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

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

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

Tis the Season

It's time once again for... 

The Fasten Off Yarn Along!!

Where has this year gone?? We're almost to the end of November! And that means the return of one of my favorite events: Fasten Off Yarn Along, the fun off-Rav sale and make along!

This year's FOYAL runs November 25th through December 31st, with the pattern sale running November 25th through December 8th. Yes, I said pattern sale! We have 109 indie designers of knitting, loom knitting, crochet, and Tunisian crochet patterns signed up with a selection of their patterns in the 25% off sale! 

I'm happy to say FOYAL has attracted more designers and crafters each year of its existence! 

Where can you find all the details? The official Fasten Off Yarn Along site 🔗, of course! We're running games (with the possibility of winning prizes!) on the official Discord server, Twitter, and Instagram accounts too.

And yes, I'm a participating designer once again :) You can see the Fasten Off Yarn Along tab at the top of this page, taking you directly to the patterns I'm offering in the sale. 

Please keep in mind that my patterns are priced in Canadian dollars, and the Fasten Off site lists everything in American dollars, so the difference in conversion can result in some discrepancies when applying  the 25% off code. The code this year is FO2022. 

I hope you'll join us for the fun of the Fasten Off Yarn Along to end 2022.

Due to some health issues (thankfully not Covid-19) in both me and my photographer, my pattern Hornpipe Bag hasn't been released yet. But it will be out some time during the Fasten Off YAL. I'm aiming for early in the sale period so you can take advantage of it. I keep you in the loop on this.

As for personal projects, I'm happily onto the first sleeve of my Twist Again sweater (pattern by Robynn Weldon). Here's the latest photo, right after I completed the front of the body:

Aren't the cables great? I'm using Bernat Satin in "Grape", which I just love working with. 

How are your projects shaping up? Are you making gifts for anyone? Perhaps something for that important person who looks back at you in the mirror? ;) 

Until next time, fiber friends!

Yours in yarn, and Fasten Off updates,

Síle

Celebrating KIP

Did you get out to celebrate World Wide Knit In Public Day (WWKIP Day) yesterday? There wasn't an event near me this year, but I'm now thinking about next year. Well, depending on where I'm located anyway. Not leaving Newfoundland; possibly changing locales. And yes, I've been saying this for about 9 years now lol. I digress.

I've seen a lot of fantastic photos on Insta of various gatherings yesterday and it looks like everyone had a great time. I know I really enjoyed past events with my knit night pals (waves to Lindsay, Susie, Sara, and Michele 👋🏻) before my big move. We'll see if I keep track of time better and remember before 3 days before the next one. Next year's WWKIP Day is June 10, 2023. If you'd like more information about WWKIP Day, the official website is here: WWKIP Day🔗

Bringing things closer to home, I'm getting the photo tutorial done for my Hornpipe Bag before I release it for testing. The pattern is ready to go but I think having the tutorial ready first will be a benefit to testers as well as knitters. Stay tuned for the announcement that the test has gone live, later this week! I'll be conducting this test via Yarnpond, which is a new venue for me. I'm quite excited to give it a try! Now if only my helper wouldn't help quite so much...

Speaking of giving things a try, I'm at work on the sample for the mystery knit-along I'm planning to host later this year. And I'm putting together some prizes for it too ;) My current timeline for this is to announce the mkal and have it on sale next month, and then the Steps will be released weekly starting in late August/early September. 

I picked up my Twist Again (pattern by Robynn Weldon; pattern page in her Payhip shop 🔗 recently and have a bit more done on the body. I really love this cable panel. Hopefully I'm better at staying focused the next while and I'll have a new sweater for when colder temps reappear! (Unless of course another design idea jumps to the forefront of my brain)

Did you attend a WWKIP gathering yesterday? What's on your needles or hooks? I'd love to hear about it :)

Yours in (fur covered) yarn, and upcoming news,

Síle

New Year, ... Old Project?

Good Thursday to you!

I just posted my #WIPWednesdayOffRav photo to Twitter and it reminded me that 1) I need to blog because it's been a bit and 2) the subject of projects that take longer than you think they will is a good one. And 3) Um, I'm a day late :' 'D

I recently went over my list of WIPs... *needle scratch on vinyl album* Ok, let's be honest here. I poked around and found as many of my project bags as I could and checked out what was in them. There is no list. I am not going to claim to be that kind of organized. 

And because I'm not that kind of organized I found my sample for the Hornpipe Bag in one of them. And instantly felt bad because I abandoned the poor thing with a bit more than a round to tink back to get rid of my awful attempt at putting eyelets for drawstrings in a double-knit fabric. Poor thing hadn't seen the light of day in a very loooong time. I have since completed the tinking and before me is this:

I've got the first 3 stitch-pairs worked (knit black, purl rainbow 3times), and am ready to start the first eyelet. Again.

All good and back on track. But how did my project get derailed in the first place? You might ask the same question when you come across a UFO (that's unfinished object. No extraterrestrials around here. At least that I'm aware of... Although Jakey was staring at the ceiling last night...) in a forgotten tote/grocery bag/purse: Why did I leave this?

This project I know exactly what happened. I only meant to set it aside briefly after frogging most of 3 rounds and getting the stitches back on the needle to tink back to the point before the failed eyelets were knit. A little break to consider a better way to knit the eyelets, and I picked up something else to keep my hands busy, and then something else just to give my mind a bit more of a break from the issues with eyelets, and then... Well, you know how that went.

And other than the failed eyelets I'm really happy with how it's going. I still love how the color blocking is coming out. I think the size is perfect as a small project bag or small purse. Ghillie bag too. 

The most important thing is I've picked it back up with the intention to get it done in the next bit. We have some blechy weather headed up this way (freezing rain! snow! Ah, February in Canada) for the evening and then another system on the weekend; excellent reasons to stay in, drink tea, and knit. As if I needed much excuse for that! :D 

Personal project update:

My Twist Again is coming along slowly but fabulously :) See for yourself:

What do you have on your needles and/or hook today? Something new? Something recent? Something you discovered and you're now wondering why you set aside? It happens to a good lot of us, so don't feel bad :) You're in good company here.

Yours in yarn and revived projects,

Síle

Hello, 2022

The New Year is rung in and I helped ring out Fasten Off Yarnalong 2021 in fine fashion. If you were on the Fasten Off Discord channel at all on December 31st we probably exchanged emojis. I was there as many hours as I could possibly manage, and the result was an absolutely wonderful time amongst fellow yarn crafters. And a serious(?) inside joke ;)

Back to the business of pattern design and (fingers crossed) sales! Knit Dance Repeat Designs has a birthday in a few days! 7 years already! (Thank you for that, by the way.) Later this month I'll be starting the re-release of my back catalogue with updated photos and format. No important information has been changed; all changes are cosmetic. I want my logo in place, for example. Stay tuned for the first re-release pattern!

One thing that has changed is I've retired a pattern as of January 1st: Drills is no longer available. Admittedly it wasn't my best effort, and while I still like the basic concept, it just isn't up to snuff with my revamp. I might revisit the idea behind it down the road ;)

What's on my personal needles? I'm working on Twist Again by Robynn Weldon🔗 (link goes to the pattern page in Robynn's Payhip store) which is a gorgeous cabled sweater. This was my cast-on/project during Fasten Off 2021. I knew I wouldn't finish it in December but I had to start it. And I'm also trying to finish up a large ball of cotton yarn by continuing to make sets of Seashell Scrubbies (pattern by Aoibhe Ní🔗 link goes to her website). I made quite a few sets of four and gave them as small gifts recently, so having more on hand makes sense. 

Personal finishes: A blanket for my furry niece Silver Belle, who celebrated her 5th birthday (as near as we can calculate by her approximate age when she was rescued) on December 23rd. It's very basic but pretty which is just perfect for a furry girl. The edge likes to curl up as you'll see but otherwise it's perfect. I used Red Heart Roll With It Sparkle in the colorway "Magic" (bought by Silver's mom) on a 4.5mm circular needle. And here's the finished photo:

I hope you were able to finish any gift projects you had deadlines for in December. It's nice to end the year on a high point, and start the new year with fresh projects. I never quite manage to have everything done for the new year. Maybe to start 2023? :D

That's all for today. Remember to stay tuned for news of patterns re-releasing in the upcoming days, weeks and months.

Yours in yarn, and new year vibes,

Síle

When Bad Things Happen...

I could cry. I went to move the sts a bit to count how many are on a side (I want to do a seed st border) and my needle separated! Thankfully my box of needles is always close on my end table and I grabbed a narrow one to quickly collect the sts on the needle end and that had dropped between the broken cable and needle end. But! Gah! So close to the end!! Seriously, like 5-6 rnds. Here's some of the orphaned sts and the broken end of the cable:

The heart marker is the start of the rnd so 22 sts into it where the cable and needle end broke apart. *sigh*

In case you're wondering, I use fixed circular needles as I've never seen interchangeables "in the wild". I'm not opposed to trying them, if I can find one separate from a set and not have to pay an arm and a leg in shipping and exchange.

This is my current giftmas present, a blanket for furry-niece Silver Belle whose official 5th birthday is coming up fast on the 23rd. The yarn is a single ball of Red Heart Roll With It Sparkle in the colorway "Magic". This yarn is very nice to work with; the metallic strand isn't sharp or stiff as it sometimes can be. And at 561yds to a ball, it's perfect for a baby blanket in this case for a feline baby! lol

So this is on hold until Thursday when I can get another long (minimum 29") 4.5mm circular needle. 

At least my Fasten Off Yarn-a-Long project is coming along nicely! My Twist Again by Robynn Weldon is going so well :) I'm absolutely loving working on it. I chose Bernat Satin in "grape" for it and I can already tell it's going to be a new favorite to wear. I haven't given it as much attention as I'd like as I want to finish up Miss Silver's blankie but for the next couple days I can. Here's the front cable panel:

Not much to see yet, I know. I'll update when I have more to show off.

Are you participating in Fasten Off this year? I'm always curious what patterns everyone has been drawn to. There are so many fabulous participating designers and gorgeous patterns; I've added a few new ones to my wishlist. For instance Sarah Dawn Designs' Celtic Hood🔗 (Link is to the pattern page on Payhip) or Gladys the Sheep from bunnymuff🔗 (Link is to the pattern page on Payhip). Anything interesting on your needles or hooks right now, for gifts or yourself? Do tell! Sometimes I think collecting patterns is a separate hobby to the actual making of things lol! 

In case you can't tell, I'm in a bit of a holiday state of mind right now. I've been doing some behind the scenes KDRDesigns work in preparation for 2022 but currently don't have any announcements for you. Be patient, yarn friends ;) The New Year will upon us very soon!

Yours in yarn with a broken circular needle (sigh),

Síle