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

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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Until the end of January I am donating 50% of sales from Centrique ALL Stolen Stitches patterns directly to relief for the Haiti earthquake.  There are also many other designers on Ravelry doing the same so take a look at the new ‘Help for Haiti’ filter on Ravelry at the top of the pattern page.

We came back from our holiday at the end of last week.  At 7 in the morning we came into Shannon airport to -7 degree temperatures, freezing fog and a dead car battery.  10 minutes from landing the pilot announced ‘ we are coming into freezing fog, with minimal visability.  We are going to attempt landing but if it’s not possible we’ll circle around and land in Dublin.’   Now this is probably not a big deal if you are not travelling with 4 kids from 3 to 11, mountains of bags and a home that is not in Dublin (we would still have to get back to Shannon for our car!).  Luckily we still landed, hacked our car open with a credit card and got a jump start for the dead battery.  My poor frozen husband couldn’t even get a coffee at the first petrol station we stopped at as their water was frozen!!

Strangely we must have all been in a very good mood from the holiday because somehow it just didn’t seem like that big a deal.  Even coming home to a frozen (brand new) pump, leaking heating system and broken shower….. at least we  had our new wood stove, it really came into its own.  Having parents living next door helps a lot too, you are never stuck!

The boys all got to enjoy some great snow on Sunday, the first we have had in years.  The slid down the front lawn, built snow men and tossed snow balls at each other.  Now today we are being battered by rain storms with flooding.  Life is never dull.  Now if only the schools would reopen and I could get back to work.

I got lots of knitting done while I was on holiday (and bought lots of wool!).  My sister in law gave me two big bags for alpaca from peru so several pairs of mittens were finished before we came home to be prepared.

I finished (and photographed) a wrap with some more lovely Fyberspates Scrumptious yarn (sneak peak below), photographed a cotton cardi and knit up my first sample of a vest idea I’m working on.

Sneak peak of new Fyberspates Wrap

A little while ago I finished up a pair of socks with an entwined cable pattern I love.  It took a lot of experimenting and several pairs of socks before it worked out just right but it is almost ready to publish now.  They will be called ‘Casadh’ which is the Irish for twisted which seemed rather fitting for them.  This version was knitted by my friend Sue for her husband.  These socks are designed for a man but as the pattern is ribbed there is an awful lot of stretch.  With the foot length shortened they fit me fine as well.

I’ll post a few more photos of our holiday and the holiday knits in a few days when life starts getting back to normal.

As with most of Ireland Cork is getting pretty nippy at the  moment.  I manage to forget every winter just how cold it can get!  I think I might be in need of an extra chunky wool sweater or two…

On a warmer note a few months ago we installed a stove to replace our fireplace which we rarely if ever use (partially due to my complete inability to light it sucessfully!) The stove is really wonderful, warm, easy and foolproof to light even for me!  What more could you ask for!

A few months ago I began the process of putting together my ebook ‘Wearable Lace‘.  It is now officially finished, all the 5individual pdfs are compiled into one 20 page booklet.  As well as the patterns I spend a few pages in the booklet talking about lace, how to work increases in lace and I’ve even got a photo tutorial on a provisional crochet cast-on.  Moving from single pattern pdfs to a complete book took more work than we had anticipated but I’m very happy with how it turned out.  So go take a look!

Looking back over my last few posts I realized that I never posted about the final pattern published in Wearable Lace’ Midnight Shrug.

Midnight Shrug

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I love this photo (location rather than me!).  It was taken at one of my favourite spots on a sunny day in September in James Fort in Kinsale.  There are in the process of restoring the old fort but most of the area is wild with big open fields and plenty of room for the boys to run.  We always have a great time when we go there.

I got my first 2 boxes of printed patterns yesterday, it’s very exciting!  Both of them are for my Fyberspates Patterns, Centrique and Trilo.  I love seeing the patterns printed up, they feel so substantial.

I’ve just sent out a big stack of packages to shops in Ireland and the UK full of patterns.  If you’ve orderd some you should have them very shortly.  If you are interested in ordering these two patterns for your shop just send me an email carol AT stolenstitches DOT com.

There should be a couple more Scrumptious patterns in the coming months that I’ll also get printed up so soon we’ll have a great collection of patterns out there.

Last spring Fritillary was published in Yarn Forward.  I’ve updated the pattern and republished as an individual pattern download.

This pattern will be part of my Wearable Lace collection, so if you buy the collection you will automatically receive all 4 patterns that are already in it.

Fritillary $5.95

Wearable Lace Collection $14.95