ever wonder what happens to all those secret projects i talk about? some of them go away and appear only in someone else’s book or a magazine. some of them are temporarily exclusive for a club or magazine and they make their way back home at some point, so i can share them.

this neckwarmer and mitts set is one of those—designed near the end of 2009 for the woolgirl “embrace the lace” club, this is a very quick knit with lace every which way, all of it easily worked. a little victorian, made modern with some whimsical buttons; this might be one to consider for the gift list . . .

shown above, size small in lobster pot yarns baby camel, a 100% camel aran weight yarn, in colorway spiced pumpkin.

i purchased the acorn buttons at my local jo-ann fabric shop, but they can be found online as well.

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the product page in the knitspot pattern shop.

summer is the wonderful season for fireflies and fun, when thoughts of fall and winter are far, far from my mind. yet soon enough, autumn will be here with chilly air to chase the lightening bugs toward next year. time then, for knitting a cozy little shawlette to bridge one season’s passing into another—a wash of silk-softened wool splashed across with star and firefly motifs, extending summer just a bit while closeting thoughts of a jacket for one more month. it’s just the thing for september . . .

shown above, the petite size in spirit trail fiberworks penelope, a 50/50 bombyx silk/merino fingering yarn, in colorway falcon’s eye.

shown below, the mini size in zen yarn gardens serenity silk lace, a 80/10/10 merino/silk/cashmere lace/fingering yarn, in colorway creamsicle.

accented here with a gorgeous beetle brooch, a gift from adrienne at perl grey.com

just the thing to set off the motifs in the scarf tails. thank you adrienne!

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the product page in the knitspot pattern shop.

mister knitspot’s filmmaking continues with a little piece he shot while i worked at blocking this shawl; you can see it by clicking here to get to the knitspot youTube channel)

the absolutely lovely and generous jennifer, of spirit trail fiberworks, handed me this fascinating skein of penelope at the maryland sheep and wool, on a day so hot, it was all we could do not to mop our brows with the yarn. and yet, i was smitten (yarn ho that i am). when i thought up the firefly shawlette, i knew i had a marriage made in heaven; this yarn is pure luxury. you can see this and many other gorgeous fiber blends in jennifer’s online store.

inspired by the way it knit up in the dark colorway, i went searching for a color that would give me a completely different take on the same pattern. enter zen yarn garden’s serenity silk lace, the house blend laceweight devised by the ever-enabling roxanne. in a summery, juicy orange, it was just the thing.

one shawl, two ways; both beautiful. thanks so much jennifer and roxanne!

many thanks to our test knitters phoebe and kim, too—besides working through the pattern carefully to suss out any issues, these two were the very best of cheerleaders along the way, emailing frequently to say how much fun they were having. how lucky am i??
BTW, kim knit hers in her new lark fingering yarn; runor has, you can see it later today on her blog

ok, time for more pictures, i think! i’m going to end with my favorite series from the whole shoot . . .

and i’ll leave it to you to imagine what happened next, hehe.

if what you are looking for right about now is something cool, shimmery, and weightless, this may just be the piece for you. a sheer lace scarf in an easy-to-work pattern that folds away into the smallest of bags for knitting on the go. and when it’s done and blocked, a beautiful accessory to pack along for a weekend getaway; it’ll stretch a meager traveling wardrobe or chase away an evening chill while taking up no space at all.

shown here in enchanted knoll farms 50/50 merino/silk lace, colorway queen mermaid, it can also be worked in a wide variety of lace yarns.

accented here with a gorgeous seahorse brooch, purchased from perl grey

the perfect piece to set off this beautiful iridescent colorway (and for those who’ve seen it before on this blog, i’m very excited to report that they actually have it in stock again, yay!)

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the product page in the knitspot pattern shop.

once again, david has made a little video featuring this scarf; it should be up later today on the youTube knitspot channel (if you wish to subscribe to knitspot channel you can do so by clicking here)

josette, of enchanted knoll farms is a dyer beloved by many for her charm, good humor, and gorgeous yarns and spinning fibers. you can browse and purchase her fibery goodness at her etsy shop or, for a more extensive view of her talents, visit her on ravelry.

the bee is an age-old symbol of royalty, deserving of the rich textures in this little shawlette, knit up in a luxurious, silky yarn. the beautiful stitch definition is built right into the motif, so it works well for drapey or bouncy yarn alike. beginning with the sculpted hem, this easy-to-knit piece is sure to entrance, both in the working and in the wearing.

shown above, the size mini scarf in sunshine yarns sunsilk, colorway mustard seed (i believe some of this will become available in the sunshine yarns shop on 6/29).

shown below, the petite shawl in briar rose fibers sea pearl, in a colorway similar to 529 (525 or 527 are also close!).

the brooch of swarming bees shown with the shawlettes is a perfect match for the hem motif and was purchased from perl grey

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the product page in the knitspot pattern shop.

for anyone who loves knitting company i hear tell that there may be a
“les abeilles” KAL forming in the sunshine yarnies and the knitspot ravelry groups. also, “les abeilles“, the video now posted to youtube.

(if you wish to subscribe to knitspot channel you can do so by clicking here)

dani, of sunshine yarns has a real winner with this luscious sunsilk yarn“, which inspired the design for this shawlette. it’s a terrific lace/fingering yarn that knits up quickly into a stunning fabric for shawls and scarves; i loved every minute of working with it. dani also dyes on several other yummy yarn bases in a beautiful array of colors; i highly recommend a trip to her online shop for a sunny diversion (oooh, shop update scheduled for tomorrow!)

and many thanks to my friend chris at briar rose fibers for the gorgeous gray/brown/blue sea pearl she tucked into my stash for a rainy day—it came in quite handy for the second sample knit. this luxurious blend of tencel/wool has an incredible hand and worked up beautifully to show off this piece in a completely different color.

and where would we be without some awesome test knitters? karolyn and kim from the woolen rabbit jumped right on this one the minute they saw it. kim is knitting hers in one of her lovely bamboo blends and has promised to show photos later today on her blog—thank you kim!

knowing karolyn’s well-documented addiction to favorite patterns, i almost felt a little bad about handing this one off to her, but i figure, she’s a grownup, right?? well sure enough, she’s on her third one already. but to be fair, it’s therapeutic—she’s been recovering from a nasty wound she suffered in a gardening accident (and we SO wish her a speedy recovery).

thank you both ever so much for all your help!

david got a new camera for taking modeling shots for pattern releases and covers. there’s a learning curve with it, so he sorta went crazy taking pictures between thunderstorms yesterday—we ended up with almost 900 photos to sort through. i worked til 3am this morning, trying to pare them down to a reasonable number, but i still have a lot. grab a cup of coffee or a sandwich and we’ll take a look together . . .