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Friday, August 31, 2018

Why? Because...Why!



I think that all sock knitters have done it, bought one (or many) more skeins of self striping sock yarns than they want to knit plain vanilla socks!  Those socks show off the stripes so very well...but are...so.....very....boring...to...knit.  At least for me they seem to go on forever!  And while I love the finished look they do tend to be the socks that I am tempted to suffer from Second Sock Syndrome with!

In June, one of my favorite dyers, Unplanned Peacock, was showing me some of her self striping colorways and of course I fell in love with them and a special skein came home with me.  And inevitably asked myself..."Why?"  I have a stash of self striping sock yarns beyond compare!

To amuse myself I looked up how to say "why?" in  a couple of different languages...and inspiration struck!

Pourquoi?

Because...
 

Pourquoi stories from Vietnam are Origin Stories that explain why an animal or plant looks or acts the way it does.  One of the many folktales told across Asia tells of the proud Tiger and his desire to obtain the wisdom that only Man seemed to possess. Instead of obtaining wisdom however, Tiger is outsmarted by man and in the process burns his magnificent golden coat, leaving him with permanent stripes.

That skein of self striping sock yarn was rapidly on my needles and Tiger got his stripes!
 
This piece is worked flat, in garter stitch (so the knitting is really easy!) then seamed to produce a long infinity loop.  I added an optional clasp (actually that was an entire rabbit hole of its own...so many ways to make accessories for your accessories were swatched!) so that it would hold in place the way you loop it if you wrap it around your neck multiple times.
 
The loop itself is 7 inches wide and 50 inches long, as written, but if you have more or less yarn you can adjust that quite a bit and still have a wearable piece.

You can get the pattern now in my Ravelry Store (no account required, but if you are a knitter you should join anyway! It is a wonderful home for crafters on the internet.)

My test/beta knitters had so much fun with it that one has been working on three versions using different yarns!

Now I am off to see what other Just So, Pourquoi, Tinga Tinga....etc....stories I can convert to knitting patterns!

Elephants, camels, snakes...oh my!



In upcoming news...stay tuned for some information about a nice, relaxing, pre-holiday knitting frenzy knit along some friends and I are planning!

Until next time...Happy Knitting!

~M



 

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Sunday, August 26, 2018

kimya




Wednesday, August 15, 2018

WIPing in the wind

What does a designer do to take her mind off her own designs?  (you might ask)...Well, for myself I test knit other designer's patterns for them!
Right now I am working on a delightful pair of socks by Knitted in Switzerland...you can see her other designs here.

I have already finished one sock and am approaching half way through the second which can only mean one thing...back to work knitting for me very soon!


 Heads up...I have five (yes five!) patterns with tech editors right now...look for test knitting opportunities very soon!

~M


Sunday, August 12, 2018

Friday, August 3, 2018

Sister, do you have a dime?

A friend of mine is part of a truly epic fund raising/charity/scavenger hunt and needs just a few more people to donate to a good cause.

If you can spare a dime...or maybe give up a latte for the day...


Please consider giving here.


I'll tell you more about what those of us at Chez Yarn Diet did next week...in the meantime...hints can be found on IG!

~M