It's Been a Hot (& Humid) Minute

Where does time get to? Too much summer relaxing that's the culprit ;)

Not really! I've been hard at work here knitting samples and working new ideas into clearer pictures of what I want to do next.

And checking in with the three absolutely fantastic test knitters on Yarnpond who're flying through my Hornpipe Bag pattern. I'm majorly impressed with both their knitting skills and speed, and their feedback about the pattern. This was definitely a good decision on my part to check out Yarnpond for running my test knits. I'm so pleased with things so far.

And that means the Hornpipe Bag pattern will be out sometime in August; exact date not fully determined just yet. Absolutely certain on August though, so be sure to pop back here or turn on notifications for my account on Twitter and/or Instagram (links in the sidebar) to get the news as soon as it's ready!

Ok, I confess to this year's North American Irish Dance Championships (affectionately known as NANs and/or NAIDC) stealing my attention away from my yarny pursuits earlier this month; July 1st to 5th. Held in lovely Montréal this year, they showcased the top talent in the CLRG's North American region. My Instagram feed ranneth over with so many fantastic photos and video clips! *insert starry-eyed emoji here* I do not envy the judges their task to pick the absolute pinnacles amongst such talented dancers! And the outfits! The bling! Love love love seeing all the color everywhere! Orange and red seemed particularly popular; particularly appropriate for the summer heat. Congratulations to every dancer that qualified to dance in Montréal and the absolute best of luck to those who qualified for Worlds next Spring.

Alright let's come full circle and come back to yarny things, like my patterns ;) One of the samples I've been working diligently on (well when the yarn hasn't been physically sticking to my hands; I dislike humidity.) is that for my mkal!

And I can say it's coming along very nicely, as is the pattern writing portion of the job. Quite honestly, I should have the sample done later this week or early next week. 

What can I tell you about the mkal? 

It's for an accessory that is suitable for anyone, roughly teenage and older, especially those that experience colder temperatures; think under -10°C/14°F. I live in Canada; I know those temps are coming back in the Fall. 

I can tell you the pattern uses worsted or Aran weight yarn. The sample I'm working on now is being knit with a wool and nylon blend (80% wool, 20% nylon) yarn. The one I plan to knit along with everyone during the mkal will be knit using a 100% acrylic yarn. I'm pretty certain any fiber or blend of fibers will work with this pattern. I'm not fully sure of the yardage just yet. I have my swatch result number and will soon have my actual yardage used number. I like to compare the two before I give an amount to anyone. Same with the gauge and finished measurements. My version of "measure twice, cut once". I think that's some good starting information for you to start thinking about an mkal with a late Summer/early Fall start date. 

Furry nephew Jakey is starting to walk on me, so that tells me I've been typing for what he considers too long. Aren't cats fun to live with? :D I got this photo of him next to me while I was knitting yesterday:

Sleeping like a furry angel. I can report his health has been perfect the last quite awhile, which is a relief to his humans and his sisfur Silver. 

So that's all my news! Unfortunately I haven't been working on any personal projects enough to show you anything today. Hopefully next post!

Hope you're staying cool and enjoying the summer, or winter depending where you live. Are you working on any interesting projects? I'd love to hear about them!

Yours in yarn and cat fur,

Síle