Category Archives: pattern design

Pacific Shawl, redux

Posted on May 30, 2010 | 21 comments

The second incarnation of my Pacific Shawl is blocked and ready to wear.

I love it! Here’s how much bigger it is than the first one.

It feels great on my shoulders; it’s a lightweight wisp of a thing. Just warm enough. I think I blocked it to be a little more open than the first one; you can see the difference here.

It’s funny how the smaller one is darker than the larger one; they’re two skeins of the same yarn.

I like them both. They’re same same, but different!

Details:
Pacific Shawl, pattern coming soon
One skein of Malabrigo Sock yarn, 100g/440 yards: larger shawl used nearly an entire skein
Size 6 Lantern Moon ebony needles (26 inch circular)
Size 6/0 Toho beads for edging

Time to write the pattern…

21 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged pacific shawl

Just enough…

Posted on May 27, 2010 | 8 comments

Barely. I finished knitting my amended Pacific shawl this morning, binding off a bazillion stitches. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. Here’s the yarn I had left.

I don’t think there’s enough for even one more complete row. Glad that worked out! Now I need to block it, and then I can show it to you. I’ll be writing the pattern for several sizes, too, now that I know the outer limits of the skein…

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit

Pacific, round 1

Posted on May 17, 2010 | 22 comments

I love this so much more than the first try, it’s ridiculous. Lemons to lemonade…

It’s not rain; it’s the Pacific Ocean.

The waves are rolling. The sun is shining on the waves. It reminds me of Crafty Mom Weekend, watching the endlessly undulating ocean. (I wrote lyrics for a song that weekend, and the waves were in the lyrics, too. I sense a theme.)

I love working with beads. They’re so small, but they add such nice sparkle.

This is definitely a shawlette rather than a shawl. I had a fair amount of yarn left. I’m knitting this again with another skein of the same yarn, making it a bit bigger but still trying to keep it as a one skein project. I’m also fine-tuning a few things on it. I’ll eventually write up the pattern, and I’ll also do a video tutorial on adding beads. I like this “add as you go” method rather than pre-stringing all my beads at the beginning. Have you used beads in your knitting?

22 Comments

Posted in beading, Knit, pattern design

pdxfroggerati

Posted on April 25, 2010 | 14 comments

I had a lot of practice with tinking and frogging on this last project. I figured I should live true to the class that I teach at Twisted, ” Tink, Drop, Frog.” Yes, all those fixes really work, even on things more complicated than stockinette!

I frogged (rip-it, rip-it) 12 rows of lacy knitting when I realized that I didn’t have enough yarn to do an extra 16 row repeat *and* a border. And then I had to frog again when I messed up the border. While I was frogging that, I decided to take it back even further so I could have a deeper border. Here it is unblocked.

I love blocking. It’s like magic…

But I don’t love this shawl.

:sigh:

It’s pretty, but I think the pattern in the body is too bold for the more delicate border. And I love the undulating border, with its little sparkly beads.

This was my first experience with adding beads to my knitting, other than a one hour wonder class with Sivia Harding at Sock Summit last summer. I really like it! These are a little subtle with this yarn, but the blue on the inside of the beads was such a perfect match, I had to use them.

When I first envisioned this shawl, it was all about the pattern in the body. I was inspired by raindrops running down a window. So maybe that part of it needs a different border, but for now, I’m going to knit another shawl and play with this border some more.

Raindrop Shawl (my own exploration)
Knitted Wit Superwash Merino fingering weight, 100 grams
US size 6 needle
Size 6/0 Toho beads

14 Comments

Posted in beading, Knit, pattern design

Tagged beads, Knit, lace shawl

Overheard, in my head…

Posted on April 18, 2010 | 24 comments

The conversation this week:

Wow, I have a lot of yarn left. Look at the size of that ball. I’m sure I can get one more 16 row repeat done before I start the edging.

Are you sure? Right now you have 256 stitches, and 16 rows is at least 4096 stitches.

Yeah, but look at the size of that ball of yarn. No problem.

OK, this lace pattern is so much fun to knit; go for it.

Hey, I’m on row 11, and this yarn seems to be disappearing at a prodigious rate.

Um, maybe you should weigh the yarn before this next row, and see how much yarn you’re using per row.

OK, 21 grams; OK, now 18 grams. That’s 3 grams per row…

Um, that means you have enough for 6 rows, maybe. Which means the last 4 rows of the lace repeat, and, um, TWO rows of edging.

Carp.

And so, gentle reader, I took the whole thing off the needle, ripped out 12 rows, which is at least 3072 stitches, and got it all back on the needle.

This is the same picture, because I’m back at the same place. I took it after the big rip; I didn’t take one before because I didn’t really listen to that little voice, until it was too late. Sorry about the lighting; it was 1 a.m. But I had to do it then because I couldn’t go to bed knowing that it would be waiting for me in the morning.

Look at all those markers!

Onward.

24 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged frogging, Knit, lace

April Foolishness

Posted on April 9, 2010 | 13 comments

We were spoiled by a spectacular early March; warm and sunny. I could get used to that. Alas, March went out like a lion, with lots of wind and rain. It’s still cold in April. But even the cold doesn’t make me want to finish my Heather Hoodie right now. I don’t want to knit with bulky yarn; it makes my hands tired. What’s a girl to do?

Ummm, cast on a new project? Sure! This is a shawl using Knitted Wit‘s fingering weight merino wool. Lorajean calls this color Blue Sky. It’s a cheery color, and knits like a dream. I love it! I started this project with an idea that’s been percolating in my mind for quite a while. I had several false starts, but it’s finally working out the way I want it to. I’ll show you what it really looks like, later.

The other bit of April fun comes from Star Athena. It’s her Socks for All Seasons Pattern Club. The club runs for 12 months, and you can choose to buy each month separately, or sign on for 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. I’m in for three months of fun. I used to say that I’m not a sock knitter, but apparently that’s not true since I have a lot of hand knit socks. Not as many as Shannon at Twisted (50 pairs, oh my!), but enough that I don’t wear store bought socks very often. I just don’t knit socks with fingering weight yarn; I’m too impatient!

This month’s pattern is written for four different gauges, so it’s perfect for me. I happen to have a ball of Fly Designs Monarch sport weight in Sailing (see how I love these blues?). The pattern is called April Fool, and it’s simple yet crazy. The socks are knit in one piece, the first one toe up, with a bit of waste yarn in between at the edge of the cuffs, and then the second one top down. No second sock syndrome here! This will be my simple project when I’m not knitting the shawl, which requires some counting.

Happy spring!

13 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, knit socks, shawl

Simple Pleasures

Posted on March 25, 2010 | 10 comments

In February, Amanda from NH Knitting Mama Yarns contacted me to ask if I’d consider having my ZigZag Lace Pedi Sock pattern in her new yarn club offering. Oh, yes! Knitting is a simple pleasure, and Amanda knows it. Her new yarn club is a little different from most, in that there’s no advance commitment. There will be five offerings this year, and you decide if you want to order one of the club packages. You don’t know what’s in it, but you know it will be good! I love the thrill of a yarn club surprise. A Simple Pleasures package includes an exclusive yarn colorway (never listed before) and goodies centering on a theme.

This month, the theme is pedicures. Amanda knit up a sample in her sport weight yarn line (see below), and I added pictures of her socks to the pattern, and also added a toe option to my existing sock pattern. (If you bought the ZigZag Lace Pedi Sock pattern online, an update is coming through Ravelry.) Besides the pattern, there’s a really pretty sport weight yarn, colorway “Winter Buster” which is red, black and white, a project bag, red nail polish, emery boards, and a chocolate. Perfect for beating the winter blahs. If you’re on Ravelry, you can see the colorway here.

It was a pleasure working with Amanda. If you want to order a Simple Pleasures package, they’ll be on sale on the first of the months of May, July, September, and November.

10 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, ravelry

Tagged Knit, pedi socks, yarn club

Hugs and Kisses Fingerless Mitts

Posted on January 12, 2010 | 12 comments

You may remember these fingerless mitts that I knit for my sister’s Christmas gift.

I finished editing the pattern yesterday. It’s been tested by some of the wonderful test knitters in Ravelry’s Free Pattern Testers group. (The FPT group is a great resource.) I’ve included links in the pattern to my new tutorials on paired lifted increases and cabling without a cable needle. You can see all my tutorials on my tutorials page.

More information about the pattern is available here.

Happy knitting!

12 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, ravelry, tutorial

Tagged fingerless mitts, Knit, ravelry

Post-Christmas Post

Posted on December 27, 2009 | 15 comments

Ahhh, symmetry. Love that.

Christmas was grand. Christmas eve found the boys still scrambling to find a gift for me. They had lots of ideas, but nothing was panning out. They drove all over town for days. At 3:45 p.m. on Christmas eve (with us due at a friend’s for dinner at 4), DH bailed them out by suggesting that they sign me up for next year’s Single Skein Club at Twisted. Everybody wins! I’m looking forward to it.

Gift knit update

Let’s see. I gave the broken garter stitch cowl to my friend Carole; I chose the color with her in mind. I designed the cowl for next month’s knit party at Twisted. She’ll be helping with the party. The cowl comes full circle!

I gave the red cashmerino cowl to my pastor. I hope she likes it. Christmas eve is a busy night, with two services; I’ll catch up with her next week. (The Day Old Pastries sang at the family pageant service and led the congregational music. Fun! Then I went to the late service, too, to just…be.)

I gave the blue Quincy hat to my niece; I thought it would be cute on her. My sister says that it frames her face perfectly, and now she wants one, too. For her birthday. In red. To match these fingerless mitts that I made for her.

As soon as I saw this yarn I knew that it had to be fingerless mitts for her. It’s Mirasol Tupa, 50% merino, 50% silk. The color just glows. These pictures don’t quite capture the depth of color, though.

At first I thought I’d do a heart design, because she loves hearts. But then I decided to go with an OXO cable for a hugs and kisses theme, because it suited the yarn better. I’m really pleased with how they turned out. And she loves them. I’ll be writing up the pattern soon.

During the design process (and fine tuning), I also made a pair in white, and I gave them to my mom for Christmas. I wanted her to have some new mitts to replace the Fetchings that have gone AWOL. I can nearly make these in my sleep now! And I’ve become a master at cabling without a cable needle. I have a photo tutorial in my tutorials section on the sidebar, and if I get to it, I’ll make a video one, too.

So now my needles are pretty empty! I’m looking for the perfect red yarn for my sister’s Quincy, but haven’t found it yet. And I want to cast on something for me, but I can’t quite commit to the Heather Hoodie yet. Don’t know why not. I went to the yarn store to order the yarn, and didn’t. Hmmmm.

Oh, there is one little thing on my needles. I’ll tell you about it next time…

15 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged christmas knitting, Knit

Happy Christmas eve to you…

Posted on December 24, 2009 | 17 comments

Ready or not, Christmas is coming. I’m as ready as I’m going to get. Tonight is a whirlwind of activity, and then we’ll have a quiet Christmas morning. Bliss.

I’ve knit several gifts this year, although I didn’t set out to do so. Knit just happens! My favorite one is a new design, and I can’t show it until after Christmas. But here’s another version of one of my cowls. This one is knit with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, and it’s lusciously soft. A gift for a non-blog reading friend.

The Cashmerino Chunky is a lot lighter than the Malabrigo Chunky, so this was knit on a US 9, as opposed to the 10.5, and on fewer stitches. It took about 1.5 balls of yarn (50 gram balls). I loved knitting with this yarn.

Mookie wishes you a very happy holiday. We’ve celebrated Hanukkah, and are about to celebrate Christmas. Which reminds me, I still have to go get her a new catnip slug to put in her stocking. She loves them.

Almost as much as she loves this Log Cabin blanket that she’s claimed for her very own.

Did you finish all your gift knitting? Is it time to start something for you? I’m still toying with the idea of a Heather Hoodie (ravelry link), but I want it to have sleeves. I have a skein of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky to swatch, and if I still like the idea after swatching, I’ll order a sweater’s worth of it. What do you want to knit next?

Merry Christmas!

17 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged cowl, Knit