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? ;)

Fastening Off

I'm not too sure where December went. Ok, if I'm completely honest, I'm not too sure where 2022 went. Especially from July on.

And I had all kinds of plans to write posts about this and that, including the Fasten Off Yarn Along. I know I wrote an intro post, saying I was taking part as a designer and a participant again. And then things went down that yarny rabbithole from whence they never appear again lol.

To be absolutely clear and have full disclosure: I am a participating designer and volunteer with FOYAL, and have been since it debuted in 2020. Other than acquiring the following patterns for my personal use, either by purchasing them or by won or volunteer prizes, I've received no other benefits. Just spreading some pattern joy with everyone. Gray blah January days need joy.

I decided it would be cool to look at the patterns I bought in the sale and the ones I selected from my prizes (most from playing games, two from volunteering). With 108 designers, not including me, there was such a great variety!

And, I can point out that the FOYAL database is still totally operational! It's there for you to search for patterns or designers right now! How cool is that?? You can find it right here 2022 FOYAL database🔗 (link to FOYAL website). If you're looking for Off-Rav designers and/or patterns, this is a great spot to check.

Ok, so I went looking for smallish patterns to start out. And the first one I purchased during the sale period was Talamh by Liz Corke🔗. These are a simply beautiful pair of fingerless mitts with a faux cable detail running up the back of the hand on the pinky side. I'm actually knitting a pair in Briggs & Little Sport "mauve" for Sistwerp right now. I really enjoy Liz's fingerless mitts patterns so this was a pretty quick and easy purchase to make.

I was in a mind to make some small decorative touches for the living room, and came across Karen Butler's Mini Knits pattern🔗. This includes the patterns for her Mini Mitten and Mini Sock, which are just too cute! I'm thinking a couple of each might form a little elves' laundry line type decoration for next Winter.

The next pattern I kept 'walking away' from and coming back to. I wound up buying it after the sale period was over! I've been trying to be really intentional about my pattern purchases, asking myself when I'm going to make it and when will I use the finished item. As a result I've been focusing more on worsted or Aran weight sweaters with the occasional hat or pair of mittens, fingerless and standard. But the Woven Gemstones Wrap by Emily Sullivan of Sweet Paprika Yarns🔗 (link to pattern page on Sweet Paprika Yarns website) made me forget my resolve. This simple (it's garter stitch that's literally woven over!) but stunning wrap is very high on my must make list. And the sample colors are very literally my colors, so this could be a rare time I'd use the specified yarn for a project. Now nobody faint lol!

I won a prize playing the Scavenger Hunt game on the FOYAL Discord server, and when asked which craft I'd prefer by the Prize volunteer, I decided to go a bit different and chose Tunisian crochet. In playing Scavenger Hunt and Picture Party I kept seeing beautiful Tunisian crochet patterns in the database, and this is a craft I don't have too many patterns for or much experience in doing. I was sent a prize code for Aklori Designs, who has some stunningly beautiful patterns. After much back and forthing, I chose her Catalina Shawl🔗 as a next step up in my Tunisian skills. This is something I'd like to fit into my 2023 projects if I have time. 

And then I won a second time playing Scavenger Hunt on Discord! This time I went with knitting, thinking to maybe find a new sweater. I was paired up with Polka Dot Cottage, a new-to-me designer, and was super happy to find their pattern 

Porthole Pullover🔗. I really like the colorful yoke using slipped stitches instead of stranded colorwork. (Stranded colorwork is gorgeous, me and it just don't get along too well)

Then came time for Volunteer prizes. I received a code for Paola Albergamo's Payhip shop. This took some time to pick. She has so many gorgeous designs! 🤩 I was really torn between Brise Soleil🔗 and Grafitti🔗, but went with Brise Soleil in the end. The texture pattern intrigues me, and it's such a wearable cardigan. I think I'd like to find a semi-solid blue to make it in...

Also for volunteering I was connected with Susanna Winter of talvi knits. This was another tough decision, but the gorgeous back cable panel of her The Comeback Cardigan🔗 had me returning to it several times. I think you all know I love a good cable panel. I can really see this in Briggs & Little Heritage, maybe one of the heathered colorways? I'll need to ponder that a bit. 

I thought I was done, but I hadn't counted on my FOYAL Bingo card getting drawn for a prize. I received a prize code for Carolyn Lisle's patterns. I bought her MADvent shawl pattern a few years ago and I follow her on Instagram, so I was a bit more familiar with her designs. It was a tough decision once again, but Cracked Glass🔗 is so eye-catching! What a fun scarf and I recently came into some mini skeins (10g = 40m/43.7yards) that should be just right for it.

And that, yarn friends, is the patterns I acquired during Fasten Off Yarn Along 2022. All links go directly to the mentioned pattern's page in the designer's Payhip shop or on their website; these are all safe non-Rav links. I hope I've directed you to a new-to-you designer or two, and maybe a pattern you didn't know you've been looking for. There are so many wonderful designs out there, but finding them can be hard. That's why I'm so glad the FOYAL database and its search features are available year round. 

Did you shop the FOYAL database in late November, through December? Let me know what designer(s) and/or pattern(s) caught your eye and are now saved to your computer or device 😉 I'd love to hear about them!

Yours in yarn and more acquired patterns,

Síle