Hi, Knitters,
I have randomly selected a winner of the Berry Colorful Yarnings skein of choice and it is....
bigdg on Ravelry!
Congratulations to bigdg. All parties have been contacted. I hope you enjoy your new yarn. Thank you to everyone for entering and I'll host another giveaway very soon.
The acorns are a part of a series of new patterns I have coming out next week. It is a Woodland Friends trio of patterns that you may have seen if you follow me on Instagram. Fall is upon us and it is always good to have a few new woodsy animals to knit. I'll fill you in on all of the details next week when the patterns are released. The patterns will be available in print form with a scratch off Ravelry code through Alana Dakos Never Not Knitting Press which sells to local yarn shops and it will be available for download through my Ravelry Pattern Shop.
I'm super excited about and proud of these new designs and I am honored to be a part of NNK Press. It's good company over there with Quince & Co., Carrie Bostick Hoge of Maddermade, and Alana Dakos to name a few of the other printed pattern lines available to yarn shops through NNK Press.
Another fall-ish project I am making progress on is a pair of socks. I finished the first of the pair for my handspun socks last week. What a fun knit. The sock fits perfectly and I am loving the red toe and heel. The fiber is called, Mulled Cider and it is BFL. The yarn, even though it is not perfectly even by a long shot, knit up to a wonderful even fabric. That's the thing about handspun even though it is often a bit of thick and thin, when knit many of the imperfections somehow become difficult to detect. I think this is particularly true when knitting a tighter, denser fabric like in sock knitting.
Bowl: aaharrison on Etsy
Red yarn: Opal Solid Series
Mulled Cider BFL roving 4 oz.: Friends in Fiber
Sock Blocker: theloopyewe.com
Pattern: How I Make My Socks free pattern
I cast on 60 stitches on US size 1/2.5mm dpns from KnitPicks.com.
When I was at the SSK Retreat this past July I saw a beautiful knit textured mug being offered as a prize drawing. I really loved this clever mug and even thought about it later. Then I somehow ran across this Etsy shop a couple of weeks ago and I took it as a sign that I should order a mug for myself. So I did.
It is my new favorite. The kind artist, Charan, included a little matching dish as a gift after we coresponded a bit. He had recognized my name. The dish can be used as a tea bag holder or as a notions dish. It is the sweetest knitterly set, very impressive. This would make the best gift for a knitter who already has a lot of yarn.
Charan Sachar's Etsy shop is called Creative with Clay. Be sure to check it out.
I never really gave a full run-down on the blog about the Maude cardigan I finished a couple of weeks ago. I kind of like to record my completed projects on here so I thought I might fill in the blanks a bit with some specifics.
Pattern: Maude by Carrie Bostick-Hoge ~ worked from the bottom-up with a raglan decrease yoke
Size: 40-inch bust (I usually wear size 36-inch bust but the pattern is supposed to have about 6-inches of positive ease.)
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the Button Jar colorway, 9 skeins
Needles: US size 7/4.5mm
Buttons: 5 Black Walnut buttons from Wooly Moss Roots on Etsy
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate due to several AT THE SAME TIMES going on throughout most all of the garment, lots of keeping track! An expertly written and clear pattern but I would not recommend this for a beginner or first-time sweater knitter.
Modifications:
~ I knit the sleeves in the round on dpns. I could not understand the reason for knitting the sleeves flat and then seaming them as directed in the pattern. I love to figure out the intentions of the designer as far as construction choices but I couldn't see any advantage to working the sleeves flat here.
~ I picked up the bottom edge of the pockets and knit them directly onto the fronts using the ends to stitch down the sides. The pattern suggests knitting the patch pockets in separate pieces and then stitching to the fronts.
~ I shortened the sleeves a couple of inches. I think the pattern suggested a 20-inch sleeve length and I knit mine to 18-inches.
That's it! No other modifications were made.
Did you notice anything about the pockets?
The left pocket is placed slightly higher than the right pocket! This is so funny to me.
This may have something to do with the fact that I picked up and knit the pockets while the large-sized cardigan was rumpled up on my lap in the car ride on the way to our Door County vacation. Laying the garment out flat on a table would have been a better idea on my part. Yes. I haven't decided yet if I will fix this or leave it. You can see the pocket unevenness in the photo but when I'm wearing the cardigan it isn't really noticeable. It is only a couple of rows off. We'll see how I feel when I really start wearing the cardigan a lot in the cooler weather.
The possibilities of fall knitting are endless and motivating. Fall is the season where knitting energy runs high for most all of us. I have so many projects and ideas and plans for my fall knitting and I'm sure you do, too!
Until next time.
xo ~ susan