wheaten

Posted on Posted in patterns

i’ve had this secret under wraps (no pun intended) far too long—i was all set to bust out with a hint in last saturday’s post when i’d finally blocked my scarf version but managed to contain my excitement like a big girl after all.

many of you may have even seen the wheaten wrap or throw by now, as it was included in the most recent wool people collection from brooklyn tweed—where it is, of course, shown in shelter and loft yarns.

naturally, i was anxious to knit it up in bare naked wools yarn too, and our stone soup blend was the perfect option, in fingering for the wrap and DK for the throw. light and airy, they both show off the textures beautifully in a blend of natural fiber tones while offering the character and hand which is very similar to the original yarns.

this project originated with an invitation last fall to submit design ideas for wool people 5. i’d had a great experience working with the BT team on the first wool people collection, but had to back out in 2012, after my accident in august put me behind. so i jumped at the chance to participate again this year. BT sent along a skein of loft and a skein of shelter to play with and i went shopping in my stitch dictionaries for inspiration.

i submitted a couple of ideas and jared chose my blanket/wrap/scarf design from among them. i was so glad he picked that one; i felt this stitch pattern was the perfect vehicle for his airy yarns

illuminating them with light and at the same time, showing off their cushy hand.

jared decided he wanted the large throw (in shelter) to use for photography, along with a wrap (in loft). normally not a problem because we have the most awesome test and sample knitters, but this was five weeks before the deadline—which was christmas. oy!

was there really anyone who would take on this task? as i said, we know some awesome, generous knitters, so i put out some tentative feelers and phoebe and vanessa stepped up enthusiastically to take a break from christmas knitting and make these samples happen.

how lucky am i to know such incredible knitters?? phoebe took the wrap in hand, knit in BT loft; jared chose the blanket fort colorway for this one, a pretty grey lavender.

i set about on a far more manageable project in BT loft—the scarf version in color foothills. with christmas travel on the horizon, this would be a great take along project.

and i did take it everywhere for the next couple of months actually (my sample wasn’t needed for photography), finishing it up only recently. the pattern is easily memorized and lends itself to being picked up and put down without a lot of reacquainting.

it hung around while i traveled and got caught up on other work until finally last weekend, it had its date with a bath and blocking wires—the transformation was remarkable; it grew to a wonderful size and openness.

vanessa, bless her heart, knit the big throw in BT shelter, color storm cloud—and yes, it was a LOT of knitting in a very short time, even for her. as not-so-good luck would have it (and we don’t ever wish for situations like this), poor vanessa had severely twisted her knee in a tangle with the dog and had to be laid up in bed for several weeks nursing it. the blanket project was her convalescent knitting, growing over her lap and down her legs as the weather grew colder.

she was finished by the second week of december—vanessa is SO my hero—and bundled the blanket off to me for blocking, which i was of course, thrilled to do (i know—geeky, right?). i received the blanket in the afternoon mail and put it right on to soak that evening after class. due to its bulk, i used the washing machine for soaking and spinning, placing the blanket in a large mesh bag.

david helped me get it spread out on the floor to dry; getting all those columns of pattern to lay straight was a real feat, even with two of us working at it (have i mentioned lately that mister knitspot is a sweetheart??). we intended to use blocking wires, but found it was easier to work the fabric by hand, allowing its weight to “pin” it down.

i just love the way it turned out; i was now anxious for our own yarns to start arriving on site so we could knit a sample in one of them. when the stone soup blend came in, i knew that was the one—it’s tweedy texture and complex of natural fibers would be stunning as wheaten, albeit different than the BT yarns.

shown above, the stole in size medium in bare naked wools stone soup fingering, color pumice.

the large throw is shown in BT shelter, color storm cloud; will also work beautifully in bare naked wools stone soup DK, or our romney/merino DK coming due out soon.

the scarf is shown in BT loft, color foothills; a great spring green.

our version of the pattern has all these options PLUS a bonus—when i was getting it ready for publication on our end, i added a baby blanket version, knowing how popular they are with our knitters. who couldn’t use another baby gift option?

to purchase the knitspot version of the pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the knitspot pattern shop.

tremendous thanks and applause to phoebe and vanessa—they are the only reason i have something to show you today, trust me! they really came through in a pinch and i am incredibly grateful to them both.

by the way, vanessa, after doing all that knitting on the blanket, cheerfully agreed to knit the stone soup stole version as well . . . i know—crazy generous, right?

phoebe too, has completed many knitspot test knits and samples; i have a gorgeous rendition of gnarled oakwoods which she recently completed in our new romney wool yarn, which i’m planning to reveal very soon.

and of course, many, many thanks to jared flood and the brooklyn tweed team for inviting me to participate in the wool people design series and provide generous yarn support for developing these patterns.

 

25 thoughts on “wheaten

  1. lovely pattern. I have downloaded and it is in my queue!
    now. do I use the yarn in my stash or must I have Stone Soup?

  2. I bought the pattern the moment I laid eyes on it, Anne. Wheaten is soooooo beautiful! The skeins of Stone Soup fingering “granite” that recently arrived at my door have just found the perfect pattern.

  3. The throw is simply stunning Anne, you must feel like a proud mama!! And of course it goes without saying that the purple wrap is gorgeous too!

  4. The power of a great picture! I saw this yesterday in Wool People and thought, “eh, it’s nice, but I don’t love it enough to do those cables.” Seeing the way you have photographed it gave it a complete makeover in my mind. My lack of love for cables is unchanged, but you’ve definitely nudged this into the column of “It’s so pretty, maybe those cables will be better than I remember.”

  5. Anne, when I looked at the Look Book yesterday, Wheaten took my breath away! I just had to have it and knit it. I’m beginning to think my eyes only drift to KS designs. : )

    Wow, those test knitters are something! I am so s-l-o-w. I’ll never make a test knitter, but I’m an awesome buyer – and Wheaten was mine as soon as I saw it.

    Anxiously awaiting the Gnarled Oakwoods!!!!!

  6. This pattern is now at the tippy top of my queue, I want it, badly. I just have to get my hands on the right fingering weight yarn for that wrap!!! Amazing as always Anne!

  7. Really beautiful design Anne. Reminds me of the glass windows in the Frank Lloyd Wright room at the Met in NYC. Something about your design is just very American. I love it.

  8. Stunning, absolutely stunning! Will it ever be available from your Ravelry shop? Having patterns reside in the Ravelry library is always preferred (especially since my brand new Windows 8 machine crashed and needed a factory reset–I lost everything on the machine!) Either way, I will certainly be knitting this one!

  9. Gorgeous Anne! And what a sweetie poor Vanessa is. She’s such a good good test knitter! We love her to pieces for whipping that out so quickly for you!

    I want to knit this. And I want to knit Gnarled Oakwoods. I want to become an octopus so I can knit four projects at once.

  10. Gorgeous pattern Anne! Definitely on the must knit list.

    And cheers to Vanessa for being a super star knitter. 🙂

  11. Beautiful, Anne! Saw the pattern in Wool People 5 yesterday and marked it as a “had to have”. I love all your patterns and hope I live long enough to knit them all!!!

    By the way, keeping running! I started at age 39 and still at it (although more wogging (walk/jog) at 70!!!

  12. Your Stone Soup version is lovely, Anne, as is your Foothills scarf! And I just have to echo the appreciation for your sample knitters – they have my respect and admiration for getting such a huge amount of knitting done so quickly. Congrats on a fantastic design, and thanks so much for being a part of WP5!

  13. When I saw the photo I thought, “I love this. It must be Anne’s” . And indeed it was!

  14. Oh Anne, gosh, such a beautiful combination of textures and delicate lace, so very perfect and so very you. Love your wonderful spring posts full of life and promise for the year ahead.
    Xx
    Megan

  15. that throw looks so cozy. That one is going on my list for sure. I’m equally curious about the white bedspread… I’m trying to divine the pattern from the bits showing beneath the grey throw! it looks lovely as well.

  16. Wow, this is a gorgeous design and you have done a great job (as usual). I love the throw and I have to knit it one day.

  17. The shawl is gorgeous. Would you please use paragraphs and capitol letters in the blog. I’m leery of buying patterns because the blog is difficult to read. Also, is the pattern charted?

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