Tag snowflake

New Pattern Release: Flurry Sweater

remilyknits 2 Comments

Introducing my latest pattern: the Flurry Sweater! This two-color pullover features a band of colorwork snowflakes at the waist and elbow, waist-shaping, flared sleeves and hem, and i-cord finish on all edges.

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Pattern: Flurry Sweater

Designer: Rachel Henry (that’s me!)

Available: for $3.99 through Knit Picks IDP

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed

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Inspiration: I have this old sweater, a favorite that I’ve had a long time.  It’s pilled and felted from incautious laundering, but I still love to wear it. I picked the things I liked best about it (grey on top, blue on the bottom, colorwork band) and improved it a bit too (more fitted waist, set-in sleeves).

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Design/Skills Needed: The body is knit in-the-round until the armholes, after which the front and back are worked flat, separately. The sleeves are also knit in the round until the sleeve cap, which is worked flat. Knitters may select their preferred in-the-round method (DPNs, one circ, magic loop, two circs, etc.) throughout.

For the colorwork section, I recommend going down one needle size, as many knitters find their colorwork to be looser than their stockinette. However, it’s possible that you may need to stay with the same needle, or even go up a size, to maintain consistent gauge between the stockinette and colorwork portions. Please work a gauge swatch in both stockinette and the colorwork pattern to determine the best needle size for you, for each section.

When working stranded colorwork, take care to keep the floats loose behind the work. When gaps larger than 5 sts must be bridged, catch the float halfway through the gap to keep things tidy. The colorwork sections are charted.

Yarn: Almost any worsted-weight yarn will work with this pattern. I recommend the darkest color for the bottom, a medium value for the top, and the lightest for the snowflakes.

I would be delighted to answer any questions or help any knitters working on this project.

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Cast-on Monday: Tappan Zee, Itty Bitty Blocker Sock, and Flurry Prototype

remilyknits 1 Comment

This week, I was waiting impatiently for two boxes from Knit Picks.  I stalked my birthday-gift-card box online, and frowned mightily when it sojourned far too long at the nearby sorting center. To force the box to come, I swatched for a Tappan Zee in this gorgeous yarn …

2384 Decadent Fibers Pulled Taffy in Red Hot Pepper

I bought the yarn at half off at the Loon Mountain Knit-In.  I only have two skeins — about 980 yards.  The label claims “DK” — but I have to say it looks and swatches a lot like worsted.  Of course the swatching caused both my boxes to arrive the very next day.  Mission accomplished!

The first box was my birthday order (gift card from my mom):

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Mostly I got enough Gloss DK to make a Parseval. The orange/black combo is for a Halloween Cowl: Hocus Pocus. The Stroll Glimmer (shiny!) is for a Damask shawl.  I also got a snappy little tape measure, and a sock-blocker key chain.  Did I cast on with any of this yarn?  No. I must focus on the other box.  I did, however, cast on (and finish) an itty bitty sock-blocker sock with leftover BMFA STR Lightweight in “Electric Kool-aid Acid Test.”

The other box from KP is for my “Flurry Pullover” prototype.  KP accepted my proposal, and this is my delightful WotA Tweed!  I have swatched, waited impatiently for the swatch to dry (rainy weekend here), cast on, and knit the bottom 3-4 inches of the sweater. This sweater must be my knitting focus for the next few weeks.  My goal is to knit through one ball of yarn per day — that should get this sweater done lickety split.  Then “all” I have left is testing.

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I swatched for the proposal using Swish DK in similar colors — not the right size, but enough to show the idea:

2707 flurry swatch

Ravelry Monday: Hats, Hats, Hats

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Happy Monday! Time to look back at the previous week’s recently added knitting patterns on Ravelry and pick a few favorites.

First Pick: Quinny, by Julie Hahn (FREE! at Gourmet Knits)

Ravelry has been all a-buzz since the episode of Glee where Quinn wears this cute knit hat:

A couple versions of the hat have been released on Rav, but this is the one I like the best. The designer captured the look and shape of the original, including a bang-up job on the yarn button. I predict cute little pixie hats covering the nation’s heads (well, at least the Gleek heads), especially since this pattern uses bulky yarn and should knit up exceptionally fast.

Second Pick: Toasty Bean, by Chelsea Berkompas ($4.99)

I love knitting patterns that work with colorful yarn, mostly because a love colorful yarn and always want more.  This hat has a nice shape and lots of cool details — tassles, buttons, braids, etc.  It also has a very, very cute baby model :).

Third Pick: Inga Snoflinga Hat, by Johanne Landin ($5.00)

What a purty colorwork hat — cleverly placed snowflakes of different sizes and designs on a muted variegated background, yum! It looks like the pattern isn’t available quite yet, but it is a new listing, so with luck it will be up soon.