Category Archives: yarn

Tomayto, tomahto

Posted on January 13, 2024 | 4 comments

I finished the Dotty socks yesterday afternoon, and immediately drove them over to my friend Doreen’s house. They’re for her birthday tomorrow, and it’s snowing and icing this weekend. I wanted to beat the weather, and I did!

I didn’t take an FO picture, but she did! Our planned dinner out tonight is OFF, but at least she’s cozy.

This photo popped up in my Facebook memories today. It was blocking day for my Camellia Wrap, and for the unpublished striped bed socks. That Camellia Wrap is one of my favorite things to wear, fantastic drape and swing. And apparently there were two of those striped socks…I wonder where they went? They weren’t in the drawer with the orange/purple prototypes that I frogged. Maybe I already gave them away as a gift? I don’t recall.

Remember the Ann Norling Fruit Cap pattern from eons ago? I knit a whole bunch about 20 years ago; they were my go to baby gift for a while. I can’t find the pattern in my house, so I winged it. Pretty close, I think. This is for a baby shower on Monday that may be iced out. Oh, weather.

I actually knit two of them because there’s a baby due at church, too. I bought a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red, what a great color. I paired it with Ivy that was leftover in my stash from designing for my Brioche Knit Love book. Rios is one of my favorite yarns. Lovely colors, not expensive.

I knit these on a US7; I started with a US6 but it was firmer than I wanted. I use a 6 for all my Rios brioche, but not for stockinette, I guess!

Inclement weather is great for knitting productivity. Now I only have one project on my needles again (having four was definitely outside my monogamous knitter comfort zone). What are the other two projects? One is done, and I’ll let you know about both of them in a bit.

But I think it’s also time to swatch for the When Harry Met Lucy sweater KAL, finally!

4 Comments

Posted in KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged Camellia Wrap, Dotty Bed Socks, Knit, knitting, Malabrigo Rios, sock knitting, socks

Sock it to me

Posted on January 11, 2024 | 8 comments

It’s chilly here! I decided to sew in the ends on the mismatched (design prototypes) orange/purple bed socks so they can be of use. But when I pulled them out of the drawer, I noticed the stripe pattern and the dotty pattern resulted in two very differently sized socks. Not okay!

I never published the striped socks; the slip stitch stripes were too variable gauge-wise, and the pattern was too fussy to write, too. So the striped sock needed to be frogged back to the cuff, and the dotted sock needed to be frogged back to the instep to get rid of the striped sole. But I like the dotted instep better than the striped instep. (They are both options on the Dotty Bed Sock pattern, see below.) It wouldn’t add much knitting if I ripped out the gusset, too.

If you’re wondering why the bottom of the gusset is striped, here’s the designer’s secret: The gusset decreases would complicate working the dotty stitch pattern on the bottom of the foot. I wanted the pattern to be easy knitting! So those are just 2 row stripes where the decreases occur, no thinking.

I’m almost done…

Halfway down the second foot. You can see I’m using magic loop here, which I like, mostly. I think I prefer my Flexi-Flips, but I didn’t think of them until working the toe of the first sock, and I don’t want to change needles mid-project for fear of changing my gauge and having 2 different sized socks again. Next time!

Dotty Bed Socks are worked cuff down with a slip stitch pattern, so there’s only one color used per round. And they’re worsted weight, so they’re pretty quick! My socks are 44 stitches around in Malabrigo Rios.

Do you sock? How do you sock? Cuff down? Toe up? DPNs? Magic Loop? Two circulars? Flexi-Flips? Do tell!

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, yarn

Tagged Dotty Bed Socks, knitting, Malabrigo Rios, sock knitting, socks, yarn

Introducing: Whale Conga Line

Posted on January 3, 2024 | 7 comments

I thought a lot about whales last summer, while on the Zodiac Schooner trip, and on the Vogue Knitting Alaska cruise. I didn’t see a single whale, but they were definitely on my mind!

The Whale Conga Line cowl is the result of those whale-centered expeditions. It’s knit flat from the bottom up and seamed, using 2 skeins of DK weight yarn in contrasting colors. I used Anzula Luxury Fibers Lucero, which is a sparkly blend of superwash merino, cashmere, and stellina. So pretty!

If you’re not into whales, choose a different color and you’ll have migrating birds on the wing, or Jack’s beanstalk reaching for the sky.

The pattern is available through Ravelry, link here, and Payhip, link here. Use coupon code FLUKE for 15% off through January 10, 2024.

Thanks to tech editor Jen Lucas, test knitters Ann Berg, Debbie Braden, and Erica Erignac, and model Sharon Hsu. And thank you to newsletter subscriber Shauna, who came up with the winning name for this pattern! I’ll be sending her a copy of the pattern.

Whales, birds, leaves…what speaks to you?

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Anzula Lucero, anzula luxury fibers, anzula yarn, Knit, knitting, patterns, Whale Conga Line, Whale Conga Line Cowl, yarn

Summer Slubbing, shawl shapes, Red Alder

Posted on December 28, 2023 | 3 comments

Knitted Wit Summer Slubbin’ yarn — Knitted Wit Summer Slubbing, Sakura and Unicorn Dreams

As I said in a previous post, I took this yarn with me on vacation. I was originally planning a 2 color top down crescent shawl.

Well, I did the math and swatched the stitch patterns I wanted to use, and tried a couple needle sizes. Then I cast on. And I decided…that my design required too much counting and thinking. I was on vacation! Also, I had swatched with the pink yarn, and the stitch patterns didn’t show as much as I wanted them to in the variegated yarn. I love the variegated version (Unicorn Dreams). Summer Slubbing wants to be an easy-going knit. Nothing complicated.

So I frogged it and started over. The knitting is now plain enough that this nubbly, bubbly yarn is the star of the show. This will be a single skein asymmetric triangle, knit on the bias. Shawl? Scarf? We’ll see how big it is when we get to the end of the skein!

I like how it’s going so far. My yarn scale tells me I am close to finished; I just have to decide what I want the end to look like. Sometimes that’s the hardest part.

And! If shawl design intrigues you, come knit with me! I’m teaching Favorite Shawl Shapes at Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat in Tacoma WA in February.

You’ll learn to create simple shawl shapes in class. From there you’ll get pointers on how to apply stitch patterns and design your own shawls. Registration for Red Alder is here. This is a good time to let you know that pre-registration for Red Alder (and other events) is important! Classes get canceled if registrations are low. Next week is the cut week for Red Alder. My shawl shapes class could use a few more knitters, so if you’re interested please register. I blogged the list of my classes here.

What are you knitting now?

3 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged knit design, knitted wit, knitted with summer slubbing, knitting classes, Red Alder Fiber Arts

Starfall KAL update

Posted on December 26, 2023 | 2 comments

We’ve added Pooling is a Cinch to the Starfall KAL, so now it’s a PDXKnitterati Assigned Pooling KAL!

We’re kicking off the knitalong on January 9 via Zoom. I’ll be there to demonstrate some techniques and give you pointers on how much more you can do with Starfall and this fabulous yarn!

The Starfall pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. It is also available through Payhip, link here.

Check out Keith’s colors here; choose a color that works for assigned pooling in 100g fingering weight for Starfall. There are a lot of pooling colors to choose from. Your yarn purchase will get you on the Zoom invite list. Order your yarn by December 27 so you can knit with us in January!

Convertible hat/cowl knit using assigned pooling technique — Pooling is a Cinch in Times Square colorway

UPDATE: We’re adding Pooling is a Cinch to our KAL; if you order this yarn (it’s worsted weight, so an even quicker knit) from Keith, you’ll get the Zoom invite, too. Wednesday Dec. 27 is the last day to order to get your yarn on time for the January 9 Zoom. Jump into the pool with us!

AND! I’ve opened a thread in my Ravelry group so we can discuss both of these projects and the KAL. Here’s the link. Hope to knit with you in January!

2 Comments

Posted in events, KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged assigned color pooling, assigned pooling, kal, knit-along, knitalong, knitting, Pooling is a Cinch, starfall cowl, starfall kal, starfall knitalong, yarn, yarn snob yarns

Starfall KAL coming soon!

Posted on December 20, 2023 | 10 comments

Those two Starfall cowl samples that I knit recently? I’m having a knitalong with Keith Leonard’s beautiful Yarn Snob yarns!

Starfall in Keith’s Irresistible Iris colorway

We’re kicking off the knitalong on January 9 via Zoom. I’ll be there to demonstrate some techniques and give you pointers on how much more you can do with Starfall and this fabulous yarn!

The Starfall pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. It is also available through Payhip, link here.

Check out Keith’s colors here; choose a color that works for assigned pooling in 100g fingering weight. There are a lot of pooling colors to choose from. Your yarn purchase will get you on the Zoom invite list. Order your yarn now so you can knit with us in January!

Keith’s colors are amazing. He also dyed the yarn for my first pooling pattern, Pooling is a Cinch. I love this colorway; I used it again for my Firefly Trails cowl. It would make a great Starfall, too. Tempting? Of course! Come knit with us!

AND! I’ve opened a thread in my Ravelry group so we can discuss both of these projects and the KAL. Here’s the link. Hope to knit with you in January!

10 Comments

Posted in events, KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged kal, knit-along, knitalong, knitting, starfall cowl, starfall kal, starfall knitalong, yarn snob yarns

Qiviut Cowl FO

Posted on December 18, 2023 | 5 comments

Well, I didn’t get my swatching done for the When Harry Met Lucy KAL, but I have a good excuse. I went on vacation and couldn’t fit bulky yarn into my luggage!

Knitting on the go with qiviut and POG mimosa

But one ounce of laceweight qiviut, 200 yards, doesn’t take up much space at all. And yes, that’s a tiny yarn scale because I didn’t want to have a yarn chicken issue when coming to the end. I wanted to use as much of the yarn as possible.

I ended up with just over half a gram left, which was less than one round’s worth of yarn. Perfect.

I gave it a light steam blocking. The top edge doesn’t wave as much as the bottom; that’s the nature of this stitch pattern (Old Shale). It doesn’t matter; the whole thing will collapse around my neck. I began and ended with a garter stitch edge to give it some heft, and to avoid curling.

I’m glad I chose this stitch pattern; it has just enough going on to make it interesting, but I was never fighting with not being able to see the stitches with this dark and fuzzy yarn.

I’m really happy with how this souvenir qiviut cowl turned out. I didn’t have much use for this cowl on vacation in Hawaii, but I put it on right after we landed back in Portland. I was so glad that I had it with me in my carry-on bag! 36 degrees F which was quite a shock to the system. This cowl is so lightweight, soft, and warm. I love it.

Is it worth writing up a pattern, or should it just be one and done? It’s great for any precious souvenir yarn. This particular yarn began in Alaska and ended in Hawaii, the 49th and 50th states. It’s been a good knitting year.

I did bring some fingering weight yarn with me for a design project, too. It didn’t take up too much room!

I’ll tell you more about it in a separate post!

5 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged cowl, hawaii, Knit, knit design, knitting, kona, qiveut, qiviut, qiviut cowl, yarn

When Harry Met Lucy KAL

Posted on December 9, 2023 | 5 comments

I knit a sweater for DH in 2021.

It’s a lovely sweater, but I like it better on me than on him. I think it’s because this yarn (Berroco Vintage) is soft and drapey, and the sweaters that I like on him have more body to them.

I want to knit another sweater for him, and when I saw Paul Haesemeyer’s sweater in Knitty, I was smitten. Bonus: He’s having a KAL and it’s opening weekend right now!

The sweater is knit in bulky weight yarn, which should be relatively quick. The sample was knit in an alpaca blend, but I ordered Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Mineral Heather, which should have more body, and be less warm.

why yes there’s a cat hair on it already…

I think I’ll make it with a relaxed fit, but not as oversized as Paul’s. DH is not a large person, and I don’t want him to look like the sweater is wearing him! I could knit it in the round up to the armholes instead of in pieces. Does it need the structure of the side seams? My favorite sweater that I knit for him was knit in the round to the armholes. I altered the drop shoulder construction to cut in at the armhole, and picked up the stitches at the shoulder and worked downward, instead of knitting the sleeve and then sewing it in. Hmmm.

On the other hand, knitting it flat would make it easier to swatch for gauge, and I could avoid the “keep knitting and figure it out” debacle that I just did gauge-wise on my recent Starfall sample. (Knitting in the round takes longer to figure out that your first instinct was a bad choice…) I don’t have to decide about the sleeves until later. And I could knit it with or without cables on the sleeves…

Anyway, I’m dreaming of how I want to modify it, and I haven’t even swatched yet. Stay tuned.

5 Comments

Posted in Blogging, KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged knitpicks wool of the andes bulky, knitpicks yarn, knitting, whenharrymetlucyKAL, yarn

More Starfall

Posted on December 8, 2023 | 8 comments

Remember these two beauties? I last posted about them, wondering which color I’d use to knit a Starfall sample. I have now knit three cowls with these two skeins. (You’ll see why/how in a bit.)

At first glance, I didn’t think there was enough going on with Wine Mom. And the color run was longer than in my previous Starfall cowl, so there was a lot of color on each side of the star. This swatch was knit on a US5.

This colorway called my name. I was knitting on a US4.

I knit this over the Thanksgiving holiday, but I wasn’t really happy with it. The stars are pretty small, and the fabric is a bit firmer than I like. There’s a lot of color at the sides of the stars, too. I wondered if it would be better on a US5, even though I thought that looked a little puny with this yarn. What if I made 6 stitch stars instead of 5 stitch stars? Would there be enough yarn to finish the cowl? I didn’t want to frog the whole thing and reknit it, if it could mean losing at yarn chicken.

Of course that meant that I should knit an entire cowl with Wine Mom, just to make sure the yardage would work out. Behold, 6 stitch stars on a US5 needle.

I love it. Which meant I had to frog and re-knit the first cowl. And that’s how I’ve knit three cowls with these two skeins of yarn. I re-knit the Irresistible Orchid cowl in 3 days. Don’t try this at home; my arms are definitely feeling some tendinitis. Oops. But I did binge watch the current season of Virgin River on Netflix, so that was fun.

The stars are bigger and there’s less color leakage at the sides of the stars. And the fabric feels right, too. Winner! I also added one more 4 row repeat of the old shale lace at the bottom edge, because there was enough yarn left to do that. I would have added that to the end of the Wine Mom version too, if I had thought of it. It all depends on how much yarn you have left.

Blocked photos coming soon. And I’ll figure out if kits are happening with Keith, the dyer of these gorgeous yarns.

Oh! While I was knitting, I realized it would be easier for me (and you, the knitter), if I gave row numbers throughout the triangular increase section, instead of just telling you to repeats rows 2 and 3, 39 times. So I edited the pattern. If you purchased it through Ravelry, the updated pattern is available to you. I’ll get the Payhip version updated today, too.

Now I need to finish my qiviut cowl, and think about a sweater I want to knit for DH, and design something with some fun new yarn from Knitted Wit. Never a dull moment, right?

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Knit, knitting, knitting-blog, ravelry, starfall cowl, Wool, yarn, yarn snob yarns

Coming soon, Whales that need a name

Posted on December 4, 2023 | 7 comments

and a test knit!

Current name: Whale Pod Migration. See the line of whale tails heading north? Somehow the name doesn’t reflect the bold yet graceful design of this piece. What would YOU call it? If I choose your suggestion, I’ll send you a copy of the pattern when it’s published.

I’m also looking for test knitters for this brioche cowl. It’s 2 skeins of DK weight yarn in contrasting colors. I used Anzula Lucero for mine. Knitting would finish at the end of December (I know, holidays!), but it would also make a nifty gift to knit, if you’re so inclined. Pattern has been tech edited. Let me know if you want to knit!

The cowl is the same construction as my Aspen Leaf Brioche Cowl, up from the wide end to the narrow end, knit flat and seamed at the neck. It’s a little simpler to knit; there’s less syncopation (just between the edges and the body). It looks like a triangle scarf, but it won’t fall off your shoulders.

Speaking of Aspen Leaf, there are just a few more days for the introductory coupon code LEAFLET for 15% off the pattern on Ravelry or Payhip. Use by December 7!

Are you gift knitting? I’m not; I usually just shop my stash of samples. But I’m knitting madly away on some projects; there’s no shortage of knitting here!

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Anzula Lucero, anzula yarn, brioche, Brioche knitting, Whale motif, whale pod migration