Stars In My Eyes

Or at least in my cloak's edging! 

As I'm working on my Countess Cathleen design, I've been knitting a lot of star stitch. And that got me thinking a little photo-tutorial on it might be useful for those of you not familiar with it.

To start off, star stitch is much like Trinity, blackberry or bramble stitches. You're knitting a series of clusters of 3 stitches together to make a decorative filler that is often paired with cables. Star stitch isn't as commonly paired with cables as the others are, which is part of why I was drawn to it for this pattern. I also like that instead of forming knots or near bobbles, star stitch lies flat while still having texture. Here is a photo of star stitch:

This is actually the start of the hood; 13 stitches provisionally cast-on and worked for a certain number of rows, followed by placing the active stitches on hold and picking up along the left side of the panel to start the cable panel. I digress; you're here for a star stitch tutorial, not my blathering lol

As you can see star stitch involves clusters of stitches. The stitch pattern can be worked on any multiple of 4 stitches + 1. As I said before I worked this panel over 13 stitches. Star stitch is worked on the wrong side rows and you're purling the stitches together or singly. 

Step 1

Purl 3 stitches. This gets you to the position to work the first star.

Step 2

Insert the right needle purlwise into the next 3 stitches...

Step 3

purl these stitches together, forming a new stitch on the right needle but don't drop them from the left needle...

Step 4

make a purlwise yarnover by bringing the yarn up and over the right needle and back through between the needles. The yarn is ready for the next step and you have 2 new stitches on the right needle.

Step 5

Insert the right needle back into the original 3 stitches...

Step 6

and again purl these stitches together, forming a third new stitch on the right needle...

Step 7

... and slip the stitches from the needle. That's your first star completed. 

Continuing the row

(Purl 1, repeat steps 2 through 7 for another star) repeat these stitches until you reach the last 3 stitches of your row: Purl 3.

Here's what it looks like from the right side at the finish of the row:

The next row (right side)

Knit across the row.

To continue the panel

Next wrong side row: (Purl 1, repeat steps 2 through 7 for a star) repeat these stitches to the last stitch of the panel: Purl 1.

All right side rows: Knit all the stitches.

And that's how to work a panel of star stitch. I hope you've found this useful!

A FO(!) and New Things at KDR

Pleased to say I have a personal FO this week. I finished the Flax sweater (pattern by Tin Can Knits; link to the pattern page on their site) for Cousin's little guy yesterday and I'm really happy with it.

I think the stripes made it fun. I can say weaving in ends took a awhile though! So I'm going to be staying away from stripes for a bit.

As for my work knitting, the pattern for the Hornpipe Bag will be headed to my techeditor in the next week or so. And if you follow me on Instagram you know I'm doing something with a wide cable panel that needs shaping and I recently posted a photo of it on my head to Instagram:

Yes, this is for a new design and I admit I'm really excited about it. 

I've had the picture in my head for a few years (and copious notes hither and yon lol), for a hooded cloak with a cabled  panel running from the front of the hood, down the back of the neck, and then straight down through the body to the bottom edge. I'm finally getting the shaping of the hood down. 

And while I've made notes and calculations, I'm finding I really need to see how this is looking as it progresses so I grabbed a similar wool to the one I'll be using for the sample (hood swatch is in Briggs & Little Tuffy in the "Blue Mix" colorway) and started playing around. I really like how it's progressing, silly photos included. 

I'm calling this hooded cloak pattern Countess Cathleen, after the iconic slip jig piece in Riverdance, choreographed and first danced by the inspiring Jean Butler. It's my favorite dance/tune in the entire show. And eventually I was going to have a design inspired by Riverdance. One can't ignore a global phenomenon especially in its 25th anniversary season!

I have another design on the needles right now that I can't share with you just yet ;) My goal is to have it ready for announcement in late July/early August. I think it's going to be a fun way to get ready for colder temperatures ;) I can say I'm really pleased with it and it's knitting up fairly quickly. 

What are you working on this week? Anything you're sharing for #WIPWednesdayOffRav? I'm off to scroll Instagram and ❤️ a bunch of lovely projects!

Yours in yarn and cabled hood trying-on,

Síle

In Defence of the Humble Swatch

Yes, I said the S word!

Swatching gets a pretty bad rap in knitting circles. I'm guessing the same is true for crochet circles. It's that boring first part of your project that slows you down from jumping into the fun part.

And depending what your project is it can seem a bit pointless. I confess, if I'm working with a yarn I'm very familiar with, in a stitch pattern I've used with it before, I have a tendency to just jump in. Especially if it's an item that doesn't need to fit someone, like a shawl or blanket. Or a tote bag. If these are bit larger or smaller than the designer's measurements, they're still useful. Scarves fit in this category too.

However if you're not familiar with the yarn or haven't used it  with a particular stitch pattern, it's usually best to try it out. This gives you a chance to try the stitch pattern without committing to the full project. Or check if a color combination really looks like you hope it will.

Someone once said to me that as a designer it must be nice not having to swatch. I laughed. 

As a designer I do far more swatching than you'd probably imagine. Do these stitch patterns look good next to one another? Will I have weird floats if I pair stitch pattern X with V and W. Is there enough contrast between Color C and Color D? Do I prefer the single color version or the two color version? This doesn't look "right" in fingering weight, but what if I try it in worsted? I've never tried this technique, *grabs a ball of yarn and some needles, proceeds to teach self new-to-me thing*...

I have a lot of swatches around from my various experiments. And where my back isn't in a good place the last couple days, I'm working on yet another one.

This probably looks a bit familiar to you if you've followed me for any bit of time. It's 3 color 2 pattern double-knitting which I tried out last year with this swatch:

Last year's swatch was to familiarize myself with 3 color double-knitting, both knitting it without creating a tangle and charting it effectively. I used yarns in my stash that happened to be all the same brand and yarn line (Bernat Satin if you're curious) in a worsted weight yarn. I find worsted weight perfect for experimenting like this. It's light enough that carrying several strands doesn't feel cumbersome. At the same time I can see the pattern without straining my eyes or it feeling too delicate to examine.

My current swatch is also yarn from my stash (Briggs & Little Sport) which I'd describe as a heavy fingering/sport weight as that's the weight I want to use for the eventual pattern.

There are other design elements that will be in this swatch as I work on it that I want to see knit up. Having a chart you like doesn't necessarily mean that it looks how you want it to when it's knit. I think this swatch's chart might be included in the pattern as the test piece so it can be used for color selections and to familiarize the knitter before launching into the main project. Double-knitting requires a decent amount of contrast between the colors and that can take playing a bit to find a combination you like and that works. Especially when using 3 colors.

I'm also playing with colors a bit. Not necessarily a color combination either; on that I'm not 100% settled yet. I'm considering if I want to use a variegated for one of them, for instance. I want to see how much of each color is used compared to the others. I'm guessing I'll use more green and purple than yellow, but how more? Will the green and purple be more or less equal in use? Or will there be a clear "this color uses more than the other 2"?

Which of course leads to gauge. How many stitches and rows am I getting to the standard 4 inch (or 10cm) square? And by comparing yarn usage to the gauge and the total stitches in my charts, I can figure out how much yarn this whole project will take. I have a rough idea already, extrapolating from a standard 2 pattern double-knitting design of mine. Is that a  reasonable assumption for 3 color 2 pattern double-knitting? I don't know yet!

And so, I swatch. 

Are you swatching today? Or jumping straight to casting on something new? I've admitted I do it, so absolutely no judgement here :)

Yours in yarn and swatching,

Síle

Light Reel Cowl is updated!

Good morning, everyone!

It's re-release day here at Knit Dance Repeat Designs! And I'm happy to say it's the Light Reel Cowl 🔗 (within site link) that's gotten it's refresh!

Once again I worked with the talented Krista of Krista Dani Photography 🔗 (link to Facebook page), and I'm so pleased with the new photos! It was hard to narrow down which to use on pattern pages and for the main photo in the pattern!! Here's a sample:

What else has changed with the re-release?

Most of it is purely cosmetic: new photos, my logo is in place, I fixed up the headings.

The biggest change is to the low vision pdf. I changed from 22 point san serif font to 24 point. I fully justified everything; my page numbers weren't before, sorry about that!! But the biggest change was eliminating abbreviations and making sure the file is screen reader accessible as well as low vision accessible! It took some time to get it right but I hope it opens this pattern up to more knitters. I have tested this capability using VoiceOver, the built-in voice accessibility tool on iPhones and iPads. 

In honor of the re-release, as I mentioned on Saturday, for today (March 14, 2022) only, the Light Reel Cowl can be purchased for 10% off with the coupon code NEWDANCE. 

That makes two patterns of 12 updated. Which one's next? Stay tuned!

Yours in yarn and lightly reeling through the day 😉,

Síle

Whatever Happened to Pattern Updates...

If you read any of my January posts, you might recall my intention to re-release my current patterns with the photos updated and logo in place. Garden Blooms got its update in January. Unfortunately February got away from me.

But! Monday I'll be re-releasing another. And this one I've not only got new photos to show off. I've edited the large print/low vision pdf from 22 point font to 24 point font, and also for screen reader compatibility. I have checked this using my phone's VoiceOver accessibility function, which I believe is the same built-in feature on iPads. Hopefully that means it will work with other screen readers as well. It's my intention to do this with all of my patterns that have the large print/low vision pdf included, which means future patterns as well.

Because this is a re-release I'm offering a 10% off code on this pattern, good for Monday (March 14) only. The code is NEWDANCE. This is only good on Monday, for this specific pattern.

Check back Monday to find out which pattern has a new look!

Yours in yarn and dropped hints,

Síle

Welcome, March

I can't believe I've been in Newfoundland for 10 years today. That chance to move somewhere I'd never even seen has paid off big time in so many ways. Not that there haven't been rough spots. But that's life. I don't believe anyone goes through without a bump or two in the road. Cheers to us on 10 years together, Newfoundland 🥂

I happily finished the Hornpipe Bag on the weekend. 

I'm in the process of going over the pattern and after photos are done and decided on, it will be off to my techeditor. Keep your eyes open for the test knit when those steps are completed.

What am I working on now?

So glad you asked! I'm preparing the next pattern re-release, to be out later this month. Watch this space!

I put a teaser out on Instagram today for my currently in my hands WIP. Here's the photo and my post:

"My Hornpipe Bag is finished and after I get done going through the pattern and working with my favourite photog to get the best pics, it'll go to my brilliant techeditor. And then will come test knitting.

But until then I'm working on a little something I can't show you just yet 😉 I can tell you it's worsted/aran weight (my sample is in this gorgeous "Blue Mix" Briggs & Little Tuffy (80% wool, 20% nylon)), unisex, and suitable for most knitters. It uses knits, purls, yarn overs (yo), knitting through back loops (K tbl) , purling through back loops (P tbl), knit 2 togethers (K2tog), knit 2 together through their back loops (K2tog tbl), and purl 2 together (P2tog). Instructions will be written line by line and charted, with a separate pdf that is low vision accessible and (hopefully I get this part right; thank goodness for a brilliant techeditor) screen reader accessible. 

I'm aiming for the end of August so we have time to make it together 😉 in time for colder weather.

Stay tuned!

[Image: 3 balls of wool of varying sizes and a hank of the same wool. The color of all is dark denim blue with some black heathering.]

#SíleKnits #SíleAtWork #SíleDropsBigHints #KnitDanceRepeatDesigns #NewDesign #UpcomingPattern #UpcomingMKAL 😉 #CanadianWool #WoolLove #BriggsAndLittleTuffy #BriggsAndLittle #GottaLoveWhenThePerfectWoolsInYourStash"

How's that for a teaser? 

In all seriousness, I'm really looking forward to this idea. The knitting is going fast! I love when a design just flows like this. It feels really good.

As I'm sure you're aware, there's additional conflict in our world with Russia invading Ukraine. Correction: Putin invading Ukraine. Many Russians are completely against these actions, and have been arrested for protesting them. With the continued bombing of Yemen by Saudi Arabia, the US bombing Syria, and Haiti still reeling from last year's earthquake, many people are in dire circumstances around our world.

It's unsettling to see these things from the comfort of our homes. I can't begin to imagine what it's like to experience it first hand. People are in dire situations and I'm a believer in helping those needing it no matter where they are. If you're able to please consider donating to organizations that are helping the people in these awful circumstances that are completely out of their control. I know there are various agencies doing very important work world wide. I'm going to give some links that are located in Canada. Most large aid agencies have sites/chapters in many countries, and replacing "ca" or "Canada" with your own country's abbreviation or name in the url should bring you to the right place. 

Canadian Red Cross🔗 there are campaigns for Syria, Yemen, Haiti, Ukraine, and other places. The Red Cross works directly with the Red Crescent to provide much needed funds for medical supplies and essentials for refugees in Muslim predominant countries as well as their direct works.

UNICEF Canada🔗 There's a campaign for Ukraine on the front page, and campaigns for other places like Haiti and Syria can be found by using the search bar on the site. 

Canada Helps🔗 This site brings together many more campaigns and agencies working around the world to help in war torn areas and those devastated by natural disasters. 

And while we're talking about people that need help, the First Nations people of Canada have continued to find the remains of children near the so-called schools that were sent to after being stolen from their families and communities to be "educated". In truth they were beaten, tortured, raped, murdered, and traumatized. It's only recently come to public light the numbers of children murdered. I believe the current number found is 5,296. This link is to a blog post with links to 10 First Nations initiatives🔗 that can use financial support

Yours in yarn and humanity,

Síle