She sells seashells...

In January, my good friend, Sima, and I attended Vogue Knitting Live. It was an awesome experience. We each took six classes (a full schedule) Friday through Sunday. I only had one dud class. The rest were excellent -- teachers and curricula both. VKL also had a very dangerous marketplace and while were there, Sima, ran into two women she knew, Lori and Susan. Last summer, Sima had done a beautiful scarf design for their brand new yarn company, Stitchuary. We had a drink, talked about their company -- check it out here -- and discussed designing. They generously offered me the chance to do two designs for them. There was only one catch. I could only use one skein of yarn. When I got home, I used the first skein to employ some of the new skills I learned at VKL and whipped out a pretty little scarflette which was published last month, Riva del Mare, whcih means seashore in Italian. What made this interesting to design was that even though it's knit from the top down, I charted the bottom lace first, and then "unvented" how it would flow from there. In other words, designed from the bottom up, knit from the top down. I named it seashore because the pattern kind of "dissipates" just like waves as it flows down to the bottom edge. I'd love to do this in a larger size. The second pattern was a hat. It hasn't been released, so I can't show you yet, but as soon as it's released, I will write about that one as well. You can purchase both the yarn and the pattern by visiting the pattern page at Stitchuary.

YIKES...

...has it really been that long? Okay, so the holidays got away from me, but what's my excuse for last 6 weeks? I've been busy -- designing, knitting, shoveling, attending Vogue Knitting Live, shoveling, sketching, writing, shoveling, submitting....


This is one of the sweaters with which I've been busy -- Strathmore -- a design for Knit Picks.

Here are the specs:

Finished bust size
31 (34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52)"

Yarn
810(910, 985, 1100, 1170, 1265, 1375, 1470) yds DK weight yarn.

Suggested yarn: Knit Picks "Gloss DK," 70% merino wool, 30% silk, 123 yds/50 g, color Gulfstream 24993

Needles
US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needles, 24" and 16" long
Set of US 5 (3.75 mm) double-pointed needles
US 3 (3.25 mm) circular needles, 24" long
Set of US 3 (3.25 mm) double-pointed needles
Size D (3 mm) crochet hook

Gauge
20 sts and 31 rows over 4" in stockinette stitch with US 5 (3.75mm) needles

Notions
4 stitch holders (or waste yarn)
stitch markers in 3 different colors

You can buy it at Knit Picks or here on Ravelry.

I really have to say that Knit Picks were a fantastic group to work with. Please support them, as they treat designers and their work with respect. They were generous with their yarn, incredibly patient when I couldn't get a "spring-ish" picture (because of all the snow out there -- I finally gave up) and answered lots and lots of questions. In particular, I want to thank Stacey, who walked me through the process.

Thank you especially to Dana, Elly, Louise, Rose and Susan from the FPT group on Ravelry for test knitting this. They were so talented, efficient and generous with their time, skill, insight and comments. Thanks to Jaya for tech editing. She's amazingly thorough and patient.

In other news, I have two other patterns coming out shortly -- one skein projects for a new yarn company -- which I'll be writing about soon. Of course, I also want to write about VK Live -- awesome. Hopefully there will be less shoveling and more writing, both patterns and blog posts.