The Last Sunday of 2020

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Poor Neglected Blog

The period of time between US Thanksgiving and Christmas is always a busy time for me. This year has been no exception and, as with most years, something fell by the wayside.  This year it was keeping up with you here on my blog.

So, let's catch up!

The Indie Gift Along is still in full swing on Ravelry.  I seem to be knitting more slowly this year and only have one finished object, so far.  

Like Froot Loops on a Hot Dog Socks  by Allison Janocha (Ravelry Link) in Knit Picks Felici in Aquarium.

I have started a second pair of socks  Oberon by Kate Poe (Ravelry Link) in Felici Baker Street.  I had to perform surgery on the second ball of yarn to get the stripes to match, but I think I am into the smooth sailing portion of the second sock now.

The third pair of socks I am working on won't count for the Gift Along, but TDQ really wanted some "reverse rainbow" socks and so I have cast on some more Rainbow Wanderer Socks by Rachel Ferguson (Ravelry Link)

At the same time...Artesanitarium, Knitted in Switzerland and I are running a Mystery Advent Countdown Knit Along.  Each day we are posting clues on Instagram and sending out a newletter with a link to all the clues.  I saved my second sock to knit along with the rest of the participants.  Today we get to the heel which always feels exciting in a top down sock!

And on that note, I should check and see if the next clue is up and send out the newsletter if it is!

Happy Knitting!

~M

Things

 

A finished object and a work in process...

Honestly, while I try to keep things light and happy here...this week...not the light and happy kinda week.

Thankful

It's been a busy few weeks...We'll catch up soon, but in the meantime, some of the things I have been working on!

Sign Up Here

Join the Gift-Along

My Ravelry Sale Bundle...or on PayHip

Chatty

Is it just me, or is time moving at really strange paces this year?

My days seem to be melting into weeks and nearly a month has gone by since I last checked in here!

I got bitten by the Fall Cleaning bug a couple of weeks ago, so my non-working time was filled with washing curtains, walls, windows and scrubbing those areas of the house that are usually hidden by furniture (how does so much dust and cat hair end up on the baseboards of my walls? Or hot cocoa spills behind the sofa?)  I reorganized the pantry...someone keeps putting back nearly empty containers of things...and washed all the winter quilts that (although they had been stored clean) needed a bit of a refresh before being put on beds.

My family made jokes about my being very early for next years Spring clean, but, with 2020 being the year it has been, I think that a good Fall Clean Up is just as, if not more, important than cleaning out the winter dust when we can open the windows and let the fresh air in again when the weather warms.  The sensible among us will be spending a lot of time at home, with the windows shut through the winter this year.

Not that there hasn't been knitting going on...mostly secret things though and starting to prep for the Indie Gift Along, which will feel a bit different with the issues that Ravelry still has with accessibility.

 

Sneaky Peak at secret knitting...

 

 

For those of you who have participated in the After Party Gals Christmas MKAL in the past, yes, we are doing it again!  I have so much fun collaborating with Annina and Tanja to bring you a special pattern.  We all have such different strengths and design "looks" but they somehow just seem to mesh so well together!  I can't wait to share pictures of what we designed this year...I think it is our best year yet!

And in just a week NaKnitMo starts, so I hope you will join me there, counting stitches through the month of November! 

One last plug for my Dissent Pattern, available on Ravelry, Payhip and Love Crafts...all proceeds through election day will be going to charities near and dear to my heart...once we see who has won that election I will pick new charities to donate proceeds to.

Until next time, hopefully at least next week, but time...you know...wibbly, wobbly, timey, whimey, stuff!

Stay Well!

~M

Scream and Shout

I was interviewed for Woolly Madly Deeply...read the interview here.

 

And you can buy the pattern here (Ravelry) or here... LoveCrafts takes a little longer, I'll update this post when they are live too!

Dissent.

Proceeds are being donated to Ohio Crime Victims Justice Center and Planned Parenthood through (at least) election day in the US.

Testing Dissent- a not silent post

You may remember that during the summer I knit a collar for a scavenger hunt.  I originally didn't have many plans for it, but interest by private/direct messages and comments on Instagram had me bump it to the head of the queue for pattern development.  (My time lines are long...so that took a couple of months to hit the Tech Editor's inbox.)

 

A week ago, we got the sad news that the Justice it was designed in honor of had passed away from complications related to an ongoing battle with cancer.  Just the day before the test knit was scheduled to be announced.

I dithered for a while about if it was even the right thing to put the test out there...but was talked into it.

Several knitters are already through the lace panel that says Dissent, and thankfully have caught a couple of things that the "rapid turn around" tech edit didn't, but there is still time to join the test knitting if you would like to.

Either speak up in the Ravelry thread...here.

Send me a message through Instagram...here.

Or comment on this post, all comments are moderated so if you put your email address I promise not to publish you comment...but instead to send you a test file for the pattern!

Size:
3.5” (9 cm) Deep
16” (40.5cm) Top circumference
29” (73.5cm) Bottom circumference

Materials:
Shown in Shepherd Baby Wool 2 ply, 100% wool, 372 yards(340 meters)/ 50 gms (1.76 ounces)

US 2 (2.75 mm) needles.
2.75mm crochet hook for chain bind off.

Gauge: 36 sts and 48 rows = 4 inches (10cm) in lace patterning after blocking.

Notions: 3 small buttons, large eyed tapestry needle.
Optional Notions: Smooth waste yarn for provisional cast on, stitch markers to mark letters and pattern repeats for leaf lace edge.

Pattern Notes:
Instructions are provided for using either a provisional cast or any cast on of your choice and two different bottom edges; a loopy chain bind off or a stretchy lace bind off.
Sample used 13 gms or approximately 100 yards (92 meters) of yarn.

 

Cheer!

~M

Now is not the time

 Now is not the time to be silent.

While I try to keep my political thoughts to myself..if you are a US citizen and not registered to vote...please fix that...like now!

And then..vote like your life depends on it.

Because it does...

¬M

Wip Wednesday

 Are you playing with us in the Around the World Stitch Along? (That's a Ravelry link, only click if you know you don't have issues with the new site or have already clicked to switch back to Classic)...here's a non-Ravelry link for you...IG

I have been making (very slow) progress on a pair of socks for it...

Rainbow Wanderer (which I keep wanting to type as Rainbow Warrior) by Rachel Ferguson (currently only available on Ravelry, but, if you want to get a copy of the pattern let me know and I can contact the designer for you to work something out!)

 

I'm quite a bit further than that now, nearly to the toe of the second sock!

It's ever so much fun to see the rainbow arc across the top of the foot of the sock!

Lot's of other "behind the scenes" knitting, writing, charting and editing going on.  We got a quickie (at home) photo shoot in this past weekend for three upcoming designs and I have two others that are really close to needing testers, so maybe life is settling into the new "normal" that will actually have me finishing things I started months ago!

I hope you are safe and healthy!

Until next time....

Knit Happy!

~M

Hushed

 

Shawls to come....

Gently

 

Lasciel

If you are a fan of The Dresden Files books, you already know the name, but for those who aren't...

Lasciel, also known as the Seducer, the Webweaver, and the Temptress, is a Fallen Angel and a member of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. 

 

This top down triangle shawl, like Lasciel, tempts the knitter into trying new things!  Beads that cover multiple stitches, nupps, nupps worked with beads to start them, or end them! 

I used a light fingering yarn from Colourmart for my sample in a simple white with two sizes of blue beads.

67.5 inch wingspan with a 35.5 inch drop (168 cm by 88.75 cm)means it is generously sized enough to wrap gently around you, or, pin it in your hair and have a marvelous veil!

Lasciel starts with a provisional cast on and garter tab, specialty stitches are explained after the finishing instructions and all instructions are provided in both chart and fully written forms.

 
While gauge is not critical to the piece, individual choices in yarn, needle and gauge will affect final yarn requirements and sizing.

Available now on Ravelry and Payhip, soon on Love Crafts!

Something Different

I don't know if I am the only knitting designer that does this, but sometimes I'll write up and knit a pattern, get it through all the steps except the final two....beta/preview knitting and publishing.

Sometimes it is because I have too many things at the same stage of development at one time, and if there is a third party design in the mix, it gets priority for beta/preview knitting as the publication date is fixed.

Others...it was the wrong time for getting beta/preview knitters, so the pattern went into my "unpublished" folder on my computer where it started collecting virtual dust.

I was looking at that folder over the weekend and decided to do something a little different with those designs, at least as a trial run.

For newsletter subscribers, for 24 hours only, I will offer a code to get the pattern free from Ravelry...if you can't use Ravelry because of accessibility issues, just reply to the newsletter and I will email you a copy of the pattern...so if you are reading along here, but not a newsletter subscriber and would like a free pattern, go ahead and sign up...just over there in the sidebar.  I promise I don't send lots of newsletters and you can unsubscribe at any time!

This time around...the pattern will be Lasciel...

I've been missing that purple hair for several years now!

Until later this week...

Knit Happy!

~M

When Sunday is WiP Wednesday and FO Friday!

Is time moving in strange, wibbly, wobbly, timey, whyme, type ways for you as it is for me?  I, usually, know what day of the week it is, but these days knowing where in the month; or even year; we are, is somehow beyond me!  (How is it the middle of August already?)

But, even knowing what day of the week it is, things seem to be taking a lot more effort just to complete than they ever have before.

The Around the World Stitchalong had its kickoff yesterday. Ten other designers and I are hosting it on Ravelry here and on IG here.

 

My first project for the "along" is going to be a pair of socks by Rachel Ferguson...Rainbow Wanderer, (that's a Ravelry link as Rachel doesn't currently have another place to get her patterns) which I am going to trade for a project bag hand made by another participant! (I decided if the project was for someone else I stood a better chance of actually finishing something rather than flitting from task to task and project to project the way I have been lately.)

While this time around I wasn't officially on a team for GISH...a friend asked if I could proxy for one of the tasks in the summer camp scavenger hunt.  The item was "right up my alley" as it was to create a lace collar for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Included in the task was the suggestion to either include a picture of her face or a message to/about her.

When I shared the photo with some friends and on IG enough people requested that it be turned into a pattern that I am going to write it up!

But for now...back to knitting some socks!

Happy Knitting!

~M

Tranquility and Knitting

The bottom two are up for testing on Ravelry!

The cowl...You're Still Here

The shawl....Colors on Display

What's that Buzz...Tell Me What's Happening?

Why yes, I have been listening and/or watching Jesus Christ Superstar a lot lately...why do you ask?

Today's Buzz and What's Happening is all about Knotions and my latest pattern release with them!

Go Your Own Way.

That's a direct link to Knotions, so if Ravelry is causing you problems you don't need to worry about clicking the link. (If, however, you are safe using Ravelry here is another link...I would adore it if you were to favorite, queue or leave me a comment on the pattern!)


A little about the pattern...Go Your Own Way is another of my "I have so much self striping yarn, I don't need any more...oooh look new colorway! But I am tired of knitting self striping socks" patterns.

It starts with a mitered square, turned to become a diamond and wings are added to either side.  The body is then filled in with a tonal or solid yarn which is interrupted by stripes that only go half way across the body.


Sounds complicated but is really easy to knit!

Predominantly garter stitch, with a tiny cable in a few sections and a single stocking stitch (or stockinette) that meanders from one area to the next, truly forging its own path from side to side and bottom to top of the shawl.

I opted to use a "big name/big box store available" yarn for this piece and it is funny...that decision was made over a year ago, before much of the chatter of Indie Designers needing to make the materials they use accessible to people who don't have the funds for fancy Indie Dyer Yarns and that yarn snobbery needs to stop in the crafting community.

I am the worlds worst yarn snob...I believe there is a right yarn for every knitter, project and recipient.  Sometimes that combo means the best luxury fiber I can afford (which sometimes is just a decent merino) and others...big box yarn company acrylic here I come. (And some of those inexpensive acrylic or natural fiber/acrylic blends are really nice, if you are the other type of yarn snob, you should check some of them out.)