Increasing Waves

Noro Silk Garden! Five skeins and five attempts to come up with the perfect project. It started out as an easy triangular wrap but because of the long rows the color changes appeared too often and made the shawl look rather striped than pretty. More attempts followed and finally the right project appeared. 

I am very happy with it! Starting out with only 6 stitches you gradually have to increase the waves and the center and the short rows add the waves. For the short row technique I picked the "Double Stitch" method which so far I had only used on socks. The "Wrap &Turn" method left long open stitches which could look good but I wasn't so thrilled about it. 

Here is a video where you can see how the Double Stitch is worked:

Double Stitch Video

As always the pattern is available for purchase as download. 

*** BUY HERE ***

Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride - A New Favorite!

It is the season for warm clothing. I love it.

With my yellow lab girl Ivy I am going to the dog park almost every day and wind proof items are definitely a must. So I started with mittens....with a touch of sparkle....and because I test knit my projects myself I made more...which led to a stash of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky.
Then I had a beautiful green, a coral read and a light beige in a bag and they wanted to be used together...so no mittens there. They got united in cowl! A bit christmasy but awesome!

No wind can go through this little wonder. I called it Truffles Cowl and the pattern is available on Ravelry. BUY HERE . So I still had a stash of green yarn and turned into another headband pattern, this time one in crochet. The bulky weight yarn makes this a super fast project and anyone can do this in a couple of hours. I got great feedback on Etsy from someone who has not crocheted in years and she was able to make one. Love it!

Here is the link to the pattern Fast Crochet Headband Kayla Pattern
I am ready for winter to come! Enjoy the season!

New Garter Stitch Shawl/Scarf/Wrap

There are just too many ways to wrap this piece so I finally gave up taking pictures. The yarn is fun to work with, too! A new 100% Merino yarn made by Schoppel Wolle from Austria, a self striping fingering weight yarn: Zauberball

And the best of it: only knit stitch! I called this shawl "Travelling Ruffles" because I knitted almost everything while on the go which makes this the perfect travel companion! The pattern is really super easy to remember. 
I think I will be making more garter stitch projects! 

Seeing Red! Wisconsin Badger Band Come Back!

After making 10 red headbands in a row from my own Begonia Headband Pattern I have to admit that I have seen a lot of red for a while. But it is for a great cause! My local yarn store Iris Fine Yarns is having a fundraiser to bring back the Wisconsin Badger Band at the Flag Day Parade 2013.
There will be hats in all sizes as well for sale at the October Fest Downtown Appleton on September 28/29. Let's hope for sunshine and lots of people to support this great idea.

Wrapped Around

Wrapped Around is the name of my newest shawl/scarf pattern. Only Garter Stitch! One can never have enough shawls and scarves I guess.

 This one is the right project if you are looking for something easy yet still entertaining here and there. The fabric feels wonderful -  squishy and soft!
Of course the yarn plays an important role as well. Malabrigo Sock and Ella Rae Merino Lace do the trick. One skein of each makes this also a very affordable project for many fun filled hours to come.
It is still so hot here in Wisconsin that I can barely imagine to wear this piece. But I know the day will come and then I will complain about the Wisconsin winter.

Page 2 On Ravelry's Patternlist!

Yesterday I listed my newest pattern on Ravelry: Walk in the Park Shoulder Wrap
It is always difficult for me to come up with a new pattern name and the idea for this one came to me because I actually wore it the day before on my Saturday morning walk to the local farmer's market with my husband and our yellow lab Ivy. It felt so good and so warm, just right for a walk!
And today to my surprise when I checked Ravelry's pattern listed by "what is hot right now" I found my wrap on page 2! I am very excited!

The wrap knits up so fast and it would make a great last minute gift for a friend. Or maybe the finishing touch to that sleeveless dress....well, a solid color might look even better?!

The patter is available right here:

 Pattern for WALK IN THE PARK SHOULDER WRAP

Little Miss CHANEL

I am sure Coco Chanel would have approved of this little cardigan. Yes, I made another one! This one is made out of Debbie Bliss "Bella", the softest cotton yarn with some cashmere and silk in it. Very yummy yarn! So now I really should finish the pattern instead of making more and more cardigans!