Updates

I'm in the process of cleaning house & updating patterns. I've listed the most recent updates with the changes below. If you've purchased your patterns on Ravelry or on this site you will receive an email notice of the change (maybe you already have). If you've purchased your patterns through Etsy it will take me a bit longer to go through to send the updated patterns; or you can always contact me with a copy of your receipt and I'll send the updated pattern.

For the Reversible Vest/Wrap I changed the fine print to read "OK to knit for resale". I changed all the patterns to read that a while ago, guess I overlooked this one.

Included more photos in the pattern.

Included a child's version to Capelet's #1 & #3 and expanded a bit on Capelet #2.

Finally a schematic!

Good news for this pattern! I have a couple of lovely knitters helping me with the larger size! So glad to have the help otherwise I'm afraid it would have languished forever! What do they say the road to hell is paved with?!

In other news I'm teaching a class on the Magnum Capelet #4 (the crochet version) at my local shop The Little Knittery Sunday, November 13th. If the mood strikes you call the shop to sign up. I'll have a trunk show there as well December 7th from 6-9pm (hopefully with a few new designs!).


I've also started selling patterns wholesale. If you're an interested shop email me for details.

And finally, thanks Michelle for sending me a photo of your finished Cable Rib Mittens! Love to see the completed projects!

a couple other things...

Here's another piece using yarns from the BagSmith that I sent to Stitches East last week.

Big Stitch Bundle is made up of 6 different yarns (@88yds each) bundled together with most of them being hand dyed together so all 6 yarns match though the Big Stitch Bundle I used for the shoulders, collar & bottom section has the same tone throughout. Then for the open work in the body section I used the BagSmith's Blissa Bling an alpaca/merino with a metallic thread running through that I loved working with. It's the same fiber content as the Blissa so it's super soft!

 

Available as a PDF download. $6.50

It's Halloween time so in our house it's the constant trying on and adjusting of the Purple Princess costumes.

                                              

My girls love to layer! Whatever is purple and sparkly gets put on and while working the BagSmith's booth at Vogue Knitting Live I noticed this purple silk ribbon yarn with sparkly bows and knew I had to get it for them. It's from Pagewood Farms, is called Paparazzi and has the right yardage for a little capelet to wear over their purple capes.

this is how it looked before blocking

This little piece also gave me a chance to try out the "Block n Roll" another BagSmith item I picked up at Vogue Knitting Live. 

The Block n Roll is a padded 38"x50" teflon coated cotton blocking mat that rolls up to store away in your closet and weighs a mere pound! We pinned the piece down, put a wet press cloth to it then steamed it and when I was too impatient to wait for it to dry I took a hair dryer to it. It worked beautifully! I highly recommend getting one of these!

I really stretched this thing out as you can see in the post blocking pic. Blocking with an iron really flattened it as well.

But it's a perfect little layering piece for a Purple Princess.

Here it is on a test run.

a Luxe Cape

For those of you wondering whatever became of the rather large ball of yarn I showed in my last post I present a Luxe Cape.

I have such a weak spot for alpaca! I love the way it feels and would wear this cape constantly if I didn't live in a desert climate (although it does get chilly at night) and hadn't already shipped it to the BagSmith at Stitches East happening this weekend in Hartford Ct.

This alpaca is unbelievably soft and feels amazing against your skin. It was easy to work with and I don't think I need to tell you how fast it worked up with a gauge of .75sts per inch on #50 needles! That's right 5-0! And the BagSmith has both the yarn & the needles

                                                                               I used a 5/8" ribbon for the closure.

So if you happen to be in Hartford this weekend and are stopping by Stitches make sure you check out the BagSmith's booth to experience this amazing yarn in person. 

Available as a PDF download. $6.50

Here it is again!

Vogue Knitting LIve

I have to say in hindsight I didn't do that great of a job documenting my 3 days at VK Live held here in Los Angeles last weekend. I guess I was having too much fun the first 2 days working in the BagSmith booth to go and check things out. By the third day when I did finally go around I was a little disappointed with the photos I was getting from my camera so I didn't go too crazy.

from L to R: jean, Shelly, me, Becca & Vicki

The best thing about the show was meeting & working with Becca, her mom Jean and her sister Shelly. Becca and I have been internet friends for awhile but this was the first time meeting in person and we all hit it off. Our mutual friend Vicki Stiefel joined us and was signing copies of her book, 10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters (a wonderful book for your knitting library but that's another post!).

Another great thing about the show was meeting Lisa who stopped me because she recognized the sweater I was wearing from following my blog! This was the first time that ever happened to me, so I of course was walking with a little extra spring in my step the rest of the day. Thanks Lisa!

with Lisa

I was planning on writing more about the show but I have so much knitting to catch up on I'll be brief.

RedFish Dye Works had a lovely booth with amazing colors! I don't even mind that this shot is blurry because the colors are so great... though I'm never going to a show again without my Nikon! 

I love this Namaste bag! Stylish & functional my favorite combination.

Jean refreshing my Tunisian crochet skills. 

Jean was probably the most photographed person at the show. You can't tell from the photo but Jean has a bit of purple in her bangs making her that much more adorable (and attractive to shutterbugs) and is just the sweetest person. For 3 days she showed countless people how to Tunisian crochet & to knit using the big needles and hooks that the BagSmith is known for.

At the end of the show Becca sent me home with a lot of yarn to work with. I really liked this yarn from Holland. It's a thick felted strand with a wire core. I made this bowl in a couple of hours. The red part is finger crocheted while the bottom is coiled and it's all joined with a mattress stitch.

Someone had other ideas for it!

Another yarn she sent home with me is called "Big Stitch Yarn Bumps". It's a alpaca/wool blend with a bit of nylon. All the animal fibers are from local Ohio breeders and I love it! 

 This is one big ball of yarn!

The girls had fun with it too! I'm working with a pair of #50's that Becca also sent home with me and it's working up just how I like it, fast! I'm still working on it though so back to work!

Oh one other thing that the BagSmith carries is a line called Sajou worth checking out for the packaging alone, beautiful!

the mini Magnum Capelet #1

When faced with having to get a last minute birthday gift for my daughters friend I decided to rework the Magnum Capelet #1 to fit the little ones.

I wasn't sure how much yarn I needed but knew I wouldn't need a full skein (123yds of Magnum by Cascade). Since I have a lot of partial skeins of Magnum I thought I would cast on and see what happened... it helps the capelet is worked top down.  I'm not sure how much yarn in the above color combo I used but it felt like it was just over half a skein.

My daughter really liked the capelet and with her birthday only a couple of days later I wanted to make her one too. I just happened to have a full skein of Magnum in purple (her favorite color) so it  gave me a chance to better gauge the amount of yarn I would use.

I had less than half a skein left when I finished. I was really hoping I would be able to get 2 out of the one skein knowing her sister would want one but after seeing it on her I didn't like the way it looked.

It was a bit big. 

I cast on with the remaining purple Magnum to see if I could squeeze another one out of it...

and was happy to find that with the remaining yarn I got yet a smaller version that is more proportionate for a 2 1/2 year old.

Available as a PDF download. $6.50

Finally, Happy Birthday to my big girl!

the end of summer baby jacket

 Sweet little baby Jesse, 10 weeks old.

I purposefully disconnected this summer to connect more with my family and like that the summer has flown by! And what a great summer we had, but wow! 3 months since my last post?! Although I've been disconnected in the technological sense I haven't been disconnected from knitting and here's my latest design... a stylish end of summer jacket for the little one.

 

Before I had kids I made the mistake of making a friends twins matching sweaters that were sized 3 months. I just wasn't thinking about how fast they grow! It was a lot of work for such limited use I learned my lesson with those, although their mom really cherished the sweaters and that made it worth it.

 

 someone didn't last long for this photo shoot!

 

So with a few late summer babies to knit for I wanted to make something that would get used a little longer. Designed with a growing baby in mind this long sleeve jacket for a newborn becomes a cropped 3/4 length sleeve jacket for a toddler.

Worked top down in a raglan style the upper body, sleeves and mini shawl collar are in reverse stockinette stitch while the lower body is worked in a 1x1 rib and finished with a kitchener bind off. One of the best things about it is it only uses @ 218yds (@199m) of a bulky weight yarn with #10.5 needles also used #10 for the ribbing & #8 for the kitchener bo. I used Cascade's Venezia Bulky but was sadly informed that this yarn, a wonderfully soft merino/silk combo is being discontinued. They do carry this in a worsted and a sport, which ironically I used for Wilhelmina's Baby Sweater the worsted same color too! Subconciously I must have something for this green.

The use of different increases & a kitchener bind off being the most difficult parts of this jacket would make me rate it for the intermediate knitter, but with the bulky yarn it's a quick knit... good thing too since my list of babies to knit for keeps growing!

 

I thought the handmade buttons helped complete the look. 

 

A simple slip stitch crochet button loop. 

 A crochet chain piping in a contrasting color around the neckline & under the collar gives a hint of color.

 

The kitchener bind off, a nice polished finish.

I think she's done.

Available as a PDF download $6.50