As I admitted a few weeks ago, I’m not a big fan of winter. This winter has been particularly brutal for much of the country. And we still have several more weeks before we’re out of the woods. Mother Nature sure knows how to put on a show, however. Whether it’s snow or frost or ice, I can usually find beauty in it once I overlook the cold.
Snow is in the forecast again this week. This time, it comes in the form of my Snowscape Hat and Cowl patterns. I was inspired by drifting snow and how it paints a peaceful picture despite the fierce winds and bitter cold.
You can buy both patterns from my Ravelry store now! They’re on sale through March 10, 2019. Save $1 on either of the patterns or $3 when you buy the e-book! No coupon needed.
True confession: I don’t really like winter. Or summer, for that matter. I prefer the moderate, comfortable temperatures of spring and fall. However, winter does provide such a lovely backdrop for daily life; I just prefer to see it from the warmth of my living room window. Despite my objection to the cold, I do seem to find great beauty (almost) every time I step outside. Besides, winter lets me enjoy my knitwear every day.
I have three new patterns that were inspired by winter. The first is Frost Heaves Cowl, and it’s available now! (Watch for Snowscape Cowl and Hat to be released soon!) This pattern has been churning in my head for a couple of years now. First of all, the nerd in me just loves that there is a word for the geological phenomenon. Frost heaving happens when the top layer of soil starts to thaw as groundwater refreezes and pushes the soil upward. There’s a bunch of science involved, but the effect is completely fascinating to me. The cables in this cowl mimic the swollen mounds of earth, and the lacy, shivering ribs resemble the broken soil.
I don’t know about you, but I’m always drawn to gradients. (Check out my tips for working with gradient mini-skeins.) I feel like gradients are special, though, and deserve an equally special pattern. As a result, those yarns you once fell in love with sit around in your stash for way too long. Well, Cupid has come to steal your heart!
Now available in my Ravelry store!
In Roman Mythology, Psyche was a princess and a mortal whose beauty made Venus jealous. Venus sent her son Cupid to sabotage Psyche’s love life, but he fell in love with her instead. Angry, Venus sent her on a series of deadly errands, but, with the help of the gods, Psyche outwitted Venus at each step. On her final quest, Psyche was to retrieve a gift from the underworld. It was yet another trick, and Psyche fell into a deep sleep. Cupid flew down to rescue her and carried her up to Olympus where he nursed her with ambrosia. This made Psyche immortal, and the two lived happily ever after. (Get it? She became immortal, too.)
Knit your own love story with Cupid in the Underworld. The boomerang shape is like Cupid swooping down to save Psyche’s life. The bias is emphasized by the gradient yarn and a row of eyelets worked at each color change. Charming embellishments elevate the garter stitch shawl from earthly to Olympian. Simple embroidery along one edge represents the journey to find love; tassels at each end are sweet ambrosia to nourish your crafty soul.
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The simplest embroidery ever
I hope you fall in love with Cupid as much as I have. From now until October 29, 2018, you can save $1 on this pattern with the code: CUPID. Are you on my email list? Check your inbox for a special code for an even deeper discount! You can find Cupid in the Underworld with my other designs on Ravelry.
Probably the hardest thing about working with gradient mini-sets is determining the order of the skeins. (WHY don’t dyers number them?!) The first thing to do is to swap the yarns in and out until you think the order is right. It feels a bit like you’re playing the cup game—you know, the one where you move the cups around and have to guess which one has the ball under it. Sometimes, it works to take a photo and convert it to black and white so you are forced to see just the tone. (Unfortunately, that trick doesn’t work all the time.)
Happy Thread the Needle Day! The origin of this special day (July 25) is unknown, but as a crafter, I naturally think of sewing. This month’s project for Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas uses the simplest sewing ever, so this one would be great for getting older kids involved.
I was immediately drawn to the paper snowflake-inspired Felt Ogee Ornaments made by Betz White. I found this project a while ago, and I’m so happy that I finally got around to making one. Betz recommended 3 mm felt because it is stiff enough to hold its shape. I couldn’t find it locally, so I bought a wool/rayon blend on Amazon. I thought mine was a tad too thick because it wrinkled a little as it bent around. I’m wondering if 2.5 mm or 2 mm felt would work better. The biggest drawback is that the thick felt is not typically sold in stores. I think the results are definitely worth the online shopping trip.
I used sewing thread to sew the overlapping edges and tied surgeon’s knots to secure. I used invisible quilting thread for hanging.
I made my own felt beads for this. Yep. With plain ol’ wool yarn. (more…)
Summer Stock Shawlette is a fluttery little thing—easy-breezy and perfect for cool nights or over-air-conditioned spaces. I love my version in Nettle Grove by Plymouth Yarn (a blend of cotton, linen, silk, and nettle in a sport weight yarn), but it’ll look great in all sorts of yarn. Go ahead and stash dive on this one! The pattern includes alternative stitch counts that will work for the border, so you can make this as small or as large as you want.
The inspiration first came from the yarn. My friend Britni and I had been talking about summery shawls when I ran across this Nettle Grove. It’s way out of my comfort zone, but that’s what I wanted. First of all, I don’t work with a lot of cotton, let alone linen or nettle (nettle?). It’s not too scratchy to work with, and as everyone says, it softens up so much. And then orange? Orange is SO not a good color for me, but somehow, this muted orange works. It looks great with gray, blue, purple, raspberry—all my cool-colored t-shirts. The color wheel in action! (more…)
It’s time for the final push! We only have one month until Christmas! Can you believe it?
Every time I write about a new craft I’ve made, I feel a slight pang of guilt. I’ve always dabbled in all sorts of crafts, so it’s not like I’m a monogamous crafter or anything. Knitting is my main squeeze, though, so that is my go-to when I want to make a handmade gift. But wait a second. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to blog about knitting in, say, June when we still had several months ahead of us? Well, my favorite things to knit are accessories because they are quick and make a big impact with only a small amount of time and effort. I’m a procrastinator, and I know many of you are, too, so quick and easy are key features when you’re on a deadline.
[It just occurred to me that knitting is a little like childbirth. Yeah, of course, you created this thing of beauty and the knitting project is your baby and all that, but I’m thinking about the effort you put in. You always hear moms bragging about how many hours they labored. It seems like the most dramatic stories come at the extremes: “I pushed for FOUR hours!” but also, “I only pushed for 22 MINUTES! I guess he was in a hurry.” (True story. 22 minutes for me. Not bragging at all.) So when it comes to knitting, we’re especially proud when we finally complete a sweater or afghan that took 2 years to complete but also when we whip up a cowl in only a few hours. Or is it just me?](more…)
Windswept Forest is my latest knitting design — a cowl knit in the round using a simple lace pattern. For around $8, Quince & Co. Finch knits up quickly into a deceptively inexpensive gift for a friend or for yourself.
The inspiration for this cowl came from a design challenge put forth by Frenchie, a.k.a. ArohaKnits. The challenge began with creating a mood board inspired by one of three themes: ocean, mountains, or forest. I focused on images of forests. I found lots of really cool photos of dense forests but was most intrigued by the windswept trees — trees with branches bent backwards at crazy angles. It’s amazing that some of these trees can possibly remain rooted in the ground. (more…)
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