Knitscene Fall 2012 preview

Guess what?  The preview is up for Knitscene Fall 2012!  I have a pattern in this issue, Nocturnal Pullover.  It is a boatneck sweater with a lace owl motif.

 Creating the owl motif was great fun.  I started by finding a photo of an owl that I liked, then imported the image into Photoshop.  I added a grid on top, sizing the grid to approximately how many stitches across I wanted the motif to be.  Then I outlined the owl with yarn overs.  The complicated part was adding in the decreases to accompany the yarn overs.  It took a few tries before I could get it all to work out right.  Then I remembered that knit stitches are not square, so to keep my owl from being ridiculously long, I subtracted a few of the rows.  He looks a bit squat in the chart, but knits up to be a nicely proportioned little guy.

I am really excited to get my copy of this issue, so many lovely patterns and beautiful styling and photography.  I'm really drooling over the Terra Linda Cardigan by Rosemary Hill.  Here lace designs are always gorgeous, and this looks like a perfect fall sweater for me!  Fall where are you?!


Look for Knitscene Fall 2012 on newsstands July 10th!

New Pattern: Djoser Shawl

I am happy to announce that I have just published a new pattern, Djoser Shawl.  Djoser is a crescent shaped shawl worked from the bottom up with a two-color lace and bobble border and Stockinette stitch body worked in short rows.  While working on this design, I became an armchair Egyptologist watching documentaries on the pyramids of Egypt. Inspiration for the name came from Djoser, the first pharaoh of Egypt to build a pyramid. With a lace pattern shaped like little pyramids and yarn as blue as the Nile, I couldn’t resist using his name for this shawl.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
58” wide and 14” long at center


MATERIALS
Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light (100% merino; 420yds/384 m per 100 g skein); MC: baltic, 1 skein; CC: mare, 1 skein.
Approximate yardage needed:
MC: 400 yards CC: 200 yards


NEEDLES
US #6/4 mm 32” circular needle
US #5/ 3.75mm 32” circular needle
Adjust needle size to get correct gauge.


NOTIONS REQUIRED
Tapestry needle to weave in ends
23 stitch markers


GAUGE
19 sts and 34 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch on smaller
needles.


SKILLS NEEDED
ability to read a chart
long tail cast on
k2tog
ssk
sl 1, k2tog, psso
bobble
yo

$5 

Hello from North Carolina & Pattern in the Works

Sending you my warmest greetings from North Carolina, dear Knitters.  Far more than 'warmest', I would have to say hot and sticky with humidity!  This will be my first summer in the southern states and so far I find the humidity a bit oppressing.  But I am quite thrilled with my new (rented) home.  I am in a relatively rural area surrounded by small farms.  When I go out to the nearest shopping center I pass horses, cows, and fields of corn.  If only there were sheep!  But they might sweat to death in this heat. 

I've spent most of my time unpacking my house, yet managed to find some sanity-saving time to work up a new design.  It is a crescent shaped shawl worked in two colors of fingering weight yarn.  The border is a combination of lace and bobbles and the main body is Stockinette Stitch worked in short rows.  Here are a couple pictures of it blocking.  I am working on typing up the pattern and hoping to have it ready soon for test knitting.  If you are interested in test knitting come join my Ravelry group, Azalea & Rosebud Knits, I will post the call for testers there soon. 

Until then, dear Knitters, stay cool in the summer heat and Happy Knitting!