What a lovely surprise it was for me this week, upon logging on to Ravelry, to discover that one of the front page projects featured in Sarah's Community Eye Candy post was a version of my Katriel shawl design.
Ravelry member Muriel's Handpsun Katriel was beautifully knit in gorgeous yarn spun with the colors of autumn. Just perfect for the beginning of meteorological fall. Great job Muriel!
photo: Muriel
Do you have a knitting 'bucket list' of projects or techniques you'd like to accomplish? I certainly do! Somewhere along that list has long been a desire to knit one of Norwegian company Dale Garn's exquisite stranded stitch sweaters.
Daleofnorway.com, the company's sister ready-to-wear site, offers intricately-patterned, classic sweaters commanding hefty prices in US boutiques (including the Peace Sweater pullover below, priced at $349 US)
With the recent release of Dale Garn's Peace Sweater design as a hand knitting pattern - for free download on Ravelry - I might just have to bump the project up a bit higher on my list!
What does your knitting or crochet 'bucket list' look like?
Top photo - Dale Garn
Second photo - Daleofnorway.com
I'm not much of a shopper these days, waiting until I want to start a new project before looking for yarn or other supplies. But every now and then I'll stop at a charity rummage sale, usually held at a local church, to see if there is anything useful waiting for me to take it home.
Over the years I've made quite a few scores in this area, finding wonderful knitting, crochet and sewing supplies for pennies, and I get a bonus good feeling knowing the money is going to charity.
One such bargain sale find was an Ashford Electric Spinner (normal retail price $750) for $5. Granted, it did not include extra bobbins, a lazy kate or other accessories, but is was new in the box, in perfect condition, so I consider it money well spent.
At other sales I've poked around under piles of acrylic yarn, abandoned plastic canvas projects and musty fabric to find vintage knitting needles in a rainbow of colors, fabulous cashmere yarn for $2, and other fun, useful things.
I pretty much stick to a strict rule that anything I purchase must have a useful purpose, but recently I was intrigued by a tiny cardboard box, simply because it was cute. That and because it said "Paris" on the front.
Upon opening the box I was delighted to find several skeins of silky cotton embroidery floss, in lovely shades of antique beige and gold, nestled in tissue paper (see top photo).
Not being an embroiderer, I nearly left the little box behind, but the beautiful, rich, neutral colors spoke to me and for .25 cents I decided to take it home and try my hand at a project. I might share the results here sometime, we'll see...
How about you? Have you ever happened upon a wonderful needlework bargain?
Thanks for stopping by my studio today, have a wonderful week!
Ashford Spinner Photo: The Woolery
If you have not yet discovered Craftsy.com, you are in for something exciting.
Craftsy is a free-to-join, member-based online crafting mecca offering video classes for knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving, sewing, quilting, cooking, gardening, jewelry and other creative interests.
Online video classes boast an interactive format, meaning you can download class handouts, ask for and receive input from instructors, and share your class questions and projects with other members enrolled in your class.
Another excellent feature of their website is the Craftsy blog, packed with interesting articles, one of which recently featured my Philodendra scarf design in a recent piece on openwork scarves.
An online marketplace of supplies, including yarn like this yummy Canopy Worsted from The Fibre Company,
adds to the fun, making Craftsy a site worth checking out.
Thanks for stopping by today, I wish you a creative weekend!
yarn photo: Craftsy.com
Christmas Eve is here once again - the knitting is finished (temporarily), the gifts are wrapped, the food is cooked and the anticipation of something wonderful is palpable. My little dog was certainly feeling the mood and wanted in on the action this afternoon as I worked on photographing this year's holiday greeting card (check the card out here tomorrow...).
Wishing you a joyful, safe and warm holiday, Merry Christmas Eve!
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!
Not long ago, a cousin kindly invited my husband and I to accompany him on a trip to Ireland, a place none of us had ever visited. Although our trip was short (just 4 full days), we packed in an amazing amount of activity and I came home fairly bursting with inspiration.
Irish hospitality is legendary and one of the best parts of the trip were the Irish themselves, certainly some of the warmest, friendliest people in the world. Every person we interacted with made us feel welcome.
A popular nickname for this land is the "Emerald Isle." With miles upon miles of brilliant green vegetation that label is apt, but Ireland also delights the eye in many other ways with rugged vistas, ancient ruins, peacefully grazing livestock (especially sheep), sparkling coastlines, quaint villages and beautiful cities.
We flew into Shannon airport and rented a car (a left-hand stick shift for driving on the left side of the road - yikes!!). Thankfully, my cousin handled the driving.
After loading up the car we headed north to Galway, on the coast, our first place to explore and a base from which to venture out on day trips.
Galway is a fun, colorful city full of shops selling sweaters, blankets, hand and mill spun yarn, and other wool goods, as well as plenty of other things to inspire the imagination.
Each day we chose a different direction and final destination, stopping along the way to inspect anything we found interesting. Unfortunately, narrow, rock wall-lined roads and few parking places made it difficult to easily stop for photographs, so some beautiful views will have to remain only in my memory. However, I did manage to insist on stopping for scenic photos now and then.
And in case you are wondering, yes, the grass really is that green and the sky really was that blue (we had four days of warm sunshine, apparently unheard of in Ireland)!
And for photos at a few historic sites as well...
Aughnanure Castle, a lovely place to visit.
Boyle Abbey, where amazing restoration is ongoing.
Bunratty Castle, a well-restored site.
Foxford Woollen Mills, begun by Catholic nuns to provide work during the famines of the 19th century, and where incredible blankets and scarves are still woven for sale.
Kylemore Abbey, with a fantastic Victorian, walled garden.
Roundstone, a charming seaside town
Clonfert Cathedral, an early 12th century church filled with elaborate sandstone carvings.
And there were of course, lots of sheep!
Since my cousin planned the trip, visits to knitting sites were not a top priority, however, we couldn't help but be surrounded by wonderful things of interest to knitters and non-knitters alike.
If Ireland sounds like a place you'd like to visit, you might want to consider joining my friend Amy Detjen's Knitting Tour of Ireland coming up next month which will be packed with things both knitting and Irish. Amy is a superb knitting teacher, experienced in Irish travel, and a super fun person to hang out with, so you are sure to have a great time!
If you can't go this time around, you can follow her via her website, or join her Ravelry knitting travel group and keep up on plans for future trips.
I'm still absorbing everything we saw on our visit to this inspiring island nation, I think I feel a bout of cable knitting coming on...
Our extended winter was still in full swing, and I was in the midst of chemotherapy treatments, when I first began experimenting with stitches and swatches for the Philodendra scarf.
I longed for spring, vitality, and something bright and cheerful to knit and wear. Thus, a travel-friendly project combining an airy stitch pattern, lightweight silk-wool blend yarn, and bright colorway was an easy choice.
I love the way a pretty scarf can elevate simple jeans and a white shirt to 'outfit' status so I set out to make something light and delicate enough to wear as a warm-weather fashion accessory (however, since the pattern requires only
a single skein of yarn, I also plan to knit it in a special, wintry cashmere
yarn I've been hoarding!).
The Philodendra stitch pattern includes multiple decreases and yarn overs on right side rows, creating almost as much air as fabric (wrong side rows are purled). I didn't want the pattern to be too challenging for most knitters, so I opted for a one-piece construction eliminating the need for grafting or a provisional cast-on.
The twin panels of meandering vines are defined by columns of eyelets and cascade the entire length of the scarf, just as a natural vine would do.
And speaking of vines, this leafy stitch reminds me of a favorite plant, philodendron cordatum, one of which (similar to this one from Design Sponge) grows in my living room window.
Hardy and undemanding, my philodendron produces lovely pendulous leaves, offset along the vine, that add a little greenery and life to the room.
I've knit several versions of this scarf, starting with a lavender prototype in Fiber Optics Foot Notes yarn, and have just finished the latest version (in another yarn), not yet photographed, which I'll eventually post to Ravelry.
For the main pattern version I knew I wanted to start with a bright, fresh, green yarn in a lightweight wool or wool blend, but I had a really hard time finding the exact color I wanted until I finally came across Cascade's Heritage Silk in the Citron colorway.
The color was just what I had in mind, and the addition of silk to the wool in the yarn lightens the scarf and adds sheen and drape to the fabric.
I must give a giant thank you to my awesome test knit team for their help on this pattern - Cheryl, Connie, Laurie and Josefina. As usual, they came through with flying colors on this project. You ladies are terrific!
Once the knitting was complete, I had a lot of fun photographing the scarves and got much too carried away with that part (what else is new? Lol), experimenting with different ideas.
I promise, one of these days I will start using proper lighting and manual camera settings, hahaha...
Thanks for stopping by my virtual studio today, I wish you peace, blessings and happy knitting!
