Canopy

And here it is! My newest shawl design is out!

Canopy is another pattern inspired by the wonderful forest that surrounds my home.
When I stand in front of my kitchen’s window the only thing that I can really see is the green canopy of the pine trees that spreads accross countless of miles.
The shape and textures of this shawl pattern are a tribute to this evergreen forest.

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Canopy is a triangular shawl with an interesting texture that will keep you entertained one row after the other. The lace and twisted stitches remain quite simple, making the pattern very accesible to advanced-beginner knitters, and a quick knit to more skilled knitters.

The pattern features both charts and written instructions.

Something's funny has been hapenning to me lately. I've been missing knitting, a lot. It sounds funny, right? But that's totally true. Even though my days are filled with yarn, and knitting charts, knitting symbols and gauges, I've been craving for more stitches.

I feel that I haven't worked on something for myself in ages. And when I really think about it, that's totally true. I haven't done anything for myself in more than two months.  My needles haven't left me for a second, and they never had the time to cool down, but my hands, and my heart were desperately wanting more.

So last week, I cast on a new project, and I've been cruising across it. I've been working on it religioulsy every single evening after dinner, sometimes until the very late hours of the day, sometimes way before dawn, and more often than I would admit it, it's been really hard to put the needles down, and get a few hours of sleep.

But this pattern is SO addictive. There's something like 20cm of stockinette stitch, needless to say that this could be done with the two eyes closed. And then the lace section is so intriguing and simple, that I keep repeating myself "just one more row, the next row is a purling one, so it's going to be really fast". But before I even realized it, I'm already working on the next row of the chart. And then I keep repeating myseld 'just...".

The pattern is Waterlily by Meghan Fernandes, published in the Pompom magazine, issue 8. The yarn is Drops alpaca silk in the 1760 colorway.

Also, stay tuned for next Thursday, it might have something to share with you!

It’s been very quiet in here lately, not that I don’ t have anything to share!
On the contrary, I’ve busy busy working on many beautiful things, all knitting-related, and I cannot wait to share them soon.

For sneak peeks, daily pictures, and pattern releases, you can always find me on instagram.

I hope that you’re enjoying these cold and quiet days of winter, and that you are staying warm with your knits.

Elsewhere:

* I've missed the first round of Hole and sons new yarn, but Karen was lucky enough to grab a few skeins.

* Just stumbled upon this fair isle knitting today, and I'm in awe.

* Little woolens's new baby pattern. I wish I could have a family member to knit this for right now!

Coming soon.

2015 yarn-related goals

Last year I decided to set a very simple list of goals that were all knitting-related. It was nothing hard to accomplish by any matter, but still, I enjoy it as a little victory. I learned so much in a year, that I decided to renew the experience, and set more goals for this year. I'll see where it will bring me!

1. Keep working on pattern designing. 
At the moment I have two designs on the needles. The first one is a shawl, and I hope to be able to publish it by the end of the month/beginning of next month. The idea of creating my own pattern came out right after I completed my first one. I wore it everywhere with everything, and I'm totally convinced that it was my favourite knit of the year.
The second pattern that I'm working on is a totally different story. I started working on it back in October, making little progress on it, since I knew that i wanted it to be published during the fall of 2015. But something very similar has been published recently, so I has to re-think the whole thing out. My ideas for that pattern have totally shifted ever since, and as soon as I'm done with the shawl, I'll give it another try.
2. Focus on buying more yarn from small farms/ independent dyers (natural fleeces or natural dyeing)
3. There's so many different fibers out there! I want to learn more about breed specific wool; what qualities the different fibers have, and see how they knit up. And my first wooly purchase of the year goes in that direction. The first skein on the picture is an organic wensleydale, and the two other ones are Westcountry Tweed yarn, which is a limited edition made from a blend of lustrous Teeswater Crossbred wool from the Mendip Hills and matt Black Welsh Mountain wool from Devon. Just in case you were wondering, I got these two at Blacker yarns which sells British wool exclusively.
4. Keep working on my natural dyeing endeavours.
5. As always learn new techniques.

Do you have any crafty goal this year? Or patterns that you know you WILL knit this year?

Swatches diary: Bc garn, Semilla grosso

While I was in France, I went through the pile of yarn leftovers that fill my draws, and made some swatches of the yarns that I have used for previous projects. Then I put them carefully in my new swatches folder, with the tag in when I could find it, and a sticker to remind me which needles I knit it with, and the gauge that I obtained.

For this swatch I have used BC garn, Semilla grosso, which is a 100% organic wool. I have used this yarn to knit a owl for a friend's baby. And I must say that it's a wonder to knit it with. It showcases the stitches so perfectly, it's squishy, and it's very soft. The yarn is really versatile and would make a perfect sweater, scarf, hat or mittens. And no surprise here, but I'm already thinking about acquiring some more for future projects.