Sneak Peek: Ischnura Shawl

We're finally getting some fall color here in western Massachusetts. What a warm and late fall it's been! I got some lovely shots of Ischnura, my upcoming shawl, along the Norwottuck bike trail this morning. It brought back memories of the day last summer when I took photos of the Enallagma Shawl, the first design in my Dragonfly Days collection.

Then, it was warm and humid, and there was lots of Queen Anne's Lace and purple loosestrife by the fences on the trail. Today — red, yellow, and orange leaves, and cattails bursting. A completely different, but equally beautiful scene.

The pattern will be ready to publish just as soon as I edit all the photos and finalize the layout — probably later this week. 

In the meantime, here's just one of my Rhinebeck photos. It was bright and very warm at Rhinebeck on Saturday. I managed to wear my wool/alpaca sweater until lunch — then off it came. Because of the heat, there weren't nearly as many gorgeous knits to see, but still — better sunshine than rain, right? Once again, being there reminded me what a friendly and inspiring community the fiber world is. It was so much fun seeing all the beautiful sheep, goats, and alpacas, perusing yarns and spinning fiber (many from small farms), and meeting knitters and other designers. Can't wait till next year!

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!

Throwback Thursday: Meadow Road Pullover

For those of us working on Rhinebeck sweaters, the recent heat wave here in Massachusetts seemed just a little cruel. But — hurray — it's over and more typical New England fall weather is at hand! So I thought this month's Throwback Thursday post really ought to be about a sweater — because what is fall for us knitters if not sweater season?

First published in fall 2014, Meadow Road is one of my most popular sweater designs. Knit in the round from the bottom up, it features a crisp lace-and-twisted-stitch motif on front and back. With a comfortable A-line shape, it can be worn with lots of positive ease or just a little — whichever you prefer. On the model, the sample was worn with about 4.5 inches of positive ease, but many knitters have opted for a more fitted look with great success.

Meadow Road's wide neckline is finished off with a simple edging of reversed stockinette; the long gathered sleeves, which are knit top down, in the round, have the same edging. The sleeves, by the way, are easily modified. Several knitters have opted instead for ribbing or for 3/4-length sleeves. See the project pages for finished Meadow Roads on Ravelry to get some great ideas!

I knit up the sample in Stitch Sprouts Yellowstone, a smooth, very soft sportweight wool/silk blend. Its crisp stitch definition and lovely drape made it the ideal choice for this pattern.

Now through Sunday, October 1, you can save $1.50 off Meadow Road with the coupon code MEADOW in my Ravelry pattern store. Visit the pattern page or use this link to purchase the pattern with the discount already in your cart. Thanks very much for reading!

New Pattern: Cordulia Cowl

Another dragonfly-inspired design has winged its way into my Ravelry pattern store! The Cordulia cowl is now ready for your knitting needles.

To celebrate its release, I'm having an introductory sale: through Sunday, September 24, save 25% on Cordulia with the coupon code COWL25.

Named after a genus of dragonflies, Cordulia is one of three lace accessories in my new ebook collection, Dragonfly Days. The first was the Enallagma shawl, released earlier this summer. The third and final design will be released this fall. 

The Dragonfly Days collection was born during the early days of summer 2017. As I swatched a pretty lace stitch for the Enallagma shawl, I really loved two things about it — the way the cast-on edge naturally formed gentle scallops, and the way parts of the lace resembled dragonfly wings.

The more I worked on the shawl, the more I wanted to explore the lace stitch further. So I played around with it, modifying it to create Cordulia. From start to finish, designing this cowl was an enjoyable process, and I can't wait to work with this beautiful lace stitch again for another design.

I’ve always been fascinated by dragonflies. I love their glittering wings. I love watching them dart back and forth over the water. Although they’re so quick, they make me want to slow down — slow down and pay closer attention to the natural world. 

With the Dragonfly Days patterns, you can keep the warmth of summer and the magic of dragonflies near you all year long. I hope you enjoy them — and thanks very much for reading!

Sneak Peek: Cordulia Cowl

The marigold-dyed cowl is finished! Here it is, just off the needles and ready for blocking:

I'm going to call it Cordulia, which is a genus of dragonflies. This is my second dragonfly-inspired design (the first was the Enallagma Shawl). I used a 24-inch US5/3.75mm circular needle and one skein of Foxhill Farm DK-weight Cormo, which I dyed with marigolds (it took about 295 yards/270 m). If you're curious about how I dyed the yarn, there's more info in this blog post.

Here's how it looks after a light blocking:

I've finished the pattern and sent it off to my tech editor, so it won't be too long before it's ready to publish. Look for it before the end of September.

P.S. The Free Fall KAL in the Blue Peninsula Ravelry group just kicked off the other day. Each week as we knit, we're also discussing a different topic. This week the topic is: What are your favorite resources for learning new techniques? Books and magazines, classes at your LYS, online videos, your knitting group?

You're welcome to join the KAL anytime between now and November 15, to share your thoughts and knit any of my designs (new projects and WIPs are both welcome). At the end of the KAL, prizes will be awarded randomly to posts in the discussion thread, so everyone who participates has a chance to win, even if they don't finish their project. Hope to see you!

New Pattern: Tortoise Shells Socks

Just published: a new sock pattern called Tortoise Shells.

Worked in the round, from the top down, the Tortoise Shells Socks feature cable-and-lace medallions (like tortoise shells in miniature) encircling the upper leg. Pretty columns of faux-cable twists flow down to the foot, set off by a bit of 2x2 ribbing at the sides.

They're knit with 385 yards/355 m of sock yarn. The sample pair are in Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere, in a colorway called Strange Harvest. I loved this color more and more as I knit the socks. Its rich blend of golds and greens seemed absolutely perfect for fall.

The pattern provides complete instructions for a women's medium size. You can easily make them smaller or larger by changing the needle size and/or yarn weight. The stitch patterns are given in both written form and charts, and instructions for grafting the toes using kitchener stitch are included.

The test knitters in the Blue Peninsula Ravelry group have had very positive things to say about these socks: "This pattern is practically knitting itself!" "Pattern is well written and creates a lovely finished project." For me, it's been great to see that these socks look good in both variegated yarns and solids. View finished and in-progress Tortoise Shells here — maybe they'll inspire you to make your very own!

P.S. Did you know Etsy is holding a big Labor Day Sale? I'm excited to join the fun, with 25% off individual knitting patterns in my Etsy shop, August 31 through September 4. There's no minimum and no coupon code needed. It's a great time to stock up on patterns for your fall projects!

Sneak Peek: Tortoise Shells Socks

The pattern is edited, testers are knitting up the socks, and photos are in the bag. I'm almost ready to publish this new sock pattern!

Look for the pattern early next week. I'll be sending out the newsletter next week, too — with a special discount code. So watch your email! If you don't already subscribe, you can sign up here.

Have a beautiful weekend!

A Sock's Progress

I saw a few red leaves on a maple tree in the backyard the other morning. That, and new coolness in the air, made me realize it's time to savor every remaining moment of summer.

I love the freedom and ease of wearing sandals, but even so, I'm not sad to start thinking about wearing my hand-knit socks again. I've had a great time the past few weeks working on a new sock design. It's got cables and lace, something for everyone. The yarn is the luxurious Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere. Cashmere! Always a happy fiber to knit with.

One sock is done and I've sent the pattern to the tech editor. That's progress!

If you're interested in test knitting, please keep an eye on the Blue Peninsula Ravelry group — I'll post a call there pretty soon.

Throwback Thursday: Pomegranate Pullover

It may be far too warm for wool sweaters right now, but that doesn't stop me thinking about them! The knitting part of my brain is already obsessed with fall. In fact, this week I cast on my Rhinebeck sweater. It's a new design — a pullover in worsted weight yarn (Quince & Co. Owl). More on that in the weeks ahead.

With this post, I'm introducing a new feature on the blog — Throwback Thursdays. Every now and then, I'll post about an "oldie but goodie," to introduce newer followers of my designs to patterns they may not have seen yet (and maybe remind longtime followers about designs they forgot they had in their queues!).

So let's start with one of my most popular sweater patterns, the Pomegranate Pullover.

Knit in sportweight yarn (I used Quince & Co. Chickadee), Pomegranate features a wide lace panel on front and back, deep hip ribbing, and crisp twisted ribbing on the sleeves and neckband. It's worked in the round from the bottom up and there's not much seaming — just the shoulders — because the set-in sleeves are worked top down, using short rows to shape the sleeve caps. 

It's a versatile, classic pattern that looks terrific on many different figures. More than 170 knitters have posted finished Pomegranates on Ravelry, and it's really wonderful to see the wide range of colors and yarns they've used with great success. It's also nice to read how some knitters have made modifications to make this design truly their own. Some have knit long sleeves, some have converted it to a cardigan, others have skipped the lace on the back, and some have changed up the style of the neckband.

Want to give Pomegranate a try? The pattern is on sale in my Ravelry store for 25% off today through Sunday, August 6, with the coupon code POM25. Happy fall knitting!

New Pattern: Enallagma Shawl

Just published today: a new lace shawl called Enallagma.

Named after pretty blue damselflies, the Enallagma shawl combines eye-catching lace with restful garter stitch. It's on sale on Ravelry for 25% off with the coupon code DAMSELFLY through August 1.

The lace section is worked straight without shaping, then the shawl tapers along one side, until just a few stitches remain. This means the knitting goes faster and faster as you go, since you're always working fewer stitches.

There are lots of ways to style Enallagma. Wear it loosely draped over your shoulders or wrap it once or twice around like a scarf. Wear the dragonfly lace in front or in back. Fasten it with a shawl pin for extra style.

For the photos, I chose a handmade pin from the Etsy shop ideasinwood. I was really thrilled when it arrived — it's beautifully crafted, and the little circle in the center of the design seemed a perfect match for the shawl's eyelet rows.

Enallagma is knit in DK weight yarn — you'll need about 600 yards/550 m. For my sample, I used a wool and mohair blend called Thelma & Louise from a small farm in Vermont, Wing and a Prayer Farm.

I've been following shepherdess Tammy White's Instagram feed and blog for a long time. She writes about her animals with so much love and affection, you really start to care about them — a lot! So I was thrilled to score a few skeins of Thelma & Louise at Rhinebeck last fall. Hopefully, the closeup photos here give you some idea of its softness and lovely halo. Without a doubt, it's one of the most beautiful yarns I've ever knit with.

Although I took lots of photos near water, no dragonflies obliged me and appeared in any of them — maybe it was too early in the morning? But that's OK — they're there in spirit in the lace. I know that whenever I wear Enallagma, even in coldest winter, it will take me back to summer and the magic of dragonflies darting to and fro.

Thanks very much for reading!