Look! I'm in Two Videos & My Feet Aren't Moving!

We're in the final week of 2023's Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long!

Where has December, and really 2023, gone?!

Of course, this could be just me lol I swear clocks are flying passed like barometers in Muppet Family Christmas *insert cry-laughing emoji here*

Ok, enough bad similes, let's get to the purpose of my post. 

In my last post I gave you the information about the Fasten Off Yarn Along Designer Ask Me Anythings and Video Panels, as well as a Twitch stream I was going to be doing with fellow FOYAL designer Yvonne Becker of Red and the Wolf Designs. 

The Twitch stream with Yvonne, and the Zoom Panel with Lori of Aklori Designs, Natalia of Natalia Yarncraft, and Shana of Shanalines Designs are both up on Youtube! (Both of the other FOYAL Video Panels that have happened are also posted to Youtube; the fourth and final Video Panel is live on Friday via Zoom so scroll to my last post to get the particulars) Here's the link to the Video Panel: https://youtu.be/79OPqaYph64🔗

And here's the link to the Twitch video:

https://youtu.be/ZCXIgj4u3A8🔗

There you have them, fiber friends, both chats I participated in about designing this December.

I have to admit I may stick to text communications from now on though. There is something very disconcerting about hearing oneself, especially when you have the voice of a cartoon animal. I'm as surprised by that as everyone else most likely was. It does explain my affinity for Alvin and the Chipmunks recordings though.

That's all I have for you today! After the New Year has been rung in (PSST!! Join us in the Fasten Off YAL Discord server for our New Year's Eve Boonanza! There will be games, prizes, and a whole lot of Síle posting in an overtired and hilariously semi-coherent state from her living room couch!), I'll have a post featuring the patterns I've acquired (with photos & links!!) during this year's FOYAL, and a look at KDRD's 2023, and what I hope to bring to you in 2024.

Yours in yarn, and an almost completely checked off 2023 calendar,

Síle

Tune In with the Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long

In last year's Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long, Ask Me Anythings (or AMAs) with participating designers were introduced, as were Video Panels which featured 2 or more designers at a time. These went over really well with both the designers and the audience, so FOYAL organizers decided to do them again this year. 

In a change from last year, most AMAs are happening on the FOYAL Discord server. There was one earlier today with Jessica of Snickerdoodle Knits🔗 (link goes to her website SnickerdoodleKnits.com), which you can find, and read, on the FOYAL Discord server🔗.

Knit Dance Repeat Designs, aka me Síle, will be on the first Video Panel on Saturday. I'll be one of four featured designers with Aklori Designs🔗, Natalia Yarncraft🔗, and Shanalines Designs🔗 . If you're here you don't need to know how to find me ;) (All links are to the designers' own websites.) The Video Panel is taking place via Zoom on Saturday, December 16th from 2 to 3 pm Eastern Time (UTC -5). This chat will be hosted, and monitored, by Kimianak. If you're interested in the talk but unable to attend, it will be uploaded to the Fasten Off Youtube channel later. You can check out last year's Video Panels there too: https://youtube.com/@fastenoffyal🔗

The meeting information to join the Zoom session (and have the opportunity to ask the designers any questions you might have about their designs or designing knitting, crochet, or Tunisian crochet patterns) is here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87377170933?pwd=TTF0Um5sZTdqSmtZRTJLQUZ2WEl0dz09🔗

Meeting ID: 873 7717 0933
Passcode: 363514

I'm putting the other AMAs and Video Panels here in a kind of mini schedule. I'll include links to the designers' sites as well. You can also find this information on the Fasten Off website: https://www.fastenoffyal.com/schedule.html🔗

and in the Events Calendar at the top of the Discord server.

Tomorrow, December 15th 5:30 - 6pm Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Nicole of Common Thread Fiber🔗 This will take place on Discord.

Saturday, December 16th 2 - 3pm Eastern (UTC -5) Zoom Video Panel with Aklori Designs, Síle of Knit Dance Repeat Designs, Natalia Yarncraft, and Shana of Shanalines Designs. All links and other information for this event is above.

Sunday, December 17th 9:30 - 10am Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Aoibhe Ni🔗. This will take place on Discord.

Sunday, December 17th 4:30 - 5pm Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Kerry Bullock-Ozkan of Bullock-Ozkan Designs🔗. This will take place on Discord.

Monday, December 18th 4 - 5am Eastern (UTC -5) Zoom Video Panel with Kath Andrews Designs🔗, Leela Mary Knits🔗, Sage of Little Seal Designs🔗, & Woolly Wormhead🔗. Meeting information: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83223316027?pwd=cG8yQmkvZWFhYmd2c2JNdGNKamdwQT09🔗

Meeting ID: 832 2331 6027
Passcode: 288240

Tuesday, December 19th 5:15 - 6:15pm Eastern (UTC -5) Zoom Video Panel CrochEt Cetera by Connie Lee🔗, Joanne of Made with Love and Fibres🔗, Sarah Dawn 🔗, & Rachel of Stitches and String Theory 🔗. Meeting information:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86915024196?pwd=N2Y0dW1WeVpqRE5LditSTVVHYUM4UT09🔗
Meeting ID: 869 1502 4196
Passcode: 545767

Thursday, December 21st 2 - 2:30pm Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Teresa of Classical Songbird Designs🔗. This will take place on Discord.

Wednesday, December 22nd 2:30 - 3pm Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Emily Wood Designs🔗. This will take place on Discord.

Thursday, December 28th 1 - 1:30pm Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Yvonne of Red and the Wolf Designs🔗. This will take place on Discord.

Friday, December 29th 1 - 2pm Eastern (UTC -5) Zoom Video Panel with Bronwyn of Bronwyn the Brave🔗, Sandra Conway🔗, Cori of IrocKnits, & Mary W. Martin🔗. Meeting information:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87983462155?pwd=MFY1S0ltMzh5VUZ0U2JLSkp4V2N0Zz09🔗
Meeting ID: 879 8346 2155
Passcode: 635232

Friday, December 29th 8 - 8:30pm Eastern (UTC -5) AMA with Kathleen Sperling🔗. This will take place on Discord.

So there you have it, the schedule of designers taking part in the AMAs, and Video Panels for this year's Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long :) I hope you can join us for some of the fun.

That's all from me this evening!

Yours in yarn,

Síle

A Quick Note

December 8th already!

Time flies when you're having fun, and we've already been having loads of fun over at the Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long. The Discord server is lively with chatter and games, and we're hitting our stride on Instagram (who knew Story games and reels of our Prize Wheel would be so popular?), and Mastodon. (Unfortunately Twitter wasn't the best last year what with the massive exodus of so many people. And more have left this year so the hard decision had to be made)

The sale period ends in just under an hour and a half; midnight in the Eastern (North American) timezone! 

Of course you're more than welcome to shop after that, the sales code just won't work anymore. 

And the games and fun go through December 31st, and well into January 1st. So join in, post a photo of your FOYAL Bingo card on Insta (#FOYALBingo), or one of your pet sleeping on your WIP in the furry-friends thread on Discord. 

As a sidebar to FOYAL, German designer Yvonne Becker of Red and the Wolf Designs (link to her website 🔗) will be welcoming other participating designers to join her on Twitch for chats on designs, yarn, and whatever else comes up. She hosts her Twitch stream 3 days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Shameless plug moment: I will be her guest on Tuesday December 12th :) 

And there will be at least one other chance to ask me questions or otherwise get answers from me! FOYAL plans on running their popular Designer Ask Me Anythings and Designer Video Panels again this year. With 96 designers, in some very different time zones, the schedule for these events isn't out just yet. I'll fill you in on anything I'll specifically be participating in. You can also find the official schedule for everything on the Fasten Off website (link to FastenOffYAL.com🔗) Please note the FastenOff YAL schedule times are presented in Eastern (North American) time.

Designer AMAs will be held on Discord for half an hour, and the Designer Video panels will be held on Zoom, with the chance to watch them after on FOYAL's Youtube channel. (If you want to see some and/or all of last year's Video Panels you can find them here (link to FOYAL's Youtube channel 🔗))

That's everything for tonight!

Yours in yarn and Fastening Off,

Síle

The Countdown is ON!

🎉 We're roughly an hour from the start of this year's Fasten Off YAL! 

And as always we start things off with a sale!

96 designers, plus yours truly, have over 3000 patterns on for 25% off from 9pm Eastern tonight through December 8th! Visit the database at: https://www.fastenoffyal.com🔗 !

Be sure to share with any yarn crafters you know! The designers have patterns for: knitting, crocheting, and Tunisian crochet; everything from socks and mittens, to blankets and decorations, sweaters to toys. There are even items for pets!

Hope to see you on one of our many social media platforms during the Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long 🤗

Yours in yarn and fun yarnie games,

Síle

It's Almost Here!

Well, fiber friends, this year's Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long kicks off this coming Friday! 

November 24th, be there or... hmmm. It's not really square to miss FOYAL. One could say that the crafters and designers are the true squares. 

Anyway! You may notice the shiny new tab next to the Irish dance terminology one. Just in case you have your eye on a pattern or 2 from Knit Dance Repeat Designs ;)

The designers and data entry volunteers are making sure that the database is correct, and the links and photos are working correctly. Ah, there's nothing like a deadline looming to create all the little flutters of activity that are happening now.

As expected work here at KDRD has slowed up quite a bit in anticipation of the fun and busy time that is FOYAL. I hadn't counted on a late request for a scarf of very specific requirements to crop up though. So that's been designed and the knitting has begun. I won't be sharing too many photos of it from now on since the recipient doesn't know *exactly* what it's going to look when it's done. Here's the bottom garter stitch border:

I hope I get to make something small during FOYAL this year but we'll see how operation red scarf goes.

That's it for today! We've got quite a wind and rain event going on, and it's probably best I save my phone battery in case of the power going out!

Yours in (red) yarn,

Síle

Who's Ready For FOYAL?

The weather has been a tad gloomy here, and the temperature's are dipping down. As the colder months set in it's time to turn my mind to the Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long (FOYAL).

What is the Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long? It's a make along promoting independent designers of knitting, crochet, Tunisian crochet, and loom knitting patterns, that is hosted on a number of social media platforms. It starts with a sale period (November 24th through December 8th this year), where you can purchase patterns from participating designers (like me) for 25% off. Yes, I said 25% off. The Yarn-A-Long itself kicks off on November 24th and runs through December 31st. And I mean through the 31st: the New Year's Eve Boonanza rings in the New Year in every time zone and then keeps going! 

Games, with chances to win random prizes, are run on our more popular social media accounts. These include the FOYAL Discord server, and Instagram account. Volunteer registrations close tomorrow (Nov 10th) and will give organizers a better picture of where games can be held. Random prizes can also be won just by posting on your preferred social media using the hashtag #FastenOffYAL. The prize pixies will be ready to contact winners when things start :) If you'd like to volunteer, volunteer sit this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqHY0fzGN8-NN5-XX_qzPcSE3nXjjT5oVPqxzNh2nfY0Ocsw/viewform

If you're a designer and would like to participate, Designer registration is also taking place right now. Last year there were over 100 designers, and over 3500 patterns involved in the sale! Visit this link: https://www.fastenoffyal.com/signup.html

What does this mean for Knit Dance Repeat Designs for the end of the year? I'll hopefully have the Four Hand Reel released during FOYAL. And I will be working on my current sample as well as some small projects for FOYAL. I'm in the midst of a sea of moss stitch on my Countess Cathleen:

What's been on my personal needles? I knit two Treble Reel Toques recently for gifts. They turned out well:

You can find the Treble Reel Toque pattern here: link🔗 (link stays on this website)

I'm working on my summer cast-on, a Colorica Cardigan🔗 (pattern by Romi Hill; link goes to her website). I'm working on the right front of the yoke. It's been slower going than I'd like but I've been working on it inbetween other projects but I'm really happy with how it's looking:

The stockinette fabric really wants to roll! I have 18 rows left in the mauve, and then the light green section, matching the left front that is visible in the photo. I'm thinking light blue for the third color. I'm using remnants (and hanks) of Briggs & Little Sport that I have on hand so it will be a very colorful Colorica ;)

That's all from here at KDRD headquarters!

Yours in yarn and end of the year plans,

Síle

Coming Attractions

Whew! Been a bit

The beta/test knit for the Four Hand Reel is wrapping up soon, and it's gone wonderfully well 😊 The knitters chose such different colors to my own bag, and they all look phenomenal. I'll be sharing some of their photos in my Instagram stories leading up to the pattern release.

When will that be?

I'm happy to announce the Four Hand Reel pattern will be released before the end of October 😊 I'm firming up the date ; guess who needs photos ;)

While the generous knitters have been busy with their "totes of many colors", I've been hard at work on the Countess Cathleen design. 

I had the entire thing off the needles (onto a holding thread; no way am I risking 612 stitches to possible ladders!) last week, and captured this photo of it. Thanks to a furry "helper" it's not nicely spread out with the front edges touching, like when I stood up to get the photo... (Way to go, Jade 🙄)

(The fronts actually overlap as the cloak is more than a circle's worth of hand knit fabric)

Right now it's 9 rows shorter than this. I realized after trying it on that I'd started the knotwork motifs too soon 🤦🏼‍♀️ The joys of designing on the needles! 

So this beauty is taking all of my design attention right now. But it shouldn't be too much longer, and I'll have it finished. Then it's finalizing the pattern (and doub... tri... quadruple checking all my math lol), and sending it off to my awesome techeditor. I think this might possibly be in beta/test knitting in the spring, with a fall release date. We'll see! I have a couple other designs nearly done that could sneak in ahead of this one. 

And after that? Don't worry I have some fun designs in the plotting/planning stages. A real mixed bag of everything too! Double-knitting, lace, and (of course) more cables; I even have double-knitting *with* cables in the works 😉 

Hope this finds you enjoying your fall or spring projects, depending where you call home. What's on your needles as we approach the end of 2023?

Yours in yarn and movable deadlines,

Síle

A Quick Rundown

Hello! How are you doing?

I hope your late summer/early fall (or late winter/early spring depending where you call home) projects are progressing nicely. A few of the test/beta knitters have finished their Four Hand Reel totes now, which is exciting! They look very cool. 

I've been plugging away at the sea of moss stitch that my Countess Cathleen was feeling like and I see land in sight! I'm finally at the row where the knotwork motifs start :) So excited to see how it looks all together!

Hurricane Franklin will be buzzing by my island home over the next couple of days bringing us lots of rain. Thankfully it's staying well away from land, although one of the maps shown earlier today by our local meteorologist showed it approaching Iceland later in the week. Mother Nature is certainly showing her strength with everything going on this year! 

What about you? Anything interesting on your needles? Are you making a list of fall cast-ons? I noticed several podcasts/vlogs on Youtube have episodes on their must knits for fall. It can be interesting to see what other knitters are leaning towards. I want Countess Cathleen and at least one of my personal projects off the needles soon so that I can cast-on something new. I need to get the lining done for my Four Hand Reel too. And then I need to not knit anymore bags that need linings for a while! lol I'm so not a seamstress. 

That's all I've got this evening. 

Yours in yarn and rapidly increasing humidity,

Síle

Thoughts and Ruminations on a Cloudy Friday

Things are pretty quiet around Knit Dance Repeat Designs right now. The test/beta knit for the Four Hand Reel is humming along nicely. One of the brilliant knitters has finished her tote, and a couple of the others are nearly there. It's so cool to see my design come to life in someone else's color and fiber choices! 

I've been working on Countess Cathleen fairly monogamously this month. Unfortunately I'm in the midst of a moss stitch sea when it doesn't seem like the work is growing despite checking off completed rows on the chart. I know all of a sudden it'll magically appear to have grown, but this part is a bit like sleeve island right now. Not the worst thing in world but I'm trying to make sure I don't overshoot the point that the knotwork motifs make their entrance. I'm *really* looking forward to seeing them in situe.

One thing about knitting in a bit of an auto mode, it leaves my mind free to wander, and wonder about new ideas. And that's resulted in two new design ideas in the past week! I'm still fleshing out my notes, but both designs will definitely involve beads. One might need to have the beads prestrung to get the effect I'm envisioning, while the other will work better using the crochet hook method of placing each bead separately. I confess: I like the individually placed methods better. I feel the bead being on two legs of a stitch is more secure than prestringing. Going by how many popular designs are knit using prestrung beads, my fear is probably quite a bit unfounded. 

I may as well spill the tea, and tell you these will be two shawls, although one will have the option to be a scarf or a stole-type wrap. These are also quite bit down on the list currently though so things could change by the time they get to my needles, and then out to you! With 20 some designs in various states of planning, ie. samples not on the needles yet, *any* of them could be very different once they go through my process. 

Speaking of the design process, I watched a really neat episode of "The Thread - A Knitting Podcast" on Youtube last week. Nicole went through her process, and the sort of 5 main questions she answers when she's plotting and planning a design. Like my designs, hers have a distinct niche inspiration so I found it super interesting how she goes about things, and how it compares and contrasts with my own process. If you haven't checked out "The Thread", give it a watch. You might enjoy it too. I find Nicole very fun and personable. You can also find her on Instagram as @thecommonthread; her stories are often very funny, and her enthusiasm is catching.

I think that's about it from here. There's rain in the forecast for the next few days so that will be an excellent excuse to craft away the weekend. Sistwerp and I are re-watching Supernatural from the beginning (again lol; we're nearing the end of season 1 now) which is so good for me from a getting rows done standpoint. Having something to watch on the tv keeps me from picking up my phone, and scrolling away several hours when I could've/should've made progress on a project. I've been unengaged with actually posting anything the last year or so. I've really struggled with it, and I have no idea why. I still take photos, I just don't post them anywhere. Might text them to Mum or someone else but... yeah. But I'll get engaged in scrolling, especially Insta, and oh, look! It's 4 hours later, and I really need to get supper going! lol

The mind is a nebulous, and mysterious thing isn't it?

I think I'll work some granny squares for my Aria Blanket (pattern by Lucy @Attic24) while I continue to ponder this, that, and everything else in between. This is one of my personal projects, and I'm only 17 squares away from finishing it! Ok, 17 squares plus the wide border. Anyway, it's getting closer to finished. Yay! That'll be one less personal project on the go, and one step closer to a more manageable work projects/personal project: ratio. I digress!! Lol So much for closing this post, right? rotflmao

Ok, this time I'm really closing this post. 

I hope your yarn projects are happily coming along. Are you close to finishing any large ones? Are you clearing your needles and hooks of warm weather projects in anticipation of the coming cooler temps? I'd love to hear what you've got on the go, and what comes next in your yarn adventures.

Thanks for reading along, fiber friends!

Yours in yarn and too many ruminations ;)

Síle 

Shifting, Ever So Slowly, Towards Fall

We've reached August, fiber friends! 

It's sunny and 20°C here, which is absolutely perfect weather; warm enough for shorts but nowhere near the 'think of breathing and sweat' temps of a month ago. 

And that means knitting is happening on a much better schedule. Or what passes for a schedule here! 

The test/beta knit for the Four Hand Reel is coming along beautifully. Each tester has chosen such fantastic colors and a variety of fibers. They're all fantastic!

I've got the Countess Cathleen (cloak) back on active status after (finally) choosing the knotwork motif for the last/bottom section of the body. No more swatching for this one. I'm just following the charts now. It feels so good when a sample gets to this stage. Here's a photo I took not long before I paused to create/swatch knotworks:

I'm really happy with how it's going :) And I'm hoping to finish knitting it by the end of the month. I have an even bigger idea to get on the needles next! lol 

My mind has been stuck on cozy warmth ideas so once Countess Cathleen's sample is done, I have a large cabled wrap that I just got the charts done for, or a double-knit blanket (in 3 sizes, with cables!) that I can cast-on for my large sample project. One thing I've learned from my current double-knit swatch is I want a different yarn for the sample. Which is another large project! See what I mean about cozy warmth ideas?

I'm afraid I'm more than a bit off track right now with my personal project to work project ratio. So I've made a deal with myself to finish at least 2 of my personal projects before I start any new ones. We'll see how that goes!

I think I dove into too many larger things all at once and it's just bogged my head down. I have nothing small on the needles right now; in my personal projects there are: a cabled sweater (for me), a sweater with lace sections (for me), a large color and textured shawl/wrap, a cabled shawl, and the crocheted blanket (I work on this once a month as part of the challenge a group I belong to does). Plus two gifts for smaller individuals but with fairly decent stitch counts. I quite clearly was suffering from startitis late last year into this year. I may have to employ the old "grab a project bag in the morning and see how much you can get done on only that project for a day" method until I get everything sorted back out. 

What strategies do you use when your WIPs get a bit too out of hand? Any tips or tricks? Be sure to put them in the comments :)

I need to be signing off; supper hasn't yet gotten to the point where it makes itself... And I'd be more than a little creeped out if it did

Yours in yarn and a large WIP pile,

Síle

Summertime & the Knitting Countines (Slowly)

I'm happy to report that the Hornpipe Bag pattern🔗 (link remains within this site) was well received last week. And testing for the Four Hand Reel is going great. One tester is nearly finished! Depending on the photo situation, I forsee a fall release of the tote bag pattern.

I'm happy to say our temps are down slightly which is allowing me to knit again for at least short times. Roomie has gone to Town to attend tonight's George Street Festival concert, so I'm here with my yarn and her cats. One of the items on my list to tackle today is cutting/sewing/attaching the lining for my Four Hand Reel. I found the cutest fabric a while ago:

Isn't that fun? Especially since I use my tote as a large project bag.

Speaking of large projects, I've been knitting up samples of the various knotwork motifs I've charted in order to help me choose the right one for Countess Cathleen (the cabled and hooded cloak design). So far I haven't found the right one, but I'm really hopeful for KW#7 :) KW#5 was cool but waaaay too big. I might have a place in the lineup where it can shine though. Possibly. I digress! Here are some of the rejected knotworks:

I was able  to watch Romi Hill's Youtube live last night. What a wealth of blocking lace knowledge! If you're looking for lace tips and tricks, her Youtube channel is a gold mine. Anyway, she mentioned that there other ways to block lace besides those she covered, one being a shawl frame. These were/are commonly used in the Shetland islands to block out their beautiful lace shawls. I believe there's also a type of shawl frame from Estonia/the Baltic countries; I confess I was only skimming the google-foo results. Knit Picks has a tutorial🔗 on how to build one that can be easily taken down for storage. Dangerous knowledge for me lol. Still I think building one is most likely, although with the price of lumber it might not be, the cheaper option. I'll add it to my list of things I should build with the portable dance floor so I don't have to treble on concrete in the basement ;)

Why did I bring up lace and shawl frames? Well, the Planxty Hap needs a good blocking before I can get pictures of it, and then get it into techediting and test/beta knitting. I really want to get that out for everyone to see. It's a fairly soothing lace project, and I'm a bit proud of it.

And there will be (at least) another lace shawl coming sometime down the road too. I have the charts finalized, I "just" need to get the yarn and knit the sample. I have to laugh because I have so many designs at this particular stage right now. I'm looking at my list of ideas/charts that are fully realized and can count 6. At least it keeps me out of trouble lol

In my personal projects, I'm actively working on a cabled pullover (Twist Again by Robynn Weldon🔗), a not overly lace cardigan (Colorica Cardigan by Romi Hill🔗), and a fun and colorful shawl  (Who Ya Gonna Shawl by Mary Annarella/Lyrical Knits🔗). All of these links go to either the designer's own website or their Payhip shop; none send you to R@v.

That's today's little round up. I hope you've been staying relatively cool in the summer heat. Have you  been fiber crafting? Perhaps you're using a cotton or linen blend yarn to knit a tanktop or crochet a beach/pool cover-up? Let me what you have on the go :)

That's it for me today! Stay cool!

Yours in yarn, and summer heat,

Síle

Anyone Need a New Bag?

My Hornpipe Bag pattern is now available!

This handy double-knit bag is just the right size for running errands, going to your summer dance class, or attending an outdoor show. And because it's double-knit, you get a fun patterned bag without worrying about your keys, pens, and other bits getting caught in the floats! 

This fun pattern is backed by photo tutorials, linked directly in the Notes section of the pattern, and also easily found in the Helpful Posts tab above, for the techniques I used that may not be familiar to you. 

Where can you buy the Hornpipe Bag pattern? Right here on this site! Hornpipe Bag on this site🔗

But that's not all! Buy before end of day on Friday (the 21st), using code KDRDHB20 and receive 20% off. This is code is only found here in this post as a thank you to my readers. (Yes, there's another code for a smaller discount that I'm putting out more freely. No, they can't be stacked.)

What are you waiting for? Get the Hornpipe Bag pattern today ;)

Yours in yarn and release day chaos,

Síle

Photo Shoot Day!

That's right! 

Photos for the Hornpipe Bag are on the schedule today :)

And that means I'll be taking some time over the next few days to choose which photos will be in the pattern, and which additional ones will be on the various pattern pages. And of course making sure everything is just so before I put it out for everyone.

Release day for the Hornpipe Bag will be Tuesday, the 18th!

That's not all that's on my designer's to-do list this weekend! The test/beta knit for the Four Hand Reel starts on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to what colors the knitters will be using. That's my favorite part of any test/beta knit: seeing my design re-interpreted in someone else's color and yarn choices.

And of course I have actual knitting on my list. I'm knitting up the various knotwork motif charts I've created for the bottom section of the Countess Cathleen cloak. I thought that a cabled knotwork would look really nice centered near the bottom of each of the shaping panels. So, I've been creating charts, and knitting them, to try and find the right one. I've made some interesting observations but my hunt for the right knotwork continues. 

I have a couple of double-knitting designs in the works. I'm looking at yarns right now, and hope to get them on the needles toward the end of the summer or early fall. Which will hopefully be when I have another pattern in test/beta knitting. This will be something for the lace and/or shawl knitters amongst you. I've dubbed it the Planxty Hap. I think you'll like it if lace with a twist is your type of pattern.

Time for me to get outside and join my photographer so she can make some photo magic!

Yours in yarn and model mode ;)

Síle

Testing News and Social Media

I'm happy to report I opened applications for spots to test/beta knit my Four Hand Reel tote bag pattern this week!

Applications are open on Yarnpond until next Friday (the 14th), and testers chosen will receive their copies on July 15th. The (completely flexible) deadline is set as September 23rd; 10 weeks for striped garter stitch log cabin blocks turned into a very roomy tote bag. I use mine as a knitting project bag for larger projects; it's housing the yarn and a started baby blanket currently. You can find all the details of the test here: https://www.yarnpond.com/pattern_tests/3590

I've been trying to get my Instagram mojo working again. I used to post all the time, several times a day. But since Covid came into our lives, I've noticed I have a lot of trouble with social media. I don't know what it is, but while I'll scroll for hours, I have a really difficult time posting my own posts. Captions are hard to write (normally my strong suit). It's like my chronic pain and medication induced brain fog has swallowed my words. Thankfully not in my pattern writing, but having a presence on social media as an indy designer of knitting patterns is sooooooo important these days. I'm feeling a bit lost and adrift on the interwebs these days. I don't think Elephant Mess mucking about with Twitter is helping me either. Twitter was the second social media I ever joined, maybe a month or two after I joined Ravelry, so it's kind of my home. Sadly its days seem very numbered. If you have any tips or tricks that help you maintain your presence on social media, especially photos on Instagram (please not Reels though. The only reels I like involve ghillies or hardshoes ;) ) comment below, please and thank you!

Off to the glamor and grandeur that is washing dishes! I know you're secretly envying me ;)

Yours in yarn and testknitting applications,

Síle

Hole-y Double-Knits, bat-people!

This tutorial shows how I made the eyelets for the drawstrings in my Hornpipe Bag pattern. It's also good for buttonholes in double-knitting, in case you endeavour to a double-knit cardigan or vest.

For this tutorial, I'm using two colors of worsted weight yarn, Fresh Green as the Main Color (MC) and Off-white as the Contrast Color (CC), for good contrast and so the stitches are a bit larger and visible for you.

While the numbers and spacing are for my Hornpipe Bag, I hope you'll be able to apply this tutorial to other projects as well.

At Rnds 64 and 65, the chart directs you back to the written instructions. Here's what rnd 64 says:

Rnd 64: [Work 6 sts as established, *cast-off 6 sts working them in their same colors, work 13 sts as established (20 sts worked per * * repeat); repeat from * 6 more times, cast-off 6 sts working them in their same colors, work 3 sts as established] twice.

And here's what my "bag" looks like ready to start rnd 64: 

Ok, so I work 6 sts as established:

... and then cast-off 6 sts, working them with their same color:

Now you work 13sts; you'll have 14 sts to the left of your eyelet because of the stitch that was used to cast-off the last eyelet stitch:

And you repeat these steps to the end of the round as it's lined out in row 64. Here's all of my eyelets done in my tutorial swatch:

Onto rnd 65. I'm going to break this down line by line.

 Rnd 65: *Work sts as established until you reach an eyelet. Turn the piece. (Before you ask: yes, this is worked the same in both working in the round and working flat):

Next step:

**Insert the right needle into the 2nd st on the left needle as if to knit it through its back loop:

Using the same color as this stitch, draw through a loop:

... and place it on the left needle. One new stitch has been cast-on.:

Now insert the right needle into the 2nd stitch on the left needle as if to knit it:

Using the same color as this stitch, draw through a loop:

... and place it on the left needle; a new stitch has been cast-on.:

Repeat from ** twice; you've cast on 6 new sts total:

Turn the work and repeat working from the * (ie the beginning of rnd 65):

One other thing I should mention that you're probably noticing about my swatch. The Contrast Color strands are looking a bit crossed over each other. It's mostly undetectable once those sts are worked into on the following rnd/row, but I also recommend when knitting flat (as I am with the swatch) to always do the casting off of your eyelets on a Right Side row, so this bit of crossing is on the Wrong Side/inside of your finished item.

And there you have it! This concludes my photo tutorial on eyelets (or buttonholes) in double-knitting.

Swatching Experiments: a behind the scenes look at a future idea

Now that I'm pretty much back to my usual knitting pace (with breaks; I don't want another 6+ week hiatus!), I've been doing some swatching for some ideas I'm sort of toying with, and I thought you might like to see what goes on at this stage if my process.

Ok, to be totally truthful my process rarely if ever follows the same path twice. Not how I function lol. But what does stay the same is swatching happens. 

Do I like this yarn on this size needle? What does this decrease look like? Can I work this and this on the same row and have it not look cluttered? The best way to answer these questions is to cast-on 50 or 60 stitches and start knitting whatever is going to answer the important question in front of me. Luckily I love playing with yarn. I see swatching as extra play time, which *really* makes it feel like less of a boring chore. I see you in the back shaking your head and hating on swatching. And I used to think it was pointless too. Joke was fully on me because now I cast-on a swatch at the drop of a new ball of yarn.

I digress.

So this week, besides the photos for the tutorial I mentioned on Monday (it'll be up late tomorrow or on Sunday), I had an old idea pop into my head. I had started, back in... I really want to say 2008? 2009? Possibly earlier. (Canadian retail yarn trivia: what was the craft store that was in at least one mall in most larger cities in the late 90s - early 2000s? For anyone in Regina, it was in the Southland Mall across from Safeway; where M&M Meats was in 2012. You know the spot.) Ok, I had gotten some cool teal/blue/purple variegated mohair yarn at that store probably 6 months or so before they closed out, and I was designing with it to make a triangular shawl starting at the point and working up. Between the cross country move in 2012, and a bunch of other events, that on the needles proto shawl (and any notes I had taken) no longer exists. 

And of course at around 2:30-3:00 in the morning the other day it popped up big and bold in my head. Clear as day. And that prompted me to wonder if I could at least recall how I was shaping it. Which led to a swatch. And me being a much more experienced knitter now means I have a few more tricks in my shaping knits repertoire than I did back then. 

I started by trying to just chart my idea out, and I got a good 30 rows into it with everything looking good. Look at that, I said to myself. That's looking how I remember it. Cool. 

There are times when something on paper, or a digital chart program, looks really good. The proof is when it works in a swatch. 

Well, fiber friends, it started off well. The first about 12 rows or so were great. And then I noticed it sort of looked like it was developing a bubble. I persevered, and kept knitting (because that always goes well, right? Yeeeeeaaah) until I couldn't deny what was in front of me:

You see it, don't you? It's almost forming a mitered square back in on itself. That is very much not the look I was going for. Now, of course one has to consider if something like this will block out. Which isn't an answer I can give because I just grabbed any old yarn close to hand and a circular needle that looked about right to go with the yarn (my needle gauge is still MIA). Of course the yarn closest to hand on my end table was a leftover ball of acrylic of indeterminate age and brand.

And after getting the above photo, I promptly frogged the little swatch with a mind of its own. 

What have I learned? Stacking right side rows of 1-into-3 increases upon right side rows of 1-into-3 increases causes rows of garter stitch to bow out and almost turn square. 

I've adjusted the chart and sometime in the next week or so I'll see what happens with that one. Should be interesting to see.

Yours in yarn and lingering ideas,

Síle

Hello, June!

Little did I know when I wrote my last post that I had over 3 weeks more to my frozen-up arm. As you can imagine, that's put me waaay more behind on my various projects. Slowly I'm getting caught up while also working with a new strategy of breaks while working to keep my arm from going out again. 

What's going on here at KDRD? I'm currently editing my final tutorial for the Hornpipe Bag and, weather cooperating, photos should be done later in the week. I'm thinking the tutorial should be up on the weekend, with the pattern release next week. We'll see if it gets there!

The Four Hand Reel will be in test/beta knitting around July 5th. This is my log cabin square totebag. I'll be lining my proto soon; I had mislaid the fabric for a bit. The test/beta knit will be run on Yarnpond, which I found excellent to use when I tested the Hornpipe Bag last year. I'm thinking 10 weeks for the test period based on the yardage (5 colors/shades; about 200 yards each of 4 of them and 65-70 yds of the 5th one)

I'm continuing to play with my knotwork motif idea for the Countess Cathleen cloak. And I have a couple double-knitting ideas that I'm playing with too. And at least one other cable rich design. It's been very cold and blah here so I've been bringing more color into my work.

In my personal crafting, I'm well into the first sleeve of my Twist Again sweater. Finally I have the rhythm of the pattern down and the knitting is easy again. (Twist Again by Robynn Weldon on Payhip)

Does that happen to you? Find a pattern a bit of a struggle until you find the proper rhythm and then it just glides along. 

I've decided to change tracks on my bright colors sweater. Instead of crocheting a number of blocks (that truth be told were not lining up right), I've decided to make another Harvest cardigan using the 9 colors (8 bright ones with black) and knitting in alternating bands of the Fibonacci sequence, using ridges instead of rows. If you're not familiar with the Harvest cardigan, the front and neck edgings are knit at the same time as the rest of the top-down sweater, and the edgings are done in garter stitch. Hence using ridges. My plan is to knit 1 ridge in black, 1 ridge in Color 1, 2 ridges of black, 3 ridges of Color 2, 5 ridges of black, 8 ridges of Color 3, etc, keeping the colors in order and cycling through them as needed. That's the plan currently anyway. It could change again! lol (Harvest cardigan by Tin Can Knits on TinCanKnits.com)

 

I'm planning to get a new proto of my Single Jig Mitties on the needles soon. This is both a KDRD project (I want to update the photos when I get the pdf updated) and a personal project (I need something on my poor frozen hands. While the rest of North America is sweltering, we're experiencing Juneuary here on the island. It's 8°C and raining currently (46.4°F). We're living up to our Iceberg Alley nickname this year). I like when things work out that way. Single Jig Mitties on this site

And that's all I have that's fit to print this gloomy Monday! I look forward to getting the final Hornpipe Bag tutorial up this week.

I hope your crafting is going well. What are your plans for summer knitting? A light top perhaps? Or a lacy shawl? Maybe you prefer smaller things like mittens and hats so you're ready when the weather turns back to the cooler side of things. I'd love to hear about your plans :)

Your in yarn and wet weather,

Síle