WIP Cabled Hoodie

Every now and then I love to knit other designers' patterns for fun, for learning, for a break from figuring and charting and calculating my own things. I've designed and even written up several cardigan patterns of my own, but I wanted a little design break (although I am also still working on new designs simultaneously so not a total break, lol).

I opted to knit a pattern I'd purchased some time ago but never gotten around to knitting, the Cassidy hooded, cabled cardigan by Bonne Marie Burns from Chicknits.com. photo Chicknits.com

I was incredulous to realize I had only one or two yarns in my stash in enough quantity to knit the desired cable sweater, especially one with a hood, and since one yarn option really was not suitable for cables, that left me with a staple yarn, Berroco's Ultra Alpaca in light heather grey (imagine that). I got a good buy on the yarn at the Merc, one of my LYSs, during their recent sale.

The pattern is well-written, as I would expect from such a terrific designer as Bonne Marie, and not a difficult project. It amazes me how fast it is to knit someone else's pattern, although I am NOT happy to report that my skill in ripping out cables on the needles, dropping down and fixing them and re-knitting them back up the columns has increased, haha. I get to flying along with the needles and realize I've been paying more attention to the Nero Wolfe mystery I'm watching than my knitting... 

I'm almost finished with the back, I'll post more updates when I have more progress to show!

New Year, New Knitting

So long 2011, helloooo 2012! 

In a nod to the 'out with the old, in with the new' way of thinking at New Year, I decided that I would empty out my WIP basket and finish up a few things, then reward myself by  starting something new, so I spread everything out and wove in ends, added trims and blocked like mad. It was somewhat tedious, but rewarding to see some of 2011 projects complete and wearable.

I haven't been able to share as much of my knitting progress from the latter half of 2011 as I'd have liked to because much of it was for publication. Some things, like my new Bosc hat and scarf, have been revealed, but the others are for publication in print for 2012 and are still top secret. 

One of the secret projects was developed in this yarn from Royal Fibers Spinnery, a heathered dark charcoal gray, aran-weight pure alpaca yarn I purchased from the close-out bin of their booth at the Taos Wool Festival last year. The yarn is extremely soft and surprisingly lustrous, with the exquisite drape of pure alpaca. 

Although the pattern will appear in a very different yarn for publication, the open nature of the main stitch pattern is easily worked in a variety of yarns. Can't wait to show you more when the pattern is released!

Another pattern for print publication was also developed in alpaca yarn, shown here in a dusty purple color, although the official version is, again, knit in a different color.

I've been playing around with these fun little doodads for a project,

and these handmade beads, a few of which were purchased from a glass artist exhibiting at Rhinebeck (sorry about the crummy photo, trying to take fast photos under artificial light is not a great idea).

In the 'in with the new' knitting category, I just finished a shawlette design prototype, wrote up the basic pattern outline and am now knitting it up in another yarn, incorporating some new ideas I had. And I've cast on for a cable cardigan - a hoodie? - in some stashed Berroco's Ultra Alpaca (see photo at top of post). 

The Ultra Alpaca was some of the only yarn I had enough quantity of on hand for a large project, so it will not surprise you to discover that it is... gray, lol. I do also have plans to knit purples, some gorgeous cobalt blue, a little red, lovely creamy white, a bit of green, perhaps more gold?, definitely more gray, eye-popping orange, a touch of pink, and a few other of my favorite colors this year.

I'll be able to show many more photos of WIPs and FOs as the year progresses.

And finally, to help celebrate a fresh new year of knitting, I will be holding another free pattern and yarn giveaway contest, so check back for details on that in an upcoming post.

Happy knitting and Happy New Year everyone!

Pattern Inspiration and Quince & Co. Lark Yarn Review

This autumn's harvest brought a bounty of delicious fruits and vegetables - enough inspiration to fuel the imagination of any epicure for months to come. But even before they delighted my taste buds, I found these pears were a treat for the eye.

I love their silhouette, proportions, and rich tones of green and gold tinged with a subtle hint of russet.The attributes of these gorgeous pears inspired some of the ideas I had when working out the stitch pattern and carried over even to choosing yarn for a pattern design. After much consideration chose Quince & Co.'s Lark yarn. basket photo Quinceandco.com

 

Lark is a beautiful, reasonably priced, American-spun, worsted weight yarn plied with enough air to give it a slightly woolly texture and just enough cushion to soften the look and feel of the stitches (while not losing definition in a sculptural stitch pattern like the one I designed for this project).

 

Available in lovely solid colors, Quince & Co. has recently added a few heathers to Lark's range as well. Shade cards can be ordered from the Quince & Co. website.

 

I knit up several variations of the new designs, tweaking them until they captured what I had in mind, and the first pattern to be ready for test-knitting is a scarf. The scarf's texture is formed mainly by simple lace and cable stitches that look difficult but are actually easy and fairly fast to knit.

Lark stood up well to repeated frogging and re-knitting, even considering the constant manipulation of stitches required when working cables and lace, and just felt wonderful to knit with. I look forward to trying the other yarns in the Quince & Co. lineup!

That's it for now, I'm still knitting away on the next item in the set. The scarf should be ready for publication sometime in December.

Signs of the Season

 

All year long I look forward to autumn, an all-too-fleeting time of bright sunshine and an even brighter blaze of leaves.  Although things have only just begun to change around here, the air holds a distinct feel of the season.

 

There's something nostalgic for me in the mingled morning fragrances of brewing coffee and woodsmoke drifting on a chill breeze through an open window. And best of all, it's not too soon to pull out the woollies for wearing!  

The first day of fall seemed the perfect time to cast on for a new project using this gorgeous, Superwash Merino Worsted yarn from Kimber at Fiber Optic.

 

I love this color "Ellie," an eye-popping orange-red.  This stunner is perfect for a design that will be available soon.

It's been a busy summer around here, with several patterns being published, doing much work around the garden and house, and participating in various family activities, and I look forward to a (somewhat) slower pace this season.

I enjoyed this quote from Northern Farm by Henry Beston: 

The leaves fall, the wind blows,  

and the farm country slowly changes  

from the summer cottons into its winter wools.

I wish all my readers a beautiful first day of fall, much peace, many blessings and happy knitting!

Linen & Tweed WIP Update

It's been a long time since I've worked in costume or garment design, but I came across some beautiful linen fabrics and it set me to thinking of doing a bit of sewing.  

A stash dive unearthed charcoal gray Rowan Summer Tweed yarn and it looked rather nice with the fabrics so I've undertaken a complete ensemble design project - oy.  At the moment I am thinking skirt, tunic, and vest, but perhaps I will opt for billowy trousers rather than a skirt.  We'll see.  The knitted item will be for on top.

 

Summer Tweed cotton/ silk blend is rather dry to the touch, with a chalky feeling, and it sheds little bits of silk all over you when you knit with it.  It also has no give and can be tiring to work with.  

 

All those things considered, however, the tweed yarn has a rich, rough texture that I quite like paired with the smooth-but-earthy linen wovens, and a nice color with subtle black, gray, beige and tan variation from the nepps.

The gauge for this yarn is on the heavy side of worsted, but the silk should add some drape and I am planning a super simple, very open stitch to enhance this.  The blocked swatch looks quite nice.

It might be awhile before the finished outfit makes it debut, but I hope to complete it before the weather turns too cold to wear it, LOL.  

Knitting continues on my Beach Glass lace shawl from Diana's new pattern, and I've arrived at the bottom edging, but I had to put that project on hold this week until I finish some pressing items, then I should have FO photos soon after.  

This will be the last post before my one year blogiversary free knitting pattern and yarn giveaway contest ends. 

I'll use an online random number generator to choose the winner on the 22nd, and announce the winner's name in my next post!  Read all the contest details here.

Peace, blessing and happy knitting to all!

Knitting on the 'Net & a Savory Summer Recipe

I read recently that knitting is the single largest interest group represented on the Internet.  Along with Knitty.com, Ravelry.com is, of course, the biggie for knitters, crocheters and fiber enthusiasts of every stripe, but Facebook, Twitter, and thousands of blogs and podcasts help promote this activity.

Ravelry members can search for the newest and hottest patterns (check out the photo above with my Sothia pattern in the top 10 for all of the last month - squeee!!), including photos of thousands of projects knitted from those patterns and knitters' comments about them, and find information about yarn, yarn shops, fiber festivals, knitting, crochet and spinning techniques, and much more.

An excellent story that's been all over the knitting Internet since it ran in the July 6th, 2011 issue of Slate.com, outlines the merits of Ravelry, and compares it to community-based giant Facebook.

An invitation to participate in the beta testing phase of the new Google+ community recently came my way and I have a feeling it too will eventually have success as a community for knitters. 

Thanks very much to Gill and to Hal for sending me links.

I love using Ravelry but haven't gotten nearly as involved on Facebook.  Quite frankly, I simply don't have the extra time to devote to being involved in more online activities more than I already am.  I'd rather be knitting!  However, I can see how people will enjoy and benefit from different aspects of internet knitting tools and groups.

And then there's Twitter.  I don't really have all that much to say, but I did finally break down and sign up for a Twitter account after a friend invited me to take a Twitter seminar with her.

In the past few days I've, surprisingly, enjoyed reading updates from accounts I 'follow', including knitting tips, yarn shop updates, and blog and podcast announcements, like those from favorite podcasters Stash and Burn, The Knitmore Girls, and the Knitting Pipeline (more detail on these and other shows in an upcoming post).

A lot of seemingly random thoughts and, shall I say, 'quirky' and somewhat amusing tweets shouting out about knitting tweeters' recent activities, the bodily functions of their children, and what their hotel room smells like, are also frequently posted.  

I've replied to a few tweets, figuring that most people who tweet to their large interest groups using a worldwide, totally public forum, are happy that someone is reading their posts, and have connected already with several really nice, interesting knitters and knitting-writers. I'm still learning the ropes, and don't know how much time I will really have for it, but again, I can see the benefits for many.

Tweeting by me will probably happen only sporadically, but should prove occasionally useful in sharing small bits of knitting information, announcing new blog posts and pattern info., or keeping my friends and family up on my doings.  I promise to not tweet about bodily functions.

Don't forget about my 'blogiversary' free knitting pattern and yarn giveaway coming up this month!  

Comments on any post through July 21st, 2011 qualify for entry, full rules are outlined in this post.

The garden is growing like crazy now that the warm weather has arrived.  I picked a huge basket of snap peas, any others lingering at this point will be left to harvest for next year's seed.

 

My husband has been working on a rose arbor we designed for the climbing New Dawn rose we planted last year.

I've harvested masses of garlic already, currently drying in the sun awaiting braiding for storage and gift-giving.

The herbs are beyond profuse.  Chives, parsley, cilantro, onions, rosemary and thyme are all so vigorous I've been clipping, mincing and drying the extras almost daily, so I decided to concoct a recipe to make use of as much as possible. 

I hope you enjoy this deliciously simple appetizer made from fresh chèvre goat cheese crusted with dried herbs. I fell in love with this cheese on a trip to France a while ago, and always look for opportunities to use it.  If you do not care for the strong flavor of, or do not have, goat cheese available, substitute any semi-soft cheese of your choice.

Many combinations of your favorite herbs work well for this recipe, so you might like to experiment by adding a little crushed red pepper, chipotle pepper, wasabi or horseradish powder, dried, minced sweet bell peppers, or anything else that strikes your fancy. The mixture may be used right away or stored, tightly covered, for up to three months.  After that, many herbs lose their potency. 

Try serving this cheese as an appetizer with crackers, toast points or celery sticks, or topping Portabello/a mushrooms caps with herbed cheese slices and broiling for a few minutes.  It also makes a delicious omelet filling.

Truknit's Savory Herb Crusted Chèvre

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black peppercorns

1/4tsp. coarsely ground green peppercorns

1/4 tsp. coarse salt (I use sea salt), to taste
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried, minced garlic, or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, to taste 

1/2 tsp. cilantro
1 tsp. shallots

2 tsp. chives

2 tsp. parsley

4-6 oz. roll fresh chèvre goat cheese

Directions:

In a small bowl thoroughly mix dry ingredients.  

Spread herb mixture onto a piece of waxed paper or large plate, roll fresh cheese over the mixture until it is thoroughly coated.  Coat the ends of the roll if desired.  Pat loose herbs onto any bare spots on the cheese.

Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Bon appétit! 

Beach Glass

Designing new projects is always a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work and I enjoy knitting other people's designs from time to time, especially in the summer when it's nice to slow down a bit and enjoy the season.  So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to test knit a new pattern for my blogging friend Diana.  

You may remember the fabulous job Diana did on my Sothia shawl test knit recently, 

and I love being able to knit her new design, shown on her Ravelry project page as Green Tulips.

I started later than most of the other testers so my shawl is not very large yet but I'm trying to make up some ground and hope to finish a lot of it this weekend.

Further delay was caused because I originally began this project with a vastly different lace yarn in pure alpaca.  The original yarn, which (because I intend to only publish positive reviews on this blog) shall remain nameless, caused me so much aggravation that I spent hours on just a few inches before I ripped it from the needles and started over again this week with something pulled from my stash. 

The new yarn is an unknown wool/ angora/ nylon  purchased at a wool festival last autumn from a vendor who imports closeouts from Russia.  

This yarn is terrific with great texture that is not overly soft or fuzzy, and it has wonderful stitch definition .  

The vendor only had one color available, a shade of aqua that reminds me of the sea glass I collect from trips to the beach.

I am really enjoying knitting this beautiful shawl, thank you Diana!  The pattern is easy to follow and clear, and the charts are excellent.  The stitch pattern is very large and slightly asymmetric so it took a few rows to get the rhythm, but now I am zooming right along and loving every minute.  

A 'favorite thing' I have been using for this project and that I must share with you is one of my favorite tools for chart knitting - highlighter tape.  

Found at some LYS, office supply stores, or in the school supply section of large stores, this semi-transparent tape comes in many colors, and can be adhered, lifted and moved over and over again as you progress through the chart, allowing you to easily see which row you are knitting and at the same time, where you have been and what is coming next.  

I usually put my paper pattern into a plastic sleeve then position the tape so that it covers the rows yet to be knitted and my current row is uncovered, just below the tape.  Then I move the tape up as I progress.  

I hope this tape tip makes your knitting just a little simpler and more fun.  And don't forget about my blogiversary free knitting pattern and yarn giveaway contest going on until July 21st, 2011, detailed in this post.

Look for Diana's new pattern to be released within a few weeks, I know you will love it!  

Knitting On

Wow, what a couple of weeks it's been!  Between finalizing and releasing my new shawl pattern Sothia, planting trees in the yard to replace those that died in last year's drought, attending a fiber festival, prepping for conferences and my mom's birthday, and working out details on my next pattern, I'm about done in.  

To everyone who made Sothia Ravelry's "hottest" pattern for two days and have kept it pretty well up there ever since - whether by buying the pattern, commenting with so much enthusiasm, or test knitting the draft - I humbly offer my heartfelt thank you.

I don't get much time to indulge in reading blogs, but every few weeks or so, I like to click and drift from one to another, reading about other knitters' and designers' doings and projects.  It's one of those mindless pleasures that I need as a break from always thinking, planning, doing, etc. That is how I became familiar with one of my tester's knitting and designing.  

Diana, or Deenulya (her Russian nickname and Ravelry username) is a superb knitter, having learned from her grandmother as a child.  She also designs lovely knitwear herself, and has a blog where she shares updates on her knitting projects and life with her beautiful family.  

Diana did such a wonderful job on the Sothia test knit that I just had to share (with her permission of course!) a few photos of her modeling her finished shawlette.  

Sothia is a true, wide triangle with increases on both sides, creating a shallow shawlette silhouette that is lightweight but drapes nicely around the shoulders.  

Blocking the finished object with a horizontally-stretched top edge enhances this shape, bordered by a flounce of restrained ruffles. 

Thank you Diana for the wonderful job you did on your shawl, your incredible photos, and terrific input on the design. 

Memorial Day weekend my friend Lynn and I had a great time being escorted by my husband (with my dog in tow) to the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, Ohio.  

We found lots to enjoy including these jacket-wearing sheep being guarded by an adorable shepherd-in-training Great Pyrenees puppy.

Of course there was loads of fiber and yarn to interest us like Knitting Notions' fantastic hand-dyed assortment,

Ohio Valley Natural Fibers beautiful gray mohair/ wool blends,

and their merino/ dog hair blend (!!?? - dog of unknown breed),

Lynn is an angora nut and cannot resist it's silky allure.

Especially when there was SO much of it to consider, like this lovely selection from Angoraonline.com

 

My Pom was a chick magnet.

The little diva just basked in the love.

I've now progressed to knitting on my next project, a light summer top in Louet MerLin, the swatch is shown below.  

I'm also knitting something summer-y in Classic Elite Allegoro linen/ cotton blend, that yarn is shown in the photo at the top of this post.

I normally almost always lean towards rich or saturated colors, but lately have found myself working with more neutrals, although they mostly do not suit my coloring at all.  Perhaps it is the lure of warm summer evenings and soft breezes?