Tag Archives: Malabrigo Rios

On the needles

Cosette is finished except for the publishing. I’ve also knitted three versions of another design for a June release (no pictures yet). My needles were empty, so it’s time for another project! I’m designing a new hat/cowl project for my class on the Vogue Knitting cruise in August. (Come cruise with me!)

Look at the color of that water. It inspired me to choose this yarn.

Mmmmm, Malabrigo

This is Malabrigo Rios in Azul Profundo and Cian. So pretty! My class is a brioche class, and I’m trying to make it as user friendly as possible. It’s just a 3 hour class, so I have to think about pacing and how to cover everything I want. (You may be thinking about my Deep End hat and cowl, but that’s too much of a quick start for brioche newbies.)

I have this design all planned out, and now I just have to knit and see if it really does what I want, at the pace I want. Wish me luck!

Evolution of the Dotty Bed Sock

I designed this mini Dotty sock to teach top down sock basics during the Craftsy/Knitting Circle Holiday Virtual Event in December. But I always knew that I’d want to design a full size sock using the Dotty stitch pattern, which I love. Of course they’d be worsted weight socks, because I’m not a skinny yarn sock knitter. And I like quick socks!

I used a two row stripe pattern at the gusset decreases, because it was easier than trying to make those decreases fit into the Dotty stitch pattern. And I liked the way the stripes looked, so much that I put a 2 stitch slip stitch stripe pattern on the sole of the foot. Well. that was so graphic and lovely, I decided that maybe I wanted striped socks instead. So I started those.

I wasn’t sure I had enough of the purple/orange combo to make a third sock, and I wasn’t committed enough to the stripe to frog the first sock, so I started a striped pair in blue. (Thank you stash!) But you can tell that it’s hard to control the stitch gauge with the 2 stitch stripe patten; see how the cuff and the foot are wildly different in width? The gauge is definitely tighter than the Dotty stitch pattern. I wrote up the pattern while knitting the second blue sock, but by the time I was finishing the second sock, I really didn’t want to publish it. Too many caveats about gauge and centering the stripe pattern at the heel for the different sizes. I wanted it to be simple and elegant. Worst of all, they weren’t as cute as I thought they would be.

You can see from the picture above that I moved on to the green all Dotty sock.

After I finished the Dotty sock with the striped gusset, I wondered if the row gauge between the dots and the stripes were too different for me to use dots on top, and horizontal stripe on the bottom where the decreases happen. Only one way to find out. So I tried it. And it was fine. Then I had to decide which I wanted for MY pair.

Which meant I had to knit a third sock, so I’d finally have a complete matching pair. And an extra. And that’s how I ended up knitting 7 socks before I had a complete pair.

The Dotty Bed Sock pattern has both insteps, so you can choose which one you like best. But the striped sock? Not gonna happen…even though I had it tech edited. I only want you to have the best!

The Dotty Bed Sock pattern is still 20% off with code SlipSlide through January 8.

The SlipSlide code also applies to the Slip Away Cowl, through January 8. It’s been a slip stitch party!

And the Sheepy Steeky Coasters are still 15% off with code COASTING through January 8, too. If you’re looking for a low stakes introduction to steeking, this is it. Coasting into 2022, one stitch at a time.

I’ll show you what’s on my needles in the next post. Although by then, it may be off. I’m knitting up a storm of garter stitch, and thinking about more! What are you knitting in 2022?

Slip It! Slip It Good!

Apologies to Devo, and you’re welcome for the earworm.

Introducing two new slip stitch designs, the Slip Away Cowl, and Dotty Bed Socks!

Slip Away Cowl

I designed the Slip Away Cowl as a teaching piece for The Knitting Circle’s Holiday Virtual Event, and now I can share it with you, too. The cowl is knit with two colors of worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios. It features five 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 Slip Away Cowl pattern is available on Ravelry and Payhip. Use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through January 8, 2022. If you’re taking the Slip Away Class at January’s Virtual Knitting Live, the pattern is included in your class fee in January only, so don’t buy it twice!

Dotty Bed Socks

The Dotty Bed Socks are 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 January 8, 2022.

If you’re a newsletter subscriber, check your email for a combo offer!

I do love knitting with two colors, one at a time. It’s like…brioche! Which I’ll get back to, eventually. For now, I’m knitting madly on my garter stitch Cherry Blossom Wrapture, which is also…one color at a time! Happy happy new year to you.

Playing with slipped stitches

I know we use the heel stitch to make the heel of socks a bit thicker; slipping every other stitch gives us a double layer of yarn over the heel. So for a bed sock, why not used slipped stitches to make the whole thing doubly thick and cozy?

I finished one, almost. I won’t commit to grafting that toe until I’m done playing with my stitch patterns! I have a Dotty slip stitch pattern on the leg of the sock, but I didn’t want that underfoot. Even though this is intended to be a bed sock (worsted weight, warm), I didn’t want those bumps on the sole. At first I tried using the double stitch stripe on the whole foot, but it was hard for me to carry the floats loosely. I put them just on the sole.

But the heart wants what the heart wants. As you can see, now I’m trying the stripes on the leg first, to see if I can keep things loose enough there. If yes, then I can do it on the foot, too. I kind of love the idea of vertical stripes on leg and foot, and a band of horizontal stripes across the gusset shaping. (Partly because working the decreases into the vertical stripe pattern seemed like a pain in the…foot? But I’ll think about it again when I get there on the second sock.) Also, I want the purple foot stripe to begin right after a purple gusset stripe, and end right before the purple toe. I don’t like the purple bar floating against the orange background. See how nice it looks snugged up to the ribbing on the second sock?

Do I want to explain all of this in a pattern, or just make these for myself for fun? It would be a quick gift knit.

I love these colors. Malabrigo Rios, in Lavanda (purple) and Archangel. It feels like fall to me. And I’m sitting here in the backyard, making the most of a gloriously sunny day. Rain tomorrow!

Brioche Knit Love: On to 2 color brioche

Continuing the tour through my new book, the next two chapters in Brioche Knit Love feature 2 color brioche, knit in the round and flat.

The Grande Brioche Cowl is an upsized version of my Petite Brioche headband, with a more interesting edge treatment. (Shown in Malabrigo Rios)

Did you know that brioche doesn’t have to be knit/purl ribbing? The Peppermint Mocha Cup Cozy and Coaster are stockinette brioche. I love the look of this fabric. (More Malabrigo Rios!)

The Italian Soda Cowl is 2 color brioche rib, knit flat. You’ll get into a rhythm with the brioche rib, and with the selvages, too. I knit this with Knit Picks Chroma Worsted. That rainbow colorway is Pegasus, one of my favorites.

And the Iced Latte Cowl is a reincarnation of my Parquetry Cowl. I love garter stitch and brioche rib together. In fact, I loved it so much, I designed a matching hat, which I’ll show you in a later post. These are knit in Hazel Knits Lively DK.

Can I just say how great it was to have my sister Sharon modeling with me for this book? We had a very fun day! She’s the perfect model. (All book photos in this post are by Angela Watts, Tekoa Rose Photography.)

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the intro post for this book, if you’d like a chance to win a copy. I’m picking a winner on Sunday October 10. Right after I finish teaching for Virtual Knitting Live!

If you’re interested, i think there’s still room in some of the classes. I’m teaching Herringbone Braids and Beyond, Log Cabin Knitting (newly revised!), Brioche Increases and Decreases, and Brioche Doctor. The registration page is here.

Onward!

Mood board, and moody

When I started my book project, I was asked to do a mood board. What reflects my vibe/ What do I want my book to look like?

(Mood indigo? Moody blues?)

Looking at recent projects, I think you can tell I like a monochromatic palette, different shades of the same hue. And blue is big! I can’t have an all blue book (and why not?), but I can definitely have a monochromatic vibe.

(Blues, patiently waiting)

I just need to swatch what I’ve charted to make sure it works, and then this is off to Ann, who is sample knitting for me.

I’m funny with deadlines. I used to be a procrastinator, and somewhere along the way I’ve morphed into an all-in obsessive. Not good! There’s a lot of knitting that needs to happen, but slow and steady wins the race.

(If it’s going to be green, it will have a blue undertone!)

I need to do a better job balancing my knitting time. I didn’t listen to my body, and I have developed tendonitis in my forearms, which affects knitting *and* typing. You know, the things I need to do to get this book done! So I’m not knitting for 3 days, and minimally typing.

(Big project? No, a set of two projects.)

For now, I’m petting yarn, and sketching and charting things on paper. I’m on the last big design project for the book, and then I have three more small ones that should be easy. Should. I never know until I actually try to knit them!

Have you ever done a mood board? What would your mood board say about you?

Multiple WIPs, oh noes!

I usually have one or two projects at a time; that’s plenty for me. I work better when I’m a bit obsessive. But my two current projects are both stranded colorwork (Dreyma and Katie’s Kep), and that means paying attention to a chart, all the time. Sometimes that’s not possible.

So here we are with brioche again, a perfect multi-tasker project for me. I decided I hadn’t had enough of this color combo yet; Malabrigo Rios in Volcan and Azul Profundo. I gave two friends the previous cowls in this color combo, and I decided I liked it so much I wanted to use it again.

Debbie Braden, one of my Leafy Origami Cowl test knitters, said she was wearing the small cowl as a hat with her ponytail coming out the top. Hmmm. I think I can actually make this close up on top, gracefully. I’ve gone so far as to chart it, and now I have to see if it works in real life. If not, I’ll rip off the top, and finish as a cowl for Mom-in-law. It’s a winner, either way.

Here’s another non-charted project from the weekend. I made a little bow with my other 32 ft strand of fairy lights. US 9 needles, again. I made a stitch holder for the live stitches, using a piece of guitar string. After that I realized that I probably have a stitch holder somewhere that would have worked! Oh well, it’s all good.

I’ve got a lot of food gifts to make in the next few days, which will be a good changeup from knitting. My forearms are still reminding me that I knit too long on Dreyma last week, so it still looks like this:

DH wore the hat over the weekend, so I guess we’ve done our gifts early! (Mine is the board in the leafy hat-to-be picture.)

Are you a mulit-WIP or monogamous knitter? Are you scrambling this week, or completely chill?

Introducing: Leafy Origami Cowl

large cowl

The Leafy Origami Cowl is a 2-color brioche cowl, knit in the round from the bottom up. It features a stitch pattern that falls into mountain and valley folds, just like origami. The result is a delightfully three dimensional fabric. It’s knit with 2 colors of worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios.

small cowl

The beginning of the round moves forward and backward on several rounds to keep the center vein of the first leaf as the first stitch of the round, making this a challenging brioche pattern. The results are worth it! I’ve made several video tutorials to guide you through the increases, decreases, and moving the markers. The stitch pattern is adapted from the Under Dutch Skies stitch pattern in Nancy Marchant’s book, Knitting Fresh Brioche.

A better view of all those leaves

This pattern is available through Ravelry and through Payhip for 10% off through December 16, 2020 with coupon code FOLDS. Newsletter subscribers, see your special offer in your inbox.

large cowl

Thanks to tech editor Meaghan Schmaltz, and test knitters Ann Berg, Debbie Braden, Elizabeth Forester, and Wendy Sakai.

small cowl, with colors reversed

I hope you enjoy knitting this as much as I did! Four cowls later, I’m still smitten. You know I love leaves, and you know I love brioche. This is a perfect combo for me.

This is my last pattern release for the year. 2020 has been strange, but ultimately productive. Hunkering down and knitting has had some benefits. I hope you’re making the best of 2020, too. Carry on…

Introducing: Cannon Beach Accessories Collection

I’m so pleased with my newest design, the Cannon Beach Cowl. It just rolled off my needles because the yarn knew what it wanted to be. I love it when that happens!

And then there were fingerless mitts too, because why not?

Both the cowl and mitts are knit in the round from the top down in worsted to Aran weight yarn. The patterns are available individually, or as an e-book collection that includes both patterns. The pieces feature two slip stitch patterns, one resembling seagulls, the other resembling waves. Cannon Beach, Oregon, is one of my favorite places on earth, and the cozy cowl and mitts are just right for a stroll on a breezy beach.

The cowl was inspired by the loveliness of a yarn, Woolfolk Får. This is a beautiful merino wool chainette yarn. When I saw it I knew it wanted to be a very soft cowl featuring a stitch pattern with long floats to show off the construction of the yarn.

The pattern is also pretty but very different in more conventional yarns like single ply Malabrigo Merino Worsted, or a plyed yarn like Malabrigo Rios.

The cowl instructions include three sizes, from a cozy 22″ neck warmer to a larger 24″ cowl. The circumference and height of the cowl are easily adjusted.


Small cowl shown in Malabrigo Merino Worsted


Medium cowl shown in Woolfolk Får


Large cowl shown in Malabrigo Merino Worsted

The mitts are written for one size, 7.5″ in circumference, and will stretch to fit an 8″ palm. Because of the large number of stitches in the seagull and wave stitch pattern, sizing should be altered by changing needle size.

The patterns are available for $6 for a single pattern, or as an e-book of both patterns for $10. Ravelry page link is live!

Subscribers to my newsletter will receive a coupon code for 20% off the single patterns or the e-book. Not a subscriber? Subscribe by clicking this link, or letting me know in the comments below.

Thanks to tech editor Amanda Woodruff, test knitter Ann Berg, and model Erin Hocraffer.

Sunset at Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach…a little chilly, needs a cowl!