Category Archives: pattern design

Pre-Sock Summit cocktail party

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 7 comments

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.

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged rockaway beanie/cowl, sock summit

Introducing…Zen Rain

Posted on May 25, 2011 | 12 comments

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.

12 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged kal, zen rain shawl

Sakura to Hanami, and Japan

Posted on May 19, 2011 | 8 comments

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!

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged hanami cowl, Knit, sakura cowl

Surfacing…

Posted on May 6, 2011 | 11 comments

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!

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, Menucha, sock summit, zen rain shawl

sakura

Posted on April 15, 2011 | 8 comments

Sorry for the radio silence; I’ve been knitting! I just finished a little something.

This is Sakura, a cowl and wristlet set. It was inspired by the lovely yarns that Lorajean (Knitted Wit) dyed as a fundraiser for Japan earthquake relief. When I saw the luminous Silky n Single (60/40 wool/silk single ply worsted weight), I knew just what it should be. It took a few tries to get it right, though.

Knitting with this yarn is like knitting with a cloud. It’s light, and airy, and sturdy and delicate at the same time. Sturdy to knit with, but it doesn’t particularly like being frogged! So I’ve done all the experimenting with it so you don’t have to. You can knit this set with other worsted weight yarns, but it’s so pretty in this pink, and if you buy this particular yarn from Knitted Wit, $10 from the skein goes to Mercy Corps.

Pattern will be up next week, I think. I’m sending a few copies with Lorajean to the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival today, along with the sample cowl and wristlets, but I’m waiting for the gorgeous weeping cherry at the school across the street to bloom so I can use it as a backdrop for better photos. We’ll see if the weather cooperates, and if they chase me off the lawn. Crazy knitting lady is out there draping hand-knits in the trees, and taking pictures!

Collaborating with Lorajean is fun, and a pleasure. I have another knit to show you soon…

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged knit cowl, knitted wit, sakura

ruffles…

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 11 comments

or not. Remember this?

I nearly finished it. Do you know that a ruffle formed by decreases, like the one above, won’t match a ruffle formed by increases at the other end of the knitting? At least, mine didn’t. Guess I should have swatched all portions of this project before jumping in head first! It’s all been ripped, and I’ve started over, sans ruffle. The good news is that it’s really quick knitting in this Knitted Wit Silky & Single Worsted, so it will be done in a couple days. Pictures later.

My Aunt Rose is in town visiting. She’s the person who taught me to knit, way back when. Of course, we went yarn shopping. We stopped at Twisted, where she and Uncle P perused the patterns.

Cousin S found the Malabrigo Rios.

This is going home with her.

We went to the iconic Voodoo Donuts. This was my first trip there; it’s fun to have out of town guests so you can be a tourist in your own town. The wait was only about 10 minutes, unlike on the weekends. It’s counter service only; you take your pink box of donuts and go elsewhere.

We bought bacon maple bars. Sounds weird, but think of Saturday breakfast with bacon and pancakes with maple syrup. They were quite tasty!

And finally, an update: I’m donating all proceeds from online sales of my Pacific Shawl pattern in March and April to the Red Cross for Japan disaster relief. So far I’ve sold 57 patterns, so $342 will be going to the Red Cross. Thanks so much for being a part of this. I’m waiting until the end of April before sending the money, so there’s still time if you want to participate.

Back to work today, and knitting.

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, pacific shawl, sakura

Mad Knitting Skills: 1 Up!

Posted on March 29, 2011 | 8 comments

Knitting skills: They’re cumulative! Each new skilled learned is another tool in the toolkit, leading to another idea. What else can I do with this skill? I love that!

One new skill that I’ve learned this past year is adding beads to my knitting. Actually, I learned the basics of this at a “one hour wonder” workshop with Sivia Harding at Sock Summit in 2009, but the new skill languished until I wanted to embellish a shawl I was designing, Pacific.

I love this method of adding beads as you go. It’s a little fiddly, but you only do it when you need to. That works for me. I once started a project that began with pre-stringing a hundred beads. I didn’t like the way it felt with the beads hanging on the working yarn, and I never finished it.

In case you’re interested, I’m donating 100% of my proceeds from now until April 30 from online sales of my Pacific shawl pattern to the Red Cross for Japan Earthquake/Tsunami relief. I’m paying the Ravelry and paypal fees myself; 100% of the purchase price is going towards disaster relief. I’m hoping the gentle waves on this shawl will help bring healing to our neighbors across the Pacific.

2KCBWDAY2

8 Comments

Posted in beading, Blogging, Knit, pattern design

Tagged 2KCBW, 2KCBWDAY2

Start-itis…

Posted on March 20, 2011 | 16 comments

…but only in my head.

I’m still plugging away at my shawl, and it’s nearly done. Done enough that I’m hearing the siren song of new projects.

I bought yarn to make knitted cupcakes from Leigh Radford’s One Skein book. It was an accident. I went to look up the Baby Bolero when I was commenting on Bonnie’s post, and the cupcakes jumped out and grabbed me. I had a gift certificate at Yarn Garden, so it was easy. I was lost.

But I haven’t quite cast on yet, because I’m trying to finish the shawl.

That doesn’t mean that I didn’t wind some yarn. This lovely yarn has been sitting in my stash since August 2009. I got it at Deb Accuardi’s pre-Sock Summit luncheon. It’s Knitted Wit‘s Ladies That Lunch. The springiness of the pink has been calling my name. Yes, it’s fingering weight, and I’ve never knit socks with fingering weight yarn. But what else will I do with it? I’ve had a sock design idea in my head for two years, and I think this could be the perfect yarn for it.

But I resisted casting on because I’m working on the shawl.

And then I wound this. This is also from the pre-Sock Summit luncheon. There was a different yarn with each course of the meal! This was from Abundant Yarn, which is now only online, but used to be here in Portland. Stevanie Pico was the dyer, and now she’s half of Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. The color is Accuardi Insalata, named for Deb herself, and looks like basil and tomato.

And I need a new pair of socks with some red and green in it. Because this just happened to my beloved Leyburns.

I made these with Mirasol Hacho in February of 2009. This isn’t really sock yarn, it’s DK weight merino, but I like dk/sport/worsted weight socks. They felted a little more each time I washed them, and got harder and harder to get on and off my heel.

Fuzzy! The last time I pulled them off, my fingers went through, right where the leg meets the heel. They’ve lived a long and serviceable life. But I haven’t cast on with the Accuardi Insalata yet, because I’m going to finish the shawl first.

I also have the lovely Madeline Tosh Pashmina, which will become Annis (not Caireen, as originally planned) but I haven’t even wound that yet!

Because I’m still working on the shawl…

…for now.

As you can see, I like to have one main project at a time. It keeps me honest. And makes it more likely that I’ll actually finish. Are you a monogamous knitter, or do you like to have lots of projects at once?

16 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged start-itis

Big cup o’ fail

Posted on March 15, 2011 | 7 comments

I’ve been knitting my current design project with Lorajean’s (Knitted Wit) beautiful Bling yarn, for what seems like weeks. Good thing I like it, because I get to use it again and again!

I first swatched with the storm cloud gray on the right, and figured out my stitch pattern. I left that on the needles, and started knitting my idea with the blue-gray. I knit for a long time, and on the needles, it seemed like all was well. I was basing the shape of this little shawl on a half-hex fichu, a shape I read about in an article by Jane Sowerby (author of the book Victorian Lace Today) in Knitter’s Magazine, Summer 2008. It’s basically 3 adjacent isosceles triangles, top points meeting at the center back neck. The shawl starts there and grows downwards, forming a half hexagon. The pictured shawls were all pretty long, which they’d have to be in order to have it be wide enough to wrap around oneself.

I know that there are triangular shawls that have increases at the beginning and end of both the right and wrong side rows, so I thought I’d try that to make a wider, shallower shawl. Sounds reasonable, right? I didn’t like my first edging attempt, so I decided to frog the 6 edging rows I had completed. When I took it off the needles, this is what I saw.

I blurred the stitch pattern because I just want you to see the shape. Hmmmm. If I’d wanted something akin to the collar of a maternity dress from the 1980’s, this would have sufficed. Square back, tie front. Ig. There was no way it was going to block into a satisfactory long-armed half hexagon.

This is what it looks like, now.

Yes, the one on the left. Again. I didn’t even take a new picture, because it’s back to square one. I’ve started another attempt with the same lace pattern and a different shape, this time in the storm cloud gray on the right. It reminds me of this:

The yarn is lovely to work with, but I would like to finish someday soon!

What else is going on? I had lunch on Friday at the Lantern Moon warehouse. They do a themed lunch about once a month. This month was a crab feast.

It was delicious, and I didn’t even break out in hives. (Thank you, Benadryl. It was worth your drug-induced afternoon nap.)

I helped Sharon & Cathy stuff gift bags for the Yarn Market News Smart Business Conference, which is going on right now in Portland. Lantern Moon hosted the opening reception, and these gift bags were headed there. There was some seriously nice swag in them, including straight and circular needles, and these shawl pins, which I love.

Hope your knitting is cooperating with you, more than mine was with me. Here’s to second (and third) chances!

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

A cavalcade of FOs

Posted on February 24, 2011 | 17 comments

This past weekend was Crafty Mom weekend at the beach. This was the 10th year for some of us, and it was highly productive for me.

I finished my Heather Hoodie. It’s not blocked yet, but I love it already. It’s big, squishy and warm. And it weighs a ton. It has 9.5 skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky, which means 950 grams, or 33.25 ounces, or nearly two pounds…

…but it doesn’t feel that heavy when I put it on. Working on the button bands was making my hands tired, with all the hood and front stitches crammed on a 26 inch needle.

I started the button band with a full skein of yarn, and this is all I had left when the bands (including around the hood) were done.

This sweater was supposed to be a vest, but I wanted sleeves. I changed the straight armholes for a modified drop shoulder, indenting about 2 inches at the underarm. After seaming the shoulders, I picked up stitches at the sleeve cap for no-sew set-in sleeves and knit them flat to the wrist. I’m happy with the result.

What else did I work on? I finished my Athena with my leftover Chroma Worsted. I think this one is for me…finally!

I finished a cowl in Dream in Color Classy, the color is Deep Sea Flower. I can’t really show it to you yet; I was re-knitting a new design that’s going…somewhere.

I took pictures of an FO in this pretty Pico Accuardi Dyeworks Worsted; the color is Rodgie’s Midnight Dancing. I can’t show you the FO of that, either, but here’s the wrong side so you can admire the yarn.

And I started a new project for Sock Summit, but there’s no picture yet. Mostly I was just trying to get it started. I’m using Knitted Wit‘s Bling yarn, the bluer one on the left.

But enough about me. Carole made a necklace that everyone wanted, so she made a bunch!

And of course the view was spectacular. I woke up on Saturday morning, and where the sun had set the night before, there was a pink orb over the horizon. It was a perfect moon set.