Knitting Bucket List & Free Pattern

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

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! 

New Knitting Pattern - Philodendra

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!

Ballymeade Boot Toppers - New Knitting Pattern

 

Did I mention I have a new pattern out? It's true! I'd committed to let a local yarn shop have exclusive first dibs on the pattern for their accessory knitting club for the month of December, but the Ballymeade Boot Toppers finally made their official, public debut in January.

I toyed with adding a few other twists or cables, but decided to keep the design simple and easy for newer cable knitters.

I love how boot toppers provide a stylish look without the discomfort of sweaty feet, or a snug fit, from wearing full-foot socks inside dressy boots. And the fact that they knit up quickly (from just one skein of Cascade 220) makes me happy too.

Being an eclectic kind of girl, I had a really hard time deciding which photos to use, but finally opted to use photos of both the casual and dressy styling (it might be that little touch of Libra in me, haha). 
 

I am so happy to finally be able to share Ballymeade here. Bringing this pattern to publication, along with everything else in my life, has been a real challenge for reasons I won't get into in this post, but will share soon. And many, many thanks to the awesome Josefina, Laurie, Connie and Julia for offering to test knit these for me.

I hope everyone is staying warm and safe during the extremely cold temperatures occurring throughout the US and other corners of the world. Thanks for stopping by my studio today, happy stitching! 

New Knitting Pattern - Greyhaven Hat

I'm happy to announce the publication of my latest design for hand knitting, the Greyhaven Hat. 

The hat, along with the coordinating Greyhaven Cowl, 

was inspired by the lush imagery of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series (more details can be found in this post).

The Greyhaven designs feature an arched, leafy stitch pattern worked seamlessly in the round from the bottom up. 

Integrated shaping creates a soft, slouchy silhouette that continues into the patterned crown of this design, 

and an easily memorized stitch pattern using just one skein of decadent Primo Worsted yarn from The Plucky Knitter make this hat a luxurious treat to knit! 

The patterns are available individually or as part of a set including both the hat and cowl. I've finally gotten around to setting up coordinating patterns in an 'e-book' format on Ravelry. Although it's really a simple combining of the PDF patterns with a cover, it's just one of those things I hadn't gotten into. Now though, I love the idea of being able to put like items together, especially when this way makes it easier to offer a savings on the multiple pattern set.

I want to give a great big thank you to my wonderful test knitters Laurie, Josefina, Connie, Paula, Julia and Kim. These ladies are all super-talented knitters and lovely people to work with. 

It's been a long week and I'm looking forward to getting out into the sunshine and working in the garden today and going for a long run tomorrow. I hope you have some fun plans too. Thanks for stopping by my studio today, I wish you a wonderful weekend and much happy knitting!

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!

New Knitting Pattern - Amethiste

Today I am happy to introduce you to Amethiste, a simply pretty shawl with an unfussy character (or at least I think so!).

Amethiste is a fun project to knit as well as being a versatile shawl to wear, with the wide triangle shape easily draping over the shoulders or around the neck in a variety of stylish ways. This versatility is exactly why I love a wide triangle shawl shape. 

Knit from the top down in a choice of two sizes, this design is excellent for  knitters with a little lace experience but who are looking to move on to something more than a scarf. The shape, size and open edgings use very little yardage, showcasing just one or two skeins of special fingering weight yarn - perfect for that cashmere you've been hoarding.

I knit several prototypes in different yarns, but the main pattern projects were knit in Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering (small shawlette in purple), and Fiber Optic Footnotes (larger shawl in gray), both wonderful options.

The little bit of cashmere added to the Primo lends an incredible softness and extra drape that I love. This little shawlette used just under 385 yards, or almost the entire skein.

The Footnotes is wonderful to knit with and has such a beautifully subtle variety of color with hints of purple peeking out here and there from what looks at first glance like pewter gray. This larger shawl size used less than two skeins.

I've also knit several other versions (a couple of which are still being blocked and photographed), with the shawlette shown below knit in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock.

If you've read my most recent post, you know that this design was inspired by my appreciation for the beauty of natural gems and crystals, including the purple amethyst like this geode specimen.

Beyond the wide triangle shape already mentioned, the basic parameters for the pattern were a solid stitch base bordered by one or more lace edgings (I settled on two). Also, it had to be relatively easy and fast to knit but not boring.

The various shapes, planes and facets of the gems prompted my selection of many, many possibilities of stitch combinations, requiring weeks of swatching, and eventually leading me to these choices.

The pattern begins with a simple stockinette section followed by easy lace patterns that flow smoothly from one into the other. 

Both written & charted instructions and plentiful photos are included to make the knitting a breeze.

And... I can finally share my newest secret fun project! This was somewhat of a juggling act between art and technique as I wanted to have a little fun and bring in some artistic sensibility without losing too much in the way of information. You may be surprised by this little movie as it is quite a departure from any knitting video I've seen.

I enlisted the technical aid of my husband and I believe we managed to strike a balance in the middle of information and atmosphere. We certainly learned a lot and had fun creating this together which is an important thing too.

So without further ado, I wish to introduce the 'world premiere' (said completely tongue-in-cheek of course, lol) of...

 

A Robin Ulrich Studio 
Demonstration Film 

 featuring 

  

the
 Garter Tab Foundation Cast On Method 
for 

AMETHISTE

 

And by the way, Youtube doesn't allow you to choose just any cover shot for the video and the 3 options they selected were pretty boring. If anyone has any suggestions or experience with overriding to choose a good cover shot for a video, I'd love to have your input! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today everyone, I hope you enjoy our little film and wish you much peace, blessing and happy knitting!