New Knitting Pattern - Ascend Cowl

 

I'm very happy to introduce my newest knitting design, the Ascend Cowl.

I've long admired intricate Estonian lace knitting and I've knit a few projects in this delicate style, but I wanted to design a pattern that was approachable for newer lace knitters (especially without nupps!), cozy in a chunky wool, and pretty without being fussy.

After a little experimentation, I came up with a variation of a traditional Estonian stitch that swirled easily up around the cowl, in the manner of a spiral staircase, requiring nothing more of the knitter than working the simple pattern repeat. 

Spiral staircases can be so intriguing, and our trip to Ireland last May provided us the chance to climb dozens of them. This one is located in Aughnanure Castle. 

After joining in the round, the ribbing edge flows seamlessly into the main lace pattern, then back through the ribbing to the top, using simple lace stitches. 

Ascend is easy to wear singly or doubled up to keep out the cold. 

The yarn used is the gorgeous Plucky Bulky from The Plucky Knitter. Plucky Bulky is soft and cushy with a nice amount of twist, and it comes in an amazing variety of colors. The pattern project was worked in the Narragansett Gray colorway, a serene blue-gray.

The easy stitches, heavier weight yarn and larger needles make the project zoom by at lightning speed. Plucky Sarah also knit an Ascend up herself (in about a day!) in Snug yarn, featured on her Ravelry page in a delicious pink. 

If you'd like to try Plucky yarn, an update is scheduled for tomorrow and I recommend shopping early because her yarn sells fast.

My thanks to my 7 awesome test knitters - your expertise is appreciated!

Much of the US, including our area, has been hit with unusually early cold weather and snow, so I'm glad I've had my Ascend cowl to keep me toasty. I hope you are staying cozy where you are, knitting and crocheting with one of your favorite yarns. 

Thanks for stopping by today, happy stitching! 

Monday's Muse

Inspiration for creating can strike me at any time or place, but I admit to being very influenced by certain things, especially nature, architecture and art. One place where I find connection to these elements, when I catch a few minutes for a short break from work here and there throughout my day, is on the Pinterest.com website. Great diligence is required in keeping to the idea of short since gorgeous photos and inspiration abound on that site and it's easy to get lost in the beauty!

I've been on a bit of a white kick lately, but that seems to be waning as this week's 'muse' has been inspired by dusky twilight tones like that of the lovely blue-gray Plucky Bulky yarn shown above.

Here are a few other favorite photos from my Pinterest pins.

 

  

Last weekend I also happened upon Taylor's (Nightmorning on Ravelry) latest Sothia shawl, knit in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light, colorways Nebula & Graphite.

This knitter has made five gorgeous Sothia shawls, equalling my total! Another of her lovely versions is this one in colorways Georgia & Cove. 

Taylor certainly has a wonderful talent for combining colors.

What have you been inspired by lately? 





Photo links via Pinterest.

The Return of the Greyhaven Cowl

The Greyhaven Cowl design has been around for several years and I love it, but a while ago, I decided this little pattern deserved an updated format and an additional sizing option 

to add to the existing cozy neckwarmer design.

I had a lot of fun knitting several experimental prototypes and I'm happy to announce the return of the newly updated and expanded Greyhaven Cowl pattern.

I am an inveterate tweaker, and experimented with many interesting and entertaining ideas, but ultimately I kept the original stitch pattern unchanged (although I added sleeker shaping to the bottom of both sizes when I designed the Slouchy option). 

I've also expanded the pattern instructions and charts and provided a tutorial for one of my favorite bind off methods. I'm extremely happy with the fresh new pattern format.

The original Cozy size cowl is a super fast, one-skein project that's easy to tuck into a coat collar.

I love the original version, but I also enjoy that the new Slouchy size offers plenty of styling options including wearing it draped simply around the neck,

folded in on itself for coziness, 

or closed with a fun pin.

I think the larger version would make an especially nice gift presented with a pretty stick pin or brooch. The twig shawl pin shown in the photo above is from Jul, you can read more about it in this post. 

The Greyhaven design is one I did more than two years ago, originally inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of Rings trilogy (and made into movies by Peter Jackson). I'm looking forward to the release of the film version of Tolkien's The Hobbit this weekend, and I planned to have the pattern available just in time for the event.

When I designed Greyhaven, I adapted a lace stitch pattern that I thought looked rather like leaves and/ or arches - both themes which are heavily used in the LOTR movies. The stitch itself is fairly simple and easy to memorize, and the cowl is worked in the round, so requires no seaming or grafting. 

Although I knit several of the prototypes for the update in leftover stash yarn (including the natural white one shown in this post), 

the gray and plum yarn featured in the new pattern is the scrumptious Primo Worsted from The Plucky Knitter. 

You may remember that I used Primo Fingering in my Amethiste pattern, and was thrilled to be able to work with the heavier weight of this merino/ cashmere/ nylon blend.

The yarn is wonderfully soft, the stitch definition is superb and it blocks lace like a dream!

I've already worked out the matching hat and fingerless mitts, but those patterns will have to wait until later this winter, I'm going to get busy now preparing for the holidays.

Before I sign off I must first give a huge thank you to my tech editor Katherine and my wonderful crew of Greyhaven test knitters: Laurie, Julia, Kim, Connie, Paula, Gillian, Cheryl and Josefina! These ladies are super knitters and were extremely helpful in working closely with me to craft a pattern I am thrilled with.

Thanks for stopping by everyone, have a fun and safe weekend!

Almost an FO

To the many knitters who've inquired when my Greyhaven pattern will be re-released, thank you so much for your enthusiasm for my design. I've been rather amazed at how much interest there is in this little piece.

What started as a simple graphic update of the pattern morphed into new ideas as I played around with sizing and proportions and enjoyed some yarny awesomeness from The Plucky Knitter, shown in the unblocked project above. 

My seventh (!!), and final, version of this cowl is now blocked and the pattern is being test knit before release.

Thanks for stopping by today, have a wonderful weekend and happy stitching!

Yarn Love

Look what I've been knitting with since I received a package from Sarah Dimond, aka The Plucky Knitter! 

Hot off my needles is my updated Greyhaven project in Plucky Primo Worsted (the plum and gray colors) with photos to come soon. Primo is amazing yarn to work with (20% cashmere!) and so gorgeous to look at that I have these beauties sitting on my desk just to admire.

The lovely blue-gray Plucky Bulky will be for another project. Oh the awesomeness... 

I hope you enjoy your day and wish you a very creative weekend!