a spring twist

Posted on annePosted in designing, lace/shawls, patterns

last friday, when the spring/summer issue of twist collective was launched, i was deep into the opening class day of sock camp and had hardly a moment to talk about our budding apple shawlette design included in the issue.

fortunately, news spreads fast, thanks to our very enthusiastic ravelry group (i love you guys!), as well as excited fans of the dyers involved in the project—spirit trail fiberworks providing neith, kollage yarns providing creamy, and the natural dye studio providing precious and angel 4-ply.

that’s a lotta yarn and we did a lotta knitting to make a sample in each one. why so many?

knitters often write to tell me they appreciate our extensive project photography and how much they enjoy exploring blog links to the wealth of gorgeous yarns available to us. i thought it would be fun to present a pretty, quick-knit project that would translate beautifully in a variety of fibers and colors, with an investment in just a skein or two of yarn (the better to try more of them, my dear!).

and what better time than spring to refresh our senses with a palette of soft colors in luscious non-wool fibers? so i set out in my usual way to create a project that would fit all of those parameters.

first step—you guessed it—swatches.

i worked up several swatches in various sample yarns i had on hand, til i came up with a set i liked in a range of non-wool fiber types, including alpaca, cashmere, silk, cotton, and milk.

i don’t remember when, exactly, i decided on these particular stitch patterns, but the moment i saw them together, i knew that they brought together a bunch of loosely-related ideas i had into one firm idea, which was now about apple trees.

in other words, up until that point, i had a general sense of the feeling i wanted to portray, but seeing the stitches together made apple buds come to mind. and since i was designing for a spring issue, that seemed just right.

the larger pattern for the hem portion is one of many “grapevine” variations; this one is particularly sensual, i think, with its sinuous movement and shading. the tiny eyelet trefoil provides a delicately punctuated field to rest the eyes on, while still keeping the feeling light and lively.

once i had my stitch patterns planned out, i did some preliminary charting and got started on the prototype in kollage creamy, in the cool, fresh canopy green color.

it was a quick knit all right and i was done in no time at all. i did see afterward that a few tweaks were in order—the insertion at the center back didn’t seem right, so i decided to change that

and while i was at it, i refined the placement of the small eyelet pattern as well. luckily, i was able to get more yarn to produce another sample that is knit exactly as the pattern is written—that’s the one you’ll see in the magazine pages, knit by our very dear friend karolyn. the changes are subtle, but they make a difference to me.

the insertion in particular is a lot more in keeping with the design. i hesitated about using it, since i would then be repeating a detail i’d used before, but my gut told me it was better for the design.

once i had the prototype knit and finalized the design, i wrote the pattern up and we got to work on samples to send to the magazine.

these were my secret projects in september and october—above you see it in pure silk precious 4-ply from the natural dye studio, colorway heather and below, the cashmere/silk version in spirit trail neith even traveled to rhinebeck with me, a delicious travel companion.

this soft blue is named chalcedony and is worn by the model on the right in this photo. the yarn is to DIE for, with a lovely density that gives the finished shawl a nice weight. i’m so sorry i didn’t get a modeled shot of it before i sent it off, but time grew short and i was traveling a lot at that point, oy. same goes for the one we knit up in a soft pink color called sugar, from the natural dye studio.

and all that was way back in the fall, before thanksgiving. i didn’t revisit this project for quite a few months, but when the pattern proofs arrived from twist, i took everything out again to take one last look before publication.

as it happened, the fruit trees were just beginning to show their buds as we put those final touches on the pattern and i was wowed by how accurately the stitch patterns mimic the look of their branches, droopy with buds and ready to burst into flower. i couldn’t help but be reminded of the shawl during my seattle stay, just as this issue went live.

one week later, i finally have a chance to sit and write a thoughtful recap of the process of designing this piece and to thank the staff at twist collective for including it in this spring/summer issue.

coincidentally, i’ve been spending some time this week with my friend erica, who is responsible for providing the kollage yarns to knit this project. we landed in dallas fresh from the windswept, rain soaked environs of the pacific northwest to find it balmy and warm here in texas.

so we decided a photo shoot would be in order. while we discussed doing the shoot, she suggested a fun way to celebrate the pattern release—a drawing for a budding apple kit.

kollage will send one lucky winner a budding apple kit, consisting of three skeins of creamy yarn (winner’s choice of color) and two sets of square circular needles to knit the piece. since twist collective has an exclusive license on the pattern, we cannot offer a copy with the kit, but i will be happy to send a twist collective gift certificate to the winner, so they might purchase it.

(this was all erica’s idea, so please be sure to tweet her @kollageyarns to let her know how cool you think she is!)

if winning a kit like this sounds like the bees knees to you, please leave a comment at the end of this post by 5pm EST on sunday, april 10. we will announce the winner on monday.

til then, have a great weekend; i’ll be working at the DFW fiber fest all weekend, so please stop me to say hi if you see me there! we have more treats and surprises coming up next week and i’ll actually have some time off from work to blog as well, so stay tuned.

636 thoughts on “a spring twist”

  3. I would love the kit! But, knowing my luck with random number generators it will never ever happen! LOL Another beautiful design!!!

  5. I love this blog and wish I could make it to some of the festivals but I am very far away in Australia – probably better for my stash anyway!

  8. Would love to practice all I’ve learned the last couple days by knitting this shawlette. Lovely! Thank you for the great teaching, Anne!

  9. I was already thinking about making this shawlette before I got to the part of the blog post that offered the contest! I’m a sucker for anything in blue, lavender, periwinkle, etc. — and I loved the green too. Lovely Easter spring colors! — Cate

  12. Oh, you know I would want everything and every yarn you use, Anne! Jealous of your apple blossoms in Ohio, ours in Michigan are still weeks away.

  14. Love this pattern. I will be buying whether or not I win this contest. I may even have some Kollage in the stash too. 🙂

  15. I love this pattern and what can I say about Kollage? Love their yarns and am just knitting a scarf with their square needles for the first time – they are great!

    Thanks Anne – and your Holes In My Socks class was great yesterday. 🙂

  17. Milk yarn? Really??? I guess I live under a rock. I would be afraid it would dissolve if I washed it!

    Gorgeous pattern. I am intrigued by the way you’ve blocked it– those sort of square scallops instead of points– really unique & lovely!!

  18. Enjoy the weather there! It’s OHIO springtime, here, yuk. Would love to have that kit, esp in green. My thanks to Erica, no matter who wins but(hope it’s me)!

  20. Lovely to see apple blossoms on trees and shoulders!! Thank you for both! Elizabeth aka Queenbee

  21. Your fastidious attention to detail is what makes your beautiful designs really stand out. All of the options are simply gorgeous! Your patterns are simply a joy!

  22. Wow, what a beautiful design. The yarn looks scrumptious as always. I’d love to knit it and will probably buy it even if I don’t win!

  23. beautiful work yet again! I love the attention you put into making the eyelet spines a design feature rather than a necessary evil of this sort of shawl construction.

  24. that is just plain stunning….I can’t wait to get this on my needles….opps….I better finish that last piece of Leavings….

  25. Lovely! This would definitely cure cabin fever – just looking at this is a restorative. Amazing as always. Congrats!

  30. Seeing the wonderful samples and their importance made me want to dive right in, Ann. I would love to make this stunning example.

  31. This shawl is gorgeous! I faved it right away! I’d love to try that Creamy yarn! Thanks for the chance to win!

  32. Thank you for the opportunity to win. I am taking classes from you at the DFW Fiberfest. How great it is to learn from you and meet the person behind the website.

  35. I very much enjoyed your class today (Advanced Lace) and meeting you at the DFW Fiber Fest! I hope you’ll come back to this area again soon. I would love to have the yarn and needles mentioned!

  39. Really pretty springlike pattern and I’d love to knit it. A win would be the perfect capper to a fabulous Fiber Fest weekend of classes with you (to say nothing of the massive stash enhancement achieved courtesy of the vendor hall)!!

  40. OMG!!! I absolutely love this little shawl. I have never knit with any Kollage yarns. It looks really yummy.

  41. Gorgeous little shawl! Thanks to all for offering this, and to Anne for another wonderful pattern

  43. A beautiful shawl and absolutely indicative of the season! Can’t wait to see those blossoms up here in South Western Ontario.

  46. The needles sound worth the gamble alone! I will hope my birthday yesterday gives me an extra hit of luck on this one…

  49. Beautiful shawl! Just finished a pair of Roger socks for my son, he loved them! Am making the Inky Dinky sweater and hat for upcoming grandchild next. Thanks for so many wondeful patterns.

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