I’ve just published a new pattern – Vestige Shawl.  This is a top down triangle with bands of texture and is very simple to knit.

It’s knit with DK / light worsted weight yarn, so it knits up in a flash!

There are two sizes, with wingspans of either 58 inches or 68 inches.  The two sizes are either two or three skein projects.

Here is the size 1 shawl, shown here in Tosh DK, in the colorway Aura.  This sample took two skeins of the yarn and has a wingspan of 58 inches.

 

 

The size 2 sample was knit with Malabrigo Rios, in my favourite colorway Franke Ochre.  I used 3 skeins of the yarn and it measures 66 inches across.

 

 

 

I’m running a promotion, for this week only, check it out on the pattern page here.

Photography was done by Sylvia McFadden and the model is Vivienne McMaster.  A great job by both, thanks so much to these two talented women.

Happy fall knitting everyone!

It’s been awhile but I am back with a new design – Neverland Shawl.  This design was inspired by the beautiful song Lost Boys by Ruth B.  Have a listen here.  I never get tired of this song and could listen to it over and over again.

Neverland is a two color crescent shaped shawl worked from the top down.  The shawl features an easy garter stitch body, garter stripes, and a deep lace border.

 

The lace has patterning only on the right side rows because I know you are like me and love those “rest” rows.

This shawl comes in two sizes and lots of chances to play with your favourite colors.

 

When I was working on the larger sample, I kept thinking it was going to be too large.  I began asking every knitter that I met about their size preferences for shawls.  I asked for feedback on my group on Ravelry.  And after practically everyone told me they loved their shawls BIG, I was finally convinced.  And once the sample was finished and I tried it on, I was completely in love with big shawls.  Who knew!

The blue/green version is sport weight Malabrigo Arroyo, one of my favourite Malabrigo yarns.  And these two colors together are heaven.  They are Candombe (the blue/green) and Chircas (the heavenly olive green).  I used stash yarn for the blue picot bind off.  It’s done in size 1, which measures 66 inches wide and 19 inches deep.  Green is my favourite color, can you tell?

The blue/grey version is fingering weight Tosh Merino Light, another of my favourite yarns.  The colors shown are Plunge ( blue) and El Greco (grey).  This sample is size 2, and measures 78 inches wide by 19 inches deep.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this design.

The photos were taken by Sylvia Bo Bilvia and I am in love with them.  She really captured my inspiration behind the design and created a story for the design with her photos.

The model in these shots is Nicola Hodges, who makes modelling seem easy, which it is not.  But she makes it seem so, with her relaxed manner and easy going style.

I would also like to thank Ashwini for her Technical editing skills.  It is with her help that I attempt to write concise, clear patterns.

I was lucky enough to have Teresa test knit this pattern, and as always, I am grateful for her time and advice.

All the remaining details of the pattern may be found on the pattern page on Ravelry.

Happy end of summer knitting!  Take some time to sit in the sun and knit this month…..

 

I’m celebrating this month, it’s my sixth anniversary for my pattern design business.

I talk about this and other news in my May newsletter, if you are not receiving my newsletter,  I’d love it if you sign up.

I am excited to be publishing a new pattern today.  Laneway shawl is a slightly asymmetrical triangle, featuring bands of textured lace and a shaped garter stitch border on two sides.  The shawl begins with a few stitches at one wing tip and is knit across to the other wing tip, knitting the border as you go.  The shaped garter border is continued as a sideways bind off to complete the project.  The size is easily adjustable.

 

Laneway shawl is worked in DK weight yarn, so it knits up fast! The weight of the shawl is perfect for spring and fall and maybe some cool summer evenings in between, too. Not too light but definitely not too heavy either. And it literally flew off my needles, which was very satisfying.

 

I’m excited to tell you about the yarn I have used for Laneway Shawl. It is Desert Bloom yarns  Chic in the colorway Silverleaf Nightshade. This yarn is 50% Merino and 50% silk and it was so lovely to work with. I really loved having this project on the needles. The color is rich and saturated and the yarn is soft but substantial feeling as well. The stitch definition is perfect for showing off those bands of textured lace.

Be sure to check my newsletter coming out today for a special promotion to be offered by Desert Bloom yarns.

Laneway Shawl begins a new look to my pattern photography. The talented Sylvia McFadden agreed to shoot photos of my shawl and I couldn’t be more excited!

Sylvia is a photographer as well as a knitwear designer and she publishes patterns on Ravelry. Among other things, she’s the designer behind the hugely popular and really gorgeous Waiting for Rain Shawl. Check out her Ravelry shop here and her Instagram feed here.

My model is Nicola Hodges, and I love how her calm, serene personality shines through in the photos.

 

 

Starting today and running through to the end of May, I am having an Anniversary Sale on all my self-published patterns.  Buy two patterns at the regular price and receive a third pattern free.

Be sure to place all three patterns into your cart before checking out.  There is no coupon code required.

Happy May everyone!

 

 

 

 

Today I am publishing my new pattern Ashbury Scarf.   I have been working on this pattern for quite awhile and I’m happy to finally be releasing it.

The pattern begins with a few stitches and is then knit sideways into an asymmetrical and unique shape.  The design features easy to knit biased two color stripes.  This fun project ends with a solid section of stockinette accented by three lace stripes.  Directions are included for adjusting the size to your preference.

The shape really is unique, with four corners and a body of biased stripes that meet off centre.  It’s quite versatile, I have found lots of different ways to wear it.

I have used two different yarns for my samples.  The sample shown above is Handmaiden Casbah, in the colorways Salt Spray and Smoke.

This yarn has been a favourite of mine for years, but I haven’t used it recently.  I was so happy to revisit this yarn with two of my samples.  The yellow and cream version shown below is my “craving for spring” color combination, using colorways Natural and Straw.

I found it hard to stop making samples for this pattern…I worked two more samples using another favourite yarn of mine, Malabrigo Arroyo.  The colorway Plomo was used for both samples, one combined with Purpuras and the other combined with Regatta Blue.

 

I hadn’t worked with this yarn in awhile either, and I had almost forgotten how lovely the yarn is and how much the colours make me happy!

A big thank you to Jasmin who test knit this pattern for me.

The pattern is available on Ravelry here.

It seems like ions ago that I first told you about my design for the Shalimar Indulge Me yarn club.  It’s finally here!

 

Here is my contribution, Batiste Shawl, using Shalimar’s limited edition Lavello yarn.  Lavello is  a sumptuous blend of merino, nylon, kid mohair, silk and bamboo.  The colorway was created especially for the Indulge Me yarn club, which ships out this month.  I’m excited to show you my design for the club.

 

As soon as I saw the yarn and the colorway, the mood was struck for me.  The color evokes spring for me with it’s delicate and feminine combination of grey, green and blue.  So subtle and so pretty!  It reminds me of seashells and faded beach glass on white sand.  I hope I’ve caught this mood with my design.  I imagine it worn over tanned shoulders and a white summer dress.

The Batiste Shawl begins with a few stitches at one wing tip and is worked sideways into an asymmetrical triangle. The pattern may be easily adjusted to any size. It features two pretty lace patterns and a subtle little lace border on two sides.  The lace work is simple, using yarn overs and simple decreases.

 

 

Many thanks to Kristi and Celeste at Shalimar yarns for inviting me to participate in this yarn club offering.

Batiste Shawl pattern is available for purchase in my pattern shop on Ravelry.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, knitters.  I have some news for you today… first off, I am holding a Fall Pattern Sale.

Buy 2 patterns and get the third pattern free.

The sale started yesterday, Friday November 6 and will run through Sunday November 15, 2015.  All my self-published patterns are eligible for the sale, so I hope you will take advantage of my offer to stock up on a few of your favourites.

Here are just a few of the patterns on sale:

All the patterns available for the sale and the details on how to take advantage of this offer may be found here.

My next news is that I have been invited to design a pattern for the Indulge Me! Club by Shalimar Yarns.   I’m so excited to be working with Celeste and Kristi at Shalimar yarns on this luxury yarn club.  I’m also honoured to be working in the company of fellow designers: Tanis Gray, Jen Lucas, and Jennifer Dassau.

Sign ups have begun and will continue through November 13th, 2015, so don’t delay, there are only a few days left to indulge yourself or someone you love.

The first kit ships November 19th and the second ships December 30th.  Wouldn’t that be an awesome gift for the holidays?  Then two more kits to follow in the new year would be so wonderful to anticipate.  I’m starting to feel better about winter already!

I have two patterns for you today, a shawl and a cowl.  The stitch pattern is very similar between the two pieces.  Let’s look at the shawl first:

Lochlyn Shawl is a triangle knit sideways.  This shawl is rich in texture and colorwork but easy to knit.  Very easy to knit!  It’s just knits and purls, with a few slipped stitches and an increase.  That’s it!  I found it so easy, in fact, that after getting familiar with the stitch pattern, I was able to knit for hours without looking at the pattern once.  Really, everything happens very predictably and once you get it memorized, it’s a piece of cake.  The stitches on the needles will tell you what to do.

The broken garter pattern and the colorwork look much more complicated than it is, but it’s interesting to knit too.  I do love a pattern such as this, easy but interesting.  You are only working with one color per row, so nothing fancy with the colorwork and yet, the hand dyed yarn co-mingling in interesting ways with the texture of the stitch pattern, really gorgeous.

I used Tosh DK for the project – 2 skeins of Glazed Pecan and 1 skein of Shire for the sample shown.  The pattern is easily adjustable, make what ever size suits you.

I think the yarn is key here.  I really recommend hand dyed for this project.  I used a semi-solid for the main color (that’s color A – glazed pecan) and then I choose a lightly variegated for the contrast color (that’s color B – Shire).  The slight differences in shades in the hand dyed yarn really plays well with the stitch patterns and causes almost a shimmer in a certain light.

A deep garter stitch border finishes off this soft and squishy wrap.

Many thanks go to my test knitter Teresa, who tested this shawl pattern for me and make a fabulous version in purples and golds.

I loved this combination of yarn and texture so much, that while still working on the shawl, I began to imagine a cowl.  When it came time to knit a sample, I stuck with the autumnal theme and choose 1 skein of Tosh DK in Resin and 1 skein in Cardinal.

I wanted Lochlyn Cowl to be reversible so I played with the stitches until I worked out how to make the solid lines run across both sides of the cowl.  The knitting is still very easy and uncomplicated, with patterning on both sides.  Once a few repeats had been worked, I put down the pattern and finished the cowl without looking at it again.  Really, once all the stitches are all set up, they tell you what to do, just as in the shawl.

The cowl is knit flat, in a long strip and then joined using the three-needle bind-off.  You begin with a crochet cast-on and there is a video link in the pattern to both these easy techniques.

I hope you will give these patterns a try!  I am running a promotion on Ravelry, through until Friday, October 30, 2015.  Purchase the Lochlyn Shawl pattern and receive the Lochlyn Cowl pattern free.  Details here.

Just a quick post to tell you that I have published Lineau Shawl on Ravelry..  This pattern was originally an exclusive kit on Craftsy, and it’s still available for purchase there.  But now you can purchase the pattern separately as well.  One single 100 gram skein of fingering/sport weight yarn will make a size similar to the sample shown here, which measures 50 inches wide by 24 inches deep.

For this sample, I used Abstract Fibers Silky Matisse in the colorway Chartreuse.  Isn’t it an amazing green?  I really love it!

Have you signed up for my newsletter yet?  I’m working on the October edition, which will be coming your way about mid month.  Sign up here.

I hope you like my new design. Robin Hill Shawl is slightly asymmetrical in shape and style, featuring a beautiful botanical lace motif down one side and easy two colour stripes.  The shawl begins with a few stitches at one wing tip and is knit across to the other wing tip, all in one piece. It is finished with a simple sideways bind off.  Like most of my other shawl patterns, the size is easily adjusted by working the main pattern repeat as many times as desired.

This new shawl design was inspired by The Forsythe Saga currently airing on PBS.  It’s a 2002 mini-series based on the books by John Galsworthy.  There is a house called Robin Hill that figures prominently in the series.  The house has influences of Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts and is full of light and space.   We see glimpses of Robin Hill throughout the series.  I’m always waiting for the next episode to air and all this enthusiasm for the show turned into my new shawl design.

A while ago, I had purchased two colorways of Tosh DK because I thought they would be beautiful paired together.  The two colors were Shire and Plunge and my heart beat a little faster every time I saw the two colorways together.  I knit my first sample of this pattern using these two colorways and I love the result.

This small sample measures 50″ across and 19″ deep after blocking, and used just one skein of each colorway.

For the second sample, I knew that I wanted a larger version, something that would completely cover the shoulders and be dramatic and wrap like.  I also wanted to try a more neutral color combination.  I loved my blue/green version, but I thought a more neutral combination would make it even more wearable.  All this lead me to the color combination for sample number two. I used Tosh DK again, but this time with the colorways kitten and dirty panther.  I checked out many different combinations of greys and browns, but this combination won me over right away.  I have always been a hard sell on neutrals, I love my bright, clear, saturated colors.  But this combination had such life to it that I willingly ventured into neutral territory!

This larger sample measures 72″ across and 26″ deep, after blocking.  This baby is big, you can really wrap yourself up and stay warm with this size.  I think it will be perfect for fall over a sweater and for winter, over a winter coat.  I used two skeins of kitten and one skein of dirty panther for this version.

Overall, this is an easy knit.   The lace panel pattern is mostly patterned on right side rows and then there are rows and rows of lovely squishy, stretchy garter stitch.  The color changes kept me interested and I loved watching the play between the two colorways as I knit.  The dk weight yarn and the larger needle seemed to make it grow quickly too.

Robin Hill Shawl is available today on Ravelry here.

Hi everyone! I hope June is off to a good start for everyone. I have been thinking for some time about putting together a newsletter and I’m getting it organized. It will be monthly to start, although this may change down the road. I plan on including info about new designs I’m working on, new designs published, and tidbits about what’s new in the knitting world that we all love. I also plan on including special promos and coupon codes for newsletter subscribers only, to entice you all to subscribe 🙂 Subscribe here or at the link on the sidebar. The first issue will be coming soon!