A handy tip for swatching

Every now and then, and mostly in between projects, I just feel like playing with yarn.  Right now I'm having fun exploring lace stitch patterns and making variations to use in some original designs I'm thinking about.  My inspiration for rethinking lace came from an article by Deborah Newton  in the Summer 2013 issue of Interweave magazine in which she shows how she takes a basic unit of lace and graphs it into variations.  She does an amazing job of visually breaking down the complexity of a pattern and showing the endless possibilities and combinations you can create.

So, with her article as my guide, I devised a simple variation of diagonal chevron lace by adding 2 garter stitches in between the 6 stitch repeat, and it gave a very different look to the pattern!  Here's my swatch:

This swatch was made from Shepherd's Wool (Stonehedge Mills) color raspberry on US size 8 needles.  Have you ever swatched, blocked, and then forgotten to write down the size needles you used?  Here's a tip I learned at my LYS.  Put small knots in the tail of your yarn - one for each needle size you used.  In other words, I used size 8 needles so I put 8 small knots in the tail of the yarn.  That way I always have a handy-dandy reminder! 



Note the 8 little knots - I circled one for easy reference!

Boot toppers and more boot toppers

 

 

These are my very own happy feet. Happy because I'm in my cowgirl boots and happy because I have my first two prototypes of boot toppers finished. These were knit using odds and ends of stash stuff. Changes I'll make:

• wear two of the same kind out in public :)   
• make the green one (fern stitch pattern) a couple of inches longer (hey, it was only a sample!). 
• I kind of like the length on the gold one (easily adjusted anyhow), but I'd possibly weave a thin leather strip through the eyelets (Leather and Lace?).
• Weave in the loopy end in the green one which is visible in the back.  Details, details.

I'm currently working on a pair in a beautiful worsted from Stonehedge Mills in yummy raspberry color flecked with a little bluish sheen. Stitch pattern is a chevron lace.  Will have picture posted soon. 

 

This fall I hope to open an online business selling my designs for quick-knit fashion wearables and high-quality merino yarn (made from organically raised sheep, hand spun and dyed in a variety of gorgeous colors, of course)and packaged in adorable reusable muslin bags.  Boot toppers will be the first collection, followed by fingerless gloves, cowls, scarves, etc. The boot toppers, which look great over skinny jeans or leggings, can be worn with a variety of boot heights - stretched higher on the calf over taller boots or scrunched down over ankle boots (which is one of my favorite looks). My kits are based on my observations that:

• There are a lot of DIYers out there who would like the perfect accessory.  (Oh, do you really like them??  I made them myself!!).  Particularly true if you'd like to highlight new and expensive boots!
• Sometimes you just want a small-but-satisfying knit that you can whip up quickly.
• Beginning knitters, at some point, get tired of making scarves and need to move on to the next level.
• Not everyone has the time to go to the LYS to pick out the perfect next little project.  I'll do it for you!
• The price point will be attractively small, but the fashion look will be big. 

Right now I'm having a lot of fun with my work, and I'm really cuing in on the colors and textures of summer and how they can be carried over into a fall wardrobe.  I'd love to hear any and all thoughts.  Thanks for visiting!

 

If I could knit the colors of summer...

 



I was so inspired by the colors at the Farmers' Market that I started playing around with some stitch patterns.  The green yarn (Chickadee by Quince & Co.) is knitted in fern stitch and looks much lacier when stretched out (as in the legwarmer that it will become).  The garnet (Shepherd's Wool worsted by Stonehedge Mills) is in a lace chevron stitch.  Love!



 

Color inspiration

The Farmers' Market in Holland, MI is open every Wednesday and Saturday morning from late spring until early fall.  In addition to getting freshly-picked produce and gorgeous flowering baskets, it's also a great source for color and texture inspiration for my knitting.

Right now, I'm crazy for just about any shade of green.  I'm working on a pair of boot toppers using Shepherd's Wool worsted merino in a great shade called Ivy.  I'm using a cable pattern called Sand Cables.  Cables are usually created on a background of purl stitches, but this pattern uses all stockinette with cables.  The cables flow from one to another, and the result looks somewhat like a highly-textures fabric (pictures TBA to be added)...beautiful!

Miss Honey meets yarn

The Yarn Bomber Herself

Hi, I'm Nancy, recently retired from a long (but wonderful) career as a high school librarian/administrator.  After taking a long hiatus from knitting, I'm back!  In fact, I am exploring several entrepreneurial options for a second career that would combine some simple designs and packaging them as kits with yarn and patterns.  A little background about my crafty side. Before I became a knitter, I learned to sew and developed my love of fabric and fashion from my mother. My favorite memory of my mom was the two of us sitting on our front porch on a hot summer night leafing through the big fall issue of Seventeen and planning my back-to-school wardrobe.  The planning was followed by a trip to Marshall Field's State Street Store in Chicago (back in the day they had a HUGE fabric department) to purchase the fabric that would turn my hopes to be stylish, cute, popular at school year into a reality.  Popularity was somewhat elusive, but I did learn to sew and years later (following bachelor's and master's degrees) I began a degree program in fashion design.  Sadly, the program went unfinished but I did learn a lot about construction and design, which has served me well as both sewer and knitter.

I digress.  Shortly after resurrecting my yarn and supplies, I adopted a cat, Miss Honey.  Don't they just all go together?  Librarian, cat, knitting.  Yish....I hope I'm not THAT stereotypical!  Honey is the second cat I've adopted from Catnap From the Heart, a suburban Chicago no-kill shelter whose mission I admire. Anyhow, first night on the job as My New Cat, Honey proceeded to attack - literally attack - my yarn!  Apparently she has a very strong predatory instinct and though I supply her with myriad furry little toy mice, she seems to prefer the allure of my yarn bag. I have to plan each knitting session carefully, hiding the ball of yarn behind a pillow.  Anything is fair game - tape measure, cable needle, dpns.  Heaven forbid nature calls and I get up leaving "the goods" unprotected. She has totally destroyed both yarn and the image of me knitting peacefully on the couch, wine glass poised on adjacent coffee table, TV providing white noise.  But honestly, I wouldn't trade Honey for anything!