Here is a quick look at what I finished in the last month and what I’m working on in September.
FINISHED
The Ren Fest Shawl is in test knitting! I love, love, love this one! It feels solid yet fancy to wear. The stockinette stitch body at the top helps to keep this a quick knit while the section cables that continue from the very top edging all the way to the bottom finishing of the shawl give it a polished feel. The cable repeats use complementary cables to really pull this design together. Sample worked in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK in the color Dust and used all but the very last bits of 10 balls or 1370 yards.
I’m planning to take my sample shawl with me on my fiber trip to New Mexico next week.
The Springerle Cowl is also finished and in test knitting! Named Springerle for the traditional cookies our family makes every year at the holidays. The Springerle Cowl is designed in two sizes with some yarn support I received from Miss Babs in their Kaweah DK yarn in the colors Dark Roast and Russet. I plan on a release date of late October to early November shortly after the test knit finishes.
I finished this sweater out of Valley Yarns Northfield and I’m very happy with how it came together. The Salt River Sweater combines an asymmetric center front cable with top-down construction, positive ease and subtle shaping for a relaxed fit. I knit the sample sweater in my size in the color 03 Chestnut using US Size 4 needles and I’m excited to add this one to my wardrobe. I’m waiting to start the test knit on this one since I’ve got another sweater almost ready for test knitting and I’m uncertain about having enough available testers to run two sweater test knits at once.
The Amaranth Scarf released earlier this month! I made the sample for this one out of Malabrigo Arroyo in the color Fucsia. The Amaranth Scarf alternates between simple Lace and Welt Sections to help avoid curling and keep Amaranth a quick knit. Lace charted and written. Named Amaranth because the lace panels evoke amaranth blooms.
Ruby released earlier this month too! Ruby is a simple top-down seamless raglan with a center front cable panel and stockinette body. Sweater features waist and hip shaping for flattering fit. Written in 7 sizes. Cables charted and written. This sweater was originally published in I Like Knitting magazine. The rights have released back to me so I’m now free to republish it! I’ve reworked and updated the pattern and formatting!
And finally I’ve been working on many different projects for submissions. The collage above shows 3 of my recent submissions and gives a good feel for the yarns, colors and textures I’ve been working on without giving away specifics since that is frowned upon by publications.
It seems impossible for September to be such a productive month for both knitting and written patterns because September is also completely full of back-to-school events and commitments in a special kind of middle-school plus high-school crazy. But somehow it has all worked out and I’m glad!
ON THE NEEDLES
I’m almost finished with the bottom ribbing of this sweater with the yarn support I received from Brown Sheep in their new Prairie Spun DK! I’ve used this yarn for several cabled sample submissions recently and I’m absolutely enjoying knitting a sweater out of it. I really appreciate the support and the faith in my vision! All that is left is the sleeves and finishing as soon as I decide if the final length after ribbing is long enough or if it needs a few more rounds. This is the other sweater that is about ready to go into test knitting that I mentioned above. I want to get this one into test knitting by the end of October at the latest so testers have plenty of time to finish before we plan to release it in January of next year.
I’ve made more progress on this Malachite Shawl than it looks like in the picture. I’m in the process of getting this one just how I want it and that means that I’ve been knitting and ripping back quite a bit to get to this stage. I feel like I’m almost finished with all the changes and ready to keep knitting down the shawl. I hope. I’m working this shawl out of Dream in Color Jilly in the colorway Green Lantern on US Size 2 (2.75 mm) needles. I really love the feel and beautiful deep color of the yarn. It is hard to tell how much it looks like the ribs and marls and whorls of malachite in this picture. I’ll have to be very certain to take pictures in natural lighting to show the true beauty of this yarn once the shawl is finished.
I actually almost finished this shawlette too. It is a second sample garment for my upcoming Lavinia Shawlette knit out of Malabrigo Mechita in the colorway 227 Volcan. But I lost at yarn chicken which absolutely should not have happened since this is my second sample of the shawlette and the first sample did not run out of yarn. I didn’t realize I must have made an error when I ran out of yarn though. Instead I tossed my stash and then tossed it again to find the perfect complementary yarn to finish the final few rows. I finally found this 4-ply DK from Big Foot Fibers in the color Maple. I was just starting to bind off when it occurred to me that I should not have run out of yarn. Carefully going back over my notes and the draft pattern I realized that I had forgotten to decrease back from 600+ sts to about half that number in the beginning of the bottom lace band. It made a very ruffled pretty shawl. But that is not how the pattern is written and it wouldn’t have matched the other sample. So I ripped back and now it looks like I have plenty of the Mechita to complete the project. But I found I really love the weight and color of the contrast 4-ply DK to give the shawlette a sturdy and polished finish. So I’m going to use it anyway and I’m looking forward to the finished project!
And finally I’m getting ready to start test swatching for a cabled top-down layering tunic out of this Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride in the color Plum Smoke. I love this yarn and the color. So I’m really looking forward to having this one on my needles.
