Ready for the Big Time? In Transit is here!

Deluxe Cable Collection Knitalong – We’re Still Knitting Along!

It’s been a little bit quiet on the ol’ western front  with the Deluxe Cable Collection Knitalong. But I can assure you, those of us with projects still on the needles continue to plug away!

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As a reminder,  you can learn more about the knitalong by reading previous blog posts here, viewing the collection here, and joining our Ravelry group here.

Heather finished her Tillery Socks last month, but she didn’t stop there. She is now the proud owner of her very own two-color Cold Mountain Hat:

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Look how happy she is! I would be too if I had a hat that looked super-awesome with my blue hair.

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You can just barely see those blue locks peeking out from under the double-folded brim, but trust me: this is a fun color combination.

I love how Heather took this pattern and made it her own, through something as seemingly simple as different color choices. It always amazes me what a difference color can make in a knitted item or anything else, for that matter!

Often times we see a project and don’t look twice because the color doesn’t suit us. Heather proves that if you like the stitches and the item, the color is the easiest thing about it to change!

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Do you love the Deluxe Cable Collection, too? If so, I’d love to hear about what project you’re working on!

I’ll be back next time (hopefully sooner rather than later this time) to demonstrate the finishing on my modified version of the Wesley Heights Pullover. I’m almost there!

Free Pattern Friday – Double Cable Poncho

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Double Cable Poncho in Major.

How Autumn-y are these colors?  We’ve featured a lot of designs for our popular bulky yarn Major (328yds/200g) using pastels and bluish tones (the Pineapple Peacock Shawl is a favorite) but these more southwestern, earthy tones of color 113 Santa Fe fit the Double Cable Poncho well.

The poncho is made as two rectangles which are them sewn together, long end to short end.  A twisted fringe is added to finish it off.

If you haven’t tried twisted fringe before, it’s really easy.  Amy Gunderson’s got a short video to show you just how to do it.

It’s actually rather meditative, which is always a great quality in a crafting project.

We hope you have an excellent weekend.  Happy knitting!

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Win Yarn to Make the Sugar Plum Hat + Cowl

Ready for a little cheer? How about the chance to win free (!) yarn? We’ve partnered with the folks at I Like Crochet to give away 8 balls of one of my favorite yarns, Dona, along with the pattern for the Sugar Plum Hat and Cowl I designed for the current issue of the I Like Crochet digital magazine. It’s a fun skill-building project that makes the most of Dona’s squishiness in luscious crocheted cables.

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The following post original appeared on the I Like Crochet blog (link) :

Today’s giveaway is so good you’re going to feel like Santa came early this year. The rich blackberry color of FibraNatura Dona yarn is exactly the luxurious hue that you need this winter season. Soft and delightful to work with, this yarn is DK weight and 100% Extra Fine Superwash Merino.

A beautiful yarn like this is destined to be made into something cozy, which is why the amount you receive in this giveaway will be all the yarn you need to make the Sugar Plum Hat and Cowl from I Like Crochet‘s December 2016 issue. The Sugar Plum matching set features three-dimensional lattice texture and a spunky pom-pom hat. With FibraNatura yarn and a stylish crochet pattern, you will be all set for crisp winter days and a season of style.

ILC-resize-40Sugar Plum Pattern

Click through to the original post for details on how to enter. Good luck!

 

Free Pattern Friday – Checked Hat and Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Checked Hat and Scarf in Uptown Worsted and Uptown Worsted Mist.

In Little Women, Meg called November “the most disagreeable month in the whole year.”  I’m inclined to disagree, though I will grant that the invention of electric heat makes it a lot easier these days.   In fact, let’s add modern appliances like the washer and dryer, which make it a lot easier to do laundry without risking frostbite.

checked-mist-scarf-and-hat-detail_blogAll of which brings us to today’s pattern.  The Checked Hat and Scarf are an easy four-row repeat, worked flat for the scarf and in the round for the hat.  We used Uptown Worsted and Uptown Worsted Mist (180yds/100g), both of which are machine washable and stand up well to wear, as well as being the softest acrylic I personally have used.

On frosty mornings, it’s a pleasure to wrap up warm in a hand-knitted set.  It’s a luxury to return home, red-nosed, and shed layers, tossing them to the side without worrying about having to handwash them later.

We hope you enjoy what November has to offer – and then warm up again with more crafting in a cozy room.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Ambling Cardigan

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Ambling Cardigan in Deluxe Worsted Tweed Superwash.

A few days ago, a friend of mine in New York State worried that he might not appreciate his upcoming trip to the Florida Keys because it was still so warm where he was.  Today, it’s snowing there.  I think it’s safe to say that sweater weather has settled in.

deluxe-worsted-tweed-409-raisin-ball-shot-ccToday we present the Ambling Cardigan.  Ambling, because this would be the perfect thing for a relaxed stroll just after the frost has burned off in the morning.  Deluxe Worsted Tweed Superwash gives it a rustic look in keeping with that feeling of outdoors in Autumn.

dw-tweed-ambling-cardigan-alternate-blogFor the record, we have swatched this yarn here in the office, thrown it in the washing machine and dryer, and had it come out just fine with its tweedy bits intact.

This cardigan is sized from XS to 3X.  The body is worked in one piece from the bottom up, and is then separated for raglan shaping.  Sleeves are worked flat.

We hope you find time to crunch through some leaves this weekend.

Happy knitting!

 

Weaving Wednesday – Sparkle Windows

Last time on Weaving Wednesday, I talked about warping for my lace stole in Universe.  Once I got over relearning how to warp my floor loom, it was smooth sailing!

Here are the specs on this project:

  • Yarn: Universe, color 10-07 Woolen
  • Reed: 10 dent
  • Total ends: 241
  • Width on loom: 24″ (desired finished width is 20″)
  • Warp Length: 100″ (desired finished length is 60″)

(Update: There is now a written version of this pattern available here)

My warp is 40″ longer than my desired length. I know that there will be a good 10% take-up in finishing. Plus I left plenty of extra length at each end for fringe.

Since I knew I was going to be doing some different lace patterns, I actually kept good notes on just what I wove in my beginning header so I could repeat it on the other end – go me!

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After tying on to the front rod, the weaving fun began. I started out as I usually do, with a few picks of waste yarn to even out my warp, followed by some hem stitching.

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I knew I wanted to do some kind of a lace sampler for this project. I decided to do a “header” at the beginning of the project, a matching header at the other end, and an all-over pattern for the main body of the stole.

I began with a type of “finger controlled” lace at the beginning called Brooks. “Finger controlled” means that I am literally moving the warp threads with my fingers and passing the yarn between it, rather than using the shafts to raise and lower warp threads.

The first type of Brooks I did is worked on an open shed, meaning I pressed down on one of my treadles that holds half the warp threads. This caused half the warp to raise.

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I found Brooks lace quite simple to do – easier than I had imagined. I passed the shuttle containing the warp yarn around a section of the raised warp threads (6), along the entire width of the piece.

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I adjusted each of the wrapped sections so they were at about the same height and then worked 3 rows of plain weave. They look like little bows – so pretty.

After this first pass of Brooks, I decided to do another row, but offset from the first row.

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And then another row offset again.

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As pretty as this was, I was getting a little bored and was ready to move on. That’s half the beauty of a sampler!

And look, so it’s so sparkly!

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Next, I tried Brooks lace, but worked on a close shed. That means when I wrapped my weft yarn around the warp, I went around all threads across the width of the piece. I did two repeats of this with 3 passes of plain weave in between. I was less impressed with the appearance of this on the loom, but decided to keep it in the piece in hopes that I’d like it better after finishing (and I did!)

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Next, it was time to move on to my main lace pattern: Atwater Bronson. This type of lace produces little blocks. I warped my loom for the most basic of Atwater Bronson – a single repeating block of lace. There are many incarnations of this lace. And it is quite possible to reproduce this on a rigid heddle with use of a pick-up stick.

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While the Brooks lace is considered a finger controlled lace pattern, Atwater Bronson is a type of “loom controlled” pattern. That’s because the loom is doing all the work of raising and lowering the warp threads. Well, at least my feet are doing the work of pushing the treadles to make this happen!

I really enjoyed the weaving part of this. I’m sure much of this was the ease of weaving on a floor loom, and the wonderful rhythm of the beater bar, treadles, and boat shuttle. But it was also easy to memorize and just overall very pleasant.

Here it is after a few repeats. Not too exciting!

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After more repeats, I could definitely see the pattern forming. But again, not that visually stimulating. I had to keep reminding myself that the magic would really happen off the loom and after washing.

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From an angle, you can kind of see the blocks in the pattern.

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When the back bar with the end of my warp tied to it almost reached the back beam, I knew it was time to weave my other header. I reversed what I did for the beginning header and cut it off the loom.

Because my yarn, Universe is several elements – cotton, linen, and metallic – all wrapped with a sliver of nylon, I knew I didn’t want to leave loose fringe. If I had, that nylon would have come unwrapped and the elements would have splayed out. Which, now that I think of it, might have looked cool. But it wouldn’t have worn well. So I busted out my handy fringe twister and made twisted fringe. This allowed me to knot the ends, securing the yarn without fear of it unraveling.

After doing the fringe, I was excited to dunk my stole in a bath to see what happened. And what happened was a much more intense transformation than I anticipated. Both the Brooks lace and the Atwater Bronson lace opened up a lot. The Atwater Bronson looks like little windows that the Brooks iterates above and below. I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out!

On Molly:

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When it’s laid flat, I can really see those little “windows” formed by the Atwater Bronson.

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And somehow this turned out larger than I imagined it would. Finished measurements without fringe are 23″ x 66″. Which is fine with me – that’s a great size for a stole!

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Join me next time for my biggest weaving project yet – matching woven motorcycle jackets made from Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash!

Free Pattern Friday – Swift Current Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Swift Current Scarf in Classic Shades Frenzy.

I’m a sucker for blues and greens.  The beauty of multi-colored yarns is that I don’t have to pick between one or the other.  They’re both there, as in color 911 Stranded of Classic Shades Frenzy.  It reminds me of the rushing aquamarine waters of the  Soča river that runs through Slovenia and Italy.

I want to go to there.
Photo: Andreas Resch – Everyone grab a WIP and let’s go.

swift-current-scarf-detail-blogThe Swift Current Scarf uses crochet shells and open spaces – along with some aggressive blocking – to create an airy texture.  For symmetry, the scarf is worked from the middle out in two halves.  It’s a two-ball project- make one half with one ball, then go back to the first row to start the second half in the other direction.

We hope you have a glorious weekend, dreaming of beautiful places and making beautiful things.  As they say in Slovenian, se vidimo kasneje!

Wheeeeeee!

Just for you – Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

If you’re a good little crafter, you’re already busy making your holiday gifts.  Or you could be more like me and have the best intentions, but then somehow it’s the last minute and you’ve knocked out an emergency pair of Felted Scuffles and are frantically drying them with a hair dryer.

Somehow it seems that every year, one thing is true:  in all the confusion, I never wind up knitting for myself.

Not this year.

Kristin Hansen's Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

Ever since this gorgeous book of Kristin Hansen knitted lace for Garden Metallic came out, I’ve had my eye on… well, on all of the patterns.  I had the pleasure of helping prepare the garments for this photo shoot. Touching each delicate masterpiece was enough to make me fall in love.  The one that sets my pulse racing, though, is the Midnight Sun Shawl, perhaps because it shares a name with one of my favorite songs.

https://youtu.be/pr5x7ivORUU?t=2m50s

Fetch my wrap, dear. The night is young and so are we.

The printed book is now also an e-book, as well as individual patterns.  So this year, I’m going to myself something beautiful.  I’m telling myself there’s still time this season, although realistically, I know myself and it will probably be next year before this sees the light of day.  And I have nowhere to wear something this glamorous – but I have faith that if I make it, then the opportunity will present itself.  Or perhaps I’ll be more likely to make my own opportunity.

If you’d like a lovely length of lace to call your own, don’t wait until everything else is done.  It never will be.  Do it now, just for you.

You’re worth it.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Cozy Cardi

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Cozy Cardi in Major.

We’ve had a lot of fun with Major this week…

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Bad Amy! Bad!

…but our week of Major is drawing to a close.  Don’t worry, though – we’ve already got more designs in the works.  There’s a poncho that I’m just dying to try out, plus – well, you’ll see.  But for today, we share this sweet little 1-2 ball hooded baby cardi.

major-cozy-cardi-detail-blogWork the fronts and the hood in one piece side to side.  Then work the sleeves and attach, make the lower hem, and add a crochet edge and three little loops to accommodate your cutest buttons.  There’s an included schematic to show you how the whole thing folds together.  It’s a quick and cute pattern without a lot of frills.  Let the yarn do the work while you take the praise.

We’d love to hear – what kind of things would you like to see in this self-striping bulky yarn?  We’ve got some ideas in the works, but there’s always room for more!

Happy crafting!