How The West Was Spun

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!

Another FO: Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

Did I mention I had a lot of knit-time this past weekend?  Our local LYS is expanding, and I wanted to get some shop samples knit up for them.  I love the DK-weight MCN blend I carry and it's a great 1-skein project kind of yarn, so I thought I would zip through a version of the Age of Brass and Steam for a display item.

The pattern uses just one skein of DK-weight yarn (or really any weight yarn - you can easily make this as big or as small as you've got yarn for) on size 8 needles).  I used one skein of the MCN in the colorway "Dusk" for my version.

This would be a great last-minute gift and for those of you who might need one of those, I'll have this yarn base on sale the entire month of December at 20% off in the shop!

All for now...

FO: Multnomah Shawl

I'm going to sort of bypass WIP Wednesday today since I've got an FO to share instead. 

I had a lot of weekend knitting time last weekend, so I finished up my Multnomah Shawl.

I used a skein of handspun yarn, a 50/50 merino/soy blend from my fiber club through the shop last year in the colorway "Fathom".  Since I had some extra yardage, I went ahead and added two extra repeats of the feather-and-fan border at the bottom, which bumped it up to a true small shawl size (rather than more like a scarf).

This is slated for a holiday gift for this year (and will probably be the only knit thing that gets gifted), so I'm delighted it's done and ready to go.  I very much enjoyed working with this blend.  It's nice and soft and has a pretty drape, and I think the colors will be great for the recipient who wears a lot of blue-greens and blues.

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.....

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 19, 2012

First up - I have finished the final Fall in Vermont collection sample - the unisex sweater.  It's ready to go for the photo shoot.  I'm still working on finishing up the last details on charts and instructions for the tech editor.  (I find I need to be brain-fresh to do this, and realistically after spending an entire day on the computer at work, the evenings are not brain-fresh times for me).  But with a little bit of luck, this'll head off this week to get reviewed.

I am in the home stretch on my little beaded shawlette.  I think one more evening of knitting and it'll be off the needles and ready to block.  Test knitters are busily working on this one, so I believe it'll be ready for an early October release!

With my big sweater project off the needles, I decided what I needed was a fairly brainless project, something pretty simple, pretty quick, and just for me.  I've done a lot of knitting this year, but haven't really knit anything that's gone into my wardrobe.  I will have the women's sweater from the fall collection for myself, but there is NO WAY I'm putting it on before the photos are taken - that's just asking for trouble.  So I decided to dig in the stash, find some yarn and a pattern and go to town.

Enter the Lore Hoodie, which I've had my eye on for a while now.  I had bought the Vampire Knits book specifically for this pattern and I had the called-for yarn marinating in stash.  Now... I have to admit, I don't believe I have ever knit something with bulky yarn.  I tend to be more of a small needle/thin yarn sorta gal, but on size 11 needles, this sucker is knitting up FAST.  (Why did I not realize this before?  Bulky yarn where have you been all my life?).  I'm knitting it in a really dark wine color, which I like very much for fall.

This is the result of just a couple of nights of knitting.  Hard to tell since it's sort of scrunched up, but it's all but 2 rows of the 17" skirt of the jacket finished (obviously pre-blocking).  I opted to start with the skirt first, rather than the sleeves, as the instructions have you do, but I'm going to finish the body up to the point the sleeves are joined, then set the body aside, work on the sleeves, and then get everything attached at that point.

While I have no specific deadlines/goals on this, it moves along so quickly, I'd like to think I'll get a quite a bit more done on it this week after I get the shawl off the needles.

My next deadline/design project is for Kim at The Woolen Rabbit, and the yarn she's sent me for that is beautiful!, so that'll go on the needles once the shawlette is off!

All for now.....

WIP Wednesday: September 5, 2012

A quick in-passing update on my knit projects.

First up, the second fall collection sweater: I'm working on sleeve #2.  I've gotten the cuff and 2 of the 11 pattern repeats done.  That's my focus this week as my October 1st shipping deadline is creeping up on me.  It was sort of a frustrating weekend.  I thought I had finished sleeve #1, but when I tried it out into the armscye of the finished body of the sweater - nope.  Not right.  It took two frogging trips but I finally finished that up, and could move on to the second sleeve.  The body is put together, and sleeve 1 is sewn up, so it's "just" getting sleeve 2 knit, put in place, and the collar picked up and knit.  If I can stick to the plan of a chart repeat a night, minimum, I should have this piece completely done in no more than 2 weeks. 

I also have been working on a single-skein beaded shawl design.  I had written the pattern, knit several inches of it.  Ripped that, re-wrote the pattern.  Knit it again.  Ripped it again, re-wrote the pattern, and now I think finally have it to where I'm happy.  That'll be my need-a-break pattern this week!

All for now....

New Pattern Release: Roses of Avon

Originally released as the March 2012 lace shawl kit, the Roses of Avon lace shawl is now available to the public.

This triangular shawl is knit from the top down and features three bands of different rose-related lace motifs.  The original was knit from Wooly Wonka Fibers Brigit Laceweight yarn, a 100% bouncy merino yarn, in the Petals (pale pink) and Rosehips (darker pink) colorways.  You can, of course, knit the shawl in a single color.  It will take approximately 1200 yards of laceweight, or, if you prefer the 2-color project, approximately 875 yards of the light color, and 435 yards of the darker color.

I would recommend this project for a knitter with at least some lace experience.  The shaping is not difficult, but the middle section does have lace patterning on both sides, and it takes a bit of concentration to knit.

All for now......

New Shawl Pattern - Voussoir Shawl

I think many of you have likely knit the very popular Traveling Woman shawl (or one of the other matching accessories of that name).  The designer, Liz Abinante, is releasing an eBook collection of small shawls based on the architecture of Venice, and her final one of the collection, the Voussoir Shawl, features my DK-weight Aerten yarn (that's the squishy and soft merino, cashmere, nylon blend).

This shawl takes 2 skeins of yarn and it's a great, versatile, elongated crescent shape.  You could wear it scrunched up as a scarf, or draped around your shoulders like a shawl.

Liz wanted a really deep, rich fall colorway, so I sent her the "Bittersweet" colorway for her sample, but I think the shawl would be great in any of the colors I carry. (And if you don't see a colorway you want, please shoot me an email - I'd be glad to do a custom dye for you!)

For the rest of the month, I'm running a 10%-off special on this base yarn.  You can find it in the shop here!

(All photos courtesy of Liz Abinante).

All for now....

Unsinkable

Did you know that this April marks the 100th anniversary mark of the sinking of the Titanic, a ship deemed "unsinkable"?

To commemorate the event, Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops and I have teamed up for a fun, quick-to-knit project.  I was really excited when Kirsten approached me about collaborating on this project, and even more excited when I saw the gorgeous pattern she came up with.  Interesting to knit, but a single-skein shawlette with just a hint of lace, it's a great spring project that you can finish and wear for cooler evenings in the late spring, early summer.

Kits will be available in the shop starting April 1st (and includes the pattern with written and charted instructions, plus the yarn to knit the project).  Or shoot me an email/leave a comment if you'd like to pre-order yours now!

All for now.....