It’s that time of year again, it’s getting brighter, sunnier and it feels like Spring.  Every spring (and Autumn/Fall) I get the sudden urge to go clothes shopping.  I’m not a big shopper but the is something about the change of season that gets me itching to overhaul my wardrobe.

There seems to be some huge variations in trends at the moment, one that I can do without is the frilly dresses with very fine flower prints…although with denim they can be ok (but I feel a bit like a throwback to my teenage years!)

Also reminiscent of my younger years is this year’s nautical trend.  Most noticeably in stripes, primarily in navy and white or red and white.  If I dig hard enough I’m sure I’ve still got one of these from when I’m 14!

Once designer who always seems to be bang on trend is Olga Buraya-Kefelian (her blog is here).  She has recently finished a book Ori ami Knits which has some beautiful, wearable knits.  And as a bonus the photography is so beautiful that they are pleasure to look at.  The skirt shown below Airfoil Skirt has got some great over sized pockets that can be worn in several different ways. I seem to be seeing large skirt/cardigan/dress pockets in a lot of places lately and I like that look.

I wanted to thank anyone who bought Captiva Wrap over the last few weeks , donations from the sales came to $154 which I was very happy to send to MSF this morning.  I am very glad to be able to send a little more.

I seem to be juggling a lot of different projects at the moment, all at different stages.  I send off another secret project last week, however I think I might start a new version of it for myself with some cascade eco + I have here from last year.  It is a lovely deep purple, it would be wonderful for everyday wear but I think too dark to photograph well.  I wish I got more time to knit for myself, I am almost afraid to wear anything I do finish on the off chance that I might need it for display!  I think that it’s about time my knits got a bit more wearing.

Before Christmas I finished a lightweight sweater for my sister.  She recently returned to office work and was looking for a stylish lightweight top for everyday wear.  I know that she loves turquoise and I found the most perfect shade of Turquoise in Cascade Heritage sock yarn.

I know it is knit in sock yarn…BUT it is at a loose gauge (for lovely stretch and drape) and the 36 inch size takes just under 3 skeins.  Not a bad price for a new sweater!

It is knit in one piece (body knit from the hem up), with set-in sleeves knit from the top down in the round after the body if finished.  Lots of fun and not too complex so a good one for knitting on the go.

It will be a couple more weeks before we finish the final layout but it has been tech edited so it is getting close to being ready to release.

The preview for Interweave Spring 2010 is up!  I’ve got a hooded tunic ‘Braided Hood Tunic’ in this issue.  You can find it on ravelry here.  This top was knit in the round from the bottom up.  It starts with a wide hip band, is gently shaped at the waist (the shaping curves the outer cables inwards), then it splits for the armholes and front and back are worked separately.  The shoulders are finished with short row shaping and joined with a 3-needle bind off.  The hood is continued up from there and the top is shaped using short rows which allows the central back cable to continue right to the top.  So there is absolutely no seaming that needs to be done on this piece.

I’ve got a couple of photos that we took before I sent it off to IW.  It was last September and as I was wearing it without a shirt I’m looking a little purple!  This yarn is so super soft, it is 55% wool and 45% cotton but it really feels like wearing cotton.  I can’t wear most wool directly next to my skin but I had absolutely no problem with this yarn.  The top became named ‘Cobra’ in our house – I think it’s a good name for it!

I saw someone on ravelry say that they would like the add sleeves, I think that this would be fun to do.  If I was doing it I would go with my favorite method of working a short row sleeve cap from the top down.  Maybe even running the main central cable down the top of the sleeve and ending with a very wide cuff of moss st to match the edging.  You may also want to reduce the width at the shoulders (decrease a little more at the armhole) so that the top of your sleeves was set a little further in.

Thanks to everyone who helped me naming this wrap.

I’ve just finished uploading the pattern and have named it Captiva Wrap thanks to Frances who suggested it on my blog.  I also loved the name Juno, suggested by Kelly, but there several patterns by the name of Juno on ravelry.  Juno was extra fitting as for Christmas (when it was knit) I bought the soundtrack to the film Juno for my husband and that was what we listened to in the car (for anyone who has this soundtrack, ‘The Bee song”. named by my 3 year old, was a favorite and was on constant rotation).

Captiva Wrap

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Following the gentle curve of a wave this wrap has a delicate scalloped lace edging.  Worked from side to side short row shaping forms a gentle curve and tapers to a tail making it wonderful for staying in place over your shoulder. The lace edging is worked with the body of the wrap so it is all worked in one piece.

SIZE

Width at top of wrap: 35 [39] inches/89 [99] cm

Width at base if wrap: 65 [75] inches/165 [190] cm

Length: 18 [18] inches / 46 [46] cm.

MATERIALS

Fyberspates DK Scrumptious (45% silk, 55% Merino; 241yd/220m per 100g skein); color: Water; 2 [3] skeins.

1 US 9/5.5mm circular needle, 24-inch/60 cm length.

Tapestry needle; stitch markers.

GAUGE

Gauge is given for after blocking.  Exact gauge is not critical for this project as the  width is easily changed by adding/removing extra segments.

14sts/30 rows = 4″/10cm in garter stitch on US 9/5.5mm needles

I wanted to thank everyone who has submitted a name for me, I’m still looking through them and trying to decide.  If anyone else wants to submit ideas keep going – I’ll make my decison tomorrow.

I’m having a really great time reading through all the ideas, some great ones in there!

The wrap that I knit at Christmas when I was in holiday is Florida is almost ready to release.  The charts are done, it has been tech edited and we are working on the final layout.  However I am having a hard time with a name.  While I was working on it I always described it as my ‘Wave Wrap’ or the ‘Scalloped Wave wrap’ but somehow they don’t fully convey the feel of the wrap.

If you want to give a go at naming the wrap I’ll love some suggestions, and if I choose your name I’ll send a copy of the final pattern pdf to you when it is releases (hopefully this weekend!).

Here are some photos of the wrap:

I’ve just published my first pair of socks on Ravelry – Casadh.

I have been playing with this stitch pattern for quite a while before I reached my final version.  The first time they were toe up socks in stripes for my 6 year old.  While they were cute the stripes didn’t really add to the design (and the combination of cables and a short row heel was tight to get on) I wanted to keep working on the the pattern.

I redesigned it to be cuff down and  knit a version for my husband.  Second time round I really like how they work.  The cabling is interesting enough to keep you alert but not too taxing!

The brown version was knit by my friend Sue for  her husband, I just love the color of the Krafty Koala yarn.

Casadh

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I am still planning on writing that new post on customizing your shaping, but it’ll be a few days.  I’m currently buried in projects and pattern writing.  Not that I’m complaining..  I actually really enjoy the maths end of pattern writing, I guess even if I haven’t been working as an engineer for many years it’s still buried there somewhere.

I knit a top for my sister for Christmas that I just finished last night.  It was in sock yarn at a looser gauge than standard (like with Ziggy Zag) and I was fairly curious how it was going to work out.  I’m really happy with the way it looks on so hopefully it will get some use.  It is this very vivid turquoise color with a large drapy neckline and gathered sleeves.  Most of the pattern is written up so hopefully I’ll get it up for sale in the new year.  No photos, don’t want to spoil the Christmas suprise!

I wanted to send a reminder to anyone close by (or within driving distance) that the classes I’m running with Sue in Wilton are happening fairly soon.  We’ve still got some spaces, so if you are interested get booking!

Classes – click here!

Wearable Lace $14.95

Over the last few months I have started to see certain trends in what I’m knitting.  Because of that it made sense to put several related patterns together in a booklet.  Some of these pattern have already been published but a couple of them are new.  All patterns can still be bought individually if you only want one of the patterns.  I’m afraid that I won’t be able to offer a discount if you have already bought one of the patterns individually, as you can see the booklet is already heavily discounted.  Buying the booklet you get a whopping discount of $14.70 on the 5 patterns.

In this booklet as well as having these 5 patterns I will have a brief introduction to lace, reading lace charts and working increases in lace.  There will be instructions on how to do several techniques uses in the patterns (provisional cast-on, grafting and short rows).

The full booklet will be released at the beginning of December.  You can however buy the booklet immediately and download the individual pdfs for the 3 patterns available now (Summer Affair, Laced Leaves and Centrique).  Fritillary and Midnight Shrug will both be released in November and you will be sent these patterns if you have bought the complete booklet.  If you buy the ebooket immediately you will automatically be sent the pdf upon release in December.

The 5 patterns available in the ebooklet are:

Summer Affair $5.95

Laced Leaves $5.95

Fritillary $5.95

Centrique $5.95

Midnight Shrug $5.95

I was talking yesterday about the hoodie I made for my oldest son.  It uses the same lattice from the Interweave Holidays Terry’s Sweater but is obviously a hoodie!  I knit this from Drops Paris, originally I had gotten this color to make something for myself but he loved the color so I used it for him.