When being a knitting designer has nothing to do with knitting
Sometimes I wish that designing knitting patterns took more knitting and less, well, everything else.
You see that chart up there? I'm irrationally proud of it because I've spent the last three days working on it. Making this chart involved teaching myself a new software program (Inkscape, which if you're not familiar, is a freeware version of vector programs like Illustrator) and then staring at my monitor while copying each little square, referring back to my hand-drawn chart and the actual knitted mitten the whole time.
Because I know that most people will be printing out the charts in my patterns so that they can carry them around (who wants to knit while staring at a computer monitor? Not many people), I particularly care about how the chart looks printed out, which addes even more steps to the process. This printout you see above is the 4th so far, and I'm not done yet.
But I am at the point where I get to follow my instructions to knit the second mitt. And that's freakin' exciting, because it means I'm going to knit for the next few hours instead of dragging squares across the screen!
I'm just about to cast on for the mate to this mitten:
Which you might notice isn't the one I started out with, the pink one I've shown here and on Ravelry before . . . well I managed to lose the pink ball of yarn somewhere in this messy apartment, so I had to knit another set! The pattern photos will show both the pink single mitt and the pair of green mittens.
That, and individual charts for each size. I'm writing the pattern in three sizes, and decided to do separate charts for each size due to the way the thumbs are shaped (and also because I hate reading charts that say "start here for size small" or whatever, it's so confusing!). What's great about doing separate charts is that the knitter can just print out the one she needs and not waste ink printing stuff she isn't going to use! I'm pretty psyched about that.
But honestly, right now, I'm really hoping that the second and third charts will take way less time than the first one is taking . . .
Freemans Alley Mitts: Now in kit form!
Thank you all for the warm welcome and positive feedback on my new pattern, the Freemans Alley Mitts!
I've been wearing mine constantly (it's been crazy cold here in NYC, it was 16 degrees out on Monday! Brrrr!!!) and am really enjoying them. I find myself pulling them on indoors to wear while knitting and typing, and they're working out perfectly for that in my drafty old apartment.
Today I'm happy to announce that I've put together kits for the three-color version of the mitts, and they're now available for purchase!
Each kit has 3 mini-balls of Koigu, enough to make the mitts in size Small or Medium (and the Large if you make them a few rows shorter). Kits are only $16 each, instead of the $42 you'd spend if you bought three full skeins of each color of Koigu.
Here's a preview of some of the colors I have up today:
 Raspberry |
 Orange2Green |
 True Blue |
 Grey & Teal |
 Vintage |
 Army |
Hope you like them, I had a blast putting them together. I will literally never get tired of working with multiple colors of Koigu! Speaking of which, I'll be making more colorways as these sell out, so if there's a color combo you'd like to see, please let me know.
New pattern: Freemans Alley Mitts
I'm super excited to release my first pattern of 2012, the Freemans Alley Mitts!
I'm sure it's no surprise that this pattern uses my favorite Koigu KPPPM yarn and that I worked in a way to use not one but three of their awesome colors. The mitts you see above shade from a mostly-purple color, through a mostly-reddish-fuchsia, to a mostly-orange color. So pretty!
My friend Seth took these awesome photos for me, which explains how I ended up with shots like this:
Which shows the ribbing on the "inside" of the mitts nicely . . .
and this:
Where the light just makes me gasp!
The knitting on these couldn't be much simpler: just knits and purls, with a few decreases for some shaping. The "front" of the mitts is all stockinette so that the yarn colors do all the talking, and the "back" of the mitts has allover ribbing to ensure a good fit:
The pattern includes instructions to knit these either flat with a seam or in the round on DPNs, so you can work them in whichever method you prefer.
Or maybe you want to knit them in just one color? That works beautifully too!
And guess what? You only need one skein of Koigu to finish the mitts! Score.
The pattern is available as an immediate PDF download for $4.00. Or if you prefer, buy it through Ravelry. And if you bought the Chiagu Collection 2012, you've already received a copy in your inbox!
I hope you enjoy this design! If you aren't quite ready to buy it yet but you did like it, can you do me a quick favor and click "add to faves" on it on Ravelry? Thanks in advance, I appreciate the love! ;o)
I've been busy . . .
And totally neglecting the blog!
Rest assured that cool things are coming soon. Here's an idea of what I'm talking about:
Yes that's right, new colors of Loreley Kits will be hitting the site soon (and if you're in NYC, Knitty City has at least 12 kits in stock as of yesterday!). I've got something new planned for them . . . stay tuned!
And that's not all I'm announcing next week . . . I'll also have a new pattern for you! It may or may not be the Freemans Alley Mitts:
Which may or may not by done in Koigu. Oh, who am I kidding, they're obviously done in Koigu!
I know, I know, I'm such a tease. But in a fun way, right? Right?!?
Happy New Year to everyone, I'll see you on the other side!
Koigu Magazine 2 and my new pattern!
I've got a new knitting pattern to show you and I couldn't be more excited!
Koigu Magazine 2 just came out and I have a design in it! This issue is all about small projects and accessories so I thought it was the perfect issue to submit my iPad cover idea, and it got accepted!
So let me introduce you to iKnit, my iPad cover design done in Koigu KPPPM yarn:
For this design I wanted a textured stitch pattern that was not only fun to knit, but that also played with the colors in KPPPM yarn and provided a cushy fabric to protect everyone's favorite gadget. I settled on this lattice-type pattern that's done with wrapped cables and then I moved on to thinking about what functionality I wanted in an iPad sleeve. I decided that it needed to fit a few requirements:
- It had to be cushy and protect the iPad
- It had to fit very snugly around the iPad, so that it would take as little extra room in my bag as possible.
- It needed a closure, so that the cover would stay put.
- It needed a pocket, so that I could tuck my headphones and USB cord away securely and always have all 3 together.
In the end I came up with this design and I am very happy with it. I've been using my own ever since!
You can't really tell from the way they shot it, but the opening of the cover is closed with a zipper, and I also fully lined the inside with cotton fabric. Picking out the coordinating zipper and fabric was tons of fun . . . so much so that I decided to put together kits for all of you!
Brand new to my shop today are iKnit kits, which include 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM, 1 12" zipper, and 1 fat quarter, all in coordinating colors. Hope you like them!
Oh and one more thing about this pattern: the instructions included in the magazine were incomplete. I've created an errata page for it with the rest of the instructions for the iKnit pattern. Our apologies for the confusion!
