Pattern Release: Damask Cable Socks

These socks remind me of old damask wallpaper patterns, with their ornate curves in half-drop orientation. Deeply textured cables stand out in even dark yarns. The pattern flows harmoniously over cuff, heel, gusset, and toes.
Photo gallery here. The prototype was worked in Knit Picks Essential Tweed, now called Stroll Tweed. Excellent options available from your LYS are Regia 4-ply in Tweed or Solids. I used a US 2 (2.75mm) needle, and the pattern is written for 2 circulars or magic loop. Ravelry project page for the prototype is here, Ravelry pattern page is here. The pattern is $6 for a PDF download. Ravelry membership not required.

Free Pattern Release: Snowflakes on Mulberries Hat

A fancy name for a hat that’s quick, easy, and makes a great gift for anyone. The 6-fold symmetry of the decreases on top of this stretchy ribbed hat form a snowflake when worked in the ice-blue stripes of this shade of Silk Garden Lite (#2046). Photo set here, Ravelry project page here, Ravelry pattern page here. This project works up extremely fast, and I really enjoyed working with the Silk Garden Lite. It was nice to let it do its own thing after a couple of false starts with fancier designs. The snowflake thing wasn't even intentional. I just thought that 6 would be a nice number of paired decrease sets. :) The dk weight yarn makes the hat fit easily into a jacket pocket, and the stretchy ribbing means it fits almost everyone.
Free download now

Finished Yarn: Iris Laceweight Silk/Wool Blend

This is a laceweight chained 3-ply that I spun from the Iris colorway of Carin Engen's bombyx/merino blend. I anticipate having about 900 yards total from 4 oz.

WIP Roundup: Trellis & Leaves Shawl

I've made it to the edging on my Leaf & Trellis shawl. I'm a little concerned about how attaching the edging to the provisionally cast on stitches will go. Some of them are pretty fuzzy at this point. I haven't been working on the cat mittens, but maybe I will on my upcoming trip. I'm also itching to start a design project or two. I've got a couple of patterns almost ready to release, and a couple that need to be graded for multiple sizes. I'm almost to the heel on the 2nd toe-up handspun knee sock of a pair. The shop sample of my Sidewinder Hat pattern is in the shop, hard copies for sale are in the binder, and the class is on the schedule. The next class is going to be Nov 24th from 2-4pm.

FO: Wet Felted Vessel

More photos here. I took Carin Engen's "Faux Pots and Purses" class at Yarndogs last Friday. The thing I made in class was hilariously fugly. I made this Sunday night and I love it! The wool was Lorna's Laces combed top in Ravenswood. I'm making knee socks spun from the same fiber. This is a really fun project. Carin's supposed to come back to Yarndogs 4 times in 2010.

Sirenia Cowl- Test Knitter Needed

This is the Sirenia cowl, worked in Trendsetter Tonalita. The pattern has been professionally tech edited and is just about ready to go, but I'd like somebody to try the pattern before I put it up for sale. I can give you a free copy of the final pattern and provide the yarn at a reduced cost. Here's the color card for the yarn. And the color card for its sister yarn which should also work, Tonalita Fusion. If you've done entrelac before, you know it's hard to put down. I'm looking for somebody who can start soon and complete the project in about a week after receiving the materials. Your job is to follow the pattern exactly as written and contact me with any issues or clarifying questions you may have. If you happen to be an experienced knitter, pretend you aren't. I'm categorizing this pattern as "ambitious advanced beginner." Knit, purl, decrease, pick up stitches, and follow directions. If you are interested, contact me and I will provide you with more information. UPDATE 11/17/09: I have found somebody and do not need any more testers at this time.

Fuzzy Heads

I did a spinning demo at Ocean View Ranch last month. Recently shorn alpacas are so rockabilly with their little fuzzy heads! hahaha! I want to make the little sheep from the new book Itty Bitty Toys for the same reason. I have to find some Cashmerino Astrakhan first.

Old FO: Basic Self-Striping Socks

I've got this pattern for picot cuff self-striping socks with a peasant heel written up for 4 sizes. I need to take some more photos and finalize the layout, then it's off to the tech editor. My philosophy on avoiding gaps on the peasant heel is different from the way I go about the same thing on heel-flap socks. I'm a firm believer in picking up extra stitches at the ankle for flap heels, but not a fan at all of picking up extra stitches at the ankle for the peasant heel. On socks with a gusset, the diagonal line of decreases hides the gory details of whatever happens in that corner. The extra stitches are also just a continuation of the normal stitches that get picked up off the side of the flap. On the peasant heel, extra stitches that appear out of nowhere are not attractive to me at all. I much prefer tightening things up with a little bit of duplicate stitch when the knitting's all done.

Nothing to See Here!

I've been knitting, but not much I can show right now. I'm waiting on a couple submissions. I've whipped up a really cute project, and I'm planning on having it ready to be edited by the end of the week. That one will definitely be self-published. Partly because I'm so eager to share it with you, and partly because the time for submitting fall/winter things to the online mags has long gone. I've been getting set up to wholesale hard copies of my patterns to shops. The Sidewinder Hat will be available at Yarndogs (that's the plan, anyway) and I'll be teaching a class on it. I'm working on the shop sample now, and it's just flying. I think it will be a great class because it has cables and directional decreases and chart reading. The stitch patterns are both written out and in charts, which I think makes it a good intro to charts.

Pattern Release: Sidewinder Hat

Announcing my first pattern for sale in my Ravelry shop, the Sidewinder Hat. Undulating cables sprout from the ribbing and disappear harmoniously into the crown shaping of this unisex design. Merino yarn makes this the ultimate warm and comfortable winter hat! Stitch patterns are given in charts and as written directions. Thanks to Abigail for technical editing. If you're a self-publishing designer, you should hire her. :)
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 3 skeins. Available at Yarndogs. Sample shown in color 15 (Putty).
Needles: Size US 8 (main), 16" circular + dpns, or 2 circs, or magic loop .
Size US 6 (ribbing), 16" circular, or 2 circs, or magic loop.
Pattern is delivered instantly as a PDF download.
More details can be found on the Ravelry pattern page, but feel free to contact me to ask questions if you are not a Ravelry member. The below purchase link will take you to PayPal and does not require a Ravelry login.

WIP: Meezer Mitts

These are Cat Mittens by Jorid Linvik, available as a Ravelry download. She also has patterns with fish, dogs, frogs, and birds.


I'm using Claudia Hand Painted fingering weight in Chocolate and Magic Elixir. The one on the left was knit on US 1.5 needles, and is too small. I've switched to size US 2, and I think they will fit fine but may be a little shorter than I'd prefer.

FO Roundup: Indigo Ripples Skirt and Be Sweet Cloche

I finished the Indigo Ripples Skirt a little while ago but didn't have a chance to throw it in the washer and dryer for a few days. It's from Interweave Knits Sping 2007 for any non-Ravelry folks out there. Make sure to check the errata. I'm super-excited about how it turned out. It's at Yarndogs now, but I got to bring home the Bonsai Tunic that'd been there for a couple months. I used Rowan Denim yarn and had almost 2 balls left over from what the pattern called for although I got gauge. I didn't do most of the usual modifications people do to make the skirt sit lower, but it came out a little bigger than expected (or I'm a little smaller than I thought) so it sits lower anyway. That's ok cause my thighs are big enough to need their own increases. :)

I did work the left-leaning increase in the lace section as SSSK cause it's easier and looks more like a K3tog. I also switched the directions of increases on row 25 to fit in better. I changed the lace row in the ruffle to *K2tog 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, k2tog 3 times*. You can see why in this post. I promised a really clear picture of the finished ruffle, which will have to wait a few days.

So this is the Stirling Cloche from One-Skein Wonders or free Ravelry download, but I used the Be Sweet mohair boucle we carry at Yarndogs. Knitting with 2 strands of loopy mohair was harder than I expected, and fulling by hand was pretty tedious. If you want to make this, I'd recommend sticking with mohair and following the instructions for felting. There's a lot of projects on Ravelry that turned out tiny (from overfelting, I'd guess).


There's a pic on the Ravelry project page that shows how huge it was before felting. At one point it seemed like the fabric was fuzzing but not getting any smaller. I threw it down really hard in the bathtub a few times, and I think that helped. That's what we did with our nuno-felted scarves in Carin Engen's class in June.

On a technical note, I'm making sure to have text before the first Flickr-imported photo cause otherwise the RSS feed shows the Flickr code. Sorry to anybody who's been seeing my ugly feed on Ravelry.