new design

New Pattern Releases: Aureate Collection!

Remember all those secret projects I’ve been talking about?

I released a collection last week!

This is my first collection ever that isn’t just a bundle of a few related accessories, and it’s really exciting to have so many new patterns out there at once. The e-book includes five accessories, sized from Baby to Child, and the vest shown above (sized from 0-6 months to 4-6 years).

I thought I’d introduce the collection in parts, so today I’m showing you the first three accessories. Here’s the Aureate set, modeled by my very obliging son:

These were all knit with two skeins of Malabrigo Mecha, a wonderfully soft and squishy yarn (and you longtime readers know how much I like the squishy). Although the yarn is labeled as a bulky weight, I did find out that skeins of this yarn can vary in thickness. This particular batch knit up at more like a heavy Aran weight on size 9 needles.

Ronan has been wearing his Aureate Hat out and about constantly since the photoshoot, and it gets compliments everywhere he goes. Part of that is because he’s ridiculously adorable, but I like to think the hat should get a little bit of the credit.

He’s also wearing the Aureate Scarf in that shot. Long scarves aren’t practical for babies or small children (and can be a choking hazard), but I wanted to design something to keep the chill off his neck. I toyed with the idea of a cowl, but eventually decided on a short scarf that’s fastened in the front with snaps, ascot style. This way it’s easy to put on but will come off easily too if there’s an issue.

Here’s a detail of the scarf and its fastenings:

And finally, the Aureate Mittens complete the set. They’re thumbless in the baby size and knit up in no time flat. The toddler and child sizes take a little bit longer, but are still very quick projects.

The cables on these mittens are shorter than on the hat and scarf, but definitely still along the same theme. Here are the baby mittens:

And here’s one I knit up in the child size to show the thumb:

I love chunky knits on chunky babies, don’t you?

FO Friday and New Pattern Release: Oscillation Scarf

I have a new FO to show off, and a new pattern!

And it’s (gasp) not a baby knit.

The scarf is part of the awesome Malabrigo Quickies program (small designs that take 1-2 skeins of Malabrigo yarn). You can check out the rest of the Quickies here on the Malabrigo website. There are some ridiculously cute patterns there.

We had fun trying to pretend I wasn’t 36 weeks pregnant in the photoshoot. I think we pulled it off rather well. The bump is kiiinnnd of present in the full body shots:

But I think you still see the scarf first and not just OMG baby!

The FO specs:

Pattern: my own Oscillation Scarf (Ravelry link), available to purchase for $4 US.

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo, two skeins in Reflecting Pool. Blue-green yarns are my Kryptonite, so I loooovee this colorway. My skeins were very different from each other, so I alternated every other row and twisted the yarns up the side. It looks neat and tidy in person, and you can barely see it in the photos, even the closeups:

The combo of the winding cables and alternating skeins broke up the pooling you sometimes get with hand-dyed yarns quite nicely. I’m really happy with the way the colorway looks with the pattern!

Notes: This is one of those sweet spot patterns: just interesting enough to keep your attention, but easily memorized so it makes great TV or travel knitting. A good chunk of this scarf was knit at the TNNA tradeshow while manning my booth or chatting (oops, still need to do a TNNA recap post!).

And now, of course, I’m back to baby knits. My little one is due in three weeks, so not too much longer until you get to see some modeled shots!

New Pattern Release: Roanoke!

It’s always a thrill when I can show off something I worked on in secret months ago. :-)

Meet Roanoke, part of the Louet North America Spring 2014 collection, which was just released today!

This tee is knit in scrumptious Louet Gems Fingering weight at a loose gauge. I wanted to design a drapey garment that was still figure-flattering, so it has a close, body-skimming fit.

The cable and eyelet pattern at the top adds just enough interest to an otherwise easy knit:

And that picture shows off my favorite part of the design: top-down, short-rowed, seamless sleeves! I’ve been wanting to design a garment with this construction for ages (I even blogged about it during Knitting and Crochet Blog Week last year). I think it worked beautifully for this top.

The rest of the patterns in the collection are GORGEOUS. You can flip through the whole lookbook here: Louet Spring 2014.

The specs on the tee are below. You can buy the pattern for $7.50 through my Ravelry store (no Ravelry account needed for purchase) by clicking on the button below.

YARN
Louet Gems (Fingering Weight); 100% merino; 185 yds/169 m per 50gr skein; shown in #67 Sea Foam Green: 4 (5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8) skeins

RECOMMENDED NEEDLES
US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needle, 29” – 40” long
US 5 (3.75 mm) double-pointed needles
US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needle, 16” or 20” long
US 6 (4.0 mm) circular needle, 29” – 40” long
US 6 (4.0 mm) double-pointed needles

NOTIONS
Stitch markers
Stitch holders or waste yarn
Tapestry needle

GAUGE
24 Sts and 30 Rows = 4” square in Stockinette stitch on larger needles
24 Sts and 34 Rows = 4” square in Mock Cable Eyelet pattern on larger needles

FO Friday: Francie Scarf

I have an older FO to show you today: Francie Scarf, from the upcoming book Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock!

(All photos from the book © Nick Murway)

Francie is a lace scarf with strong diagonal lines and a double moss stitch border, inspired by Grace Kelly’s wardrobe in To Catch a Thief. The scarf is big enough to wrap around the head, but it’s also thin enough to tie around the neck.

I’m not much of a lace knitter, but this stitch pattern was perfect for my tastes: simple enough to be easily memorized, but challenging enough so I didn’t get bored.

I’m participating in a blog tour for the book later this fall, so expect to hear more details about this design then!

I’ve gotten a chance to look through the whole Hitch book, and let me tell you, there are some spectacular patterns. It’s available for pre-order as of yesterday (and you get an awesome bonus pattern for a cute cowl).

And look–my scarf made the cover! :-D