A Bit of a Time

This past few months has been a bit of an emotional, and physical, roller coaster if I'm being honest. 

And that's held up some projects and changed the scope of others. So let's dive into what's on my needles and where it's all going, shall we?

When last I posted, I had finished a double-knit earwarmer, and was pondering and planning a few others to have a bit of a series exploring and/or refreshing aspects of double-knitting with the added techniques of increases and decreases. The first one is pretty basic if you've done any double-knitting. The increases and decreases are the only "spicy" bit, and only if you haven't knit a shaped shawl like those from Tania of Epic Knits/Knit 1 Roll 20 or Lisa of Nifty Knitter Designs. It's a very approachable little project.

To go with that, I started playing around with some tweaks to the concept, keeping the basic shaping. This led me to a 3 color design, and a 2 pattern design for earwarmers 2 and 3. A slight jump in skills but still very approachable, and I think a natural progression from basic double-knitting to slightly more flashy looking projects. I plan on knitting those up pretty soon. And then I thought the natural place to go was cables with a touch of texture. Again, building on what you've already learned and/or refreshed from the first 3. 

And then my brain got involved.

Fiber friends, I'd be lying if I said sometimes my brain isn't my biggest nemesis. 

Because of course I couldn't just stick to front crossing cables on the same colored background. Noooo, not me. I had to switch colors and have alternating panels both color wise (which would've been more than enough. An excellent middle ground), and cable twist direction. 

I bit off much more than I originally envisioned. Here's the supposed earwarmer 4 in progress. It's not quite halfway knit:

So! Upon reflection this is now earwarmer 5 lol And I need to scale back a bit for a properly placed 4 with not quite the time and contortion commitment. I'm pausing this one briefly just to catch my breath. I really went headlong at it with no real plot. Sometimes looking before I leap, even in knitting, is a much better idea.

What else have I been up to? I got the idea, made a plan and am nearly halfway through a 3 color shawl lol! 

This one's one of those back burner ideas that finally just clicked and I was off to the races. And it timed well with GST checks to get the yarn and extra long circular needle ordered (Plus one for Cherish the Ladies which I'll be re-diving into soon... ish)

I'm using Briggs & Little Sport (ordered from Halifax's Fia Fia🔗; link goes to their website. Canadian wool bought from a Canadian, and Atlantic Canadian too!, shop), and chose Fern green, Mauve, and Magenta for my sample colors. Wanna see?

The photo is a bit older now because I have roughly half of the second openwork done; it's in the Magenta. That will be followed up with another slipped stitch section, a section of Fern openwork, a final slipped stitch section, and then the bottom border with garter stitch, slipped stitches, and beads along with a picot edge. 

Talk about bringing some drama!

This is my Three Hand Reel design. 3 Hands, reels or jigs, are choreographed dances often combining elements from solos and céilís. My favorite was the one created by The Dance Brain, aka my 2 dance besties (S &H) and me. The colors are reminiscent of each of us too. And fittingly it'll end with a bit of added pizazz and sparkle, just like any good performance piece. A little nod to my dance days, and the friends who were on the ride with me. Good times!

This seems like as good a place as any to mention that I can no longer leave the house without my cane. Walking even a km has become really difficult. I still do it; I gotta get groceries and check the mail after all. And just het out of the house in general. But I've really been struggling with this downturn in my mobility. Not a fun time, fiber friends. I'm hurting pretty badly after an ill-advised "I need to get out!!!!" "moment" yesterday. I did get to capture this though:

This isn't far from my house. Maybe 5-10 minutes of a walk down to the water for someone walking a normal non-dragging speed. I think it took me just shy of 40 minutes to get there yesterday. sigh

Ah, my Rock in the ocean. There's something strangely soothing about a moody ocean. It was what I needed yesterday, even if I'm hurting extra today. Seems like that's a constant trade off lately.

Back to the good stuff!

I knit this little shawl mock up to try out another of my back burner ideas. It's not quite what I have in mind but it's close and it makes an adorable wrap for my little bear friend. She's quickly becoming my mini model for little one off's:

She's quite adventurous, climbing the trees in my backyard. 

I still haven't knit the sleeves for my Jeri🔗 (link to The Wayward Knitter Payhip shop) cardigan lol. The weather has warmed up and my cozy cardigan, though not forgotten, has been decidedly neglected. My hands want lighter yarns right now; the shawl is fingering/sport weight, and the earwarmer is DK. 

It's the first day of summer! What are your crafting plans as the weather heats up? I've been looking at my pattern collection, and I have to be honest I'm tempted to embrace my oft-suppressed inner mermaid.

Inner mermaid? While chatting with a friend about aesthetics, she asked me what I thought her vibe was, and I immediately said she's largely a Hobbit with a bit of an edge. She laughed and said that was fair given that to her I'm a Lisa Frank mermaid with a glitter problem. She's not wrong, fiber friends! Gimme the bright colors with a decided leaning to the cooler tones and if I can incorporate sparkle/bling or otherwise unexpected bits, yeah I'll do it. 

What does that look like? Picture the above palette on this gorgeous skirt Folly Skirt by Espace Tricot (sorry gang, I'm not finding their individual patterns listed on their website, https://www.espacetricot.ca🔗

Or this crocheted skirt (appropriately) called the Mermaid Skirt🔗 (link goes to designer's Etsy shop)

My mum would probably describe the vibe as "hippy dippy". I prefer mermaid comfort. I think a long skirt to go with my existing and in progress shawls comes first and then I can start exploring patterns for tank tops and other sleeveless tops. I have lots of shawls and cardigans to toss on when things are chilly.

Ok! I think that's it for today. I'll pop all my links in and get this up for your reading and viewing pleasure. Speaking of viewing: did you like my little video clip? Should I add those when I have them? I promise not to give any spoken commentary; no one needs to hear a cartoon character chattering in a nature clip lol

Yours in yarn, and not enough consideration for physical pain,

Síle

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

Mid-Year... Wait! What??

Sad but true. 2024 is more than half gone. You'd think someone were throwing clocks, time is flying by so fast lol 😂 

When last I popped in and wrote, I was restarting my sample of Cherish the Ladies. It was going quite well too. Until the circular needle's cable snapped that is.

I confess: I cried over this one. Fortunately, I was able to act quickly and I didn't lose any stitches. Or beads. 

But I'm afraid this little mishap has impacted my work knitting a lot. I'm trying to track down a longer circular needle in the required size. The one that the cable snapped on was a 32 inch/80cm length. To prevent another snapped cable I want to locate at least one of a 40 inch length; I'd prefer longer but anything longer than 32 inches should distribute the weight better, preventing another snapped cable.

My issue isn't actually *finding* a longer needle. At least online. But shipping costs are an absolute nightmare. A circular needle isn't exactly the heaviest item, and most shipping is equal to the price of the needle itself, if not more! That's just not feasible for someone on a limited budget.

That said, I will be in Town Friday to Sunday, so maybe I'll luck into finding something suitable. If it doesn't interfere with your crafting, cross your fingers for me and/or send along some needle finding vibes, please.

Here's the photo I took not long before my circular needle gave up:

It was looking so good! Hopefully I'll be back at it soon!

With this little hitch in my plans, plus an unhealthy dose of brain fog preventing me from writing up the instructions for my Countess Cathleen cloak, I've had to focus my energies into a personal project... or 2.

I finished my second Harvest cardigan (pattern by Tin Can Knits🔗; this link goes to the pattern page on their website) last evening! For this one I used 9 colors of yarn, and my shiny math rocks. To say it's colorful feels like a large understatement! And very random considering each stripe was chosen by rolling a D10 (for the color) and a D8 (for the number of ridges on the body, and number of rounds on the sleeves). Roomie got 2 photos of me modelling the finished sweater; one of the front and one of the back:

Of course I blinked right as she snapped the first one 😆 I love how cozy it feels, and how colorful it is. It's definitely one of a kind!

So yay! A large finished project in the books for me!

I may have mentioned it before but I had decided that 2024 was going to be my Year of Going For It in regards to my knitting, both personal and designing. Bringing some of those large and/or potentially over the top projects out of my head (where, I confess, my mind likes to tell me these big ideas are "too much" or "too loud" or "no one but you will ever want this thing"), and into reality. My multicolored Harvest was a jumping off point. So is my Cherish the Ladies wrap; I had talked myself out of using the beads. But then I remembered the advice someone gave me on Discord. It can be summed up as: You'll never know if there are like-minded knitters out there if you don't show off the projects that will attract them. Which makes a lot of sense, and it's not like I'm at a loss for big ideas! My design list has 24 ideas in the planning stages, and 3 more besides Countess Cathleen and Cherish the Ladies in the sample/writing stage. (Plus a dozen or so titles without firm enough ideas to really flesh them out just yet.) Of those, 7 definitely fit my idea of over-the-top/larger than life designs. 

When I look at my personal projects, I've got a couple... ok, there are several. Including one I started just the other day. 

As some of you may remember, I love double-knitting. And because I have a love of reading fantasy books, leaning towards urban fantasy (Oh! Author plug! Are you familiar with Seanan McGuire? Her October Daye series is awesome! If you're voting for the Hugos, and don't know what to pick for Best Series: vote for October Daye/Seanan McGuire!!! You won't regret it! She also writes the Incryptid series (on my tbr list, the Wayward Children series (super good!!), and a few others I'm blanking on. She is phenomenally prolific, and talented. Check her out if you haven't!), and like shiny things like math rocks, I discovered the designs of Tania Richter, aka AetherFang. In 2017, she introduced us to a Yarn Quest, a DnD style knitting experience. One of the patterns is for a blanket. A 20 square/chapter adventure involving double-knitting the charts that correspond to the dice rolls you make while reading through the tale she wrote for us. 

I'm going to have a very warm and colorful blanket to remember my character's Quest when I get it done :) I'm using the remnants from my super colorful Harvest cardi to start with. Chapter 1 is underway in red and black. You can find Tania's designs in her Payhip shop, Knit1 Roll20🔗. And as a teaser, here is the result of my first 2 dice rolls:

I'll keep you updated as I knit along the Yarn Quest. 

On a side note, I'll be teaching a basics of double-knitting workshop to an online group of friends in August. I'll be updating, and adding to, my double-knitting resources here in preparation for that. 

And that, my fiber friends, is everything I have to tell you about today! I'm looking forward to the trip to Town tomorrow, and my friend's wedding on Saturday.

Until next time, I remain

Yours in yarn,

Síle 

A Twist in My Plan

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, I got it cast-on...

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

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

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

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

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

What are you working on, fiber friends?

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

Síle

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

Anyone Need a New Bag?

My Hornpipe Bag pattern is now available!

This handy double-knit bag is just the right size for running errands, going to your summer dance class, or attending an outdoor show. And because it's double-knit, you get a fun patterned bag without worrying about your keys, pens, and other bits getting caught in the floats! 

This fun pattern is backed by photo tutorials, linked directly in the Notes section of the pattern, and also easily found in the Helpful Posts tab above, for the techniques I used that may not be familiar to you. 

Where can you buy the Hornpipe Bag pattern? Right here on this site! Hornpipe Bag on this site🔗

But that's not all! Buy before end of day on Friday (the 21st), using code KDRDHB20 and receive 20% off. This is code is only found here in this post as a thank you to my readers. (Yes, there's another code for a smaller discount that I'm putting out more freely. No, they can't be stacked.)

What are you waiting for? Get the Hornpipe Bag pattern today ;)

Yours in yarn and release day chaos,

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? ;)

Tis the Season

It's time once again for... 

The Fasten Off Yarn Along!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time, fiber friends!

Yours in yarn, and Fasten Off updates,

Síle

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: