Katydid

 My friend Kate was telling me one night about her favorite type of summer shirt. As I scoured the internet with her looking for a shirred bandeau-top, tunic-like top, I had the idea to knit one. 

I fought with the idea for a few days, typed up the pattern, and then finally cast on to only come up short about 20 meters of yarn. So I put it away until I received the perfect yarn from my friend, Sammy. 

A hank of DK and a hank of fingering weight. Both yarns held the colors of orchids and while they didn’t match, they were close enough to what I was wanting. 

I messed around with the pattern in a spreadsheet until I was satisfied with it enough to knit up a prototype. And here it is. 

DK bust, fingering weight bottom, with ties from fingering weight at the top of the bust.  There is so much stretch to the bust that this is a size XS on a S figure of my niece. 

I have already cast on my own, sizing down for myself also. I’d rather have it more form fitting and tighter in the bust so I don’t have to wear a bra with it. 

I will be releasing the pattern real soon on my website, Payhip and Ravelry. 

Knitting Summer Tops

So, I've been on a sweater knitting kick for the past year to year-and-a-half now. What I haven't found is the best sweater for my figure... an inverted hourglass HA! Big bust, big arms, big waist, big hips, big legs, short legs. But I'm not a rectangle as I do have some curves. So I decided to create my own empire waist sweater, which I already know that silhouette looks better on me than almost anything else.

As I've been knitting this summer top, I have been thinking about the next design I want to make. A top down ribbed summer top. It's a lot more math, but I think I can get it --- hope so anyway. I have a vision of it in this most gorgeous pink... and I found that pink, Fizzy Flamingo, by my friend, Kate, at Graphic Dyeworks.

In the meantime while I wait for that yarn, I am knitting on the empire waist top. I have a spreadsheet and pattern written up for 9 or 10 sizes, from 30-62 bust. I have tweaked and tweaked this entire pattern a dozen times over, so I am hoping once I get this top done, that makers will want to test the pattern for me and it doesn't have any stupid little errors in it.

This is what I have done so far. Lots of positive ease under the empire waistband, negative ease above it. (Or, the makers can choose to have positive ease above also.) I knit it up in 100% cotton for a cool summer top that I won't drown in, nor will I overflow it. This has been a whole new world for me - now I need to figure out bottom up sweaters. I have knit them, but can't wrap my head around designing them. Ha!

Stay Connected!

At this time in our lives, we are separated from everything and everyone. Social distancing. Isolation. Quarantine. It’s sad what is happening with the Coronavirus Covid-19 taking over the world. But one by one and all together we can help flatten the curve by staying home. However, don’t distance yourself from everyone. Please stay in touch somehow, someway. Text messaging, instant messaging, social media, etc. are all ways we can continue to STAY CONNECTED while continuing to STAY SAFE!

Stay Connected is worked in either wool or acrylic (or the fiber of your choice). Don’t hesitate to dig through your stash and mix fibers. The sample was made in a size M with 99y/90.5m of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Orange and 48.2/y44m of Knit Picks Brava Worsted in Asphalt Heather. It’s what I had in my stash when the pattern struck me, so it’s what I used.

The beanie is stranded with only two colors, and perfect for both the beginner and seasoned stranded-knitter. The pattern is written but also charted for the colorwork design. It has a nice rhythm to it and is easy to memorize.

Due to the beanie being stranded, it is double the warmth! Perfect for those lingering cold spring mornings in the Northern Hemisphere, the early coolness of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, or for a head start on winter knitting. Whatever your case may be for knitting this beanie, I sure hope you enjoy it and it helps keep you connected.

Now live on Ravelry. Blog readers will be able to receive the pattern for free until April 9th and then 75% until April 16th by using code “CONNECTED”. If you  grab this pattern, please leave me a comment below letting me know! Happy Knitting!

Hope you are staying safe & healthy! 

CCR pictures & Christmas Knits

I saw S the other day and was so thrilled that she tried on her Cozy Classic Raglan & stood outside her doctor’s office for some impromptu pictures.
The fit is AMAZING on her! Seriously just perfect. I’m so glad she opted for 0” of ease because this could not have turned out any better.

Now it is on to Christmas knitting time. [What??? Seriously?? It’s only February!!] While I wait for my yarn to come in to custom dye, I am working on my own CCR & a Swooping Scoop Top - which that one I will finish today. But as for Christmas knits, I am giving myself the entire year to knit 5 sweaters and two hats. This way I won’t overwhelm myself come fall time. 

For X, I am going to try the Monsieur Plastique by Stephen West. 

 Copyright belongs to Stephen West

It looks a bit intimidating, but I am up for the challenge even if it does make me a little nervous. X opted for a dark green contrasting sleeve. Hopefully I can dye it correctly to be how he envisions it.

I am still undecided on M. I am thinking of One Sweater for a simple raglan in a dark teal. If I do choose this pattern, I will use the same one for J, just in a different color. 

For S, she’s been begging for a thick chunky sweater with a turtle neck. I found the Metropolis and think it will be perfect for her. 

This will leave two more sweaters - one for me (undecided) and one for my mom-in-law. She already chose the Bubble V Crop. Here’s mine that I made last year and loved the pattern so much that I also made one for S and promised MiL one, also. 

Let’s see how far I can get with sticking with my goals. I’m excited about all the future projects and getting to look for specific yarn for each person. Maybe my ADD will allow me to stick with it. 

Jules: New Pattern Alert

Earlier this week I dropped a new pattern, Jules. It is a very special pattern to me with a long background and history. 

Jules Side View

My sister is my best friend, always has been. As we grew up, the USAF took her to many places far and wide across the globe. I followed her for visits as much as possible. But this last move she made, I have been unable to visit. So for 3 long years, the only face time we have had is via FaceTime. But more often than not, it’s texting and emails only. Several months back she sent me a photo of herself and two of her boys. In the photo she had her hair pulled over into a braid. As I looked at the photo with pride and joy in my heart, I knew right then that I was going to knit something with a braided cable and dedicate it to her. So, here she is. Meet Jules, the first installment in my Little Sister’s Braids collection. More pieces will come later this year and will be companions to this beanie.

Jules Crown

Jules is a sport weight unisex hat knit in merino and alpaca for warmth. The braided cables climb from brim to crown separated by a sea of purl stitches and a single twisted stitch representing the strong bond my sister & I have that will always stand out amongst all the separations we have had in life.

The pattern is a written pattern with no charts. All stitches and cables are thoroughly explained in detail. I tried to make this pattern as user friendly as possible for the new knitter.

Right now, Jules is available to the general public on Ravelry for 50% off until January 18. But as a blog reader, you can get it 50% off for an extra week, until Jan 25th using code BLOG.  Follow this link to find the pattern on Ravelry. Not a member of Ravelry, or prefer to use Venmo, email me so we can arrange your pattern delivery. 

I hope you enjoy Jules as much as I enjoyed the creation of it. 

New pattern alert! Color Pop! Toque

My handsome baby brother gets a new hat every year for his birthday. The past two years I have designed a new hat just for the occasion. This year it is the Color Pop! Double Brimmed Toque.

Color Pop Toque is a double brimmed knit hat with the first half of the brim worked in a contrasting color that just peeks over the folded edge. The toque can be knit with one color, or as the grey sample shows, with a pop of color on the bottom edge of the brim. As I made the hats for my dad and my brother, I did not go crazy with colors. However, I will be making myself one in turquoise with a pop! of fluorescent orange. (The green hat actually has a grey pop, but it is very difficult to photograph.)

The pattern starts with a provisional cast on. One video I recommend for learning the provisional cast on with a crochet hook is by Very Pink Knits. (Click here for the YouTube video.) (no affiliation, I just enjoy her videos)

The toque uses approximately 200-225 yards (183-206 meters) of yarn. If you choose to color pop your brim, approximately 50-70 yards (46-69 meters) will be your contrasting color. It’s a great way to use up some of those small amounts of yarn left in your stash.

To get yours free of charge until Jan 3rd at 11:59pm ET, follow the link above to my Ravelry pattern page and use code COLORPOP.