Category Archives: pattern design

On the needles, blue and pink…

Posted on December 9, 2022 | 5 comments

I’ve been working on a design project with this lovely yarn from Moss Fibers. The colorway is The Maine Event, and this was in our goodie bags at Knit Maine. It’s really nice; the color is evocative of our event, and the yarn is wonderful to work with.

After several false starts, I knew needed to simplify; there were too many ideas trying to fit into this single skein project. I started again, and frogged it again after I realized there was a more elegant way to arrange my chosen stitch pattern. It now flows seamlessly, and that makes me happy.

This is a 2 part cowl, like Cosette, with a round cowl and then a bandana cowl at the bottom. Now that I’ve finished the project, I’ve decided that it’s not as wide as I want it to be at the bottom. Because it’s a one skein project, if I want it to be bigger at the bottom, it will have to be shorter at the top. Does that mean I’m going to frog the whole thing? Nope. It may become a size option; we’ll see.

Now I’m knitting option number 2. A little wider to begin, and on we go. This yarn is BosSi from Fierce Fibers in the Plum Gradient colorway. She’s not dyeing on this base any more (50/50 baby yak and silk), but it’s very lovely, and was one only two options in my limited stash when I suddenly wanted a gradient. Beautiful!

Ummmm, I just realized that I haven’t knit with this particular fiber base before. I didn’t knit and block a swatch before beginning, and I can’t just stop in the middle of the gradient and make a swatch. I hope that doesn’t turn around to bite me later! I mean, I guess I could knit a small swatch from the other end of the ball, but why take the blocking chicken fun out of the game?

Knit faster, find out sooner…

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Seafoam Latte Scarf

Posted on November 14, 2022 | 5 comments

My lovely book, Brioche Knit Love, celebrated its birthday last month. Now I’ll be making some of the patterns available individually. First: Seafoam Latte Scarf. This was the first piece I designed for the book. In my head, it was called Beachcomber Scarf, before the great theme renaming. Seafoam Latte works!

The Seafoam Latte Scarf is a two color brioche scarf, knit flat. Regular increases and decreases create the rhythmic wave pattern. Syncopating the third wave highlights the crest of the wave. I’m looking forward to using this pattern in brioche classes.

Pattern requires two balls of worsted weight yarn in contrasting colors. Knit to the length you like. Gauge is not critical. I knit mine with 2 balls of Knit Picks Chroma Worsted in Surf’s Up and Bare.

The pattern is now available through Ravelry and Payhip; click either of those hyperlinks to purchase.

Knit on!

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Posted in Knit, my book project, pattern design

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Symmetry for Cosette

Posted on October 20, 2022 | 6 comments

It’s the little things…

I wore Cosette last weekend at OFFF and it was everything I wanted it to be: pretty, easy to wear (doesn’t fall off), not too warm and not too cool.

But I love symmetry, and it reminded me that I’d be happier if the flowers in the cowl portion centered better with the spine of the shawl-ish part. The spine centers with the bottom point of the shell lace motif, but not the flower lace above.

A little bit of math, and the spine will now center between the “fans” of the shell lace, AND either the flower of the flower lace, or between flowers, depending on which size you’re knitting. No, I’m not going to re-knit mine, but I’m happier knowing that it’s *possible* to be more symmetrical!

I’ve updated the pattern on Ravelry and Payhip; if you’ve purchased this pattern you should be able to download the updated file (and if you bought it on Ravelry, you’ll get an email with that information, too).

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Posted in Knit, pattern design

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Back from the east coast and knitting again

Posted on September 21, 2022 | 6 comments

*Finally* knitting again!

Mystery project

I finished knitting this project while in Maine. Some of you may have seen it at Knit Maine (couldn’t not try it out!). I mostly love it, but there are some tweaks I want to do as I write the pattern. I don’t want to frog this, so I’ve ordered more yarn for the reknit.

Shetland Wool Week’s Bonnie Isle Hat

It took a week to catch up enough that I could cast on a new project. This is Bonnie Isle, this year’s free pattern from Shetland Wool Week. It’s fun to knit. I wasn’t sure about the colors when I pulled them out of the kit bag from For Yarn’s Sake (it was the Lipstick that made me say hmmmm), but with the white background it all tones down into a harmonious symphony of color. (The kits come in several colorways, in case this pink is not your style.)

My gauge is way off; I knew it would be because I’ve knit with the same yarn for the past two Shetland Wool Week keps. Which means my previous hats are perfect gauge swatches! I don’t want to use smaller needles (these are US 3/3.25 mm) because I like the fabric. So I’ve done some math, and I’m knitting happily and getting the size I want.

I’m teaching a stranded colorwork class via Zoom for For Yarn’s Sake on November 6, using this hat as a jumping off point. I’ll give you all my best pointers on stranded colorwork knitting, and also resizing if you’re interested in that, too. Register here.

Trundle bag from Madder Root

My Bonnie Isle project is in a new bag from Madder Root; I bought this bag at Knit Maine.

When I saw the lining I had to have it as my Maine souvenir. (Shown here with my class materials from my Thrumbelina slippers class.)

Rising full Harvest Moon, Deer Isle, Maine

Because the moon made a big Maine impression on me over the weekend! So orange, so full, so gorgeous.

I’m going to be posting bits and bobs from my travels as I catch up. It’s too much for a giant post; you wouldn’t hear from me until next month if I waited to put it all together! More soon.

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Posted in classes, Knit, pattern design, travel

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Introducing Embellishment Cowl

Posted on August 17, 2022 | 4 comments

Re-introducing: Embellishment Cowl! I originally designed this as an exclusive for Knit Camp with Olive Knits, and now the rights have returned to me. That means I can offer it to you!

The Embellishment Cowl is knit with two skeins of fingering weight yarn. It features a fun elongated/gathered stitch, quilted lattice slip stitch in one or two colors, and optional beads, knit as you go. You can knit three cowls with 2 skeins of yarn, if you switch up the color setup.

I knit mine with 2 skeins of Schmutzerella Spectacular, which has a little bling in it. Two skeins is enough for the three cowls you see here.

Pattern is available through Payhip and Ravelry.

I’m teaching a Zoom class for the Embellishment Cowl via Twisted Yarn Shop on Saturday, Oct. 1; registration link will be here. Pattern is included in class fee; don’t buy it twice.

Do you want to do a knit along in October? If there’s enough interest, I’ll set it up!

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Posted in beading, classes, KAL, Knit, pattern design, yarn

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Cape Perpetua getaway

Posted on August 3, 2022 | 5 comments

It’s was ridiculously hot here last week (90 to 100F), so a planned camping trip with the ladies was a welcome respite. We went to Cape Perpetua, near Yachats, on the central Oregon coast.

Looking south from Cape Perpetua

It was a cool and misty weekend, with highs in the mid-60s. The curtains of mist falling past the cape were ethereally lovely.

Banana slug

I brought my assigned pooling cowl, but didn’t do a lot of knitting. There was a whole world to explore.

Giant Spruce

This Sitka Spruce was here before Columbus arrived in the New World. Older than Henry VIII?!

View from the other side

The hollow underneath was formed as the tree grew out of a nurse log, which then rotted away, hundreds of years ago.

fauna growing from nurse log
What’s going to grow from this nurse log? Who will see it hundreds of years from now?
Stone shelter on Cape Perpetua

Stone shelter built by the CCC in the 1930s. Workers (young men) earned $30/month. They kept $5, and $25 went home to the family.

Note the temporarily blue sky!
Fungus among us
Looking at you, oxalis?

Cape Perpetua is on a pretty rocky part of the coast, but there are occasional sandy beaches. Tillicum Beach was wide and inviting.

Designer feathers on Tillicum Beach
Tide pools like moonscapes
The rise and fall in Thor’s Well is mesmerizing.
Spouting Horn blow hole
Cape Perpetua overlook
Farewell to our mascot, who stayed with us all weekend

Back in town, where it’s cooled off a bit. Time to work out my next design!

3 skeins of yarn: white speckle, gray, and yellow

I’ve gone through two design ideas so far. One would require an extra skein of speckled yarn, so no go on that one. It’s risky to order another and expect that the speckles will be the same (ask me how I know). Both this idea and the next idea involve working from the large end to the small end, in order to make the motif right side up. It’s a lot more planning and math, but it will be worth it. I hope. Onward!

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Posted in Knit, pattern design, travel

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Bossy hat!

Posted on July 23, 2022 | 5 comments

I finished the hat with the criss-cross stitches, and the earband with the sunbursts. I love them both. I think the name for them is Bossy, because the yarn tells you what to do.

You may remember that I frogged a perfectly good sunburst hat to knit the criss-cross version. After all of that, I think I like the sunbursts better after all!

But I’m not going to frog it and knit it again. That would be silly.

These, along with my Shall We Dance cowl, show the ideas we’ll address in my Planned and Assigned Pooling class at Knit Maine in September. Students can choose which project they’d like to make; the class yarn (Yarn Snob Wonderful Worsted in Cabana Boy) can do any of these things. I’ve written up the class notes; do you want it to be a pattern, too?

What tickles your fancy? Have you tried planned pooling or assigned pooling? Or is it on your bucket list? So many questions!

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Loose Lace Quick Fix

Posted on July 15, 2022 | Comments Off on Loose Lace Quick Fix

Say that three times quickly!

We’re having a gorgeous week, and I’m making the most of my outdoor space. I’m currently swatching for a little cowl, and it’s not even brioche! The yarn here is Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Cackle. I have 75g left from my Brioche Knit Love book projects, and that’s enough for the kind of cowl I want. I hope.

The edging features this favorite motif of mine. It’s called cats paw, but I see it as a flower. What I don’t like about it today is that the stitches above the yarnovers look sloppy, and it detracts from the motif.

So now I’m knitting through the back loop on the stitch above the yarn over, on the next right side row. (It wouldn’t help to knit through the back loop on the very next row; that would close the eyelet.) I love how it makes the center of the flower pop. But the stitch above the upper right eyelet looks a little prominent (more so in real life than in this picture).

It looks better if I twist the stitch in the opposite direction. Now it mirrors the one on the left perfectly. I *could* twist all the ones on the right side of the motif this way, but it’s fussy and doesn’t really show in real life. So just the top right one for me! You do you. I definitely like this better than the first picture!

We had a milestone last night. Puddletown Knitters Guild has been Zooming through the pandemic, but last night we had our first hybrid meeting!

I was impressed by all the equipment it took to make this happen. Multiple mics, sound mixer, speaker, 2 laptops, projector, 2 extra iPhone cameras. There was probably more than that involved; that’s just what I could see. Thanks so much to the guild for making this happen, and in a new space (we outgrew the old one).

Anne Berk was the speaker, and she talked about her favorite kind of knitting: intarsia, or Annetarsia! I’ve taken her Annetarsia in-the-round class; she made it so easy. She and I have the same attitude about knitting: It needs to be fun!

If you’re interested in learning intarsia, Anne’s book is a great place to start. You can find it here.

Is intarsia on your bucket list? Brioche? (I have a book for that!) Lace? Stranded colorwork? Do tell!

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Done and undone

Posted on July 1, 2022 | 8 comments

I finished my assigned pooling hat with the sunbursts/flowers. It’s cute! I tried it on, and it’s a little snug on me. It measures 17” around; those sunbursts do pull in the fabric a bit. The hat in the above picture isn’t blocked; blocking will make the sunbursts prettier.

Calvin’s already good-looking enough!

I haven’t blocked the hat yet because I also want to knit a hat using this criss cross stitch I used in my Criss Cross accessories and Tilt Shift Wrap. I needed to know if I have enough yarn to do that.

Now that I’ve started, I’m pretty sure I don’t have enough yarn to knit both, and I think I’m more likely to wear the criss cross stitch, so I’m frogging the sunburst hat while I knit the criss cross version.

I don’t mind re-knitting; the yarn is ridiculously entertaining. I’ll knit a sunburst headband with the yarn that’s left from the skein. It’s been fun figuring out how big (how many wraps, how many stitches) I need to make the sunbursts and criss crosses look their best. This will vary depending on your yarn! I’m teaching this very fun class at Knit Maine in September. We’ll be using this exact same yarn in class; it’s Wonderful Worsted from Yarn Snob yarns in Cabana Boy.

The winner of 3 months of Knit Camp from Olive Knits is…Quite a Yarn Blog! I’ll contact you for info to connect you with Knit Camp. Congratulations!

And finally…

(Project bag from NerdBirdMakery).

Who ever thought we’d be set back by 50 years? Outrageous. Women’s rights are human rights. Dissent. Protest. Effect change. Let your voice be heard.

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Embellishments!

Posted on June 24, 2022 | 7 comments

I’m thrilled to be June’s guest designer for Knit Camp, which is an app community by Olive Knits (Marie Greene). Marie is a dynamo! She’s also the founder of Library House Press, which published my book, Brioche Knit Love.

This is the Embellishment Cowl. It uses one of my favorite flowery fancy stitches, plus quilted lattice slip stitch. It’s knit with two contrasting colors of fingering weight yarn. I used Schmutzerella Yarns Spectacular, which has a blingy sparkle in it.

You can knit the quilted lattice in one color or two. Beads are optional, but highly recommended, especially on the single color quilted lattice. Embellishment! I knit all three of these cowls using the 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn.

The Embellishment Cowl pattern is exclusive to Knit Camp for the first 45 days, and then I’ll be able to offer it here, too.

Curious about Knit Camp? One lucky winner will receive a free THREE-MONTH membership to Olive Knits’ Knit Camp app! This is your chance to discover the amazing Knit Cam community AND gain early access to exclusive Knit Camp patterns, discounts and more. Knit Camp membership includes free monthly patterns, video tutorials, livestreams, expert pattern support, virtual field trips and SO much more! A $75 value.

Open to followers worldwide, this giveaway ends June 30, 2022. Winner will be posted here, then contacted directly. Prize is non-transferrable and is subject to Olive Knits terms of service.

To enter, check out the Knit Camp app here, then leave a comment and tell me which part of Knit Camp interests you most.

I’ll keep you posted when I can offer the Embellishment Cowl pattern myself!

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Posted in beading, giveaways, Knit, pattern design, yarn

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