I’ve been very lax in my blogging over the last few weeks. Our summer holiday is drawing to an end here, and while I like the laziness of not rushing every morning with the boys we all seem to be going a little nuts from too much time in the house! They will all be in school again on Monday, and my smallest will be starting every morning in pre-school. This now means that I will have several hours every morning to focus on design work…I’m trying not to let myself get too excited!

I haven’t yet shared some photos of my sister wearing ‘Summer Affair‘ for her wedding. She looked really beautiful, and the shrug didn’t look too bad either!

Fisherman Twist

$5.95

Difficulty: Intermediate

Description

Create a unique neckline with this twisted rib neckband that is both elegant and cosy.  The sweater is worked from the top down starting with the ribbed neckband.  Short row bust shaping and a gently curved waistline create a streamlined, flattering sweater.

SIZE

Bust size: 28-30 [30-32, 32-34, 34-36, 36-38, 38-40, 40-42 / 42-44, 44-46, 46-48, 48-50, 50-52] inches

0-2 inches positive ease recommended.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest : 30 [32, 34, 36.25, 38, 40, 42 / 44.25, 46, 48, 50, 52.25] inches

Length: 24.5 [24.5, 24.75, 24.75, 25.5, 25.5, 25.75 / 25.75, 26.25, 26.25, 26.5, 27] inches

Size 36 inches modelled with 1 inch positive ease.

MATERIALS

Artesano Aran (50% Alpaca / 50% Wool; 144yds/132m per 100g skein); Color: Sunset (C805); 6 [7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8 / 9, 9, 10, 10, 11] skeins

1 set US 8/5mm double-pointed needles

1 set US 7/4.5mm double-pointed needles

1 US 8/5mm circular needle, 24-inch length (or longer for larger sweater size)

1 US 7/4.5mm circular needle, 24-inch length (or longer for larger sweater size)

Cable needle; tapestry needle; stitch markers; waste yarn.

GAUGE

17 sts/21 rows = 4″ in stockinette stitch on larger needles

22 sts/28 rows = 4″ in fisherman’s rib on larger needles

I’m putting the finishing touches to a new pattern ‘Fisherman’s Twist’.  The pdf will be available along with more photos this weekend.

As you can probably see from the image, the name is fairly self explanatory given the large twisted Fisherman’s rib collar! It’s a very cosy sweater to wear, and the twisted rib neckline is dramatic while still being very wearable.

The rest of the sweater is kept simple and streamlined, short row shaping at the back of the neck, as well as short row bust shaping (and of course waist shaping!).  Cuffs are minimal folded hems.

I have a mountain of knitting work related items to finish but for the last 24 hours I’ve run off with a knitting mini-escape. I had been using a hank of Fleece artist ‘Sea Wool’ in a lovely Moss color for a test swatch and I didn’t want to stop knitting with it. So to indulge myself I’ve been using the rest of the hank to knit a little shawlette. It feels so beautiful, I can’t stop knitting, should be finished it tomorrow!
Meanwhile the other related working I have been shrugging off because of this…reformatting a pattern, finishing a pdf, start another pattern for a new project, finish a mountain of submissions (I think I have 10 I need to get out in the next week!) and start planning a class for a couple of months time.
Myself and Sue Cullen are going to do a day of classes on Saturday the 21st of November. We have booked in the SMA centre in Wilton in Cork so put the day in your calender! We will have 2 different 3 hour morning classes and 2 afternoon classes, with a discount if you want to book the complete day. We are putting the final details together for the class titles but it should be a very enjoyable day.

After I finished the Trellis and Vine Pullover for Interweave last Spring I wanted a version for myself.  I had a bag of Louisa Harding Kashmir DK in my stash that I thought would be perfect for the project.  The gauge was a little tigher than the pattern (22 rather than 21 st per 4 inches) but after knitting I did some vigourous blocking and it ended up just perfect!  I actually like when you can block agressively for a top that you want nice drape with.  I can see this one being used a lot!