Pattern Release: Nightbloom Cowl

Textures and lace combine in my newest pattern, the Nightbloom Cowl. It’s now available on Ravelry and Etsy. Take 20% off the pattern in both shops with the coupon code COWL20.

This cozy cowl can go casual or dressy and offers multiple styling options—wear it long, for dramatic effect, wear it doubled around the neck for extra warmth. Nightbloom’s knit-purl textures and easy lace make for an engaging knitting experience—not as simple as garter stitch but not complicated, either.

Nightbloom is worked flat in fingering weight yarn; after blocking the two ends are joined using the three-needle bind-off to create a continuous loop. Instructions for the provisional crochet cast on and the three-needle bind-off are provided. The stitch patterns are provided both in written, line-by-line, format and in a chart.

The pattern provides two size options, 8.75 (13.75) inches/22 (35) cm wide by 59 (64) inches/150 (163) cm circumference. The photos show the wider/longer size. You can modify the size by working more or fewer repeats of the Lace Pattern, but keep in mind that if you make it wider or longer, you’ll need more yarn.

I used ElsaWool Cormo woolenspun fingering in Silver for the sample. It was perfect in every way—light and lofty, with a lovely drape and soft texture. I highly recommend a woolenspun yarn for this design—but of course, you can substitute any fingering weight you like or already have in your stash.

The introductory sale ends Friday, April 5—just use the code COWL20 to take 20% off. Happy spring!

LINKS

Nightbloom Cowl—Ravelry
Nightbloom Cowl—Etsy

Pattern Release: Arquerite Scarf

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m excited to share that my Arquerite Scarf pattern is now available in my Ravelry and Etsy pattern stores. And it’s on sale: take 25% off through Sunday, January 7. The discount is automatic—no coupon code is needed.

Arquerite Scarf by Bonnie Sennott

Knit in worsted weight yarn, Arquerite will keep you cozy and warm all winter. Knits, purls, and yarn overs team up to create a striking geometric design in this big rectangular scarf. The pattern provides two size options, 9 inches/23 cm wide or 13 inches/33 cm wide. Either one makes a thoughtful gift or a warm accessory just for you!

To knit Arquerite, you’ll need 525 (750)yds/(480) 685m worsted weight yarn and US #6/4.00mm needles (or size needed to get gauge). The stitch patterns aren’t difficult—just knits, purls, and yarn overs—so the knitting goes quickly. They are provided in both a chart and in written, line-by-line format, so whichever you prefer, the pattern’s got you covered.

I hope 2024 brings you lots of time for knitting and much joy in all of your creative endeavors. As always, thanks so much for reading my blog and knitting my designs. I love to see your finished projects on Ravelry and Instagram! Best wishes for a safe, warm, and wooly New Year.

Year-end Pattern Sale

Greetings from a dark, blustery day here in western Massachusetts. If all this rain were snow, we’d really be buried in it!

As the year comes to a close, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for supporting my work as a designer. It’s always a joy to see new projects posted on Ravelry or on Instagram and witness your creativity. As a gesture of my appreciation, I’m having a big year-end sale—25% off all individual Blue Peninsula patterns on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop. Just use the code THANKS2023 to get the discount (ebook sets are not included). The sale ends at midnight EST on December 31.

A few of my favorite scarves and shawls, clockwise from bottom left: Streusel, Ischnura, Mayblossom, Wonderberry, Hop Brook

Mitts, hats, cowls, sweaters, socks, shawls, and scarves are all included in the sale. You can use the coupon code as many times as you like, so it’s a great time to stock up on patterns you’ve had your eye on!

Bottom row, left to right: Couplet, Shallows, Exit 4
Middle row, left to right: Notch, Golden Valley, On the Other Hand
Top row, left to right: Purlish, Singing Beach, Journeyer

Winter’s End Scarf

Downy Hat

Next in Line Wrap

The year-end pattern sale ends on December 31, and so will our 2023 Next in Line Blanket Instagram knitalong. I’m still working on mine (but getting very near the end). Quicker, more focused knitters have finished theirs, and it’s been great fun watching their blankets grow (use the Instagram hashtag #nextinlinekal or look at projects on Ravelry if you want to see them). We had three giveaways of yarn, project bags, and stitch markers, too—all in all, it was a fun and inspiring KAL. Thanks to everyone who participated!

My Next in Line Blanket in progress

I hope this month brings you joy and many happy moments spent with friends and family. Best wishes for a beautiful New Year!

Bonnie

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LINKS
Ravelry
Etsy

Indie Design Gift-A-Long 2022

Tis the season - the tenth Indie Design Gift-A-Long (GAL) has begun! This annual event is a way for knitters and crocheters to come together and support each other as they tackle their holiday gift-making lists.

The GAL starts with a big pattern sale—you can save 25% on patterns by many indie designers (including me) with the code giftalong2022 on Ravelry. Find the Blue Peninsula patterns that are on sale in my Gift-A-Long bundle.

If you don’t use Ravelry, I've got you covered: through November 28, you can save 25% on all individual knitting patterns in my Etsy shop (no code needed).

The sale part of the Gift-A-Long ends on November 28. After the sale, the GAL fun continues with games and prizes over at the Ravelry GAL group, to keep you motivated as you do your gift knitting.

Happy pattern shopping and gift knitting! If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a relaxed and beautiful day with your friends and family.

A Wee Spring Sale

It might not be obvious from the weather, but spring is finally here! I find my knitting inspiration is shifting from warm winter shawls and cowls to lighter knitting projects, like scarves and socks. How about you?

A year ago, my Winter’s End Scarf was released as part of the “My Place” competition sponsored by Kate Davies Designs. To celebrate its anniversary, I’m having a wee sale: Save 25% on the Winter’s End pattern with the coupon code SPRING25 at Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip.

Winter’s End Scarf by Bonnie Sennott

I knit Winter’s End with Milarrochy Tweed, a fingering weight blend of wool and mohair that produces a light, airy fabric when worked in lace. But you can substitute any fingering weight yarn—you’ll need 650 yds/595 m (which includes the amount needed for the fringe).

The pattern gives step-by-step instructions for cutting and attaching the fringe. It’s added after you’ve finished the knitting, using a crochet hook.

Ready to cast on a new lace scarf for spring? The Winter’s End sale ends on March 31.

Happy spring—and happy knitting!

Winter’s End Links

Ravelry
Etsy
Payhip
”My Place” Designs and Essays

New Year, New Pattern: Leucania Shawl

Happy New Year, friends! I’m excited to begin 2022 on a positive note—with a new pattern added to my Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip shops: an all-season textured shawl called Leucania.

Save 20 percent on the Leucania Shawl pattern at either Ravelry or Payhip with the coupon code NEWYEAR. You can also save 20 percent at Etsy, where no code is needed. The sale continues through January 9 in all three shops.

Knit in fingering weight yarn, Leucania is an all-season piece—it’s perfect for casual wear (wrapped around your neck, it will keep you warm on winter hikes!) but equally suited for weddings and other special occasions that call for a light and elegant accessory.

Named after the Obscure Wainscot Moth (Leucania obsoleta), this triangular shawl is worked top-down from a garter stitch tab cast-on (instructions provided). The upper part of the Leucania Shawl is worked in a wide rib pattern, creating a light but warm fabric. The knitting goes quickly, and before you know it, you’re at the ornate stitchwork border. The design ends with an easy-to-knit scalloped edging.

Do you recognize the edging? I used it on a much earlier shawl design—the Peppernut Shawl that I published back in 2013, using the same yarn (the beautiful Stone Soup Fingering by Bare Naked Wools). An an extra bonus, I’ve set up a sale for Peppernut as well—save 20% at Ravelry or Payhip with the coupon code NEWYEAR (or, at Etsy, with no code), also through January 9.

We’re having a rather gloomy New Year’s Day here in western Massachusetts—foggy and rainy. I like to take a long walk on New Year’s Day and I think I’ll continue the tradition today in spite of the poor weather. After all, that’s what umbrellas are for! The weather was much more amenable a couple of days ago, when I went on a rambling walk on trails around the Mill River and Puffer’s Pond (below).

Do you have a New Year’s Day tradition (other than sleeping late)? However you are spending the day, I hope your 2022 is off to a peaceful start.

Puffer’s Pond, Amherst, Massachusetts

LINKS

Leucania Shawl
Peppernut Shawl
My Ravelry Designer Page
Payhip
Etsy

Indie Design Gift-A-Long Sale

Tis the season - the Indie Design Gift-A-Long (GAL) has begun! This annual event is a way for knitters and crocheters to come together and support each other as they tackle their holiday gift-making lists.

The GAL starts with a big pattern sale—you can save 25% on patterns by many indie designers (including me) with the code giftalong2021 on Ravelry. Hop to my Ravelry bundle to see my sale patterns. See all the participating designers here.

If you are not on Ravelry, I've got you covered: you can save 25% on patterns in my Etsy shop (no code needed there) and in my Payhip store (use the code GIFTS25).

This holiday sale ends on November 29 on all platforms. After the sale, the GAL fun continues with games and prizes over at the Ravelry GAL group, to keep you motivated as you do your gift knitting.

Happy pattern shopping and gift knitting! If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a relaxed and beautiful day with your friends and family.

LINKS

Blue Peninsula Ravelry Sale Patterns

Etsy

Payhip

Indie Design Gift-A-Long

Pattern Release: Bluetta

I’m pleased to share my last new pattern for 2020: Bluetta, a cozy, feminine scarf/shawlette to knit for yourself or as a gift. The pattern is now available in my Ravelry and Payhip pattern stores, where you can enjoy 20% off with the coupon code BLUETTA.

Named after a variety of blueberries, Bluetta combines easy garter stitch and a scalloped lace edging. Worked from one end to the other, it has a gently tapered crescent shape. And, it’s reversible! No worrying about getting the “right” side up when you wear it.

The pattern provides step-by-step instructions in written form and in a chart. A schematic helps you to visualize the progression of the knitting, the increase and decrease sections, and the piece’s overall shape.

There are two sizes — a scarf and a shawlette — as well as tips for shortening or lengthening the piece.

Any single or plied fingering weight yarn can be used. You’ll need 475 yds/435 m for the scarf and 550 yds/505 m for the shawlette. For the sample, I used handspun Three Waters Farm Rambouillet in the Blue Flourish colorway.

The introductory discount continues through Thursday, December 10, at Ravelry and Payhip. Use the coupon code BLUETTA to save 20%.

Thank you for your support during this year like no other. I couldn’t have gotten through it without you. I’m truly grateful for each and every pattern purchase.

Happy knitting—and happy holidays to you and yours.

Anything Goes KAL and Pattern Sale

Summer is always a great time for a relaxed, low-pressure knitalong — the kind where you can pick up your project when you’ve got a free moment, let it be when you don’t. Last summer in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group, we knit socks.

This summer — Anything Goes! Hats, shawls, mitts, sweaters, scarves, cowls, socks: you can knit what you like in this leisurely two-month KAL starting Sunday, June 14.

Now through the start of the KAL, I’m having a sale on all patterns and ebooks in my Ravelry store. Everything is discounted 20%. You don’t need a coupon code — you’ll get the discount automatically at checkout. With this sale, I am raising funds for the Loveland Foundation, which provides therapy support for black women and girls. Ten percent of every pattern purchase through June 14 will be donated to the foundation. I hope you'll join me in supporting their important work.

The Anything Goes KAL starts Sunday, June 14 and ends Sunday, August 16. For extra incentive to finish your projects, there will be prizes (of course!) — I’ve ordered lovely yarn from indie dyers Kim Dyes Yarn and Seven Sisters Arts.

Based in Maine, Karen of Seven Sisters Arts creates gorgeous colorways inspired by nature. A weaver, spinner, knitter, and dyer, she’s been dyeing yarn since the 80s and knows color inside and out. Learn more here.

I discovered Kim Dyes Yarn while browsing the new BIPOC in Fiber website and was immediately smitten with her stunning variegated colorways. Based in Virginia, she has created a Kim Dyes Yarn Community Matters program to assist local yarn shops impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Learn more here.

For the Anything Goes KAL, you can knit whatever you’re in the mood for. Indulge yourself with a lacy summer shawl, make a cozy new pair of socks for fall, or even get started on your Rhinebeck sweater. We'll have fun chatting and sharing our progress all summer long. Hope you can join in!

LINKS

Anything Goes KAL
Bonnie Sennott: Ravelry Designer Page
The Loveland Foundation

Designs in Progress (and a Wee Sale)

Looking for a relaxed-pace knitalong to join as you shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic? Mason-Dixon Knitting has announced they’re having an MDK March Mayhem KAL — and you can knit any pattern that’s been in any bracket — from 2017 to this year. That means you could join the KAL to knit Downy, which was in last year’s bracket.

To celebrate, the pattern is on sale in my Ravelry pattern store for the next two weeks. Save 25% on Downy with the coupon code MAYHEM. The sale ends midnight EST on April 1.

And don’t forget to vote in the MDK March Mayhem bracket! See this year’s 64 patterns here.

Downy Hat, by Bonnie Sennott

I am home for the time being — Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker has ordered nonessential businesses to close and has issued a stay-at-home advisory. I’m using this time to take a lot of online yoga classes, go outdoors for walks as much as possible, and work on upcoming patterns (of course!)

I’m rewriting and reformatting my Falling Water scarf pattern — the first I ever published, back in 2006 — and knitting up a new sample, using O-Wool’s O-Wash Fingering. The chart and pattern layout will be upgraded to my current pattern format, and the instructions will be expanded to include the original narrow scarf and a wider version, too.

There’s also a Falling Water Shawl coming — an asymmetrical triangular shawl similar in size and shape to my Notch Shawl. I’m knitting up the sample in O-Wool’s O-Wash Fingering in a very pretty color called Pasture Rose. I plan to release both Falling Water patterns at the same time — look for them later this spring.

I’ve also taken the opportunity of unexpected free time to start a log cabin wrap inspired by my Next in Line afghan, using fingering weight yarns in my stash. Clockwise from lower left, the yarns are Into the Whirled Pakokku Sock in Stark, String Theory Caper Sock in Canyon, Anzula Squishy in Hippo, Luna Grey Ariel in Goldenrod, and The Fawn and the Fox Otter in Let’s Stay Home (such an appropriate name!).

I’m using the Next in Line pattern as a jumping off point, but modifying it quite a bit. What I envision is two log cabin ends with a striped section between them, joined by grafting (or three-needle bind-off, if you really hate grafting). I will likely put out a call for testers, once I’ve finished knitting (and writing) one half of the wrap. If you’d be interested, please watch the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group for an announcement.

Every day brings new changes and challenges, and I’m so thankful to have knitting to focus on and keep my mind from going into full-on worrying mode. I’m not sure which of these new patterns will be ready first, but I’m definitely working on them every day.

How about you — are you doing more knitting? Have you joined a knitalong? Wherever you are, I hope you and your loved ones are well and safe. Keep calm — and knit on!