I’m planning to make a sample of my Starfall cowl with Keith Leonard’s fingering weight Yarn Snob yarn. I love his yarns for assigned pooling. We’re planning to do kits.
He sent two skeins, so I could choose. That’s a difficult choice when they’re both utterly gorgeous. Which one sings to you?
We started talking about kits when I told him how quickly I sold the extra yarn from my assigned pooling class.
He’s waiting for a shipment of worsted to dye, so this kit is on hold for now. Soon!
I wore my Star Flower Shawl for the first time yesterday. It went perfectly with my new dress. So happy! This shawl was in the works from spring until fall; it took a long time to work out all the details.
I always say that as a designer, I make the mistakes so you don’t have to. They’re not really mistakes, though. They’re choices, depending on what I think looks good, and what I think is easily explainable and repeatable.
My first attempt told me that the pink flowers were lost on a stockinette stitch background. I could also see that my floral stripe was too bold, and stole the show from the assigned pooling.
I noticed on the back side of the fabric, the star/flower popped better against the reverse stockinette stitches, but I wouldn’t want something as dense as reverse stockinette on the right side of the shawl. Garter stitch was my next best choice. Also, I wouldn’t want the beginning and end of the wrap to be so prominent, so we’d have to begin and end the wraps on the wrong side of the fabric. Okay! I also made the flower bands smaller.
I knit nearly the entire shawl before realizing that I’d never like the smaller floral bands after blocking; they wouldn’t be round enough. They looked like columns with headers and footers, and would not be improved by blocking.
(No picture because it was late at night when I had this epiphany, and I wanted to frog it immediately.)
So I frogged back to the first floral stripe, and opted for this one instead. It’s an old favorite that I’ve used on several previous designs (Sophie’s Rose, Aloha Shawl, Nymphaea, Embellishment Cowl). I wasn’t planning to have so many features in common with Aloha, but it was the best choice.
I wasn’t sure I’d like this shawl until after blocking, but I forged on, and fell in love with the finished piece. So pretty!
I wanted to knit one more with a more contrasty applied pooling yarn, and also to double check my stitch counts for the lacy edging. It was then that I discovered that I didn’t like the star flowers to have garter ridges on the front of the fabric when there was this much tonal contrast (ridges depend on if you start the star flower on the right side or wrong side, wherever the pooling color begins).
So I changed my draft pattern to have the garter ridges fall to the wrong side of the fabric. Much better. I was knitting this version on a camping trip to see the Perseid meteor showers, and suddenly this piece became the night sky. Stars, trailing meteor streaks, the contrast bands as the Milky Way. Which made me want to rip the whole thing out again so I could have the extra color pop all to one side of each star flower like a shooting star, instead of centering the flower in the color pop with color running out to each side. But NO, it really wasn’t worth knitting the whole thing over again. You can do it that way, if you want to.
So my Star Flower Shawl could also be Meteor Shower/Perseids. Knitters’ choice!
Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn
Tagged assigned pooling, Dream in Color yarn, Star Flower shawl
Every time I picked up my knitting, the cast on edge bugged me. It was a little too tight, and it was curling badly. I didn’t know if it was going to block out, and that made me hesitant to continue.
So I ripped it out. And while I was ripping it out, I started thinking…of course I did. I liked the fabric I was getting with the US 6 needles. I knew about how many stitches I needed for a cowl. And wouldn’t it be nice if it had fewer patterning rounds, and more plain knit since it’s so hard to see the dark stitches?
I cast on loosely, and then knit two garter ridges (4 rounds) before beginning the Old Shale lace patterning. I wanted a substantial edge that wouldn’t curl. I also wanted to put the first lace patterning row further away from the edge, hoping that would also help prevent the curl.
The Bubble Net pattern had patterning on Rounds 1 and 3, and plain knitting on rounds 2 and 4. I’m working Old Shale (with no garter ridges), which has easily memorized patterning on Round 1, then 3 plain rounds. Less paying attention, perfect. I’m very happy with the new start.
I guess I’m designing my own cowl after all.
I’m knitting on Knit Picks Rainbow Options (birch) interchangeable needles. I picked these up at their Knit in Public Day in June. They have just enough grip with this skinny yarn.
Oh, I want to give a shout out to this ebook, Old Shale Variations edited by Mary Spanos from the Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild. It’s a free download on Ravelry, and chronicles the guild’s group project of varying ways to knit Old Shale lace: wider, narrower, garter, stockinette, etc. Very fun to see how you can change the appearance.
I chose to use stockinette (no purling, in the round), and a short number of rounds. Fewer rounds means more complete repeats before heading into an ending garter stitch edge and bind off. (Example: If you only have enough yarn for 10 rounds, you can knit two 4 round repeats, or *zero* 12 round repeats which would waste a lot of this precious yarn. Shorter is better.)
Do you listen to that little voice that tells you to DO OVER? Sometimes I wait a lot longer, and the ripping is brutal! Glad I listened early.
Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn
Tagged cashgora, cowl knitting, Knit, knit picks, knit picks rainbow options needles, qiveut, qiviut, souvenir yarn
I just finished a design project (picture soon). I’m a monogamous knitter, so that meant I had nothing on the needles. Quelle horreur! I poked around my limited stash, and found the qiviut I bought at Changing Tides in Juneau while on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise in September.
This is one ounce of qiviut/qiveut (musk ox yarn), 200 yards. I guess that means it’s laceweight, not fingering! I don’t usually enjoy knitting with laceweight, but this is so fluffy, it doesn’t feel skinny.
Especially when knitting on US 6 needles! I poked around on Ravelry to see what other people made with a single skein of this yarn. The Bubble Net cowl is a popular choice. I bought the pattern and cast on. Yes, I could have chosen any simple lace pattern and figured something out, but this will be a one and done project. It’s not a design project and I wanted someone else to do the gauge/cast on math/needle sizing for me. Perfect!
The lace is a four row repeat, and two of those rows are just knitting rest rows. But the other two require chanting in my head, especially because the yarn is dark and it’s hard to read my knitting.
So I also cast on a second project. Quite a novelty to have more than one project! This is one block out of 9 planned blanket blocks. I have the yarn for this project because I designed the Impressionist Kaleidoscope Blanket for Knit Picks in 2021. They sent me enough yarn for the design, but I only knit one of the blocks while designing it, the one pictured above. The rest of the blocks are all knit the same, so I didn’t knit them!
Knit Picks chose their own color for the sample knit. It’s all garter stitch, from the mitered squares in the center to the log cabin borders. The pattern is easy to remember, but the constant change from mitered square to mitered square, and then to the log cabin border keeps the knitting interesting. It’s not just one big garter stitch blob.
Chroma Twist yarn changes color on its own, giving each blanket square its own dynamic personality. And the pattern is free! It was part of Knit Picks’ Twelve Weeks of Gifting in 2021. I’ll knit on this when it’s too dark to see my qiviut stitches, or if I need to zone out while dreaming of what I’m designing next…
How many projects do you have on your needles?
October marks the second anniversary of the publication of my book, Brioche Knit Love. I wrote it in 2021, as an extension of my love for designing and teaching brioche knitting. It’s still my favorite kind of knitting!
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to write this book. It was first published by Marie Greene’s Library House Press, which no longer exists. Since then it sold out, and I had to figure out how to keep it going.
Printing 1000 copies and running a warehouse from my home? I didn’t have the mental bandwidth for that. In May I finally figured out how to sell it via Amazon/Kindle Publishing Direct, and that works really well for me. I don’t have to mail anything myself, which is great. I also sell the books wholesale to local yarn shops, if it works for both of us. Winner!
I’ve been enjoying all the Brioche Knit Love Facebook Memories posts this month, so I wanted to share that bit of fun.
If you want a book that takes you from beginning to more advanced brioche, Brioche Knit Love is the book for you. I made video tutorials to go with the book, too, for a complete brioche experience.
Currently on the needles: more brioche! It’s all about the syncopated brioche edges on this piece. I’m knitting with this gorgeous Anzula Lucero DK which has a bit of sparkle in it.
I’m finding that I’m on a roll with wooden needles; I really like them for a little more control than my usual stainless steel. These needles are Knitters Pride Ginger. I like the finish on these birch needles; they’re not overly slick. But not sticky, either!
Do you have a favorite type of needle? I find it depends on the yarn. For this project, these needles are perfect!
I just finished knitting the second iteration of this piece, a bit smaller than the one shown. It’s a cowl that looks like a triangular shawl. This is one of my favorite shapes, because it’s so easy to wear. No danger of falling off!
The cowl features syncopated brioche rib, and an aspen leaf motif that climbs along the edge. It takes two skeins of fingering weight yarn in contrasting colors. I knit both sizes with my two skeins of Manos del Uruguay Alegria.
I’m looking for a few brioche-loving test knitters. Is that you? Let me know!
Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn
Tagged aspen leaf cowl, brioche, cowl, Manos del Uruguay, triangle cowl
This gorgeous shawl has been in the works since last spring! I wanted it to be absolutely perfect, and let the yarn tell me what it should be. The first idea was a whisper, and I refined it several times until it sang out. The shawl features flowers and assigned pooling stars (or are they flowers, too?) on a garter stitch background. I love that it has more than just assigned pooling; lace adds a harmonious counterpoint. And it’s an answer to several knitters who wanted a shawl instead of a cowl.
Choose two 420 yard skeins of fingering weight yarn and enjoy the star show! I loved choosing these color combinations in Dream in Color Smooshy.
So much so that I helped test knitter Ann Berg pick these for her version, too!
The Star Flower Shawl pattern is available through Ravelry, link here.
It’s also available through Payhip, link here.
Use coupon code SHINE through October 25, 2023 for 15% off the pattern on either site. Edit: I’m extending this to October 28, 2023 because I forgot to post to Instagram before Rhinebeck weekend, and it got a little lost!
Thank you to tech editor Jen Lucas, test knitter Annie Berg, and model Sharon Hsu.
This combination made me think of meteor showers amid the Milky Way. What do you want yours to be?
Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn
Tagged assigned pooling, Dream in Color yarn, Star Flower shawl
Update: I have requests for more yarn than I have left. I’ll go through my email and let everyone know if I have yarn for them. Thanks so much your interest!
I’m back from Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival; I enjoyed teaching and a quick spin through the market and exhibits. But first: I have a bit of extra yarn from my pooling class, and wanted to offer it in kits with my patterns that go with it. The kit includes 1 skein of Yarn Snob’s A Wondrous Worsted in the Times Square colorway and download codes for my TWO patterns that were designed with it. You get to choose which project to knit!
The kit is $36 including shipping to USA addresses. The retail value of this kit before shipping is $43 (yarn and two patterns). Interested? Please leave a comment and I’ll email you back. (You can tell that kits are not my usual business; I’m not set up to do this automatically.)
Pooling really is a cinch! Here’s longtime OFFF volunteer Sue, happily pooling away during class. You can do it, too!
More on OFFF when I catch up with myself…
I just updated my Slip Away Cowl pattern. I’ve added a bonus stitch pattern, Zig Zag Lightning. It uses a nifty cable stitch to zigzag the slipped stitches.
I also updated the single garter stitch edge to a 2 stitch knit-in i-cord edging. I really like it; you can see it on the edges of the swatch above. You probably won’t see much of it when the cowl is worn, but it’s a great skill to have in your knitting toolbox. It’s not just for slip stitch knitting. It looks especially nice on garter stitch.
I enjoyed knitting this new sample, after I finally settled on colors. This is English Rose and Liquidambar in Malabrigo Rios.
I originally designed the Slip Away Cowl as a teaching piece. The cowl is knit with two colors of worsted weight yarn. It features six easy slip stitch patterns; you get fun colorwork while using just one color per row. It’s knit flat, and then joined together at the end. This is a great way to get your cowl to be exactly the length you want. This is my favorite cowl length for wearability. The pattern includes tips on using these stitch patterns in the round, too.
The updated Slip Away Cowl pattern is available on Ravelry and Payhip. If you purchased this from me (not The Knitting Circle) previously, you’ll see the updated pattern available to you there. I’ll leave the original pattern there too, in case you prefer the previous garter edge. If you’re new to Slip Away, use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through September 25, 2023.
If you love slip stitch, also consider my Dotty Bed Socks. They’re a quick knit in worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios for these, too. They’re knit from the cuff down, and have a flap and gusset heel turn. Magic! You can knit the top of the instep in either Dotty or stripes; instructions for both are in the pattern. The Dotty Bed Socks pattern is available through Ravelry and Payhip. Use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through September 25, 2023.
I do love knitting with two colors, one at a time. It’s like…brioche! Which is on my needles again, finally. More on that, soon.
Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn
Tagged Dotty Bed Socks, Malabrigo Rios, Slip Away Cowl, slip stitch knitting, Slip Stitch Sampler Cowl
The pink of this English Rose by Malabrigo is so hard to capture with a camera.
But adding more colors to the photo seems to help! Vogue Knitting sent me flowers and get well wishes. Feeling pretty good over here! Still testing positive for Covid, though. I’m glad tomorrow’s class is via Zoom!
PDXKnitterati 