New Releases: Alana Sweater and Stole

Both the Alana Sweater and Alana Stole are now available! The Alana Sweater combines a center front cable panel and complementary sleeve cables with top-down construction and simple stockinette for casual elegance. Written in 7 sizes with waist and hip shaping for a flattering fit. Cables are charted and written.

Named Alana from the Celtic word meaning harmony or stone because the cables evoke both ancient stone carvings and the blending of individual parts into harmony. This sweater was originally published in Knit Now magazine. The rights have released back to me so I’m now free to republish it! I’ve reworked and updated the pattern and formatting! Sample Size S worked in West Yorkshire Spinners, The Croft Shetland Tweed Aran in the color Clousta and used just under 500 g or 910 yards.

The Alana Stole combines the same center cable panel with complementary smaller cables and a moss-stitch edging in a modern wrap with the feel of a vintage stole. Simple stockinette between the cables helps to keep the Alana Stole a quick knit with cables to spice up the rows.

Perfect to layer as the temperatures turn cooler and the seasons change. Cables are charted and written. Sample worked in Cascade 220 color 9600 Antiqued Heather and used about 450 g or 990 yards.

The Alana Sweater and Alana Stole are available at Ravelry now and will be available through other venues later this year!

Knitting: October Projects

Here is a quick look at what I finished last month and what I’m working on in October.

Finished! 

I finally finished my coffee inspired project out of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in the color Pecan. The color is a beautiful brown that I love and I really enjoyed working with this yarn. It’s lovely and the written pattern is almost through final edits of the pattern getting it ready for test knitting. I’m excited to get this one into test knitting. I really value all the comments, questions and suggestions I get from testers as they work through a pattern. And the fresh eyes are so very necessary because by the time a pattern has made it to test knit, designers (and editors) have already looked at it so often that is easy to miss simple errors or think a thing is clear when it really isn’t or “see” a thing that was deleted three edits ago as still being present or whatever else.

On the Needles

I’ve got several things on my needles for the month of October.

First, I’ve been working with the DK Treasures Yarn I got from Treasure Goddess Yarn at Knitting in the Heartland in April of 2018. I got the colors Ghost Ship and Pieces of Eight. I’m using US Size 5 needles and like how the slightly smaller size needle really helps the cables pop. From the very beginning I envisioned a pirate inspired two-tone cabled….something. So I’ve been playing with different cables. My first thought was a shawl (if you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that I was thrilled when my knitting math came out exactly right when I double checked the logic using a geometry calculator) and the shawl was lovely. But eventually (about 300 yards into the project) I realized a shawl wasn’t quite the right fit for this yarn and the cables I’ve chosen. So I frogged it back to zero and started over. Now it I’m pretty far along in a different design and I’m loving it!

Next, I cast on a new top down sweater design! I’m knitting the sample garment out of Knit Picks Simply Wool Worsted in the color Wallace. I’m using US Size 6 needles which is again on the small side of the suggested needles on the ball band. I find that I knit almost all my worsted weight sweaters on US Size 6 needles these days which is two needle sizes up from what used to be my norm. The sweater is just now starting to take form as I work down the body from the cast-on at the neck. I’m really loving having the wool on my lap as the weather turns cooler (yes! I’m making the sample garment in my size and I can’t wait to add it to my winter rotation). The color Wallace is a muted grey-brown that I had trouble getting to show up quite right in my photos. I’m really going to like wearing it with a bright solid long-sleeve tee underneath. I was super excited to try this new-to-me yarn. I’m really liking the rustic, slightly airy feel of it and I’m certain it is going to be a warm, cozy sweater.

I also made it a bit further on my Close To You shawl worked in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Rosehip colorway. I have now completed 11 of the 14-row pattern repeats (that’s three repeats further than the 9 I had finished last time). The pattern is written with nineteen total repeats, so I past the halfway point on this one! I’m using US Size 1 (2.50 mm) needles for this and I almost wonder if I should have gone up a needle size or two for it. I definitely not changing it now though.

And finally I cast on a new pair of socks. I found this Austermann Step in the deep, deep, deep stash so I’m not certain how long I’ve had it. It has been marinating in with the other sock yarn since at least 2012 but I’m thinking probably even longer than that. Austermann Step is 75% wool and 25% nylon treated with jojoba and aloe vera. Mine is the 03 Greens colorway. I’m using US Size 1 (2.25 mm) needles and really like how solid the knit fabric feels as I work. These socks feel like they are going to be warm, cozy and durable to wear.

I’m using the same basic sock recipe that I use for all my socks adapted from one of the very first knitting books I ever own (The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns). Because these will likely go into the Christmas Gift Basket, I did decide I wanted to give them a little extra stretch so I’ll keep two lines of simple ribbing (p2, k2, p2) running along the length of the leg and onto the top of the instep of the foot to the toes.

That seems like not all that much knitting going for me. But I’m keeping plenty busy running three test knits and getting other designs ready for release plus keeping up with boy activities of band, cross country, taekwondo, soccer and band again for another age group.

New Release: Ruby Cabled Raglan

The I Like Knitting October 2018 issue is out! It is full of beautiful projects including my Ruby Cabled Raglan!

All photos courtesy of I Like Knitting magazine.

Ruby is a simple top-down seamless raglan with a center front cable panel and stockinette body. This sweater also features waist and hip shaping for a flattering fit.

Written in 7 sizes. Sample sweater worked in Cascade 220 color 2427 Glamour.

 

I Like Knitting is a bi-monthly digital magazine published by Prime Publishing LLC. See the October 2018 issue patterns here! And learn about subscriptions here.

Pattern Spotlight: Brigit

Published in 2017 Brigit is a seamless top-down capelet with a round yoke and long, long cables for simple cozy elegance.

Brigit is a quick, easy knit. Written in 4 sizes. Pattern includes tips to adjust your fit! Cables written and charted.

Brigit available through Ravelry, WEBS and LoveKnitting!

Note: The sample knitter for main photographs (me) managed to twist at least one cable the wrong direction in every frame I could use to photograph the sample. Drat and ack – sample knitting during soccer games might not be the best idea! The good news is that the capelet is lovely even with the errors.  

Sneak Peak: Bletchley Park Cowl

The Bletchley Park Cowl test knit is almost finished. Inspired by the top-secret center for decryption that provided vital intelligence and helped win WW2. The Bletchley Park Cowl uses simple knits, purls and twists to evoke the interconnected pathways of codes and ciphers in an all-over texture. This cowl is a warm and cozy addition to any wardrobe.

This cowl uses the tiny cables or twists discussed in last week’s post.

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 February 16th!

Interesting side note: Bletchley Park recruited some 10,000 people by the height of code-breaking in 1945 and two-thirds of them were women. Learn more about the work they did and how they helped win the war here and here and here. I’d love to be able to visit some day with my boys.

Tiny Cables

My Bletchley Park Cowl is in test knitting right now. The cowl features three different very small cables involving only 2 stitches each. These tiny cables can be done either with cable needles or without. The results are very often close enough that it is hard to tell them apart. In fact, that is one of the great things about knitting – we don’t all have to follow exactly the same path or even agree on which path is correct to get to the same place in the end. Maybe that is a life lesson we should all internalize more these days.

In this post I want to take a quick side-by-side look at these tiny cables worked in different ways. This will not be a tutorial of how to make these tiny cables or twists. There are already many very good tutorials and videos about that out there. Google “cabling without a cable needle” and read or watch as many as you like. I’ve included links to some of my favorites at the bottom of this post. Remember not everyone will go about the process the same way and that is just fine.

The first cable in the Bletchley Park Cowl is a right cable with two knit stitches.

Here is a sample I worked up of the right cable with two knit stitches in three different ways. The first is a Right Twist or RT. The second uses a cable needle for a 1/1 RC. And the third is a faux cable. As you can see, these three look very similar and truly are hard to tell apart.

The specific directions I used for my sample are:

• Right Twist (RT): Knit into front of the second stitch on the needle without dropping it from the needle. Then knit the first stitch on the needle as you normally would. Then slip (or drop) both stitches off the needle at the same time.
• 1/1 RC: Slip one stitch onto a cable needle or dpn, hold in back, knit one stitch from the left-hand needle, knit one stitch from the dpn.
• Faux cable: Knit the next two stitches together without dropping either from the needle. Then knit into the first stitch again. Then slip (or drop) both stitches off the needle at the same time.

The next two cables in the Bletchley Park Cowl are a right cable with one knit stitch plus one purl stitch and a left cable with one knit stitch plus one purl stitch.

 

Here is a sample I worked up of the left cable and the right cable with one knit stitch and one purl stitch in two different ways. For the left leaning cables the first uses a cable needle for a 1/1 LPC, and the second is a Left Purl Twist or LPT. For the right leaning cables the first uses a Right Purl Twist or RPT, and the second uses a cable needle for 1/1 RPC. For these tiny cables, my left leaning ones do look different, but the right leaning ones again look very much the same. I suspect the difference in the left leaning cables is due to the directions I chose to follow. If I were to try it again, I’d go looking for different directions that worked better for me.

The specific directions I used for my sample are:

• 1/1 LPC: Slip one stitch onto cable needle or dpn, hold in front, purl one stitch from left-hand needle, knit one stitch from dpn.
• Left Purl Twist (LPT): Purl into the back of the second stitch on the needle without dropping it from the needle. Then knit the first stitch on the needle as you normally would. Then slip (or drop) both stitches off the needle at the same time.
• Right Purl Twist (RPT): Knit into the front of the second stitch on the needle without dropping it from the needle. Then purl the first stitch on the needle as you normally would. Then slip (or drop) both stitches off the needle at the same time.
• 1/1 RPC: Slip one stitch onto cable needle or dpn, hold in back, knit one stitch from the left-hand needle, purl one stitch from the dpn.

To be honest I prefer working all of these tiny cables like normal cables with a cable needle (or actually with a dpn since I don’t own a cable needle). But I’m in the minority and most people prefer to work the twists without a cable needle.

As promised, here are a few of my favorite video resources for this:

Cat Bordhi’s A Nimble Knitter’s Left Cross & Right Cross

Berroco Yarn’s Right Twist and Left Twist 

The Sweater Collective’s Stitch Tutorial: RPT (Right Purl Twist) (and their others including LPT, RT and LT)

New Release: Alana

The Knit Now issue 83 is out! It is full of beautiful projects including my Alana Pullover!

All photos courtesy of Knit Now magazine.

Alana combines a center front cable panel and complementary sleeve cables with top-down constructions for casual elegance.

Named for the Celtic word for stone and harmony, Alana is a quick and easy knit. Written in 7 sizes.

2018, photo provided by Knit Now

Includes waist and hip shaping for a flattering fit. Cables are charted and written.

Sample knit in West Yorkshire Spinners The Croft Shetland Tweed Aran. When I knit the sample garment, the yarn was brand new and needed to be kept a secret. A quick google search shows it is available now from multiple retailers and I’m thrilled to be able to share it! It was a blast to work with and I really loved the finished garment.

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

Pattern Spotlight: Azura

Published in 2016 Azura combines a center front cable with matching textured panels on the body and sleeve edging for casual elegance. Perfect for chilly fall evenings, coffee on the outdoor patio and crisp morning walks. Azura is worked top down with a center front cable panel and simple stockinette on the rest of the body. Written in 7 sizes. Includes waist and hip shaping for a flattering fit. Cable is charted and written.

Azura is available through Ravelry, WEBS and LoveKnitting!

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!

 

 

Pattern Spotlight: Pima Cowl

I just got the Knit Picks November 2017 catalog in the mail last week and my Pima Cowl is in it!

 

Published early in 2017 in Little Luxuries Collection Pima Cowl combines luxury yarn with simple cables to evoke the living tapestry and beauty of the Sonoran Desert.

 

Named for the Desert People native to the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest, this cowl is inspired by the basket and textile designs they are so well known for.

The Pima Cowl is worked in the round. Garter stitch edging starts and ends the cowl, with a cable panel repeated throughout the body.  Cables are written and charted.

You can purchase the pattern here and the collection here! (Pictures provided by Knit Picks.)