Berroco Portfolio Vol 5.

I was honored when I was invited to submit designs for Berroco's fifth Portfolio Collection. Berroco's independent designer collection, previous Portfolio, have included a number of my favorite design pals, including Jesie Ostermiller, Allison Jane and Beatrice Perron Dahlen - as well as biggies like Norah Gaughan. 

Each Portfolio highlights a different yarn collection and the prompt for my go-around was to show off the versatility of Berroco Remix and Berroco Remix Light. Remix is machine-washable, wool-free yarns are recycled from garment industry pre-consumer waste. I've used a fair number of recycled yarsn before, both in personal knitting and design work, and I have to say that Remix light (used in both patterns above) is my favorite I've used. It's not splitty, but has a nice tweedy texture and is lighter and more stretchy than most yarns with a high cotton content (it's 30% Nylon, 27% Cotton, 24% Acrylic, 10% Silk, 9% Linen, if you're curious). All of this makes it perfect for spring/summer knits. 

My two contributions to the collection are the Lake Arrowhead Tee, a knit-in-the-round tunic with an allover lace pattern and the Amber Waves Shawl, a cleverly designed triangular shawl knitting pattern, that begins at one tip and is worked sideways with an traveling charted stitch pattern to mimic waves of wheat on the plains. 

You get a lot of bang for your buck from these yarns too. The largest size of the tee (55 1/2 inch bust) only requires three balls and the shawl blocks out to over 7 feet long, but uses less than two!

The patterns are available individually for $6 USD each, or as part of a 15-pattern ebook or pamphlet for $17.95. 

Lake Arrowhead Tee

Ravelry | Berroco

Amber Waves Shawl

Ravelry | Berroco

Portfolio Vol 5 Collection

Ravelry | In stores

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Introducing: Zienna

Over a year ago, my cousin was having a baby. I asked what kind of stuffed animal she would like for her little girl. She said something jungle-ly. And so, Zienna was born.

This softie is made for babies.

The high-contrast black and white grabs their attention, but the slightly antique tones of the Berocco Remix yarn, keep it looking classic. The zebra is seamlessly knit from head to tail, meaning that it can stand up to all those babies can dish out. I know my little one is a fan.

The pattern is available from the shop or Ravelry for $5 USD

Introducing: Longitude

Longitude was the first design in the collection I came up with and the last one I actually made.

Long before Bristol came to me with the idea for a stripe-themed collection, I had the idea for a short-row shaped striped bonnet banging around in my head as by product of a zebra I had knit for my cousin. (Incidentally, that’s another pattern that I intend to release soonish).

In making that zebra I learned a few things about the possibilities of short rows and thought it would make a great hat. Add in some i-cord edging and a couple of pom-poms and you’re all set!

The yarn for the sample features the wonderfully subtle Berroco Black Tweed in Narragansett (Navy Blue) and Clover Honey (off-white). I’d wanted to try this yarn out for a while, so when it showed up in my LYS’s clearance bin in colors I loved, it seemed like fate.

It’s a wonderfully soft yarn, but my one caveat is that I has no issues knitting with it, but the yarn did tend to break when I tried to use it to tie off the center of the pom-poms, so I ended up using a sturdier thread for that purpose.

Longitude is available for download as a solo pattern for $4.00 USD or can be purchased from my Ravelry store with my other two designs from the collection, Latitude and Lamina for a discounted $12 with the coupon code LINE.

Longitude $4 USD

If you want to queue it up on Ravelry, the collection can be found here.

Introducing the Knitscene Featured Designer Collection!!

So on Tuesday, something very exciting happened for me. A national magazine hit the newstands with my name on the cover (spelled right and everything)!! Way back in March I got a email from Lisa Shroyer, the Knitscene editor, asking if I would be interested in doing a collection as their featured designer for the Winter issue.

Would I?! And in the Winter issue none the less?? I think I thought about it for a minute before I said yes, yes and yes!

After about a week, I sent Lisa a packet of about six design proposals ranging from the simple to the complex and included four sweaters and two accessories, plus one more accessory I had submitted to magazine through the regular process. (Some of the "rejects" will likely show up as designs in the future too). We edited it down to three items, which I though was doable in the approximately 8-week knitting period.

Some yarn was ordered and fortunately some of it matched my swatching yarn, so I was able to get a head start on the math. As soon as my first yarn arrived, I start knitting like a crazy person. (Fortunately no repetitive stress injuries were obtained in the process of making this collection.) In end, we ended up with three designs that I'm very proud of.

Willamette Coat

The Willamette Coat (they named it after my alma mater) is my personal favorite in the collection. It's an idea that's been banging around in my head for over a year, and I was glad to finally get it out into reality. The big feature hear is the asymmetrically buttoned front with the dramatic cable panel and the matching cabled cuffs. I think the sample might have been a bit small on the model, because it can button (for example, dress form it's a size 35" sample on a 33" bust), but I'd recommend a minimum of 2" positive ease.

The sample was knit in Berroco Vintage Chunky an acrylic/wool blend that is probably my favorite machine-washable yarn ever. It comes in a bunch of great colors, is fairly inexpensive, and doesn't feel plastic-y at all (though the ends are a bit harder to weave in). I'm actually on my third project with this yarn now, that's how much I like it. If you're looking to sub, I'd recommend any bulky weight wool that shows cables well.

Toulouse Pullover

The Toulouse Pullover has been the big hit on Ravelry so far. Knitscene did some lovely boho-chic styling on this one, that I think has really attracted people to it. Which is funny as I considered it a much more 50s-style garment in my head when I was making it, but that just shows the versatility and timelessness of the bow-neck I suppose.

This item is probably the easiest knit in the whole collection. After you knit the collar/ties back and forth the rest is a super simple raglan with no body shaping. Again, I'm not sure on the model's size, but for comparison it's a size 34 3/4" on a 33" dress form in the center photo.

The yarn for this sample is Classic Elite's Mountain Top Vista, an organic worsted weight wool. It's got a nice hint of halo, surprisingly drapey, and is definitely sheepy. In the projects that are already (!) popping up on Ravelry a lot of people are subbing in Berrocco's Ultra Alpaca, which would be a really good choice too. Anything with a bit of drape and halo.

Marketa Mitts

This is the only design in the collection I named myself, and like the mag says, they were inspired by Mareketa Iglova's character in once. They're your basic fingerless mitts, knit in reverse stockinette with a tulip-esque insert panel that's a combo of a bunch of sts.

This sample was knit in Shibui Baby Alpaca DK - a super dreamy yarn to knit with, though I'm not sure I'd call it a DK (these were knit on size 2/ 2.75 needles). The could easily be done in a fingering weight, and something with less halo would show off the stitch pattern a bit more clearly.

Where can I get these?

Right now the magazine is on newstands, or can be purchased as a digital magazine.  There are several other lovely patterns in there, as well as a 2-page profile on me.

If you want to favorite or queue these up, here are the links for the Willamette Coat, Toulouse Pullover, and Marketa Mitts.

A Giveaway!

I've also got one signed copy of the magazine, along with a skein of Shibui Baby Alpaca DK in Artichoke (like the sample) to make your own pair of Marketa Mitts to give away. If you're interested, simply leave a comment below and I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner on Tuesday.

Introducing: Smocked Tank

Since I first started publishing knitting patterns in earnest back during the spring  of 2010, I've had a significant backlog of items that I came up with and knitted way back when and am only finally getting around to making patterns for them. (See Exhibit A.)

While the Smocked Tank isn't the last of the backlog (there's one more to go), it did take the longest from incubation to actualization. I hope you'll agree it was worth the wait.

I first knit this idea for myself in June 2008. So, um three years later, here's the finished product. Graded for  bust sizes 30 (32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48) inches/ 77 (81, 86, 92.5, 97, 101.6, 106, 113, 117.5, 122) cm.

Knit in the round from the bottom up, the tank is very fitted, with curvy side shaping and is finished off with i-cord straps.

The tank utilizes 455 (495, 525, 585, 620, 670, 700, 720, 765) yds of worsted to aran weight yarn with a significant silk, bamboo, or rayon content for drape and sheen. Knit to a gauge of 18 sts and  24 rows = 4”/ 10 cm in Stockinette stitch on size 10 US / 6 mm needles.

The sample was knit in Berroco Ultra Silk in 6138 Lilac; 98 yd/90 m per 50g/1.76 oz skein; 40% Wool/ 40% Nylon/20% Silk, which has since been discontinued.

So if you need a quick summer knitting project, with a bit of a romantic flair,

the pattern can be queued up here, or downloaded for free  via the links below:

Introducing: Winterberry

I hope no one minds seeing a very woolly pattern with winter in the name in the midst of spring (at least in this hemisphere), but I'm so excited to finally get this pattern out in the world that I couldn't wait for more appropriate weather.

This hat and glove set is one of those "necessity is the mother of creation" projects. In back in late 2008(!), my dear friend Kasey requested some knitted elbow-length gloves to go with a 3/4 sleeve coat she had purchased. I was happy to oblige and even though I'd only made a pair of Nordic mittens and no gloves at all, I decided that I needed to design the gloves myself.

At the time I was heavily inspired by the winter berries that were adding splashes of color to the otherwise gray trees in my neighborhood and having just finished Stephanie Japel's Forecast Cardigan I was well acquainted with bobbles - all of which led up to these gloves:

The structure didn't change all that much from these originals, with the exception of the thumb, which was improved in the final version.  The red gloves were knit in Ultra Alpaca, which was soft and lovely, but was lacking in the stitch definition I thought the cable panel needed and the sturdiness which gloves require.

For the final version, then I chose to knit with Peace Fleece Worsted in Antarctica White, which I found to be a very flattering shade.

With both the Peace Fleece and the Ultra Alpaca, the gloves used a skein and just a teeny bit of a second skein - usually just to finish the fingers on the second hand, so I decide to work up a beret with a complimentary cable pattern. Aside from the cable, the beret is a simple knit, but is just the right size for pulling down over the ears for true warmth.

The patterns requires some cabling without a cable needle, which is fully explained in the pattern notes and the gloves utilize a 8-row cable repeat, with row counts at the end of each section to keep on track.  The gloves are fitted from elbow to wrist and the hat ribbing is knit on smaller needles to remain cozy for a multitude of head sizes.

If you're interested in making a your own Winterberry set, you can purchase the pattern in PDF form for $7.00 USD  via my Ravelry store or the PayPal link below:

The Slippery Stash Slope

For the first 2½ years of my knitting life, I managed to avoid accumulating a stash, even prided myself on it.

I only had yarn for my current project and you'd be hard-pressed to get me to select a yarn without a specific project mind (though it did occasionally happen - leading, for instance to the Honeymoon Mini-Cardi, but in full disclosure I probably made my brand-new husband nuts in my indecision to purchase that yarn while on our honeymoon). I even was obsessive about using up the leftovers of the yarn I had.

And then it happened.

I went into my local yarn shop to pick up some sock yarn and "lo-and-behold!" all the yarn in the bins on the floor was only a dollar. Even I couldn't resist that bargain and so I grabbed these five balls of silk.

What am I going to make with it? Who knows! Though Ravelry has provided some intriguing options, namely this and this.

Not too long after I purchased the silk, I went back to the same store to buy some stitch markers for a sweater I'm knitting up and came out with these:

Granted, this is for a specific project, but one I likely won't start for some time.

And then that same old yarn shop, in honor of Mother's Day and Government Rebate checks decided to have a 25% off of everything sale. So I got this sock yarn that I was ogling when I bought the last sock yarn.

Now, I'm sure some hard-cord yarn collectors will scoff at my measly 9 skeins, but it's a slippery slope I say! A very slippery slope.

At least I'm using some of my yarn...

But I'm fairly certain I'm going to have a ball leftover.

I think I'll make it into a hippo.