Indie Gift-a-Long
If you've been hanging out on ravelry lately, you've likely heard some buzz about the Indie Gift-a-Long. It’s a fun little event where I and more than 300 other designers put a bunch of our favorite patterns on sale and then have a giant knit along through the end of the year. It's turned into something of a tradition, and it's really rather a lot of fun! You can see the patterns I have on sale here. For the next few days, they're all 25% off with the code giftalong2016. I've got some of my favorite socks available. And quite [...]
Timely
Sometimes? Sometimes you have good timing. On Saturday, we grabbed the last of the herbs from the yard. Normally we do it earlier, but this year we kept putting it off. We spent an hour or two stripping herbs, peeling garlic, and putting the food processor to work. And later that very afternoon, we got the first snow of the season. I'm calling that just about the best timing ever. This has become a yearly tradition (I talked about it in more detail back here if you want to do it yourself, and there's a bit more about other years [...]
Remiss
I've apparently been shockingly remiss. I haven't shown you anything of the second slipper (even though it's been cruising right along). Let's see if we can fix that, shall we? I think by now we all know they start back here. Then they sneak in a few heel stitches and look something like this And once the heel stitches are all in place, they cruise along like this for a while. Until it's time for some quick decreases. Next up, I'll start working in the round, work straight for just a little while, then zap on a toe. Not much [...]
Easily distracted
What can I say, I'm easily distracted. The swatch leapt onto my needles...who was I to fight it. Some fingerless mitts (to match the cowl from earlier this year) seemed in order. I'm sure you understand, right? I mean who can be expected to say no to that. But don't worry, they're quick. I'll be back to the slipper some time soon!
Officially now decorations, not holes!
So let's see where we ended up. First the sleeve. Then the shoulder. Then the front. I love it. Totally couldn't be happier. I'm actually considering doing this in a few other spots on the sweater where there are no holes just for the fun of it because I don't want to be done yet. And for folks asking or wondering, no it's really not hard. You can find embroidery floss at most any craft store. The only other things you need are a needle (I like the blunt ones, but some people like pointy ones...experiment and see what you [...]
Conflagration (plus giveaway)
So I don't mean to alarm you, but it's kind of chilly where I am. This morning it was in the 30s. And while I don't particularly approve of this, I'm a knitter, so I do feel I'm well equipped to handle it. Conflagration might be just the thing to take the chill off! I can't help but think the stitch pattern on these looks like licks of flame dancing up your ankles. The pattern goes swirling around your leg, making some neat zig-zags as it goes (check out the last picture of the post to see how it makes [...]
Before and after (or why you block your swatches)
So we talked about this before with this yarn, but it really does something magic when it gets wet. Take a look at the differences between this shot before and after I soaked it. Before: And after: And yes, I know it can be a bit hard to see in pictures (it's more dramatic in person). But look especially at the stretches of stockinette at the broadest part of the leaf. See how it's filled in? And the spaces between each leg of the stitches are much smaller? And the holes made by the yarnovers are more distinct (because the [...]
I’m starting to like the holes in my sweater
So I took a break from the hole on the front of the sweater and moved onto the one on the cuff of the sleeve. The first round of stitching looked something like this. Then I spent some time on the one on the back of the shoulder (right where the front, back, and sleeve all come together). It's working out something like this. In both cases I've gone with stabilizing (or really even emphasizing) the hole rather than trying to hide it. And both spots will be getting Lots More Stitches before this is over. But I'm having so [...]
Last Call, Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet Books Retiring Soon
Oh man, this is a bit tough, but it has to be done. All three of the Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet books are almost gone. I have just a tiny handful of each left. Once those are gone, they're gone. I won't be printing more. You may still be able to find them on amazon for a little while (looks like they a few copies of each at the moment). And of course you may well be able to find used copies out in the world. But I won't have any more to send out to shops or individuals. And of [...]
Mailing List
Want to hear when a new pattern comes out or something fun is going on? Sign up below!
Patreon
Want to support the content I create, get nifty bonus material for some of my favorite patterns, or get every new release delivered right to your inbox? Head over to patreon and sign up!
