Best Guess

I was supposed to be working on Elah but I am enjoying the fair isle knitting of Jade and continued today. Give me yarn that changes colour and I am happy.

Do you follow Andrea Mowry on Instagram?

Photo © Andrea Mowry

Her new sweater pattern will be coming out on Thursday. I don’t know the exact details but after some investigation I believe that the sweater is knit in sport weight yarn. There is a main colour and a contrast colour for the collar and cuffs. Tosh sport or Patagonia would be a great choice. There is a small amount of a mohair/silk blend and a colour of Dyed in the Wool. I will post better pictures and more information on Thursday. 

Tomorrow is going to be busy. I need to get to the store early to pack orders. We are golfing tomorrow afternoon. My best guess is that there won’t be a post tomorrow evening. 

SoleMates

It’s an easy blog post on the day when Stephen West releases a new pattern. He has many, many pictures and you know that I love pictures.

Photos © Stephen West

This semi-circular shawl features seven colors of fingering weight yarn striped together. Textured stitches and eyelet stitch patterns decorate the large shawl shape. Each section is simple and addicting, so you are always looking forward to the next color and stitch pattern. The instructions include video tutorial links to learn how to work the I-cord Tab Cast On, the Elongated Criss Cross stitches, and I-cord Bind Off. Choose seven colors with a high-contrast color relationship for a bold and graphic striped shawl. You can also select seven shades that have a softer low-contrast effect for a subtle textured shawl. The border is decorated with chevron eyelets, resulting in a large, light, and flowy Westknits shawl. 

The pattern is available for purchase on Stephen’s website. 

We don’t have these colours of LITLG in stock but I am very certain we can find colours that are very close in Madelinetosh Merino Light or in Hedgehog Skinny Singles.

Yardage 
1900 yds/ 1737m total 
Color A - 300yds / 274m 
Color B - 240yds / 219m 
Color C - 400yds / 366m 
Color D - 400yds / 366m 
Color E - 180yds / 165m 
Color F - 200yds / 183m 
Color G - 180yds / 165m 

The Shawl Smorgasbord is here and it is a feast for the eyes! This shawl is like a platter of all your favorite stitches and techniques that come together to create this stunning masterpiece. I'm so in love with this design because it incorporates lots of eyelet elements and there are endless possibilities for dynamic color palettes. This semi-circular shawl features seven colors of fingering weight yarn striped together and you can choose high contrast colors for a bold, graphic shawl or softer, low contrast shades for a more subtle textured shawl. I can't wait to see all of the beautiful color combinations you come up with to knit your own Shawl Smorgasbord!

Take a look at some of the finished shawls on Ravelry.

Tina from Freia Fibers shared this picture on Instagram today.

It's waaaaay to hot for socks right now but I couldn't resist sharing this picture with you of some of our samples in our (Fall release) SoleMate sock sets! 

You're not seeing double! These little guys are tracked all through production from start to finish to ensure each pair stays with it's mate - giving you the pair of perfectly identical SoleMates! These are dyed on a Shaniko Merino Superwash base that just gets softer with each wash - and they are already soft to begin with. You will ooh and ahh when you have these on your feet. 

At the H+H trade show I strong-armed shop owners into trying on the socks and everyone was awed at how dreamy they felt on their feet. We will have over 80 colors to pick from.. Which color will you be starting with?!?

I finished the recommended number of rows on my Elah cardigan last night during The Amazing Race Canada. I wasn’t up to putting the stitches back on a needle and knitting the back so I pulled out my Jade Scarf.

This is the finished scarf. I’m at the halfway point. I was hoping that the scarf would be ready for Camp. That isn’t going to happen. It might come out in the fashion show on needles 😀

Zickzack

We have a new scarf. This is Zickzack (a free pattern on Ravelry) knit with one ball of Noro Tsubame - colour #2. I have a brand new jean jacket and the scarf is going to look great with it!

Named for the barn swallow that migrates to Japan during cherry blossom season, this is a classic worsted-weight silk/wool blend. Each oversized skein contains 656 yards making it ideal for an endless variety of one-skein projects!

 

My Jade Scarf is at the halfway point. Beth is already claiming it. Sometimes customers ask if blocking is really necessary. You can see that my pattern isn’t lying flat - after blocking the scarf will look much better.

Isabell Kraemer has a new pattern. SSP (slip stitch party) Shawl - the pattern can be purchased on Ravelry.

SSP is worked flat (sideways), increasing along one edge to create an asymmetrical triangle. Stitches are increased in the slip stitch pattern and then onward into the 1x1 ribbing. A built-in slip stitch edge and the slip stitch colorwork (you only work with one color on any given row) will be the perfect introduction into colorwork (promise - you will have nothing but fun!). The combination of easy slip stitch patterns and the sportive wide ribbing give this shawl a sophisticated yet casual look.

The shawl is knit in fingering weight yarn. I would suggest Le Petit Lambswool. 

This version is knit with 6 colours.

📷 © Isabell Kraemer

This version is larger and is knit with 2 colours.

I came home early to get the website ready for the spring Rowan. The books should all be going live on March 1st. I’m not finished yet but hope to be in time. The new yarn is ready to go live. The new colours of existing yarns will go up on the 1st during the day.

I need to sign off because Beth is urging me (not so gently) to hurry up. We have The Amazing Race from last night to watch. 

Yarn Mess

I finished my Shift this afternoon. Now it needs to be blocked and the ends sewn in. It took me just over a week to knit the cowl. 

Fantasy football was much better this week. Beth and I won our match. It was good to have Beth home so that she could be in charge of the converter. The bad part of Beth being home - Jackson was here and really liked getting into my knitting.

The Jade scarf was dragged across the room a few times today. You can see my ball of yarn is a mess. The Cocoknits Maker’s Board works really well for my pattern. If you are thinking about a board, don’t wait too long. Cocoknits is out of stock and we won’t have more until October or November.

Photos © Susan Ashcroft

I was looking on Ravelry and came across Susan Ashcroft’s Quaker Lines. You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry.

I used the texture from Quaker Yarn Stretcher and the basic structure of a shape that seems to be popping up a lot on ravelry lately to create a fun knit that’s also easy to wear. 

The design plays with different edge treatments to create a nice curved topline that sits nicely around the neck, while also creating a looser edge which opens out at the point to really display the yarns. 

The original was made to show off some gorgeous handspun, but other yarns can be used.

Something self-striping will create extra impact without any joining of yarns.

The pattern is super easy to follow and looks great in self-striping yarns. Some knitters on Ravelry used Zauberball Crazy. A few used Dyed in the Wool. You can also use a thicker yarn. The pattern is easy to adjust.

Breakfast at dad’s.

Afternoon nap.

Dinner time. He’s either a maniac or he’s sleeping.

Welcome September

Joji released a new pattern today - Some Me Time. 

Photos © Joji Locatelli

From Joji

This is the type of project that brings me the greatest pleasure: soothing, repetitive and meditative. It’s what I most love to knit during my ‘me’ time. 
Designs like these truly let me enjoy and make the most of this craft’s soul healing properties. They feel like a scented candle, or a warm cup of freshly brewed coffee. 
Relax, let go of all the worries. 

I love to have a project that I can look at and know exactly at which point I left it, without having to check what’s next. Simple repetitions that produce a beautiful complex fabric with minimal effort.  

I love a project that can grow organically, without me making lots of plans before-hand. 
I often start these projects saying ‘This one is just for me. I don’t need to write this pattern, it’s just for my own enjoyment’, but here you are, reading about it.  

I create patterns for self-love, so this one too had to go out to the world and be shared, but don’t worry, the pattern writing process was just as enjoyable as the knitting. This really is a simple design to make the most of our self-loving time, both for you, the knitter and for me, the designer.

You can knit the shawl in sport weight or DK weight yarn so you have many, many options.

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry or on Joji’s website.

I think that MadTosh Wool + Cotton would be beautiful for this shawl.

When we arrived at the store this morning we found a big box from Mr. Canada Post. New Opal sock yarn. It’s hard to believe that Opal is celebrating their 25th anniversary.

All the colours are available on the website.

I’m into the second ball of both colours. The scarf is a fun knit. You have to pay attention because the rows are all different.

Beth left Jackson with us while she ran some errands. Lynn did absolutely no work - she just played.

He found a water bottle when he got home. I let him have it for pictures and then took it away. He is full of energy tonight.

Beth got out the wrestling mat. They lay on it and make funny noises and beat up on each other. It really tires Jackson out.

I forgot how much energy puppies have.