6.30.2009

Thinking Sheep Thoughts


Recently I have found myself obsessed with a new yarn. Sublime Organic Merino.

It's as light as a feather and it might just be the softest wool that I have ever come in contact with.

Like "softer-than-Malabrigo" soft.

Everything about this little strand oozes naturalness to me. The lightly spun single ply construction gives it a handspun feel and I love this subtle natural shade.




Pondering over this yarns organic qualities led towards another new knitting related obsession for me.



Sheep!



Its only fitting that a child's sheep sweater be made from a super soft merino sheep!

And plus I found the cutest sheep buttons ever while visiting Portland.

Its a perfect match.

Pattern coming soon!



6.21.2009

Very Cherry



I
I am happy to share with you my newest pattern.

Very Cherry

(What is it with me and fruit-themed children's knits?)

While I was knitting this one up I was so worried that it wouldn't turn out right. But now that its finished, I love it! It is exactly what I was envisioning...

...A perfect, practical summer dress with just enough details added to make it acceptable for a dressier occasion.
Also I love this bright cherry red color!

It's so sweet and cheery, not the typical pastel you would normally find for a child's summer dress.



As you know, I'm also obsessed with this lace edging.
The picot edge plays up this lace pattern so beautifully. They just go together.
The picot cast on and bind off are quite time consuming, but so worth it!

You can find an instructional video for the picot cast on here and a video for the bind off here.


I love how the picot bind off around the neckline kind of sticks out and looks like little red cherries framing the face.


I also think that this dress is quite versatile and could still be worn even in the cooler months. Well... in California anyways :)


The color would definitely lend itself to a fall/winter wardrobe and the dress could be worn over a long sleeved top and tights for added warmth.






Here is some pattern information for those of you who are interested in knitting it:


SIZE
3 months [6mos, 9mos, 12mos, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] (shown in size 2)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 17 [18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25] inches (0 inches of positive ease)
Length: approx 14 [16.5, 18, 21.5, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27] inches after blocking

GAUGE
24 sts/30 rows = 4" in Stockinette stitch on size 6 needle

MATERIALS
Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Organic Cotton [100% Organically Grown Cotton; 150 yd/137m per 65g skein; color: #309 Cherry; 3 [ 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5] skeins or approx 440 [470, 500, 520, 540, 570, 600, 620, 650] yds of dk weight cotton or cotton blend yarn.
(Separate one skein of yarn into 2 balls)

1# 16” US #6/4mm circular needle for smaller sizes
1# 24” US #6/4mm circular needle
1# 32” US #6/4mm circular needle for larger sizes
1# spare set of US #6/4mm straight needles for 3 needle bind off
1# 16” US #5/3.75mm circular needle for neck edging
(You may need to use US #5/3.75mm double pointed needles for smaller sizes).
Stitch holders
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers


The yarn that I chose for this design was Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton. I fell in love with the worsted weight version when I knit up my Something Red Sweater so I was so excited to try the skinnier DK version. Unfortunately I found that the DK weight isn't like the worsted

at all.


This yarn is constructed with several tiny plies spun together. And with any cotton yarn that is constructed in this manner, splitting is inevitable. So I found it a bit finicky to knit with, especially the detailed picot edging. Several times I had to correct split stitches. (That's why I enjoyed working with the worsted weight so much! It was just a lofty soft 2 ply. So easy to work with!) Yarn constructed this way though does have its advantages, the stitch definition is better and crisper, showing off the lace pattern beautifully!


Also... I fell in love with how this rich saturated red color barely bled in the washing process! And once knitted, the fabric draped so beautifully and it softened up so nicely once washed and blocked. And its organic cotton! Which is always nice to have against a little ones skin.



Like all of the NeverNotKnitting patterns, the construction is simple. This dress is worked from the bottom up in one piece. The finishing work is very minimal.


I hope that you enjoy knitting it and that your little one enjoys wearing it as much as mine does.


If you own a yarn shop and are interested in carrying this or any other of my designs in your store, please contact me for wholesale pricing information: nevernotknitting@gmail.com.




6.18.2009

A Very Cherry Preview



The Very Cherry dress is all done!



Tomorrow I'm going to work on the photography. Let's hope my little one is feeling cooperative.

After that I'll just be waiting on the Tech Editor. So I hope to have the pattern available on the blog soon!



I'm very happy with it. It fits my daughter perfectly which is something that I always worry about.

I am loving the lace and picot edging. It definitely makes the dress.
There is a fair bit of stockinette in this knit, but it is broken up by decrease rounds so it isn't completely mind numbing.

Plus a little stockinette never hurt anyone. It's great for TV knitting!

6.14.2009

Haltermelon

I loved my Watermelon cardigan design so much that I had to create a summer version.

Introducing Haltermelon!



The halter is created in the same styling as the sweater, same yarn, same detailing. I wanted to keep the two patterns similar so that they could be worn together.



This pattern, just like the cardigan is knit up in one piece with no seams.



I'm very excited to share with you that this is my very first published pattern.

You will find it in the premiere issue of Petite Purls online knitting magazine.
I'm very excited about this magazine not just because they accepted my pattern but because its a magazine devoted to just children's designs! Which I love to knit! The patterns in the first issue are so cute! I desperately want to cast on for a Jacques Crusteau for my daughter straight away!

I hope you enjoy the issue!


6.06.2009

Cherries

Cherries have nothing to do with a knitting blog....


...But everything to do with my next children's design.

Introducing "Very Cherry", a beautiful cherry-red summer dress. Pattern coming soon!



Here is a picture of the delicate lacy edging.

More progress pictures to come! :)


6.02.2009

NeverNotKnitting Podcast : Episode 20 : The Black Vest Quest








Shownotes:

Dancing Ewe Yarns

Knit and Crochet Show

Myra Wood

Crochet Provisional Cast On and Bind Off

Melissa Leapman

Janet Szabo

Twists and Turns

Knit Purl

Koigu

Chevron Scarf

Abundant Yarns

Larissa Brown

Knitalong

Twisted

Sublime Angora Merino

Rose Red Beret

Dublin Bay

Yarn Garden

My Something Red Sweater

The Chicken Family

Spring Chick Pattern

Featherweight Cardigan
Martha on Ravelry
Martha's Blog

The Black Vest

Please join the NeverNotKnitting Ravelry Group!

Follow me here on Twitter!

The winner of the signed copy of "Ethnic Knitting Exploration" is Victoria! Congratulations!!!!

Announcement: Dancing Ewe Yarns has extended the special discount offer for the Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton for the month of June as well. This is the yarn I used for my Chicken Family as well as the Something Red sweater! I love this yarn!

You will recieve 20% on the entire selection of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton
and free shipping for all orders that include this yarn.

This offer is exclusive to the NeverNotKnitting podcast listeners and blog readers for the month of June.

In order to receive your discount, click on the Dancing Ewe link and in the checkout process enter in the special code " NNK1 "

Click HERE to download the MP3