Category: Patterns

Introducing the Y’all Shawl :: my newest brioche knitting pattern!  You can find this pattern on both Ravelry, and my website!

Fading from grass to sky :: an asymmetrical triangle shawl inspired by the beautiful Texas landscape, knit using a combination of one-color and two-color brioche.

I can’t remember the exact moment this shawl idea came to my mind, it happened so gradually.  We found out that we would be moving to South Texas about a year ago, when my husband landed a job as a professor at a university outside of Corpus Christi.  It seemed sort of a dream: living by the beach, finally settling down, buying our first home, and just knowing where we were going to be after a long time of moving around from place to place.  As we were driving down to our new home, I was blown away by the beauty of rural Texas!  The never-ending plains of waving grass, small trees sprinkled in, but most importantly, the wide, open, gorgeous, sky.  The sky!!!  If you’ve ever been to Texas, it is really hard not to notice that big sky.  Growing up in Michigan, you just didn’t see much of the sky, because there are such large trees everywhere!  Especially lining the roads and highways.  But not so in Texas.  You can see a thunderstorm rolling in from miles away.

After we moved down here, I started doing some research to see what kind of yarn shops and fiber festivals I could find.  DFW Fiber Fest was one of the big ones, so I submitted a few brioche class ideas, and excitedly was accepted!  That’s when I came up with the idea of a Texas-themed shawl to release around the festival, celebrating this gigantic state we now live in.  With some help from my Texas-born husband, the Y’all Shawl was invented!  The actual design of the shawl itself changed from month to month, but the name stayed the same.

I wanted to create a pattern that I could provide to my brioche students, utilizing both one-color and two-color brioche, as well as the increases and decreases that I adore so much.  The pattern represents waving grass, fading up to the windy blue sky, then ending with fluffy white clouds as the border.  The yarn I chose was also very important.  I wanted to use a yarn that was manufactured in Texas, and what better company than Madelinetosh!  Based in Fort Worth, Texas, and with so many amazing color ways to choose from, their Tosh Merino Light base seemed like the perfect choice.

And then there are the photos.  I knew I wanted to find a location that represented the idea I was portraying in my design :: open grassy plains with a wide open sky!  So we packed up our kids, the camera, and my cowboy hat and boots (which I got here in Texas, of course), and headed to a little park near our house.  It turned out to be a perfectly overcast day, and my husband captured the shawl beautifully, right in the middle of a frisbee golf course!!!

I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I did.  It is so fun to knit, easy to memorize, and will fly off your needles! Receive a 20% discount all weekend long!  Use coupon code YALL on Ravelry, and no code required for my website.  Offer will last until Sunday, April 9, 2017.

Thank you for reading, and happy briocheing!

 

I am very excited to introduce my newest brioche shawl design, Rebel. You can find this pattern available on both Ravelry, and in my new web shop!  One month ago today, the world lost Carrie Fisher. This shawl was created as a tribute to her memory as Princess Leia from Star Wars.

This Rebel One shawl idea came to life the day I found out that Carrie Fisher passed away.  To me, Carrie will always be Princess Leia from Star Wars. I’m sure that is true for many people. She is an icon that will live forever in her many adoring fans. Like so many of you, I’m sure, I grew up watching Star Wars, and it has always been a huge part of my life! When I found out about Carrie’s death, it hit me hard. So naturally, my first thought went to, “What can I knit right now?” Knitting for me is so cathartic, and is essential for my dealing with any kind of grief. What better way to celebrate Carrie Fisher’s life than to knit a shawl dedicated to her memory?

I dashed to my stash, and was immediately drawn to a skein of Hedgehog Fibres Sock yarn in the color way, Typewriter.  Not only does that color just completely embody Leia’s wardrobe for almost the entirety of the Star Wars saga, but the name itself fits Carrie’s persona in being a writer.  I knew this shawl had to be a crescent shape, like a moon orbiting a planet.  And it absolutely HAD to be brioche.  All I could picture was Leia wearing this around her neck while on the planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.  Can’t you?  I wanted it to be whimsical, with some lace and some bobbles, inspired by Leia’s iconic hairdo.  As for the shape of the shawl, it just so happened to naturally want to look like the symbol of the rebel alliance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I was knitting this shawl, I thought how cool it would look in two-color brioche!!  I have had a slight fascination with one-color brioche lately, and have been wanting to experiment with one-color brioche lace.  I feel it has a soft beauty to it, almost unspoken.  But sometimes it’s hard to deny how absolutely awesome two-color brioche lace looks, with that POP of color!  So I am immediately casting on a two-color version, which will be published as a part of Rebel on May the Fourth of this year.  In purchasing this pattern, you will automatically receive a copy of Rebel Two once it’s released!

Be sure to grab your copy today or over the weekend to receive a 20% discount, both on Ravelry and my new web shop!!!  You can find all of the information about the pattern there, as well as tons of fun photos. Use coupon code REBEL at checkout.  This introductory offer will end at midnight Eastern on Sunday, January 29.

I also want to add that, for the life of this pattern, 5% of all profits will be donated to charity in Carrie’s name.

May the Force be with Carrie, and with you, always.  RIP Carrie Fisher.  Rest in Peace, Princess.

 

Introducing my first shawl pattern for 2017 :: Brightly!  What better way to welcome the cold, dark winter season than to knit up a warm shawl using brightly colored yarns that inspire you.  Brightly is a symmetrical triangle shawl with garter stitch and ruffle stripes, ending with a simple garter lace border.

The story behind the design process of this shawl is actually kind of funny.  I picked up some yarn from my stash almost a year ago to try out some shawl shaping that I had never done before; kind of a mixture between crescent shaping and increasing stitches enough to create a ruffle to the fabric.  Well, what I originally tried just wasn’t working – there were FAR too many stitches on my needles, but the fit was very awkward!  So I set that shawl down for awhile to think about it and maybe try again later.

Then I started working with Kate from Kate Selene yarns, and she created this amazing new color way on her Merino DK base especially for me to use in a design – Haze.  What a beauty!!  I knew I wanted to showcase it in a heavier weight shawl for the winter, but wanted to accent it with something bright and fun. Her Emerald City color way pairs perfectly with it, but I wanted something hot and different to accent it in the ruffle stripes.  My eyes immediately gravitated towards a skein of Hedgehog Fibres Merino DK in color Jelly that was in my stash – perfect!!  I started the shawl thinking that it would be a crescent shape, but it ended up keeping the triangle shape so well!  The construction is rather interesting, starting at the bottom tip, and gradually getting larger until binding off at the top. This really surprised me, but that’s what I love about designing so much!

I must admit, I usually always enjoy knitting with bright colors together, but I know not everyone does.  This shawl is a great blank canvas for so many combinations of colors.  Try mostly neutrals, with a color pop for the lace panel. Or I think even an entirely one color shawl would be amazing, accentuating the textural stripes of the ruffles, garter, and lace.

To celebrate the release of this shawl, receive a 20% discount using coupon code BRIGHT through Friday, January 6!

Thank you for following along, and happy knitting!

Happy Friday!! I am so excited to announce that To The Flame is now available as a PDF download on Ravelry!  I am having a little sale to celebrate its release :: use coupon code FLAME at checkout to receive a 20% discount through the weekend!

Read more about this amazing collaboration with Infinite Twist in my other blog post, here!  Kits are still available through their website, be sure to check out some of the beautiful color options they have.

Happy knitting, friends!

Introducing Washed Ashore :: my newest hat knitting pattern!!!  Simple faux cable ribbing and lace come together for a double layer hat full of texture and warmth. Inspired by the sea after a storm, the muted grays and blues together with the lace stitch pattern create a modern, but timeless look.

 

Two hats in one!! Perfect for gift knitting!! Knit just the Inner Layer for a simple, modern hat, OR add the lace Outer Layer for a fun hat that will keep you super warm all winter long! Worsted weight yarn is used to knit the simple, elegant Inner Layer, then using fingering weight yarn, stitches are picked up along the top of the brim to add the lace Outer Layer. Feel free to substitute lace weight yarn for a thinner hat!

The Inner Layer is shown in Quince and Co. Owl, color Elf.  I am so in love with this wool / alpaca blend.  I originally used it for my first sweater that I knit, and just knew I wanted to use the leftovers in a design.  The Outer Layer is shown in Quince and Co. Tern, color Beach Glass.  How fitting, right?  The blend of wool and silk make this the perfect layering yarn, and the stitch definition is just amazing.

This hat was so much fun to design. I was actually inspired by a couple of my other designs, Eco Mug Mat, and Paperless with Quince and Co. Scarves Etc. 5, which both utilize the same faux cable stitch pattern!  At the time this design came to life, I was actually still living in Michigan, and wanted to create a double-layer hat to keep my head extra warm in the frigid winters. I actually put this design down for quite some time as we packed up our small family and moved across the country to South Texas, to Corpus Christi by the sea.  As I picked up the hat again, I was so inspired by my new surroundings!

The crown detail is my favorite part of this hat!!  The Inner Layer uses simple decreases to create the crown, and I wanted to mimic it with the Outer Layer, but add a little pizazz!  So I used the fun floral knots as part of it, and I couldn’t be happier!!  What color combinations will you choose for your Washed Ashore hat?  The Inner Layer would be so gorgeous by itself using a speckled or variegated yarn from your stash, or try a pop of color for the Outer Layer!  There are so many possibilities!

Be sure to grab a copy of this new pattern before Wednesday, November 30 at midnight and receive a 25% discount!!  No coupon code required.

And also don’t forget about my big shop sale going on for the Indie Gift-A-Long 2016!  Check out my fun bundle here to see 20 of my self-published patterns that are 25% off using coupon code “GIFTALONG2016“! We would love to see you over at the GAL, you can find all the information in the Ravelry group, here!

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful support, and happy gift knitting!!