Knitting: September Projects

It was pointed out to me recently that for a knitting designer, I don’t actually talk about knitting all that much on the blog. So I’ve started a project round-up once a month to talk about everything I’ve got on the needles that month. Here is a quick look at what I finished last month and what I’m working on in September.

Finished!

I finished my Jaida! Jaida is a top-down seamless cloak with one big, bold cable down the entire length of the back and textured moss-stitch edging and collar. I started the test knit for it here near the end of August and it is running through October 31st. I knit my sample garment out Valley Yarns Amherst Jungle Green and I love it!! I did work the Amherst at a slightly tighter gauge for this piece than I would have for another project because I really wanted all that lovely, lovely green warm wool for this project and the added warmth of knitting it at a slightly tighter gauge is not at all a bad thing. The gauge range on the Amherst ball band is 16 to 18 sts for 4″ and this pattern is worked and written at the larger end of the gauge range at exactly 18 sts per 4″. (I don’t generally love photos of me. But I do kind of love this one. I love the design. And I love that I’m growing into my natural color. My hair started turning grey at 24 so I dyed it for years and years. Over the last year I decided I’m ready to be done with that for now….except for the weeks where it is purple or blue or bright pink….but that is gone after 40ish washes so I’m not sure it counts.)

I finished the Judy Hat out of Knit Picks Felici Worsted in the colorway Lost Lakes and immediately cast on another one in the colorway Rustic. I was trying to save working on it for the next time we went to a movie. But we don’t go to the theater all that often, so when we rented Infinity War the other night, I decided that was close enough and picked it back up. I really do love self-striping worsted wool!

 

I finished the cabled Alana Stole! The Alana Stole combines a larger main cable panel with complementary smaller edge cables in a large rectangular shawl perfect for layering as the weather starts to turn cooler. The Alana Stole uses the same cables as my Alana Pullover published in Knit Now earlier this year and the pattern will be available this fall. (Side note: The rights to my Alana Pullover have actually reverted back to me and I’ll be releasing it as a self-published design soon too!) I worked my sample in Cascade 220 color 9600 Antiqued Heather and I loved every moment of working on it. The yarn, the wool, the color, the cables, the simple beauty of working back and forth in small bits at a time were all things that I really needed as we worked through the stress of readjusting back to school and activities in August.

 

I finished the October Cowl sample! The October Cowl uses the same simple knits, yarn overs and decreases as my April Cowl written for thicker yarn in a more fitted cowl perfect for the cooler days of fall. This shorter, more fitted cowl was an idea from one of my April Cowl testers. I loved the idea so much that I’ll be releasing the October Cowl (in October) as a BOGO with the April Cowl and making sure the promotion allows past purchasers to take advantage of the promotion and get two cowls for the price of one!

The Shenandoah Cowl test knit is moving along quickly! I finished this solid color sample soon as I work along with the testers. Test knitters are some of the most amazing knitters out there and that is really saying something since I think all knitters are pretty great. I really appreciate all the time and work they put into a project and enjoy getting to know them as we work.

The undisclosed project for Cascade Yarns out of their Pacific Sport in the color Deep Lavender is done and delivered! I think they’ll be releasing it soon. I’ll post about it once it is no longer a secret.

And I think that is it for finished objects.

Still on the Needles

I put my coffee inspired project out of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in the color Pecan away for a bit while I finished other projects. I’m ready to pick it back up and am looking forward to working with it. The color is a beautiful brown that I love best and the yarn very nice to work with.

I’ve made a little progress with my Close To You shawl worked in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Rosehip colorway. It feels hard to make time for this “fun project” that has nothing to do with my knitting designs. But I just need to do it since I love this project and can’t wait to be able to wear it! Hopefully I’ll have more to show you of this next month!

It feels like I have almost nothing on the needles right now. So I’m also busy this month happily tossing the stash and dreaming about designs and releases and yarns for 2019.

Knitting: August Projects

It was pointed out to me recently that for a knitting designer, I don’t actually talk about knitting all that much on the blog. So I’ve started a project round-up once a month to talk about everything I’ve got on the needles that month. Here is a quick look at what I’m working on in August.

I finished my test sample of the sweater made out of Valley Yarns Colrain (50% Merino/50% Tencel) in the Navajo Red color. I love this one and can’t wait to wear it when the weather cools down this fall into winter. After washing and laying flat to dry the drape from this yarn is even lovelier than it was while I was knitting with it. I’m working on final pattern edits now and plan to start a test knit of it in the next week or so.

The gift socks for my mother-in-law out of Knit Picks Felici Sock Yarn in Maple Leaves are finished and gifted. They were much appreciated. But we somehow missed getting a picture of her with the finished socks. So here’s another look at them in progress.

An undisclosed project for Cascade Yarns out of their Pacific Sport in the color Deep Lavender. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the feel of this yarn as I knit. It is so soft it feels like butter to knit. This one is due by September 1st.

A sample cowl worked in a solid color out of Knit Picks Stroll in the color Buckskin from my deep, deep stash. The cowl was designed with gradient yarn kits in mind and already has some lovely samples of finished cowls in both sizes made out of gradient yarns. I’m looking forward to knitting on this one along with my testers as the test knit progresses throughout the month.

And another Judy Hat out of Knit Picks Felici Worsted in the color Lost Lakes. I’m trying to save this project for movie knitting since simple, small projects like hats are perfect for movies. But we don’t make it to all that many movies and I really love self-striping yarn in worsted weight so I may finish the hat before we make it to our next movie. These simple ponytail hats were snatched out of last season’s Christmas basket as fast as I could knit them.

The top down cabled cloak in Valley Yarns Amherst Jungle Green that will be similar in construction to my Brianna Cabled Cloak is getting big. I’m really loving this one and I hope to have it finished and photographed in time to wear to the Renaissance Festival this year! It is a little hard to get scale from this picture – I had to put it on three needles to lay it out flat here where it is draping off both sides of my 4-foot-wide dining room table.

And finally at Knit Night the other day I realized that I almost never knit something that isn’t a pattern of mine. Thinking about it made all my knitting feel a little more like work (but really can you call doing something you love work?) than fun. So I decided to remedy that and cast on a Close To You shawl in another gift yarn from my deep, deep stash just for fun. The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Rosehip colorway. I’v been saving this yarn for years and decided it is finally time to get it on the needles. The reds are just beautiful and I’m really enjoying knitting on this project! I’m also loving my Star Wars themed stitch markers my husband and boys gave me. Win, win and win – gift yarn, gift stitch markers and a lovely pattern.