Neon Neutral Triangle Club

@knityorkcity the funny thing is i have an idea in my sketchbook that fits all three. no such thing as oversaturation!

— Emma Welford (@welforddesigns) May 23, 2014

The tweet that started it all. Over a year and many yards of neon yarn later, Sarah, Teresa and I are pleased to present Neon Neutral Triangle Club to you all!

Our awesome logo created by Kirsten Hipsky!

The theme is pretty straightforward: neons, neutrals and triangles. We each designed one accessory and one garment based on our interpretation of the theme, and enlisted some killer yarn companies to support them. Because let's face it: when you are doing a collection about neon, you need some NEON.

My accessory design is Triangle Inception and it features some fancy-pantsy yarn from Rain City Knits.

Photos by Lindsey Topham

I wanted to showcase a bright variegated colorway since I feel like those types of yarns are often neglected. They're definitely harder to design for and knit with, but they're beautiful too! I met Krista at TNNA in 2014 so she was fresh on my mind when I was thinking of neon yarn options. I love supporting indie dyers!

You can tell these photos were taken awhile ago because my hair is totally different now!

It's a really simple triangle shawl with a garter stitch body and knit-and-purl triangle border. The white spokes are formed by slip-stitch surface crochet after the shawl is complete, and it's easy to get the hang of even if you aren't a crocheter! Plus the RainCityKnits Super Sock MCN base is lush and very pettable.

Acute-ly Preppy is my garment design and ohmygod I'm SO HAPPY that we managed to get a jumping shot during this photoshoot!

I've worked with the folks at Fairmount Fibers before (the US distributors of Manos del Uruguay yarns) and they are just fabulous, so I was really happy when they agreed to support this venture. Maxima is a great squishy single-ply merino that has punchy neon colors, making it a no-brainer choice.

I will warn you--this is a labor of love, product knitter type sweater. It's knit flat in pieces and seamed, which a lot of people already dislike, but that means the front panel has both right side AND wrong side colorwork going on. I personally didn't find it bad at all, though since I designed it I'm clearly crazy and my opinion can't be trusted. Essentially, the front panel is stranded so you're carrying your colors across both RS and WS rows, but it's set within a larger piece intarsia-style. You knit across the front to the beginning of the panel, twist the yarns around each other when working intarsia, strand both accent colors across the panel, and then twist around a separate ball of the MC to finish working the other side of the front.

Since the front is so complicated, there's no shaping and everything else is straightforward. The back neck is shaped the same as the front for a cute V-neck back. So if you wear a bright tank underneath, you'll have a little neon surprise back there!

I also want to thank two special people that contributed. First is my friend Elisabeth who graciously lent me some of her handmade triangle-themed jewelry (see above) for the photoshoot as the perfect accent. You can see her work at metal & rocks. The other person is Kirsten Hipsky, who created our ebook layout for us and did a fantastic design job. If you buy a copy you'll see what I mean!

Neon Neutral Triangle Club is available on Ravelry as a full 6-pattern ebook for $24, or you can purchase the patterns individually.

Spinzilla 2015

My spinning adventures continue! (AKA 2015: The Year of the Wheel.) While I didn't go crazy as some participants in Spinzilla did, I'm happy with my results. I spun more than I thought I was going to be able to and I wound up with two gorgeous, completely usable hanks of yarn. The goal of Spinzilla might be to spin as many yards as possible, but I wasn't about to spin ugly yarn and waste fiber just to get some extra points.

On the left is Frabjous Fibers: one ply is their BFL (4 oz), the other is BFL Sparkle (4 oz), both in the Purple People Eater colorway. I spun the plain BFL pre-Spinzilla, the BFL Sparkle during Spinzilla, and plied them together after Spinzilla ended. So I only got credit for the sparkle single, but it was a great tactic to finish up a yarn in-progress! I have about 300 yards of this and am hoping to design something with it.

On the right is Blue Sky Alpacas 'Handspin' fiber, which is 4 oz of 50% Alpaca/50% Wool. This was soooo smooth to spin and I really enjoyed it! I spun and plied this during Spinzilla week, it's about 250 yards.

Soon I'm going to have to start knitting from my slowly-growing handspun stash--my yarn storage capacities are kind of maxed as it is, and now I'm adding to it every time I spin something! I'm actually a little nervous to knit with my handspun, which sounds stupid to admit. I'm worried I'll mess up the yarn or that I'll have done something wrong in the process and it will look terrible once I try to knit with it. Did anyone else have those fears when they first started spinning?

Cirriform Cardigan Notes

I'm sure that you caught the Deep Fall issue of Knitty and with it, my Cirriform Cardigan. I wanted to share some tips for those of you planning on knitting it. Let's begin!

Photos by Lindsey Topham

Front Lengths

User sheilatoy on Ravelry knit up a modified version and noted that the pattern schematic shows the fronts as being asymmetrical when they are actually the same length. I wanted the schematic to show the front lengths as they look when being worn to help illustrate how one side hangs lower due to the bias of the fabric. But she is totally correct--each lace front has the same number of rows! For reference, I'm 5'3" and the longer front hits about knee length on me (see above photo.) The yarn you use will either enhance or change the effect of the hang, which brings me to my next point...

Yarn Substitutions

I've been flagged in several Ravelry discussions about yarn choices for this project. Berroco Kodiak is a pretty unique yarn but unfortunately it's discontinued! You can still find it on closeout at Webs, and one LYS owner wrote to me that she still had stock in her store. User foodieknitter on Ravelry pointed out that Kodiak is closer to an aran weight than a bulky, and seeing as I knit it up at 4sts/inch in this project, I'd tend to agree. Kodiak is a tube style yarn similar to Blue Sky Alpacas Techno. I know Techno is created by forming a silk tube and then blowing the alpaca into it, so I imagine Kodiak is formed similarly but I don't know for sure. It's super weightless, which is what really makes this design work. I hesitate to suggest traditionally spun alpaca or wool yarns for Cirriform for a few reasons. Most bulky 100% alpaca yarns I see are 2-ply and actually quite heavy with a tendency to sag and weigh themselves down over time. I worry that the extra fabric on the fronts of this cardigan, combined with the natural bias of the lace pattern would give you fronts that reach your ankles by the end of the day! (Ok, slight exaggeration.) A tightly worsted-spun merino, on the other hand, is so springy that I don't think it would add that lovely drape the Kodiak provides.

Aside from the yarn suggestions listed in the pattern, I think your best luck lies with a brushed alpaca or a lofty woolen-spun wool yarn if you must have wool. I'd suggest generous swatches, plus hanging your lace front swatches to dry (perhaps even with weights added) to ensure the best representation of how the final fabric will behave. However, if you plan to wear it closed with a shawl pin or belt, or if you want to add a button or two at the top neckline, you don’t have to worry as much about the drape because those will hold up the sweater fronts. Not to mention they are fun and very valid styling choices to switch it up!

Front Lace Patterns

Both the very talented tech editor at Knitty, Kate Atherley, and knitter Kerstin (who emailed me) pointed out that the left front lace pattern is not a true diagonal lace pattern like the right front. That's how I designed the pattern, since I found the left front lace pattern biased enough on its own to create a cheater diagonal effect. But you are totally welcome to adapt it to create a truly diagonal lace pattern! Kerstin adapted it to a 4-row repeat like the right front, as follows:

Row 1 (RS): K1, *yo, k2tog; rep from * to end.

Row 2 (WS): Purl.

Row 3: K2 *yo, k2tog; rep from * until 1 st remains, k1.

Row 4: Purl.

Sizing

The sizing on this pattern is a little unusual because it's designed to be worn with a lot of ease. The official finished bust measurements of the finished garment are 35.75 [40, 44.5, 48.75, 53.25, 58.75, 63.05] inches. However, as you can see in the above photo, the fronts overlap each other quite significantly when held closed because the cardigan is intended to be worn open with excessively large, drape-y swaths of fabric acting as the fronts. My full bust measurement is 33" and I'm wearing the 40" size in photos--that's 7" of positive ease!

As you can see, the cardigan fits across my upper back and shoulders which is really the key here for this style. The back width after all raglan increases are finished (aka in line with your bust) are as follows:

16.75 (18.75, 20.75, 22.75, 24.75, 26.75, 28.75) inches

Based off that, my personal recommendation is that as the wearer, your personal full bust measurement should be about 30 (34, 38, 42, 46, 52, 56)" in order to have the intended amount of positive ease. If you prefer a slightly more fitted look, match yourself up with a size based on your back measurement and go down rather than up if you are between measurements. The fronts will still be drape-y and excessive even if you go down a size!

(One final shot for atmosphere because I'm obsessed with this gloriously vine-y wall!)

Got any further questions on the Cirriform Cardigan, or want to show off your own modifications to the pattern? I'd love to hear from you!

Shock Star Slouch KAL

I'm kicking off fall with a fun and free KAL! This is the Shock Star Slouch, knit in Spun Right Round Squish DK in the Shock Star colorway. Want to play along? All you have to do is follow me on Instagram (@emmawelford).

I'll be releasing the pattern in parts the week of October 12th on my Instagram. If you prefer a full PDF copy, don't worry--I'll have it on Ravelry for sale after the KAL has ended, but of course the original pattern posts will live on Instagram forever so you can always piece together the parts yourself for free.

All the textures going on in this hat make it perfect for confetti-style or any other hand-dyed yarn with short repeats. I know I have a few of those skeins in my stash...yarns that are too pretty to pass up but tend towards clown barf territory when knit up in regular stockinette. If you want to get your own skein of Shock Star (or another fabulous colorway of Squish DK), you're in luck. Renee is offering a coupon code good for 10% off your purchase from 9/25-10/9. Just use SHOCKSTARKAL10 at her Etsy shop! The hat has two size options and each size uses less than a full skein of the Squish DK.

Look at how much that highlighter yellow pops! And that color is straight-from-the-camera, folks, no crazy Photoshopping needed. This was my first self-shot pattern photoshoot with my Nikon D3200 and it turned out fantastic despite the erm, awkward positions I had to take:

Like Tim Gunn says, "Make it work!" I suppose I need a taller tripod though, unless I want every photo session to also double as a quad-burning workout!

Not on Instagram? You can still follow along online!

Great Northern

I've written before about the awesomeness of Kickstarter knitting-related campaigns. I'm a huge fan of DIY ethos and I love that we live in a world today where, thanks to technology, someone can crowdsource and print a book on their own without having to navigate a publishing house. In this post, that someone is actually two someones--Teresa Gregorio and Leah Coccari-Swift, who have teamed up to produce Great Northern.

Great Northern is inspired by Twin Peaks, a show I've actually never watched aside from the first half of the first episode, which leaves me woefully unprepared to write this. I did some digging though (yay, power of the Internet!) and discovered this show is mega. Like, references all over pop culture in multiple mediums including things that I'm into. See: Clueless, Hype!, Homestar Runner, Texas is the Reason. Looks like we have something in common after all. :)

What I do know is that both Teresa and Leah have cooked up a fantastically vintage-chic collection of knitwear and guess what--you don't need to 'get' it to love their designs! I'm saved, and so is my already-overflowing Netflix queue! (But in all seriousness, I'm thinking I hardcore need to watch this show STAT.) My Ravelry queue, however, is another story. I'm super digging these sweaters:

It's easy to get stuck in a design rut. Cardigan, check. Insert stitch pattern, check. We're capable of more than that though, and I love seeing my fellow designers reach for lofty goals and stretch their creativity. I'm always a fan of weird or unique sources of inspiration since that's what makes this industry so great. If you like Twin Peaks then I know you've already backed their Kickstarter. If you've been living under a rock like me, check it out and give it a chance! Let these ladies whisk you away on a tour of their imaginations and dress you in dazzling sweaters. I don't think you'll regret it.

Conquering Your Stash: Musings on Yarn, Organization & Letting Go

This article was originally published in Holla Knits Warm Weather Accessories 2015.

When I first got into knitting--really into knitting--I became obsessed with the idea of having a stash. Initially like most beginners, I bought yarn for one careful project at a time and knit monogamously on it until it was finished. Once I was introduced to this nebulous concept of stash, of having a yarn store within your house, of buying yarn willy-nilly with no empty needles waiting for it….that was my downfall.

Okay, so it’s not really that ominous! Having a stash is a fantastic tool to have at your disposal as a knitter, especially if you don’t have a LYS within easy distance or prefer to buy most of your yarn online. Stash is great for last-minute gift knits, swatching stitch patterns before committing to knitting a whole sweater in a p5tog pattern, and for queuing up your next project without having to shop for more yarn. As time went on though, I found my stash had become a proverbial ball and chain. My stash yarn guilt-tripped me from its storage bins and my tastes evolved, making a portion of it no longer appealing or useable. In becoming a designer, I now viewed my stash in new light; thus, the Great Stash Clean-Out was born.

The internet is buzzing about konmari, a cleaning and organizational technique developed by Marie Kondo. I’m not about to buy a book about cleaning (let’s be honest here!) but a quick Google search yielded the basic steps of the konmari method, the first of which involves dumping all of the items in question out on the floor so one can view the extent of the issue. Or maybe be shamed into cleaning their floors first, which is what I did. After a quick vacuuming, my 60-gallon storage tubs were unceremoniously upended and all scattered balls of yarn were rescued from their various nooks around the rest of the house. I looked at my stash in all its glory, organized it by color and weight for fun, took notes, and divided it into ‘yes’ and ‘heck no’ piles. The ‘heck no’ pile included partial balls I’ll never use--such as the leftovers from small knitting projects for ex-boyfriends, yikes!--and yarns in colors or fibers I’ve since discovered I’m not terribly fond of. (Cotton: I’m Just Not That Into You.)

A surprising trend that emerged was my apparent desire to buy yarn for the knitter I wish I was, not the knitter I actually am. I ooh-ed and ahh-ed over countless gorgeous fingering weight sweaters on Ravelry and in the process, somehow convinced myself that I was really, totally going to knit a bunch of fingering weight sweaters. I like knitting shawlettes and socks but don’t dedicate too much time to them, so the reasoning must have went something like this: “Oh, what gorgeous sock yarn! I don’t need new socks or a shawl though, so I know! I’ll buy 4 skeins instead and make a sweater!” (Repeat 4 more times, never actually knit said sweater.) This realization led me to make some guidelines for myself and my rejuvenated stash.

Above all else: be honest and don’t be afraid to let go. It’s only yarn and if it’s not bringing you joy, it’s not worth holding on to. As knitters we control our yarn, by knitting it into new shapes to create textures and beauty, and blocking finished objects into submission until they are just right. Don’t let your yarn control you!

Meet the Paglia Baby Blanket

Baby knits are out of my comfort zone. I don't have children myself and the majority of my friends don't have children either, so I'm not exposed to them often. What do they want to wear? Or maybe more important, what do their parents want to dress them in?! A baby blanket though...that I can handle. When my stepsister Beth announced her and her husband Dave's first child last fall, I cooked up plans to design and knit a special baby blanket just for them.

Photos by Lindsey Topham

The Paglia Baby Blanket might be designed for babies, but I think it still holds true to my design ethos. You start in the center and work outwards, knitting the blanket in the round. The rectangle is split into four wedges. Two are worked in simple garter stitch which adds extra texture and provides a break from the cable-intensive other two panels. The rhythm of the pattern is easily recognizable and it's a small blanket, perfect for a car seat or playtime, so you'll be done with it quickly!

Spud & Chloe Sweater is a machine-washable organic cotton and wool blend, perfect for the intended recipient's California climate. You can use Sweater, or substitute the worsted weight yarn of your choice. Got any upcoming babies in your life?

Over the Dark Rainbow

Notice anything different around here? I decided it was time for a digital makeover! Poke around and let me know what you think of this snazzy new site design.

The Fall issue of knit.purl magazine is now appearing in the wilds and with it, my Dark Rainbow Sweater!

Photos courtesy of Interweave

This was my first time working with knit.purl (though I've worked with editor Lisa Shroyer before) and I'm glad to finally check that one off my 'knitting bucket list.' Stylistically, I think it's SUCH a cool publication and I always love their presentation. I'm really digging the dark rocker chic vibe of these photos!

Dark Rainbow Sweater is super simple to knit but packs a ton of visual impact thanks to the Schoppel-Wolle Reggae Ombre. I had never seen this yarn before which is kind of a big deal. Webs doesn't carry everything of course, that's impossible, but we carry a lot more than a small LYS can so I'm familiar with a wide range of yarns. The Reggae is a very cool slightly-felted single, though I feel like that description doesn't give it justice. Maybe it's the type of wool used, but it feels very different from other felty singles I've seen before (all merino ones.) Whatever the reason, it sports a very cool texture that adds extra dimension plus there are lots of color combos to choose from--more on that in a different post!

It's knit flat in almost-identical pieces and seamed with minimal body shaping. I dig the long garter stitch cuffs on the sleeves but my favorite part is....DAT COLLAR. It's worked similarly to a turned hem and creates a wonderful mini-funnel neck, stand-up-on-its-own collar.

I can't wait to get this one back in the mail. It will fit seamlessly into my fall wardrobe! Black bodycon dress and goth boots, anyone?

Tour de Fleece Results

In the end, I spun ONE skein during last month's Tour de Fleece. Technically I only spun the singles during the tour and plied it afterwards. (So much for those goals, eh?) But...what a beauty it is!

• Company: Gynx Yarns
• Fiber: Falkland
• Colorway: Test Subject #1, a OOAK colorway
• Put Up: 4 oz, approx. 470 yards
• Spinning Method: Worsted, backwards short draw, 2-ply
• Wheel: Lendrum DT

This is my first real 'thin yarn' and my first 'useable' skein of handspun--as in, the yardage and size of the yarn is versatile and I see myself knitting this before any of my previous handspun. I'm so excited to dive into my fiber stash and pick out my next spinning project!

Playing with Color: Polonaise Cardigan

Welcome to another edition of Playing with Color! Today we'll take a look at the Polonaise Cardigan. Let's just start by saying TGFM--thank god for Malabrigo! Or actually, thank god for Malabrigo's well-designed website that often puts perfect color combinations right next to each other. I mean, check out the page for Silky Merino. Hnnnngggghhh!

Photo by Kate Broderick

You'll need to pick three colors for this baby: one main color, and two coordinating colors for the bow detail. The idea is to pick two similar shades for the bow, one light and one dark, to be the body of the bow and its shadows. This is another occasion where shopping in-person is SO helpful. Failing that, if you can somehow get your hands on a Malabrigo color card or if you know someone with an extensive Silky Merino stash who can provide input, you'll be much better served than going in blindly and guessing.

I used Spring Water for the MC and Tatami/Topaz for the bow, as I was going for a cloth-of-gold bow look and thought the Spring Water would provide nice contrast. Here are some other fun suggestions! The first color on the left is the body color and the other two would be the bow colors.

Cape Cod Grey, Camote & Coral for a fresh, modern take

Pollen, Raspberry & Jupiter for an unexpected hint of sweetness

Wisteria, Acorn & Redwood Bark for the sophisticate's closet

Do any of these color combinations inspire you?

Tour de Fleece

As a relatively new spinner with an ahem, already growing fiber stash, I decided to participate in Tour de Fleece this month as a chance to get more comfortable with my spinning skills and maybe work through some of that stash. I joined Team Webs and set myself three goals for the event.

1. Spin from stash only, no new fiber purchases allowed.
2. Spin at least one woolen-spun yarn.
3. Spin at least one 3-ply yarn.

Unfortunately, my eyes were bigger than my stomach! There's only 4 days left and I have yet to finish my first skein. I had only spun thicker singles previously, so I didn't realize how much longer it takes to spin nice, even fine singles. I'm trying not to get discouraged seeing everyone else's massive accomplishments because I am having fun spinning my gorgeous Falkland fiber from Gynx.

So pretty! This is an experimental colorway and I wasn't sure if I would like how it turned out but my fears were for nothing--it's spinning up beautifully and I can't wait to work with it. The plan is to make a 2-ply and hopefully I'll have enough yardage for a September Circle or similar cowl.

I'm halfway into my second bobbin at this point, so it's a race to see if I can finish the second bobbin and ply it by Sunday!

Playing with Color: Dreamer's Braided Pullover

I know I know, it's July and you don't even want to THINK about touching a long-sleeve wool pullover. I'm sorry. (Not really.) You might not be ready to start knitting but why not start playing with color options for your future Dreamer's Braided Pullover? Spend the summer months picking out colors and then begin knitting once fall hits! This design was originally published by Valley Yarns in their Sheffield, which is discontinued, so I was given the rights back to publish it myself and I reknit it in Cascade 220. As such, we already have two color combinations of this sweater floating around. I'm going to focus on options in Cascade 220 since it's such a versatile and affordable yarn. For the sample, I chose a palette of grey and aqua/teal leaning blues.

Photo by Lindsey Topham

One of my favorite things about 220 is the mix of solids and heathers in the color range. Just like mixing in a warm color with cooler ones adds dimension and visual interest, mixing solids and heathers can really spice up the look of your color palette.

You've got lots of options to tackle color for a sweater like this! In all the pairings shown, the center color is the main body color of the sweater. You can choose either accent color to be used for the corrugated ribbing in the hem and cuffs, though in my sample I used the darker color. Of course, you could always work plain ribbing in the MC and have the colorwork be contained only in the yoke of the sweater. (All photos below from Webs.)

Option 1: Neutral MC, two different pops for the CCs

From L to R: 2425 Provence, 8013 Walnut Heather, 9341 Garnet Heather

Option 2: Neutral MC, two tonal coordinates for the CCs (same approach as the sample sweater)

From L to R: 9641 Purple Tourmaline, 8010 Natural, 7807 Regal

Option 3: Non-neutral MC, two tonal neutrals for the CCs

From L to R: 8686 Brown, 2429 Irelande, 8012 Doeskin Heather

For the sake of covering all our bases and bringing these options back to full circle...

Option 4: Non-neutral MC, two different pops for the CCs--this one's for the adventurous!

From L to R: 7824 Burnt Orange, 9452 Summer Sky Heather, 8886 Italian Plum

Luckily, there are a ton of colorwork sweater patterns out there, so you can always browse other people's projects on Ravelry and get inspired by their choices! My favorite method is to head to my LYS and start playing with the skeins on the shelves. I always come up with new and unexpected combinations that way and it continually surprises me to see what works together.

Holla Knits Blog Tour Winner

Craftyone, you've been emailed to collect your pattern of choice from the Holla Knits Summer 2015 issue! Thanks for playing!

Holla Knits Summer 2015 Blog Tour

Hello Holla Knitters and welcome to today's stop on the Summer 2015 issue blog tour! My contribution is a tutorial article 'Deconstructing the Knot Stitch' where I guide you through decreasing in pattern while knitting the knot stitch, seen in Annapolis by Kristen Jancuk.

In the article, I break down the specifics of staying in pattern while working the Knot Stitch and include some helpful tips you can apply to future lace and texture patterns. I know I'm guilty of writing "decrease while continuing to stay in pattern when possible" (ahem, Holla Back Tank!) so it's a great skill to be able to master.

If my exclusive article doesn't sell you on purchasing the issue, what about the designs? As usual, our fearless editor Allyson has selected a group of fresh and innovative pieces that take warm weather knitting to a whole new level. My two favorites are Beach House by Teresa Gregorio and Backbone by Kirsten Singer.

I'm dreaming of a Beach House in HiKoo Rylie, a super gorgeous alpaca/silk/linen blend that I pet almost everytime I'm at work. I love the bright citrusy colors and this would be perfect in a pop of coral.

beach house

The two color option of Backbone is GENIUS. I would use two coordinating colors of Manos del Uruguay Serena for an ombre effect. The only problem is choosing which color to be the main color!

backbone

Which design from the Summer 2015 issue is your favorite? Comment before end of day (EST) Friday, July 3 and I'll pick one winner on July 4 to receive a copy of the pattern of their choice!

Check out the rest of the Holla Knits blog tour for styling tips, behind the scenes info on the designers and more giveaways!

June 15: Holla Knits Summer 2015 Launch June 16:The Sweatshop of Love – pattern giveaway June 17:Klever Knits – pattern giveaway June 18: Canary Knits – Travel knitting & mag giveaway

June 22:MediaPeruana – pattern giveaway June 24:YarnGasm – Knitting with Voolenvine Podcast – magazine giveaway June 25:Cosmos and Cashmere – pattern giveaway June 26:Midwest Yarn – pattern giveaway

June 29:Emma Welford – pattern giveaway July 2:Canary Knits – Beach House styling & giveaway

On the Topic of Stash

Remember my big 'stash stats' post, when I cleared out my stash and sorted it all? Of course I wasn't entirely motivated by the need to clean--I was doing research for my article in the Holla Knits Warm Weather Accessories issue!

Remember this?

I feel like my relationship with Holla Knits has truly come full circle. I contributed my Holla Back Tank to the first issue ever, Spring/Summer 2012, and here I am with an article in the first issue of the new Holla Knits now featuring articles! I love seeing what Allyson has built and I'm so happy to be involved, no matter what form it takes. In this case, it's my article titled Conquering Your Stash: Musings on Yarn, Organization and Letting Go. The article is exclusive to the magazine, so here's a short excerpt from it to wet your whistle.

Having a stash is a fantastic tool to have at your disposal as a knitter, especially if you don’t have a LYS within easy distance or prefer to buy most of your yarn online. Stash is great for last-minute gift knits, swatching stitch patterns before committing to knitting a whole sweater in a p5tog pattern, and for queuing up your next project without having to shop for more yarn. As time went on though, I found my stash had become a proverbial ball and chain. My stash yarn guilt-tripped me from its storage bins and my tastes evolved, making a portion of it no longer appealing or useable. In becoming a designer, I now viewed my stash in new light; thus, the Great Stash Clean-Out was born.

The piece is personally introspective but offers some of my advice on how to manage your stash (and in a way, the emotions tied to it!) I'm really happy with it because I feel like it perfectly encapsulates my writing voice to an extent that I don't think I've achieved with any of my previous articles. I love all my written children equally of course though!

Check out the issue to read my article, see the lovely accessory designs and take the fun Knitting Spirit Animal quiz. Here's to the new incarnation of Holla Knits!

Let Them Knit Cake

At the end of April I released Let Them Knit Cake, a Marie Antoinette inspired pattern collection as part of the Malabrigo Freelance Pattern Project!

cover

From the introduction of the ebook:

"Let Them Knit Cake is a pattern collection exploring the intersection of history and fashion viewed through my personal lens as a knitwear designer, a source of inspiration I’ve begun to explore recently. Here I turn my focus to Marie Antoinette, the iconic French queen who is remembered by the public at large for her beauty, glamorous style and perceived superficiality. I’ve interpreted rococo fashion for the modern knitter by examining portraits of Marie in addition to reading accounts of her sartorial choices.

The phrase “let them eat cake” has been falsely attributed to Marie; while an agreed upon fallacy in the academic community, pop culture holds tight to the wrongful association regardless. So as a historian-cum-knitting designer, why not use it as the basis for this collection’s title? I wanted to play upon our familiarity of the phrase and make a reference to the usage of the terms ‘cake’ and ‘frosting’ in the sewing community. ‘Cake’ refers to basic foundation garments in one’s wardrobe (plain tanks, versatile jeans), and ‘frosting’ means fun, maybe frivolous clothing (party dresses, maribou trimmed nighties). The four pieces shown in this collection appear to be frosting on the surface—due in no small part to the saturated and exhilarating colors of Malabrigo Yarn—but I hope that they will take the place of cake in your handknit wardrobe, as essential pieces you wear day after day."

Let's take a closer look at each piece, shall we?

DSC01018

The Polonaise Cardigan, shown in Malabrigo Silky Merino in size 36", is knitted bottom up in one piece starting with a wee lace hem. No shaping in the body, but a small pleat on the upper back (in addition to armhole shaping) helps narrow the silhouette through the bust. I worked the bow with a combination of intarsia and stranded knitting, but you could easily work the whole bow in one color with intarsia, and use duplicate stitch to add the 'shadow' accents instead of stranding that color. After the body is complete, stitches are picked up around the armholes to work short row sleeve caps, and the neckline is finished with an I-cord edging.

DSC00924

The Coronation Tank, shown in Malabrigo Arroyo in size 34", is also worked from the bottom up in one piece. Large cables gradually shift from the center of the tank to the outer edges following princess seam lines as the stockinette center of the front expands. Waist shaping takes place on the back of the tank creating subtle corset lines, and a smaller cable detail decorates the chest. I love the versatility of tanks that can be layered as vests in the fall and winter, which is why I showed it here over a blouse.

DSC01067

The Fargeon Mitts, shown in Malabrigo Silky Merino in size S, are quick mitts that you can easily make using the leftovers from your Polonaise Cardigan. Knit from the bottom edge up, they feature a ruffled edging that transitions into a wide ribbed pattern and a thumb gusset.

DSC01097

The Dauphine's Stockings, shown in Malabrigo Sock in size M, are knit toe-up with a short row heel. The lace pattern on the tops of the feet continues up the shin and repeats on the back of the leg, but grows to accommodate leaf motifs for the calf shaping.

Since the goal of the collection was to do 'modern Marie Antoinette' and not 'recreation-level authentic costumes' I made sure to style them with modern clothing, though with a few nods to the original inspiration. Those shoes, for example--exactly what I had in mind and I nabbed them at the Salvation Army! What do you think? Would you be able to work these pieces into your current style?

You can find the patterns on Ravelry by following the links throughout this post. The Polonaise Cardigan and Coronation Tank are available for $7 each, the Fargeon Mitts and The Dauphine's Stockings for $5 each, and the ebook is available for $18.

Momo's Amazing Modifications

Momo is a fantastic knitter with a droolworthy project page on Ravelry. She tackles difficult colorwork projects quickly with ease, has great color sense and almost always uses fabulous hand-dyed yarn. I was beyond thrilled to see how she creatively translated the charts from Elektrocute into a full pullover!

All photos by Momo

In addition to expanding the charts to fit the length of the sweater, Momo made the background a gradient progression of grays which I think would look great in the cowl too! According to her project page notes, the pullover is top-down, uses the contiguous sleeve method and the zipper facing is steeked.

Super creative--thank you for letting me share this, Momo!

If you love a colorwork chart but don't like the item it's intended for, why not modify? A cowl chart can be turned into a full sweater, a mitten motif can become the motif of a circular yoke cardigan, or a full sweater chart can be scaled down to a hat if you are dipping your toes into stranded knitting and want to test out a smaller project first. Knitting is full of limitless possibilities if you are open to making modifications and coming up with creative solutions to get the projects you want. Go forth and modify!

Welcome Spring (and Galicia!)

Back in January Manos del Uruguay released their spring line of patterns. I contributed Galicia, a lightweight pullover, but it just felt wrong to taunt you with warm-weather goodness while still embroiled in the depths of winter! Well, the snow is (mostly) melted 'round these parts and I feel like it's finally time to turn our knitting attentions to greener pastures.

Dressmaker's photos by Fairmount Fibers Ltd

Galicia is knit in Serena, a really nice alpaca and cotton blend which is smooth, drapey, and just perfect for lighterweight garments. I decided to try out a new construction method that I've knit before on personal garments but not designed in until now. You start by working the upper back flat from the neck down to the armholes, then those stitches are set aside and the front shoulders are picked up from your cast on edge so you can work the chest from the neckline down to the armholes. From there, the halves are joined and the body is worked downwards in the round. Stitches for the sleeves are picked up to work a short row sleeve cap before continuing knitting them downwards in the round. In a nutshell: seamless, knit flat AND in the round, and lots of fun!

Just like the Holla Back Tank (how I've come full circle!), the back steals the show here with a lace panel and garter stitch upper back section. The front has a slight A-line shape thanks to evenly placed increases, to keep the fit breezy and relaxing. Here you can see a close-up shot of the front in the official pattern photos, and a casual one of me that shows how it looks on a person.

I think it would look great in Natural paired with denim or patterned shorts, or maybe Green Tea--one of my favorite Serena shades! A short sleeved or sleeveless version would also be killer for the intrepid modders among us. Any which way they turn out, I can't wait to see more versions popping up.

Stash Stats

One of the fun things about being part of the knitting community on Instagram are the Instagram equivalents of 'chain letters', so to speak, where one person tags others to share a particular type of photo or factoid about themselves. Yesterday I was tagged by fellow designer Andrea Rangel to share what color dominates my stash and I admit, I wasn't sure going off of just memory! I decided to cure my curiosity and take some time to reorganize my stash, which has been on my to-do list for awhile. I started with the konmari method of emptying all of the possessions in question (yarn) out on the floor so you can see them in their glory--and maybe so you can be shamed by how much you actually have? Whatever works! Then I got inspired and arranged my stash by color:

ALL THE PRETTIES! This photo (and the corresponding data in the rest of the post) includes my unused stash and any mostly-full balls I intend to keep. There is a whole pile not shown of yarn I am destashing and leftover bits I am tossing out. Remember: I am coming up on 5 years of being an employee at the largest yarn store in America, so not only do I have access to a lot of yarn I also have a sweet employee discount. Sowwy! I would estimate that I paid full retail price for less than 10% of this, what with that awesome discount plus there is some free yarn support for upcoming designs in there. (Design yarn gets stored in a separate bag but joined the rest for this photo!)

I'm not really a stats person but I decided to play around with some numbers after seeing my stash laid out like this. Here are two ways to process that picture: stash by color and stash by weight! For both I counted individual skeins, not by potential project.

Green is my favorite color so no surprise that it takes the top spot with 21%! Grey is next with 14%, followed funnily enough by natural and pink at 12%--both colors which I like but don't particularly feel are favorites of mine. If you asked me what my favorite colors are, after saying 'almost everything' I would settle on green, yellow and orange. Yellow is in the middle of the pack at 9% and shockingly....no orange yarn! Though I do already have an orange sweater, I guess it filled my orange yarn urges well enough that I didn't buy anymore. (And I have an orange purse.) I'm not surprised at blues, purples and reds making up the bottom of the pack since I don't feel a strong attachment to any of those colors. Seeing as there is no clear majority (I don't even have a color with 30% or more hogging my stash) it's obvious from this photo that I am rainbow-friendly. I feel this is an accurate representation of my openness to colors in my yarn stash and by extension, in my personal wardrobe!

Sorting my stash by weight surprised me more than the colors did. While I'm not surprised that worsted holds the majority share at 34%, I'm surprised to see fingering come in at second place with 27%. I am not a huge shawl or sock knitter, though I do like knitting and designing both. When examining the fingering weight pile more closely, however, a trend emerges--I stash sweater quantities of fingering weight faster than I design/knit fingering weight sweaters. Oops. Guess I gotta get on that for 2015! I feel like I knit with DK weight a lot but quite possibly I wound up using all the yarn for those projects, or they were for outside publications in which case I don't get to keep any leftovers. I have two sweater quantities of bulky weight which drives that up to 13%, and since I rarely use laceweight I'm not at all shocked that comes in last place with a measly 5%.

What does all this mean? Well, odds are that if you reach into my stash at random you are most likely to pull out green, fingering weight or worsted weight yarn! Aside from that....I have too much yarn! Keep an eye on my Ravelry destash page this week if you want a chance to get a piece of this pie.

Playing with Color: Stripe Quartet

Let's dive into another color-driven design, shall we? Stripe Quartet is a great simple, stripey cardigan using Baah Aspen. Mira (of Baah) and I picked out the colors together at TNNA last May and it was wonderful that we had similar thoughts. I'm super pumped she let me throw that orange in there because I love orange! There are two ways to approach a project like this, in my opinion. First is to use two neutrals and two color pops, which is what I did with my sample using two greys, hot pink and orange. There aren't many neutrals currently in the Aspen color line, so let's pick out a few different color pops that could be subbed in using the same greys as I did, Shadow and Grey Onyx.

Clockwise: Shadow, Coral Reef, Grey Onyx, Sirena

I'm really digging that Coral Reef color! But how does it look with other 'pop' colors?

Clockwise: Shadow, Coral Reef, Grey Onyx, Peche

Clockwise: Shadow, Coral Reef, Grey Onyx, Fuchsia

Sirena and Fuchsia are the more startling/weird color combinations with the Coral Reef but come on, I like weird! If you're going to do a four-color striped sweater I say have fun with it and go outside your comfort zone. :) Peche and Coral Reef is a tonal, more muted version of the original sample. Each of these combinations has a mix of warm and cool colors, which I think is important to consider when knitting multi-color designs. (Shadow, Grey Onyx and Sirena: Cool; Coral Reef and Peche: Warm; Fuchsia: Debateable.)

Another way to approach this project is by picking 4 shades in the same color family for a more gradient effect with less contrast. This option is dependent on your yarn of choice having lots of colors in the color family of your choice, and Aspen is somewhat limited here--you can't do an all-yellow Stripe Quartet, but not many dyers offer a multitude of yellows anyway!

Clockwise: Blue Topaz, Sirena, Navy, Sky

These four blues create a balanced pairing since the top row features warmer blues with turquoise/teal influences and the bottom two colors are straight blues, almost a little greyed out. A great example of warm/cool mix while staying in one color family.

Clockwise: Amethyst, Fuchsia, Aubergine, Violet

Another beautiful and subtle palette that combines warm and cool purples of all hues!

Which way do you prefer your stripes--funky and off-beat or tonally united?