Verdigris Knits

Game Day Knits - Sneak Peak 2

2012-04-25T07:58:00.000-04:00

Next two samples for the book - quick and easy!

Cowl

Fingerless Mitts

A couple of hats on the needles now. And please - if you have an idea of an item to include in the book, please let me know. Looking for the ideal accessories to show your team spirit.

Game Day Knits - Sneak Peak 1

2012-04-12T16:23:00.000-04:00

Was never that great at keeping secrets, so I have decided to post sneak peak photos of the projects that will be included in the book I am working on - the tentative title is Game Day Knits. My plan is to give birth to this baby by August of this year so it is available for the new school year and football season here in the states. The current plan is to include 20 patterns. By posting about the book regularly, I'm hoping to keep myself on that schedule - it's a bit aggressive, but nothing like a deadline to provide motivation.

Here are the first two designs:

Game Day Backpack - worked up in my beloved maize and blue

The backpack is a great size and a really fast easy knit - thinking about including some extra charts for the body to give knitters some options. And the Brown Sheep Nature Spun felts like a dream.

Stripe It Rich Scarf - a quick slip stitch pattern with built in i-cord edging.

The scarf is a easy to memorize slip stitch pattern that creates textured vertical stripes on one side and horizontal stripes in the shape of little round cables on the other side - a really cool effect. A built in I-cord edging creates a professional finish but is so easy to work. Fans of Minnesota, or USC should appreciate this version, but it will work up well in any color combination.

The patterns planned for the book are mostly accessories, and maybe a children's garment or two. If you have an idea for an accessory to include don't hesitate to let me know. Same thing with color combinations - I will happily include requested combinations.

Getting ready to play - book style

2012-03-30T11:21:00.001-04:00

My In-laws use this expression "getting ready to play" to describe how their grandchildren approach their activities. Most of the time is spent planning and gathering the materials needed, and by the time they have everything ready, they have lost interest in the actual thing they were going to do in the first place.

I often experience the same thing in knitting design. I love the idea and planning stage most of all. Sketching (too be more accurate: putting lines and words in my notebook), picking yarns and colors, swatching, and developing spreadsheets for sizing, yarn amounts, etc provide hours of entertainment. By the end of this stage, the item is already designed and knit up - in my head - and I'm itching to move onto another idea.

But alas, there is no getting around the production phase - picking up the needles, casting on, and working up the test samples. And honestly, I really enjoy this stage too, it's just that sometimes it takes longer than I would like for it too.

So I'm at that stage with a book concept I've been working on for over a year. The idea grew out of the Super Scarves effort - engaging our community to hand make over 8,000 blue and white scarves for the volunteers who worked Super Bowl 46 here in Indianapolis this past February. While teaching hundreds the basics of knitting, I was struck by the lack of pattern collections for two colors, ala team colors, that were within the skill sets of most average knitters and yet still sophisticated. In other words, not just a color blocked garter stitch scarf. I came up with a few designs (see complimentary designs on the right side of the blog) but wanted to branch out into other accessories besides scarfs.

Couple that with the problem that arises with trademarked and licensed team logos. No longer can one publish a pattern incorporating Michigan's Block M, for example, as that would require special licensing from the University and NCAA. I've explored that, and while not impossible to obtain, is definitely out of my reach if I wanted to secure licenses for numerous teams. As much as I love Michigan, I realize that a book centered around Maize and Blue designs would have a limited market - and might just be enough to stop a Buckeye from ever working one of my designs again.

So the book will contain a collection of accessory patterns specifically designed to use two or three team colors. My planed launch date is August 2012 - so I better get moving on the production phase. I'll be blogging more about the process. For now, I've received my first installment of the yarn - I've selected Brown Sheep Company's Nature Spun in worsted weight. This yarn is a great work horse yarn, available in the necessary colors, and produced right here in the Midwest. More sneak peaks of the designs to come.

Spring - Time To Get Outside

2012-03-22T07:48:00.002-04:00

Like much of the US, spring has arrived into the midwest disquised as summer. Here in Indy, we've had high temperatures in the 80s for almost a week now. The flowering trees and spring bulbs have erupted into bloom. Birds are delirious and the air smells divine.

What better time than to try out a new camera. I've known for a while that I needed to upgrade my photographs. After a fair amount of research, and finding a great deal at Costco, we opted for a Nikon D5100 with a couple of different lenses. I'm on quite the learning curve, but very happy with performance so far.

As far as knitting, I've been working on design submittals for next winters publications. It's surreal to be working on winter designs when the weather is this beautiful, but that's how this business works. And here's a sneak peak of the next brioche/mosaic cowl design - I think I'm going to call this one Archetype.

Refining the Cause and Effect Scarf

2012-03-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

Indulged in a little big ten basketball tournament knitting action last night and this Cause and Effect scarf (see this post and the complimentary pattern section over on the right side of the blog) was started and finished in one night in front of the TV - I told you it was a quick knit. I decided to try a modification to refine the look of the scarf, tapered ends:

This version is worked up in Noro Silk Garden. This fantastic yarn is a blend of silk, mohair, and lamb's wool with the most beautiful long runs of color blends. I love this yarn in this pattern, and the colors are devine. The silk gives this scarf some lovely body. This version is made using only one skein - the blocked dimensions are about 4" wide and 48" long.

It may be best to be comfortable with the stitch pattern as written in the Cause and Effect pattern, before trying this modification. At least work a swatch if you haven't already started a project.

I use a knit front and back (kfb) to make the increases. Decreases are made by knit 2 together (k2tog). See the pattern for other abbreviations. Note these instructions have not be test knit by anyone other than me, and have not been tech edited yet. Don't hesitate to let me know if you find a problem or have a question.

To taper the ends of the Cause and Effect Scarf:

Cast on 3 stitches (these will be the center sts of the scarf).
row 1 - k1, yfsl1yo, k1
row 2 - kfb, yfsl1+yo, kfb (5 sts)
row 3 - p1, k1, yfsl1++yo, k1, p1
row 4 - kfb, k1, p1, sl1+++yof, p1, k1, kfb (7 sts)
row 5 - p2, k1, yfsl1++++yo, k1, p2
row 6 - kfb, k2, p1, brp+++++1, p1, k2, kfb (9 sts)
row 7 - p1, sl1yof, p1, k3, p1, sl1yof, p1
row 8 - kfb, yfsl1+yo, k1, p3, k1, yfsl1+yo, kfb (11 sts)
row 9 - p1, sl1++yof, p1, k3, p1, sl1++yof, p1
row 10 - kfb, sl1+++yof, k1, p3, k1, sl1+++yof, k1 (13 sts)
row 11 - p1, sl1++++yof, p1, k3, p1, sl1++++yof, p1
row 12 - kfb, brk+++++1, k1, p3, k1, brk+++++1, k1

Continue working rows 1-12 of pattern stitch (see pattern). When scarf is about 2" (5cm) short of the desired length and having just worked row 6 of the pattern stitch, begin tapering the ends by k2tog each end of every odd numbered row while continuing in pattern until 3 stitches remain. Work the last brp+++++1 row and then knit one more row. Cut yarn and thread tail through remaining 3 live stitches, pull tight and secure by weaving in the tail.

I really think this gives a refined look to the scarf. If you give it a try, be sure to let me know how it works out.

New Complimentary Pattern - Limited Time Only

2012-03-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

Just released a new complimentary cowl or scarf pattern Esprit de Corps- perfect for working up in team colors to show your team spirit! It's a quick project too in bulky or super bulky yarns.

The stitch pattern is a variation of stockinette brioche stitch - I call it double stockinette brioche, and there is a video showing how it's done on the brioche tutorials page.

This stitch is great for these cowls because the resulting striped fabric is textured, reversible and flat - that's right, it looks like stockinette stitch on one side, but it stays flat. How cool is that.

This pattern is available for free here - but only during the March Madness KAL over on the Verdigris Knits Group Forum on Ravelry - so grab the pattenr while you can, and whip up one or two to show your Team Spirit.

March Madness Knit A Long (KAL) - check out the prizes

2012-03-02T13:16:00.001-05:00

Here in Indiana, March means lots of basketball. Whether it be high school or college, it’s tournament time, and that means lots of knitting time. And if you aren’t a basketball fan, maybe its a good time to finish up some WIPs or just celebrate the changing seasons through knitting. So I’m launching my first Knit A Long (KAL) - with prizes!

Just pick any Verdigris Knits design and post a pic of the finished object in your projects on Ravelry before April 3, 2012. You can work the pattern as written, mix and match pieces, or just use a part as inspiration.

Please spread the word. There are some great prizes, including 3 skeins (1200 m total) of some heavenly Fyberspates 100% lace weight yarn in colorway Leprechaun.

This yarn is so beautiful I just like to hang it around the house like jewelry for the doors!

The colorway is especially appropriate for March, no?

Other prizes include:

A new copy of the book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi by Anna Hrachovec - some of the cutest little projects eva (and I ordered 2 copies by mistake)

A copy of my soon to be released e-book - Magic Cowls and scarfs.

A bag of soap nuts (all natural laundry detergent that is great for felting too)

And I'll throw in some of my other patterns if we get more than 25 participants.

Here's how to play along:

Any Verdigris Knits Design is eligible, even the complimentary ones. Projects need to be finished by April 3, 2012. One chance per project. WIPs already in progress are eligible.

To be sure to have your project counted, post your project on your Ravelry notebook and link it to the appropriate Verdigris Knits Designs Pattern. Tag your project marchmadnessKAL.

Of course, please consider joining in the discussion in the Verdigris Knits Group KAL thread and post photos there as well, that’s fun for all.

Update - Cause and Effect Scarf

2012-02-28T13:39:00.001-05:00

Curses - despite test knititng and tech editing, a mistake slipped through the original version of the Cause and Effect Scarf.

Row 6 should be:

Row 6: sl1 wyif, [brp+++++1, p1, k3, p1] x2, brp+++++1, p1.

A corrected version (rev date 2/28/2012) has been posted.

Cause and Effect - a New Reversible Complimentary Scarf Pattern

2012-02-26T16:50:00.002-05:00

I love perusing the pattern and technical help forums over on the main boards on Ravelry. My favorite posts are the ones that start "can anyone identify this stitch?" There is usually a photo of some amazing finished object with a great, textured stitch pattern. And 9 times out of 10, I swear the stitch is some form of brioche stitch. I think I figured out that this is because most knitting machines do variations of brioche stitches very easily.

So this week, I clicked on one of those threads, and low and behold the stitch pattern was a variation on a 6-row cascade stitch - much like the Lake Effect Scarf (see complimentary patterns to the right). So I pointed the original poster to the pattern and didn't think much about it. But the posted came back with some questions, pointing out that Lake Effect was garter based and this pattern was stockinette based. So I took another look, and found out there was a lot more to this little stitch pattern. I grabbed some needles and after a few rows, I was jumping up and down after the results (both dog and husband no longer react to these outbursts).

Cause and Effect scarf pattern - side 2

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern:

This photo does not do this piece justice. Here are some of the great features of this pattern:

The pattern is reversible - why? because the underlying structure is 3x3 ribbing.

The cascade "medallions" are staggered, which creates a great texture and creates a self made picot-like edges along the sides.

No gauge is required - just work with needles that are at least 2 sizes larger than you would normally use.

Here I used US size 13 (9.0mm) needles with a bulky/worsted lace yarn (thick and thin) Berroco Memoirs (now discontinued).

Cause and Effect Scarf pattern - side 1

The pattern for this scarf is called Cause and Effect, and can be found over on the right side of the blog in the Complimentary patterns section.

I hope you try this - I'm happy to answer any questions.

Please join the Verdigris Knits group over in Ravelry. Its a great place for discussion on these patterns, make suggestions, ask questions, find out about future designs and plans, or just chat. I'm running a March Madness KAL with some great prizes.

Hope to see you there.

UPDATE - this post has information on a modificaction to this scarf pattern to taper the ends.

On Valentines - A Marriage of Brioche and Mosaics

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

My latest design, Topograph, combines two techniques that I have really come to love - brioche and mosaics.

Just take a gander through my designs and you'll see a overwhelming bias towards these types of patterns.

This cowl design started out as a typical mosaic pattern, but I had been working on a lot of brioche projects, so when slipping stitches, instead of keeping the working yarn stranded across the back, I did the yarn forward, slip1, yarn over motion common in brioche knit rows. Didn't even realize it til I got to the next round. I just kept at it and on the next round, I slipped the original stitch, the previous yarn over, and made a new yarn over. On the next round, I barked together the slipped stitch and the two yarn overs - and realized that just about any mosaic pattern could be worked this way!

This technique has lots of advantages over regular mosaics:

the resulting fabric looks like stockinette on one side, but does not roll - it stays flat!
what would typically be the right side in a regular mosaic pattern has a bit of a skew to it that creates really interesting diagonal dimensions - the plain knit stitches are narrower than the brioche type stitches - this leads to some very interesting visual effects for various patterns
it's reversible - the reverse side is as interesting as the typical right side. The brioche stitches form diamonds. The photos don't do this side justice.

Like regular mosaics, you only have to work with one color at a time. And because the cowl is worked in the round, no purling!
I hope you give this technique a try - the pattern is available for $3

Or you can favorite or add it to your queue or wish list over here on ravelry.

Hearts A Bustin for Valentine's Day

2012-02-09T07:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I knit with a great group of women once a month. They like learning new stitches, so last month we worked on a fairly straight forward brioche stitch found in Barbara G Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns - Fluffy Brioche. I picked it mainly because of the name, but also because it's only worked over 2 rows in one color. Before long the group was churning out swatches of Fluffy Brioche. The stitch has a great texture, and quite a bit of horizontal stretch. Fun sure, but the question around the table was "what's it good for?"

Well, hats for one thing. I worked up this hat in 2 colors of a super bulky yarn (Sensation's Sumptuous), modifying the original Fluffy Brioche to be worked in 2 colors and in the round. The result of working the red as the Main Color was surprising - little puffy hearts spiraling around the hat. I've posted a complimentary pattern for this hat over on the right hand side of the blog - Hearts A Bustin Hat.

It is a quick knit in super bulky and would work really well in Malabrigo Rasta. You only need about 40-45 yds of each color. I made 2 hats out of 2, 86-yd skeins (red and cream). The hat has just enough slouch to be comfy but not too heavy. Sized to fit 20-22" heads. But it's an easy pattern to change sizes, just cast on more or less stitches in multiples of 4.

I hope you give this hat a try - it's a quick knit and makes for a fun hat. If you make it up, please post photos on Ravelry. Can't wait to see how it works up in other colors.

Incidentally, Nancy Marchant has designed a very cute top using a derivation of this stitch pattern zomertijd. In her version, she uses 2 differnt needle sizes to create even more texture.

Having a Super Day

2012-02-05T07:36:00.000-05:00

Today is the day! Today, Super Bowl XLVI will be played here in Indianapolis, capping off a 10-day celebration that has highlighted all the great things about our city.

No doubt if you watch the game, or follow any of the news stories about the event, you'll see that one of the hits of the event is the Super Scarf. A call was sent out 2 years ago that 8,000 hand crafted scarves would be needed to outfit the volunteers of this event. As of last count, 13,000 had been turned in.

I've had a blast walking around town looking at all the different scarves - so many wonderful designs. This gallery features some of my complimentary patterns, created specifically for the Super Scarves effort. These patterns are available on the right hand side of the blog. Enjoy the game and come see us in Indy if you have the chance (great yarn stores and another "little" sporting event known as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in May).

Knitting For Royalty - The Butler Way

2012-02-04T14:54:00.001-05:00

So, the other Sarah Burton got to design a few dresses and such for the Duchess of Cambridge last year (just google if you are among the 1% that didn't watch the wedding last April). As the Creative Director over at Alexander McQueen, that SB is just a tad more well known. Again, just google and you'll see the fist 1,049,253 links point to her instead of anything related to Verdigris Knits.

But this week, this SB got to knit for one of the most famous mascots in America - Butler Blue II - the mascot for the Butler Bulldogs. Here is Blue II rocking his 2012 Super Scarf. He's been quite in demand for appearances this week in the Super Bowl Village. And he is one deserving volunteer - he has been a tireless volunteer not only for Butler, but for the entire city of Indianapolis, spreading joy and spirit to all of us.

Photo curtesy of Kimberly Harms

Here's the scarf. Knit in the round in stockinette with short row shaping around the neck to help the fit. Stranded bones and paw prints on one end with a bit of fringe. The other end is a self formed loop with the patch sewn on the top.

Inadvertent Designing - Thankful in Malabrigo

2012-01-23T13:37:00.001-05:00

I'm working up another Thankful sweater in some divine Malabrigo Chunky in colorway Stone Blue. This yarn is so lovely to work with, and I love the slight tonal variations. I ended up having to move down to a US 10, (6.5mm) needle to get the right stockinette gauge.

I and just finishing up the Right Sleeve/Top piece and couldn't help but notice that the little bit of border pattern added to the back neck piece is pulling in just a bit. I was at first a little horrified by this, and was on the verge of ripping it out when I decided to go look at the original piece for the design. Low and behold, the border had pulled in a bit on that sweater as well. Looking further, I decided that this "feature" was not a mistake that needed to be fixed, but in fact, an inadvertent design enhancement. The little bit of shortness in the neck border creates a little bit of give in the back of the sweater. This is in fact way this sweater fits as well as it does around your neck and shoulders. Ha, I love it when a plan comes together - cough, cough....

This sweater is working up so quickly, I should have it done by the end of the week in time to wear it at the Fans of Mass Avenue Knits gathering this weekend.

Lake Effect Augmented - Adding Beads

2012-01-18T18:19:00.001-05:00

I have a love-hate relationship with beads when it comes to my knitting. I love the look of beaded knits, but the idea of stranding all those beads on the yarn first, and then dealing with all those beads as the project is worked, just puts my teeth on edge. Especially when working with a lace weight mohair blend. And the whole bead placement issue always leads to some less than desirable results in my swatches.

But there is one way of inserting beads that doesn't make me want to pull my hair out. And the bead placement is predictable and stable (no beads working their way to the back of the piece). You'll need a very small crochet hook (size 12/1.0mm or size 10/1.3mm) and beads with a hole large enough for the hook to slip through. These small hooks are readily available at most big box craft stores or one line. Size 6 or 8 beads usually work for this technique. Don't try with 11s.

The technique is really easy, and just takes a little patience. I wouldn't use this technique if I was inserting a great deal of beads, but if you are just going to use the beads as an occasional accent - this is the technique to use.

Here's how it goes:

Knit up to the stitch where the bead will be placed (pb - "place bead" is often used to indicate this location).

Slip a bead onto the neck of the crochet hook.

Hook the next stitch and pull the stitch off the needle.

Slip the bead off the hook and down onto the neck of the stitch.

Place the stitch back on the left needle (assuming standard left to right knitting) and work the stitch as directed by pattern.

That's it.

For Lake Effect, I placed the beads on Row 1, on the slipped stitches. I found it easier to place the bead, put the stitch back on the left needle, then do the slip, yarn over, yarn over maneuver. You may be able to place the bead and then slip the stitch onto the right needle, thus eliminating a step.

Here's a short video to demonstrate the technique.

So go ahead, glam up your knits with a few well placed beads.

Braided Rein Mittens - Ready for Primetime

2012-01-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

Finally - that's all I can say - the pattern for these mittens has finally been published.

I created this design way back in September of 2010 as a part of the Project Yarnway design challenge over on Ravelry. I made the original pair using worsted weight Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I wore them all last winter and loved them. I made a second pair under contract for another Raveler using the same yarn. But after a season of wearing the mittens, I decided that they might fit a little bit better with more negative ease. The problem with trying to make the design smaller is that the number of stitches in the pattern doesn't really lend itself to modification. I swatched with less stitches and the cable motif just didn't have the right look. If the pattern itself couldn't be altered, then my only option was to go with a different gauge. I needed more stitches per inch.

I swatched with Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, a dk weight yarn, went down a needle size and came up with a mitten with a finished size of 7" around the palm. But due to the stretch inherent in Brioche stitch, these mittens easily stretch to fit my 8" hand. The negative ease makes for a great fitting mitten that hugs my hand.

A second benefit of Brioche stitch in a mitten is that the fabric is essentially a double layer, with lots of space to trap air and create warmth. These babies are warm.

If you'd like to make these mittens, you'll need 1 skein each (1 oz/50 g) DK weight yarn in 2 contrasting colors – Yarns tested include Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist, Berroco Ultra Light, and Knit Picks Capra. Minimum of 110 yds/100.5 m yardage required in each color. Yarns with greater than 50% cotton, bamboo, or silk are not recommended.

A down loadable electronic version of the pattern is available here for $4.00 buy now. You can pay with pay pal or a credit card. A link is also available in the Verdigris Knits Designs page above.

This written pattern uses Brioche terms and abbreviations as established by Nancy Marchant in her excellent book Knitting Brioche (North Light Books, 2009) and at her website www.thebriochestitch.com).

I've been thinking of creating a group over on Ravelry to try some knit-alongs with some of these patterns. Let me know if you would be interested in that.

2011 - Slipping away

2011-12-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

One this last day of 2011, I thought I'd address a question that has come up frequently with many of my patterns involving slip stitches - which way to slip, knit wise or purl wise? And there have even been a few, what do you mean "slip the stitch"?

My first mosaic project

The first time I tackled a pattern that incorporated slip stitches I felt like I was breaking some kind of rule - what do you mean slip the stitch? How can I not work the next stitch? Won't the whole piece just fall apart???   A deep set feeling of angst set in. And then I just succumbed to the directions and moved that stitch from the left needle to the right without working it - holy cow - nothing happened. I kept on with the pattern and realized that I could actually break some rules and the results would be wonderful and surprising stitch patterns. Holy cow, indeed.

Sometime later I started to become aware of how I was slipping the stitches. I'm certain at first I always slipped knit wise. This was the slip direction that I used in the left leaning decrease, slip, slip, knit (SSK) so I think I just didn't even reason out that the stitches could also be slipped purl wise. At some point, I must have read something in Barbara G Walkers stitch treasuries that introduced the concept of slipping purl wise to avoid twisting the stitch - and then I had another Ah Ha moment.   I discovered the concept of stitch mount.

If you look closely at a row of stitches on a left needle, you will see that the yarn sits over the top of the needle at an angle, not directly perpendicular to the needle. One leg is closer to the tip of the needle than the other. If the front leg, the leg closest to you, is closer to the tip of the left needle, then this stitch is mounted in the traditional western stitch orientation. To keep a stitch in this same orientation while slipping it, it must be slipped purl wise. Or to state it another way, insert the right needle tip into the front leg of the next stitch as if you were going to purl it, but instead of wrapping the yarn, just move the stitch to the right needle with out working it.

I've seen some rules bandied about explaining when to slip knit wise or purl wise.  The most common one is to slip the stitch knit wise if it is going to be worked again on the same row (as in a decrease like the ssk) and to slip purl wise if the stitch is not going to be worked again until the next row. I think there are probably a few exceptions to this rule. And rules can sometimes keep you from discovery. So the next time you encounter a slip stitch where the designer doesn't specify how to slip that stitch - just give it a try either way, and decide for yourself which you prefer.

Happy New Year - may 2012 bring you many knitting adventures.

New Brioche Videos

2011-12-20T17:12:00.002-05:00

Just uploaded a couple of new videos to the Brioche Tutorials Page (see page links near the top of the blog just under the title banner).

Both videos are meant to help with the end of round transition when knitting brioche in the round. I know from comments here and on Ravelry, that this point creates some angst among knitters. One reason is that on one of the rounds, you must end a row with a slip1 yarn over combination. The next round is started with a slip 1 yarn over combo which seems like a very dysfunctional thing to do when knitting. But it does work out.

One video shows how to manage this transition when knitting with 2-colors and the other shows how to do it when using only one color. I find the single color brioche rib in the round to be a bit more confusing than the 2-color, but that could just be me.

Happy to edit these if they aren't clear. Also, if you have suggestions for more videos, I'd love to hear them.

Happy knitting

Lake Effect Lace Scarf Pattern Ready for Download

2011-12-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

The Lake Effect Scarf worked up beautifully in Rowan Kidsilk Haze. One 25 gram skein produced a 54" (137cm) long scarf that is about 4.5" (11cm) wide. I did not block this scarf as I really loved the gently ruffled edges that resulted from the stitch pattern. But I think you could carefully block and still keep the edge effect.

This is a super easy technique - even if the directions read a bit wonky (cause it's brioche after all). But seriously, once you get the technique of creating the wraps down, it is a very straightforward stitch pattern. See the video of the cascade stitch if you need a visual. In the Lake Effect stitch pattern, the "cascades" line up over each other; in the cascade stitch pattern the "cascades" are staggered, and occur over 4 rows instead of 6.

I'm anxious to try this in other yarns as well.

You'll find the link to the pattern over on the right hand side of the blog - under the Complimentary Pattern heading.

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email.

Update - this post shows how to add beads to this design.

Lake Effect

2011-12-11T07:36:00.001-05:00

I spent last week working in Ohio, and three of those days in Columbus. You might think that would tough sledding for a Michigan Wolverine, but really, I love Ohio - the State. Beautiful, pastoral, rolling scenes, and if you are in the northeast corner, east of Cleveland, in the winter - snow.

While on this trip, I was working on another Brioche Nine Patch Blanket as a Christmas gift, and wondered how the cascade stitch would change if I stacked up the "cascades" instead of staggering them. I swatched up with a couple of different versions of the number of "yarn over" rows and came up with following arrangement that I like - of course, you could vary not only the number of rows, but also the number of plain stitches between the "cascades".

Here's the pattern worked up in a couple of different kinds of yarns.

If you have a skein of lace weight, you could work up a lovey scarf in no time - it's a quick knit once you get the hang of slipping the stitch combined with making a yarn over (a common brioche movement). Take a look at the "cascade stitch" video if you need a refresher.

I'll post the pattern later this week.

Day 28: NaBloPoMo - NoMo

2011-11-28T21:51:00.001-05:00

Today is the last of the NaBloPoMo posts. Thanks for indulging me for the last 28 days.

What I’ve learned:

Daily posting is a larger commitment than I anticipated and requires much more planning than I thought.

I don’t have enough content to blog every day in a meaningful (read interesting) manner.

That being said, having a committed frequency is a good thing – maybe a post a week is a better frequency to stay in contact and still provide value.

Look for a post once a week at least through January 2012. We’ll see how that works. And I’m going to shoot for a complimentary video or pattern at least once a month.

As promised, I am working on the pattern for the Thankful sweater. It's going to take me a few more days to get everything graded, drafted, tech edited, and tested a bit more.

Swatching for Oxford Gables

2011-11-26T20:20:00.001-05:00

Playing around with a new design. Just the beginnings of an idea, but here is the first swatch. Two strands (one sky blue and one mocha brown) of a kid mohair and silk lace blend held together. Played around with bead placement. We will see. This is going to be a very soft, snuggly garment that will need to be worn with a bit of negative ease, I'm thinking. Fun little stitch pattern.

Hail to the Victors

2011-11-26T20:02:00.001-05:00

As a tribute to Michigan's victory over Ohio State - today's post will feature my Michigan fan gallery of knits.

Thankfully Finished

2011-11-25T17:40:00.001-05:00

It's done - and I am very happy with both the fit and the style. I love the way the neck line fits, and sleeves and shoulders sit very comfortably - staying on my shoulders instead of riding to the back as so many of these shrug type sweaters do on me.

The back has a nice drape creating a slightly rounded lower edge and the illusion of waist shaping, even though the knitting is just a straight piece.

I did run out of yarn while seaming the body to the top/sleeve piece. I just subbed in some brown super wash that I had on hand, so the yarn type would be the same. You can't see it from the right side. So I know I'll need to adjust the yarn amounts in the pattern - this was too close for comfort.

I would love to see this knit up in a variegated yarn, maybe a noro type.

Pattern drafting is well underway.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T20:41:00.001-05:00

I'm happy I don't have to cook tomorrow. Just knit and maybe eat some leftovers. OK, not maybe, definitely.

And, I'm thankful that there are only 5 more days left in NaBloPoMo.