New Patterns

It has been a busy autumn around here! Since I haven’t had time to post about each one separately, I’m doing a round-up of new patterns.

The Mistborn Poncho finished test knitting in August and is available through Ravelry now! The Mistborn Poncho combines cabled panels and round yoke increases with a relaxed generous fit to add warm layering for any outfit. The Mistborn Poncho is worked top-down. Pattern includes larger cable panels on each of the back and front and smaller complementary cables along the length of each of the sleeve sections. I-cord edging on the neck and bottom mirrors parts of the cable panels. Cables are charted only. Named Mistborn because the cables remind me of the mists winding in and around Vin as she learns to harness them to play her part in the skaa rebellion in the book series by the same name. And who doesn’t love a good rebellion story these days? (Note: My hair in the photos is purple for awareness and support for a friend battling pancreatic cancer.)

Sally finished test knitting in late October and is available through Ravelry now! Sally is a simple top-down seamless raglan with a center front braid and gentle v-neck. Waist and hip shaping for flattering fit. Written in 7 sizes. Cable charted and written.

The Rock Art Shawl finished test knitting mid-November and is available through Ravelry now! The Rock Art Shawl uses simple knits, purls and basic cables to evoke the rock art or petroglyphs found in historical sites throughout Arizona. The main body of the Rock Art Shawl is a triangle worked from the top down in stockinette stitch with simple yarn over increases, garter tab cast-on, garter stitch edging and finished with cable panels. The Rock Art Shawl is part of my Arizona Collection along with the Sedona Cowl and Grand Canyon Scarf.

Photo Courtesy of Cascade Yarns

The Jasmine Tee was released by Cascade Yarns in August and is available as free pattern through Cascade Yarns now! Jasmine is a simple top down raglan tee with a square neck and lace panels at the bottom of the sleeves and body and has waist and hip shaping. Lace pattern is charted and written.

Photo Courtesy of Cascade Yarns

And finally Sweet Pea was released by Cascade Yarns in November and is available as a free pattern through Cascade Yarns now! Sweet Pea is written for Cascade 220 Superwash Wave and combines a simple top-down seamless girl’s poncho with a ruffled bottom edging. Sweet Pea is warm, cozy and fun to wear. Written in 4 sizes.

Pattern Spotlight: Sherri

2015

 

Published in 2015 Sherri combines a modest scoop neck, mock cable ribbing and a high-low hem for casual loose comfort. Perfect for walks in the woods, cozy weekends and sipping hot coffee. Sherri is a top down pullover. The high-low hem is accomplished with Japanese short rows worked back and forth just above the bottom ribbing. This is a new technique I learned just for this project and I truly love the way it makes the wrapped and turned stitches almost melt into the fabric instead of standing out like wrapped stitches sometimes do.

Close up of the Mock Cable Ribbing.

Close up of the high-low hem.

The pattern includes detailed instructions and photos for working the Japanese short rows. Also, look for an upcoming tutorial of the process!

The Sherri pullover is available from Raverly, WEBS, LoveKnitting and Craftsy!

 

 

Sneak Peek: Grand Canyon Scarf

2017

The Grand Canyon Scarf test knit is almost finished. The Grand Canyon Scarf uses simple knits, purls, decreases and increases to evoke the beautiful geology of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River that runs through it. No cables or cable needles! The Grand Canyon Scarf is part of my Arizona Collection along with the Sedona Cowl and Rock Art Shawl.

The pattern will be published just as soon as I finish final edits at the end of the test knit. The test knit deadline is coming right up on December 1st!

Hiking: Packing for the trail.

Our Grand Canyon is coming up in just over two weeks. We’ve finished most of our hill training and long distance hikes and now we are packing for the trail.

We have reservations to stay in the dorms at Phantom Ranch on the canyon bottom. That means we don’t need to worry about hauling tents or sleeping bags. We also don’t need to pack food or supplies for meals. We opted instead to pay the high prices for prepared supper and breakfast in the canyon plus a sack lunch to eat on our hike back up out of the canyon. The ease of having someone else haul and prepare our food for us seems more than worth the cost.

We’ll be back country hiking for several hours each day, so we’ve researched cold weather and long distance hiking quite a bit. Since it will be winter at the top of the canyon and warmer on the canyon floor, we’ve paid extra attention to layering so we can adapt quickly and easily to changing weather. We decided on a base layer (polyester tops and bottoms to wick away moisture and add a little warmth), a mid layer (fleece on top and hiking/wind pants on bottom) and outer layer (good cold weather jackets) for each of us. Plus we’ll each carry a rain poncho and pants in case of inclement weather.

So really we only need to pack basic supplies like extra base layer clothes, toiletries, camera, snack foods, first aid kits, sunscreen, trekking poles and emergency Mylar thermal blankets.

Plus water. We definitely do not want to run out of water so we might end up carrying more than we’ll need. At this point we think we’ll each be carrying the equivalent of three or possibly four 32 oz bottles. Water adds quite a bit of weight to our packs with each filled 32 oz bottle weighing just under 3 pounds. That means we are trying to balance between the extra weight of the water and the fear of running out.

Because the older boy takes being prepared seriously he is also bringing all of this too…..unless one of us can talk him out of it. The pile adds about 2 pounds to his pack and includes two first aid kits, extra aspirin, pocket knife, compass, mesh bag, flashlight, poncho, extra poncho, survival bracelet, coins, some rocks and other random bits.

New Release: Clare Pullover

The Winter 2017 Love of Knitting is out! It’s full of beautiful projects including my Clare Pullover!

Knit in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash the Clare Pullover combines a cabled round yoke with complementary textured edging on the body and sleeves for a chic finished sweater.

Clare is worked in the round top-down with simple stockinette between cables at the top  and then again at the hem and sleeve cuffs. Sleeves are worked in the round top down.

Written in 7 sizes. Includes waist and hip shaping for a flattering fit. Cables charted and written.

Find this issue at your local yarn shop or bookstore or purchase the digital edition here!