Indie Designer Day

Designer: Karen Scott
Blog: Rainbow Feet
Rav ID: KnitterKMS
Some Great Designs: KnitterKMS' Rav Designer Page


"...visions of [delicate little cables] dancing in her head..."
Now that would be my "Night Before Christmas" tale.

Exemplified by this week's designer, KnitterKMS.
The vibrant socks pictured right are her Little Minx. With a simple wee twist repeat, you get a beautiful pair of socks. On the pattern page for this lovely *free* pattern, it's interesting to see the design in the variegated pink as well as a handsome solid green.

Another (free!) and fabulous design is her Cornflower Socks. A complement to her Cornflower Cowl, this pair of patterns can have you outfitted in lovely, delicate and texturally interesting knits from head to toe!

Can't wait to see what she'll design next. Thanks for the generously offered patterns!

Chauntecler; Or, How I Get My Test Knit On

Here's that post #500!

Pattern: Chauntecler
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, in Oyster Heather (7 balls)

This is a call out for any and all interested in lending a hand.
I'd like to offer this pattern for sale - but in order to do that, I'd appreciate a few generous test knitters!
You can check out the deets here on the Rav group.
Please message me there with your info if you'd like to be a tester, and if you have any questions at all.

I had a lot of fun designing this dress.
It's my first attempt at such a garment - and I'm really rather pleased!
As noted in earlier posts, I enjoy me my Knit Picks Palette.
And truly, it was no easy task choosing which colour I'd knit with. I was rather tempted by Serrano, Pimento and Tumeric, but in the end settled on Oyster Heather.

Chauntecler has a top-down, mainly-in-the-round construction, with most of the visual interest focussed on the back lace panels. I tried to keep all other aspects of the design simple, so as not to compete with the skirt details.

I was inspired by the beautiful plumage of some fancy roosters - hence the Chauntecler name. Jealous of their lovely, extravagant feathers, I wanted to create a tail of my own.
In yarn.
On a dress.

And, with the prodigious amounts of fun that I had creating this knit, I can certainly say that there will be more dresses in my designing future!

Four!

Don't check it out or anything (srlsy, cause the old posts are no good)
but today is my blog's 4th birthday!

I also happen to be creeping up on my 500th post. I'm saving that one for something special.

Have a good day, bloggy :)

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Colleen Teerling
Rav ID: teerling
Some Great Designs: teerling 's Rav Designer Page and Projects Page

One of the bonuses to my moving downtown was that I would be able to walk to work. While I've been very lax indeed on actually taking advantage of this opportunity, the times I do are very rewarding.

Take this morning, for example. It's the perfect time to stroll down the streets and see the beautiful gardens with varieties of tulips, daffodils and whimsical flowering trees.

This week's designer is a perfect complement to this springtime effusion of happiness and delicate natural beauty.

Witness the pictured Lacy Leaf pattern. A very neat adaption of arrowhead lace, this sweet and simple pattern if infinitely adaptable and decoratively useful. I'm having Martha Stewart interior design visions!

And I have to point out the very cool s-t-r-e-t-c-h your Noro pattern. Check out what the designer has to say:
"I got a gift certificate, so I splurged on 2 skeins of Noro. By combining it with the (much!) cheaper Briggs & Little, I got a vest out of it, using a 2-colour fisherman’s rib. I love the way the dark background sets off the Noro.
I later used this in a class I taught at the yarn store on playing with colour and getting the most out of luxury yarns."

Such a good idea. I always seem to have one, or a part, skein of something lovely left over. Stash utilizing projects rawk.

And lastly, there's the cable-rific Rivendell Socks. Just check them out. Can't describe their awesomesauce-ness.

And definitely check out her projects page for some wicked cool intarsia!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Anna Kuduja
Blog: Lõngakera
Rav ID: kuduja
Some Great Designs: Kuduja's Rav Designer Page

This week's designer does a lot with simple design elements and pieces.

Her Mohair minimalist top (pictured) is a perfect example of the minimalist chic that's infused into all her designs. Making the most of the yarn itself (including a fantastic colour) she creates a piece that is versatile and functional (not to mention stylish!)

The Green leaf bolero is a very cool study in combining textures harmoniously into a whole. This bolero is infinitely wearable - it maintains her minimalist chic style while incorporating a variety of stitch patterns. This, my friends, is what demonstrates fantastic designing - the ability to somehow combine disparate elements (that is, simplicity/minimalism and variety) into a piece that demonstrates one's unique artistic voice.

Here, in her own words, is kuduja's ideas on designing:
"For me, patterns are a source of ideas. Most frequently, I knit without patterns. If I like a pattern, I always experiment and end up with modifications. Recently, I’ve started writing my own patterns."

As always, check out her designer page - much more to see there than I've room to write!

Knot Tying 101; Or, How Wedding Planning Comes Along

... wherein I continue to chat about my wedding plans, and it's still about the fun crafty stuffs ...


Ah yes, here it is: the reason (or at least, one of them!) for my sustained bloggy silence.
I've been keeping myself busy busy with various and sundry wedding bits.
Ok, so what've I actually done?

Well, first off are the invites. Last week I had a bit of an assembly-party, including me and four very generous and talented helpers, five hours, many metres of tape and some delicious snacks.

It was really rather fun - now I'm just waiting on the envelopes, and I'll then be sending these sweeties out in to the wide postal world.

Other paper-based activity includes the guestbook I've put together, using blurb dot com.
It's just arrived today, and I'm sooo happy!
What I did was gather up a whole whack of my and his family photos, scan them and use the software to edit the images together.
I also thought it was a neat idea to encourage guests to write more than just their name and address (while cool, not really very interesting). On the signing pages, I put two columns; one says "Name", the other "Thoughts, Wishes, Memories, Advice".


Incidentally, I'm not the only one who's been busy planning and paper-crafting. My very dedicated sister-turned-maid-o'-honour has whipped up what, I have to say, are some of the absolute coolest Bridal Shower invites I've ever seen.
Not only are they hand-made, they're yarn themed!!
She's keeping her plans quiet, so I'm not sure what awaits me next month.
I'm really looking forward to it!

And, on to yet more stuffs I've been doing:

I have a pretty good idea what the centrepieces are going to look like - one part of it are these round glass vases.
These vases have become the bane of my existence. There's boxes and boxes of the things sitting in my apartment, awaiting their turn to be etched.

The frustrating part is the fiddly wee bits of stencil I have to place for each vase. I've
used them so much now, they're beginning to lose their stickiness and readily slip off, move their position and wreak general havoc on my glassy crafting attempts.
And so, I have about ten left to make. I'll have a bit of a celebration the day they're done and out of here!

And now, I have a question to ask of you all (because you've all been of such help in my many other wedding-advice asks!).
Months ago, I bought several rolls of rather cute ribbon, thinking it would be some sort of back up if the vases didn't work out. As noted above, the vases (though troublesome) are very near being deemed successful, and so I have the riddle of this ribbon, and what precisely I should do with it.








And, one last thing I'd like to share: this craft-in-waiting.
I'll show you what exactly they'll all become when it's finished.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Bekah Stockwell
Rav ID: ClaudiaThorn
Some Great Designs: ClaudiaThorn's Rav Projects Page

I can't tell you how appealing and interesting I find this designer's work!

Take for instance her Ridiculously long Peruvian Shaman/Elf Hat (pictured).
Here's what she has to say about the piece:
"I needed a hat that would fit over my dreadlocks… and had some awesome heavy worsted red variegated yarn I wanted to use… so I improvised this hat on chopsticks!"

This, to me, is a fabulous way to play up the beauty of a handspun yarn. Her colour palette is amazing - but even if this were in a solid colour, the shape and texture of the hat would make it an appealing piece alone.

I'll also point you towards her Le Fee Vert Victorian Collar. This is another lovely knit with whimsical, historic character (that stuff always gets me!) I truly hope she continues designing, and (perhaps? please?) writes up a few patterns to share with all us knitters.
Soon.
Because really, I'm an impatient creature.
:)

ETA: You can check out her work on Facebook as well: just search for No Spectators Designs!

Reasons To Be Cheerful

In order to maintain an equilibrium of sanity, I make lists.

Sometimes, I think having a list of reasons to be cheerful is a useful tool in the fight against woe-to-me-ism. This list, of course, takes for granted all those most basic needs of humanity¹. And having those in and of themselves are reasons enough to be cheerful, no?
But, on to my expanded list.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

-the knitting waiting for me at home
-my copy of Joy of Cooking, and the fact that there'll always be a recipe I've never made
-my bed
-a good cup of Horton's Cafe Mocha (happily pictured right.) Incidentally, to all you fellow countrypeople, I still haven't won a thing on Roll Up.
-the sometimes odd behaviour of little yellow birds
-my family and friends
-my favourite shoes (which will change on any given day!)
-the prospect that I have so much more to learn about so many very cool and interesting things
-the country I live in
-diversity
-men with a Scottish accent... it just makes me go dreamy
-polite, well-behaved children who give me hope for humanity's future
-knit night
-Jane Austen
-wine, cheese and delicious oatcakes
-family photo albums
-an empty notebook and all the potential it embodies
-colour
-the seemingly unending intricacies of the English language
-the random compliment (both offered and received)
-autumn
-my life-long pursuit of the perfect golden yarn
-thunderstorms
-fantastic British comedies
-art supply stores (not to mention office supply stores, wherein my proclivity towards über organization can be satiated)
-the fact that this list is as long as it is!

I'd like to encourage everyone to make a list. It's very good for the end-of-March blahs!!

_______________________
¹summed up nicely by Maslow in his hierarchy

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Caitlin Stopper
Blog: Honeycomb Originals
Rav ID: gooey
Some Great Designs: gooey's Rav Designer Page

If gooey's Anti Casualty (pictured right) is any indication, I think we've got a unique and exciting new designer on our hands!

Here's a bit from the designer herself re: this design:
"I love Lady Gaga. I love her spirit, her wardrobe and most of all, her fearlessness.
She inspired me to be a little more daring when it came time to dress myself in the morning, but not all of us can wear spiked vinyl jump suits with stripper heels to work or out to run errands. Big version or small version, here is a little something to Gagafy your life."

This piece looks like a great way to use up those perplexing and lovely bits of bulky ends you may have lying around (and if you're like me, you've got a number of them!)

Another gooey pattern currently posted is the Align Mitts - a pattern designed to match Natalie Larson’s Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (which, incidentally, I've had on my faves list forever!) and a great way to use any end you may have leftover from said pattern.

Zen Linen

Pattern: (hmmm, I think I'll call it) Zen Linen
Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden Pelusa in 14Kt
225 yrds

Want a real easy peasy and incredibly functional one skein knit?
I think I cast on something like 121 sts (had to be an odd number for the stitch pattern) to circs, and worked in linen stitch until I had no more yarn.

Linen Stitch:
Any odd number of stitches
Row 1: k1, *sl1 wyif, k1; rep from *
Row 2: k1, p1, *sl1 wyib, p1; rep from *, end k1

This beautiful hank was just hanging around, sitting tauntingly on my desk for months. I'm very glad it's become this simple cowl - it's seen a lot of use in the past few weeks, and was perfect for the overcast and slightly breezy weather we've had today.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Wendy Poush
Blog: running jack knits
Rav ID: maerchen
Some Great Designs: maerchen's Rav Designer Page

Here's a designer with ambition and discipline!
Admirably, mearchen has decided that she'll be writing one design a week for 2010!!
Here's a link to the Pattern-a-Week index.
The idea fascinates me.

But that incredible journey isn't what first drew me to her work.
The pictured Firstfall Convertible Mitts were it. I thought this was a totally ingenious idea. The designer states it best:

"The need for flip-tops secured with a button or Velcro is done away with by using flaps which are joined to the hand and thumb on three sides. The cable panel is reversible, so the cable looks lovely whether worn as a mitt or a mitten."

So very cool.

Another example of this species of mitt can be seen in her Cradle Convertible Mitts.

And, an adorably miniature version here, in the Basic Baby Mitts.

As you probably all know by now, I love a knit with a story, and maerchen's Dumber than Snake Mittens have a great one.

Lest you think all this designer creates are mitts, witness the sweet Bouncy Dress here. It was designed to show off self-patterning yarn, and creates a very beautiful, interesting and unique looking baby dress.

Knit Picks Independent Designer; Or, I Get Yarn Happy!

As you may have noticed, I've been rather silent as of late.

Herein I proffer one of the reasons; that is, I've been busy as a bee working on some patterns. Way back in the penultimate months of 2009, I was invited to be part of Knit Picks Independent Designer Partnership Program. Flattered, I certainly was.

And of course my mind started a-whirring, dancing out ideas and buzzing on the excitement of new yarns and possibilities.

My YarnCrush^TM as of late has been Knit Picks' Palette.
The first garment I've been working on for my Knit Picks trifecta¹ is one I've lovingly titled Chauntecler (pictured in a rather dreamily-edited teaser photo at right).
It's a dress, short-sleeved, with lace detailing on the back. And I'm sure you can imagine, knitting a dress in fingering weight takes one a bit of time.

I do hope to have the pattern written up and ready for test-knitting in the near future (and I hesitate to give ya'll a solid date because, honestly, wedding stuff is greedily hogging a large portion of my time).

For now, I must apologize for my blog-neglect, and hop on over to my favourite knit spot and get to working on that dress!

__________________
¹It's a trifecta, cause I've been cooking up not only the Chauntecler dress, but a couple of other, as yet unnamed, patterns, including another dress and a cabled sweater.

Tee Hee Hee

Not much to say today - just wanted to share a funny comic my bf cut out of the paper for me on the weekend.
Tee hee hee!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Emma Fassio
Blog: emmafassioknitting
Rav ID: emmafassio
Some Great Designs: emmafassio's Rav Designer Page

I'm always on a quest to find new and interesting knits; designs that intrigue, colours that capture, lines that flatter.

And this week's featured knitter and knit, emmafassio's Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi - Jumper, has a shape that delights. It's a soft detail that adds an element of whimsy to the knit, creating yet another reason to love the basic and wonderful raglan!

Her Mormor's Shawl is a nice basic with a sweet story - she created it for her Swedish grandmother, "mormor" being grandmother in Swedish.

Knits that use and show yarn in its best always make me smile, and the designer's Sansi Shawl is a great example of one such knit. The repeated little lace Os create visual interest that acts as a catalyst for the vibration of the hues in the yarn. This is a knit used best for variegated - that yarn which (for me at least) constantly eludes flattering knits.
Eureka! I've found one :)

As per usual, check out her Rav Designer Page - there's so much more there that I haven't touched on!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Johanna More
Blog: And Sew It Is
Rav ID: morepjs
Some Great Designs: morepjs' Rav Designer Page

Round these parts we're seeing the last hurrahs of winter. Spring is thinking about springing, and one of those perfect transitional accessories is the wrist warmer.

This week's designer, morepjs, has a lovely, lyrical pattern for just this garment in the pictured Rosalind Wrist Warmers: woolly wrist warmer pattern. I'm a sucker for a good cable, and these function wonderfully with the shape of the warmer itself.

There's also the sweet and eye-catching Baby Blue: A spiral baby blanket. And, as the designer says herself, "It’s very effective without being complicated, it works up quickly and makes a lovely gift for a new baby." I always love the "simple" knit that appears complicated to all those who see it!

Finally, there's her Astrum Beret, another great transitional garment. I like the unexpected colour combination in the original.
Keep an eye open for her work!