All Quiet on the Pacific Northwest Front This Friday

Spring continues to unfold beautifully here - with temperatures in the 50s and 60s (farenheit) and plenty of sunshine, the blooms are incredible (taken with cell phone camera several days ago).




My time to enjoy it has been limited because I continue to be in project mode: here's the latest tasty plate of yarn I received that will become a published project:

Love, love, love this color combination. That's Rowan Yarn's Fine Art in the back, and it's a wonderful sockweight blend of merino, mohair and silk. Here's a closer look at this colorway, #303 waxwing:

The color swatch on the Rowan site has a fair amount of lighter green and pink showing, but the actual skeins tell the real story. Cannot wait to dig in.

Additionally, the 5th annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week has just been announced - it will be taking place May 12 - 18th. 

This will be the fourth year that I'll be participating (and if you want to see posts from previous years, just look at the top of my labels cloud at the bottom of the blog and click on anything that has "KCBWDAY" in it). I may just do a leeeeetle personal review; I cannot believe I've been actively blogging for this long. 

You know, that hot air and all.

Now definitely head on over to Andrea at Wisdom Begins in Wonder, where she manages to blog every week. How she juggles work, farm animals, kids, and yarn is beyond me.

Day 6 of 8 Days of Designs: Motif-a-Rockin' Shawl

Hello my fellow crafty ones, here I am at day 6 of my Romantique: Autumne/Hiver 2013 roll-out. My apologies for being slightly tardy with this day, but it was unavoidable.

Now everyone who reads this blog knows how much I love shawls, so this second shawl of the collection not only has a special place in my heart, it is just downright drippingly gorgeous. It is far and away the most beautiful thing I've ever designed. Please welcome into the designing wild my Forged Joy shawl:

Using just two skeins of Neighborhood Fiber Co.'s Capital Luxury Lace (a merino/ cashmere/nylon blend), this became the project of the season for me. The motif came to me fairly quickly way back in early spring, but the edging ... well, that's a whole 'nother story. Less than 36 hours before I shot these photos, I ripped back about half of it because I did not like how it was developing, and started again. I am sooooooo glad I did ... but I was sweating it right up until I pulled it off the blocking pins.

It's a v-shape, which really stays well on the shoulders. While all the motifs are the same, the placement of the center motif (seen on the left arm of the top photo) is a real show-stopper, especially when worn on the side. And, of course, the beads on the final edging row add just the right amount of bling and weight to keep the shawl pretty and in place. It's also long enough on each side that it can be folded over in the front and worn almost scarf-like, yet because of that awesome center motif, generously hugs the shoulders. Doesn't it almost look like a tattoo in the photo on the left? I do love a good graphic design. :)

This project is definitely for advanced crocheters that want a challenge. Nevertheless, the crafty person will be rewarded with a most amazingly stunning shawl. At least I think they will be rewarded.



I do hope you make it on over to Andrea's at the Wonder Why Alpaca Farm (whose lovely yarn I used in the skirt which you can see peeking in a few photos above) to see what everyone else is up to this Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday.

I am getting to the end of my collection introductions. Just two more designs to go.

Day 4 of 8 Days of Designs: The Ripple Stitch Reimagined

Hello my crafty friends - here we are at the midway point of my Romantique: Autumne/Hiver 2013 collection, and I'd like to talk a little about the oft-maligned crochet ripple stitch. It inhabits a well-worn place in the traditional crochet stitch pantheon, which also means that it gets its fair share of knocks. We all know someone who has a ripple stitch afghan, right? On the other hand, there are those mavericks over at Missoni who leaned into it and just made the stitch pattern figuratively vibrate with color and new life.
 
Well, I wanted to put a somewhat unique spin on the ripple stitch. I see it as almost tweed-like, and in a solitary, saturated color in fibers that have drape and good stitch definition, downright fantastic. Paired with a fresh take on a crocheted skirt, and you have all the elements for my New Wave Skirt:

This design actually became a favorite at the photo shoot - much to my surprise and joy. It actually looks good on most any body type, and the length can be customized, although I admit I do tend to like most of my skirts above the knee (with exceptions, of course). This one has a zipper in the back (and yes, it really looks great!) as well as a simple twist on foundation stitches that gives a fun little effect along the hem:

I worked this up in Wonder Why Alpaca Farm's sportweight alpaca/merino/silk blend, which provided such great definition to this ripple stitch pattern. And the colorway - well, what I can say about wine on the vine? It was definitely sweet music in the skein.

The Wonder Why Farm's yarn is on the left.
Really yummy, no?

This skirt is amazingly easy to put together - just two pieces, and other than the zipper and some folds prior to working the waist, incredibly straightforward. I'm looking forward to working one up for myself. Yes, yes indeed.

 

If you'd like to see a few additional photos of the skirt, feel free to access the Romantique preview booklet here. 

 

See you tomorrow for Day 5. Which pattern will it be????