Flower Child

Wool & Pine has a new pattern.

The spirit of Flower Child is back, this time as a cozy cardigan. With lace that blossoms across the yoke, bobbles like little flower buds, and a vintage-inspired picot collar, Flower Child Cardigan feels like something timeless yet alive with fresh energy.

Worked seamlessly from the top down in DK-weight yarn, it’s a cardigan with vintage charm and everyday wearability. Slip it over a sundress, button it up on a breezy day, or toss it on like a treasured piece from another era, this cardigan brings a little vintage romance to your wardrobe.

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Construction Overview

Flower Child Cardigan is knit seamlessly from the top down with a circular lace yoke. Once the yoke is complete, stitches are divided for the sleeves and the body is worked flat in stockinette. The hem is finished with 2x2 ribbing and a sewn bind-off. Sleeves are picked up and knit in the round, also ending in ribbing.

The button band is picked up along the fronts and worked in 2x2 ribbing with buttonholes, and finally the collar is picked up and finished with a delicate folded picot edge for a vintage touch.

This top-down construction makes it easy to customize both body and sleeve length.

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Why You’ll Love It

• Vintage charm: Picot collar + bobble buds + leafy lace yoke
• Seamless knitting: Top-down construction = minimal finishing
• Customizable fit: Adjust sleeve and body length with ease
• DK-weight yarn: Fast to knit and cozy to wear

You can purchase the pattern for the Flower Child Cardigan on Ravelry. 

The pattern is size inclusive with finished bust measurements from 32” to 70”.

My family is very happy. It’s a beautiful day on the lake and they are catching nice fish. Fish that are going back into the lake but that is besides the point.

Cleared For Take Off

I have another project that I’ve been working on but haven’t shown many pictures.

My Night Lights. I forgot how much I liked knitting it. I also learned a few things. I normally increase with a M1L or M1R. For this you need to do a lifted increase. Andrea has a video that makes the technique easy. 

A new pattern came out on Ravelry today and it is free to download until the end of Monday. I don’t have permission to share pictures but here is the link so you can see it. It’s already in my library and it’ll be a great project for Diana. She has been waiting for me to come up with what I wanted knit for another store sample.

After taking some time away from designing to travel, I wanted to create a project that reflected the ease and joy of the journey itself. This shawl is designed to be simple, soothing, and perfectly portable—the kind of knitting you can pick up on a plane, road trip, or while waiting for your next adventure to begin. 

Cleared For Take Off ✈️ is designed with travel in mind, this soothing shawl is the perfect companion for your journeys near and far. Worked sideways from a tiny corner, simple stitches and an easy 2-stitch repeat makes it an ideal project to knit on the go. 

The magic comes from pairing one solid yarn with a self-striping or color-changing yarn—the colors shift and unfold as you knit, creating a mesmerizing fabric that looks far more complex than it is. The result is a lightweight, versatile shawl that’s just as beautiful wrapped around your shoulders on a chilly plane as it is draped casually over your favorite outfit.

Boscoe Island

I forgot to share this picture earlier in the week. Giardino is growing. Now it’s just around and around. A bit boring but I’m sticking with it. Sometimes mindless knitting is what we need.

Mike who works with dad and Beth used our cottage last week with his family. While they were there he built a bench on Boscoe Island. This is a small island just off our property. The previous owners built a bridge so we can get to the island. The dogs love it but Boscoe loves it the most. Dad likes to visit too but the old bench wasn’t in the best of shape. We’re going to get him an island fishing rod so he can fish while sitting with the dogs.

The dogs are in the water as often as possible.

Brioche

I cast on a Brioche cowl that will be the project in my Brioche class. I’m writing the pattern and it will be written a bit different than regular Brioche patterns. I hope this will make it easier for the students first Brioche knitting. After they get the technique down we will continue working the pattern with the brioche terms that designers use.

The cowl is knit with two colours of Malabrigo Chunky. I chose two very different colours. I define the colours as light and dark to help the knitter figure out which colour they should be using for each row.

There are a few more tricks (non brioche related) that I will include in the pattern. 

It’s a good thing we have a big couch. I was out running errands this afternoon when Beth and the dogs got home from work. She texted me these pictures.

I have told myself that I’m not allowed to visit the store this week. I’m trying for a relaxing week as I get ready for the busy fall season that will be here soon. I’m also taking this time to get prepped for some workshops that I want to teach this fall – more information will be coming soon. So far so good with this. Dad went to the store and watered my plants today. 

Mystery MusiKal

Stephen West sent out an email this morning about his upcoming Mystery KAL.

The 16th annual Westknits MKAL season is here! This year’s MKAL is the Mystery MusiKAL, a shawl that plays with texture, color, and surprise! Join thousands of knitters around the world as we follow the clues together and knit a show-stopping design worthy of a standing ovation. 

You can pick up the pattern on 4th September at 17:00 Amsterdam time. 

Join me over on Instagram @westknits at 16:00 Amsterdam time on the September 4 launch day to get a grand kit preview of our custom color palettes that will be available at Stephen & Penelope. 

SCHEDULE
SIGN UPS & YARN INFO AVAILABLE: September 4 
CLUE 1: October 2 
CLUE 2: October 9 
CLUE 3: October 16 
CLUE 4: October 23

You will be able to purchase the pattern on September 4th. This will give you the yarn and needle requirements. When we see the requirements I will put together some colour suggestions. 

A Mystery KAL isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like surprises I suggest you start looking at photos in Stephen West’s Ravelry group when the clues come out. Then you can decided if you like the pattern and the colours you would like to use.

Now it’s time for some knitting and the Jays game. I’m working away on Giardino. Fall is coming and I want a new sweater.

Garage Door Opener

Mr. UPS dropped off the kits for the Cosmic Connections MKAL late this afternoon.

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Are you ready to take your knitting experience out of this world?! We are headed over the moon with this mystery knit that was designed to be unlike anything you’ve found on Earth! This opulent wrap takes inspiration from stars, galaxies, outer space, and everything else the universe has to offer. The knitalong fun will take place on Ravelry and Instagram. Click hereto share your colors, ask your questions, and connect with other knitters all over the world. It’s time to reach for the stars! 

What to expect:

• unique construction
• lace
• bias knitting
• cables
• slipped stitches
• color changes

All techniques with charts will also include written instructions. I’ve created tutorial videos to guide you through any new techniques. There will NOT be any stranded colorwork or brioche. This design is intended for intermediate knitters, but my patterns and tutorials are designed to guide adventurous beginner skills to the next level. The best part of a KAL… there will be lots of helpful knitters to keep you from getting lost in space!

You can read more about the KAL on Ravelry.

See the kits on our website.

Dad and Beth helped me pack the boxes. Everyone who ordered kits should have them on Wednesday or Thursday.

I forgot to tell a funny (not so funny story) yesterday. I got home from work on Saturday and my garage door opener wasn’t in my truck. I had a small meltdown. Did someone steal it? Did I knock it and it fell out of my car? I thought I had closed the garage door on my way to work Saturday morning. I didn’t - Beth was outside cutting the front yard. Then I thought I opened it Friday night. No I didn’t - I came home with groceries and Beth opened the door to meet me. I closed the garage door Friday morning. Yes I did. And then I took my Expedition to the dealership for an oil change and I drove a loaner car for the day. I had to run home after the dealership to pick up things for work. Yup. The garage door opener was in the loaner car. Beth picked it up for me this morning.

Shoes

I don’t think Stephen West sleeps. He has another new shawl pattern.

This is the Delectable Collectible Shawl (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

Choose five colors of fingering weight yarn in contrasting colors to knit this large semi-circular shawl. This shawl was inspired by the Delectable Collectible Socks so that you can have a beautiful shawl to match your socks. The pattern begins with an I-cord Tab Cast On and flows into lots of fun stitches like droplets, bubbles, tiny bobbles, brioche, slip stitches, and simple knit purl textures. The instructions include video links that demonstrate the various techniques, so you can confidently create this wearable work of art. The stripes and shifting stitches make the knitting process very exciting and motivating as you increase toward the wavy border. I recommend solid and lightly speckled yarns to make the little stitch details pop. You can also incorporate one or two splashy or variegated colorways for a more hand painted effect. Go bold with high contrast choices or select soft and subtle tones to emphasize the texture of the shawl.

Photos © Stephen West

Jackson loves to leave shoes around the house. When it’s time to leave the house you need to hunt to find one or two shoes. He carried five different shoes around the house today.

It was a lazy day at our house.

Now it’s time for bed. I have boxes to pack tomorrow before we close for a few days.

Ultimate Sock Minis

Malabrigo just introduced minis in their Ultimate Sock yarn.

All colours are in stock.

The yarn is perfect for socks. You can do your toes and heels in a different colour or you can add stripes. How about a hat or mittens?

The yarn is also great for shawls. Melanie Berg’s On The Spick Market (pattern purchased on Ravelry) is a great shawl that is knit with minis.

This is a full skein of Natural Ultimate Sock.

Minis

Frank Ochre x 1

Sunset x 1

Caramel x 2

Zinnias x 2

Ravelry Red x 1

Cereza x 1

Beachy Keen is another Melanie Berg shawl that is knit with minis (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

For this picture I used Malabrigo Sock for the main colour - 1 skein each of Plomo and Flavia. For the minis I used 

Cote D’Azure

Azul Profundo

Teal Feather

Caramel

Sunset

Frank Ochre

If you knit it starting with the dark blue contrast first I think you will need 2 skeins of Azul Profundo and Teal Feather.

How about a gnome from Sara Schira? This is Someone to Gnome About - Mini (pattern purchased on Ravelry). 

Here is a link to all of Sarah’s amazing gnomes.

It’s time for the weekend to start. We’ve had dinner and the kitchen is clean. Now some knitting - I’m working away on Giardino. 

New Pattern

Caitlin Hunter has a new pattern called Ovis. You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry.

The pattern is knit from the top down, starting with the back knit flat to the armhole split. Then, the front shoulders are picked up from the back cast on edge and worked flat through the neck shaping before being joined. The remainder of the front is worked flat to the armhole split.. The stranded colorwork is worked flat to this point. You then join the fronts and back to work the remainder of the body in the round. The sleeves are picked up and worked in the round. Finally, the collar stitches are picked up and a folded collar is made.

Ovis requires knowledge of chart reading as well as some flat colorwork.

The pattern is size inclusive and can be adjusted to your preferred body and sleeve lengths.

The suggested yarn is a DK with a tension of 20 stitches to 4”. I would suggest Cascade 220 Superwash Merino or Malabrigo Rios. I think the sheep would look great in natural Rios and then work the background in a fun colour like Zarzamora.

I thought I was going to see Mr. UPS today but he’ll be stopping by on Monday. One box is from Emma’s with the Cosmic Connections kits and the second is from Addi with more CraSy Snake double pointed needles. I’ll be able to get orders out before I close the store for a few days.

Now back to my knitting. 

New Kits

I had fun today putting together new kit combinations.

First up was the Bambara Wrap.

This kit is calling my name. Two of the skeins are one of a kind so don’t wait if it’s calling your name.

Then I made up new kits for The Shift. I went way back to find these pictures. I should have looked at them this afternoon - I need to make kits up in these colours tomorrow.

Tonight’s movie is Something’s Gotta Give. Dad doesn’t remember watching it when it came out. It’s good to watch while I’m working. It doesn’t take a lot of brains and if you miss a few minutes you can figure things out quickly.