Countdown to Rhinebeck

The recent warm weather here in New England has been nice, but it also makes me a little nervous — is it global warming, or just an unusually warm fall? I hope these unseasonably high temperatures don't continue through the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, coming up October 21-22. If it's hot, no one will want to wear their Rhinebeck sweaters or shawls!

I'm so looking forward to Rhinebeck — seeing (and petting and hearing) lots of pretty sheep and goats. And — of course — checking out everybody's gorgeous knitwear. Maybe if all of us knitters wish for crisp, cool, and bright weather, we can make it happen. Let's try!

I'm working like mad on my Rhinebeck sweater and am optimistic it will be finished in time. The pattern won't be published until November, but I can share a few details now: it's a casual women's pullover, with modified drop shoulders, knit in worsted weight yarn (I'm using Quince & Co. Owl, a wool/alpaca blend). It's worked in the round from the bottom up and the only seaming is at the shoulders (or, if you hate seaming, use a three-needle bind-off instead). More details soon!

The other new design I'm working on is the third and final accessory for my Dragonfly Days collection (the first two were the Enallagma Shawl and the Cordulia Cowl). This time around, I've mixed in some cables with the dragonfly lace, to create a crescent-shaped shawl. Worked in bulky weight yarn — Brooklyn Tweed's Quarry — it will be super warm and cozy, perfect for chilly winter days.

In other news: My Chili Pepper Cardigan from the fall 2017 Knitscene is now available as an instant download from Interweave. Did you know my patterns in the Interweave family of publications are available as digital downloads? I participate in the Designer's Choice program, which means my patterns appear both in the magazines and in the Interweave online store. It's a nice program both for knitters and designers — knitters can purchase individual patterns long after the print magazine is no longer on store shelves, and designers receive royalties for those digital sales.

To find my patterns at Interweave, just type the pattern name in the search box. Or, use these direct links:

Chili Pepper Cardigan
Mathews Street Vest
Firehouse Alley Cowl
Drafter's Cardigan
Nested Knots Hat
Stagger Cowl
Morgantown Hat

Are you going to Rhinebeck this year? If you're working on a Rhinebeck sweater, I hope it's going well and you finish with plenty of time to spare!

New Pattern: Cordulia Cowl

Another dragonfly-inspired design has winged its way into my Ravelry pattern store! The Cordulia cowl is now ready for your knitting needles.

To celebrate its release, I'm having an introductory sale: through Sunday, September 24, save 25% on Cordulia with the coupon code COWL25.

Named after a genus of dragonflies, Cordulia is one of three lace accessories in my new ebook collection, Dragonfly Days. The first was the Enallagma shawl, released earlier this summer. The third and final design will be released this fall. 

The Dragonfly Days collection was born during the early days of summer 2017. As I swatched a pretty lace stitch for the Enallagma shawl, I really loved two things about it — the way the cast-on edge naturally formed gentle scallops, and the way parts of the lace resembled dragonfly wings.

The more I worked on the shawl, the more I wanted to explore the lace stitch further. So I played around with it, modifying it to create Cordulia. From start to finish, designing this cowl was an enjoyable process, and I can't wait to work with this beautiful lace stitch again for another design.

I’ve always been fascinated by dragonflies. I love their glittering wings. I love watching them dart back and forth over the water. Although they’re so quick, they make me want to slow down — slow down and pay closer attention to the natural world. 

With the Dragonfly Days patterns, you can keep the warmth of summer and the magic of dragonflies near you all year long. I hope you enjoy them — and thanks very much for reading!

Sneak Peek: Cordulia Cowl

The marigold-dyed cowl is finished! Here it is, just off the needles and ready for blocking:

I'm going to call it Cordulia, which is a genus of dragonflies. This is my second dragonfly-inspired design (the first was the Enallagma Shawl). I used a 24-inch US5/3.75mm circular needle and one skein of Foxhill Farm DK-weight Cormo, which I dyed with marigolds (it took about 295 yards/270 m). If you're curious about how I dyed the yarn, there's more info in this blog post.

Here's how it looks after a light blocking:

I've finished the pattern and sent it off to my tech editor, so it won't be too long before it's ready to publish. Look for it before the end of September.

P.S. The Free Fall KAL in the Blue Peninsula Ravelry group just kicked off the other day. Each week as we knit, we're also discussing a different topic. This week the topic is: What are your favorite resources for learning new techniques? Books and magazines, classes at your LYS, online videos, your knitting group?

You're welcome to join the KAL anytime between now and November 15, to share your thoughts and knit any of my designs (new projects and WIPs are both welcome). At the end of the KAL, prizes will be awarded randomly to posts in the discussion thread, so everyone who participates has a chance to win, even if they don't finish their project. Hope to see you!