A Twist in My Plan

I'm working on writing up the pattern for Countess Cathleen, my hooded cabled cloak. But of course I need a project on the needles, so I started on my next design, Cherish the Ladies. This will be a large cable and twisted stitch patterned wrap with knit-as-you-go fringe and bead accents. 

The easiest way to work twisted stitch patterns is in the round. I don't know about you, but I find cabling on wrong side rows a complete PitA. My solution is to add a steek section, which will be unraveled after it's cut to create the fringe (ta da!) allows me all the ease of knitting in the round and still end up with a flat wrap. 

There is one problem with adding a steek section and knitting in the round: the dreaded "join, being careful not to twist" with such a large number of stitches. I won't lie: to get the design just how I wanted it, plus the steek section, resulted in a cast-on of 631 stitches.

That's not a typo. 631 stitches in sport weight wool on a 3.5mm/US 4 circular needle. 

(Did I happen to mention this is my Year of Going For It? 😂 Just wait! I have more to come!)

Anyway, I got it cast-on...

and all was going well... until somewhere along in round 4 when I straightened out a lot of the knitting and discovered The Twist:

Fiber friends, I could've cried. I actually had to walk away from it for a few days, and work on some personal projects instead.

I'm in the midst of casting on again, using a trick I found online somewhere. While casting on, weave a piece of ribbon into the cast-on every so many stitches; I like using 20 but 10 or whatever number fits your pattern repeat is also good.

How does this help? It makes seeing the twist easier because the ribbon contrasts with the stitches, where the stitches against more stitches of the same color is harder to find. Especially for those of us whose eyes are a little older 😉

So that's where things at KDRD headquarters (ie the couch in my living room) are right now. Hopefully I'll have in progress pictures to share with you soon.

What are you working on, fiber friends?

Yours in yarn, and one very long cast-on,

Síle

Spring Hasn't Quite Sprung

I said it wouldn't take me long to get Countess Cathleen done once the knotworks were underway. It's not quite done yet, but I'm over halfway through the knotworks now :) Here's the photo I put on Insta yesterday:

I love how it's coming together :) And only 25 rows to go!

Of course this means I'm going to have to turn to writing the pattern soon. Which I confess isn't always my favorite part of designing. But if I don't write it then I can't see how it looks when other knitters knit their own, and that is one of my favorite parts of designing. As with any thing, there are fun and not-so-fun aspects. So, I'll be pattern writing pretty soon, followed by tech-editing, and then test/beta knitting. I'll have more news on that as I get closer to having the pattern ready. The test will definitely be held on Yarnpond again. So if you're interested, stay tuned this spring.

Speaking of audience, I was checking the stats here recently and noticed I'm getting a lot of interest from Singapore and Hong Kong the last while. Hello, and welcome *waves* :) I'm not sure if it's my knitting or Irish Dance content that's bringing you to visit me but I'm happy to have you along for my adventures :) And hello to anyone else who's new, or not. The more the merrier, in both knitting and dancing :)

In Irish Dancing news: CLRG Worlds start in Glasgow tomorrow!! Squeeeee! I'll be following coverage via Instagram all this coming week. Best wishes to all the dancers!!

My next knitting adventure should be underway in a few weeks! I've narrowed down the bead choices for Cherish the Ladies, and will be casting on in April. With sport-weight wool, I'm going with 6/0 seed beads, and I've learned of a few Canadian sources for them that are very reasonable in both prices and shipping. I'll let you know how I get on once I've got them. I confess it's totally down to color at this point; not surprisingly at all *insert cry-laughing emoji here*. I think my love of color is fairly well documented ;)

That reminds me! I started a new personal project recently, and I'm using a lot of color for it. Some of you may remember that I knit a Harvest cardigan (pattern by Tin Can Knits; link to their site🔗) a couple of years ago. I love it, and wear it around the house quite a bit but... quite honestly, I messed up the size choice. It doesn't like to stay on and I can't close it because when your full-chest measurement is 47 inches, knitting the size with a finished measurement of 47 inches is not a good choice for a cardigan you plan to wear over light tops (usually a tank top but sometimes a tee if it's a little chillier) *facepalm* As I said, totally my goof up.

So I decided to knit a new one in a much more practical size. And I decided that I wanted a colorful sweater. Like all the colors. No, seriously. All the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, dark blue/indigo, purple, pink, and black. 9 colors. And I toyed with rainbow order stripes, and maybe using the Fibonacci sequence for the number of rows, but then I got a much more... random idea.

Are you familiar with "shiny math rocks", aka role-playing game dice, aka D n' D dice? I just happen to have acquired a set of these lovely items last fall. And you may remember I knit a particularly epic scarf by the lovely designer, Aetherfang (aka Tania Richter) that involved rolling rpg dice to decide which chart in the adventure to knit. What would happen if I used my D10 for the color, and say the D8 to decide the number of ridges to knit? (If you're not familiar with the Harvest cardigan pattern, the front bands are knit in garter stitch while you knit the body in stockinette) Well, I can show you the first bit:

Fun, isn't it? I love it, And it's all been decided by dice rolls, which is very fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants knitting. I'm having a lot of fun with it :) Almost as much fun as I had using a random number generator to place the beads as I knit Romi Hill's Celaeno shawl. Hmm, there's an idea...

For those of you thinking 'Wait. She's using a D10 and only has 9 colors...?'  I have the colors numbered 1-9 according to good old Roy G. Biv with pink = 8, and black = 9. If I roll D10=10 I use the next color in the sequence. Say the last stripe I knit is orange (aka color 2), and I roll D10=10 for the next stripe, that stripe is then yellow (aka color 3). If I roll the same color number back to back, I re-roll the D10; it doesn't matter if the same number of ridges comes up in a row so the D8 doesn't need re-rolling ever.

Between my very colorful Harvest cardi, and getting through the final rows of my Countess Cathleen (740 stitches per row at this point), that's all my knitting time lately. I did a bit of swatching for Cherish the Ladies this week, just to confirm the needle size I had recorded in my design notebook. All systems are a go, as soon as I have the beads in hand :)

What's on your needles this Spring, fiber friends? We're still getting flurries here on the Island, so we'll see if Spring actually reaches us before June this year lol! I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of wear out of both my cloak and my cardigan when they're finished! 

That's it from me for now!

Yours in yarn, and dice rolls,

Síle

That Was Unforseen

February was a heck of a month.

Remember how I popped in to show you I'd started the knotworks on my Countess Cathleen cloak?

Yeah, I jumped the starting whistle a wee bit. Turns out, I didn't have enough wool to finish the knotworks where I'd positioned them. And the cloak wasn't where I'd hoped it would be lengthwise either, so...

I frogged back to the row before I started the knotworks (again), started knitting again, adding to the background. And very quietly ordered 4 more hanks of wool.

(Aside: I ordered the wool at 3:45am on a Thursday. Around 8 hours later I had an email saying my order was at the post office, and it was ready for pickup at my local post office on Monday. I can't tell you how absolutely blown away by the service from Cast On! Cast Off! in Triton🔗 (link to their website; they have 5 exclusive colorways of Briggs & Little Heritage!) Of course, it helps they and I are on the same island. But seriously I wasn't even expecting my order to be into the mail that quickly!)

With the new hanks in hand, and a lovely (insert eyeroll here) snow storm happening outside, I charted out the knotworks, and the bottom borders (with transitions for all 3 sizes!).  Happy dance! 

I'm only 3 rows from the (please let this be the final) knotwork starts :) Granted, the rows are over 600 stitches in length so it's taking a bit to get them done. But once the knotworks are started my progress will pick up.

I'm an odd creature in that easy knitting, like say stockinette in the round, takes me foreeeeeevvvveeerrr. But stick a complex cable or lace pattern in the midst of it and I'll have it done lickety split! If you're at all familiar with online knitting magazine, Knitty🔗 (link to the wonderful webzine), and their delightful rating system, I have a tanktop from one of the previous iterations of their shop that says "piquant" on it for a reason. My former knit night pals can laughingly tell you about the time we held a knit-a-long for the Pinwheel sweater (was on the now defunct Elann.com), and everyone finished, except me because I got bored of all the stockinette in the round and started other projects instead of finishing it *insert cry-laughing emoji here*. I digress.

Speaking of snow, that dump we got in February melted down fairly quickly. And then we received another 54cm (roughly 21 inches) this past Thursday through Saturday morning. Guess who tried to shovel out the household for the second time in around 3 weeks. And guess who is hurting a lot, and unable to sleep despite the taking of medications meant to calm muscles and pain signals. Someone writing a blogpost much earlier than she normally does, perchance? See, I figured you'd put the clues together ;)

My recent internet rabbithole has been looking for sources of large quantities of 6/0 beads for Cherish the Ladies, and a few other designs that aren't quite far enough along to put on my cast-on list just yet. Admittedly, I don't have yarn for any of them. Kind of slows things down a bit lol. And yes, other designers probably have yarn before they start a design. Seems logical, right? While I routinely employ logic in all kinds of situations, designing isn't always one of them. We've established I do things my own way, even when it makes no logical sense, right? Oh good. I was afraid no one noticed ;)

The furry members of the household have figured out I'm awake, so I must give them attention. You'd think no one ever pets Jakey and Silver by how they get on...

That reminds me! You need to see the photo of Jakey from Saturday night. I had the cloak out to knit some after the hockey game, and... well see for yourself:

The furry nephew wasn't pleased that I asked him to get off my cloak. And with that expression on his floofy little face, I decided to work on something else completely. He's a benevolent little tyrant of two things: 100% wool (in hanks, balls or already knit up), and my lap if one of his sisters gets up with me. Sil has learned to sit on the arm of the couch next to me to avoid him pushing her off my lap. He's quite the character, our Jakey.

Well, fiber friends, I think I've been at this long enough *yawn*. Maybe I can get a bit of sleep in, on this rainy Tuesday morning. I hope your projects are all coming along nicely. Pop a comment below to let me know what your current project(s) is/are.

Yours in yarn, and an ever stiffening back,

Síle

PSA: February Starts Tomorrow

Just in case anyone else is having the thought that today is February 1st. 

I've made announcements in two groups that February activities have started that I had to reword as "nothing to see here" *facepalm* Anyone else jumping the gun on the second month of 2024?

While I have you here, I'll show you the latest progress photo of the cabled knotwork motif on the Countess Cathleen design:

I love how it's coming along. Not that I'm biased or anything  ;) 

That's all for now, fiber friends. What's on your needles and/or hooks this #WIPWednesday?

Yours in yarn and (apparently) time travel,

Síle

Nothing Like Starting in My Usual Way

If you've been here before, you know what I mean lol.

Let's jump in!

January 6th came and went with only an Instagram post to mark it. Why is January 6th important? It's Knit Dance Repeat Design's anniversary! And this year marked 9 years. Which means something big(ger than normal) in 2025. I have no clue what exactly yet! But I'll definitely be thinking on it throughout 2024. Here's the photo that I had to crop down to make the Insta post:

Hmm, I still need to gather all of the links for my FOYAL pattern highlight post. Sooo... next time? We'll see what happens.

I have an exciting photo to share! Ta da!

And you're most likely looking at it and thinking 'Ok... it's a close up of textured knitting. Not exactly earth shattering, Síle.'

Ah! But what if I point out that little cluster by my forefinger? ;) No? Still not sure what I could possibly be excited about? 

It's the first 2 rows of a knotwork motif. On my Countess Cathleen cloak. 

That's right, the knotworks have been started! Which means The Countess is nearing completion, and is that much closer to tech editing and beta/test knitting :) *insert Kermit the Frog arm flailing gif here*

What else is happening around KDRD right now? Excellent question!

So I'm behind my, admittedly loose and flexible to the extreme, schedule for releasing the Four Hand Reel tote. I need to sew (what on Earth was I thinking?!) and attach the lining, and following up on some feedback from my brilliant group of testers, I decided that I would include a photo tutorial/walk through of the lining process with the pattern (separate pdf).

Dear fiber folks, I am not a sewist. Anyone with any sewing knowledge whatsoever is going to wonder what I'm doing to this poor fabric in aghast amazement. My humble apologies, sewing community.

I'm hoping to have everything done, and put together in the early spring; March-ish most likely. And the pattern will be out shortly after that.

I don't know if you're aware of this but one of my favorite things to knit is lace. The problem with lace is you need a big enough space to stretch it out and block it. Blocking somewhere, like say an island in the north Atlantic Ocean, where it's often humid/damp takes a lot of time. Which impacts the space limitations one may live with. Unfortunately that all leads to having a lovely shawl pattern all ready for tech editing, and of course beta/test knitting, that you don't have final dimensions for. And you can't photograph it because it's in that state of lace looking like a plate of noodles before it's blocked. This is where the Planxty Hap resides currently. Sooo close to getting to you all, but not quite there yet. Perhaps this summer before the humidity kicks into high gear? I hope *crosses fingers... and toes*.

I have more cables coming up though!

If you've been here 5 minutes you've probably gathered that cables are an inevitable and omnipresent thing here at KDRD ;)

I've finally settled on the final arrangement of the cable, and twisted stitch, panels for the Cherish the Ladies wrap. I reached beyond the Irish dance world by going through it for this design.

As you know, I've been hard at knit on the Countess Cathleen hooded cloak which is inspired by the song and dance from Riverdance, originally danced by the incomparable Jean Butler. The title and character Countess Cathleen comes from a poetic name for Ireland herself. This had me going on a bit of a tangent for other references in poetry and song, which lead me to the rich tapestry of Irish myths and legends. Many of which I'd read but tucked away in a corner of my mind for safe keeping.

But this got me thinking about creating something for some of the Ladies. As is often the case, I started playing with charts, both cables and lace. As I continued re-reading tales, I continued to bring ideas to my charts. I also started thinking on the ladies of my own family. During all of this deep diving, and by complete chance, I happened upon the jig tune Cherish the Ladies. If that wasn't a perfect name for whatever I was creating, I didn't know what was.

Near the end I had 6 cable and/or twisted stitch panels, and had dubbed each of them with a name from Irish legends: Caitlín, Áine, Ériu, Bríghid, the Morrígan, and Danu. In my arranging and rearranging of the panels into the final wrap, Caitlín and Danu have been set aside for future use.

The other 4 panels form Cherish the Ladies, a large wrap knit in the round by including steek stitches, which once cut and unraveled give the wrap its fringed edges. The cast on is the bottom of the wrap; the panels will be upright rather than knit from a short side. That means a very large number of cast-on stitches; 625 to be particular about it. If it helps, I have to cast-on that number at least once too!

I'll be using sport weight wool; I have a large quantity (over 2700 yards!) of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport in a gorgeous aqua/teal shade (Thirst Heather is the colorway name) ready for this project. Oh, and there are some beads in the Ériu panels. You know, in case there weren't enough interesting bits to this design ;)

Cherish the Ladies will be my next sample cast on once I have the Countess off my needles :) I'm really excited to bring this one to reality. Although that cast-on is going to make a lot of us cringe. I promise: it's worth it!

Ok, fiber friends, onto my personal projects for 2024! I've split these into categories with 2 options in each. Eventually I plan on making each of these patterns but I have to prioritize somehow. I'd like to note that all of these are designs by designers that have participated in the FOYAL at least once.

First up is a cardigan. I have the yarn to knit Jeri by Kat Riddell🔗 (link to the pattern page in her Payhip shop), but I'm also intrigued with Kadigan by Robynn Weldon🔗 (link to the pattern page in her Payhip shop), and know where I can get suitable yarn for it. Leaning ever so slightly in favor of Jeri right now, I confess; knowing I could cast-on immediately is hugely appealing. Here are both designs:

Next up is a shawl. And oddly neither option is lace! I'm still in love with the Tunisian crochet beauty Ard Rí by Aoibhe Ni🔗 (link to the pattern page on her website, YarnTower.com), but there is a cabled contender with King Under the Mountain by Nicole/Common Thread🔗 (link to the pattern page in her Ko-fi shop). I don't have yarn for either of these but I must have them... which makes me what to hiss "My precccccioussss!" and that leads me to Tolkien-ian thoughts putting KUtM ever so slightly in the lead. But do I want to have two mega cabled projects on the go, in the same yarn weight, at the same time?? I'm torn, fiber friends. They're both sooooo amazing *heart eyes* See:

(I included 2 pics of KUtM to show both areas of patterning)

Ok, I wouldn't be me without another pair of double duty projects! I have a double-knit cowl and scarf set, Céilí (kay-lee), ready to have its samples knit. I even have the yarn for the cowl already! Although I don't like wearing cowls so I really should get up over the hill and get the yarn for the scarf... I digress! One of these lovelies will be on my needles this year. And considering what my other year's projects are, the cowl might be the only one I actually get finished lol!

Oh, that's not entirely true! I have two projects earmarked for small family cuties that will definitely get off my needles this year. But you'll have to wait until those are done and delivered for details and pics ;)

I think that's a good outline of what I have happening/planned in my crafting life. Now, will my physical health allow all of this, that's a completely separate question! At least let's hope to not have another tendinitis flare lasting nearly 2 months with minor glitches the rest of the year; that really ate into my craft time, work and otherwise. I didn't even get gifts for the cuties done in 2023 *sad face*.

What are your crafting plans, fiber friends? Something for yourself maybe? I'd love to hear what 2024 will have you putting on your needles and hooks :)

Yours in yarn and big plans,

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

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

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

Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘

Hello!

It's about time I popped back over here to let you all know what's on the go here at KDRD!

And what better day to write a post than today? So let me get you updated :)

Sadly, Ma Nature continues to be a bit of brat, and photos for the Hornpipe Bag haven't happened. The town where I reside "welcomed" no we didn't! 20cm (about 8 inches) of heavy, wet, sloppy, slushy snow yesterday. Talk about putting a damper on things! So gross, and heavy. Blech. I would hope that's the end of the white stuff but this being Newfoundland, I'm not going to hold my breath. Blue might be my favorite color but I don't think it's a good skin tone for me! ;)

While I wait for the dear lady to sort out the weather for us, I'm getting another tutorial or maybe two ready before the pattern comes out. My way of doing things in double-knitting are just slightly different than what others do so it just makes sense to show you how I did something, doesn't it? I think I'll have one out before next Friday. If the photobombing furry people ever quit with their interruptions ;) Ah, life with cats :)

I'm happy to report the Four Hand Reel, a tote bag pattern drawing inspiration from traditional quilt blocks and céilí (kay-lee) dancing, has been sent to my techeditor. I've tentatively penciled in test/preview knitting to start next month. This would be a minimum 10 week time frame, based on the yardage, so publishing would happen in later June-early July. As always, my timeline is pretty flexible. Definitely out this summer!

The other pattern I'm going over and tweaking before sending off to be edited is my Planxty Hap, a lace shawl with traditional Shetland elements as a base that I've added my own spins to. My aim is to have that through techediting, test/preview knitting, and publishing before winter returns; October/November-ish ideally. We'll see how that timeline comes together.

Countess Cathleen, my hooded cabled cloak design, is at a bit of an impasse at the moment. Charting, and knitting, a knotwork motif based off of the main cable panel I designed is proving a bit of a headache. I will prevail, eventually, but that particular project is in a bit of a timeout right now. I have a couple of other double-knit ideas swirling: a cowl and scarf set, a blanket in three sizes, and a 3 color shawl/wrap with different designs on each side. And there's another lace shawl in the future as well. Plus my usual cable heavy ideas, of course. I have more than a few of those knocking about! 

In my personal crafting I have a few things on the go.

I'm completely charmed by Lyrical Knits' 2023 MKAL shawl, Who Ya Gonna Shawl? (Link to the Pattern listing in Lyrical Knits' Payhip store🔗). I treated myself to this gem and some lovely yarn as a birthday present (Aside: how the heck did I turn 45 last month?!?!), and it's definitely fit the bill as a treat. The mkal, mystery knit along for those not familiar with the abbreviation, is a lot of fun. Check out Mary's previous mkals and her lovely sweater patterns in her Payhip store as well. I have a few in my 'must make' list. You can see my in progress shawl on my notebook blog (link in the sideboard). I'm using 4 colors of West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply, which is really lovely, both in colors and for knitting with. Really super happy with choosing it!

I finished these lovely Talamh fingerless mitts for Roomy/Sis. These were designed by Liz Corke, and I started them during the 2022 FOYAL. I used Briggs & Little Sport in "mauve", and I think they turned out just perfect. And I have more than enough left of that ball to make something for me too. I love when that happens :) You can find the Talamh pattern here (link to Pattern listing in Liz's Payhip store🔗)

I've got a couple of gifts on the needles for special little people in my life right now. I confess, between my Who Ya Gonna Shawl? and these cute projects, that's where my personal knitting/crafting time has been going. No pics until these are delivered as they're as much a surprise for the little people as their parents ;) I love making surprises, especially cute ones!

How are your knitting projects going? Have you been using precious gems from your yarn horde? Or found a new-to-you yarn that's becoming a go-to? Are you crafting for the coming spring and summer months, or getting one more cold weather favorite finished? Plans for larger projects this year? I'd love to hear all about what you're at :)

Yours in yarn and a shamrock covered hair scarf, 

Síle

Did you think I was kidding? ;)

2023? Already?

Hello, my fiber friends!

I can hardly believe how quickly December flew by! Whoosh! Gone! Sort of like deadlines ;)

I can say that 2022's Fasten Off Yarn Along was once again a success. And fun was definitely had during the New Year's Eve Boonanza! I was literally crying with laughter a number of times! Fun with fiber folks; what more can you ask for?

Sadly, the weather here has been the pits. Newfoundland in December shouldn't be considered a rain delay. I think my toes are growing webs. It rained all but something like 6 days the entire month! Don't tell me climate change isn't happening, I'm seeing it real time.

Rain, especially heavy angry December rain, makes for rotten photo conditions. And that has pushed the release of my Hornpipe Bag back. I'm not even setting another tentative date at this point. When photos get done, I'll announce the pattern is releasing the next day. Done. I hope it'll be soon. I'm also listening to more rain falling as I type. I'd cry but I don't need finger webbing to go with my toes'.

I've put a few more yards into both the sample of Countess Cathleen, and my Twist Again (pattern by Robynn Weldon; link to her Payhip shop) during December. I also started but, unfortunately due to needle MIA, not finished a pair of Talamh (pattern by Liz Corke; link to her Payhip shop) for Sistwerp. The left fingerless mitt is done, the right isn't.

Have you ever attempted to work in the round with only 3 dpns? I don't mean 3 holding your sts and knitting with a 4th one. I'm talking 2 holding your sts and working with the 3rd. I don't recommend it, especially with 2.5mm dpns. Nope, not a good plan. I was forced by hand cramps to switch to Magic Loop. Some knitters like ML, others do not. I personally despise ML. The poor right mitt is suffering due to my loathing. I'm setting myself a deadline of Saturday, January 7th, to have mitt 2 done. Otherwise I fear the poor thing may never be off the needle!

I'm using Briggs & Little Sport in "mauve", which is a gorgeous gray-tinged lavender that I have to say is a really interesting color. Some light gives it decide blue hue, while other times it resembles dark/wet stone, like from an Irish or Scottish castle wall. It's a color you can definitely find a story in, which is very cool. If nothing else, I've discovered a new favorite color amongst Briggs & Little's fine color line up.

I hope you're enjoying new projects for the New Year. What have you cast-on recently? Finished anything fun? I have some double-knit swatching coming up soon for an idea I have. When don't I have new ideas?! I plan to spend the first bit of 2023 finishing up 3 specific projects: Twist Again, Countess Cathleen, and Four Hand Reel. The last just needs its lining sewn and attached. I really should have it done by now! One of these years, I might learn to sew properly. I say might! lol

What else can you expect from Knit Dance Repeat Designs in 2023? A few more of my existing patterns will be getting their updated looks and screen reader accessibility. I don't know how many I'll get through but I intend to keep at it. I'm fairly certain I'll be releasing at least one other pattern this year besides Hornpipe Bag. The front runners are Four Hand Reel and Hap-Hazard. We'll see what happens! I have a few tutorials I plan on sharing too.

For now, that's all I have to update you on. I intend to be a bit more regular about that this year. 

Happy 2023 to you and yours!

Yours in yarn and new year-ness,

Síle

Spoke Too Soon

On the weather, that is! Bright sunshine and 9°C here today. Brrr! Happily I have warm knits to help me through this. I really hope we avoid "Juneuary" this year! Keeping my fingers crossed!

My Countess Cathleen cloak is starting to take shape. I was playing with it a bit last night and took these photos:

I think Silver was getting concerned about me. :,,,D Isn't she precious? Sweet girl

Anyway! In the second photo you can just make out the cloak body starting to come out from under the hood's folds. Hopefully I'll have more to show off very soon!

Are you waiting to hear more on my Hornpipe Bag pattern? I should have it ready for testing soon! I've decided to give Yarnpond a try for this test, which gives me a collective spot to run the test and gather feedback. This is more akin to when I had my Rav group and everyone involved could see questions and answers as they came up, which I found to be a much better way to communicate. As compared to when I tried running a test via email; that was a nightmare for everyone, I think. I didn't enjoy it as much that's for sure. And I had brilliant testers! Couldn't have been better! Yarnpond is free to signup to, and it's quite nominal in fees for a designer to run a test. So I'm going to give it a go. 

This will be the year of experiments! Not only am I going to be giving Yarnpond a try for running a test/preview knit, but I'm working on the sample for a mystery knitalong (mkal) I plan on launching in the late summer/early fall. That will be run on Instagram, which I'm hearing is pretty good for craftalongs since they're really about seeing the projects take shape. I think it'll be fun!

That's what's keeping me busy, what about you? What's on your needles right now? What are you looking forward to making and/or finishing over the warmer months? 

Yours in yarn, and calendars,

Síle 

Starting & Finishing Cabled Motifs

I was recently contacted by a lovely knitter who was puzzled about knitting my hat pattern, Anchors & Ropes. I was able to help her through email but it occurred to me that others might find a little photo-tutorial a useful thing when knitting the anchors. And there'll be a knotwork motif in my Countess Cathleen that you haven't seen as yet. Considering I've only just recently finished knitting the hood ;)

I learned to knit knotwork cabled motifs from Alice Starmore's brilliant books "The Celtic Collection" and "Aran Knitting". And while the anchor in my Anchors & Ropes hat came from a stitch dictionary published in around 2005 (I knit the original Anchors & Ropes hat in the fall of 2009), it uses pretty well the same method put forward by AS. This has continued to be the way I start, and end, motifs that need this rounded shaping.

Enough background! Let's jump into how to start a motif.

I'm working with worsted weight yarn on size 4.5mm (US7) needles for both sections of this tutorial. The knotwork shown is a swatch for my Countess Cathleen pattern; the final pattern may not look the same. I haven't decided which of my knot motifs I like best. I've only created five possibilities for this design ;) 

(For knitting in rounds, you'll need to knit where it says purl in steps 3 and 4 of the starting a motif section.)

Starting a motif:

Step 1:

Work to where the pattern says to start your motif.

Step 2:

In the next stitch, you'll work 3 stitches. First by knitting into the back and then the front of the stitch:

Then by knitting into the vertical line that sits on top of those  2 stitches:

Here's the 3 sts completed:

Step 3:

In the next row, purl the first new stitch, work (purl, yarnover, purl) into the second new stitch, and purl the third new stitch:

Step 4:

On the next row, work the stitches as the pattern tells you, remembering to purl the yarnover through its back loop to twist it and avoid a hole:

And there you have two 2-stitch strands to work your cables from. The anchor motif I used in Anchors & Ropes has a pair of additional increases on either side of the first 1-into-3 stitch, which are knit on the next round; the anchor's arms are made of 3 stitches rather than 2. A slight variation that shouldn't cause you any pause.

Ok, now how do you close up those stitches that you've added into the fabric of your knitting? You could decrease them away over a few rows, but if you're working a knotwork motif it won't resemble the beginning.

Ending your motif:

Step 1:

Look at the stitches of your motif; you have 5 needing to be reduced down to 1. I've numbered them for you in this photo:

Note that stitch 3 is a purl stitch between the two pairs of stitches that have been the strands in your motif. 

Step 2:

Slip stitches 1, 2, and 3 to the right needle, purlwise (don't twist stitch 3 throughout this process):

Step 3:

Lift stitch 2 up and over stitch 3, letting it drop off the needle as if you cast it off:

Step 4:

Slip stitch 3 back to the left needle:

Step 5:

Lift stitch 4 up and over stitch 3, letting it drop off the needle:

Step 6:

Slip stitch 3 back to the right needle:

Step 7:

Lift stitch 1 up and over stitch 3, letting it drop off the needle:

Step 8:

Slip stitch 3 back to the left needle:

Step 9:

Lift stitch 5 up and over stitch 3, letting it drop off the needle:

Step 10:

Purl stitch 3:

Ta-da! Your decrease is complete, and the top of your motif has a similar rounded shape to the bottom of it.

If your motif has more stitches per strand, alternate passing stitches over the center stitch until all of the strand stitches are gone.

I hope this helps you with the start and end of these types of cabled motifs! They're so much fun to knit :)

Yours in yarn and woolly knotwork motifs,

Síle