27 February 2011 · 4 Comments
I know, you’ve been waiting for these for awhile.
You guys totally talked me in to doing them. They started out as my ‘too sick to think’ socks. I really didn’t think you would be interested in them, but it seems you like them! Of course the super-simple to knit socks turned out to be unexpectedly challenging to write up.
Once the cold medicine-induced brain fog lifted, I got it figured out. Lots of lovely folks helped me test them to be sure that the instructions were clear.
Then, well, then I stuck them in my ‘to be photographed’ basket and let them hang out for two months. It was too cold to go frolicking outside without shoes, and I didn’t think I could get the pictures I wanted inside.
Enter my new boyfriend camera.
Yeah, I finally broke down and bought a grown up camera. It took me a long time. I had to talk myself into it. But it was so totally worth it.
I can now take pictures inside…you know, that place where the furnace works and where it very rarely rains (not never, there was that one really unfortunate experience, but rarely). That means pictures will be much less weather-dependent. This bodes well for timely pattern releases. Of course it means I will have to be sure to vacuum before I take pictures, but that’s likely easier than waiting for a warm dry sunny day in this part of the world.
If you’ve been waiting for these, head over and check them out.
14 February 2011 · 1 Comment
I’m not quite sure how to say this. I haven’t knit in, well, days and days. I think Wednesday was the last time I knit. That’s four whole days with no knitting. Not a swatch, not a hat, not a sock, nothing.
Part of it was that I burned my hand a bit (it’s almost completely healed now, no worries). Part of it was that we got a new dining room table this weekend and spent nearly every waking moment either hauling it in and setting it up, cleaning up after that rather destructive process, playing games, or preparing and eating tasty food. It was good to take a little break, but I’m ready to get something back in my hands.
In the meantime, so you don’t die of boredom and abandon me forever, I’ll put out this pattern. This was The Boy’s birthday hat. We picked out two yarns (a solid gray dk weight and a fairly wild blue, purple, and gray sock weight) that worked well together. The cable pattern is simple to get the hang of and satisfyingly unisex. A slightly smaller scale version of it is used for the mitt. These work at a variety of gauges and each project needs less than 150 yards of yarn, making them perfect for using up those single balls lurking in your stash.
If you want to cast something on for your sweetie, or for yourself, you can find the pattern here.
5 February 2011 · 53 Comments
So the plan had been to put this pattern up on Monday. But it’s ready now, and I don’t really do patience if I can help it. Also, there might just possibly be something else going on on Monday that I’ll want to squee about. So I’m putting it out now. Handy thing, making your own schedule.
These are, of course, the magical, sanity-saving, purple hats. One is for me, and one has made its way into the post to head off to my mom. The first of these was cast on within hours of getting my hands on the new Everlasting 12 ply dk by Dream in Color. I remain unreasonably smitten with it. It’s more or less perfect, and it’s the first time I’ve seen one of the ‘zillions of tiny plies’ style yarns in a heavier weight. I’ve already gotten scads more for another project and will be casting on soon.
And now, because the people at Dream in Color are awesome, I can share this new obsession treat with you. I’ve got two skeins of Everlasting 12 ply dk in the color Amethyst to give away. You can easily make both of these hats from one skein of yarn (I made 2 big hats from one skein and had about 30 yards leftover).
If you want to give it a try yourself, go take a look at the Everlasting colors, pick your favorite (or favorites, I’ve not been able to narrow it down much really), and leave me a comment telling me which ones you like best. Remember, I’ve got Amethyst, the one used in the hat to give away, I’m just shamelessly polling you to find out what colors you like (and to pad out my next shopping list). Do be sure to use your real email address (no one but me will see it, and I won’t use it for anything other than to notify the winner). I’ll keep comments open until Tuesday evening, and announce winners on Wednesday.
In the meantime, if your own sanity needs a little restoration, you can find the pattern here.
31 January 2011 · 5 Comments
The pattern for the Coruscate hat and mitt set is (finally) out. This was my first slouchy hat, and you watched it grow and watched me figure out how to block it to achieve proper levels of pouf (it turns out that the secret to blocking success was a giant but short bowl).
I finished these way back at the end of November, and have been using them ever since. But it was only yesterday that I had my lovely friend Lauren over to model them for me. They look much more stylish on her (on me, they look warm and snugly, on her, they look awesome). I’ll admit I’m jealous!
If you want to make your own, head over here and check them out.
We also took some pictures of the magical, sanity restoring purple hats, so that pattern should be out soon too. I’ve also got the pattern for one of The Boy’s hats all ready to go. My delay is just shameful. If I don’t show up here with a new pattern next week and the week after, poke me with a sharp stick and tell me to get a move on.
Up next, some lacy green mitts to go with the cowl.
2 January 2011 · 37 Comments
Petiole is out! This was my super speedy “it’s cold and I have to wear a coat and I don’t want to wear a coat…so I’ll distract myself with a hat” project. I’m sure that says something unflattering about my mental faculties, but I like the hat, and I didn’t freeze to death from refusing to wear a coat, so apparently it worked. The wrist warmers were just a bonus squeezed out of the few yards leftover when the hat was done.
I made both projects (in a size medium) out of one skein of Aslan Trends Bariloche in Tango Reds, though it took almost every inch of it. While I’m all out of the red (I had to make something that matched my coat after all), I do have a skein of the same yarn in Grape Jam to give away. If you’d like it to come live with you, leave me a comment. Tell me what color your favorite winter coat is (or what color coat you’d like to have). Be sure you use a real email address (I’m the only one who will see it, and I won’t use it for anything other than contacting the winner). I’ll leave comments open till early Wednesday morning, then randomly select one as the winner.
Stay warm, and Happy New Year!
25 November 2010 · No Comments
The pattern for Trifurcate hat and mitts is ready to go. You’ve been watching this set for a while now. You know that it was my first hat (though not my last) and that it was made for a friend who’s having a rough couple of months. Now it feels a bit shady to profit from my friend’s misfortune, so at the end of the year, any profits from this pattern are going to her favorite charity, Providence House.
If your Thanksgiving weekend features a bit of down time, you can whip these up in no time. If, by some chance, your holiday knitting isn’t quite finished up yet, they’d make a perfect last minute gift. If you’re giving to a knitter, how about wrapping up a skein of Malabrigo Twist (I used the color Indiecita), a nice set of needles (I used 5s but most people will probably want 6s or even 7s) and the pattern and letting them make it themselves!
All the details of how to buy it are right here. And if you’re in a shopping mood, don’t forget there’s a ’50% off when you buy three or more patterns’ sale with the code “Math4Knitters” to mark my appearance on the Math4Knitters podcast. Remember that to use a coupon code you have to click the ‘add to cart’ buttons on the patterns you want (either here or on Ravelry), click the ‘use a coupon code’ button when you check out, type in the code, and hit apply. Your adjusted price will display right away. The code is good through December 5.
30 September 2010 · 10 Comments
Alright. You’ve been patient. Well, no. You haven’t. You’ve been almost as impatient as I have. But really — that is even better than being patient, because that means you guys are excited too. So now for the promised information.
As of today, we are taking preorders for the book Silk Road Socks: 14 Patterns Inspired by Oriental Rugs!
You can place orders over at Silk Road Socks. The book will be available in traditional print form and also in a variety of electronic formats. All the details are spelled out on the book’s site (where you’ll also find sneak peeks of many of the socks).
In the meantime, we’ve got a little advance screening for those of you who can’t wait till the book is out. We’re releasing one pattern, Serab, early. If you want to get a hold of it right this very minute, you’ve got two options. You can buy it as an individual pattern (the same way you’d buy any of my other patterns). Or, if you preorder the book, you get the pattern now for free. There are a couple of preorder options, so take a look and see what works best for you.
We’re only making the pattern available during the month of October. After that, you can still preorder the book, but you’ll have to wait till December when the book comes out to get the pattern.
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