knit with; I couldn’t walk away!
I’m glad I gave in. The hat is so cute, and will fit sizes 2-4T. As you can see from the pictures, we checked! I’ve amended the Ravelry version of This Little Ziggy to include the hat. The price of the pattern is now $6 because it includes vest and hat, but if you use the coupon code “ziggiest” at checkout before November 7, the pattern is $2 off, which takes it back to the pre-hat price of $4 (but includes the hat). The simplest way to do this is to use this link, and the code will be applied for you.
The KnitPicks version will sell for $3.99, but the hat pattern is not included in that version, since I’ve already sent it off for publication. I’ll let you know when that goes live, too.
To hat, or not to hat? That is the question! And do you want a separate pattern for just the hat? I can make that happen, too!
And a grand time was had by all. It was a glorious sunny fall day.
I needed to take some pictures of another vest, and o was the perfect model.
His Papa helped, too!
I’m so blessed to know Lorajean. I love designing with her beautiful yarns, and her family is delightful.
Oh, this is the airplane knitting I showed you before! There was even a warm cookie involved. First class rocks.
This is all to let you know that the This Little Ziggy pattern is live! You can go here for more details, if you’d like to knit your own.
Now I have lots of swatching, and nothing on the needles! What’s on your needles?
Last year, Deb Accuardi of Pico Accuardi Dyeworks asked me if I’d like to design a pattern for her new calendar project. Yes, of course! The datebook was to feature 12 patterns in Pico Accuardi Dyeworks yarns, and 12 areas in Oregon. I asked for blue yarn and the Oregon Coast for my project, which is the Rockaway 2-Way Beach Beanie/Cowl (Ravelry link). It’s the August pattern in the datebook, Created in Oregon: A Knitter’s Datebook 2012.
Other contributors include Leigh Radford, Sivia Harding, Kristin Spurkland, Judy Becker, Larissa Brown, Shannon Squire and Emily Williams. The datebook is now available from Pico Accuardi Dyeworks, and through several yarn stores in the Portland area. I know Twisted and Urban Fiber Arts has them. They’ll also be available at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this weekend in the Carolina Homespun booth, along with yarn kits for the calendar projects. You can get your datebook signed by Deb from 3-5 at the Carolina Homespun booth, and for even more fun, there’s a reception with authors and contributors for this book and several other new knitting books from Oregon authors on the lawn at 5 p.m. I’ll be there, and hope to see you then.
Here’s the backstory on my design. I go to Rockaway, Oregon at the coast every year with a group of friends for Crafty Moms weekend. There’s nothing like a sea breeze and a perfect view to clear the mind and inspire creativity!
Hat shown in Pico Accuardi Dyeworks Worsted, Rodgie’s Midnight Dancing on the left; cowl shown in Dream in Color Classy, Deep Seaflower Blue on the right.
The lacy pattern at the top and bottom edges creates a scalloped edge reminiscent of the Pacific Ocean’s waves. The elongated lattice pattern at the center makes the most of the hand-dyed yarn’s variegated loveliness. At the coast, you never know if you’ll need a little warmth or a lot, so this piece can be worn as a hat, or as a cowl.
Please excuse my semi-stern look; the sun was very bright on this February day. Many thanks to Laurie Nelesen for taking my picture; I can’t be the model and the photographer at the same time! (None of the other Crafty Moms wanted to model for me. Go figure…)
Are you coming to OFFF? I hope to see you there! I’ll be helping Lorajean of Knitted Wit set up her booth on Friday, and I’ll be around on Saturday and maybe Sunday, too. You can find my patterns and a new design (more on that tomorrow) in the Knitted Wit booth!
I’ve resisted buying a swift and ball winder for a long time. I usually have my yarn wound at my local yarn store, a skein at a time. (Fear of commitment? wouldn’t want to wind them all, in case they don’t cooperate with my vision for them.) But when my Aunt Rose visited this summer, she insisted on buying both of these for me. And I have to say, I’ve used them a lot this week!
Since CollegeDude2 is off to university on the other side of the country, I thought I’d use his room as a knitting studio. His futon bed has converted into a comfortable sofa, and his desk is now my desk, which doubles as a winding station. (There’s a lot more clearing out to do, but half of the room is now mine.)
Lorajean at Knitted Wit had a brainstorm for a project: She asked me to design a toddler vest to go in a kit with her yarn. Check out the cute colors! And the swift and winder turned them into this.
The first vest is done; here’s a sneak peek at the edging. Full reveal after I get some cute action shots!
So thanks to Aunt Rose for the great tools, to Lorajean for the opportunity to come up with something fun, and to CollegeDude2 for the use of his room! I’m getting a lot more done now that I have this cool corner office in the house. What’s inspiring you these days?
Posted in Knit, pattern design
I took at class at Twisted on Saturday, Designing Lace Triangle Shawls with Sivia Harding. Sivia is the queen of lace, and beads. I took a one hour wonder beading class with her at Sock Summit 2009. This class was six times better, because it was a 6 hour class! And there was some beading, too. We learned about basic triangle shawl construction, choosing a pattern, stitch dictionaries, how to chart our lace, swatching, transitioning between lace patterns, edgings, and beads. Whew! I came home inspired, and spent part of this afternoon working on a design.
Alas, it didn’t quite work out to be what I wanted, but I’m not done yet.
I also played with my camera the other morning; Franklin Habit’s class has inspired me to take more pictures. My camera is just a point & shoot Panasonic Lumix; it doesn’t have a very fast lens. I wanted to see if I could get it to play with depth of field. I’m still not quite sure how to make it happen with this camera. (I miss my film SLR…) I just kept playing with macro and zoom until I got these. I loved the way the sun was lighting the flowers of the dandelions, while the ground was still in shade. It looked like fairy lights, just magical.
Somehow weeds look so much better with a little bokeh!
Have you learned any new skills this summer? How are you using them?
Pico Accuardi Dyeworks hosted a pre-summit cocktail party, and I attended as a local designer.
I love a party where you can sit down and knit!
Marisol made this gorgeous shawl with her handspun for Deb’s birthday.
I ran into Erica from Kollage last night at Twisted when I was teaching, and sent her and Carrie to Lucca for dinner. Today I saw her at the pre-summit luncheon, and then again this evening at the cocktail party. I think that means we need a picture since we’re shadowing each other.
I saw someone wearing this beautiful shawl, but I can’t remember her name.
I had my first peek at this 2012 datebook project from Pico Accuardi. Twelve knitting patterns from Oregon designers, twelve recipes using local ingredients, lots of Oregon stories and facts.
It’s officially out, so now I can tell you that I have a project in it! It’s the Rockaway 2-Way Beach Beanie/Cowl. You can wear it either way.
There will be a limited number of calendars available in Twisted‘s booth beginning Friday, and a bigger print run is coming in a few weeks. I’m really happy to be part of this project! I’ll blog the datebook later when I have a copy.
Oh! There were drawings for door prizes, and Erica won this bag of spinning fibers. Luckily, she’s been bitten by the spinning bug, and has a wheel at home, and her drop spindle here.
But she did let Noriko and Rachel fondle the fiber.
And she even shared some with Marisol (who made Deb’s shawl, above).
Full day! And now I have to go to sleep. I’m helping Lorajean set up her booth in the morning, and taking Photographing Your Fiber with Franklin Habit in the afternoon. Looking forward to it all.
When I learned that there would be a Sock Summit in 2011, I knew that I wanted to design something special with sock yarn to commemorate the occasion. I wanted a shawl that would be a souvenir of Portland, where it rains, and rains, and rains. I asked Lorajean Kelley of Knitted Wit to dye a cloudy gray sky for me, and she did it with Bling, which is merino, silk, and silver.
This is Zen Rain. I was inspired by rain running down a window.
It’s shallow, and really wide, with a girly-girl ruffle. The extra wingspan lets the ends twist in a riot of ruffles, if you’re inclined to wear it that way.
You can also knit it with a more sedate ruffle, if you insist.
You can purchase this pattern through Ravelry on the pattern page now, or at the Knitted Wit booth at Sock Summit in July. I’m hoping the only rain we see at Sock Summit is Zen Rain!
Would you like to do a Knitalong? I’m thinking it would be a fun June project. The pattern will be $6, but if you’d like to participate in a KAL, let me know in the comments and I’ll send you a coupon code for $1 off the pattern, now through June 4.
Thanks to Rachel Nichols, Tami Hawes, and Christina Morales for test knitting for me.
I’ve made some tweaks on the design formerly known as Sakura, making it shallower and wider. I like the way it fits me, and it looks great on Bobbi, too.
I’ve decided that I want to publish this two ways: One, through Ravelry, featuring the beautiful Sakura Silky n Single yarn that Knitted Wit dyed as a fundraiser for Japan disaster relief. This pattern is ready now; you can go to the pattern page here.
I also plan to publish this through the Knit Picks Independent Designer Program, which means that I need to re-knit it in Knit Picks yarn. Almost done! I also need to re-name the pattern; there’s already a Sakura in the IDP. Sakura thus becomes Hanami, which is Japanese for enjoying the beauty of flowers, traditionally through cherry blossom parties. Who doesn’t love a party? Alas, the cherry blossoms are all gone now, so I’ll have to find a different backdrop for the IDP version of this pattern.
In other news, I sold 90 copies of my Pacific Shawl pattern in March and April, which is $534. I have sent $534 to the American Red Cross for Japan disaster relief. Thanks so much for purchasing the pattern. Now I want to see your projects on Ravelry!
It’s been a busy few weeks around here: holidays, a women’s retreat…but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been knitting. I’m finally happy with my lace shawl project, having knit it to completion, twice. Well, three times, if you count the first one that I completely frogged! Here’s the second version:
It’s a very shallow, wide piece of knitting, and there are a lot of ways to wear it. Scarf? Shawlette? Whatever suits your fancy. Thanks to Bobbi for modeling!
The third version has a less ruffly ruffle, and is currently on the blocking wires. The pattern is out to test knitters right now; we’ll see if I made sense! The impetus for this design is the upcoming Sock Summit. I wanted to do something with sock yarn, that wasn’t a sock! I asked my friend Lorajean Kelley (Knitted Wit) to dye a cloudy Portland sky, thinking that the yarn/pattern combination would make a great Sock Summit souvenir. This design will be called Zen Rain; I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Speaking of Sock Summit, I am registered for three 3 hour classes, plus the Anna Zilboorg lecture and the opening night reception. My classes will be Photographing Your Fiber, Designing with Japanese Stitch Dictionaries, and Choosing Among Choices (sock design). Looking forward to all of it! I’ll also be roaming the marketplace and perhaps helping LJ a bit in her booth, too.
I didn’t take many pictures on retreat, too busy working! But here are a few. The labyrinth at Menucha Retreat and Conference Center in Corbett, OR is a great place to contemplate one’s life.
And the late afternoon light was absolutely magical.
I hope your weekend was grand, too. And here we are, on the verge of another one. Happy spring!
