Once More Around the Sun

Goodness! It's been a minute or two, hasn't it?

A quick run down of what's been going on around here:

• I had a birthday in mid-February. Adding the digits together I'm once again 11 or 2 if you go all the way to a single digit. Either way I should be feeling much more youthful than I am currently lol 
• I finished the Folklore Cardigan (pattern by Amy Gundersen🔗; link to the MadeleineTosh website pattern page) for Roomie and I think it turned out pretty well 

So that's really the two major things. The weather is trying to decide if it's winter, or spring, or maybe sprinter. That's been fun to navigate. Like not leaving the house for 8 days at a go kind of navigate. Ah well, better safe than in traction.

Speaking of, I should be in a body cast. Or wrapped in bubble wrap. I seem to have sprained or at least reeeeaaallly strained my back. Yesterday. Fiber friends, I would be lying if I said I'm not badly hurting right now. Movement is very gingerly when it happens. Of course this brings out the crack medical team of Drs Jakey and Silver. Dr Jakey is an expert in patient care, while Dr Silver has done very indepth research of healing vibrations. This photo shows Dr Jakey checking to be sure I was resting properly this afternoon:

Dr Jakey takes a very paws on approach with his patients. Needless to say, I'm strictly under my doctor's orders ;)

Onto KDRD news:

I designed and knit the sample for something quick! And there will be more of them!

So a few years ago I knit what you'll find on the interwebs called various things like skating bonnet or cap, headband, earwarmer, etc. And it's something I use frequently in the colder months because it allows me to keep my ubiquitous ponytail, and still cover my ears. The one I knit originally has ties on it, and here's a photo:

It used bulky yarn and equally thick needles, which I confess aren't my favorites. That end of the yarn and needle spectrum tends to make my hands ache. Thankfully it was quick to do. And it's been a wonderful addition to my winter gear.

A few weeks ago we had a bunch of days with wind warnings, and I started thinking it would be nice to have another earwarmer. And with my love double-knitting I thought I could make something thicker than usual without having to resort to thick yarns and needles. 

And me being me, after I charted one idea I had a couple others pop into my head, and eventually I had 4 just awaiting needles and yarn. So this is the first one:

I used DK weight yarn I had onhand and a 3.25mm needle. It used about 140 yards/128 metres in two colors; a little more of the blue than the gray because I did both ties in blue.

Ok, so this one (which is called Sevens) is basic 2 color double-knitting with the addition of paired make 1 increases on one end and paired decreases on the other. That's the trickiest part of this one if you're already familiar with double-knitting.

As I said I have 3 more of these planned. One that adds a third color into the fun, one that has different designs on each side, and one with simple cables and a bit of texture.

I plan to release all 4 together as an ebook September-esque. That's what I'm aiming for anyway. Sometime before the Fasten Off Yarn-a-Long comes back around anyway ;) 

And in other design news, I started the swatch for my 4 color double-knit wrap. I need a ballpark number of yards so I can budget and acquire the yarn needed for it. There's also a "sister" design that's a 3 color 2 pattern wrap of similar size. They're both big. Like completely envelope an adult big. I'm so looking forward to these getting on the go!

That's the current goings on at KDRD :)

Shall we check in with my personal projects? Indeed we shall!

I'm back working on my Jeri (designed by Kat Riddell🔗; link to pattern page in her Payhip shop) again, and it's growing. I'm about 6 inches/15cm from where I split out the sleeves (topdown, non-raglan construction). For my size I need to reach 14 inches/35.5cm according to the pattern, which might be a touch short but thankfully I can try it on at that point and see. I think I'll need another inch but I'll see then. Here's a look at how my Jeri is coming along; keep in mind it's being worked topdown:

In other crafts, I've got a new cross stitch design charted out that I hope to be sharing with you as I make progress. I took the poem Pangur Bán, or more correctly the 1912 translation by R. Flower, and created quite a piece. I'm going to need to stitch it on 28 count Aida, or it's going to cover the wall. Well, maybe 18 count; definitely not 14 lol  

That's all I have current in my personal crafting. I have a stack of WIPs but I think I'll save a run down of those for another day. Be warned: there are a lot lol. I'm talking double digits. It's a lot.

Moving on!

As I'm sure many of you are aware, there's some... how to put this?... concerning talk coming from the leader of the country below mine. (For those who're new here, welcome. I live in the beautiful province of Newfoundland & Labrador, specifically on the island of Newfoundland, here on Canada's most eastern coast. And I'm Canadian by birth and inclination) And that talk is causing a lot of unease, and frankly distrust, of that individual, leading to all kinds of trade and other issues between two, up until this point, closely allied countries. A lot of us up here, myself included, have family and friends down there, and of course the reverse is true. There's been, up until now, a sense of cooperation and camaraderie between the two nations. 

I'm not here to be political, fiber friends, but life itself is political. I live in Canada's youngest province; Newfoundland & Labrador joined Canada in 1949 as the 10th province. Yet there are rumblings that the entirety of Canada, all 10 provinces and 3 territories should, and ludicrously should be happy at the suggestion, become the 51st state of the United States of America.

As we say here on The Rock: no b'y. 

There's a lot going on. Canadians are focusing on buying non-USA goods. Some are cancelling vacations to Florida and other destinations States-side in favor of visiting another province here or going further a field to Mexico, the Caribbean or Europe.

I've really thought about what this all means for my very small business (one woman with chronic pain and insomnia), and beyond. As it stands, I'm continuing to support designers who I know via the internet. As for yarn, I already work with a predominantly Canadian group of yarns just from a financial accessibility standpoint. My current habits seem to already be in line with my conscious. 

As part of my own contributions to small Canadian businesses, I'm going to start highlighting one or two each post. I had been toying with this idea since late last year but now it seems particularly important. Most of these will be designers and yarn dyers; links will be to their own sites or social media accounts. Without further ado, I bring you the first of my Spotlights.

SPOTLIGHT

Beaded Beauties Bracelets And More 

Located in Clarenville, Newfoundland & Labrador, this one woman business run by Krista does just what it says. Fully personalized and customizable, she creates bracelet collections for holidays and bands lyrics, as well as necklaces, keychains, and occasionally earrings. I'm currently sporting a set of 4 players from my favorite hockey team (And with the game being over 10 minutes in: Go Habs Go!) made by her.

You can get an idea of Krista's lovely work in the marked highlight on her Instagram account🔗  (Full disclosure: Krista is better known to readers of this blog as "Roomie".)

Knitjbeale Designs

A transplant to St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador from Canada's West Coast, Jennifer Beale designs breathtaking sweaters and shawls often using stranded colorwork along with lace and/or cables. Truly a feast for knitters wanting something beyond the usual. I have several of her patterns on my must-make list including this recently released gem of an open-front cardigan, Fort Amhurst:

I wasn't kidding when I said breathtaking, was I? You can find this beauty, and many more, on her website: www.knitjbealedesigns.com🔗

Whew! That was a marathon post but I'm done roughly 20 minutes into the hockey game. Enough time to grab links to the various websites, and alt-captions for the photos during intermission! Lol :)

Thanks for sticking with me today, fiber friends! What's on your needles and hooks today? Did you know the most recent issue of Knitty🔗 came out yesterday? Just in time for a new project maybe ;)

Yours in yarn, pain, caffeine, and late night hockey watching (my guys are in Seattle tonight),

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

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

Beginnings & Endings

To begin: I'm nearly over, and very much done with, a nasty sinus cold that invaded my ne'er-do-well head cavities last Monday. Thankfully it wasn't anything worse, but as someone whose colds tend to turn into sinusitis it was bad enough.

And of course nearly over means I have some lingering bits of it. Like the cough that woke me up far too early on a Sunday. I really dislike waking up feeling like I'm choking. Add in that it's Sunday is insult on top of misery. 

Once awake, it can be hard for me to return to sleep, especially if pre-sleep I was pondering some interesting little yarny puzzle or another. Thankfully there is yarn in my room. Sadly, at the moment the only free needles I had to hand were the 6.0mm (US 10) monstrosities I bought a few years ago to knit a quick blanket for an erstwhile relative. I learned that bulky yarn and thick needles make my hands throb and turn interesting shades of red; I don't recommend the experience!

I digress. 

With the plastic vampire stakes and a ball of unlabelled but seemingly worsted weight, maybe heavier, yarn I casted on enough stitches to try what I had been pondering. I give you the first 9 rows:

The cables are doing what I expected. I don't care for the fuzziness of the yarn but it was the best option with these needles. What I don't like is that weird canyon between the cast-on and the rest of the piece. Luckily this is just a "try it with what's on hand" thing that I planned on frogging anyway.

Of course that canyon put me in mind of how we begin a project. I mean quite literally. The cast-on. 

Chances are you, like me and the seemingly majority of knitters, go with your first learned cast-on as your default. For me that's the cable cast-on; how appropriate is that for someone who loves to knit cables? And it works pretty well for me other than times that the needles are too big for the yarn, and I'm not really as awake as I should be when casting on. Like this morning! 

But as I worked on this little bit that might become part of something larger, I began to ponder cast-ons, and how a large number of us stick to a few, most notably the first one we learned. Do you rely on the same tried-and-true cast-on for most times you need to start something? When do you change it up and go with your second choice option? 

I find it interesting to think of such things when the cats are snoring and everything is only semi-light and I find myself knitting in bed without my glasses on.

Cast-ons turned my mind to cast-offs. It's always exciting to finish a project, isn't it? The mystery knit-along of my Practice Makes Perfect🔗 (link stays on this site) scarf is nearing its cast-off! I'll be releasing the final Step on Tuesday (November 1st), and the intrepid knitters have until November 15th to post photos of their completed scarves to be eligible for the prize draw. I'll be random generating a winner of the prize pack I put together this summer on November 16th.

What's in the prize pack? Some lovely goodies! Take a look:

What do I have for the lucky knitter? First off, a hank of Windswept Fibres' Best Kind BFL Sock yarn (75% superwash BFL wool/25% nylon; 425 yards/400 metres = 100g) in their Limited Edition colorway "Come Home 2022". I just love the bright colors sun n this so much! And Windswept Fibres is from right here on the island of Newfoundland too. A little piece of my home going to the winner.

I'm sure you can tell the two other parts of the prize are stitch markers but you'd probably like to see them a bit better. I'll go left to right. So here's the first set:

These I ordered via the Etsy store of The Knitting Bag PEI🔗 (link goes to Etsy); an Atlantic Canadian neighbor! I wanted to find something to tie knitting and Irish dance together. I didn't quite get the dance part but I definitely got the knitting and Irish in! I like that this set isn't all matchy-matchy and comes with a lobster-claw progress keeper along with the 5 standard ring markers.

And these are just cute, and once again from close by:

What are they? Newfoundland mummers! This adorable set of 4 markers features little figures dressed in their plaid flannel-look pajamas, with yellow or green mittens on their feet, and pillowcases with eyeholes cut out over their heads! And no, they're not for Halloween. Mummering is an old Yuletide tradition from the bays and outport communities of this wondrous island. Let me link the video for Simani's (pronounced sim an eye) "The Mummers Song"🔗 (link goes to Youtube) for you to get a feel for what mummering in Newfoundland is about. These cuties were made by Dawn's Creations, and if I'm remembering right she's from near St. John's. I ordered them through Cast On! Cast Off! just before the yarn store relocated from St. John's to Triton, Newfoundland. COCO is also where I ordered the hank of Windswept Fibres yarn from. You can find at COCO at their website here🔗.

So that's the little package the winner of the random draw of finished scarves will get in their mailbox. Oh, and a card with a local scene, and a quick congratulatory note from me. I can't send a parcel without a note! I think that'll bring my little mystery knit along to a close nicely. 

Speaking of endings, October is done tomorrow! Where has this year gone?! Before you know it, it'll be New Year's Eve!

But wait, there's a little beginning before we get to that ending. You've heard me mention the Fasten Off Yarn A Long before. And I'm happy to say the gang is back together for 2022! 

We're already gathering ideas and going over last year's feedback to put on year 3 of the little craft along that could. I can tell you things will kick off on November 25th, and run through every conceivable hour of December 31st. If you took part in last year's New Year's Eve Boonanza, you know I mean that quite literally! Designer signups will be coming soon, so if you want all the details be sure you're signed up for the emails; you can do that at this link🔗.

I have one other beginning that's sort of an ending. My Hornpipe Bag pattern is just awaiting photos before its November release. Yes, really! Between a wedding, birthdays, illness, musicals, and bad weather, it seems everything has been set upon hampering the photography of this one! But we (that is, me and my trusty photographer) shall prevail! And I have a self-imposed deadline: the pattern will be out before designer sign-ups for FOYAL start. Watch this space for the exact date! That will bring my year's new releases to a close.

Want to know what else is starting to close? My eyes. I think I'll end this to post, and begin a morning nap 😉

Yours in yarn and a warm fleece blanket with two cats,

Síle

P.S. I wasn't kidding about the fleece blanket, or the cats:

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

Autumnal Weather

Are you in the swing of sweater weather? I know I want to cast-on all the warm and woolly cozy things with the return of cooler temperatures :) It's truly a thing I think most knitters and crocheters experience, this need to keep ourselves and our loved ones warm when the mercury starts to dip.

It's a cloudy dreary day here today. At least the leaves are bright specks :) My current project is definitely a bright spot. Not warm and woolly but it will definitely chase away any dreariness! I'm at work on my Four Hand Reel tote bag and as you can see from this progress pic, it's not exactly subtle in the colors I've chosen:

Is it just me or does the orange seem to glow?

I'm nearly to the top of the first side, which is when I'll be able to stop joining the strip and work the strap. Which means I'm nearing 2/5 of the way through this section :) My goal is to finish the tote this month. Hopefully that goes as planned!!

I'm hoping to get to work on a few other ideas soon and finish off some others (coughHornpipe Bagcough) before the end of the year. That's my hope anyway. This year really hasn't gone as I'd planned as far as my designing/knitting of samples has gone, that is for sure!

Sadly that means at least one personal project has been waylaid. I had planned on knitting myself a sweater this year. I have the patterns and yarn for two gorgeous cable knits: Twist Again, a pullover by Robynn Weldon, and Morning Ramble, a cardigan by Geoffrey Hunnicutt (The link for Twist Again goes to the pattern page in Robynn's Payhip shop, while Morning Ramble takes you to the pattern page on Knit Picks). But alas while I did swatch for Twist Again in January, it somehow never made it onto my needles. Maybe I can get one of these beauties onto my needles this fall/winter. A gal can dream anyway!

What about you? Any project(s) you wanted to get to by this stage in the year that just didn't quite get there? Did a sticky/sweaty summer derail you too? I think I need to make a concerted effort to get big items done before say April and then only have little quick things to work on in the heat and humidity. That or hit a lotto and move into a house with properly fitting windows and air conditioning lol!! ;) 

I hope you're well, dear crafter. I hope cooler temps have reached you and you're able to settle in and work on something you love for someone you love (and yes it totally counts if you're making for yourself! Love yourself, you deserve it!). 

Yours in yarn and a cloudy day,

Síle

A Look at Double-Knitting

I've been doing a lot of swatching and playing with double-knitting the past few years, so I thought it might be fun to look at it in a bit more depth.

For those not familiar with it, double-knitting is a method of knitting that produces a fabric with no wrong side. Your finished product has two right sides, making it excellent for blankets, scarves, shawls, and even hats. This can be accomplished with one yarn/color by knitting and slipping alternating stitches, or with 2 yarns/colors (or more!) by knitting with one and purling with the other.

Designs can be knitted in by altering which color you use for the knits and purls. This produces a mirror image of the design on the other side, in opposite colors. For example a red flower on a blue background on side A is a blue flower on a red background on side B. This is regular or standard double-knitting, and it produces fabulous results.

Of course, there's always the desire to push the envelope. Standard double-knitting's mirrored image "back" side is problematic for words and numbers or other non-symmetrical elements. Which brings us to 2 pattern double-knitting. This method allows you to knit words that read the same front and back, handy for personalizing scarves for example. Or you could be like me and want two completely different images on either side like this heart and house square I knit last fall:

Completely different yet knit at the same time.

Last week I was playing with 3 colors in a regular double-knit. Because of the third color this method is approached, and charted, the same way a 2 pattern double-knit is done. Here's what I was playing with:

In my scarf pattern Rínce Fada (you can find all of my patterns at the pattern tab above), I used both standard and 2 pattern double-knitting. I also delved into double-knit cables and textured stitches. I bordered the long sides of the scarf with simple rope cables on reverse stockinette panels, you can see in this close up photo:

That small bit of cabling in a double-knit project has led me to other experiments with cables. I'm currently working on a swatch of 2 XO cable panels in opposite colors, on reverse stockinette stitches done in the opposite color. That sounds very confusing so here's what it looks like currently:

The reverse side is identical to this side. Because of the way I structure my cables in double-knitting, I could knit the opposite side completely flat in the same stripe sequence or even in only one of the colors. Even a third color! Oh the possibilities!

How am I doing this? By employing 2 short cable needles (I used toothpicks with the fingering weight yarn of Rínce Fada! Yes, really. Wooden toothpicks are grippy, and easily found in the house) I'm able to work my cables on only one layer of the fabric rather than twisting both sides of it together. So while the swatch in my photo is destined for a blanket pattern, I have other ideas where non-reversible cables may form a large part. Fun! 

Looking for more on double-knitting? Visit Alasdair Post-Quinn's website (linked in the sidebar; Fallingblox Designs) or YouTube channel (search for Fallingblox Designs). Also on YouTube, look for Lattes & Llamas; they release the annual Geek Along Afghan blocks which are double-knit.

Yours in yarn and double the stitches ;)

Síle

(All photos are of my own projects and patterns, some not yet published.)

Multitasking

(Note: While this post was published on February 7th, I started writing it on February 6th.)

Hello again!

I'm a bit behind on knitting the squares for my temperature blanket, so indulge me while I blog and knit at the same time. You can find the ins and outs of my project in this post.

I'm working on my January 8-14 square, which is a G knot on an I background. Here's how it looked after 4 rnds:

And here's how 10 rnds look:

The cables will start pretty soon, which I confess is my favourite part. 

We're due for a good snowstorm on Monday so maybe I'll get caught up with these squares. I'm glad I'm doing a square for every 7 days otherwise I'd be really behind!

I've finished rnd 20 now and it's getting a bit precarious on the double-pointed needles, as you can see:

While I've been knitting, and writing this post, I've also been giving "lubs" and attention to my favourite furry guy:

I'm sure you recall Jakey from other posts. He's keeping an eye on the iced aqua yarn for me. Isn't he a helpful boy? The wind has picked up considerably so he's happy to stick close to Auntie. He really dislikes wind, poor thing. Sounds to me like that storm might be getting to us a little sooner than expected. We'll know for sure if we wake up to a snow covered world! I think it's time for me and this fella (and his two furry sisters) to say good night.

No snow yet! The wind is really howling though. House feels like it's going to shake down around us. Good day to stay in with a mug of tea, some furry companions, and my knitting.

I'm in the midst of rnd 25 now:

I was "talking" with a friend on Twitter earlier today; she's ordered a book on knitting socks two at a time by using magic loop or two circular needles. She's a fairly new knitter and is more than a bit offput by double-pointed needles. Isn't it handy that there are ways to knit things in the way you're most comfortable with? I'm a decided "octopus rassler", that is I like double-pointed needles. Ages ago I was knitting a sock and my dad said it looked like I was "rassling an octopus"; the image has never left me :D I've been tempted to add it to my social media bios but living on an island someone might actually ask me to help with an octopus and I wouldn't be the least bit helpful :D

Let's see if I can get these last few rnds done, shall we?

And voila! A newly finished (not blocked) square emerges :)

And with the first square:

I think it's time to end this post.

Yours in yarn and unblocked Iona squares,

Síle