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

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

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

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

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

Greetings from 2021!

That was a bit hectic! I'm so glad that so many knitters and crocheters enjoyed the Fasten Off Yarn Along :) It made for a very fun month! I love that we formed such an amazing community feeling in such a short time. 

Ah, but now the New Year's been rung in and things return fairly much to normal. Well, new normal anyway. I know some places are going into tighter Covid lockdowns again today. I hope all of the crafters have enough supplies to themselves through it all!

Are you a fan of goals at the start of the year? I don't mean the typically broken ones like losing weight or exercising X days a week. I mean fun goals, like reading X books this year, or learning to knit cables. 

I enjoyed the Challenge feature on R@v the last number of years, and I've done alright with it. I had a goal of 15 projects last year and I finished 17. We won't go into how many I started ;) I could still set a goal and track it here I suppose...

One thing I had decided on a bit ago was to knit myself a sweater each year; cardigan or pullover, didn't matter. As you know if you were following along, I knit a Harvest cardigan last fall (link is to the pattern's page on Tin Can Knits' website). This year's sweater is a pattern I bought during the Fasten Off Yarn Along: Twist Again by Robynn Weldon (link goes to the pattern page in her Payhip shop). I just love all those cables!! And I have a lovely dark lavender yarn for it :) I haven't started it yet. I've been tempted to, but I decided I need to get at least two projects off the needles first.

I did finish a project during FOYAL (although I only swatched one officially, the aforementioned Twist Again)! I finally got my G'night Cap by Sarah Schira (link is to her website) finished; I only cast-on in January 2019! I only meant to set it down for a week or so to finish up something else and... Anyway!! It is done, it is fabulous, and I love it! Picture? Why of course!

I used just a bit over 1 hank of Briggs & Little Heritage in "Light Green". It's cute and oh so warm :) Let January throw another Snowmageddon at us! Ok, not really; I don't want to that much snow at once ever again. But my new hat is warm and wonderful.

What am I working to finish up? So glad you asked! I started Simee Dimeh by Romi Hill (Sorry, no safe link at the moment. I know Romi is getting her website set up, and I that you can email her to get her patterns via email instead of through R@v at this time) last May and I'm in the midst of chart J. It ends after chart K, so I'm very close to finishing. I chose to use the rainbow for my 7 colors and ordered 7 hanks of Briggs & Little Sport from Wool Trends, one of the lovely lys' in St. John's aka Town. Here's where it's at currently:

How's that for colorful?! I've used red, orange, yellow, paddy green, light blue, blue heather, and violet to make my rainbow, and I'm really pleased with how it's coming along. 

So that sums up my personal knitting, let's look at my work knitting!

I published two patterns last year, the Treble Reel Toque and the Treble Jig Legwarmers (links are within this blog. You can also visit the Patterns tab near the top of this screen)

This year I'll be publishing the Hornpipe Bag and the Slip Jig Shawl. I'm continuing to work on the samples and tweak the wording of the patterns as I do so. (Behind the Scenes info: unlike some (most? probably most) designers, I first outline the pattern and swatch and make notes, and then I write the pattern as I knit the sample.) I hope to also publish at least one of the two other samples I have on the go currently. These are Hap-Hazard (my twist on a hap shawl), and Gone Feising (pronounced "feshing"; an Irish dancer's outfit for an 18 inch doll).

I'm also at work "translating" the charts from Rínce Fada into line by line instructions to make a low vision accessible pdf to go with the standard one already available. Because I charted it for reversible double-knitting (standard double-knitting gives you a mirrored image on the backside that gives you backwards facing letters and words), each and every stitch is represented, and when I choose the written instructions option from my charting software I get "KMC PCC KMC PCC KMC PCC..." instead of "(KMC, PCC) 3x..., so I have to manually edit each row, which isn't easy on my eyes, and yes, I'm taking regular breaks to rest them. I'm about half through chart B and the charts go up to I so it'll be a bit before I have it ready but I am working on it, and hope to have it ready to go for you summerish ideally. Watch this space! There will be fireworks* when I announce it's ready! *Not really fireworks. A photo of some most likely. No animations will be on this site. 

I think that's all I have to tell you about today. Happy 2021 to you, again :) If you'd like to tell me about your crafting goals for this year, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you've got planned!

Yours in yarn and to do lists,

Síle

September? Already?

Happy to report all of my current patterns can be found on my pattern tab now. I got the last few set up this morning. I'll be rearranging them a bit (that single column just doesn't use space very well) but they're all ready for browsing. I'm also going to be adding to the yarn information for a few of them; not as consistent as I'd like that information to be, especially with my earlier patterns. 

We're experiencing the lovely sunny warm days of late summer here, mixed in with the cooler and colder nights. Frost warnings made a come back the last few so windows were closed for the first time in quite awhile. Time to start thinking of wool sweaters and possibly hats and mitties. Mmmm, knitting season is on its way! :)

I don't know about you, but fall has become my favourite of seasons. Warm sunny days, cool but not bitter nights. The leaves changing. Fall is a very cozy season. Just cool enough for a shawl or cardigan, usually pretty dry so getting out and enjoying the outdoors is possible. Cooler nights are perfect for curling up with a mug of tea and your knitting, and/or a good book.

This year has seemed to go both too slow and too fast all at the same time. I can be ok with fall lingering a bit. What about you?

Yours in yarn and woolly plans,

Síle

Low Vision Update

I have a happy announcement to make: I uploaded the low vision pdf for my Treble Jig Legwarmers today on Payhip and Ravelry. This link goes directly to the pattern on Payhip: Treble Jig Legwarmers

That's all my paid patterns, with the exception of Rínce Fada, that now have two pdfs: the standard one with written and charted instructions, and the low vision one. I want knitters to be able to knit my patterns whichever way is best for them. Going forward my patterns will have both pdfs on their release. 

Which brings me back to Rínce Fada. I presented it as charts only after the basic gauge, materials, and note sections; 11 charts make up the pattern for Rínce Fada. I felt it would be too unwieldy to have line by line instructions on top of them. It's the written sections and line by line instructions that I turn into my low vision pdfs. In larger type, Rínce Fada would likely be over a hundred pages. For now I'm going to leave it as it is. That doesn't mean I won't change my mind in the future. 

In blog news, I'm trying to figure out how to set up photo links so that my patterns are available here instead of sending you over to Payhip. I'm not tech savvy at all so this is definitely a learning experience! I used the advice and CSS notes that Sarah from knitting-and.com posted to make my Payhip shop more accessible last evening. I'm so grateful for this sharing of knowledge to improve accessibility. 

We're no longer under a heat warning! Yay, back to comfortably warm temps! I was able to knit a few rounds on the worsted weight wool shawl last night (the purple one in my collage) without melting, so now that I have my existing patterns updated I can get back to new designs. I'm really excited to be able to share new behind the scenes photos again soon. I'm aiming for one, possibly two, new patterns to come out this year.

Til next time,

Síle

I should've done this before

"There are few knitting problems that will not yield to a blend of common sense, ingenuity, and resourcefulness." - Elizabeth Zimmermann "The Opinionated Knitter"

An excellent quote to keep in mind right now as things continue to go unanswered on the R*velry front. The new readability survey is a cruel joke upon those experiencing vision troubles, migraines, 10 reported seizures now, and a case of retinal bleeding! The Epilepsy Foundation has issued a warning about the site, and sent a letter to them. Will it help? Sadly, I can't be positive about it as I once would've been.

As I mentioned before, I have listed my patterns on Payhip and LoveCrafts, while still having them available on R*velry. Unfortunately, they're a leading force in the industry and I'm too small of an entity not to use them. The resources for designers, especially smaller ones, housed in the group pages are a wealth of information.

And it's a page in the Accessible Patterns group that my post title comes from today. I have witnessed a lot of discussions about the needs of knitters with vision difficulties overtime,  and am sad to say, I always put it to the side as "something I'll get around to". That's not good enough. This is me saying I need to do better. I started on Tuesday and so far have 4 patterns with an additional low vision pdf included with them. These are available in my Payhip shop and my R*velry shop (yes, I completely see the irony of having them available on R*v); as near as I can tell you can't have more than one pdf to a pattern on LoveCrafts. I need to see if that means I can have a duplicate pattern page set up for the low vision version. The 4 patterns with the low vision option, so far, are:

• Isadora Duncan
• Garden Blooms 
• Watch the Clock
• Drills

The links above take you directly to the Payhip individual listing for that pattern. The links to my whole portfolio on each platform are in the sidebar. I'm working more or less in publishing order, starting with my older patterns.*

Going forward, my plan is for every Knit Dance Repeat Designs pattern to have a low vision pdf included with the standard one. This meshes well with my previous plan of offering both written out instructions and charts so each knitter is able to choose what suits them best.

What's the difference between my standard pdf and my low vision ones? My standard pdfs have the title and all headings in Pacifico, title in 26pt, headings in 16pt underlined; the low vision pdf has Calibri in 24pt for the title and Calibri in 22pt in bold type for the headings. Standard print of my patterns is Cambria 12pt; for my low vision pdfs I've used Calibri 22pt. I use some italics and underlining for definition in my standard pdfs; I've either used bold type or parentheses for definition in the low vision options. Almost all of my standard patterns include charts and fully written out instructions; I don't include charts in the low vision pdfs. Lastly, my standard pdfs have the page number/title/my name/Knit Dance Repeat Designs on the bottom right side of each page; in my low vision pdfs I have left justified everything including the page number, etc.

Update: ‪The Light Reel Cowl has its low vision pdf now.

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