Wadi . . .

wadi  A gully or streambed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season.

Wadi is my new sock pattern available at my website, on Ravelry, and via the Buy Now button below.  The texture is very pebbly and the hand-dyed yarn paints a river tripping across the stones of the dried river bed.  

This sock is sized for Ladies M and L, and is shown here knit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock medium weight in the Lucy colorway.  

(Digital only)

Beach Buddy Tote Pattern Now Available . . .

The Beach Buddy Tote felted bag pattern is now available to purchase on Ravelry, at my website, and also via the Buy It Now button below. Enjoy!


$5.00
(Digital only)

Tangled Faeries . . .

Yes, that's right . . . . another new sock pattern! This one worked up so quickly and was such fun to do. I cast on Wednesday evening and finished on Sunday afternoon. Take a look at Tangled Faeries.

The sock is knit from toe to cuff in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in the Jade colorway. There are cabled along each edge of the instep, which become horseshoe cables above the heel flap on the leg. Between the cables, a tangle of faeries play along the sock, to be topped with a lettuce leaf openwork bind off that is very stretchy as well as decorative.

The pattern is available now on my website, and at Ravelry. You may also buy it now by clicking the button below. I hope you'll enjoy knitting this fun sock for spring.

Diamond Strands . . .

Diamond Strands is a new pattern now available on my website and on Ravelry. This sock pattern is worked from cuff to toe on 2.25 mm needles and incorporates a heel flap and gusset. The diamonds are created by working a two-stitch twisted combination of a knit stitch crossed over a purled stitch, and the seed stitch ribbing is carried down the heel flap.

The pattern contains sizing for Ladies M and L, as well as both written instructions and the charted design. The yarn used for the model is Shibui Knits Sock in Peony, which was purchased from The Loopy Ewe. Gotta love the Loopy!

Whistle Bait Socks . . .

My latest sock design is now up on my website and at Ravelry. Whistle Bait is knit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock lightweight in the Thraven colorway. The pattern is sized for Ladies S, M, and L and combines nice texture with visual interest, an eye of partridge heel flap, and a nifty picot cuff. The pattern is written for top-to-toe construction and calls for 2.25 mm needles. Gauge is 8 stitches per inch and 11 rows per inch in stockinette stitch.

Thanks once again to Meg Converse for testknitting the pattern and the sample sock for me.

Beach Buddy Tote . . .

This new tote was a little break for me last week. I've been concentrating on developing sock patterns lately, and trying to branch out into other garment design as well, and I decided to take a breather and go back to a favorite old standby -- felted bags.

Late last year, I committed to designing a bag for the June Bag-a-Holics group monthly knitalong. I thought that I'd get busy on that last week and get the project finished and off my plate well in advance of the deadline, and so this design, Beach Buddy Tote is what resulted.

A serendipitous thing happened though. Just when the bag was finished and the pattern was ready to go, the person who had committed to designing the April bag was unable to make that in time and a call went out to see if another designer had something ready. Et voila! Beach Buddy to the rescue! It was a pleasure to be able to pitch in and offer the pattern two months early and help out a fellow designer.

This pattern will be available for sale on my website and through Ravelry beginning May 1.

Lacuna . . .

la·cu·na [luh-kyoo-nuh] –noun,
plural -nae /-ni/
1. a gap or
missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.
2. Anatomy. one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone,
supposed to contain nucleate cells.
3. Botany. an air space in the
cellular tissue of plants.

A new sock design debuts today -- Lacuna -- knit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock lightweight in Stonewash. It is a great casual Friday look with jeans, featuring a seed stitch heel flap and a seed stitch toe.

The pattern is available for sale now from Ravelry, and will be up on my website for sale soon. Stay tuned for more sock patterns coming soon!

Give a Friend a Hug . . .

Here's a quick knit when you want to give something to a friend to warm her heart and her neck at the same time -- I'll Take a Hug -- a new design I'll be writing up and putting on my website. My friend Nancy, who has a wool allergy, doesn't like to be cold, so I knew just the thing for her. I started this last night from 1 ball of Lion Brand Jiffy in the El Paso colorway. The neckwarmer took less than one ball worked on U.S. size 10 (6.0 mm) needles. Three large funky looking buttons keep this warm and snug against the neck. The 18" rectangle is worked to produce diagonals at each end. Watch for the pattern on my site soon.

Another member of the Koi Collection . . .

The Koi Collection grows today with the addition of a quick to knit little neckwarmer. It uses only about 125 yards of worsted weight yarn. It's shown here in Lorna's Laces worsted in the Aslan colorway. One nice feature of this design is the I-cord edges that are knit on as you go -- no applying afterward! This makes a nice non-roll border for a very tailored look. Click the photo to enlarge it for a better look. This pattern is available from my website for $5.00 and goes great with the socks and hat. It'll have a new member of the family joining it soon, so be watching for that pattern too.

Another new sock pattern is featured on my webpage as well -- Conversational. Here it is knit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock lightweight in the Azure Malachite colorway. This pattern costs $5.00 and features a nicely textured rib, as well as some openwork. Many, many thanks to Margaret Converse for testing the pattern and knitting the model for me. Doesn't she do beautiful work?

The Koi Collection . . .

Today I want to show you some designs which are part of the Koi Collection. Within this collection will be socks, a hat, fingerless gloves in two weights of yarn, and a neckwarmer. Shown here are the Koi socks, Koi hat, and Koi gloves (worsted version). When the other two items in progress are completed, I'll upload the entire collection to my website for sale, and also to Ravelry.

The stitch pattern is very easy to memorize and gives lots of texture and interest. I just love these socks. The way it worked up in the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock mediumweight Little Bunny Foo Foo reminded me of koi swimming in a school, hence the name.

I also loved the way the Fiesta Boomerang yarn knit up in the hat and worsted version of the fingerless gloves. Another version of the gloves in fingering weight yarn is in the hands of my lovely and capable test knitter, Denise. I'm currently knitting the neckwarmer myself. More on those later!

Gracious . . .

I'm very excited about my newest sock pattern, Gracious. This pretty and feminine sock is a motif I adapted and compiled from a couple of different stitch patterns. I've just posted it on the Shopping page of my website and on Ravelry as well. This sock is knit from Dream In Color Smooshy in the Petal Showers colorway, and the pattern is sized for ladies small, medium, and large. I hope you'll enjoy this little beauty and it'll soon be adorning your feet.

Calorimetry . . .

What a fast and fun little knit this was! I've been in such a fast and furious design mode lately that I thought I'd take a few hours and knit something that someone else designed. So, Calorimetry (from Knitty.com) it was. I used some yarn remnants to knit this up and just love how it turned out.

On my design needles (and the needles of my test knitters) are 3 pairs of socks and some fingerless gloves. Just off the needles are another pair of fingerless gloves and a hat. Lined up as soon as one of my test knitters finishes socks is a cute little neckwarmer. Soon, I should have several new patterns up for sale on my website and posted at Ravelry as well.

Fini! . . .

And they are finished! My friend's socks are finished. Now the suspense begins to build as I wonder "Will they be that perfect fit I was striving to achieve?" Stay tuned . . . . I'll give these to her tomorrow and we'll see then.

Off to work on some of the other half dozen designs that are swirling around in my head.

Knitting Socks for a Good Friend . . .

I have a wonderful friend. She's smart, funny, accomplished, curious, generous, focused and we just enjoy letting one another be who we are. Can you believe she doesn't KNIT? And, she has a wool allergy.

I love to knit for people I love, and of course you know I love to knit socks, so I've wanted for quite a while to knit her some socks. Finally, I'm doing it. I'm using Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace Yarns in the Sable colorway, which she chose from the colors I had on hand. And I designed a motif specifically for her, deconstructing and recombining various stitch patterns I liked.

Here's a peek at the socks. I'm increasing the gussets, toe up, right now and hope to have these completed by Wednesday when she's here to have dinner with us.

My nifty homemade knitting bag . . .

Nifty and cheap, that is. Jules posted a comment to my last entry asking about the bag and the two strands of yarn feeding from the openings. Yes, I made it. I simply took a shopping bag (whatever size works for you best, this is one that works great for 2 socks at once on 2 circs) and applied two 1/4" grommets to the side.

If you are extremely ambitious and have two pairs of socks going at once, and your bag is large enough for the 4 balls of yarn, then put two more grommets on the other side of the bag. Three pairs at once? Put one additional grommet in each of the side gussets for a total of six holes.

This really works well to keep the yarns tangle-free, and also is a great place to pop the sock into when you are taking a break from them. The handles make it so portable and also serve as a means to hang them on a peg or the back of a chair.

Got to love those shopping bags, right? Just one more reason to get out there and shop, shop, shop. Good for the economy and good for your knitting!

Knitting Resolutions 2008, an unbridled year of knitting . . .

un·bri·dled [uhn-brahyd-ld] –adjective
1. not controlled or restrained: unbridled enthusiasm.
2. not fitted with a bridle.

Since I took up knitting seriously in early 2005, I've subjected myself to various imposed or self-imposed knitting deadlines, constraints, and requirements. None of which I've regretted and all of which I've enjoyed. Is there even such a thing as bad knitting time?

First, there was a sampler afghan which was part of a knitting Bible study. Then various other learning projects I did to teach myself different techniques. And then very soon, designing felted bags for Crystal Palace Yarns, and then launching my book planning, knitting, and publishing. Along they way there have been knitting exchanges, special projects for CPY, the always-present knitting for holiday gifts, and the many designs that come to mind in odd moments of the day.

I realized a few weeks ago, in the midst of another non-knitting-related mini-crisis, that there is very little in my life over which I have absolute control. Tag, knitting! In 2008, you're IT! I can control you when I can't control anything else around me. I need to control you. I need to make you more precious, more intimate, more mine. I need to possess you.

I resolve that 2008 will be the year in which I only knit when I want to, as much or as little as I want to, with what I want to, for whom I want to, and why I want to. Whew! All that being said, I realize it sounds so selfish! Yet, it also feels so liberating! It feels empowering. It feels new and somehow forbidden.

When I want to design a pattern, I'll do it. When I want to knit mindless washcloths, I'll do it. When I want to luxuriate in sock yarn and tiny, perfect stitches, I'll do it. When I want to do another book of collected patterns, I'll do it.

I promise myself not to feel guilty about saying 'no'. I promise myself not to feel guilty about saying 'yes'. I promise myself that I'll enjoy each and every stitch that slips past my fingers, whether fruitless or fruitful. I promise myself to enjoy the miles of yarn I've collected and to knit with abandon, with purpose or without, and with senses fully engaged in the moment when each stitch is birthed from left needle to right.

I promise myself to let creativity off the leash. I promise to try not to be afraid of that creative muse! I promise to embrace knitting as a function that is as involuntarily as breathing, knowing that each breath is a precious gift and so is each stitch, each garment, each swatch, each mistake.

Yes, I'm looking forward to 2008 and to what it brings. Will being unbridled be as productive as being bridled? Will it be more so? In the end, does it really matter?

Cheers! And may all your knitting this year be unbridled!

But wait! there's more . . .

More patterns, that is. I did get them photographed, finally, and posted for sale on my website. And so here there are . . .

Fashionista is a slip stitch pattern using three colors of bulky yarn and US size 13 (9.0 mm) needles. It's roomy and well balanced, and I love this bag!

Strike! is a trio of felted bowling bag style purses sized small, medium, and large with pockets on both front and back. It's also knit with bulky yarn and US size 13 (9.0 mm) needles. Knit them all . . . they'll bowl you over!

My Color Wheel Hexagonal Bag was originally designed as a gift for my Bag-a-holics swap partner and I decided to write up the pattern and include it in the collection as well. This is a good bag for using up worsted weight yarn remnants. It's knit with 2 strands of worsted weight yarn held together and a US size 11 (8.0 mm) needle.

Pillars of Fire . . .

Well, perhaps you thought I'd deserted my blog, but here I am. It's been over two months since I last posted, and I've been furiously knitting various projects. It's been crazy busy around here since my last blog entry and doesn't show much sign of letting up any time soon.

Pattern and photos removed due to sale to a Sock Club.

An Explosion of Flowers

I've had a productive week this week. I managed to learn how to install the html needed for a Paypal cart on the Shopping page of my website, and so now my book and the patterns I've been working on can be purchased directly from my site. Pretty neat! The Flambeau socks are there, as well as the What a Croc! scarf and my Thank You felted bag.

The newest member of the pattern family is the bag you see here, called Flowers Go Boom! since it's an explosion of colors, techniques, and shapes. The bag is knit in black and gray alternating stripes into a nice satchel shape. The flowers are crocheted and then felted. After blocking, they are beaded with some sparkly glass and metal beads, then sewn to the bag. I just LOVE this bag, and it's been getting some nice positive attention on Ravelry since I posted it there. I'm really excited to see if that attention converts into some pattern sales.

My Knit and Chat exchange partner, Tish, received the package I sent, and I'm so happy that she's thrilled with the Diamond Fantasy Shawl, the Margarita! bag, and the shawl pin. Wear them in good health, Tish!

I sold some of the Flambeau sock patterns this week to another Knit and Chatter, Carol, who owns a yarn shop called Never Enough Wool. thanks, Carol, for the order. I hope your group enjoys the pattern!

Long time, no blog . . .

It's been a flurry of activity around here the last 3 weeks. School started back the day after Labor Day. Duncan is starting on his first soccer team. And the kids and I all have the usual back to school cold and sniffles.

We moved the girls out of their cribs, finally, and into toddler beds and they're liking that a lot.

I'm getting lots of knitting projects done as well. I got my Knit and Chat Fall Exchange parcel mailed out and I'm waiting to hear that my partner has received it. I sent the shawl I was debating about earlier in the blog, as well as a bag I designed. And a nice little shawl pin I picked up from an Etsy shop. And one of my books and a kid's scarf pattern I designed.

Speaking of the scarf, here it is. With my beautiful son modeling it. It's a crocodile and the scarf will be for sale on my website soon. The pattern is called What a Croc! It's a fun way to drape a reptile around your neck. Raised stockinette stitch scales on a field of reverse stockinette stitch form the body and tail, with a crocheted edging all around. The eyes are actually little craft jingle bells sown into the eye sockets, and the nostrils are bobbles. there are even some fearsome teeth! There is a similar pattern by Morehouse Farm which appears to be a simple garter stitch alligator, and they sell their pattern as part of a kit, apparently, and in two sizes so check them out.

Another project design I completed is a gorgeous bag I'm giving a friend as a gift for treating us to such a lovely time in San Francisco during the summer. I was inspired by the design on a thank you card I picked up in a Papyrus store in Atlanta and decided to render it in wool, and many times larger. Here's a photo of what I've been calling the Thank You bag. I'm working on another one in a different colorway and I'm going to offer the pattern for sale on my website as well . . . as soon as I finish knitting
the second colorway.

Oh, and I completed my August sock of the month a couple of days into September, so not bad all things considered. I knitted the Carolina sock in Socks That Rock medium weight Sherbet. Here they are too.

I also designed and knitted a dishcloth, my first experience in laying out an actual knit/purl design so that it makes a picture. The pattern is an angel, and it can be downloaded from free pattern page at my website. Here's the photo of the Dishcloth Relay Angel. The cloth was designed to go along with a dishcloth relay planned on my favorite knitting forum at Delphi -- Knit and Chat.

So, I guess that's all for now. Be watching the Shopping section of my webpage for the bag and scarf patterns to become available, and just follow the link in the right hand column to my free patterns to pick up a copy of the Angel dishcloth.

Later!