Pattern Release: Cloudburst Hat & Spectral Lines Shawl

 

Just in time for Knit Fit! this weekend, I have not one but two new patterns to share with y'all. I'm so pleased with both designs, and really excited by the positive response I've already gotten to the photos I've shared on Ravelry and Instagram. I hope you love them!

 

First up is the Cloudburst Hat, a one-skein project using Malabrigo Rios in my absolute favorite of their colorways, the beautiful variegated Arco Iris.

This design was created for the 2016 Northwest LYS Tour as a thank-you pattern for participants, and to extend the love a little longer, I've decided to make this pattern free until January 2nd, 2017!

When I was working on this hat, I really wanted to showcase variegated and speckle-dyed yarns, while still featuring a stitch pattern with a little interest. (Also, as a side note, the ribbed panel on the side is the perfect place for all the cute enamel pins I've been collecting!)

For folks who prefer to work with solid and tonal yarns, they work beautifully in this pattern too. I love knitting hats, and I hope this one is just right for all your holiday and selfish knitting coming up this winter.

You can check out the pattern on Ravelry here

or download your free copy directly here.

Enjoy!

 

Second up is Spectral Lines, a collaboration with local dyer Blissful Knits that we dreamed up while I was down at Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival this last September. She had the most beautiful combination of saturated solid color and speckle-y color-shifting mini skeins, and when she asked if I might have any ideas to feature them along with a single skein of semi-solid gray, I said um yeahhh!

I was a chemistry major for over half of college, and one of the things that I always loved was all the visual ways of analyzing chemicals: burn tests, spectral analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. I always thought there was something exciting about being able to see a chemical express itself right in front of your eyes - even when it was ground into nondescript white powder, or present in such small quantities it was nearly invisible.

And so, color + stripes + nerdiness = Spectral Lines.

This shawl was an absolute joy to design from start to finish. The yarn base is twisty and a little bit bouncy - my favorite! - and every time I would switch to the next color from my little paintbox of mini-skeins, my heart would go all a-flutter with happiness.

Already, my test knitters have played with color in gorgeous ways, some substituting all solids and others adding in extra colors in the big stripes. It's been so fun to see what folks dream up, and I'm already scheming my next version!

It's available for download for $6.00, or you can check out the details on Ravelry on the Spectral Lines pattern page.

As a note, Blissful Knits will also be at Knit Fit! this weekend, so local folks, if you can't wait to get your hands on some of her yarn, this is the perfect opportunity!

Okie dokie, friends, that's it! Thanks for reading, and hope you have a good weekend.

<3
Cory

FO: Uncommon Vasa

   

This past June, while on working holiday with Mr Blake, I took a stroll down Camden Passage to visit the famous Loop London. He was in company meetings all day, so after sleeping off my jetlag and devouring a ham croissant in the lobby of the hotel, I set off on the train to check out the sights. It had rained the day before on my visit to the V&A, but the sky hadn't been too threatening that morning, so I skipped the umbrella and went on my merry way to Islington.

Loop, as promised, was like a fairy cottage stuffed with wool. I spent over an hour there, growing a little collection of yarn that I carried around like a puppy in my arms. (Gift yarn for friends! Gift yarn for me! When in London, amirite?!) Then, as I poked around in the laceweight section downstairs, an afternoon rainstorm rolled in, and I had to stay a little longer than I had planned. So I stood there with an armload of yarn as the rain tapped its knuckles across the glass, and I breathed in the smell of wool and wet cobblestone from the open door and thought: this must be what heaven feels like.

When the rain finally let up, I left, carrying two precious skeins of Viola Merino Fingering in Speckled Mist (a special colorway just for Loop's 10th anniversary) and a skein of The Uncommon Thread Tough Sock, all part of the devious plan that was a-brewin' in my noggin:

My friend Sara and I had been kicking around the idea of a little seasonal sweater knitalong, as a way to keep accountable on our sweater knitting and have some fun along the way. Vasa was our first pattern choice: a drapey, universally flattering top, designed by Dianna Walla, a talented designer and delightful human to boot.

The only problem with the whole thing was my lack of suitable yarn, which is hilarious considering how much yarn I actually own. (Hint: it's a lot.) But then, with a well-timed trip to Loop, and the exciting possibilities of knitting with gorgeous UK (and hard-to-find Canadian) yarns, my problem was solved!

A month or so later, I cast on, and it became my at-home movie knitting until recently, when I finally bound off and blocked the darn thing.

Did I make it in time for the season, friends? I did not. Did I end up with a beautiful and wearable garment that will always remind me of walking around London on a rainy afternoon? Yes indeed.

     

Good enough for me.

All the details, including my modifications, are on Ravelry here.

Happy Wednesday, friends.

<3

Cory

 

Nusalong: Home Stretch!

  

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Mer-maid Nu-sa!

(As you can see, I have fallen for the silly pineapple trend as well as the neon colors trend. Why not whack 'em together into one?)

I'm on the home stretch of my Nusalong project, which is to say that I am about to work the turning round. That's really far, right? It's not bad policy to be super late on your own KAL, right? (Sure, self, suuuuuure!)

But really. I am totally planning to bang out the last stripey section in time for the finishing deadline, which is this Friday, May 6th, at 11:59 pm! All you have to have done by the date is the knitting - sewing and blocking can happen in the week after.

And once you're all finished and ready to share photos, we're going to have some cool prizes from me and Three Fates Yarns - all you have to do is post a photo of your FO in the Ravelry FO thread, with your favorite combination of Three Fates aquae fingering colorways, and you'll be entered to win! (FYI, this thread is new and different than the original Nusalong thread.)

The deadline for posting in the thread is Friday, May 13th, at 11:59 pm.

What if you didn't quite finish? That's okay! Post your WIP in the same thread, and you'll be entered to win other cool prizes. More details to come!

Happy Wednesday, friends, and hope your Nusas are Nusaing right along!
<3
Cory

FO: Suki

  

Are you sick of seeing finished things yet? Wheeee I hope not!

Suki is another striped shawl that I started (and finished) a while back, but it took a while to block and photograph. The mink yarn created an incredibly light, soft fabric that almost feels too luxurious for everyday wear. The pattern had been in my queue for a long time, and it ended up being super fun and quick to knit.

I had a hard time coming up with how to style it - all of the outfits with mid-century vintage dresses that I tried ended up sort of flat and dull. Then I grabbed this strappy silk printed dress on a whim, and surprisingly, it worked! I love the juxtaposition of such a classic color with a fun, modern print. The dress does have a bit of a '70s vibe to it because of the blouson effect, the deep neckline, and long, figure-skimming silhouette - not too much of a surprise, though, since a) I've been jamming on the '70s for the last year or so, and b) mixing genres is fun!

The dress is destined to be garment duplicated, and the shawl has been keeping my neck warm in the wildly variable early spring we've been having in Seattle.

Details on Ravelry here.

FO: Fireweed

  

A while back, the wonderful Kate & Rachel of Spincycle Yarns provided me with yarn support for an asymmetrical shawlette design - and it's been burning a hole in my design brain ever since. I'm always so inspired by the long, subtle color shifts of Dyed in the Wool, and I wanted to play with two contrasting colors with a delicate stripe detail and simple lace border.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the way this piece turned out - the asymmetrical detail makes it a bit unusual, and the interplay of color is organic and striking. (Kate, Rachel, and my friend Sooz all weighed in on my color choice, and I think they picked a winner!) I have found that the petite size and shape make it a good candidate for a shawl pin to keep things secure, but don't be fooled by its size - this little devil kept my neck nice and toasty while I set up the Fiber Gallery booth at Madrona Fiber Arts this week.

Side note: I'm working at the shop instead of the booth this year, but I will be at Madrona as my Muggle self on Saturday - please feel free to say hi!

Back to the shawl - Fireweed is in the pattern development stages, and will be on its way to testers soon.

More details on Ravelry here.