New Pattern – Lush Sampler Cowl

I had hopes of going to bed early tonight but my plan was foiled when I ventured over to Twitter to see what everyone was up to.

"Just for fun - a montage of some of today's most-visited pattern pages: http://skitch.ravelry.com/skitched-20101027-173655.jpg" says @ravelry.

Here's what's behind the link:

I think I actually made a sound. Can't quite say what kind of sound, but this one definitely got my attention. You see the very first pattern, that one right there on the top left corner, just happens to be my most recent contribution to the CEY Web-Letter.

I'm a swatcher and I love to knit in the round, and the Lush Sampler Cowl is my rendition of one super-sized functional swatch. Now I'm wondering how it might look in Magnolia...

Anywho, it's a freebie, so what's not to love?

Halloween Beaumont

That yarn did manage to knit itself into a Halloween Hat. It's a Beaumont Tam in Fresco:

The chart is the same size/number of stitches as the original hat, but I wanted to jazz it up a bit for Halloween and our upcoming trip to DC. The charts were actually really easy to modify and the stitch counts worked out perfectly without much finagling with the text.

I started the ribbing Friday night and finished the whole tam by Saturday evening. I am a huge fan of fair isle, but was amazed to see how quickly Fresco knits up in stranded work. 

My new obsession with Fresco continues with a two tams that I designed last spring, but haven't published a pattern for just yet. Both are in Fresco, very very beginner friendly, and will possibly be available soon. Here's a little preview:

I adore winter hat season.

Photogenic Chair

Yesterday we went fishing (read: casting practice) and decided it was a good day to hunt down a TV stand--something that I've put off for over two years. After all, what makes anything a TV table is putting a TV on top of it. Boyfriend disagrees, and I'm glad. It took a little Craigslist sleuthing, but now we have a real TV stand and the cords are finally hidden.

But before Craigslist and after fishing, we antiqued our way home. It was then that I saw this chair. The antique shop described it  as an "upholstered chair from the 1960's" and also had a few other gems from the same source.

It wasn't until after I left the chair behind, slept on it, woke up thinking about it, purchased it after work, and rearranged the living room, that I finally realized that I have far too many house plants.

Seeing as this is a yarn blog, not a chair or a plant blog, I was determined to keep on topic when I got out the big camera tonight.

It looks good with brown, autumn-y colors (my personal favorite to play with):

And it also looks good with bold, Halloween-y colors (if I keep thinking about it, this may turn into a Halloween hat for our trip to the Rally to Restore Sanity):

It really reminds me of a velvet blue rocking chair my mom had when I was a kid. This doesn't look unlike that chair, except hers was definitely a lot more comfortable and it was a full blown chair--padded all the way to the floor. But hers, like mine, was velvet and she had it as long as I hope to have this chair. And she loves blue and I love green. And I think peridot is a pretty great color when it comes to greens.

This is the first piece of nice furniture I've ever owned. Which is to say the store didn't write the price on it with a crayon, scratches aren't its defining feature, and it didn't come from IKEA. 

Most importantly though, it looks good with me in it. 

What next?

Mittens, I think. Out of a ball of my handspun wool with one ply of white and one ply of hand-painted browns/oranges/greens/pinks. EZ mitered mittens, is my plan.

Trixie Shawl

Well hello there. It hasn't even been a week and here we are again, with one more free pattern. I could get used to this––publishing patterns is a lot of fun.

If you are a subscriber to the Classic Elite Web-Letter, you already know about the Pink Scarves project released this week. If not, head on over and read all about it here.

My contribution to the Web-Letter was a pink shawlette, the Trixie Shawl:

It's a freebie pattern, it is available here--> CEY Web-Letter 159 where there's PDF links for this and other free scarves.

Since publishing the pattern, I have had several inquiries about written instructions, which are not part of the original pattern. Welp, below are the written instructions for the charts for those of you who prefer that format. Two things:

• Along with the below instructions you will need the original pattern from CEY for pattern requirements, and the actual pattern itself.
• I translated the charts into written instructions between dinner and desert tonight, so if you find any errors, please let me know :).

In recognition of breast cancer awareness month, if you enjoy this pattern I encourage you to make a donation of whatever is within your budget to support a hospital or charity that is important to you. And it doesn't have to be money, check with your local hospital/charity--many gladly accept caps and other knit items.

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Set-up Chart

(panel of 1 st inc’d to 21 sts; 20 rows)

Row 1: (RS) Yo, k1, yo.

Row 2 and all WS rows:  Purl.

Row 3: Yo, k3, yo.

Row 5: Yo, k5, yo.

Row 7: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo.

Row 9: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2, yo.

Row 11: Yo, k5, yo, k2tog, k4, yo.

Row 13: Yo, knit to end, yo.

Row 15: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k3, yo.

Row 17: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2, yo.

Row 19: Yo, k5, yo, k2tog, k6, yo, k2tog, k4, yo.

Row 20: (WS) Purl.

Work Rows 1 – 20 for Set-up Chart Pattern.

Tulip Lace

(panel of 8 sts + 13 inc’d to multiple of 8 sts + 21; 8 rows)

Row 1: (RS) Yo, knit to end, yo.

Row 2 and all WS rows: Purl.

Row 3: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k3, *k3, k2tog, yo, k3; rep from * to end, yo.

Row 5: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1, *k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1; rep from * until 1 st remains, k1, yo.

Row 7: yo, k5, yo, k2tog, k2, *k4, yo, k2tog, k2; rep from * until 2 sts rem, k2, yo.

Row 8: (WS) Purl.

Repeat Rows 1 – 8 for Tulip Lace Pattern.

Border Lace

(panel of 16 sts+5 inc’d to multiple of 16 sts +31; 25 rows)

Row 1: (RS) Yo, knit to end, yo.

Row 2 and all WS rows: Purl.

Row 3: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, *k6, k2tog, yo, k6, k2tog, yo; rep from * until 3 sts rem, k3, yo.

Row 5: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, *yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1; rep from * until 4 sts rem, yo, ssk, k2, yo.

Row 7: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k2, *k1, yo, ssk, k4, yo, k2tog, k3, k2tog, yo, k2; rep from * until 5 sts rem, k1, yo, ssk, k2, yo.

Row 9: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k3, *k2, yo, ssk, k7, k2tog, yo, k3; rep from * until 6 sts rem, k2, yo, ssk, k2, yo.

Row 11: Yo, [k2, k2tog, yo] twice, *k3, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, yo; rep from * until 7 sts rem, k3, yo, ssk, k2, yo.

Row 13: Yo, [k2, k2tog, yo] twice, k1, *yo, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1; rep from * until 8 sts rem, [yo, ssk, k2] twice, yo.

Row 15: Yo, k4, yo, ssk, k3, yo, *k2tog, k2, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k3, yo; rep from * until 10 sts rem, k2tog, k2, k2tog, yo, k4, yo.

Row 17: Yo, k6, yo, ssk, k3, *k2, k2tog, yo, k7, yo, ssk, k3; rep from * until 10 sts rem, k2, k2tog, yo, k6, yo.

Row 19: Yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k4, yo, ssk, k2, *k1, k2tog, yo, k3, k2tog, yo, k4, yo, ssk, k2; rep from * until 11 sts rem, k1, k2tog, yo, k3, k2tog, yo, k3, yo.

Row 21: Yo, k2, [k2tog, yo] twice, k4, yo, ssk, k1, *k2tog, yo, k3, [k2tog, yo] twice, k4, yo, ssk, k1; rep from * until 12 sts rem, k2tog, yo, k3, [k2tog, yo] twice, k3, yo.

Row 23: Yo, k2, [k2tog, yo] three times, k4, yo, sk2p, *yo, k3, [k2tog, yo] three times, k4, yo, sk2p; rep from * until 12 sts rem, yo, k3, [k2tog, yo] three times, k3, yo.

Row 25: Yo, k2, [k2tog, yo] four times, k4, yo, *k2tog, k2, [k2tog, yo] four times, k4, yo; rep from * until 15 sts rem, k2tog, k2, [k2tog, yo] four times, k3, yo.

Work Rows 1 – 25 for Border Lace Pattern.

Calavera Scarflet

It's done!

To be more accurate, it actually has been done for a while. It was picking out the buttons that took the longest. After I spun the yarn, I had a hank of plush faux cashmere that would stripe beautifully if paired with the right pattern. And so the Calavera Scarflet came to be.

Skill Level: Easy

Measurements: 5½” wide, 23” long

MATERIALS:

Yarn: Handspun Faux Cashmere, fiber from KnittinK (Etsy), Alan Scott aka Green Lantern colorway, 4 oz, approx 100 yards.

Yummy commercial alternative: Ariosa by Classic Elite Yarns (use doubled, 2 skeins, approx 87 yards each)

Needles: One pair US 10½ (6.5 mm)

Buttons: Two 1¼” buttons, mine are from Happy Silence (Etsy)

GAUGE: 19 sts = 5½” in pattern.

CALAVERA SCARFLET

Using long tail cast on, cast on 19 stitches. Knit one row. Begin seed and stockinette pattern:

Row 1: K2, [p1, k1] twice, p1, k5, [p1, k1] twice, p1, k2.

Row 2: P2, [p1, k1] twice, p6, [p1, k1] twice, p3.

Row 3: repeat Row 1.

Row 4: repeat Row 2.

Row 5: repeat Row 1.

Row 6: P7, [k1, p1] twice, k1, p7.

Row 7: K7, [k1, p1] twice, k8.

Row 8: repeat Row 6.

Row 9: repeat Row 7.

Row 10: repeat Row 6.

Repeat rows 1 – 10 until piece measures 20” (or approx 3” shorter than you want the finished scarflet to be). Work rows 1 – 6 of  seed and stockinette pattern once more. Buttonhole row 1: K2, bind off 3 sts, k2, [k1, p1] twice, k3, bind off 3 sts, k2. Buttonhole row 2: P2, cast on 3 stitches using backward loop cast on method, p2, [k1, p1] twice, p3, cast on 3 stitches, p2. Work rows 9 and 10 once then rows 1 – 5 of pattern once more. Knit one row. Bind off all stitches.

FINISHING:

Sew on buttons underneath button holes, weave in ends and block piece to desired measurements.

I didn't worry about making a PDF for Ravelry, but the design is listed so queue away :). I chose Ariosa as a good alternative (when used doubled) because it has the same super-soft, squishy feel as my handspun. With Ariosa's loose ply, it almost has a handspun look when knit up doubled:

Happy October!