Still Over the Moon

I am still over the moon about how well my Twined Vines Shawl is doing.....and Knitters are starting to join us in a KAL in the Knotions Group....If you are thinking of knitting the pattern, now would be a great time to do so...next week I will be all over Ravelry pretty much all week!  So if you have a question, or think that you need a little hand holding...you will be able to get pretty much real time access to the designer!

And while you are there, check out some of the project pages! (If you are me you will point at each picture and say I want one like that, and that, and that.....)

But, if you should miss me, or just want to learn a new technique...take a look at the tutorial for the cluster stitches with a crochet hook!

~M

Not silent at all

Wow!

Flying on Cloud 9 now......

All I can say is..

Thank you!

More than 24 hours on the first page of Hot Right Now on Ravelry for my pattern.

Excuse me, but I need to remodel my house...I am going to need bigger doors to walk in beside my ego!

Free Pattern Alert!

You always know I have something going on when I post on Saturday morning, rather than Friday night!  Today is no exception...

Presenting :

Twined Vines Shawls.

Sometimes I just want to knit something that looks complicated, but really isn't!  This shawl, with it's half-pi shaping is one of those knits. Predominantly it uses one type of decrease and yarn overs, with a single Estonian stitch thrown in every few rows.  There is even a tutorial for an easy way to work that Gathered Stitch.

The one thing that has always bothered me with Pi or Half-Pi shaped shawls is that increase row (or round).  The overall mesh patterning in this one, blends into that increase segment so that you don't notice it in the final shawl. 





At the edge we add a few more types of stitches, and just a few beads (the way the pattern is written, but, if you want more, look at this project for inspiration for where to put them!)










My test knitters for this shawl did a fantastic job, not just with the actual knitting and feedback, but in keeping it a secret until yesterday when I finally gave them permission to share!

The pattern is written in two sizes, the cream one is Large (58 inch wingspan, 25 inch drop. [145 cm by 62.5 cm] )and is worked in a fingering weight wool and silk blend from Valley Yarns, Charlemont.  I picked the knitted cast off for this version.....

 The blue is the smaller size (44 inch wingspan, 20 inch drop. [110 cm by 50 cm]) and is worked in a laceweight wool, silk and sparkly thread blend, Twinkle Lace from Unplanned Peacock.

This time I did a crochet chain bind off, like you would find in old fashioned doily patterns.

Size 4 (US)  or 3.5mm for my metric friends, needles are used for both versions, but as with any shawl, gauge is not critical to obtaining a beautiful finished object!

You can get the pattern, for free, here on the Knotions website!

~M

WIPS

Sorry if you tried dropping by on Sunday to enjoy the silence...silence there was though!  The weekend got away from me.

So instead let's play catch up!

What's on my needles?

Well, there is a sock...
 
And a blanket
 

And soon to be a shawl test knit for another designer.
 
There were two baby hats, really thick and quick baby hats...but they jumped off the needles already.
 
Other than that it has been writing and editing, testing and teaching, photography and silliness.

 What's on your needles this week?

~M

A Knitter's Best Laid Plans.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a yen for socks.  It had been at least a few days since I had any on my needles, so I grabbed a couple of lonely balls of yarn...somehow I had one ball of Felici in Time Traveler, which certainly on its own was not going to be enough for a pair of socks for me, so I paired it with some Stroll in black.








 A few minutes with some charting software (because I am really trying to join the modern world and not just use excel or graph paper!) I had a rudimentary idea of how my socks were going to look.




Or at least, I really thought I did have a rudimentary idea of how my socks were going to look...but a funny thing happened while I was contentedly knitting away...

Instead of a heel, it appeared that my "sock" had a thumb gusset!

Now, I could have kept on deluding myself into believing it was finally my turn for socks and put a toe on the end, but, if the yarn wants to be mitts and is fingering, when you live in Ohio...fingerless mitts to wear under thick mittens or over thin gloves are the way to go!

But even though I like my sock legs long and that thumb gusset didn't appear until a heel would have (about 7.5 inches in!) fingerless mitts take much less yarn than socks do.  My plan to use up that ball of Felici was not working out.










 

So this happened....
reversing the main color for the contrast color, shortening up the cuff a little and I came oh-so-close to using up all the Felici without "going over"....I needed to shorten that cuff just a couple more rows because I did run out of the Felici before I ran out of thumbs.






Now if we could just arrange schedules a little better, I could get some true Finished Objects pictures, of these mitts among other things, and get the patterns finalized.

Sometime before then though...these are going to need a name!  Got any ideas?

~M

Squishy!

Summer came back to Ohio today!  After a little bit of a Fall Preview, today was hot, humid and the air conditioning got turned back on. It was a little sad to shut the windows!

But, that little Fall weather preview we got, had me dreaming of warmer knits than I had been working on, so a couple or three projects jumped on my needles and one or two jumped right back off again as they were completed in record time.  We'll talk about them another day though...for today....

A very boring, garter stitch blanket in Knit Picks Brava Sport.

It has grown a little bit since then, but really it is my "waiting in the car" or "watching a movie" knitting.  So it will not be finished quickly, just there in my knitting bag, ready to put in a few rows here and there.

As we all know that plain garter stitch for miles and miles, especially when you are aiming for bed-sized, gets boring very quickly, I had to put something a little more detailed on my needles too.

The yarn is from Ancient Arts, their 100% Superwash BlueFaced Leicester Wool 4 ply fingering in Mineral. 

I think that the very subtle shifts in color in this yarn really works well with the cables...it adds to them rather than competing with them!

Ancient Arts has a couple of other really cool color collections based on Cats and Dogs!  I might be tempted to get some of those next time I buy from them!

I am still running my This or That Tuesday posts on Instagram...this weeks was:

So which would you pick, if you had to pick one or the other?

~M

When You Say Nothing At All

 

This or That, #100daysofhappiness, WIPS

Usually Friday's would be for Finished Objects, but...although things are finished, they haven't had photo shoots, so instead....

As I mentioned the other day I am doing a #100daysofhappiness Challenge.  So often we forget to look for the things that make us happy and only see the things that make us mad, or sad, or stressed, or...or...or...

So here is a little round up of things that made me happy this week..

And some WIP shots....more on those later next week probably!

And the This or That questions....can't wait to see what I ask next Tuesday!

And all those pictures from my IG feed mean only one thing...I had better get a photo shoot in tomorrow or you will be seeing the same pics again for Silent Sunday!


Have a great weekend!

~M

This or That?

I've been doing a couple of new things on Instagram lately....along with fellow designer Yvonne Becker aka handarbeitskram  I have been posting under the hash tag #100daysofhappiness the things that make me happy and I have been posting a This or That question on Tuesdays.

Each Tuesday I am coming up with a random choice...Sweaters or Shawls?  Socks or Hats? Cuff Down or Toe Up?  and wait for the comments to roll in.

It is really kind of fun.

(Although I have lost track of what number day I am on for the #100days posts...maybe I will keep it up forever, there is so much in the world that can bring you a spark of happiness if you let it!)

Today's #100days of happiness item I am still trying to figure out how to photo...since I started designing "for real" I have had a hand up from so many different people. Magazine and Book Editors willing to take a chance on an unknown, knitters willing to test knit,  other designers willing to give tips and tricks...the hand up is the happiness.  *

And...if you know how to photo that let me know!

What made you happy today?

~M

*Of course in order to reap the benefits of things like this, you need to give as much as you get.  I like to believe that I do.

Not Quiet!

In case you didn't know, I hang out on Ravelry a LOT!  I mean seriously a lot!  I am typically online all day long, either on my phone or an actual computer. (Typically when it is my phone I am stalking chat pages because...fat fingers...)

One of the groups that I hang out in has a lot of designers in it...mixed in with those who haven't taken the leap yet, for one reason or another....so it is funny to hear us all talking about the same frustrations, inspirations and math!

We even have our own code for inspiration...Minnie Mouse...she comes and starts out whispering in your ear...this yarn, that stitch, it could be great...then she moves on to yelling...didn't you hear me?  THIS yarn, THAT stitch pattern, it will be GREAT..until all you can hear is this silly little mouse and in order to shut her up you just knit whatever it is she is going on and on and on about....

Some times, some of us, are able to mollify her by knitting a swatch.  I have to admit there is the moebius necked poncho that got swatched and is sitting to my right as we speak because I lost interest (shut up Minnie, it is not my next thing...you gave me ten already without the addition of extra hands to knit!)  But sometimes...that silly little mouse voice just takes over your life...

Which is the long way around of saying...Nothing to see here, but if you are interested in test knitting a shawl please speak up in this thread on Ravelry!

On that note I am going to go have an argument with some yarn that thinks it wants to be finger less mitts...I am 100% convinced I need some socks!

What are you up to this week?

~M

WIP Wed..well sorta

Editing, knitting, life crisis..whatever the plural is of that verb...

One of my favorite authors has the blurb for one of her series stating "Miles hits 30, 30 hits back"  I feel that way about 50......

Deep in my soul I don't think that these were the days I was supposed to see. I am not done with life by any means, but.....deep breathe.... there are moments when, apart from designing, knitting and making sure my kids are equipped to survive without me there is nothing...

Enjoy the music...it's good.......and  I will view tomorrow as another chance to be awesome.  Go big or go home, right?

~M