Color Work Fun!

Congratulations to Katie K, who won a copy of The Sock Report in our haiku contest. Here's her haiku:

A ball of sock yarn Rolls off to college as it Ravels by degrees

We had a lot of fun reading all of the entries. Thank you to all who contributed a haiku. Thanks also go to my daughters for selecting the winner.

Color work has always been a favorite of mine. From playing with yarns and planning the colors, to watching the pattern grow as I knit, to wearing those extra warm finished projects, it is a pure joy. A lot of knitters seem to be intimidated by stranded color work. I like to spread the  joy by teaching classes on the subject and showing people how much fun color work can actually be. It is always a pleasure to watch as the fun of working with colors clicks with the students in those classes. I don't have any color work classes scheduled right now, but you can learn a lot from online sources:

Pointers from Eunny Jang

Knitting Daily Color Work Video

Knitty: Techniques with Theresa

Knit Picks Stranded Color Work Video

Below are four mitten patterns that I've designed over the years using color work. I hope you'll have as much fun to knitting them as I did designing them. All four of these patterns are now available as a bundle. 

TTL Color Work Mitten Bundle

Price: $16

Kanagawa

Mod

Clematis

Reykjavik

Perry Street Rugby

 

Sofie has been bugging me for an over-sized sweater that she can layer over jeans, and snuggle up in. When I showed her the pile of Cascade Eco Cloud that has been waiting for just the right project she agreed that it would be perfect for the sort of cozy sweater that she had in mind.

 

With it's chunky cable on a ground of garter stitch stripes, the Perry Street Rugby will be her go to sweater for heading off to class when the cold weather arrives this fall. She'll wear it over a t-shirt and jeans, adding layers and a scarf as the weather calls for them. This is the ideal sweater for football games, walks in the park on a chilly afternoon or enjoying a crisp fall day on campus.

The best part is that since it's an Aran weight and mostly garter stitch, this fun sweater knits up quickly, so there's still plenty of time to make one by the time the cooler weather truly sets in.

 

PERRY STREE RUGBY (rav link)

Sizes: This sweater is meant to be worn with 2-3” of positive ease. See “Finished Measurements” below and select your size accordingly. Sofie is wearing the 38” and has a bust measurement of 35”.

Finished Measurements: 34[36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54]” at bust and hip, 24.5[24.75, 25, 25.25, 25.5, 25.75, 26, 26.25, 26.5, 26.75, 27]” long at center back.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Eco Cloud, 70% Merino Wool, 30% Baby Alpaca; 164 yards/150 m per 100g / 3.5 oz skein,  MC: #1810 - 5[5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8] skeins CC: #1804 - 3[3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4] skeins

Needles: US 10 (6 mm) or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 16 sts & 26 rows = 4”/10cm in Garter St, blocked, always take the time to check gauge

Other Materials: 2 stitch markers, cable needle (CN), tapestry needle

Price: $6.50

Thank you to Monika, Bich-thu, Linda, Morgan, & Stacey for test knitting and to Karen for her wonderful tech editing!

Highlights of Maine

I've just returned from Fiber College where I taught three classes. It was a wonderful weekend filled with yarn, lobster, and good people. Speaking of good people see that adorable baby on Rachel of OnTheRound's back? That's her daughter. She was an angel, all smiles, and chubby cheeks, and beautiful blue eyes. It was almost enough to distract me from the gorgeous fiber that her mom was selling in her tent. Almost.

Below, in no particular order, are a few highlights of the weekend:

• My partners in crime Mary Lou Egan & Gale Zucker. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to spend quality time with these two amazing women. Both are crazy talented, interesting, funny, and just a heck of a lot of fun to hang out with. I didn't get a photograph of Gale, but there's Mary Lou above showing off Wearwithall, the beautiful book that she wrote with a group of her good friends from The Yarnary. Gale actually is represented here since she did the photography for the book.

• My students. First there was the lovely group in Knit It On who helped me figure out how to get a breeze going in our hot tent. Next I was lucky to have the opportunity to teach the adaptable, smart, and patient lace class participants. Finally there was the eager, creative group who took Top Down Toppers. I look forward to seeing finished photos of some of those top down hats.

• The beautiful Maine Coast. This is on the beach outside of my cabin at low tide.

• Lobster, lobster, lobster. We ate a lot of it and I LOVED every bite.

•  Meeting Ellen. I was lucky to get to spend time dying yarn (that's the yarn we dyed in the photo above) and chatting with her. I can't believe I didn't know of her or her designs before this weekend. Where have I been? Ellen creates beautiful, wearable sweater designs and I want to knit them ALL!

• The body, dare I say curl, that the ocean air gives my normally straight, flat hair. For the record, it is back to it's usual tricks now that I'm home.

• Fiber & Yarn. The vendors at Fiber College were hard to resist. I tried to behave myself but  the gorgeous yarn cake from Play at Life and the braid of BFL from OnTheRound in the photo above both weakened my resolve.

• Blueberry pie.

• Blueberry pie for breakfast. (thank you Mary Lou)

• My visit with Amy Herzog at her home on my drive up. I know Amy well and always enjoy spending time with her. This was the first time I'd met her sweet family. Her boys are ADORABLE!! Seriously. Adorable.

• Low tide on the shore outside of my cabin. It was incredible to see the colors of the seaweed as it lay on the rocks waiting for the tide to come back in.

• Visiting Swan's Island.  If you're ever in Coastal Maine drop by Swan's Island. Their blankets are spectacular, their yarn is sublime, and you might even get to see their looms in action.

• My cabin & the accompanying view. See those Adirondack chairs? We spent quite a bit of quality time there.

 

Classes and Covers and ANOTHER Contest

I've got a lot on my plate right now. I normally try not to cram too much into one blog post but today I think that might be my only option. Please read through the whole post, I've got a lot of great announcements and it ends with a contest.

I'm heading out again tomorrow. This time I'm off to Fiber College where I'll be teaching two classes this weekend. There's still time to sign up for the classes  that will be held in Searsport, Maine. I'm teaching a top down hat construction/design class, "Top Down Toppers" and a class on knitted on borders and edgings, "Knit it On". Learn how to add your own special touch to your knitting!

Have you seen the preview of Malabrigo Book 4 yet? I'm beyond excited that my design Enrejado was chosen for the cover!

Photo copyright Malabrigo Yarns

The book will be available at your LYS in late October or early November. Head over to Ravelry to queue or favorite Enrejado and keep an eye out for the book's release. There are a lot of wonderful patterns from some favorite designers in the collection.

The design is worked in Malabrigo's delicious Silky Merino, a yarn that is ideal for large, drapy shawls of this kind. The color is "Cape Cod Gray". I managed to take a few photos of Sofie modeling Enrejado before I sent it off.

I'm very happy to announce that I'm teaching at Wooly Monmouth in Red Bank, NJ again this year.

I love teaching at Wooly Monmouth, the customers and the store's energetic owner, Dori are all fun, smart, and inspiring. The store is crammed with beautiful yarn and samples that make you want to knit, knit, knit. This year I'm teaching a class on my Euphrosyne shawl pattern. The class is on September 30th. To register call 732-224-9276.

We'll learn the construction of the shawl, how to work the garter tab cast on, and make swatches of the major motifs, including the knitted on border. You'll leave the class ready to complete your own Euphrosyne.

I seem to be hosting a lot of contests these days. But what can I say? Great stuff just keeps coming my way. This time I'm happy to offer a copy of the gorgeous book The Sock Report Book 1 which contains my pattern, Bivalve.

Photo copyright The Sock Report

The hard copy of this beautifully photographed book, filled with lovely patterns using sock yarn, is now available. Since I've had so many contests lately let's make this one a little more fun. Write a haiku about anything having to do with sock yarn. I'll let my kids choose their favorite. I know they'll enjoy the challenge of choosing from all of your entries. We'll close the contest on September 15th at midnight eastern time.

Sheep & Golf & Moulin Rouge

I've just returned from the beautiful state of Wisconsin, where my husband and I went for a quick empty nesters' celebratory getaway. Did you know they have sheep on their golf courses in Wisconsin? Well they do. At least on two that I know of. This adorable guy continued to munch on the fairway as I hit my ball from no more than ten feet away. The sheep were an excellent distraction from the poor quality of my golf game. On top of having sheep on their golf courses the quality of Wisconsin's cheese is well known. This is my kind of state.

The contest to win a Mudra Cuff Kit from Laura Nelkin's Adorn Anew ended while I was away. I used a random number generator to select a winner and the winner is: Stacey! Congratulations Stacey!!

In other news I've got another pattern announcement. Moulin Rouge was originally designed for the Tempted Yarns Club, and until now was exclusive to them. As of today it is available to everyone.

This sweet shawl starts with a easy to memorize lace border and then moves into a simple eyelet body that is shaped with short rows. I used one skein of Tempted Hand Painted Lovely Grrl for the design. The blend of silk and merino combined with a lovely twist creates a soft squishy yarn that is a dream to work with.

MOULIN ROUGE

Finished Measurements: 60” wide x 14” deep

Yarn: Tempted Hand Painted Lovely Girl, 50% Superwash Merino/50%  Silk, 375 yds/343 m per 4oz/113g skein, Color: Green Fairy, 1 skein

Needles: US 8 (5mm) or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 15 sts & 17 rows = 4”/10cm in eyelet pattern- blocked, always take the time to check gauge

Other Materials: tapestry needle, stitch markers

Price: $6.50

Twizz Hat & Mitts

As the kids head back to school (we move Sofie into her dorm tomorrow and IJK on Monday), my thoughts turn to holiday knitting. I need an early start to allow time to get to all of the projects on my list. This richly cabled hat and mitts set is just the sort of thing I like to give. Both pieces are relatively quick knits, they have lovely twisting cables, and are very useful for those cold winter months.

If you've only ever worked the simplest of cable patterns, don't be afraid of the Twizz set. Each cable on each of the charts has been color coded to make chart reading easier. I have also included written instructions for each cable pattern. These patterns are a great way for advanced beginners to venture into more complicated cables, while still having enough interest for more seasoned knitters.

I created this set using Sweet Fiber Yarns Cashmerino Sport. Melissa's yarns and colors are always a dream to work with. I love the icy blue-gray she created for this design. The name Melissa gave the color, Frozen Lake, describes it perfectly.

Twizz Hat & Twizz Mitts

Sizes: Adult S[Adult L] Shown in size S

Finished Measurements:

Hat - 18.5[19.5]” At brim relaxed (will stretch to fit 22[23]”), 9[9.25]” from cast on edge to top

Mitts - 7[8]” At palm relaxed will stretch to fit 8.5[9.5]”, 8[9]” from cast on edge to top

Yarn: Sweet Fiber Cashmerino Sport, 80% Superwash Merino/10% Cashmere/10% Nylon, 250 yards/229 meters per 115 gram skein, color: Frozen Lake, 1[1] skein for Hat and 1[1] skein for the mitts. (The hat and mitts will each take about 3/4 of the skein.)

Needles: One set of 5 US 5/3.75mm DPN’s or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 32 sts and 36 rows = 4”/10 cm in cable pattern, 22 sts and 36 rows = 4”/10 cm in stockinette , blocked

Other Materials: Tapestry Needle, Cable Needle, Place Markers

The hat and mitts are each available separately or together as a set.

Hat $5.50

Mitts $5.50

Set $9.00

A very special thank you to my ever patient test knitters; Jen, Monika, Amy, Michelle, & Michelle.

Laura Nelkin's Adorn Anew

My good friend Laura Nelkin has created a wonderful pattern collection featuring knitted, beaded jewelry. When you subscribe to the Adorn Anew collection you will receive one new pattern at the beginning of each month from May thru December 2012. Since it's already August, you will get the first four beautiful patterns when you purchase the collection. I made one of them, the Mudra Cuff. Laura was kind enough to give me a kit complete with yarn, beads, and clasp when I saw her at TNNA in June. (My not-so-great photo is below, followed my Laura's much better photo, showing three cuffs worn together.)

Sofie will probably take this one to college with her when she leaves this coming weekend.

The sweet Mudra Cuff took almost no time at all to knit. Laura's instructions are clear and easy to follow.  Being the sort of knitter who's always storing wee bits of leftover yarn, one of my favorite things about these patterns is that they are a great way to use up those bits. Another great thing about Adorn Anew - imagine the fun you'll have combining yarn and beads. Now I'm eyeing the gorgeous August selection, Trio. Hmm, wonder what pretty little ball of yarn I'll use for this one. . .

Laura has kindly offered to send one lucky winner a kit for the Mudra Cuff in the color of their choice. To enter to win the cuff comment on this post by midnight (NYC time) on Monday, August 27th. (Eep! My girls will be off to college by then.) I'll use a random number generator to select the winner.

Sneak Peek

Remember that snippet of a design in progress that I showed you a few weeks ago? I finished the knitting last week while I was visiting my mom in North Carolina. This morning I managed to get Sofie to model for a few shots.

The Perry Street Rugby is knit with Cascade Eco Cloud, a delectably squishy yarn that comes in a range of lovely neutrals. Sofie claims that she will wear this sweater daily in college this fall. The pattern is in the works. I expect to release it in September.

Thank you to all who entered to win the Stella Collection. I used a random number generator to select the winner. Commenter #12, Barbara is the lucky winner.

Portico

Now that we are a month out from the end of the Mystery Shawl I think it's safe to show you finished photos of my shawl. Last month we had a contest and the pattern has a new name Portico.

I used Jade Sapphire Silk/Cashmere 2 Ply and made the small size. I think my colorway might be exclusive to Purl Soho, because I don't see it on the Jade Sapphire site. The pattern also gives instructions for a larger version, but be forewarned it uses a lot of yarn. You'll need almost double the amount of yarn for those last 40 rows.

The complete Portico pattern is available on Ravelry and I've put it on sale for $4.00 until the end of August. Just enter the coupon code: PORTSALE at check out to take advantage of the lower price.

Size: small [large - aka extended] Finished Measurements: 52 [66.5]” (132 [169] cm) wide x 17 [24]” (43 [61] cm) deep

Yarn: Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere, 55% Silk, 45% Cashmere; 400 yards / 365m per 55g skein, color: Green Lantern, 1[2] skeins NOTE: I used almost the entire skein for the smaller size. I recommend having extra yarn on hand for both sizes just in case.

Needles: US 6 (4mm) 24 or 30” circular needles or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 18 sts & 22 rows = 4”/10cm in Stockinette St- blocked, always take the time to check gauge

Other Materials: 9 stitch markers, tapestry needle

Sale Price: $4.00 - don't forget to use coupon code: PORTSALE

The Stella Collection

My kiddos and I are in North Carolina visiting my mom. This allows quite a bit of knitting time as we sit on my mom's porch chatting and enjoying the antics of her adorable cat, Cissa, or gathered around her TV watching the Olympics. None of the knitting is quite ready for prime time yet, so I thought I'd show you the beautiful collection of designs my friend Tanis - who's yarns I've raved about in the past - has put together along with Julie Crawford of Knitted Bliss.

In The Stella Collection you will find 4 lovely designs, each featuring a different Tanis Fiber Arts yarn. The ebook is well organized with gorgeous photos of the designs. Tanis and Julie have included both charts and written instructions in the patterns to appeal to the broadest range of knitters.

Tanis and Julie kindly offered a copy of the collection to one lucky reader. To enter to win a copy of The Stella Collection just comment on this post. The contest ends on Sunday, August 5th at midnight, EDT.