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Save the date! The next Blue Peninsula knitalong starts on June 21, the first day of summer. Seems like the perfect day to start a summer KAL devoted to socks, don’t you think?
You can knit any of my sock designs for the Sunshine + Socks KAL. And before it starts, I’ll be releasing a brand-new pattern. While you wait, feel free to browse my sock patterns on Ravelry.
More about the KAL and the new pattern soon!
The Treat Yourself KAL is off to a great start! Patterns cast on (or announced) so far include the Downy Hat, Tailwind Shawl, Indikon Mitts, Couplet Socks, the Catbird Shawl, Tortoise Shells Socks, Purlish Mitts, and the Biscuit Cowl. Such a nice variety!
If you’d like to join us, head to the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group. This KAL continues through February 25, so there’s plenty of time to cast on and finish.
Tailwind Shawl (photo courtesy Interweave/Harper Point Photography)
I’ve joined the KAL with a pair of Indikon Mitts in handspun Cormo. Ever since I spun this yarn and dyed it with hickory nuts a few years ago, I’ve been wanting to cast on these mitts. I’m so happy to be treating myself to them at last.
If you’re feeling like you could use a new handknit — maybe something lacy for your spring wardrobe? — hop over to Ravelry and join us. Any of my designs can be knit for this KAL. We’d love to have you!
LINKS
Treat Yourself Knitalong
Bonnie Sennott: Ravelry Designer Page
Good news! The sale on my new Downy Hat pattern has been extended so that knitters who want to make it for the upcoming Treat Yourself Knitalong can take advantage of the discount. Through Sunday, January 6, you can save 20% on Downy with the coupon code DOWNY20.
Our most popular knitalong in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group starts soon. The Treat Yourself KAL begins Monday, January 14 and ends Monday, February 25. For this KAL, you can make any of my patterns, so long as you’re making it for yourself. For six weeks, we’ll knit at a relaxed pace, chat about our projects, and share tips for practicing good self-care. After the busy holiday season, the Treat Yourself Knitalong is a chance to cast on a special project in a special yarn, and immerse yourself in easygoing knitting. We’ll also have some lovely prizes — more about those will be announced in the KAL thread very soon!
Tailwind Shawl, by Bonnie Sennott
photo credit: Interweave/Harper Point Photography
I know it’s dead of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, but in the knitting magazine world, spring is already in the air. The spring issue of Knitscene is already available online, and the print edition will be in bookstores and yarn shops soon. In it, you’ll find my first new pattern for 2019, the Tailwind Shawl. It’s got fringe! Fringe! And can be worn lots of ways. More about Tailwind in my next post.
In the meantime, don’t forget to pop over to Ravelry and get Downy for 20% off — it would be a fun “treat yourself” project for the KAL, not to mention a good first stranded-color project if you’re looking to expand your knitting skills this year.
The Downy Hat has winged its way into my Ravelry pattern store, where it’s 20% off with the coupon code DOWNY20 through January 2.
This stranded-color toque was inspired by the colors and markings of one of my favorite winter birds, the downy woodpecker. It comes in four sizes, with circumferences of 16 (18, 20, 22) inches/41 (46, 51, 56) cm, which means you can make a Downy for everybody in your family.
Topped off with a fun pom-pom, the Downy Hat is knit with four colors of DK weight wool. For the sample, I used a beautiful yarn called Buachaille, by Kate Davies Designs, in Highland Coo, Haar, Squall, and Ptarmigan.
You can find Downy in my Etsy shop as well, where it’s also on sale for 20% off through January 2.
If you plan to make a Downy Hat for yourself, consider joining the Treat Yourself KAL in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group. This lively annual knitalong is all about making a project that makes you happy, a garment or accessory just for you, in yarns and colors you love. It starts on Monday, January 14. As always there will be lovely prizes of yarns and other self-care goodies. Find the Treat Yourself KAL here.
Thank you very much for reading!
Just three more rows, friends — two rows of knitting, plus binding off — and Log No. 16 of my Next in Line afghan will be finished!
The afghan now measures about 43 x 56 inches (110 x 142 cm). That's a respectable size for a throw, and I could stop now. But I want more than a throw. I want this to be a big, cozy blanket — the perfect size for snuggling under on a winter evening with your toes well covered and toasty.
Also, it's a gift, one that I hope the recipients will use for many years to come. So I don't want to skimp. I don't want them wishing for the next 30, 40, 50 years that it was just a little bit bigger.
Log No. 16 is just like the very first log I knit, with two sections of grey accented with straw stripes. I chose to work two sections rather than one for Log No. 16 not only because I thought it would look good, but also to add extra length on one side, making the afghan more of a rectangle than a square. After the addition of the remaining three logs, the piece will retain an overall rectangular shape.
When will the project be finished and the pattern ready? Well, I had hoped it might be this month — but that's clearly not going to happen. I had a couple of design submissions accepted recently, and since both of them have firm deadlines, they take priority. But I do knit on Next in Line most days, even if only a few rows, so it's always moving steadily forward. It's just that, at this point, the rows are so very L O N G!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend (and a very happy Memorial Day, if you're in the U.S.). Thanks for reading!
LINKS
Next in Line Instagram posts (hashtag: #nextinlineblanket)
My Ravelry project page
Next in Line blog posts
If you're buying new yarns for a multicolor project like the About Town Shawl, you can simply choose colors you love and get started without being too concerned about yardage, as long as each skein has at least as many yards as the pattern says you'll need.
But what if you want to use up some of those partial skeins of yarn in your stash? You'll need to be sure you have enough of each color. It's not difficult to figure that out, and in this post, I'll explain how.
You'll need a scale that allows you to weigh in grams (I use a simple kitchen scale), a calculator (or Excel, or old-fashioned pencil and paper and your awesome math skills), and the yarn label. Don't have the label anymore? Look up the yarn on the yarn company's website or in Ravelry's yarn database. (If you aren't sure what yarn it is, can you remember what project you used it for? You may have recorded the yarn on your Ravelry project page, so check that.)
From the yarn label or other source, gather two key pieces of information: 1) how many yards are in a skein, and 2) how many grams does the skein weigh. Write those two numbers down and let's get started!
As an example, I'll use the leftovers from a skein of The Fawn and The Fox Badger sock yarn, in the Fantastic Mr. Fox colorway. The label says the original skein weighed 100 grams, and had 464 yards. To calculate how many yards remain, first divide the number of yards in the original skein by the number of grams in the original skein. In my example, 464 yards divided by 100 grams equals 4.64. Now I know that there are 4.64 yards per gram.
Next, weigh the partial skein, then multiply its weight in grams by the number of yards per gram. The result is the number of yards left in the partial skein.
My yarn weighs 26 grams; 26 grams x 4.64 yards/gram = 120.64 yards. See how easy that is?
Now you're all set to go stash diving and see if you already have some lovely yarns with enough yardage to make the shawl. Have fun!
Just a reminder — tomorrow's the last day of the introductory sale on the About Town Shawl. Save 25% in my Ravelry pattern store with the coupon code SHAWL25. The sale ends at midnight EST April 19.
Attention, shawl lovers: here's a new pattern perfect for spring!
Worked from the top down in three colors of fingering weight yarn, the About Town Shawl showcases a striking mix of knit-purl textures, garter stitch, and lace — plenty of variety to keep the knitting interesting. Make it your own with colors that suit your style — subtle neutrals, or bright colors that pop — it’s your choice!
The About Town Shawl is on sale in my Ravelry pattern store for 25% off through Thursday, April 19 — use the coupon code SHAWL25 to get the discount.
I designed this shawl to match the About Town Mitts. The two patterns can be purchased together as an ebook set in my Ravelry pattern store for just $8.
For the sample, I used stash yarns, including some laceweights held together with light fingering weight yarns. The peach color was a skein of Tika Designs sock yarn that I purchased at Rhinebeck a couple of years ago and later dyed with red onion skins. It was really fun combining yarns and colors — I went with soft, gentle colors, but that's just one possibility. There are so many others — I can't wait to see the combinations knitters use! You can find a complete rundown on the yarns I used, plus yardage requirements for knitting your own shawl, on the pattern's Ravelry page.
The About Town Shawl would be a lovely project to cast on for the KATT (Knit All The Things) KAL. Find more info and join the KAL in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group. It starts this Thursday, April 19, and ends June 10.
Thank you very much for reading!
Hello, blog readers — I hope you're still around after my rather long absence! Just as the scilla and snowdrops are emerging around town, so I feel I am emerging from weeks of being buried in work (and not the fibery kind that's fun to blog about).
Fun, fibery things are indeed coming up, though. I recently bound off and blocked a new shawl (a companion to the About Town Mitts) and am very pleased with how it turned out.
Knit in three colors, with lace, knit-purl textures, and stripes, it's got plenty of variety to keep the knitting interesting. The pattern is coming very soon, but if you want to stash dive ahead of time, you'll need fingering weight yarn in three colors: Color 1 (which is peach in my sample, dyed with red onion skins) - 290 yards/265 m; Color 2 (cream) - 175 yards/160 m; and Color 3 (the lace section in the sample) - 135 yards/124 m. Total yardage, if you want to make it a single color: 600 yards/549 m. After blocking, the wingspan of my sample measured 58 inches/148 cm.
The About Town Shawl would be a great project for the next knitalong in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group. The Knit All The Things (KATT) KAL starts a week from today, April 19. It's a leisurely KAL, lasting until June 10, so there's plenty of time to cast on and finish a large project like a sweater or a shawl. Of course, small projects are welcome, too!
Any of my designs can be knit for the KATT KAL, and if you want to finish up a WIP rather than start something new, that's fine, too. We have lovely prizes of yarn, free patterns, and other goodies, and as always there will be lots of friendly knitting conversation. Come join us anytime — we're already discussing possible patterns and yarns.
One project I've been working on during the past month involves this gorgeous Phantom Ship colorway of Stitch Sprouts Crater Lake, a soft and squishy bulky weight merino. The design must stay under wraps until later this year, but I loved the yarn so much I just had to share a peek with you.
I'll be back soon with the new About Town Shawl pattern. In the meantime, if it's spring where you are, I hope it's beautiful!
Spring color at the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden's annual flower show
P.S. If you don't already receive the monthly Blue Peninsula newsletter, now's a good time to sign up — the next issue will have something special just for subscribers.
Just released on Ravelry — my new About Town Mitts:
Sometimes it’s the simple, uncomplicated things that lift your spirits and make life extra sweet — like a pair of cozy fingerless mitts. Worked in the round on double-pointed needles, the About Town Mitts knit up quickly and easily (no charts to follow). Through February 25, they're on sale in my Ravelry pattern store for just $4.50.
The pattern provides instructions for three sizes — S, M, L — using 120–150 yards/110–140 m of sportweight yarn. For the sample pair, I chose The Fibre Co.'s Road to China Light, a sportweight blend of alpaca, silk, camel, and cashmere. It's soft and sumptuous, a luxurious treat for your hands.
The About Town Mitts would be a lovely project to make for the Treat Yourself KAL in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group. There's still plenty of time to cast on — the KAL (and the pattern sale) continue through February 25. I hope you can join us!
Confession: When I cast on for the Fringe and Friends Log Cabin Make-along, I wasn't sure how far I'd get with it. For one thing, there was the worry about garter stitch being boring (turns out it's not boring at all, but soothing, meditative knitting). I also wondered if this project would steal too much time from other design work, causing me to put it "on the back burner." That concern also has disappeared — my Next in Line throw is actually moving along at a respectable pace, and so far it's left me sufficient time for other projects.
The design process is enormously satisfying. I'm enjoying choosing the next color for each log, deciding how wide it should be, and where the contrast color stripes should be placed. The more I knit, the more I love these colors! Knitters have contacted me to ask about them, so here they are: Cascade 220 in Silver Grey, Straw, and Doeskin Heather, and Valley Yarns Northampton in Lake Heather.
I might be a little too smitten with it — Snickers has had to remind me to take breaks and remember that "all knitting and no play" makes me a very dull girl.
Yesterday, I finished Log No. 8 and began No. 9. The piece now measures about 22 x 24 inches, so I've got a ways to go — I'm aiming for about 48 x 60 inches. I don't want it to be as small as a baby blanket, but it's not meant to be a bedspread, either.
What do you think? What's your preferred size for an afghan or throw?
