Big Sky Yarns & Crafts

Levin Cowl from Creative Knitting & Button Cable Beret from 60 Quick Luxury Knits

Cowls and hats are two of my favorite items items to design and so I was thrilled to work Levin Cowl for Creative Knitting's Autumn Issue:

This is the easy-peasy item for any gifts or no-brainer knitting while watching tv and movies. The entire cowl is worked in seed stitch and worked with a bit of bling. I had not worked with Crystal Palace Yarns Gold Rush before this and it was an ideal match for this cowl. Bulky weight and 3.5 stitches per inch made for some mighty fast knitting.

I used the colorway Morning Dew. Because I made sure the stripe sequence stayed consistent, if I remember right, I needed 8 balls though only 7 are technically needed for the correct yardage. The flickers of gold added some shimmer which is I almost always heart.

If you don't mind seaming, feel free to use a usual long-tail cast on. I used a provisional cast on so that it could be joined with a three-needle bind off. I twisted one end of the fabric to make it a mobius, but not necessary if you like your cowls straight up.

If you need extra warmth, feel free to double when wearing:

This is one of those designs that's easy to alter for whatever you need. The magazine's cowl is 12 3/4" x 60" but feel free to cut in half or make shorter or longer. Plus, gauge isn't critical which is always a a project I need more often than I care to admit.

Second is a Button Cable Beret from Sixty Quick Luxury Knits:

All of the projects in the book use Cascade Yarn's Venezia line, a heavenly combination of 70% wool and 30% silk. My hat is in Venezia Sport and is worked in the round from beginning to end. 20" is the hat's brim circumference with a diameter of 11" at the widest point. If a smaller hat is desired, simply take out a cable repeat.

I thought extra buttons would be fun, so those were added after the body of the hat is worked.

Happy knitting!

NORO: Waterfall Vest

I am so excited for my first design in NORO Magazine:

It is #6 Waterfall Vest:

NORO Magazine 2014, photo by Rose Callahan

The sample is the small/medium with the pattern written for a large/x-large size as well. It is worked in one long rectangle from from cuff to cuff with absolutely no finishing required -- when it is off your needles, you are wearing it! You start on one front, work even to the first armhole, bind off the armhole stitches and immediately cast them back on the next row. Work even again until the second armhole, repeat binding off and casting back on for the second armhole and then work even for the second front until casting off. 

The yarn is Noro Taiyo Sport #10, which kept me pleasantly entertained with all of the colors. With only 4 skeins, this is the perfect layering piece that can easily work for 3 of the 4 seasons.

The pattern stitch can be a bit tricky at first but once you get it, you will be amazed how fast this fabric grows. A fellow knitter asked about Row 2 of the pattern stitch. When I worked the sample, I did have a tiny trick to make it easier. If it helps you as well, I pass it along:

To make Row 2 easier, I moved each stitch (without knitting) from the left needle to right needle, dropping the yarn overs. So now there are 6 elongated stitches. Move the longer stitches back to the left needle. Now work the sts with the cable needle: slip first 3 longer sts to the cable needle and hold in back, k3 longer sts from the left needle, k3 longer sts from cable needle.

Or this is what I did to avoid the cable needle altogether when the 6 longer sts are back on the left needle, which is cabling without a cable needle just with longer sts:

Stitch 1 is closest to the left needle tip. With the right needle tip from the front, slip sts 4-6 onto the right needle tip and pull off the left needle, letting sts 1-3 hang out in the wind on their own for a second. :) Then slip sts 1-3 on the left needle and pull sts 4-6 to the front of the left needle tip so the order is now reading them right to left 4,5,6,3,2,1. Then knit all 6 sts in the new order. Hope this helps!

Another thing I wanted to mention is regarding styling. There is another way to wear it (this is seconds before mailing it to SOHO):

I love the long vertical lines when wearing it with the fronts folded and it can be belted or left open. 

Happy knitting!

 

Twist Collective Spring/Summer: Aphelion

I am thrilled beyond all measure to present to you my first design in Twist Collective, Aphelion:

It is a quick little raglan tee worked from the top down with an eyelet bib pattern that can be worn front or back. The second side has the pattern only along to raglan lines:

The yarn is a crisp blend from FibraNatura called Good Earth Solids in Dive. This yarn is aran weight, 53% cotton and 47% linen, so the whole sweater knits up super quick. Once I started working with the yarn in the actual garment (instead of just the swatch), I did have to go down a needle size to keep gauge. The fabric has absolutely lovely drape and hangs beautifully. It is also much easier to work with that other cotton/linen blends I have knit with in the past.

I did add waist shaping and a turned hem for even more weight at the bottom.

One particularly fetching characteritics of top down raglans is the ability to easily change sleeve lengths. For this sweater, I immediately went straight to the ribbing, but in no time at all instead add a short or 3/4 length sleeve for an even more versatile spring and summer sweater depending on how breezy your climate is. 

The pattern is $7, has 7 different finished bust sizes from 29 1/2 to 54", and is available from Twist Collective or the Ravelry page.

We finally have some much needed sun in Billings -- hooray! Hope you can enjoy knitting outside (as well as hunting for Easter eggs). Knit on!

Optimists: Spring!

I always enjoy receiving my new knitting magazines in the mail, though my absolute favorites are the ones that scream SPRING IS COMING!!! when there is a foot of snow on the ground, no sun and no hope of seeing my capris or sandals in the near future. Nevertheless, the optimism is contagious and the same is true this year.

Hence, my lastest design with the Spring issue of Creative Knitting, RIpple Effect:   

Look! She needs sunglasses the sun is so bright! And she is on her bike...we can't wait for bike rides in my house. I so enjoyed this one because I wanted to see what I could do with one of my favorite patterns, the Feather & Fan.

Worked in some of my favorite yarn, Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight, the yoke is worked from side to side and then folded in half. Stitches are then picked up for the body and worked in the round from the top down with waist shaping. Finally, the bottom plackets are worrked flat in garter stitch.

Further down the optimist's trail is Generosity with Universal Yarn:

This is for your walk on the beach or wedding this summer:

I totally fell in love with this yarn, as I hadn't used it before this project. FibraNatura's Llamalini is a scrumptious blend of llama, silk and linen. Heaven! Worked on large needles, this shawl pattern cruises along quickly and is quite easy to "read" your knitting. 

Best of all, Universal Yarn published it in an e-book, Contrarian Shawls. For only $12.99 you get 10 inventive, beautiful designs.

To prove my devotion to my beloved Feather & Fan pattern, Knit SImple published this shawl, the Feather & Fan Capelet in their Spring/Summer issue:

I worked it in Valley Yarns Amherst, which I also hadn't worked with before this project. It is a lovely, springy wool that is truly delightful to work with. This little capelet works up in no time flat with a simple yet striking knit and purl pattern with our friend F&F. I think I need a European cruise to wear this one, don't you?

More spring designs coming soon! Hope you are enjoying the sun wherever you are. Billings saw sun for 62 seconds and then we were back to snow today. May our bright yarns hold us until the sun truly decides to shine. Knit on!

Hats off!

I have an ecletic selection of hats published lately and they all have quite different personalities. In Creative Knitting magazine's Autumn Issue, I have two sets to discuss.

Lady In Lace is a scarf and beanie set worked in one of my favorite yarns, Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk:

In #147 Crabapple, it is a luscious 50% alpaca, 50% silk yarn that has incredible sheen:

The hat is worked entirely in the round from the bottom up, switching to double-pointed needles when no longer comfortable to knit with the 16" circulars.

There are the same two lace patterns in both pieces that would be a wonderful introduction to lace knitting. The hat has two sizes, 17 3/4" and 20 1/4" and required 1(2) hanks. I thought it would be styled as a beanie, but I loved how the magazine slouched it a bit so if you want it over your ears, pull it down like I did on my model's head above. If you want just a smidge of slouch even more pronounced than in the magazine, then work the main section of the hat for another inch or two.

The scarf is worked flat, 9 1/4" x one hundred years or however long you want to knit. The sample is 60" and required 4 hanks. It would be your perfect holiday scarf to jazz up your little black dress. Or, when you really do want warmth, wrap it a couple times under your jacket.

My second set for Creative Knitting is officially named Evergreen Dream.

I worked with a yarn new to me, SMC Select Extra Soft Merino:

Look! The yarn ball is bigger than her head!! Yikes! Neverthess, it is a super squishy multi-ply superwash wool that is just lovely on your hands. Officially a DK weight, it has 142 yards per ball and this color is Moss, #05164.

The slouch comes in two sizes, 16  and 19 1/4 which stretches easily to 18–20 (20–22) inches. 

The tee is fun because the shaping is worked in different sizes of needles so the leaf pattern is uninterrupted. Sizes on this one was determined by the pattern (hence, not typical) and are 32 (37 1/4, 42 3/4, 48, 53 1/4, 58 3/4) inches with the total length is 23 (24, 25, 26, 27, 28) inches. I would work this one 1-2 inches larger than your bust measurement as it is meant to be relatively snug to the body. This one is easy to modify. If you want a bit larger armhole than just work a bit more of the pattern.

It is seamless, worked from the bottom up. The garter plackets are worked flat and then joined in the round for the body to the armholes. It is then divided and worked flat again to the neck edge. My favorite friend the three needle bind off is worked for the shoulder seams and then stitches are picked up to work the armhole and neck edgings in the round.

Next up on the hat parade is Sweet & Slouchy Hat in 50 Knitted Gifts for Year-Round Giving from Sixth & Spring Books:

This book is packed with super cute gift ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed designing the cable pattern and I hope you will enjoy it too. Universal Yarn's Deluxe Worsted is a great workhorse yarn that is 100% wool.

The slouch/tam has one size and is 18" unstretched and has a 10" diameter.

The book is only $19.95 and has a vast selection of projects that include home decor items, other hats and mitts, scarves and kid items. Just a huge variety of knitted goodness to have in your knitting library.

Lastly, it is not every day that I can say I have knit with a yarn made from 40% cashmere, 40% possum and 20% silk, and yet here is that very yarn:

That petite little ball of perfection is a laceweight yarn called Air from Zealana. It has a whopping 191 yards for 50 grams. Just one ball is needed to knit my Leaf Panel Beret:

It is worked at a loose gauge of 7 stitches and 9 rows per inch with the leaf motif down the center. 

Treat yourself to a little luxury.

Switching gears entirely from luxury to reality, as you know school has started and I can't believe I have one in high school, middle school and elementary school -- one in each school! Paul is a freshman, Wade is in 8th grade and Kate is a 4th grader. My dad visited for a couple of weeks and enjoyed getting everyone off to their first day of school.

Don't you love Kate' glasses? It has been a bit of a rude awakening getting our acts back together but we have stabilized a bit. Yes, I do find it odd Kate is covered head to toe in clothes and I am in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. She said she wasn't too warm and needed to wear her favorite pants and jacket. Of course!

Hope your transition to fall has been a good one...knit on!

The Unofficial Harry Potter Knits!

I am always excited to see one of my designs be published, but you know it is exciting if my kids are excited about it, as to them knitting is, well, just knitting. Not this time! I am thrilled to show you a new scarf in this publication, The Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, by our friends at Interweave:

My projects are officially called Modern Stripes House Scarves:

That looks like a seam, but is intead a strategically placed yarn over that is dropped two stitches later to hide the color change.

There are over 30 projects in this mag (digital or print) and one of my favorites is the vest below:

The off-center closure is striking to me while still having a classic bent.

There was a tight turn-around on these, as I had to knit all 4 in less than a month. If ever you have to do such a thing, do knit with this yarn:

Organik by The Fibre Company is an absolutely luscious single ply yarn of 70% organic merino, 15% alpaca, 15% silk. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Period. Period. Period. Each hank is 98 yards with 4-5 stitches per inch.

For this scarf, the gauge is 4.5 stitches and 5.5 rows per inch. Four hanks are required of the main color with 2 of the desired contrast color. The dimensions of the finished scarves are 8.25" x 71", but if you don't mind a slightly shorter scarf, just one hank of the contrast color is needed.

My fav is this group shot ((((heart, heart, heart)))):

My kids have all picked their colors and Dan has dibs on the remaining scarf. They are trying to get me to knit one more to match, though I don't know if I could do it...... Regardless, I am so excited to be a part of this project and hope you enjoy the publication as much as we all have at my house. I know both of my local yarn stores have the print copy, but if you don't want to wait, the e-version available to download is here for $14.99.

On the home front, we visited my dad in Logan, Utah. He is there for the summer participating in Utah State's Summer Citizen program, taking classes and living near campus.

We went on a couple breathtaking hikes:

We even got to pick wild raspberries:

Though tough to see, there are tons of gorgeous wildflowers on this hill:

Look what we found on one of our hikes:

Man, was he a surprise! We gave him lots of room to roam.

Hope you are having a lovely summer without too many of his kind in your lawn (unless, of course, you are hoping to find him and his friends. In that case, happy snake hunting)!

Knit on!

Muddy Lamb in Fishtail!

It is not every day one can say they have been to Fishtail, Montana, but yesterday was our lucky day:

Muddy Lamb has a truly exquisite combination of pottery, yarn and artisan gifts. My entire family (sans Paul) enjoyed the hour plus drive to this perfect, not so little shop.

Carol (owner), her daughter Tasha along with Holly (manager) have a knitting group that meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. I was fortunate to be a part of that group yesterday. Look how pretty this store is on the inside as well as outside. Here the ladies are trickling in:

We discussed different projects in my book, focusing primarily on the blue slouch and had a signing. 

Have you ever seen a finer group of knitters?

We even shared lunch after the class. Thank you, ladies, for an absolute perfect morning and lovely lunch! I hope to visit again soon.

After lunch we went for a hike at Woodbine since the day was gorgeous. Truly Big Sky Country:

Our hike to the waterfall:

I never tire of hearing or seeing the water:

"Mmmm, I wonder how far it is down there?"

Truly a perfect day! Knit on!

Clotheshorse Spring/Summer 2013: Bonnaroo

This quick, simple, seamless tee I designed has a breezy name, Bonnaroo:

This summer essential is in the Spring/Summer issue of the online magazine, Clotheshorse. This magazine is relatively new and packed with many fabulous designs. The patterns are available to purchase individually or in a collection. All are PDFs.

Knit from the bottom up, the tee begins with a provisional cast-on to make a wide knitted hem. Knitted hems are one of my favorite accents because it ads a flattering weight to the bottom of a piece that helps the shape considerably. There is easy waist shaping in this one, as it helps to fit and flatter, even if you don't have a waist, just a bit of tucking gives the perfect illusion of a waist. Whoo hoo!

Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima is a superior 100% pima cotton yarn that is a lovely summer choice -- there are so many colors to choose from. I used White and Lipstick Red. 6 sts and 7.5 rows per inch makes for quick knitting because of the stockinette stitch. Once you slog through the body, the sweater is divided at the armholes and then both front and back are worked flat separately. And that is where the fun really begins! By having the reverse stockinette stitch be the right side, two simple stripes per color make the yoke of the sweater have plenty of colorplay. Ribbing at the neck in the red also adds depth. 

As always, the shoulders are joined with a three needle bind off to keep this baby seamless and then just a bit of ribbing to finish the armholes. Voila!

The pattern is available here for $7 and comes in bust sizes 30 (32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44)".

This would be a perfect template pattern to add anything your knitterly heart desires: more stripes, intarsia or a solid color with color accents only with the ribbing. It can easily be dressed up or down and the pima cotton is so soft and easy to work with.

The tip I do have when working with all this fabulous color is to make sure your yarns are colorfast and, to be safe, include a "color catcher" sheet when washing.

Knit on!

 

Creative Knitting: Summer 2013

I am thrilled to show you my latest design in Creative Knitting:

This cute little hat is offically called the Stash-Buster Beanie:

The cotton is a super soft yarn from Be Sweet called Cotton Candy, a DK weight yarn in three yummy colors: Dark Purple #526, Lilac #586 and Natural #500. This is the perfect way to use up scraps of yarn for sure. How fun would a rainbow hat be?

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There are two sizes, 17.75" and 20.25" circumference. To make this intarsia pattern work with a hat, the band is worked flat and then seamed. To keep the best of both worlds and have it still worked in the round, after the band is seamed, the crown shaping is worked in the round like a typical hat. The ribbing is worked in the round after unzipping the provisional cast on.

Knit on!

Interweave Knits Summer 2013: Meadowsweet Hat

Happy Dance!! Yes, right away! I am so excited to show you my first design to be published in Interweave Knits:

Meadowsweet Hat is a slouchy tam worked seamlessly in the round from the ribbing to the crown. The yarn is a springy cotton blend, Brown Sheep Company, Inc. yarn, Serendipity Tweed, 60% cotton and 40% wool in Yellow Buttercup. This yarn has a summery feel with enough wool to keep some elasticity. 

It is a lightning fast knit from beginning to end and can provide just a bit of coverage when needed. Interweave described it as:  "A simple eyelet pattern gives way to stockinette as the Meadowsweet Hat narrows at the crown -- a five-petaled flower is the result." When working the larger size, the flower is six-petaled since there is one more repeat. Only one skein is required for both sizes, 132 or 172 yards.

Specifics: Unstretched circumference 17.5 (20.75)", 9.25" in length and 25 (30)" circumference at widest point.

The digital copy of Summer 2013's issue is available here for $6.99 or the paper copy is available at Interweave's web site here. Quicker yet, pick up a copy at your fav LYS. I look forward to seeing the yarn you choose.

Knit on!