Category Archives: pattern design

summer to fall

Posted on October 23, 2010 | 18 comments

It’s transition week here in Portland. We have summer flowers and fall leaves.

The Japanese anemone is going strong. I planted a few of these several years ago, and now they are taking over my yard. I took out most of it this spring, but it’s all back.

My cosmos died this summer, but I think it re-seeded itself and came back up through the anemone. The first batch wasn’t nearly as spectacular as these are.

Here’s what’s happening in the neighborhood:

There won’t be any fall color on my flowering plum tree, though. It’s dead. Half of it bloomed this spring, and then the whole thing died. This bird (flicker?) was enjoying it the other day.

Oh! I never showed you the October Single Skein Club package. Here it is:

A sweet pattern for fingerless mitts by Shannon Squire, a ball of Crystal Palace Mini Mochi in one of my favorite colorways (I have 5 balls of this in the same color, different dye lot in my stash from a design idea that didn’t pan out)…

and some really cute stitch markers.

I can’t work on these right now. I’m completely obsessed with one of the things I showed you in the last post. But I can’t show you yet…

18 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged fall leaves, Knit, single skein club

Two steps forward…

Posted on October 19, 2010 | 7 comments

Fall has arrived. I love the crisp cool days we’re having here in Portland. The leaves are beginning to turn, and the days usually start with a bit of fog. This is the morning view from my bedroom window.

The cooler weather has inspired me to knit. I’ve got several ideas spinning in my head, and it’s a little overwhelming trying to decide which one comes first. Everything is in the swatching stage.

I’m playing around with an entrelac idea with some Noro Silk Garden Lite and my Lantern Moon US 7 ebony circulars.

After this picture, I knit on it through a meeting last night. I made it far enough to know that it’s not quite what I want, but now I know what I want. I have to start over. That’s progress!

I’m playing around with a different idea on another ebony circular (also size 7). This yarn is worsted from Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. I’m far enough to know that I’ve messed up the stitch pattern! But not far enough to know if my sizing is right.

And swatching another idea in sport weight wool, also from Pico Accuardi, and ebony Sox Stix in size 4. I’m far enough to know that the sizing is definitely not right.

Two steps forward, one step back. Eventually, I’ll get there. I’m usually a monogamous knitter, so it’s pretty strange to have all this going on. I also have an idea for some yarn I’m getting from Lorajean (Knitted Wit), but that yarn isn’t in my hands yet. It’s a good thing that I have a lot of needles!

What’s on *your* needles this fall? Or spring, for my friends down under?

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged entrelac, fall knitting, Knit

urban fiber arts

Posted on October 8, 2010 | 7 comments

There’s a new yarn shop in Portland’s Pearl District, Urban Fiber Arts. Cindy Abernethy, the shop’s owner, carries yarn, spinning fibers, patterns, and accessories from regional dyers, spinners, and other fiber artists, many of whom are local to the Pacific Northwest. Cindy is one of the PDXKnit-bloggers, and she is realizing a life-long dream of having her own shop.

I missed the grand opening last week, but I finally had a chance to visit on Wednesday. I saw fiber from Abstract Fiber and Dicentra, and yarn from StitchJones. The shop will also carry hand-dyed yarn from Knitted Wit and Pico Accuardi. Urban Fiber Art’s focus is “quality yarns and fibers from the Northwest and beyond.” It’s almost like going to OFFF without having to wait. And they now carry most of my PDXKnitterati patterns, too. Thank you, Cindy!

Here’s some fun handspun from Trtlgrl Crafts.

While I was visiting, I bought this drop spindle learn to spin kit from Krafti-Kit.

I love the carved scrollwork on the spindle’s whorl. Pretty! And the alpaca fiber is really soft, like a cloud. It spins pretty easily, too.

In other news, I’m scheduled to teach a class on the Pippi Hat at Twisted the next couple of Thursday evenings. If you’d like an introduction to color work, this hat is a great way to learn. Contact Twisted to register.

Knit on!

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, spinning

Tagged LYS, Urban Fiber Arts

Pacific Shawl, published

Posted on October 1, 2010 | 12 comments

I keep forgetting to post this, but the pattern is officially up!

Pacific Shawl, details here.

I saw Anna’s last night at book group. The lighting wasn’t ideal, but the shawl is gorgeous!

She used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu, and it is a bit heavier, lovely and drapey. Anna’s shawl is the large size, and the yarn is heavier, too. It’s very cozy, but elegant.

You can kind of see the beads on the left, here. They’re much sparklier in person.

Thanks for knitting, Anna!

12 Comments

Posted in beading, Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, pacific shawl

Friends and Fiber

Posted on September 25, 2010 | 15 comments

A perfect combination! It was a glorious sunny day at OFFF today, perfect for a fiber festival. I never did sit down to knit, but I became reacquainted with my Turkish drop spindle. I had forgotten how much I like it. Several people reminded me!

I saw lots of old friends, and some that I hadn’t met in person before. I’d like to especially welcome PeacefulKnitter to Oregon; she just moved here. What a lovely way to get to know the local fiber scene.

PeacefulBaby and Sweetie were here with her, too. PeacefulBaby seemed quite taken with Lorajean’s Baby O.

I got to see Rachel‘s finished Pacific shawl. She used Malabrigo Sock yarn in Abril.

Our shawls hung out together. Thanks for test knitting for me, Rachel! The pattern is available on Ravelry, and I have some paper copies at the Knitted Wit booth at OFFF.

And I broke my “I don’t stash” rule for this:

Constellation beaded worsted, 50/50 merino and silk, with beads from StitchJones.

I believe this is the first yarn I’ve ever bought that didn’t have a plan for it. And I probably won’t knit with it for a long time. I just want to look at it, pet it, and admire it. Thank you, Sharon!

A few more scenes from today:

15 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, spinning

Off to OFFF

Posted on September 24, 2010 | 10 comments

The big fiber event this weekend is the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. I helped Lorajean (KnittedWit) set up her booth today.

She’s sharing her booth with Pico Accuardi Dyeworks, so there is a lot of fabulous fiber in one small space! I’ll have patterns for sale there, too, including a few copies of my new Pacific Shawl pattern. It hasn’t even gone up for sale online yet, but I was doing a big print session for OFFF, and it told me that it wanted to go, too.

There’ll be some Lantern Moon product in the booth, including Sox Stix (their 6 inch ebony needles are my favorite dpns). Lantern Moon doesn’t have an official presence of its own at OFFF, but I sweet talked them in to having some of their super-cute fans there. It’s going to be 80 degrees and sunny, so it’s the right place at the right time. The fans are at the Knitted Wit/Pico Accuardi booth, and are a gift with a purchase of $10 or more.

We got the booth set up in record time. We had good help! (LJ’s youngest)

Also this weekend, Lantern Moon is extending their warehouse sale. There are still a lot of cute things left, including lots of silk needle cases, lanterns, wall fans (still have to put mine up and take a picture), ceramic pots. doormats. I even saw things this morning that I didn’t see last weekend, like this laptop case.

Cute! (It’s actually black, but I took the picture with my phone in my back yard, so it’s not quite WYSIWYG.)

Now I just need to pick a project or two to bring with me, so I can hang out with the PDXKnitBloggers, and dust off my poor neglected spindles so I can hang out with the Spinnerati. And find my Ravelry button. And…

Have a great weekend!

10 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, spinning

Tagged OFFF

New on the needles…classy knitting

Posted on September 6, 2010 | 6 comments

Or class knitting, at least.

I’ll be teaching entrelac in the round at Twisted using my Athena pattern in November. I’m knitting a new shop sample because Twisted won’t be carrying Crystal Palace Taos, the original yarn I used when designing Athena. The new sample is in Crystal Palace Mochi Plus, and it’s really lovely.

The colors are very rich. The yarn is 80% merino wool, 20% nylon, single spun. It has long color runs with gradual color changes, which is great for entrelac. It doesn’t have areas of two color tweediness the way the Taos does. It’s a great substitute. And it’s sooooo soft.

There was one odd section where two colors were joined; you can see it at the top of the ball. The yarn was pretty thick and unspun there (like a bad spinning join). I tried thinning it out, giving it more twist and knitting it in, but it was still distorting my knitting, so I decided to omit this bit of yarn. But I like the yarn well enough to forgive it this little indiscretion. It’s going to be lovely.

The class is on November 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. Your Athena won't be done by the end of the evening, but you'll know everything you need to know to finish!

To register for this class, contact Twisted.

6 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Athena entrelac, Knit, mochi yarn

Breezy Market Tote pattern

Posted on September 1, 2010 | 8 comments

It’s September! The pattern for the Breezy Market Tote is now available.

I really enjoyed designing this for Twisted‘s Single Skein Club. It’s a quick knit that features a provisional cast on and a three needle bind off. Don’t be afraid if these techniques are new to you; they are well within the reach of an enthusiastic beginner. The tote is great for a trip to the farmers’ market…or your favorite yarn store!

More details are on the pattern page.

I hope you enjoy knitting it, too!

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged breezy market tote, Knit, market bag

test knitting?

Posted on August 31, 2010 | 17 comments

I’m looking for a few test knitters to knit my Pacific Shawl. I finished the final (I hope!) edits last night. The two smaller sizes take a skein or less of fingering weight yarn (440 yards or less), and some beads. It looks like this:

The beads are optional, but they’re fun! The small size is sweet worn as a scarf. The medium is…a little larger than the small, but smaller than the large!

If you’re interested in test knitting for me, either this project or another, let me know in the comments and I’ll contact you. I can’t offer you diamonds, gold, or even yarn, but you’d have access to a new design that will be fun to knit, and you get to keep the final project.

Knit on!

17 Comments

Posted in beading, Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, test knit

ask the designer

Posted on August 15, 2010 | 9 comments

I’m making steady progress on the ruffle tank. It’s seamed and just needs the i-cord edgings at the neckline and armholes. Here’s the back. I opted to omit the keyhole closing at the neckline.

This is my first experience with applied i-cord. The instructions in the pattern are for a 2 stitch i-cord, applied from the wrong side. I remembered seeing other general instructions in which i-cord was applied from the right side. I had the opportunity to ask Leigh Radford, the designer, why she chose to work from the wrong side, and her answer was simple: She liked the way it looked.

I decided to try it both ways.

The little bit on the left is applied from the right side. The top 3 stitches were picked up under the far edge. I didn’t like the way it left a ridge on the right side, so I switched to the closer part of the edge on the following stitches. I like the way it looks really tubular. But it looks a little heavy for the edge.

The bit on the right is applied from the wrong side. It doesn’t look as tubular or as finished, but I like it. It’s delicate and a little rustic looking. So I’ll carry on from the wrong side, knowing that Leigh likes it that way. Especially since I feel a little guilty for omitting her keyhole neckline!

In other news, my new iPhone4 is here, and I love it. It’s very intuitive. I took the ruffle tank pictures with its camera this morning because I was too lazy to go downstairs to get my other camera. Not bad, and the macro worked great. Here’s a screen shot of where the phone’s google maps app located me this evening.