savannah Swatch

#kwsummersweatter, Not much that's more fun than starting a new project!  Here we go , August 22, rolled most of the hanks into balls, left one in case I need to return it.  Every yarn has a different quality about it, and it's great fun to see if what you think will happen with a certain stitch pattern or idea actually happens.
August 23- Thought I wanted to use an eyelet ribbed pattern for some of the body but at this gauge the hole is too big.  maybe use as an accent, hemlime or neckline..we'll see.

Guage come out perfectly at 5.5sts=1' on a size 5 needle.
So now to get working on stitch counts for this design...
The color and weight are fabulous and the yarn is soft yet with a lot of integrity; it will be great to show stitch definition.

My Savannah Arrived Today #kwsummersweater

My Savannah arrived today! #kwsummersweater.   Very exciting!  My LYS called and I was over in a flash to pick it up!  The color is just gorgeous ;a deep, deep raspberry; colorway Crepe Myrtle...Can't wait to get to swatching!  This will be a garment for The Fibre Companies new pattern contest.
My design will be a summer shell ; the body will have a ribbed eyelet pattern and the front a drapey cowl neckline. The yarn is 50% wool, 20% cotton, 15% liene and 15% soya   50gms = 160 yards.  I estimate 7 skeins for my project.
more photos and details  as I get going......

Sweet Savannah Summer Sweater Contest..hmmm...what color?

I'm thinking very seriously about entering this contest through The Fibre Company.
Very nice cotton DK yarn and I have several summer shell patten ideas running around in my head.
but..what color to choose???they have some really lovely ones....I think either the chambray or the pinky red color, crepe myrtle  I think it's called would be great with my wardrobe.  It's always hard to second guess what color will show best and if color is a deciding factor in what designs are chosen, as the designs all end up as a spread in an upcoming publication.   The neutrals are safe and pretty too but  I'm tempted to stay with one of the colors that I was first drawn to.....ok decided.....crepe myrtle!

guess I'll have to set up a facebook page........#kwsummersweater   here I come!

A Lacy Cowl Pattern

Cowl Lovely........Posted a new design today on Craftsy;  It's a one size fits all cowl worked in a lovely Madeline Tosh Yarn;  It's called Cowl Lovely....http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/knitting/accessory/cowl-lovely/63262?   TmoneySymbol=%24&fresh=true&NAVIGATION_PAGE_CONTEXT_ATTR=PATTERN

The cowl is knit as a long rectangle , then seamed at the cast on and cast off edges.   I wanted the lace design to go "around" the neck.   It could also be made longer, 54" or so if you wanted to wrap twice around your neck.   I designed this to wear over a plain shirt or sweater to dress it up.

Addendum to the Ribbed Baby Beanie

Here is my ribbed baby beanie pattern on a real live kidlet! ; My adorable grandson Dorian.

Dorian lives in Vancouver , Canada with his lovely parents and needs a hat most of the year.

He was the inspiration for this pattern as he would outgrow hats as fast as they could be made.  This one with it's ribbed stitch structure gives more flexibility with head size while still hugging the little head so it stays on.   Sizes available for this pattrn:S (newborn-3mo,13”-14” circumference), M (3-6mo, 14”-17” circumference), L ( 6-12mo,16”-19”), XL(12mo-3yr, 18”-20”). and the pattern is available here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbed-baby-beanie

This hat is made of fingering sock yarn , it can also be done with a self striping yarn and contrasting crown or fold up cuff...a real stash buster and fun to make!

I now have 14 designs available on Ravelry!  Here is the link to all of them.http://www.ravelry.com/designers/jolie-pollard

The Flounce

Here's a fun little accessory to knit up with a couple of skeins of sock yarn.  It's a one size fits all and can be worn as a scarf or as a collar over a plain top.  This is a free pattern!  http://www.craftsy.com/user/539979/pattern-store?_ct=fhevybu-ikrdql-fqjjuhdijehu

Baby Beanies

I have made several little baby hats for my grandson Dorian, however he outgrows them sooooo fast.  The quest then began to come up with a hat pattern that had more flexibility size-wise. I realized if the main part of the hat was ribbed it would fit a greater size range, thus fit for a longer period of time.    I researched sizes of baby and children 's head and came up with sizing for newborn to 3 years old.  This hat is also versatile in the amount of cuff that is folded up or down!  Pattern available now in my ravelry store for $3.00.  It uses just one skein of fingering sock yarn so is also a great stash buster......
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbed-baby-beanie

The Amazing Garter Stitch Jacket Pattern

The Pattern for the Amazing Garter Stitch Jacket is now available on Ravelry.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-amazing-garter-stitch-jacket
Here is the link.

Garter Stitch Jacket; Adult Version

The Garter Stitch Adult version was very successful!  Here are some photos.
The finished length is 27 inches, giving it almost a jacket feel.  It zips up the front with a separating zipper that stops about 6 inches from the bottom.  It's super warm and comfortable with lots of give.  I added a bit of width to the cuff from the baby version; cuffs measure 5 inches; this also allows it to be folded up for someone with a shorter arm length.   The button, which looks like a pin when the jacket is worn open, is from my Grandmother's button box and has lots of color in it; it is 2 inches across.  I'm working on getting the pattern written up and will post it soon.

Vintage Garter Stitch Baby Sweater with Adult Possibilities

At one of our regular coffee and knitting visits,  a friend of mine, Marlane, gave me a vintage baby pattern book. The photo on the left is the cover of the pattern book.  Bear Brand from who knows when, I'm guessing the 1950's.   There were lots of fun patterns in it but one in particular intriqued me.  It was a little baby sweater done completely in garter stitch, from the front left edge sideways to the sleeve, cast off for the body, cast back on for the sleeve complete the sleeve, cast off sleeve stitches, pick back up body stitches from a holder, ,knit the back, repeat for other sleeve and front.  The yoke stitches stay on the needles at all times and are shaped by short rows, as are the cuffs on the sleeves.  I had enough heavy worsted in my stash and started right in on a little sweater for my grandson, Dorian.  He was due to join us with his lovely parents for the holidays this year and I thought I could probably finish it by then.  Here he is at that time, 4 months old with his Mom,  our wonderful daughter in law, Sarah.

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 The first photo shows from the cast on row , across the left front, the body stitches on the holder and the sleeve stitches cast on and the sleeve begun.  Then the finished sweater and hat.  And I did finish them for Christmas.
As I worked on this little sweater, I began to imagine an adult version.  After I finished it, I started to work with the yoke to body to sleeve proportions, pulled some more worsted wool out of my stash and got to work. The stash yarn was used the year before for a sweater for Dorian's Mom, Sarah, so they now  have mother/son sweaters. At least for a couple of months until he outgrows it!   I referenced heavily from  Elizabeth Zimmerman's work in garter stitch garments and her percentage system and yarn gauges! No photos yet, but I'm optimistic that it will be successful........more on that to come.....

Parfait Tunic

Parfait Tunic started from finding a couple of interesting lace patterns in a pattern enclyclopedia. I had been wanting to knit something suitable for spring and summer, somewhat dressy but very comfortable.  I did quite a bit of swatching for this design as I wanted the lace patterns to blend into each other where they met, in other words , not have strong "lines" where one pattern ended and the other started.  I started with the lower border pattern and the body pattern then realized it would look great to add a simple eyelet for the yoke.  This gives a nice balance to the tunic and also is super simple to work the yoke decreases!  

This layering of patterns reminded me of a parfait dessert, the word in French means perfect....Either reference will work just fine.   To accomplish the organic flow that I was looking for, the stitch patterns had to be modified.  Writing up the pattern for the size I made was quite simple.  I just wrote down what I did as I knit it.  The challenge occurred when I tried to write up the directions for the pattern in smaller and larger sizes.  The pattern repeats didn't always work out just right.   In the end though, I got it figured out.   Although it did take me a while to perfect the pattern, no pun intended!

I took the tunic with me to France in 2011.  The photos were taken at Tillac in the south west part of France, department Gers.  It was a cool and comfortable top to wear. It was knit in a sport weight cotton called Shine Sport from KnitPicks. It is 60% Pima Cotton and 40% Modal, which is a natural beechwood fiber and gives great shine, drape and silkiness.

The pattern can be purchased through my Ravelry account.

Latitude 41 Demi Cape

Lattitude 41 Demi-Cape

pattern available here buy now

This cape was designed to try out this gorgeous yarn from New Zealand.  It is 70% Merino and 30% cashmere.  I used a lace design that twists as it is knitted; I've used this on a sock design and scarf design as well using different gauges and yarns.  I wanted to see what it would do and am quite pleased with the garment.  Comfortable, warm and because of the shorter length, easy to wear and not restrictive..