How The West Was Spun

Actual Knitting Content

Shocking, I tell ya!

Thanks to some focused knitting, I finished up my deadline project.  It's had a bath and a block, and it'll go in the mail the first of the week.  A few tweaks for the pattern and it'll be ready then too.  

With that off my plate, I looked at the schedule and decided that I'd like to try to get a sample knitted for the Dallas/Ft. Worth Fiber Festival, which is the 1st weekend in April, where I'm vending again this year.  (Also planning on Estes Park in June, and possibly Taos in October, for anyone in the vicinity of those!).

I have a brand-new yarn I'll be debuting at DFW, which is a great fingering-weight single-spun SW merino.  It's got a gorgeous drape and it takes dye really nicely.  I have another project which one of my completely wonderful and totally awesome sample knitters is doing for me.  (She's a trooper - she took on several things for me, so I'd be freed up to concentrate on some other things I have to do myself.)  With that pressure off me to crank out a bunch of other things, I decided I would reknit my Lupine Cardigan to have for Dallas.

I love this little summer/layering piece.  A bit of lace, minimal finishing, and a fairly quick knit. This is where I stand (the colorway is Columbine) right now.

I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to get this done - it'll be great if it happens for Dallas, but if not, I'll take it to Estes with me.  I'm working on another Sekret Knitting Project that I have a little bit of time on, but does need to move along to go to the test knitter, so I'll devote some time to both of these and see how they go.

All for now...

New Pattern Release: Orbspinner Stole

I'm kicking off 2013 a bit early with a brand-new pattern release, the Orbspinner Stole.

Inspired by the intricate lacy spider webs created by the orbspinner spiders, this laceweight rectangular stole features Estonian lace motifs, with interlocking diamond patterns, edged with leaf-patterned, scalloped-edge borders. The stole is knit beginning with one border through the body, then the second border is knit and the two pieces grafted together.

The stole is 21” x 70” after blocking, but can easily altered for size by adding or subtracting repeats. The sample used approximately 1200 yards of laceweight yarn (875/yards per 4 oz skein).  I've also got yarn packs of the Arianrhod Lace base yarn available in the shop as well - the original sample is knit in the Winterfell colorway, which is a soft, herby-green.

A BIG thank-you to my test/sample knitter!!

Happy New Year!

Pattern Release: Red Barn Set, Covered Bridge Cowl and Two-Horse Hitch Socks

Today I'm going to do a final pattern release for the remaining three patterns in the fall collection.  These are all accessory-sized pieces, and all of which are unisex pieces.

First up, the Red Barn Hat/Mittens set.  These are very simple, straightforward pieces knit in a soft, squishy Aran organic merino, the Brigit Worsted in my shop.  They are worked with a random ribbing.  The hat can be worn with the brim folded up, like a watchcap, or pull it back on your head to wear it more like a slouch. 

And a close-up of the mittens for you: 

Next!, the Two-Horse Hitch Socks features two sizes with  twisted stitch cable motifs down the leg and onto the foot. 

The smaller size was knit from one skein of The Woolen Rabbit's Harmony Sock yarn in the Birch Beer colorway.

The larger size was knit in Wooly Wonka Fibers Rhiannon Sock in the Bittersweet colorway. 

Finally, the Covered Bridge cowl, which comes in a small, snug-fitting style, and a longer, scarf/wrap-around style.   I loved working with the Brooklyn Tweed Shelter - such a great lofty yarn and it comes in a ton of wonderful colors!  The small cowl is knit in the Wool Socks colorway, and the longer cowl is knit in Nest.

More great photos from Kristen Brooks Photography and details on yardage, sizing, etc. on the respective project pages.  A huge thank you as well to my test knitters!

All for now....

WIP Wednesday: November 7, 2012

Kind of a busy week around here, so I haven't had much fun and interesting to blog about, but here's what I'm working on currently:

Multinomah:  Thanks to some doctor appointments and some time this weekend, I'm making great progress on this.  I've got 3 more 4-row repeats to work on the feather and fan border and it'll be done as far as the pattern goes. I may have enough yardage to squeak one more repeat out, but I'll have to weigh my working yarn when I get there and see.  If not, that'll be okay, but if I've got the yarn, I'll just use it up.

North Shore sweater:  Not a single stitch.  I will have quite a bit of knitting time this weekend tho, so I will probably at least try to get another couple of inches worked on the body. 

Project submissions:  I'm almost done the current want-to-do list.  I have one more project to submit, but I'm waiting on a skein of yarn to work on the swatch.  It's not due until December, so I've got time on that. 

I also started working on the socks I'm designing for the Heroines accessory club for next year, and the yarn for my design for the shawl club should be here this week, and I'd like to at least get the sample skeins dyed for that. 

All for now.....

WIP Wednesday: October 31, 2012

So what's new here?  I geared myself up, frogged back the body of the sweater I was knitting (following the post-GI-bug brain haze where I managed to twist the cast-on edge).  I'm not really any further along, but I have frogged and fixed to where I was.  It's not much to look at for now - just a blob on the needles, but I have knit the hem, the purl turning row, and started on the stockinette body.  Lovely, mindless stockinette for a while now.....

I also cast on for another mostly mindless project, the Multnomah Shawl, which I'm knitting up in a skein of handspun merino/soy from earlier this year. The colorway is "Fathom" and the fiber was from my fiber club earlier in 2012. 

It's reading with more gray than there actually is in the colorway, but it's a subtle shift of colors in all blues. I'm thinking this may wind up as a holiday present for my pretty young internal medicine doc - I see her a lot these days (or what feels like a lot to me) with all the pre-treatment visits, and then come in and get this checked, or come in and get a prescription for something else visits - but she's unfailingly cheerful even when I dump a bunch of completely unrelated weird symptoms in her lap. (Hey - she asks, I'm going to tell her.  I personally think almost nothing needs working up EVER, but shrug if I'm wrong, at least she'll have things documented.)  Anyhoo.... who wouldn't like a nice soft shawl that you can wear as a scarf in the winter months - and it will look really pretty with her coloring too.

And I'm still swatching. 

All for now......

New Pattern Release: Kellynch Tunic

I'm very excited to announce the release of my pattern, the Kellynch Tunic, in the Fall 2012 edition of Jane Austen Knits from Interweave.

This is a feminine cardigan sweater with lace detail at the skirt hem and on the bodice.  It features a slightly raised waistline, a V-neckline and slightly gathered sleeves.  The front of the cardigan wraps and is tied with a ribbon threaded through a band of eyelets (and is also secured on the interior with a set of snaps). 

The sample is knit in Classic Elite's Soft Linen in the "Blue Grotto" colorway, a yarn which I love, and was happy to have an excuse to work with.  It drapes nicely and is a great multiseasonal DK weight yarn.  (Tune in later this month for a chance to win a yarn pack for this sweater, courtesy of Classic Elite!).

The issue is currently available for downloadable copies through the Interweave website, and you can also pre-order yourself a printed copy, which I believe will be mailed out in another 3 to 4 weeks.  

All photos above and on the design page are courtesy of Christa Tippman and Interweave Press.

All for now.... 

WIP Wednesday: October 10, 2012

Lots o' knitting this week thanks to foozball season!  

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the project for Kim's yarn club.  I am planning to try to focus on this quite a bit this next week and get this off the needles, so it can be blocked.  The yarn is absolutely wonderful to work with - I'm really happy with this project so far.

I've also been working a bit on my colorwork cardigan.  Sleeve #1 is finished up. 

So I think my next step on the sweater will be to cast on for the body.  I'm going to change up the pattern a bit and not do a ribbed hem, but instead do a simple folded band hem.  I like those better and it's an easy change-up.  Not sure if I will get going on that this week or not, but we'll see. 

All for now......

WIP Wednesday: October 3, 2012

Lots of things on the needles this week!

First up, two stealth projects:  I'm working along on Kim's fiber club pattern sample.  The test knitter has a copy and I'm busy working on my version as well. I also finally crunched some numbers for a cabled hat I've been thinking about and got those all worked out correctly, so I was able to frog what I had knit and reknit the ribbing, and that's on track now, I think.

I also have been looking for a pattern that would work well with my Aerten DK yarn for a sweater for myself.  I love this yarn - super bouncy and soft - and I fell in love with the North Shore pullover.  This is a pretty basic colorwork yoke pullover, but the gauge was spot-on for this yarn, and I dyed it up in similar colors to the sample.  I picked Peacock, which is a pretty blue-green/green-blue for the main color.  I dyed up smaller skeins of dark forest green, chestnut brown and a blue-gray (and there's also a bit of white used in the yoke) for the trees, mountains, and waves, respectively.

I started on the first sleeve this past weekend.  I'm not really setting any goals for this.  It'll be my mindless knitting project for a while, as both the sleeves and the body, which is knit from the waist hem upwards are pretty much all stockinette.  So whatever I get done will be good enough for me each week.

All for now.....

Pattern/Kit Release: Lady Bathory Shawl

Introducing the Lady Bathory Shawl.

This elongated crescent-shaped scarf/shawl is knit from one short end to the other using one skein of the shop's Nimue Sock (50/50 silk/merino) fingering-weight yarn.  I used the "True Blood" colorway and dark ruby-red seed beads for the sample.  Shaping is created using increases/decreases along the upper edge of the jagged, pointy-toothed lace border. Beads are applied using the crochet-hook method.  (The pattern requires a total of 416 size-6 seed beads if you choose to use beads).  

Suggested skills for this pattern include chart-reading, some basic understanding of lace patterning, knit, purl, M1 increases and K2tog decreases. 

My inspiration for this shawl was the Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary (1560-1614), who married into the Transvylanian aristocracy.  The Countess, a well-educated, intelligent woman, also had a cruel streak, and the tales of atrocities committed within the walls of the Bathory castle terrified locals.  Legend has it that many of the Vlad the Impaler and other vampire tales that exist today are based at least in some part on the bloody rituals that went on inside the castle. Arrested finally in 1611 on a number of charges, she was convicted and spent the last 3 years of her life under house arrest.  The locals refused to allow her body to be interred in the local cemetery, and she was finally laid to rest in her girlhood home’s family crypt.

The pattern is available via Ravelry as a PDF download, and I also have kits available (which include the yarn and the pattern, although not the beads) through the online shop.

All for now.......

WIP Wednesday: September 26, 2012

I thought I was going to have a lot of fun and interesting pics and tidbits to share with you on my personal knitting projects for WIP Wednesday, but...uh... I finished all of them.  Sorry about that - I will have some fun and interesting FO pictures to share once I get those taken, but that'll probably be early next week, so until then, here's what I'm working on:

The Sekret Project for Kim's club at The Woolen Rabbit.  So you know... zero pictures, really no details I can share, but I have wrassled swatches into submission and I'm working on a final draft to go to my test knitter for this project in the next week. 

I'm working on a few swatches for some other submissions right now too, and you know those are equally boring from a blog standpoint.

I did finish up the entire Lore Hoodie last week (VERY quick knit, that one!), and I finished up my Earl Grey Mitts during Monday night foozball.  I'm trying to decide what's next, if anything, on the for-me knit pile.  I have a lot of smaller projects that I'm considering, but it IS sweater weather, so I'm having a hard time deciding!

Tomorrow - actual spinning content.  Friday - a new pattern release.  Stay tuned.

All for now.....