Gift-Along 2014

The 2nd Annual Indie Gift-along is in full swing. The GAL involves 293 designers from 21 countries. There is an awesome sale on the 3,822 patterns available at 25% off until November 21st.

I have 20 patterns up for grabs with a discount code: giftalong2014  Check out all the patterns HERE!

The Gift-along goes from Thursday, November 13th at 8pm and runs until New Years. We've all banned together to create a knit & crochet along of massive proportions! Go join the group HERE. There are games and prizes from now until the end of the year. Join the fun today and get a jump on any gift knitting you have planned for family and friends…and even maybe something for yourself!!

Enchanted Garden

Over the past months I've been giving you a few insider shots into the design process of my newest patterns. Talk about a huge weight off my shoulders, because at long last it is time to show off the Enchanted Garden.

The ebook contains 6 patterns that are all inspired by an Irish garden with a Gaelic theme. This enchanted garden entices you to enter where soft clovers dapple the diamond-shaped walkway. An elaborately curled wrought iron gate is left exposed by the climbing ivy that ascends an ancient stone wall. Time-honored memories seem to resonate here among the flowers.

Cosan is the Gaelic word for path. The diamond clover stranded colorwork pattern evokes a feeling of walking through a garden path surrounded by wild flowers..

Trean is the Gaelic word for strong. The wrought iron gate stranded colorwork pattern gives a sense of majestic strength and yet has a classic beauty all it’s own.

Dreap is the Gaelic word for climb. The ivy trellis stranded colorwork pattern is fun and playful. As the ivy climbs along one side, the trellis climbs the other.

And if your interested, but don't want to splurge for the whole ebook? You can buy each pattern separately. I would pay special attention to the pattern notes that talks about yardage, because if you want to make the matching piece you might not need to buy more of the secondary colors.

Woobie Video: Connecting Provisional Cast-on Hem

I know the one thing that a lot of knitters have when making the Woobie is hem. Yeah, it's a lot of stitches in the beginning...and Yeah, the hem takes up practically a whole skein of yarn, but the idea is that it gives the blanket weight.

 The other big issue with the hem is unraveling the provisional cast-on. Your connecting the 300 live stitches with the 300 cast-on stitches. I decided that perhaps a video might help. The video is a little long, but you get two techniques on how to handle this portion of the pattern. You get the safe technique which involves placing the provisional cast-on onto a separate needle and then you get the "Living on the Wild Side" version.

Woobie Video: Sealing base of the head

Since I'm in the process of putting together a third Collection Series of Woobies, it gave me a chance to record some key videos to help those who are having issues with the different techniques used in the pattern.

Here is a video that shows how to seal the base of the head on your Woobie. It's not a difficult technique, just a little hard to describe in words. I know I'm a visual learner, so this would have helped me out a lot.

Stitches Midwest 2014

I’ve been so busy with my daughters birthday, going back to school and cheerleading that I’ve only now just taken a picture… heck there is even a project on the needles because I’ve cast on something already.

(L to R) Black Wolf Ranch Alpaca Merino blend, Erin Lane bucket bag, Huntington in 3 colors, I won the Sterling Silver shawl pin as a door prize, Aussi Wool (navy blue - 5 skeins for sweater for my daughter), Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in 2 colors, Brooklyn Tweed Loft in 3 colors, Fringe Supply Co stitch markers, Signature Needle, Woolpierogi rolags, Erin Lane bag and 2 of the Freia gradients… one is already on the needles;)

Most of what you see in the middle will be going into the 'Design Pile'.... which makes me super happy because the Brooklyn Tweed yarns are just so beautiful. I wanted to buy them all, but alas that wasn't possible. sigh.

There was so much to look forward to at this years Stitches. I was very pleased with the amount of new vendors and ridiculously awesome Indy Dyers there.

New Pattern: Woobie Butterfly

I'm excited to announce a new pattern release!!

The Woobie Butterfly is now live! I had so many wonderful testers during this process. I could not have done this without them.

The release of this pattern also jumps off the beginning of the next Woobie Collection Series. In collection #3, some of them will have a different alt on the construction which will give more opportunities to expand the collection.

During the design process for this butterfly, I did come to a wall that I had to pretend wasn't there. If you see a butterfly, you'd never actual see a butterfly's face from above. Butterflies look down, so I had to let go of reality just for moment with this one.

I also had the great pleasure of knitting this up in the Cascade 220 Superwash® Sport. It's high on my list of wonderful yarns to work with. It also blocks beautifully and has this smooth drape to the finished fabric. I'm really looking forward to showing you more of the collection series.

Trean Swatch

Another peek into the color palette for the last pair of designs for the Enchanted Garden Ebook:



The yarn is Capra Cashmere in DK weight and is like working with butta...not butter, but butta. Lovely hand and just a dream to knit in. Seriously people. Cashmere.

When designing in this kind of fiber, you know the pieces will have some drape...maybe not like silk, but they will be very pliable and makes for great knitwear accessories. Here is a snippet of the swatch worked up in these colors:



I'm looking forward to revealing this last piece of the puzzle. Till next time my Knittas!

Intro: Trean

Here is the last pair of designs for the Enchanted Garden ebook.

Trean (Gaelic meaning: strong)

The wrought iron gate stranded colorwork pattern gives a sense of majestic strength and yet has a classic beauty all it’s own.

The Tam starts with an simple one-by-one rib then transition quickly into the colorwork sections which expands for a traditional slouch effect. The matching cowl would also start off the same way allowing for a cohesive look.

This is the last sketch for the ebook and now to search for the right model and perfect location.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I look forward to when I can launch the ebook and share it with all of you.

Intro: Dreap

Another inside look at the second pair of designs of the Enchanted Garden ebook:

Dreap  (Gaelic meaning: climb)

The ivy trellis stranded colorwork pattern is fun and playful. As the ivy climbs along one side, the trellis climbs the other. The infinity scarf starts with a provisional cast-on. The stranded color is worked in the round with purl edge to allow the scarf tube to lay flat. Ivy shows on one side and trellis on the other. The mittens fall in line with the same theme. The cuff is a simple one-by-one rib, but the yellow is introduced to give a little pop of color and for the budding flowers that grow. These buds are applied to both pieces after completion with modified embroidery technique called the French knot.

Sketching for my patterns has become a true passion for me. My ideal photo shoot will be to mimic this pose. Although It wont happen because while in the middle designing this pattern I came to harsh reality that a double thick color work infinity scarf would set the wearer on fire and also make it too bulky to actually wear comfortably. So, ultimately the pattern became a cowl instead. Yes, the knitter can customize the pattern by adding more length, if they so choose.

Dreap Swatch

The next 2 patterns for the Enchanted Garden ebook are designed in this color scheme:



This yarn is the Knit Picks Wool of Andes Sport that comes is a wide selection to choose from. When I started working with this yarn it was giving me all kinds of problems. Yet it wasn't the yarns fault. When working two colors in stranded knitting you need to increase your needle size to accommodate the for the extra bulk. I was so much happier once I went up a needle size.

See, even designers sometimes have 'Duh' moments. Yeah, I had to rip back 6 inches of work, but ultimately the yarn was happy and so was I.

Here is a snippet of the swatch:



Love these colors together! Kind of makes me swoon just a little. There was some design alts right in the middle of this project, which you'll here about next time.

Happy Knitting!

Woobie Butterfly

Let me introduce you to the Woobie Butterfly!

She is taking flight and is the first of 8 patterns that will be a part of the next Woobie Collection Series 3.  This new style of Woobie is a different take in the design and allows for new creative ideas to take hold.

If your interested in test knitting this pattern, I've started a thread in the Knifty Red Designs group. PM me your email address on Ravelry and I'll put you on the call list.

Intro: Cosan

I would like to give you a sneak into my design process. Since for as long as I can remember, drawing has always been a part of my life. With the Enchanted Garden, I wanted to showcase my sketching and illustration skills a little bit by drawing the knits on models.

With that I give you an inner look at the first 2 designs of the Enchanted Garden ebook:

Cosan (Gaelic meaning: Path)

The diamond clover stranded colorwork pattern emulates a walking path through a garden surrounded by wild flowers. The Tam starts with an icord edge, then transition into the colorwork hem which then widens for a traditional slouch effect. The matching convertible mittens would also start off the same way allowing for a cohesive look. Worked from the wrist to fingers and constructed with a flip-top, the button down style allows for easy access to fingers.

Arlen

Super excited to announce a new design just released in Knitty's First Fall 2014 issue. There are two version available in this pattern: Cowl or Snood.

The inspiration for this design came from a gorgeous Fiber Optic gradient in the Copper-Verdigris colorway. I knew I wanted to retain the colors, so I plyed my singles using a Navajo technique. The act of Navajo playing (or chain plying) has you creating loops, which in turn generates a 3ply. These loops can be large or small and depending on the color breaks; this can also help create a smooth color change.

There is a second option to work the pattern as a Snood.

After I had designed the cowl version, I had this overwhelming feeling to lift it over my head. It then seemed second nature to have an alternate that would allow you to gently cover your head and neck in luxurious warmth. The snood version is worked up in Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply, which is super wonderful to knit with and makes a very light weight, but warm piece.

Cosan Swatch

Here is a little peak into the color palette for 2 of the designs for the Enchanted Garden ebook.




The yarn is Knit Picks Palette and comes in a Huge selection of colors, which I thought was fantastic for this project since it involves at least 4 colors. At first I was going to have two grey colors, but opted on blue since it was so bright and just made me smile.

The yarn is 100% Peruvian Highland Wool and I was a little concerned with the scratchy factor, but was pleasantly surprised to find it softened up tremendously once washed.

Here you can see just a slice of the swatch:



Stay tuned to see more...

The Enchanted Garden

Blurring the lines between secrete designs and blogging...if even just for a little bit. I'm taking a serious look at exposing some lovely stuff on the blog. Hopefully at least in stages to showcase some of my designs because I honestly do love to show off my stuff...

With that being said I'd like to introduce you to my current inspiration, The Enchanted Garden. Here is a little blurb about the project...

"The Enchanted Garden entices you to enter where soft clovers dapple the diamond-shaped walking path. An elaborately curled wrought iron gate is left exposed by the climbing ivy which ascends the ancient stone wall. Time-honored memories seem to resonate here among the flowers."

This description is the base of my theme. It all started with a innocent evening spent on Pinterest. I was putting together some ideas for my ebook. I had a vague idea of what I was looking for but then I found it: My Inspiration. (Pinterest link). Or you can click here to go to the original website. If you scroll down, you'll find the perfect garden entrance. This has so many points of interest that encapsulated my ebook; the wrought iron gate, ivy covered stone and a walking path among the flowers.

Did you catch that? YES! It's an ebook. The ebook will contain 6 stranded color work accessory patterns. Since I like to put matching pieces together for my accessories there will be 3 matching sets. I'm hoping that I'll be able to walk you through each one from baseline sketch, photo shoot and final launch until all are complete and ready.

When Life Takes Over...

Seriously.

Crickets.

It's that bad. BUT I will not apologize for being absent.

What I will do is tell you that I've been busy with 6 color work patterns that are all a part of an ebook. I'm looking forward to launching that series. I need to secure a photo shoot location and some models. Doing my own modeling is okay in a pinch, but it would be nice to see new faces.

And in other big news, I've also lined up 8 more Woobie Designs that I'll be releasing as I finish them. The first has been knit, but I'm going to record some tutorials along with this Collection number 3 that I think will be valuable to those of you struggling with some techniques.

Here, let me sooth you over with a picture of the finished yarn when last we met...930 yds of a 3ply heavy fingering.

The other random bits that I've been knitting is the Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure on as a pick-up-and-go-kind-of-knit:

I'm on my third hat...it's potato chip knitting for me. It's also great for stash busting sock yarn.

Tons to talk about...now that I can talk about it, I'm looking forward to sharing all the things with you. Thanks for hanging in there while I was MIA.

FO: Jacob's Woobie Monkey

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally put a face on the lingering project for an online sweetheart who had an adorable baby boy named Jacob.




I personalize the blanket with the initial J using a stem stitch embroidery technique. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I'm shipping this in the mail in hopes that Jacob adores it as much as I do.

The only downside to making something so cute...getting asked by everyone if I can make them one too! I love each and everyone of you out there, but there is no way that will happen.

Want to make one? Sure, go here to buy the pattern for the monkey!

Spoiler: Clue 1 Synergy MKAL

Clue 1 was released Thursday and it's so exciting to see the colors everyone is working with. Check out the fun in the Synergy MKAL - Clue 1 Spoiler Thread!

I've also decided to join along. My desire was to have two color combos showcased in the final release of the pattern and what better why to the join along with everyone else!

I didn't divide my yarn, so this might be an utter disaster! Yet so far so good!



Stay tuned for Clue 2 - released this coming Thursday, August 8th!

Synergy Mystery Knit-Along

** Tap ** Tap ** Tap **

Is this thing on??

I've got some fun things happening over here and I believe it will help me jump start this blog again. I've been struggling with how much to tell and what to tell. It then leads me to not say anything. And to be honest That is just No Fun at all.

So instead of struggling, I'm going to let you in more. Unless my designs are going to be knit for a true publication which holds every designer under a vial of discrete silence, I'm letting you in to my self publishing world.

This leads me to my latest exciting project. A couple of months ago I was cleaning out the store space under the stairs and found my box of Barbie, GI-Joe and Jem dolls. My daughter squealed at the top of her lungs in delight. The dolls are from a '80s cartoon series Jem and the Holograms. I instantly knew I had to design something based on my daughter and the classic show.

That brings us to today where I have a pattern ready for the world, but why launch a pattern just to send it out. Why not break up the pattern and do a Mystery Knit-Along!! The pattern works perfectly into this scenario and what a better time to launch this MKAL but during my daughters birthday month.

The pattern is a little girly, a little punk and Totally Outrageous!! Need some help with colors? No problem. I founds some fantastic outfits from the show and paired up color combos to inspire ideas.



Are you sucked in yet? Well, take advantage now and buy the Synergy Mystery KAL pattern from now until the end of August for just $3.00 because come September 1st the pattern price will go up to $6.00

Join in on the fun by participating in the Knifty Red Designs group.



Grab the avatar for your project page. Tag your project with synergyMKAL. We'll have separate threads for spoilers, so keep a watch out. I'm looking at getting a prize together for all those who post finished projects.

Purchase the pattern now and you will get the preliminary download to get you started and prepared for August 1st.

Clue Release Dates are scheduled for:
Clue 1 - August 1st
Clue 2 - August 8th
Clue 3 - August 15th
Clue 4 - August 22nd

So come on and join in on the fun.

Survey - Hand Measurements

I’m currently working on some intricate designs and would love to gather some data from my awesome testers by having you take a quick survey. I’m hoping you’ll grant me a little bit of your time by taking hand measurements.

I’m finding there is a lack of standards of measurement used for hands. Really hoping that gathering these numbers will generate a more accurate standard within my own patterns. In my own personal findings, I purchase XL woman gloves and sometimes go up to a Medium men. Yet the charts on websites have me listed as a Small, which I know not to be true.

Please record your measurements in cm. This can help with a more accurate reading. Keep the measuring tape slack, not loose or tight.

Below is a diagram with the locations of the measurements:



Circumference
A: Palm (widest part of the palm, across knuckles at a slight angle)
B: Thumb (wrap knuckle and cross tape so the 0 marker lines up with the edge of the tape below)
C: Wrist (below palm where the hand bends)

Length
D: Thumb to Wrist (hold tape with pointer finger and thumb, measure to wrist where hand bends)
E: Thumb to Knuckle (tip of thumb to knuckle)
F: Finger Tip to Wrist (middle finger to wrist where hand bends)
G: Palm to Wrist (top of palm where fingers begin to wrist where hand bends)

Additional Information:
1: Age (Adult or Child)
2: Sex of persons measurements

You can reply to this post or visit the Knifty Red Designs survey thread on Ravelry... Thanks so much for your time.