Monthly Archives: January 2018

New Pattern: Mukilteo Shawl

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What’s that? You thought Friday‘s new pattern pattern was the only one I had for you guys? Ha!  You should know me better than that!

I’ve got a brand-new, super simple (and super fast) shawl pattern for you!  It’s the Mukilteo Shawl!

It’s a garter-stitch shawl featuring a triangular shape, contrasting pinstripes and a cute fringe edging.  Literally, it’s just knitting and increasing.  That’s it!  It’s worked from the center point, and increased on either edge, so if you end up enjoying your Mukilteo Shawl, you could just keep knitting until you get bored (or run out of yarn)- I’d love to see a really massive one!But here’s the cleverest part (if I can toot my own horn for a second).  No ends to weave in!  At all! None! Zero! I know!  You see the cute tassels along the edges?  They’re actually cleverly disguised ends.  I kind of want to put secret-end-tassels on all my knitting from now on.  (I really hate weaving in ends.)And there’s another surprise!  This pattern is in another new collection from Knit Picks, Beginner Bulky Knits.  And would you look at who’s on the cover of that book?

It’s me!  (OK, not me, it’s a very lovely model, but she’s wearing my design!)This is a really cute book, perfect for beginner knitters, people who love working with extra-bulky yarn, or people with short attention spans who want to get through their knitting super quickly.It’s  full of adorable shawls, super-cute hats, mitten and scarves.  What great designs for great, bulky yarn!Get a copy of the Mukilteo Shawl here!

Get the whole book here!

New Pattern: Snohomish Pullover

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It’s New Pattern Day!

This is a pattern that I’ve been dying to share with you guys for what feels like a whole year!  It might be my favorite sweater I’ve ever designed.

Introducing, the Snohomish Pullover!It’s a bottom-up, seamless, fully cabled-and-textured pullover.  I absolutely love this design (if I say so myself).  It features a wide panel of all-over cabling on the front and back, bordered with double-twist cables on either side and a cozy knit/purl background.  Plus, there are matching cables down the sleeves, too!  No getting bored here!It looks complicated and maybe a little scary if you’re not familiar with cables, but I promise it’s not!  Every stitch pattern repeats every 4th or 8th row, so once you get all set up, working the cables is a breeze (I bet you’ll even be able to memorize the pattern once you’ve been through the repeat once or twice!).But the Snohomish Pullover doesn’t exist in a vacuum!  It’s part of a gorgeous new collection from Knit Picks, Windward!It’s full of pullovers, cardigans, shawls, wraps, hats, and tunics, all covered in lush, gorgeous cables.  This collection is a winner for sure!If you want a copy of the Snohomish Pullover, click here!

If you want a copy of the whole Windward collection (and why wouldn’t you?), click here!

What’s next?

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It’s the after-Christmas knitting let-down.  Not that I really had a lot of knitting I was working on for Christmas, per se, but I did have a couple holiday-related projects (and some work projects) that I finished around Christmas.

Now I’ve got to figure out what to do with myself again!

I could go back to my Papaya Sweater.  I swear, some day I’ll finish it.  I just… need more… enthusiasm.   Or, alternatively, I just need to get off my butt and just knit the dang thing.  (It sits in a big bowl next to my desk and looks at me every time I sit down to work on the blog or send email.  It judges me.)I could start something new… I did receive three skeins of a really lovely merino/bamboo blend in a fantastic, subtle shade of blue.  I just have to figure out what to do with almost 1500 yards of fingering weight yarn.  (Maybe a bunch of socks?  Or maybe a light, spring cardigan?)Or… I don’t know… I could do something non-knitting-related?  Heresy, I know!  But even I like to branch out once in a while.  I’ve dabbled in paper-crafting, cross stitch, embroidery, clothing-making, even bookmaking (like, making books with paper, not taking illegal bets. I’m not a bookie. In non-related news, I’ve been watching a lot of cop shows and reading true crime books over the holidays.  Maybe I need to start watching something else, if that’s where my brain goes).  Maybe I need to find a new project entirely?

Or I could just take a nap with the dog.What are you working on, now that the craziness of the holidays are over?

2017

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I’ve gotta say, in some ways 2017 was a big ol’ dumpster fire.  (You don’t need me to explain that, do you?)

But, personally, 2017 had some pretty great things happen.  I’ve been working on some pretty exciting projects (that you’ll hear about soon), both personal and professional, and just generally, my family and I have been doing really well. (Except that Ollie had to go to the vet yesterday because he broke a nail partying too hard at the dog park… sigh. It’s always something with that dog.)Oh, and I got to spend a lot of my time knitting!

I managed to fill my Christmas tree with Arne and Carlos’ Christmas Balls, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they turned out.  Sure, I haven’t made all 55 (yet), but I got about halfway through the book, which left me with enough finished balls to decorate my whole tree.  Plus, this way, I’ll be able to make more balls next year! Fun!I knit… a lot.  (Surprise, surprise.)  Starting in January with a whole pile of PussyHats, a stack of Mother Bears, a half-dozen or so shawls and scarves.  Plus a bunch of sweaters and socks.  I’ve started slacking off on keeping track of my knitting on Ravelry, so I can’t give you a full rundown of everything I’ve knit, but let’s just agree that there’s been a lot.Plus, I’ve been busy working!  I’ve just about turned this whole “knitting thing” into a real, big-girl job.  I never in a million years thought that I’d be able to make more than pocket change with my knitting, and I’m so thankful for everything that I’ve been able to do over the past (almost) 5 years of running this blog and focusing on pattern design.  Heck, this year alone, I’ve published 11 new patterns, and I have a half-dozen more that are somewhere in the design-math-editing process.  I couldn’t be happier with the trajectory of my new career!I can’t wait to show you what 2018’s got in store for me (there is big news in the works at Casa de On the Needles!).  I know it’s going to be awesome!

What did you get done in 2017? What are your goals for 2018?