CouCou Cable Chapeau

Gah! Has it really been that long since we talked?!?!  I've missed you and am hoping to get back into the swing of things.  Especially since I've released a ton of patterns recently and haven't much of a chance to talk about them!  There needs to be more knit-chat in my life.

I'll start with the most recent one: the CouCou Cable Chapeau.

It's worked in two layers.  The outer layer is in 100% wool (worsted weight) (Wool of the Andes) and the inner layer is in a brushed alpaca nylon blend (Reverie).

The best part is that the pattern is available for free on the Knit Picks website!!!

I don't know how the model didn't melt wearing such a warm hat in the summer heat,
Joyce

Photo Credit: knitpicks.com

Crazy life and the Qboro Cowl

Things are still crazy here, but that's nothing new, right?  I would like to say that hopefully they will settle down soon, but I am always hopeful that things will settle down and they rarely do.

I often hear myself say "After the end of the semester," "During this upcoming break in classes," and so on.  However, I'm beginning to realize (boo, maturity!) that when that break gets here or the semester ends, there will still be craziness, whether it's from work or it's just me.  So I've decided to embrace the crazy.  And why not?  It certainly makes life more interesting.  (This also works if you have a crazy family, but really, don't we all?)

Sometimes, when the crazy gets to be a little too much, I like to take comfort in an oasis of soft, colorful yarn and a simple pattern.  It's for that reason that I designed the Qboro Cowl (that's pronounced Q(like in quack)-boro).

It calls for 220 yds of worsted weight yarn.  Pictured here in KnitPicks Swish worsted in Wonderland Heather, it would be great for any single skein of worsted that happens to be hanging out in your stash.  Plus a cowl would be a fast project to knit for both the guys and girls in your life that you want to keep nice and toasty (cough cough Christmas knitting cough cough).  Oh, and did I mention the best part?  The pattern is free!!!

Speaking of things that drive me crazy (but are still super cool and awesome), Polly had a birthday last month.  She is officially a year old.  (Look at that face! No, wait, don't.  It will make you want to do things like give it Snausages and Beggin' Strips.)

Don't let the grey beard and old man looks fool you, she's still a crazy youngster.  She will often try to persuade me to do what she wants, such as give her my yogurt.  Usually it involves this face (and that hair!):

which, I'm only slightly ashamed to admit, I find irresistible. 

Don't be silly, Polly doesn't want a cracker (at least, not without cheese),

Joyce

Liana Shawlette

This past Friday Knit Picks highlighted one of my designs as their Friday Freebie.  The Liana Shawlette is named after woody vines found in the tropics.  The lace in the edging mimics these vines as the grow throughout the forest.

It combines a self striping yarn for the body (Knit Picks Chroma in Prism) with a solid (and in this case sparkly) yarn for the edging (Knit Picks Glimmer in Potion). 

It would look great with any variegated main color for the stockinette body and a solid contrast color for the lacy edge. 

It is a winged shawlette which means that it will stay on the shoulders and wraps nicely around the neck for warmth.  The pattern can be downloaded for free online here.

And those of us that don't live in the tropics need all of the warmth we can get,
Joyce

Omelet Shawl

Woohoo! I'm in Knitty again.  It's been pretty hard to keep it to myself, but finally I can say, "Yay, I have a pattern in the Spring/Summer 2011 Knitty!"

I've named it Omelet.  I know the name is a bit weird, but what else could I call a bright yellow half circle? 

My model this time is Hubbie's lovely niece, Annie.  She was kind enough to step in when my first model fell through.  Thanks Annie!

I have to thank TK for helping me come up with ideas for the photoshoot.  I took the pictures in my mother-in-law's kitchen/dining room which is located 1300 miles from New York, but TK was with me in spirit.

I found Omelet to be pretty a tasty knit although I really had to pay attention to the pattern while knitting it.  It is definitely not movie knitting.

Man, all of those fruits and veggies are making me hungry,

Joyce

P.S. This is still my favorite picture from the photoshoot.  Maybe I should have told her that she's Annie, not Alice, and therefore, can't go through the looking glass but can content herself in the fact that the sun'll come out tomorrow.

Harvest Basket Shawlette

The Harvest Basket Shawlette and I have a long and somewhat agonized history.  You see, Harvest Basket is one of the first shawls I designed (somewhere in the first five for sure).  And while I loved it and thought it would be beautiful, every time I tried to knit it, things went badly.

There was nothing wrong with the pattern, as a matter of fact, TK said that it was one of the simplest ones she'd knit for me.

But it didn't work for me.  The first time I tried to knit it, I didn't like the yarn I'd chosen.  The second time, I didn't like the yarn/pattern combination.  So about that time I decided maybe it wasn't the yarn, maybe it was the pattern.  Thus, the next time I tried to knit it, I tried to redesign the pattern, failing miserably.  So I put the pattern on the shelf for a while.  And then forgot about the poor thing.

Until about 6 months later.  I was browsing through my old patterns (there are a surprising amount of those. Sadly, for most of them, it was love at the time they were designed, and now it's meh) and came across Harvest Basket and thought I'd give it another shot at redesign.  But when I opened the file, I realized that it really was great as is.  However, given our checkered past, I was reluctant to give it another try.  Then I remembered...

I have a test knitter!  TK! So I gave her a call and much to my joy and happiness, she agreed to take on the knitting of the Harvest Basket Shawlette.  And she finished it in less than two weeks!  (Did I mention that TK rocks?)  In Malabrigo Sock in Terracota, the shawlette is soft and warm.

Best of all, Harvest Basket is free!

download now

And that's really the best price for anything,

Joyce

Note: I originally designed Harvest Basket to be knit with variegated yarn.  I feel that the simple lace won't get lost in the variegation.