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]]>Well, the first month of the new year is wrapping up, and I admit it’s had its ups and downs, but I’m not complaining. I’m hopeful for the year ahead and looking forward to new patterns, new yarns and new growth opportunities (both personally and professionally) and I hope you are too.
Now that we’re steam-rolling into February, I know that everywhere I turn, I’ll be bumping into red hearts, toddler-size stuffed animals and enough confectionary treats to send my dentist’s kids to Princeton (for a PhD).
Some of us revel in the romantic bustle and others…would happily hunt down Hallmark and pop their heart-shaped helium balloon with a knitting needle.
David and I are pretty romantic—for starters, we’d rather work together and weather the ups and downs of business ownership than see each other only for a few hours each evening. We have a regular “date” night, which we miss only on the rarest of occasions. Yet we don’t usually make a fuss over Valentine’s Day—we feel pretty lucky all year long with plenty of opportunities to show appreciation for each other
Bracing for the upcoming V-day barrage did get me thinking about great couples and how many adorable coordinating patterns there are now residing in the Knitspot design portfolio—many of them introduced via the Knitspot Yarn and Pattern Clubs.
Pattern pairs are a fun and efficient way to knit.
While some people love the learning process, most of us really enjoy that point where we simply get to relax into the rhythm of a pattern that we know and love.
It’s really not so different from dating and relationships…one-off patterns are like a never-ending stream of first-dates.
A great first date IS exciting; as you feel that delicious spark of chemistry, you can’t wait to learn everything there is to know about this person.
As you get to know each other, some things may be better than you hoped, while others can be an unexpected challenge. You don’t frog the whole relationship though, because the end result could be something really special.
If you put in the time to figure things out—and if the stars align—you just might end up together forever, making each year a fresh adventure, while getting more and more comfortable over time.
The same can be said for a great pattern motif. Once you’ve made one FO, you’re past the awkward (sometimes frustrating) “getting to know you stage”, ready to ditch the chart and relax with some smooth knitting…like sink into a scented bubble bath relaxed.
You could make multiples of the same piece, changing up the colorway to keep things fresh or knitting a slightly different size.
Or you can spice things up even more by keeping the motif and changing the project. Same motif you now know and love, but a brand new finished piece that complements the original.
That’s the idea behind our “perfect pairs”—coordinating accessories to wear together.
You get the idea
Knitting perfect pairs solves another problem that plagues the enthusiastic technique junkie—oddball accessory combinations.
I know I’m not the only knitter here with a big basket of unmatched mittens, hats, and scarves, one for each of my knitting passions, but no two alike.
Sometimes a matching set is in order, after all . . . like on date night.
So without further ado, here are Knitspot’s most famous couples (and even a few threesomes )…
All of the motifs shown here have matching accessory patterns availabe to knit.
Miss Doolittle Scarf (+ Cowl Option) and Eliza Mitts
Aria delicato and Delicato mitts
Billow cloud scarf/cowl and Cirrus mitts
Bittersweet vines (includes neck warmer and mitts)
Creel (pattern includes 3 accessories: hat, cowl, mitts)
Butternut scarf and Wussypillows hat and mitts
Carlsbad cowl, Torrey Pines mittens, Hills in Jamul
Chain chain, chain cowl, Cuffed link mtts and Chain of fools hat
Chimney sweep scarf, All boxed up hat, Springerle mittens
Curling neck warmer and mitts
Hectare cowl, Till headband, Cob hat
Honeydrops cowl, Honeybuns hat
Natty cowl, Tweed fingerless mitts, Natty cap
Op art cowl, Lacunae mitts/hat, Lacunae socks
Pyro scarf/cowl, Chiminea headband, Firestorm fingerless gloves
Snow tire poncho wrap, Snow tire scarf. Fat tire mittens
Colcannon mitts, Kalio, Lacinato hat
High Peaks mitten and hat
Kiltie cowl and mitts
Peu bourgeons mitts and hat
Snowflake hat and Snowplough mittens
Wheaten mitts and cap, Wheaten wrap
Hot waffles hat and mitts
Cornrows mittens and hat
View Knitspot’s perfect knit pairs collection on Ravelry
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]]>The post year of wonder first appeared on .
]]>hello everyone! how do you like my thanksgiving photo? we couldn’t believe our luck at having such a beautiful sunny sunday—very rare in ohio these days. we walked for miles and miles to take advantage of it, too.
i bet you thought we fell off the face of the earth, right?? but we didn’t. we’ve just been finding that with all there is to do each day since i moved in, it’s always very late before we can settle to catch our breaths and think—and by then, it’s time for me to go to bed.
but now that summer is truly over and there’s no more garden to tend, we think we’ll have a bit more time to write to you about life at the ranch (and beyond), our myriad ‘making’ projects, thoughts and feelings, and most of all— knitting.
but first, let me catch you up on what happening with me—since so many readers have written to ask and it is time for giving thanks, after all.
i’ve had an incredible year, thanks mostly to my family and friends. when i think back, i can hardly believe how stuck i was inside my shell for so many months after my adoption. why, last christmas i was still no able to be petted, even by my dear friends ellen, lillian, and doug at “work”. even david was not my friend yet. i was lonely, but still too scared to do anything about it.
slowly, slowly, and with lots of encouragement (everyone was SO patient, especially lillian), i built up the nerve and the trust to begin approaching people.
oh, who am i kidding?? what really greased the wheel was TREATS! once i got the hang of getting a treat for going outside my comfort zone, i was a sucker for it. anne makes sure that everyone has a jar of treats on their desk and she keeps it filled so that when we visit the office, they were ready with the bait. what can i say? she makes good treats.
mind you, it was still very, very hard to be touched. taking a treat was one thing, but being petted was a different ballgame.
then we stumbled on a cool trick. anne taught me to “high five” and “shake”—this way, instead of others touching me, i would go first and touch them. WOW. such a difference; i don’t mind this at all. and once we shake hands a few times and i know the person is safe, i’m fine with sitting near them and letting them pet me. they can even do it a LOT if they want (doug doesn’t want to, but that’s ok; we have an understanding).
this is our friend scott, that we visit on our long walks; his dog, casey is my friend too, but now i’m actually better friends with scott, who has biscuits and hands them out freely. i probably should be ashamed of being a traitor to casey but i’m not, cuz i’m a dog!
and there is also my friend and neighbor jean, who is so sweet and nice to me that i can sit right up next to her on her porch and let her stroke my back and love on me all she wants (especially if she keeps feeding me those yummy frozen bananas!).
my friend liberty has grown up SO much this year that she won’t take no for an answer when it comes to petting me and how can i resist? she’s so darn cute and she can walk on her hands!
at home, david and i are best buds now, too. anne put her foot down and kind of pushed me to get to know david better, because when she goes away, he’s the one who takes good care of me. at first, it was just all about treats between me and him, but now i love hanging out and taking walks with david.
i especially love making dinner with him because well, you never know what could fall to the floor
and david is responsible for teaching me my first game. of course it involved treats, but who knew that searching for them could actually be fun. he hides the treats around the house and i find them; sometimes they are under canisters or cups. then he showed me that they can also be inside a ball and i can push it around to get them out. i was really afraid of that ball at first, but now it’s one of my favorite things. when anne and david go out to the movies, they leave music on and set the ball out for me to play with and i barely notice any more that they are gone. anne is upping the ante now by putting bigger treats inside that are harder to get out; it takes longer and requires more finesse, but i’m very determined (do you like my new word, finesse??).
i used to think that looking for food and eating it was simply a matter of survival, but now i see the light—it’s also entertainment for humans when it involves a trick or a toy.
in exchange for doing so many nice things for me, i help david by sniffing each package that gets mailed out before we take it to the post office. in the car, i watch over to make sure that none are left behind when he takes them inside.
i actually have many jobs around the house, now that i’m getting outside of myself and have shown interest in so many more activities. here i’m helping anne block a “shawl”, which we will hopefully photograph this week. as soon as the new batch of jacob’s dream sport comes in, this kit will be listed the store.
i also help with baking dog treats—i’m the taste tester (you probably guessed that).
the kids that we meet on our walks just LOVE these treats—especially when they can high-five me for one. i’ve seen them sneaking little bites from them, too, but i’m ok with that as long as i get most of it. after all, navigating a pack of kids is a lot of work for me; you never know what crazy thing they’ll do next.
another of my chores is working in the garden. now that our yard is completely fenced in—thank you again, david!—i can go outside and run all over while david works in the dirt or when anne is picking vegetables. we had an incredibly productive garden this year, full of the most beautiful vegetables ever; it was a lot of work just to get them all picked and put away each day, but totally worth it.
green beans take the longest; we filled two basket like this on most days.
i was a HUGE help—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. i was quiet and stayed out of the way in a cool spot so that anne could work in the hot sun undisturbed. she seems to like it.
we had a bumper crop of nearly everything and all of it was delicious and perfect-looking; we could have printed a seed catalog using our garden haul. the only downside was that it takes a gargantuan effort to harvest it all and put it up for winter.
anne would separate the beans into piles to freeze—she cut up the very biggest ones into bits for me, then the medium ones got cut into soup-size niblets, and the smaller ones get frozen whole for eating with dinner and topping salads.
we worked every day from mid-july through the end of september to do it. in addition to the bags and bags that we gave away to friends, we froze over fifty bags of beans this summer! david finally tore OUT the vines just to put an end to it, even tho they were still filled with beans. it was getting too rainy and cold to pick them regularly.
we also put up forty quarts of tomatoes, a few dozen ears of corn, thirty pounds of blueberries, twenty bags of strawberries, and thirty bags of swiss chard. (we like our vegetables around here). while anne was away in october, david and i roasted the last of the sweet peppers and eggplant for freezing as well. plus, we have several shelves of potatoes, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes in the basement. we made many quarts of ratatouille, soup, and ciambotta.
as our friend kimkimkim would say . . . we are ready for the zombie apocalypse.
we even made fresh peach cake to freeze, while peaches were in season (in fact, they had some the other night and i hear it was aMAZing).
naturally all of that work is completely exhausting, but i’m managing to keep my energy up and encouraging anne to take breaks frequently when my ears need scratching or when i need to take a walk.
i try to get her out of the house as often as possible because she really needs to relax and have thinking time. you wouldn’t beLIEVE what a workaholic hermit she can be if she’s not prodded to get out. of course there is the obvious reasons we need to go out a few time each day (nature calls!), but i also need to make my rounds and see my people—i have a lot of socializing to catch up on!
of course you all know zippy already—she was one of my first neighborhood friends.
and then there is trixie, a mini aussie who lives just up the street and is probably my favorite to horse around with—she is a tireless devil-child with endless energy and we have a blast tearing around her yard, wrestling, fake fighting, and flipping each other over, while her mom talks to my mom.
lil sassy is afraid of everything but she like me, even tho i am literally, more than six times her size, haha. she makes me feel like a big dog.
i just lay down and let her sniff, climb on top of me, and pat my face with her tiny hands.
helena’s dog, KD died last winter and in the spring, she got a new dog named murphy, who is a puppy. puppies are like human children—a little overly energetic sometimes. he just adores anne, but when he came over to visit and play with me, i found it a bit overwhelming and i hid to get away from him. i think we’ll probably end up being friends when he’s a little older.
this is my very favorite boy dog—fritz. he’s a german short-haired pointer; isn’t he a dreamboat??
when i see fritz, i can hardly stand the excitement i feel—i just have to wiggle my butt and dance around; it’s hard to keep still! he’s the opposite of me; the quiet type (you might be able to tell). anne says we are like her and david, if humans had doggie equivalents . . .
i still do play with casey a lot, since we walk by his house several times per week, but he’s more interested in dominating me and i get tired of putting him in his place; plus, it’s really scott i’m interested in now, since he’s in charge of the biscuits.
i have lots more friends, like sadie and macy and booker—plus, there is a new puppy in town named luna that i am absolutely gaga over. i like little dogs a lot, especially after being attacked again this summer by a couple of big brutes. no major harm done to me, but anne got beat up pretty badly when she stepped in to shield me; she was all messed up for a while with cuts, bites, and bruises.
another new thing i’m into is chasing bunnies, squirrels, and chipmunks—just for fun, i’m not seriously trying to hurt them; i like to watch them run. but i did NOT chase this baby bunny that we met one night on the way home form our walk. it was SO little, like a mouse! i almost pounced at it, but anne told me not to and instead, she showed me that we can just watch it instead. we all stayed very still and after a while, it let me come close to sniff a little before it hopped off. that was kind of magical . . .
you might wonder about why i have suddenly become more sociable and fun-loving. well, about six months ago we started seeing the holistic vet because i had hit a plateau in my socialization. i was also dealing with some chronic physical issues that were not getting better with traditional medicine. anne decided that if natural medicine worked for her and david, it might be a good avenue for me, too.
the first thing we changed was my food—we took out a couple of things i was likely allergic to and switched to a semi-raw diet, using a dehydrated raw vegetable base that anne mixes with lightly cooked meats. and WOW, did i feel better almost immediately.
everyone noticed almost right away that i felt calmer and happier and more approachable. since it was springtime, we saw lots more people outside during our walks and i had lots of opportunity to work on my skills. we also treated my seasonal allergies with some drops that made me feel much less itchy and irritable. being touched and played with was suddenly much more pleasant!
now, anne cooks up a turkey for me every couple of months—and on thanksgiving we made the latest one.
she skins it and take off all the fat, then cuts it onto pieces to boil it. when the meat is done she chops it up and freezes it in containers that we use weeks by week. then she puts all the bones back in the pot and cooks them for more than a day to make bone broth, which is incredibly delicious if you’re a dog.
my job is floor patrol, which i am good at—you won’t find even a speck of turkey on that floor, ever, nor a drop of bone broth. guaranteed.
she also cooks lean beef and buys canned salmon so we can rotate the flavors each week (i know; i am SUCH a lucky ducky!). when she mixes up my bowl each night for the next day, she stirs in chunks of my favorite things, like green beans, blueberries, sweet potato and other things from the garden. now i totally get how beautiful our food is—it’s a real treat to eat things that we grew all those months ago and i make a BIG fuss whenever it’s time for a meal.
our thanksgiving was really great this year; during the day, we just cooked, lounged around, knitted, and went for a walk and then at night, those guys went to a movie while i stayed home to play with my ball of treats.
while i waited for them to get home, i had some time to think back about my wonderful year and begin composing this post. i am such a lucky girl; my life is now filled with love and all good things. even when something bad has happened, i’ve managed to overcome it because our family is a team and we have a community that is an even bigger team. now i really get it!
which is why i’m so excited that the holiday season is now underway—it’s a good time for me to pay it forward and help out with our red scarf scholarship fundraiser. we’ll be talking more about this over the next few weeks, but we hope you’re excited to support it, too. as an adopted child, this cause is of utmost interest to me; i know first hand how much it means when a kind soul extends their hand, heart, and a bit of change (or a treat!) to help.
there are lots of yummy patterns this year by many of our favorite designer friends—big thanks to andrea mowry, mary o’shea, kathleen dames, kirsten kapur, and kate atherley who joined with anne to contribute an array of deliciously festive options. the last of the festivus 4.0 yarn is going fast, so if you want to snag some, now’s the time!
like i said, we’ll be back soon with much more; anne has a whole big post about knitting stuff that will probably be of interest, though i may have to make a cameo appearance to add a truly special element. leave her a comment once in a while just to let her know someone is out there to read it, ok? see you later . . .
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]]>The post aspergillum first appeared on .
]]>fresh and airy pullovers with an easy fit are summer essentials, especially for travelers. the aspergillum tunic (or crop top), is a great example—pull it on as a beach coverup or pair it with strappy sandals and a cami for evening cocktails—this piece has multiple lives.
knit here in deliciously cool hempshaugh lace (color buckwheat), it is light and slightly drapey. plus, it packs and unpacks without a wrinkle and dries within hours of washing.
worn loose with lots of ease or just a little, the fabric is stretchy and comfortable to fit a range of sizes from XS to 5X.
the unusual cable-and-lace stitch pattern is a real attention-getter, inspired by the texture of natural sea sponges. deeply ribbed hems and neck finishes complete the look with a rill of shifting rib that ripples in the breeze.
the garment is knit in two simple, rectangular pieces with a bit of neck shaping; a drop shoulder forms the “sleeves” which are completed with cuffs knit on to the armhole openings in ribbing to match the hem and neck finishes.
shown here is the tunic in size S/M (40 inches)—on ying fen (above) it is worn with eight inches of ease; on raina (below) it is worn with three or four inches of ease.
this top would be equally delicious (and a little bit more glam) in bare naked wools deco lace or chebris lace; i think the mohair option would be super sexy for fall and winter.
want to know more about aspergillum or ready to cast on NOW?
click here to purchase the pattern in our online shop and click here to to purchase the pattern on ravelry.
and don’t forget to add your project to your ravelry notebook and share your progress in our bare naked wools ravelry group—bring yourself and your knitting for a fun, relaxing group chat.
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]]>The post Lace3—oh, the possibilities! first appeared on .
]]>as spring finally commences with sprouting, blooming, and unfurling a fresh array of colors and fascinating forms, i’ve been busy putting together ideas for my lace³ pattern subscription.
there couldn’t be a more exciting or inspiring time of year to be thinking about new lace projects—if you’ve been following my work for even a short time, you know that translating natural forms into stitches is an important aspect of my designer voice. at this time of year, i am literally surrounded by ideas for motifs and line work with which to fill our rectangular shapes.
now to think about the yarns we might use to bring those ideas to life! one aspect of this project that’s very important to me is flexibility. because it can be resized with ease, the rectangular form is universally friendly to a wide range of yarn types and weights—the same design can be worked in finer or heavier yarns to achieve different effects.
fine yarns produce sheer fabrics suffused with light, showing off delicate line work and semi-transparent shapes; heavier yarns amp up the scale, making for bold, deeply embossed lines and voluptuous forms, along with a gutsier overall fabric. some knitters have a love for one or the other and some of us like to mix it up so that we always have a project going that suits our knitting mood.
as my series of “little nothings” scarf patterns has proven over the years, knitters love this flexibility—these simple rectangular designs have been translated into all manner of larger and smaller projects, from scarves to stoles to baby blankets—and in all types of yarns. and so i hope it will be with the lace³ subscription projects, that knitters will use my basic designs as written, or fiddle with them if they please, to create end results that are just right.
i know that some of you have been dreaming on what you will purchase with your discount coupon—thank you for all of the fun comments you’ve been adding to the discussion in our lace³ ravelry thread!
as promised, i’ve prepared a list to share of the yarns i will most likely work with. for this list, i’ve taken choices from our bare naked wools yarn shop, to offer suggestions for those who’d like to use the $10 coupon included with early signups (click here and purchase now if you’d like to get one too!). i may in the future toss my stash to come up with hand-dyed suggestions and i may even knit a few samples with treasures retrieved through stash diving.
full disclosure though—being that this is a design project that extends a year into the future, it’s possible i may change my mind about knitting with one or two of these yarns myself. if that happens, my intention is that someone in our sample circle will knit with the the yarn from the original list, so that we have an example to show off. note that the list contains more than a half dozen yarns for just six design installments—i like to keep my options open and i feel that any combination of these yarns will work. we’d like to show you several sample options for each installment and i hope to knit more than one for at least some of the installments, while other knitters may help with the rest.
the good news is that even if my choices change or vary, these designs will work with many different yarns; they are excellent stashbuster projects! if a yarn you love is not on the list or drops from my list in the future, you can rest assured that it will still be lovely in almost any of the designs and you will enjoy that project even more for personalizing it with an alternate yarn choice.
the colors shown here are not necessarily the ones i will knit with; i chose photos from our archives that best represent each yarn type.
you may decide that a range of soft silver and blue-gray is right up your alley . . .
or that a soft warm palette suits you and your wardrobe better.
maybe a series of darks are your thing or you like to work with toothy, textured yarns as opposed to kitteny soft ones.
i find enjoyment and inspiration in a mix of everything; i like to follow one yarn with another that is a different shade and has completely different qualities. i do not make rules for myself about colors or fibers i supposed should and should not wear. and anyway, i like to give away a lot of the accessories i knit, so i allow myself the freedom of exploration. one-skein scarf projects are a great way to try out a yarn that is new to me, especially if i’m considering it for a garment design.
several people have asked about yardages and here i’m going to be a bit vague because it really depends on so many factors—we find that knitterly variations (such as personal gauge and knitting style) can alter yardage by a surprising amount, as can substituting yarn or working at a different gauge than stated. and i want everyone to feel they can take advantage of the flexibility offered here!
while each design will have a stated gauge and yardage for the sample shown, your mileage may vary for a variety of reasons. to prevent knitters from getting bogged down on this point, for the most part these will be the type of projects where you can simply knit til your yarn (or your patience) runs out. you may achieve more or less repeats than i do, but if you start with a skein of equal weight to what i’m using, you should end up with a similar size. scarves and cowls can be knit with single, 4-ounce skeins of fingering or lace yarn, while stoles or blankets will take two or more. if you choose to size up, DK yarns require about fifty percent more yardage. at this point, i really can’t commit to more yardage information than that. to arm yourself with helpful knowledge, i recommend reading through some project notes for my established scarf designs to see how far a single skein of any yarn will go. my lace lessons book also includes helpful information about yarn substitutions and fiber in general.
there is one last last thing—i will almost certainly not be using these yarns in the order they appear below; i’ve got to keep some surprises in my pocket!
are you ready? then here we go!
1. deco lace
deco lace is a tencel/cotton/merino blend with gorgeous sheen that is perfect for summer knitting, as it remains dry to the touch through all weather. never warm or prickly against the neck, its firm twist offers excellent stitch definition and a pearly accent for wool and denim alike, but also drapes into silky, sexy folds. generous yardage allows for a large scarf or stole project.
2. ginny sport (or DK)
ginny is an alpaca/cotton/merino/nylon blend that feels like cashmere. a next-to-the-skin soft yarn with an even softer, fuzzy halo, it makes a remarkably desirable scarf or cowl fabric that drapes into generous, round folds. if you’ve sworn off cotton yarns, this one will make you think again! in the lighter sport weight, it knits up most similarly to our better breakfast fingering yarn; in DK weight it is lush and plump for a warm scarf without the wooliness.
3. better breakfast fingering
better breakfast fingering is an alpaca/merino/nylon blend with all-around appeal. soft, yes—but also sturdy. dehaired alpaca is the magic ingredient, adding ultimate softness without a prickle, for those who may have found other alpaca yarns unwearable. available in eleven natural shades, this signature yarn is a perennial favorite for all types of knits, but is especially lovely for openwork projects with plump stitches—the kind you want for working cable and lace patterns. a smooth profile for easy handling, it blooms with a wonderfully fuzzy halo with a nice bath and some handling.
4. ghillie sock
ghillie sock is spun from 100 percent cheviot wool; if you haven’t heard of it, you can read more about it in this blog post or visit some project pages. this heritage wool fiber has many characteristics that add to its durability, hence its place as the traditional choice for kilt hose, sturdy scottish tweeds, and upholstery. but rarely—and quite unfairly—is a tribute sung to its more delicate characteristics. the lustre and unusual structure of the fiber (helical) makes for a bouncy, airy yarn that simply glows with light when introduced into yarnover patterns. its slightly stiffer hand translates into highly embossed linework and a beautiful blocked finish that keeps its shape for ages. our skeins hold a generous put-up of 600 yards—plenty for a large, lacy piece or one with lots of cables or twist stitches.
5. cabécou lace
cabécou lace, our finest lace offering is the ultimate choice for romantic, heirloom lace pieces. you might think that this kid mohair/silk/coopworth lamb blend, with a whopping 1000 yards per 4-ounce skein will require knitting on toothpicks—but no! in fact, i highly recommend a much larger needle to achieve a gossamer fabric that catches the light on each and every blooming filament. here too, a slightly stiffer fiber blend yields distinct stitch definition and a lasting blocked shape. not to mention a fabric that is virtually weightless and devastatingly sheer.
6. hempshaugh lace
hempshaugh lace, a merino/silk/hemp blend, offers a more rustic, quirky texture than many of our other yarns and is a personal favorite for lots of reasons. it is my summer yarn of choice for tops that i practically live in and for certain kinds of shawls and scarves. its fluid, drape is wonderfully forgiving in garments, but could prove challenging for rectangles that keep their shape. i’m choosing this yarn as a wild card with a special project in mind, with a plan to counter its naturally too-soft tendencies with a clever construction strategy. hoping some of you will play along with me, but if the prospect sounds daunting, be assured that alternate yarns will prove equally compelling.
7. fresh lace
fresh lace is a combination of silk and linen—if you’ve heard that linen is too hard on the hands, then this yarn will rescue its reputation. unimaginably soft to knit with, the fiber also plumps up nicely with lots of body when washed; it makes for gorgeous garter stitch fabric. its brilliant whiteness inspire its name—fresh. while i’m tempted to kick off the subscription in july with this selection, a design that will be absolutely perfect for early spring is whispering to be knit instead and i’ve got it slotted in closer to the end of the lineup.
8. chebris lace
chebris lace is a mohair lover’s dream yarn—soft and glimmering, it knits up quickly on bigger needles and blooms with lush, fluffy softness after a wash and some handling. fabric that flutters in the slightest breeze is the prize for those who choose to knit with this confection of a yarn. spun a bit heavier than our cabécou blend, it’s a great introduction to mohair fiber and laceweight yarn—totally manageable for newbies and a complete pleasure for the more experienced knitter.
9. stone soup fingering
stone soup fingering c’mon now—you know i wouldn’t leave this selection off of any personal yarn list! after all, a day without SSF is like a day without sunshine. i am totally psyched about showing you yet another desirable lace pattern to knit with this tweedy, rustic, lovable stuff. lest you think i’m talking nonsense just to move this yarn off the shelf, i swear, i’m not—just ask my friend katharine; she sleeps in her fringetree shawl, knit with stone soup fingering, she likes it that much (true story!). and if you feel too shy to ask her, you can peruse a variety of stone soup lace projects by clicking here. who knows, this might be your wildcard yarn!
so that’s my list from the shelves of our bare naked wools yarn shop—please feel free to write us with questions or leave a comment and we’ll do our best to answer. to recap, those who sign up for lace³ before 7/10/2018 will receive a $10 credit toward the purchase of three skeins or more, while supplies last. david has mailed out coupon codes to everyone who signed up already; you should be good to go! for those joining up as we speak, yours will be sent along shortly after your purchase.
we plan to present a couple more posts about project yarn before the patterns begin release in july; stay tuned for ideas and inspiration!
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]]>The post sea fret cardigan first appeared on .
]]>as soon as i finished knitting my sea fret pullover, i knew i wanted a cardigan version—its light airy fit and feel just had to be translated into a garment i could open and close to suit the temperature.
sea fret cardigan has all the same characteristics as its sibling pullover—versatile, unisex, and completely easy to wear, with v-neck and crew neck options—but it also has buttons! knit flat in one piece from the bottom up, it is equally quick to knit and finishes up with just a few inches of underarm seaming and the addition of button bands.
styled with subtle knit/purl texture, raglan shaping, narrow cable details, sleek, one-by-one ribbing, and a relaxed fit, this garment is easily paired and shared with fabrics throughout your wardrobe. and of course the optional elbow patches are included in this version as well; i didn’t add them to my first sample, but i will likely add them to the one i’m knitting now.
the pattern includes nine sizes from young adult to big and tall. and the weight is just right—soft and airy in fingering or light sport yarn, it is the piece you’ll grab for again and again, making it a great choice for a natural yarn shade that will go with everything.
for my design sample, i chose our creamy-soft cooper sport, spun from springy 2-ply coopworth lambswool. this yarn explodes with life when washed, blooming to create a strong network of fibers that keep the garment from sagging—perfect for a seamless design that won’t lose its shape, even with years of wear.
i’ve a second one on the needles now in stone soup fingering (color marble) and i’m enjoying every knitting moment; as i write, i’m wearing the pullover that barb knit in this blend and i’m in love with the fabric (thank you barb!!). it’s incredibly light—about the weight of a long sleeve t-shirt, i swear—but adds just that layer of warmth i’m craving on this overcast, chilly day (i won’t scar you with a photo of my current outfit, but let’s just say it works perfectly with sweatpants and bad hair).
some other good choices for sea fret cardigan could be ghillie sock (our soft cheviot wool), patchwork fingering, festivus 4.0 sport, or elemental affects shetland fingering. it’s a great style for that single breed, heritage wool you’ve been longing to knit. it would also be luscious in chebris sport, for a cozy, retro-luxe version.
the cable detailing along the side seams and raglan lines adds definition, but it can be eliminated, as i did with david’s red pullover version by converting the raglan cable panels to stockinette and working an extra repeat of the body pattern (or garter stitch) at side seams—the stitch count is the same for an easy swap out.
want to know more about sea fret or ready to cast on NOW?
click here to purchase the pattern in our online shop and click here to to purchase the pattern on ravelry.
and don’t forget to share your sea fret progress in our bare naked wools ravelry group—bring yourself and your project for a fun, relaxing knit and chat.
The post sea fret cardigan first appeared on .
]]>The post sea fret pullover first appeared on .
]]>who doesn’t love an easy to knit, multiseason, go-anywhere pullover to knit for yourself or that special other?
sea fret is all that and more—versatile, unisex, and completely easy to wear, it is sweater dressing at its most comfy. choose between v-neck and crew neck options to suit your taste or make one of each! it’s certainly a quick enough project—knit in the round from the bottom up, it moves along at a quick pace and finishes up with just a few inches of underarm seaming.
styled with raglan shaping, the fit is a little less formal and more flexible, making this a garment you can pass around and share easily. the pattern includes nine sizes from young adult to big and tall. and the weight is just right—soft and airy in fingering or light sport yarn, it is the one you’ll want to grab again and again.
subtle texture softens the fabric throughout the sweater body, making for nice transitions when using a gradient yarn such as our patchwork fingering yarn (above in light print) or festivus 4.0 sport (below in cranberry crush).
sea fret may also be knit in stone soup fingering (barb has one on the needles now!), cooper sport (i just finished my cardigan version in it!), ghillie sock, or elemental affects shetland fingering. it’s a great style for that single breed, heritage wool you’ve been longing to knit! i think you could even knit this in chebris sport, for a cozy, retro-luxe version.
the cable detailing along the side seams and raglan lines adds definition, but it can be eliminated easily, as i did with david’s red version—simply convert the raglan cable panels to stockinette and work an extra repeat of the body pattern (or garter stitch) at side seams—the stitch count is the same for an easy swap out.
i added optional patterned elbow patches to the plain sleeves of my v-neck version for a fun detail, also included in the pattern. whether you choose them or not is up to you, but they are a great way to protect a lightweight garment that you’ll want to live in.
want to know more about sea fret or ready to cast on NOW?
click here to purchase the pattern in our online shop and click here to to purchase the pattern on ravelry.
and don’t forget to share your sea fret progress in our bare naked wools ravelry group—bring yourself and your project for a fun, relaxing knit and chat.
as mentioned earlier, i’ve been working on a cardigan version of sea fret too! my sample in soft, luminous cooper sport yarn is complete and the pattern is on the way (click here to preview details). we are headed to the maryland sheep and wool show tomorrow and we plan to release it next week when we return. until then, if you plan to visit the show, please come see us in the main building, booth C28 to fondle the samples and have first choice of our small batch yarns. we’re looking forward to seeing you at the fair!
many thanks to our wonderful models, raina and kevin and to thor for making the photo shoot SO much fun!
The post sea fret pullover first appeared on .
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