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

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

Socktober Pattern Sale

Socktober—the annual celebration of the joys of knitting socks—is winding down. I was so busy with other projects (plus going to Rhinebeck), I didn’t finish a pair. I did, however, finish one leg and most of another—better than nothing, right?

Clockwise from bottom left: Hulst, Rowhouse, Couplet, Mill River, Tortoiseshells, Plumtree

If you had great plans for Socktober but life got in the way, and maybe you didn’t even get around to picking out a pattern, don’t feel bad. There are still a few days left, and no law says you can’t keep up your sock knitting beyond Socktober.

To end the month on an up note, I’m having a sale on all of my sock patterns. Through October 31, take 25 percent off any Blue Peninsula sock pattern at Ravelry and Payhip with the coupon code SOCKS2021.

Rhinebeck was fantastic, by the way. A bit too warm on Saturday, but nice and cool on Sunday—perfect sweater weather. It was so good to be back among our tribe, and get to pet yarns and sheep, catch up with friends, and enjoy an awesome lunch of Aba’s falafels.

Rhinebeck weekend was over too soon, just like Socktober. But it was joyful, in so many ways.

If October flew by for you, and you didn’t get around to any sock knitting, I hope you’ll enjoy this little sale. You can always cast on in November!

Pattern Release: Kindred Cowl

Happy New Year, dear blog reader! I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready to turn the page. I hope with all my heart that 2021 is far less stressful than 2020. May the new year bring us all an abundance of happiness and good health.

I’m excited to share that my Kindred Cowl — first released as part of the annual Bare Naked Wools Red Scarf Fundraiser last fall — is now available exclusively as a Blue Peninsula pattern. To celebrate, I’m offering an introductory discount: save 20% with the coupon code KINDRED20 at Ravelry and Payhip.

Knit in sportweight yarn, the Kindred Cowl is worked flat, from one end to the other, beginning with a provisional cast-on. After blocking, the two ends are joined with a three-needle bind-off.

If you aren’t familiar with these techniques, the pattern has you covered. It provides step-by-step instructions for working the crochet provisional cast-on and for the three-needle bind-off.

These winter months call for warm, cozy knits — and cowls offer so much versatility. On coldest days, you can double a cowl up around your neck for extra warmth. Once indoors, you can wear it as a single long loop (and really let those cables shine). If you’ve been doing nothing but holiday gift knitting, maybe now’s the time to cast on a special project just for yourself!

The introductory 20% off discount ends Wednesday, January 6. Use the code KINDRED20 at either Ravelry or Payhip.

Happy knitting — and 2021!

New Pattern: Falling Water Shawl

Easy but elegant lace — not too much, just enough to keep things interesting — balanced by soothing garter stitch: doesn’t that sound like the ideal knitting project during this stressful time filled with all kinds of difficulties and uncertainty?

Falling Water Shawl by Bonnie Sennott

During the past month or so, the Falling Water Shawl has kept me (relatively) sane and (relatively) distracted from excessive worrying. It’s been exactly the right project for this unusual spring — fun and not at all stressful. Now that it’s finished, the pattern is available on Ravelry, where you can take 20% off with the coupon code SPRING.

Fun fact about this shawl: you can make it as long (or short) as you like, because the final section of knits and purls can be worked over any number of stitches. My sample is a generous 68 inches/173 cm along the top edge — the “wingspan.”

The Falling Water Shawl features the lace motif I used in my Falling Water Scarf, modified to fit nicely within the shape of an asymmetrical triangular shawl. I’ve also updated the scarf pattern with a new sample, new photos, spruced up instructions, a new chart, and additional sizes. You can use the SPRING coupon code to save 20% on the Falling Water scarf as well as the shawl. This introductory sale ends Sunday, May 3.

Or, purchase both patterns together in the Falling Water ebook set and save even more!

The Falling Water Shawl begins with a cast-on of just three stitches and gradually grows longer, with a column of lace flowing up the right side and garter stitch on the left. Yarn overs worked on the left side create the shawl’s triangular shape. The shawl is knit flat, but a circular needle is used to accommodate the large number of stitches. Stitch patterns are provided in charts and also are written out, line by line — so whichever you prefer, you’re covered.

For the sample, I used O-Wool O-Wash Fingering, an organic, 100% merino yarn. It was a splurge last fall at Rhinebeck — and I'm so glad I didn't hesitate to get it! It's been a pleasure to have on the needles and has a lovely drape that's really perfect for lace. Another fun fact: O-Wool will be a vendor this weekend at the virtual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The “real” festival had to be canceled, but they’ve come up with a nifty online event to keep everyone connected.

One of my favorite (and local) annual fiber festivals, the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair — held every year at the end of May at the Cummington Fairgrounds — also isn’t happening, due to COVID-19. Lately I’ve even been wondering whether there will be a New York Sheep and Wool Festival this October — what a shame if it has to be canceled! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, right? We’ll just have to wait and see what the coming months bring and keep our fingers crossed that big gatherings like Rhinebeck can safely happen again.

In the meantime, keep on knitting, support healthcare workers and first responders, thank the staff at supermarkets and gas stations and pharmacies etc. etc. for being there for you — and above all, be well and be safe everyone.

LINKS
Falling Water Shawl
Falling Water Scarf
Falling Water Ebook Set
Bonnie Sennott: Ravelry Designer Page

New Pattern: Fine Morning Mitts

Longer days and morning birdsong tell me spring is on its way. Naturally, my mind turns to knitting fresh accessories for spring — especially delicate lace in lighter weight yarns. With that in mind, I’ve designed the Fine Morning Mitts, a sweet pair of fingerless mitts perfect for spring.

Fine Morning Mitts by Bonnie Sennott

The pattern is live on Ravelry, where you can save 20% with the coupon code MITTS20, through Friday, March 6.

The Fine Morning Mitts feature a column of delicate lace at the outer edge of each hand, set off with simple stockinette stitch. They’re worked in the round on double-pointed needles with fingering weight yarn. For the sample, I used Hudson + West Co. Weld, a soft blend of merino and Corriedale wool in the Fawn colorway. One skein is more than enough for a pair; the two sizes require 135 (150) yds/125 (138) m fingering weight yarn.

You’ll find complete information on sizes, gauge, dimensions, and needles on the Fine Morning Mitts Ravelry pattern page.

In the past week, I’ve seen daffodils pushing up out of the ground and heard the cardinals singing their “purdy-purdy” song in the early mornings. Spring is almost here — I can’t wait! I really want to drop everything and cast on spring accessories. How about you?

New Pattern: Winter Oak Cowl

As 2019 draws to a close, I’m excited to share just one more pattern with you—the Winter Oak Cowl. Inspired by the colors of oak leaves and bark in winter, Winter Oak is worked in the round with three colors of sportweight yarn. I knit up the sample in flyWHEEL by Harrisville Designs, a cushy, tweedy 100% wool yarn.

The pattern gives you two options for this cowl — a longer version with three lace bands (maximum warmth) and a shorter one with two lace bands (quicker to knit). Through January 1, you can save 20% on the Winter Oak pattern in my Ravelry pattern store with the coupon code COWL20.

On New Year’s Day, we’ll kick off a Winter Oak KAL in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group. Feel free to join us anytime before then to chat about yarn possibilities and share your color ideas. I really can’t wait to see how the cowl looks in other color combinations. I chose a warm palette, but I can imagine this cowl would also look terrific in cooler colors — maybe light gray, deep blue, and teal? Or perhaps a trio of neutrals — beige, nut brown, and dark brown? Each knitter’s cowl will be different, an expression of their unique, personal style and creativity.

If you’re still working on holiday gifts, I hope you get everything done in time with a minimum of stress. Have a beautiful holiday season — and see you in January for the Winter Oak KAL!

LINKS
Winter Oak Cowl
Winter Oak Knitalong
Bonnie Sennott: Ravelry Designer Page

The Indie Design Gift-a-Long Is Here!

The annual Ravelry Indie Design Gift-a-Long has begun! As always, it starts with a big sale by more than 250 independent designers. After the sale, the event continues, as knitters and crocheters tackle their holiday gift making together. With lots of fun games, prizes (yarns, project bags, shawl pins, and more), even holiday recipes — the GAL is the place to be, now through the end of the year.

I've got 20 patterns in the sale — recent releases as well as timeless favorites — see them all in my Gift-a-Long bundle. Mitts, socks, cowls, shawls, hats — something for everyone on your gift knitting list (or maybe a treat for yourself?). Through Monday, December 2, save 25% on my Gift-a-Long sale patterns with the coupon code giftalong2019.

Happy holiday knitting,
Bonnie

Pattern Release: Catharus Shawl

Good news, shawl knitters! My Catharus Shawl, originally published in At the Spinnery, is now available as a Blue Peninsula pattern.

Catharus, by Bonnie Sennott

Named after the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus), this triangular shawl features a wide rib flowing gracefully into sculptural, nupp-flecked lace. It’s worked top-down in fingering weight yarn — you’ll need 800 yards (732 m).

Through Sunday, September 22, the Catharus Shawl pattern is on sale in my Ravelry store — use the coupon code SEPTEMBER to save 20 percent. It’s also on sale in my Etsy shop (no coupon code needed there).

For the sample, I used Green Mountain Spinnery’s Lana in the gorgeous Rosado colorway. This lofty 2-ply fingering weight yarn blocked out beautifully, creating a shawl that's warm and cozy yet light as a feather. I can't wait to wear it at Rhinebeck!

Get all the details on yardage, needles, notions, and more on Ravelry. The introductory Catharus sale ends this Sunday, September 22.

All Shawls Sale

As the mornings grow cooler and leaves start to turn, knitters begin daydreaming about cozy fall knits. To help you get started creating the perfect fall shawl, all Blue Peninsula shawl patterns are 20% off on Ravelry. Use the coupon code SHAWLS20 to get the discount (you can use it more than once).

A few ideas, clockwise from upper left: Ischnura, Mayblossom, Wonderberry, Hop Brook, and Streusel. The sale ends Monday, September 2 (magazine patterns are not included).

Happy knitting! If you’re in the U.S., I hope you have a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend with plenty of time for knitting.

LINKS

Bonnie Sennott: Ravelry Designer Page
Shawls Bundle