New Knitting Patterns

I am so excited to share that two new patterns I have written for madelinetosh are now available!



The first is the Honey Hat (rav link here). This lovely hat takes one skein of Tosh DK, and is a great hat for anyone! It is a one size fits all hat, and easy to modify in length. (Please note, if you want a larger/longer hat you will need more than one skein.) It knits up quickly and makes a great gift!



These Texas Star socks were a giveaway during the DFW Yarn Crawl, and will be available in an ebook to be published soon - I will let you know when it is available! These were designed to look like cowboy boots, and it was so satisfying when folks would say "Hey, it looks like a boot!"

Finished Knits

It's about time I posted some new finished knitting projects! These were all knit for class samples, and I love the way they came out! Now to have time to knit them for myself!



First up is Gradient. Knit out of three skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, this was a fun knit! I knit the three color version, but only did the cowl.



Wee Austin Hoodie was a cute quick knit. I would love to make one of these for my kiddos!



The Lollipop Skirt is adorable, and I know two girls who would love their own! I love the cute ridges on the skirt and it is very twirly!



The Brick Road Cowl was an enjoyable easy knit - I think this would make a fun gift for someone! I love that it is reversible!

I have several more projects for upcoming classes on the needles - just need more time in the day to finish them!

Too many projects!

I have been on a bit of a project starting kick lately! I chose patterns for the kids sweaters for this fall/winter, and of course, I had to start right away (since it will take me several months to get them done!).

Kindling Season for Samantha

A Sanctuary for Baby for Baby Boy

Korrigan for Ellie

Grow old with me for Ben

I also have been working on some new class and shop samples as well. Hoping to knock these out so I can start the baby's blanket!

Hitchhiker Scarf

Aranami Shawl

Cabernet Hat

Sock Sample

Gelsomina Aran

And finally, yarn for the baby's blanket - now to get time to start it!

Upcoming Knitting Classes

I am really excited about how well the knitting classes I have been teaching have been going! We had a great January full of students eager to learn how to knit their first sweater, how to use Ravelry, how to knit two socks toe up, and even those learning to knit for the first time! February, March and April are bringing many more exciting classes!
I'm teaching a great class on learning to knit your first lace shawl. We did a beginner lace knitting class back in the fall that used worsted weight yarn. This pattern, the Shetland Triangle Shawl, calls for fingering or lace weight yarn.



I'm also teaching beginning knitting again this month, as January sold out! Yay for new knitters!

In March we are offering classes on how to knit the Willow Cowl, which has a fun picot edging! The shop just got in a bunch of Koigu, so we're offering the Koigu Linen Stitch scarf. I'm also teaching the Baby Surprise Jacket class again.



We're also offering a class on the Daybreak Shawl, the Cabernet Hat, and classes on how to Magic Loop, how to fix mistakes and how to finish your garment!

I'm so excited to teach all of these fun classes!

Neighborly

Several months ago I knew I wanted to knit Samantha a cute vest of some sort for layering. So often down here in Texas we don't need winter coats, and we often just wear wool sweaters, but sometimes just a small amount of warmth is needed (of course, as I'm writing this is almost 90 here in November, so obviously not this year!). I had seen this pattern pop up across blogland, and I thought it would be super cute.



It knit up pretty quickly and only used one skein of Cascade 220. I left off picking up stitches for the armholes (I like the way it looks with the rolled edge) and I added some length (I still think it's a bit short).

Samantha enjoys wearing it, which means it's a winner!

Knitting catch up

I am behind on posting my knitting projects again. I have finished up several things lately, and I just haven't blogged them (as usual!).

I have been knitting for MadTosh again. I finished up a sample of the Leftie shawl for the class I taught in August and September. It was a fun knit - relatively simple, though a bit tedious at the end! I used one skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Antler, and chose several of the mini-skeins they are selling to use for the colors. The kids and I had been attending a series of storytimes this summer where they talked about a different color of the rainbow each week, and read stories that corresponded to that color. I obviously had that on the brain when I chose my colors! I only used a bit of each color - I would have had enough to use them again in another shawl.



To use up all of my main color I knit through the recommended number of repeats, and then started weighing by ball of yarn after each repeat. Since the rows get longer every row, I was able to estimate how much farther I could go based on how much each repeat used up of the main color.



I also taught a sock knitting class, and knit up my sample in the new Madelinetosh Tosh Sock colorway exclusive to the shop - Go Frogs! We had a lot of discussions about how you 'know' when to use size one needles or size two needles, and how gauge can affect your size and the pooling of the yarn. So I knit one sock on size one needles over 72 stitches and one on size two needles over 64 stitches. You can feel a difference in the sock, and I'm sure there would be a difference in how they wear. I like to knit my socks as tightly as possible to ensure they last longer, but I thought the sock knit more loosely was softer.



Finally, I was asked to knit a sample of the Tea Leaves sweater for a shop sample. I used Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Composition Book Grey. I knit the 32" size and used just over 4 skeins. Such a pretty and useful knit. I may have to make one of these for myself someday!

FO Friday!

I'm so excited to share these recent knitting FOs with you! I actually finished them a few weeks ago, but kept forgetting to blog them!



I knit up this Rosebud Hat for MadTosh's Cabling Class (which sadly no one signed up for. :( ). This is a Brooklyn Tweed pattern, so it was extremely well-written, with a great chart and clear directions. The yarn (Madelinetosh Tosh Mo) is a mohair blend that while it shed all over me, it was a great yarn! The cable is a bit difficult on this pattern (it is a 12 stitch cable cross), but doable. I really enjoyed this one. I knit the longer length choice.



This lovely cowl was the pattern choice for our beginning knitting class. It is the Looped Loop pattern, although we modified it so that our beginning knitters would not have to do a provisional cast on and complicated grafting. This is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino in Gilded. Yummy. If I knit this again I would lengthen it - I knit it to 44 inches before seaming, and I would like it longer.



And finally, the Gift Wrap Baby Sweater. I used Madelinetosh Vintage (such a lovely yarn!). I really really enjoyed this pattern - very easy, very cute! I love that it goes from NB-2 years and that it has short and long sleeve options. I will be knitting this one again!

Knitting Season

Labor Day has come and gone, and with it the unofficial end to summer. Even though temperatures here will be over 100 today and we won't need sweaters for at least 4-6 more weeks, I think of this time of year as high knitting season. Especially with little ones that will most likely outgrow their sweaters within a season, I need to kick my knitting into high gear!

This weekend, as football season began, I couldn't help but wish we had a 'knitting season.' It hardly seems fair that all the sports get their own seasons, why shouldn't we? So I propose that knitting season starts now. We knit as much as we can, as fast as we can before our kiddos (and ourselves, if we're lucky!) need the warmth of wool.

Hubby and I were even joking about having a fantasy knitting team - choose your favorite knitters and/or knitting bloggers, and you get points for each item they finish. Would be a great way to cheer each other on! However, I'm not sure I have the gumption to organize something like that. Maybe a Ravelry group is more practical? Points awarded for finished projects - more points for large objects or points awarded by yardage used up? And it would be OK if these are projects you have already started.

I know that I need to figure out a way to balance the things I want to sew with the things I want to knit. I need to finish these projects, and I have things to knit for upcoming classes at MadTosh. I also failed in my Ravellenic Games attempt, and only finished one lonely sleeve. It would be nice to wear a new sweater this winter!

Anyone else up for celebrating knitting season?