The Garter Beast

Earlier this month I blogged about the Garter Squish blanket that I was knitting.

deliciously squishy

I was 2 color blocks in and saw leftover after leftover being gobbled up by this beast of a blanket.  Partials that would have otherwise sat in my stash, taking up valuable space with very little promise of otherwise ever seeing the light of day again, were disappearing at a surprisingly quick pace.  It was a beautiful sight to behold.

But as the blanket got longer, my shoulders began to ache.  This blanket is heavy.  My knitting slowed to a crawl and turning the blanket around at the end of each row was agony.  But I continued to knit.  And yesterday morning, I wove in the final end.

Rustic beauty

The blanket is lovely.  It is warm, and soft, and has a very rustic sort of beauty that I love.

And while the garter stitch was rather boring, knitting this blanket was very peaceful and meditative allowing me to begin planning a new project- a collection of patterns inspired by the sea!  I began the first sample for the collection yesterday and hope to release the entire collection this summer.

Be Calm and Knit Beautiful Things

Introducing my newest free pattern, Be Calm

Be Calm

Be Calm

This cowl features 3 beautiful cables on the shoulders, surrounded by understated reverse stockinette. It can be worn pulled down over the chest for stylish warmth, or bunched up around your neck.

Either way, be calm and stay warm!

Instructions are written and charted

Sizes: Small (Medium, Large, X-Large)

Finished Bust: 34” (38”, 42”, 46”)/ 86.5cm (96.5cm, 106.5cm, 117cm)

Materials:
Dream in Color Calm- 2 (3, 3, 3) skeins colorway Valentine
US 9 (5.5mm) 29” circular needle
Cable needle
4 Stitch markers
Yarn needle for weaving in ends

Do you like free stuff?  Join in the KAL in my Must.Knit.Faster group on Ravelry for a chance to win 3 great prizes!  Join in the fun HERE.

 

 

Monday, Monday

What a weekend.  My youngest turned 4, my California team lost the Super Bowl, and I did little to no housework.  Overall not an awful weekend (considering I’m not even a football fan), so I really can’t complain.  But still- MONDAY.  Ugh.

Friday, however, was great!  I settled down to my sweet Martha to whip up a zippered pouch:

Zippered pouch

I found this tutorial on pinterest and couldn’t resist it’s simplicity.  As a beginner, I can certainly appreciate a well written (free) pattern.  The pattern is from See Kate Sew and can be found here.  Plenty of photos to help you out along the way, and I love the finished pouch!

Pretty on the inside

Next up, I think I will be trying this tutorial from to make a Dumpling Bag by Michelle Patterns.

In knitting news, I discovered the Garter Squish pattern by the amazing Stephen West on Friday and immediately dove into my stash to find all of the yarns that would have otherwise sat in my stash for years before seeing the light of day again.  I casted on on Friday afternoon and have already knit about a foot and a half.  It’s QUICK and it’s beautiful in a very rustic way.  It’s easy to become overly obsessive about color usage and placement while knitting this blanket, and I swore to myself time and time again that I wouldn’t.  That I would just grab the next ball from the basket that I put together for this project and knit it up.  That lasted about 23 minutes.

deliciously squishy

Have a great week everyone!

It’s Cold- Let’s Knit!

Frigid Gnomies

Good Morning my Gnomies!  Greetings from Virginia, where the bipolar weather has once again swung low into the 20’s.  Wednesday, in all of it’s warm, blessed beauty brought us well into the 70’s and a strange summer-like downpour, complete with thunder, lightening, and strong winds.  Last night however, we dipped into the low 20’s and woke up to a nice little blanket of snow.  I miss my beautiful southern California weather, where you can always depend on 3 things: A thick marine layer in the morning, a beautifully temperate afternoon, and TV weather forecasters calling a few drops of rain a “WINTER STORM WATCH!”  Oh Dallas Rains, how I miss you.

Spring Thaw Mystery KAL

Today begins the Swap on a Budget Mystery KAL and CAL on Ravelry!  Are you in?  I sent out the first set of pattern instructions for the KAL very late last night to account for those in different time zones.  The second set of instructions will go out on the 8th, and the third and final instructions will go out on the 15th.  If you would like to join us, the pattern can be downloaded free on Ravelry by clicking HERE.

Be Calm- coming soon!

I am putting the finishing patterns for another new design as we speak, and will be releasing it very soon.  Dream in Color yarns sent me some FABULOUS Dream in Color Calm to design with, and I can’t even tell you just how phenomenal this yarn is.  It is single ply, 100% wool yarn, and the wool is from right here in the U.S.!  How awesome is that?!  It’s incredibly soft (much softer than Malabrigo, which surprised me!), and it wears extremely well.  If you haven’t tried it yet, you really must.

Have a wonderful weekend!  My youngest turns 4 on Sunday- eek!