Another Mystery Knit-a-Long!

We had so much fun with the Sunstruck MKAL last spring and I promised to have another if I could think of another pattern that would lend itself to being broken down into clues. Funny thing is that it didn't occur to me that this one would work until I was well into it! So, I present -

Can't show you my shawl of course, but here's the yarn I used - Wollmeise Merino DK in 47 Ag and Zarte Knospe. Details on yardage, gauge, etc. is here and the pattern is half price until the first clue goes out on September 4. KAL thread is here - there are prizes!

Has it really been 2 months?!

I've been busy! I released Park Slope in July -

and Everlasting in August -

I currently have one sweater being tested -

and am looking for testers for another -

I'm also working on a shawl that I hope will be my next mystery KAL :)  This project has also spawned a cowl idea that I'm eager to play with.

I can't wait for fall and SWEATER WEATHER!! Watch this space for a little something to celebrate my favorite time of year!

I couldn't help myself

Shortly after designing Sunstruck, I started playing around with a similar idea but in a rectangular stole - a lot of people don't like triangular shawls ("butt pointers" LOL!)  I had hoped to use short rows again to get the nice straight lines but was not able to make them work with the angles I wanted. Using intarsia instead gave me nice straight edges at least :)

 





I am not really much of a blue lover, but madelinetosh may be converting me - I especially love the Ink colorway that I used for the outer border.

Oh, and of course I had to name it 'Moonstruck.'

It's available until the end of June at 40% off.

And the short row idea? I actually have something else sketched out to work on later this summer :)

S U N S T R U C K

Just in time for the first hot day of 2013, my so-called mystery KAL pattern is now available as a regular all-in-one pdf.

We had a ton of fun in the KAL thread on Ravelry and I hope I can think of another shawl pattern that would be a good Mystery KAL :)

New cardi

This is Pebble. Once again I have used the top-down, seamless, simultaneous set-in sleeve method - I just love the fit I get! 

 

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern:

It's called Dot Stitch and I don't know if I've ever come across any patterns that use it. I don't know why not - it's lovely to look at, doesn't bias, doesn't roll, and is so much less tedious than most textured patterns. I love seed stitch and moss stitch but can't really say that I love knitting either of them. This textured stitch is only patterned on the wrong side, the right side is simply knit.

It's on sale for 1 week for 40% off! Happy spring!

Mystery Knit-a-Long!

When I was working on my latest shawl design, I kept thinking that it would be a fun project to do with a group. I've always liked the idea of mystery knit-a-longs, even though the one time I tried to do one in real time I ended up not liking the shawl and frogging it. This one is just a bit different, probably because of my experience. The first clue includes a sketch of the shawl - so you know basically what you're making and you can put your colors where they make you happy.

It's garter stitch. It has different colors. It's a scalene triangle. This one made my inner-geometry lover pretty happy :)  When I showed the sketch to my daughter, she said it was very much 'my style' - whatever that is!

Obviously I can't show any photos what with it being a mystery and all, but here's the place holder on my pattern and project pages:

These are the colors I used at least!

You can find the pattern here - it's half price until April 4 when the first clue comes out!

Baby Boom

When I decided to do a tiny sweater using the top-down, seamless, simultaneous set-in sleeve method, I had no idea how many of my testers were either expecting or knew someone who was. I needed a knitted baby gift myself and was curious about how this method would work with a tiny sweater. I'm really pleased with the results!

It's a great project for trying this method out if you aren't ready to tackle an adult-sized sweater. It isn't easy to come up with a name for baby things - there are SO MANY baby sweater patterns! I settled on Babycakes - a pet name for DD when she was tiny.

In other news - I have several teaching engagements! I can't think of anything more fun than spending a day talking about knitting with a bunch of knitters :)  In April I am teaching a sweater class at a Maryland knitting guild and also 4 (!!) classes at The Yarn Club in Virginia Beach. I'm doing two classes twice at The Yarn Club - a 2 hour class on planning ahead to knit sweaters that actually fit, and a 4 hour workshop on designing and knitting your own All the Shades of Truth/City Block style shawl/wrap/scarf/throw. We will be making miniatures of our creations in class. These are the minis I made when I was designing City Block - color placement is so important in this sort of shawl and this is a quick way to see if you're happy with your choices!