A Wee Rhinebeck Sale: Katydid Cowl

Greetings, knitters! Are you headed to Rhinebeck this weekend (aka the New York Sheep and Wool Festival)? This year I won’t be going—but of course I’m excited to see everyone’s social media posts. Will the big maple be as bright and orange as ever? I hope so!

Although I won’t be there, you can see a beautiful new sample of my Katydid Cowl at Tidal Yarns. They’re in Building 30, Booth 7 this time. The pattern uses one full skein of her fingering weight yarn, plus four mini skeins.

To celebrate Katydid’s appearance at Rhinebeck, I set up a sale! Through October 31, you can take 20% off the pattern in my Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip pattern stores. Use the coupon code SAVE20 (the code works in all three shops).

Katydid Cowl by Bonnie Sennott

Above is the sample I knit last year. Tidal Yarns chose to use a gorgeous grey-brown for their sample (below). I think the cowl looks equally good with either a light or dark main color. They have a lot of color options, so have fun choosing your colors!

Katydid Cowl sample knit by Tidal Yarns

Worked in the round on a circular needle, the Katydid Cowl requires no seaming or grafting. The pattern includes two sizes—a shorter length (quick to knit, perfect for gifts) or a longer version that can be doubled around your neck for extra warmth. Stitch patterns are provided in charts and in written, row-by-row instructions.

If you’re at Rhinebeck, I hope the forecast of rain doesn’t come true. There’s just nothing like wandering around the fairgrounds on a bright, sunny (but not hot) day, seeing so many beautiful handknits all in one place. And the sheep! Sometimes I think the sheep barns are my main reason for going. I can hear them baaing and smell the hay as I type this.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope it’s a peaceful one.

Katydid Cowl Links

Ravelry
Etsy
Payhip

Pattern Release: Katydid Cowl

The seasons go round and round . . . just in time for Rhinebeck (aka the New York Sheep and Wool Festival), I’ve released a new cowl design knit with yarns I purchased last year at Rhinebeck.

Katydid Cowl by Bonnie Sennott

The Katydid Cowl is now available in my Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip pattern stores. Use the coupon code KATYDID to take 20% off the pattern (the code works in all three shops).

A mix of lace and stripes creates beautiful textures and keeps the knitting fun in this infinity cowl. The pattern includes two sizes—a shorter length (quick to knit, perfect for gifts) or a longer version that can be doubled around your neck for extra warmth. The pattern photos feature the longer size.

The Katydid Cowl is worked in the round on a circular needle, so there’s no seaming or grafting. It uses five colors of fingering weight yarn—a main color and four contrast colors. Stitch patterns are provided in charts and in written, row-by-row instructions.

For my sample, I used naturally dyed fingering weight yarn from Tidal Yarns. I purchased one full skein and several minis from her at Rhinebeck 2022. They’re all so beautiful—it was hard to choose just a few. If you haven’t seen her yarns in person, be sure to stop by the Tidal Yarns booth!

The Katydid Cowl introductory sale ends Sunday, October 16 (the last day of Rhinebeck). I plan to wear Katydid at the festival—with predicted temps in the low 60s, it will definitely be cool enough for a cowl. (What a welcome change from last year’s warm weather!) If you see me, say hi—I love to meet Blue Peninsula knitters “in the wild!”

Katydid Cowl Links

Ravelry
Etsy
Payhip

New Pattern: Catbird Shawl

Catbird — a new crescent shawl pattern — has winged its way into my Ravelry pattern store. I designed it especially for the Rhinebeck 2018 colorway of Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors sock yarn. (Isn’t the color gorgeous? I was thrilled when I opened the package of yarn last summer.) The yarn and the shawl will be at Rhinebeck this weekend — find them in Building A, in The Spinning Room booth. To celebrate, Catbird is on sale through October 24. Use the coupon code CATBIRD25 to save 25%.

I was honored when Karin of Periwinkle Sheep asked me to design something with her beautiful yarn. As always, her Rhinebeck colorway is exclusive to the festival, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. So get there early in the weekend, if you don’t want to miss out.

Catbird is worked from the bottom up, with short rows in the garter stitch section creating the gentle crescent shape. It’s the kind of shawl that spans seasons — carrying you from fall through winter and into spring with ease. It’s also a quick knit, making it a great gift idea. The lace is engaging but not complicated, and it’s provided in both a chart and written form. So if you’re not a fan of charts, you’ll be fine.

Here’s hoping for great weather this weekend. If — like me — you’re still knitting your sweater — good luck!

Rhinebeck Preview in Black and White

With only a couple of weeks left until Rhinebeck, my mind is occupied with almost nothing else. Today it’s sunny and in the 60s — really perfect weather for a day wandering around the beautiful Dutchess County fairgrounds. I hope we have exactly the same weather for Rhinebeck. Last year, it was far too hot for wearing wool sweaters, so fingers crossed we don’t have a repeat of that.

Secret Rhinebeck Shawl

This year Rhinebeck is even more exciting because I’ve created a new design just for the fair. It’s knit in the exclusive Rhinebeck 2018 colorway dyed by an indie dyer who will be there. Since I don’t want to spoil the surprise of the color, my photos are all black and white for now. But trust me, it’s lovely — really, really lovely — a soothing and calming color that goes with just about everything.

The yarn will be revealed and the pattern released during the days leading up to Rhinebeck. For now, I can share that it’s a garter stitch and lace crescent shawl, in two sizes. After working the lace, you transition to easy garter stitch short rows (very easy — you don’t even have to pick up the wraps, because they are hidden within the garter stitch). After the lace — which does require being attentive to a chart or the row-by-row written instructions — the project is refreshingly simple, perfect for taking along to a cafe or knit night.

The dyer and I both wanted this design to be a one-skein project. After knitting lots of swatches and trying out different lace ideas, I made my best calculations about yardage and cast on. And at the end, when I cast off, there were only a few yards remaining. Not ideal! So I wrote up the pattern for two sizes, one 60 inches long and the other about 66 inches. The smaller size definitely requires just one skein (or about 425 yards of fingering weight); the larger one calls for two skeins (475 yards). I did manage to squeeze the larger size out of just one skein, but it was a very close call and it’s possible the skein had a little extra yardage in it. I don’t want anyone to lose at “yarn chicken” when they’re nearly finished, so I’m recommending two skeins for the larger/longer size.

Will you be at Rhinebeck (or another fiber festival) this year? I’m getting more and more excited every day about seeing so much beautiful and inspiring knitwear all in one place, plus petting sheep, and goats, and alpacas, and bunnies. I can’t wait!

Sneak Peek: Mount Pollux Pullover

I'm excited to be putting finishing touches on the pattern for my Rhinebeck sweater! Just a few more photos to edit and final tweaks to the text and it will be ready. It's called Mount Pollux, after the conservation area in Amherst, Massachusetts, where I shot the photos.

With this design, I'm bucking the "rule" that lace is for spring and summer. The sweater combines a lace stitch that's dense rather than open and airy with contrasting knit-purl textures and garter stitch accents. Worked in wool/alpaca worsted weight yarn (I used Quince & Co. Owl), Mount Pollux will keep you warm and cozy all winter.

This sweater is meant to be worn with a good amount of positive ease, for a relaxed, oversized fit. On my sister Betsey, who modeled, the sweater had a lot of ease (about 10 inches). On me, it's more fitted yet still relaxed, with about 6 inches of ease — just the look I was hoping for.

I look forward to releasing the pattern next week. If you don't already subscribe to my email list, now's a good time to sign up — there will be a special coupon code in the next one.

Countdown to Rhinebeck

The recent warm weather here in New England has been nice, but it also makes me a little nervous — is it global warming, or just an unusually warm fall? I hope these unseasonably high temperatures don't continue through the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, coming up October 21-22. If it's hot, no one will want to wear their Rhinebeck sweaters or shawls!

I'm so looking forward to Rhinebeck — seeing (and petting and hearing) lots of pretty sheep and goats. And — of course — checking out everybody's gorgeous knitwear. Maybe if all of us knitters wish for crisp, cool, and bright weather, we can make it happen. Let's try!

I'm working like mad on my Rhinebeck sweater and am optimistic it will be finished in time. The pattern won't be published until November, but I can share a few details now: it's a casual women's pullover, with modified drop shoulders, knit in worsted weight yarn (I'm using Quince & Co. Owl, a wool/alpaca blend). It's worked in the round from the bottom up and the only seaming is at the shoulders (or, if you hate seaming, use a three-needle bind-off instead). More details soon!

The other new design I'm working on is the third and final accessory for my Dragonfly Days collection (the first two were the Enallagma Shawl and the Cordulia Cowl). This time around, I've mixed in some cables with the dragonfly lace, to create a crescent-shaped shawl. Worked in bulky weight yarn — Brooklyn Tweed's Quarry — it will be super warm and cozy, perfect for chilly winter days.

In other news: My Chili Pepper Cardigan from the fall 2017 Knitscene is now available as an instant download from Interweave. Did you know my patterns in the Interweave family of publications are available as digital downloads? I participate in the Designer's Choice program, which means my patterns appear both in the magazines and in the Interweave online store. It's a nice program both for knitters and designers — knitters can purchase individual patterns long after the print magazine is no longer on store shelves, and designers receive royalties for those digital sales.

To find my patterns at Interweave, just type the pattern name in the search box. Or, use these direct links:

Chili Pepper Cardigan
Mathews Street Vest
Firehouse Alley Cowl
Drafter's Cardigan
Nested Knots Hat
Stagger Cowl
Morgantown Hat

Are you going to Rhinebeck this year? If you're working on a Rhinebeck sweater, I hope it's going well and you finish with plenty of time to spare!