Holla Knits Blog Tour & Rolling Thunder Giveaway

It's my favorite time of year. It's fall and, more importantly, it's time for the newest edition of Holla Knits!

I've been a subscriber to Holla Knits since the beginning, so I couldn't be more proud to have my first pattern design, Rolling Thunder, featured in Fall/Winter 2013.

 This southwestern-inspired yolk sweater is the perfect fall knit. It looks great on it's own or even layered over a button down, it's flattering with enough details to make it fun to knit. The stranded colorwork on the shoulders flies by - you can't wait to see the details come together! I can't wait to see the color choices people make when it they cast on.

I used Knit Picks Brava Sport in Sienna and Seashell for my original sample. I like the softness of Knit Pick's acrylic and loved the color options that line offers. The second sample features the absolutely stunning yarn of masi|knits. Their Nantucket colorways highlighted just how versatile this design can be - you can really make it your own!

Sample in Knit Picks Brava Sport

Sample in masi|knits Nantucket colorways

What colors would you use? Leave your answer in the comments for your chance to win a free copy of Rolling Thunder. A winner will be chosen next week.

Be sure to check out the rest of the collection here and follow along with the whole Holla Knits Blog Tour:

Sept 17: The Sweatshop of Love
Sept 18: The Knitting Vortex
Sept 19: Unplanned Peacock
Sept 20: Knit York City

Sept 23: masi|knits
Sept 24: Wooly Wonka Fibers
Sept 25: Moi!
Sept 26: Dyeing to Knit with Yarn Love
Sept 27: Dirty Water Dyeworks

Oct 1: Rohn Strong Designs
Oct 2: Knits in Class
Oct 4: Cosmos and Cashmere

Rolling Thunder is Here!

I've had a big summer. I've been crafting, beaching, traveling, celebrating and generally enjoying life. I've also had the opportunity to publish my very first knitting pattern in one of my favorite knitting publications. Featured in Holla Knits Fall/ Winter 2013, I'm pleased to present the Rolling Thunder sweater!

There will be no discussion or acknowledgement about my skills as a model, but I'm so proud of how this sweater turned out! It's a basic yolk sweater with some fun techniques thrown in for good measure. The shoulder details are actually stranded. The yolk is worked in with a wrap & turn at the shoulder so you're knitting on the Right Side and purling on the Wrong Side. The bottom detail is embroidered and is a great way to break up all that stockinette knitting for the body. I like to jump around to different details when I knit - keeps things interesting!

The sample I'm sportin' was made in Knit Picks Brava Sport, which is 100% acrylic. Some people find acrylic irritating, but Brava is super soft and feels great against the skin. Now that fall is in the air, you better believe I'm wearing this sample all around town. 

You can purchase the pattern here for $6.00. It's a bargain and will pay off the first time someone stops you and asks "where'd you get that sweater?"

Color Wonder

I'm feeling lazy today, but I need to share my latest project. It's making me so happy because it involves color - something that the Chicagoland area has been lacking lately. Blues Brothers? More like Grey Brothers, amiright?!

My life, all day every day

So, the pattern I'm working on is called Chevron Stripe Infinity Scarf by Jill Zielinski. Allyson of Sweatshop of Love and Holla Knits was making one at Knit Night in February and it looked *so* fun. Once again, I swiped her awesome taste in patterns and decided to make one for myself.

I always struggle when it comes to putting colors together. It's just not a talent I have. Luckily, Pinterest exists and I don't have to look far for help in that department. My friend Lily directed me to Design Seeds and my work was done. I liked the color combo from this image in particular:

I would never have thought to put these together and I think this would work well with my dark green coat. Done and done. Knit Picks Palette is great for this project and comes in all known colors ever. The FedEx guy dropped these on my stoop on Friday:

A tower of yarn. Welcome to my dreams

And getting started has been a breeze.

Just trust me, this is going to be great. Even if it isn't - I'm loving the process. And that's what it's all about, right?

Invested

I'm trying to get my financial house in order this year. I'm going to try to live thrifty, bring my lunch more and (gasp!) get serious about my savings. As part of this resolution, I'm trying to use yarn I already own. I have more than I realized, and it really should be put to good use.

A few months ago, I won a yarn give-away hosted by Holla Knits. I won two skeins of Dirty Water DyeWorks Edna in Celery - a beautiful wool-silk blend of yarn in a lovely green color. I was trying to figure out how best to use it, and since I got it from Holla Knits, it only made sense to use a Holla Knits pattern!

It was time to cast on Put a Belt On It

 

I had a small skein of KnitPicks Swish Sport in Cobblestone Heather. I think it makes a really nice contrast to the green. And my, how a project with no sleeves flies!

Plus, there's the back. CABLES. Yum.

Just finished up the seed stitch border this morning and thought you'd like to see the magic of blocking.

Before:

Front

Back

And here we have it drying:

I'll try to be better about modeling the finished garments, but for now, enjoy the magic of blocking!!

2013: More Powerful Than Ever!

I had a lovely stay-cation over the Christmas/New Year holidays. It's a great time of year to have plenty of time on your hands. Due to various circumstances, I was on my own for the holidays this year. This was my choice and felt a little selfish, but of course the wonderful people in my life came through as usual. Friends from college and former co-workers visited, invited and generally welcomed me with open arms.

How can you have such wonderful people in your life and not know in your heart the 2013 will be the best? To paraphrase friends: 2012 - please see yourself out.

Want to know one way I know this? I got to start a project I'd been wanting to make for a long time, without having to buy any extra yarn! (Prepare your best Jimmy Stewart impression and say "It's a Chrastmas Maricle, Clarence!!")

Remember my Delancey Cardigan? I had a great time knitting it and I liked the process... but I'll just admit it. I made a poor yarn choice and should have shortened it. What I've really made is a nice robe and not so much a cardigan.

Looking at other people's finished Delancey's on Ravelry helped me realized that many people had either size or length issues with their final projects. Then, I came across a super modified, deep v-neck version that I couldn't get out of my head. (You can see it here if you're on Rav!)

What I really loved was her eye for color. I just don't have a clue how to pair colors in a creative way, and she'd done all the work for me. When I sat down two days before Christmas, I realized I had almost all the colors in my  house at the very moment! I could be making my very own Modified Delancey RIGHT THEN.

So I started:

 And just couldn't stop! Christmas movie marathons really help productivity, admittedly. Thanks for your help, Zuzu's Petals!

Whaddya know about that, Bert?

I also did my best to take some time for Droopy, just so he didn't go more than a few hours without a little recognition. Otherwise he makes this face:

Hey. You. More giant Milkbone treats, plz.

 As of the start of today's Bowl Game Bonanza, this is where I am:

Ignore the face and hair, please? Consider it one last Christmas gift to me, kay?

Reminder: you're ignoring the face and focusing on the chevrons!

So, basically, I'M IN LOVE. And I don't really care that it makes me look like a happy chappie in a snappy sarape. Because I love it!

Happy New Year, guys. It's going to be great - just you wait and see.

Hexipuff Madness: The Chicago Skies Quilt

My knitting life has really gotten heavy duty lately. I'm working on multiple projects (more on those later) and watching the mail for Knit Picks packages. But sometimes, you get infected with a crafting brain worm of sorts. An idea occurs to you and you just can't let it go. For me, it came in the form of The Beekeepers Quilt and the components of that project, known colloquially as "Hexipuffs". For whatever reason, I couldn't stop thinking about this project.

Hexipuff Vase

What drew me to the quilt at first was the idea of using scrap yarn. It turns out, however, that most of my scraps are worsted weight and not sock yarn. Additionally, I didn't necessarily love the color story that you get when you use all your scrap yarn. My taste changes with the wind, so it would look pretty disjointed. Still, I used some sock yarn I received in a Sampler Kit to get things started. I may or may not have woken up at 3 a.m. on Saturday to download the pattern and feverishly put needle to fiber


I started with self-striping sock yarn which led to larger blocks of color per puff. Then I switched over to the color "Atmosphere Multi" which had gentle, smaller stripes which looks lovely in puff form.

Left: Atmosphere Multi (Knit Picks Stroll, Right: Moonlight (Knit Picks Felici)

I really loved the colors in the Stroll Atmosphere skein and it reminded me of a project I'd seen on Pinterest: The April Sky Scarf. The author of the post tracked the color of the sky each day in a year and knitted a stripe of a scarf to correspond with the weather that day. The colors in stripey Stroll Atmosphere are a perfect stepping off point to an insane idea: a puff for every day's sky here in Chicago. I'm tracking the sky color using a spreadsheet and will slowly acquire the appropriate yarn colors to begin. I grabbed some sparkly white Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand at Michael's yesterday to get started on the 'snow days' we've had so far in January. You can see the result in the top left-hand of the photo.

Please note that this is in no way scientific. I'm an office drone and really only see the sky during my commute or if I run in the mornings. The color listings are based off of archives from weather.com or my overall impression of the sky that day. I'm still loving this project... but that's seven puffs out of 365+. I think the Felici Moonlight colors are charming and might sprinkle them throughout to break up some of the grey months I know we've got coming.

Stay tuned!

Windy City Weather Color Chart:

Sweater-itis

Today, I feel like a grownup. For the first time in my knitting life, I swatched before starting a project. I recieved a package full of lovely new yarn and was able to stop myself from diving right in on this sweater project that I'm really excited about. Please remember this occasion.

The project I'm so jazzed about? Shadow by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, published in Wool People Vol. 1 by Brooklyn Tweed.

Swatchin' it up!

I've got the width right and it's just a touch long, but I think "agressive blocking" will do the trick on that one.

I would apologize for the photography, but it's winter in the Midwest, so nice natural light is hard to come by. You'll just have to deal with my horrible yellow lighting for now and I promise to try to make improvements. Anyway, I'm really excited how nice the yarn looks in the cable pattern. It's Wool of the Andes in Camel Heather from Knit Picks.

Closer to the real color

Meanwhile, I'm using up some yarn I won on ebay by starting a Beatnik Sweater.

Beatnik

The yarn is super ugly, in my opinion. It's a combination of christmas green and red that comes together to make this muddy brown look. I'm hoping the cables will give it a nice retro feel and diminish the fug. I'd wanted to work with Cascade 220 for a while, and ebay makes me compulsive, so here I am. It's actual color looks a little something like:

Doesn't quite capture the ugly...

And finally: a project for the commute. A Herringbone Cowl from The Purl Bee for a beloved sorority sister of mine. She lives in a warmer climate but is always cold. In her honor, I've named this project The Alphie Cowl. <> The yarn is scrumptious - Brava from KnitPicks in Dove Heather. It's the best acrylic I've ever worked with - so soft and light. This one is going by fast and I'm loving every stitch.

I may have taken this picture on the bus...

With snow in the forecast for tonight, I'm looking forward to some Netflix and knitting. After my workout, which really will happen. Really! Happy Friday, guys.

FO: Shawl-ty

Ok, the title of this post kind of fails. I was thinking "shorty" and trying to make a pun... moving on.

I had an unexpected visit to my hometown in Indiana this past weekend because a family member was in the hospital. She seems to have bounced back pretty quickly and we keep checking in with each other, but this gave me time to get in some serious knitting.

I made her some washcloths, which I didn't take photos of, but they were versions of this:

Warsh Clorth

In progress

I was also working on another project: a shawl for a family member of my boyfriend's. I got it finished during a Downtown Abbey viewing with my mom:

The pattern name is Murcia and the yarn was in a bundle I received for Christmas - Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue. Confession: I messed up the lace repeat at the very end, but I'm trying just to gloss over it.This has not yet been blocked, so it will stretch out a bit and look neater in the end.

I'm gearing up for some major projects and I'm excited to share them. But even more than that - I HAVE NEW YARN ON THE WAY! Oh mailman. I'm so excited for your visit.

This Is It

I got busy over the holidays. I know you did, too. I was busy knitting, which I know is a surprise for you because I haven't posted for months and months! But I realized that these were gifts for people and showing them all over the internet before Christmas kind of defeated the point. And then all of a sudden, it was December 23rd and I had four projects to go. And then I was wrapping them as I was leaving for Christmas dinner and had No Time to photograph any of them.

And then I was having a beautiful New Years in a Galena, Illinois, a town that was CRYING OUT for a dusting of snow, but instead got some drizzle and looked like the old mining town it actually is:

 Quaint-adjacent

But now. I'm back to knitting for fun and general merriment. And I look forward to sharing with you guys, because I love writing, fiber arts and attention. Oh, MAN do I love attention - thank you so much for giving it to me so freely.

As a token of my esteem, have a little "pattern" that I developed while watching every 30 for 30 ESPN documentary with my boyfriend over the holidays.

One Skein Seed Stitch Cowl

Materials:
1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick
Size 17 Needles (I used Circular, but straight would be preferable)

Gauge:
8 stitch x 9 rows = 4 inches
Note: Gauge is not important - use whatever you needles you have on hand)

Cast on 26 stitches. I recommend using Long Tail Cast On.

First row, K2 then P2 to end.
Second row, knit all purls and purl all knits.

Repeat Row 1 and Row 2 until end of skein (approximately 18 inches) leaving yourself enough yarn to seam ends together - (approximately enough yarn to wrap around your work twice). Instead of binding off, seam live stitches to bottom of work. Weave in ends. Steam block if desired.

Final step: Take insanely unflattering photo of yourself in the mirror before walking your dog. Enjoy!

Unflattering: Accomplished!

New Yarn!!

I came home from work yesterday to some mail.

Mail Time

This only means one thing:

NEW  YARN DAY!!!

I am STOKED. Now, this pile o' string (if all goes according to plan) will eventually become:

- A sweater
- A cardigan
- A hat
- A dress for a two year old

So exciting... I couldn' t just LEAVE it sitting there. I had to cast on something I've had in my head for a while.

Ribbed Yolk Topper

I'll keep working on the hat, probably on the commute, but I want to be wearing this sweater in the next few weeks. Fall is so fleeting - I'd hate to miss it, especially with something that's 'on trend'. Stay tuned!

Football'd

Well, it was turning out to be a good weekend... until I settled in for some Sunday afternoon football. My dear Colts lost to the... I can't even type it without wincing... Cleveland Browns. That the BENGALS just beat, for heaven's sake. I mean, I love Ohio. I really do, but ouch. OH-IO = OU-CH.

Simultaneously, I was treated to watching the Bears weak Offensive line blow chance after chance in New Orleans. It was not a proud day for the Midwest, you know?

But some knitting finally happened this week, so there's always a silver lining! The theme for last week and this week is "experimentation".

Up first, I tried to take a fingerless mitt pattern and turn it into mittens.

The original:

The DoogMod version:

So, it looks... ok? I guess? But I have some problems with it. One: I wimped out on the thumb. I was going to continue the pattern up the thumb until the about the thumbnail, but it was getting too tedious, so I just went for solid blue. Two: the mitts are supposed to fit snugly, so the mitten feels pretty constricting. I'm not sure my mom would love wearing these, no matter how much Thought I put into them. Third: Doesn't it just kind of look like a sock I jammed a thumb into? Maybe I should keep it simple and use an *actual* mitten pattern. Crazy thought, I know.

My next trick project seems to be going a bit smoother. I'm attempting to reverse engineer a hat that I saw on the website Nerd Boyfriend. The hat in question is as follows:

This baby costs 39 British Pounds. I'm sure shipping would tip that price well into Super Fancy territory. Meanwhile, I have some grey sock yarn lying around and leftover yellow sport-weight yarn from another project. I'm totally going to reverse engineer this puppy for PENNIES on the pound. (Is that a saying?)

So, here's the start. A few things I decided on from the beginning:

• The original is knitted flat and then seamed up the back. I want to go for seamless construction (I hate sewing up knitting - I think I'm allergic to the metal in my tapestry needles #firstworldproblems)
• The bottom band seems to be knitted separately and then attached after the hat is seamed together. Again, I'm going for all one piece. 
• The original looks like it's made with fairly course wool. The yarn I had on hand is 70% wool and 30% silk, because I'm CLASSY AS HELL. It creates a smooth fabric, but it's pretty lightweight. I hope it's warm enough for a Chicago winter!

 In other news, I have a shipment of yarn coming that I'm extremely excited about. I know I SAID I was trying to use up the yarn I already have... but I swear, half of it's for gifts. Promise. Don't look at me like that.

Remembering & Planning

It was kind of a rough weekend. I watched too many 9/11 documentaries and saw the Colts' disastrous season opener while the Bears simultaneously were rocking Solider Field. Therefore, I was not as productive as last weekend. I didn't have a clear idea about what I would make next, so I did a little too much pattern selection and reading and not much knitting.

To give myself some time to think, I pulled out some yarn I received as a birthday present - wool from Ireland! The original plan was a sweater, but I've got yards and yards to spare. I came across this pattern for the Hemlock Ring Blanket and thought it would be a nice challenge. Some lace to keep it interesting and knit from the center out. Good thinking work, at any rate.

Here's what it will/ should look like:

And here's my progress so far:

Hemlock-down

It's a fair start. I've enjoyed it so far and only had to rip back once.

During this little side project, I thought through my yarn selection and my various Christmas needs. I decided to try a pattern I've had my eye on for a while: Endpaper Mitts. I have colors that my mom would love, but I'm trying to figure out if I can convert the pattern into mittens for her. It might not be too hard if I can stand the slow progress. After a day and a night, this is what I have:

Mittsletoe

I'm having fun with it, so maybe the slow pace won't put me off that much. I also bound of a sock for the boyfriend that I was working on, but it's just one of two plain black socks and isn't super exciting - really, I just needed to free up the small needles for the mitts. We'll see how they knit up before I try to modify anything...