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Free Preemie Hats, Upcoming Patterns, and Portraits. Oh My!

Hello, lovely people!

My brain is so full right now, of ideas and deadlines, that I barely know what to say when I do have time to write. Let me begin in the middle.

Christmas is coming (yay!), and that means we have five little people to buy gifts for (yikes!). They are all super excited, especially since it snowed at our house overnight and they woke up to a wintery wonderland this morning. I made the mistake of taking my two oldest ones Christmas shopping for their siblings at Chapters last week, and their wish lists instantly grew by about two feet that day. Pokemon is the big thing in our house right now. I am secretly horrified, but trying to look interested in all their cards with the weird names and diverse “powers.”

I’ve been knitting up a storm, trying to make samples, figure out new patterns, knit gifts, and fulfill special orders. (I’ve recently taken up knitting for non-knitters who want hats. They can be voracious. Owl hats are a big hit, and I hope to write up a pattern for them soon, if I can ever find the time.)

I’m also an artist of sorts. I say “of sorts” because I’ve barely had a chance to draw or paint since my first baby was born nine years ago. Now that my youngest is three, I’ve realized that maybe I can get back into painting again! But first, I’m sticking with the simpler art of drawing. Pencils don’t dry out when you have to leave them to make lunch. I’ve decided to sell pencil portraits for the next little while. It’s an experiment of sorts, trying to figure out just how much creativity I can fit into my life before the dirty dishes really do begin to overtake the kitchen counters.

(This is a drawing I made of my husband and our firstborn as a Christmas present to said husband years ago. It’s actually a compilation of two photos, since neither of them had the proper expressions in one photo, of course. Husbands and children never do.)

I also received a surprise in the mail today. I had sent my sample hats to Knit Picks before they listed my Merrick hat pattern in the IDP section, and today I received them back! Eva immediately put the blue one on, and aha! — a revelation — it looks adorable on a three year old. It turns into a cute little elf-like hat. (She’s wearing the child size.)

I’m in the end stages of getting Merrick‘s close cousin, Merry, ready for publication. It’s an extended version, shall we say, with cozy earflaps and (optional) hilarious pom poms. Adding the earflaps forced me to make entirely new charts, so I’m putting Merry out as its own pattern since it took just as much work as Merrick did. I think, however, that I’ll offer it at a discount to those who want to buy both patterns.

I roped my neighbour and friend into being my model last weekend. 😀 She’s such a good sport. Here’s a sneak peak:

Last, but not least: Sunday was World Prematurity Awareness Day, and in honour of the four out of my five kids who were preemies, I’m once again offering all my preemie hat patterns for free. The coupon code is only good for a limited time (until Friday, November 22nd at midnight), so grab them quickly on Ravelry with the coupon code preemieday. Whether you know a preemie or not, sending preemie hats to your local NICU is such a nice way to encourage the families in your community. Having a child born too early can be quite nerve wracking and traumatizing. Many parents suffer from some form of PTSD afterwards. The more support those parents have, the better.

My personal favourite of my preemie patterns is the Tulip Preemie Hat. It’s so much fun to knit it up with some self-striping yarn, and it’s so tiny that you can complete one in a couple hours (or less).

Effervescent Shawl Pattern

I love lace shawls, but I do not always want to wear them. You know what I mean?

I prefer to wear an every-day, toss-around-your-neck-and-go Shawl That You Wear Like A Scarf. In fact, scarf shawls are my new necklaces. They keep me warm, and I always feel fabulous and cozy while wearing one. They are my new love. (I have my knitting guild to thank for that. Last year was a bit shawl-obsessed for all of us.)

Since my shawls are my favourite accessory, I basically need all sorts of different ones. Being an in-between size (you know, between “having kids” and “actually wanting to do the work to lose the last 15 pounds”), I tend to buy basic tops. Like black t-shirts. But a shawl? It will fit me no matter what size I am. So you see, I’ve been thinking a lot about shawls lately.

This, then, is my first shawl design, with more to come. More on my needles, more being charted, more being puzzled through… But for now: TA-DAAA! It’s the Effervescent shawl.

It starts with an interesting lace edge that I puzzled out from a cardigan that my Grandma knit for my mom. I love it because of its nice lines, and how the little eyelets and decreases pull themselves into little almost-bows. Close enough to be feminine, and far enough to be every-day wear. It has patterning on both right- and wrong-side rows, with a couple rest rows in between.

Then we move on to perfect tv knitting: stockinette stripes in bold colours. For me, that makes it a perfect project. A little bit of spice to start, a little bit of relaxation to finish. I like my knitting to be both spicy and sweet. Because we started at the bottom edge of the triangle, the finishing up bits are minimal, since all the stitches have been decreased down to 7. Simple grafting ensues.

I love that coral is back in style this year. And that blue? Oh my. This colour combo will keep me feeling breezy and light, even through the deep, dark winter. But I have a feeling that you knitters will branch out and be your creative knitting selves, delving into colour combinations I haven’t even considered yet. My friend Beckie was leaning toward grey, red, and dark blue last time I saw her. I can’t wait to see all the colourways that will emerge!

Now, let’s get down to the details.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in Coral, White, and Light Blue. For you local people, I bought mine at Unraveled in Merrickville. The Baby Cashmerino is about a 2 (Baby/Sport weight) if you’re going by the Craft Yarn Council of America standards, in case you want to substitute. I bought it because it came in the exact colours that I wanted, and because I love the feel of it.

With the Debbie Bliss yarn, you will need

300 m / 120 g White (3 balls)

150 m / 60 g Coral (2 balls)

250 m / 100 g Light Blue (2 balls)

Needles: size 6 US (4 mm) circular, in about a 32″-40″ range. You just need a cable long enough to hold your shawl while you work it back and forth.

The pattern includes charts for the lace as well as written directions. There’s also a drawing that gives you a brief overview and the measurements for blocking.

And now for the Grand Finale! You can get it by clicking this little button:

p.s. I finally started a Ravelry group!! I’d be honoured if you’d join me there. It’ll be a great place for pattern support, knitalongs, and lots of encouragement. You can still (and always) reach me by email if you have any questions or comments, but now we have one more choice in the mix. If you’re knitting up an Effervescent shawl, please come and share it with the group! I will ooh and ahh over your colour choices. 🙂

Aknitica Designs Group is Now On Ravelry!

Confession: I’m usually a big chicken.

I really have to give myself (or even better, get) a good pep talk before I get brave enough to try new things. I’m plagued by self doubt. It’s really annoying.

But every now and then, I screw up my courage and Just Go For It.

There are all sorts of things that make me nervous, and they all have to do with the question, “Am I good enough?” If I focus on it for too long, and compare myself too much with others, then I falter. But if I say, “Who cares? I’m doing my best, and that’s all I can do,” then I can take a deep breath and move forward.

I took one of those brave steps today and decided to start my own Ravelry group.

Eek!

So, there it is. It will be a great place for conversations, project sharing, question answering, and general togetherness. Other than that, it’s a grand new mysterious adventure for me. I’d really love it if you’d join me.

I will be completely accessible there, so if you have anything you’d like to know, ask. If you’d like to start a discussion topic, go for it! I may even try a knitalong this year, since I’ve got some beautiful shawls in the works which I’ll be gradually publishing — one of them this weekend!

If I can find the time, there are a couple more hats and some arm warmers/fingerless mitts coming up, too. Basically, it’s a case of So Many Ideas, So Little Time. Not to mention the homeschooling that’s starting up next month and the laundry that never ends. Life is busy, and wonderful.

But there’s always knitting to balance things out. Thank God for knitting!

See you on Ravelry!

p.s. I went a little crazy with my graphic design (because it’s so FUN), but finally, with some help from my Facebook friends, chose one logo from all these: Come to the group to see the winner!

Why Knitting Lace Needs No Reason and Has A Million Reasons

I have a confession to make. I am a sentimental, nostalgic person when it comes to crafting.

This is the reason why I want to knit lace, even though I have no use for it. Actually, I used to roll my eyes at it. Remember the days when every buffet top and side table was covered in a round doily of some sort? Actually, my mother in law still has a couple of them, although I notice they’ve been disappearing over the years. The lace-on-every-surface fad is going out of style, and for a while, I was glad. Now, I’m not so sure.

As a knitter who loves to challenge myself, I am enchanted by lace.

I never pick up a piece or flip through an old book without wondering about the women who first came up with those patterns.

Who were they?

How did they know what the stitches would do?

How did they figure out how to draw flowers with yarn overs and a seemingly infinite selection of decreases?

Did the patterns evolve from years of experience, or did they emerge, fully formed, from their brains to their fingers?

I wonder these things. I am fascinated by the now-forgotten minds behind the stitch patterns we take for granted.

As a designer, I love to get my hands on books full of stitch patterns. I have a couple pattern books, but usually when I shell out cold hard cash for a book on knitting, I want it to be a reference book. Something that will teach me how to think like one of those women from years gone past. Something with clues in it that will reveal the mysteries of the flow of stitches.

Just looking at the cover of my copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitters Almanac makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now there was a woman who could communicate how knitting works and make it charming and witty at the same time. She writes about stitches and techniques in the same breath as her children, her canoe trips, and her worldview. She makes designing sound easy and logical.

I recently picked up a book which I’d been stalking on Amazon, called Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting by Marianne Kinzel. The lace on the cover had caught my eye.

It’s a circular design with a Scottish thistle motif, and I’ve had a soft spot for thistle flowers ever since I found one on my windshield, wedged anonymously under the wiper blade. I instantly knew who had put it there, since there was only one man I knew who had the motive and a love of all things Scottish. We weren’t yet dating, but that flower is now a warm memory of the beginnings of our life together.

I bought the book and fell in love with the completely outdated, no-longer-modern tidbits of lace inside.

There are huge circular table cloths, oblong table runners, and coffee cloths, which I assume are for small tables on which women would serve coffee. I have no idea. But all of the lace designs are beautiful to my eye. Now that I know the patience it takes to knit on tiny needles with cotton thread. Now that I know the skill it takes to design a flow of holes and decreases in the right balance to make a circle and a picture, all at the same time.

It makes me sad that they’ve fallen out of fashion. But I’m proud, at the same time, to be one knitter in a movement of knitters who still knits lace.

I don’t think we’re knitting lace for the sake of preserving the old ways, though; I think we’re knitting it because we find beauty in the stitches, and we don’t care what non-knitters think. We know our skills are won from years of hair-pulling, frustrating mistakes so big that we thought about giving up and shoving the piece to the back of the closet. (Which we did, for a while.) But eventually, we gathered our courage and learned how to fix our knitting with a crochet hook and a cup of coffee and a couple hours of painstaking trial and error. We learned that we can knit anything!

So we keep on, and we try new things, and we look for new challenges. And we knit lace.

So, even though I have a bezillion other projects calling to me from their needles, I’m knitting a useless yet lovely coffee cloth with thistle flowers on it. Just because I can. And I think I’m going to starch it and hang it on my wall, perhaps with a pretty turquoise background to really show it off.

Because knitting can be art. And because looking at its beauty reminds me of ages past, of the women who came before me, of my husband, of my Scottish heritage, of a time when people got together and drank coffee off pretty cloths. Because I’m a sucker for nostalgia.

Do you knit lace? If you know of any beautiful old patterns or books I need to see, please tell me! I love finding new things.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you decide to click on them and then you buy something, I’ll make a couple cents, which is awesome. But I mostly put them there so you could see what I’m talking about for yourself. Isn’t that lace beautiful? You need to check out another pattern from Marianne Kinzel’s book, called Rose of England. It’s even more amazing, but not as sentimental for me, so I’m not knitting it just yet.

The Creator’s Manifesto

Creating is what I do.

It’s ingrained in who I am.

Whether it’s knitting, painting, or writing, it’s what I was made to do.

In creating, I think we reflect the Creator God. Creating, in and of itself, becomes an act of worship.

It is okay to create for creating’s sake. With no other purpose or agenda. Not to sell things, or get recognized, or be admired.

These are the thing I need to remember.

It’s so easy to become discouraged, to wonder, “What’s the point?”

Especially when the dishes pile up, the bathroom needs cleaning, the kids need feeding. Everything feels so hard and frustrating and impossible some days. And I wonder, “Is it worth it? Should I bother?”

But then I read something like this, and I know.

I was made to create.

I’d better do it.

Shawls On The Brain

I am veeery slowly working my way through the TKGA Master Knitting course. Why so slowly? Well, I keep getting sidetracked.

Take, for instance, yesterday, when I discovered not one, but two Craftsy classes that caught my eye. Now, I’m a huge fan of Stephen West. I was a fan of his shawls before I even realized they were all designed by the same guy. So when I saw that he’s teaching a new class called Shawlscapes, I was in trouble. How could I not take his class? I’ve been puzzling over a shawl design that looks great in my head, but was being impossible to sketch. Maybe he could give me some insight.

So I signed up.

And then I watched every single video in his series last night.

And guess what? I think I’m on to something with that stubborn shawl idea of mine! It’s probably not at all what he intended from his lessons, but just listening to him talk about his design process and some what-ifs of design made more wheels start to turn in my brain. Worth. Every. Penny.

If you’re wondering about taking Stephen’s class, let me just tell you that

1) He’s hilarious

2) He talks a lot about his unconventional shaping methods and how they work. Think geometry refresher course.

3) He gives great knitting tips throughout the videos — cast ons, selvedges, different bind offs that are great for shawls, colour play, and blocking. I learned a couple things and picked up some new tips, which is kind of a big deal when you’ve already been reading lots for your Master Knitting program.

4) I’m inspired! I’m getting ideas! And they don’t look like his — they look like mine! Sometimes, all you need is a great teacher.

I watched the whole class — every video — on my Android smartphone. Craftsy doesn’t have an Android app yet (Come on, Craftsy!), but their mobile site is really nice. It doesn’t contain all the features — I couldn’t make video notes — but it’s good enough to watch everything through. So I curled up in my soft, green knitting chair, placed my phone beside me on my knitting table, worked mindlessly on the garter-stitch section of Rock Island, and immersed myself in Shawlscapes. What a great evening.

I eventually finished all the videos in Stephen’s class, cast off my Rock Island, and started in on the other class I signed up for yesterday: Miriam Felton’s Lace Shawl Design.

For now, I will say only, I have been looking for someone to explain these things to me.

I’m looking forward to learning all I can about the flow of lace stitch patterns. They have always fascinated me.

Are you taking any classes right now? Are we in the same class? I’d love to hear from you!

Knotty Baby Hat and Merrick Cabled Hat are now on Knit Picks!

I am so thrilled to announce that two of my patterns are now available on the Knit Picks website!

Why does this matter to you? Well, if you’re so inclined, you can go to their product pages and quickly pick up both the pattern *and* the yarn to knit it in, in one simple step. I like that! It’s so streamlined.

If you’re knitting for babies in your life, I’m super proud of the Knotty Baby Hat. I designed it while knitting for my fifth baby. I wanted to model it after a sewn hat that I’d used and loved on my sons, but the fifth child was a girl, and a blue hat simply would not do.

I had some Rainbow Felici in my stash, and it was perfect in every way for a baby project. It’s soft, washable, and I love the colourful self-striping effect. (I love stripes, but I hate sewing in ends.) If I could, I would keep two balls of every Felici colourway in my stash for spontaneous sock and baby-hat knitting projects. (I have also knit a pair of Skew socks in the Rainbow colourway, and some Jaywalker socks in the High Tide colourway. The light fingering weight and superwash properties make the perfect socks and hats.)

Anyway, I knit the Rainbow hat for Eva, and it was a hit in the hospital. All the nurses commented on it, *every time* we walked around in the hallways, without fail. I was a proud mama.

The Merrick hat came about while I was knitting a hat for a family friend. I wanted thick, squishy cables for warmth since he works outside a lot in the Canadian winter. It was really snowy last winter, and I was picturing a cozy head covering that would protect his ears from blowing snow.

Now, I love cables, but after a couple of inches working the same pattern, I get bored. So I sent the cables on an experimental journey to meet each other. They were happy, and I was happy. The pattern turned out to be interesting (I think) and really enjoyable to knit. It’s got enough variation in it to stimulate, and enough repetition to keep it from being too complex. You’ll notice that the cables flow intuitively, and you’ll soon be able to anticipate what to do next.

I’m really thrilled that I was able to work the decreases right into the cable pattern, so they flow right up to the top bind off. The hat looks great from above, so you’ll want to make sure you’re around tall people when you’re wearing it. *wink*

I’ve also worked out a version that incorporates ear flaps into the design. Watch for that coming in August or so, just in time for fall knitting and winter preparation.

I chose the Knit Picks Swish Worsted for Merrick because the cables really pop with solid colours. Swish has lots of colour choice available, and, as an added bonus, it’s machine washable.

So please, hop on over to the Knit Picks website and check me out! I’m really excited to be there.

Experiential Knitting Projects

It’s a knitting weekend for me! Melissa Leapman is here, at my local knitting guild, to teach workshops all weekend, and I’m so excited. I love taking knitting classes. Seriously, I think I could take knitting classes for my whole life and still not cover every topic.

This weekend, I’ll be learning to do two-colour double knitting, which should come in really hand for a hat pattern I’ve been wanting to make. That’s right, I already have a design in mind featuring a technique I’ve never tried before. I’m excited to see if I can make it work.

I’m also going to be learning about necklines. I don’t really know what to expect, but since my knowledge of necklines is so small right now, I can’t see how this *won’t* come in handy.

In other knitting news, I’m currently involved in a knitting project I’m lovingly calling, “Let’s see how quickly I can knit and block a shawl.” I cast on the evening of April 16th, and my goal is to have it ready for the guild’s Shawl Challenge on Monday, April 22nd. I’ve been encouraging the members all year long to submit their shawls, and here I am, at the last minute, trying to get ready. I do have one other shawl to enter, but I came across this gorgeous pattern three days ago and thought, “Why not?”

It’s the East Gable Shawl by Judy Marples, and, quite simply, I was drawn in by the rippling, yet leaf-like, flow of the stitch pattern. I also love that it’s textural, yet simple. When I knit a shawl, I want it to be challenging (but not too challenging), and I also want it to be wearable (according to my own style, that is). This one has a lovely simplicity to it, which I think comes from having the one chart pattern repeated all over it. The pattern itself flows nicely and is easy to memorize, which also makes it a lovely project to knit.

Knitting isn’t just about the product, for me — it’s also about the experience. This shawl is a lovely experience.

Another project on my needles right now is a pair of socks I’ve been working on. I was immediately attracted by the stitch patterns, but you know what? These socks have four lace charts, worked simultaneously. Two of them flow logically, and two of them don’t. (Of course, it’s the two that are harder to memorize that are the most beautiful.) The socks are lovely, and I’m halfway through the second sock, but they really require my concentration. Not to mention the four charts that I have to spread out around me. Those socks are not quite as lovely of an experience.

I try to keep all this in mind when I’m designing. Sure, it might look nice, but will it be nice to knit? Some of my ideas get scrapped just because they’re too annoying to work on.

And some of them never see the light of day just because homeschooling takes up a lot of my time. Ah, the life of a mother who’s obsessed with knitting. We need to choose our time spending wisely.

How do you choose your next project? With a finite amount of knitting hours, what is it about a pattern that makes the cut?

Throw Some Eyelets In There

My lovely friend Sarada (pronounced Shar-da, or, according to her mom but no one else, “Shar-a-da, like Florida.”) is busy gathering up hats. She is tagging them and getting them ready to ship to Quito, Ecuador.

These hats will be put in cute little care packages and given to the kids who are being treated for cancer in the Quito hospitals. There’s a local group there who will be receiving, organizing, and handing them out. (They’re on Facebook: Gorritos x Sonrisas.)

And I am finally knitting a hat for her to send! I can’t stand the thought of her mailing all those hats, without a single something from me. Being busy is no excuse. I’d rather be “the woman who knits for kids with cancer” than “that designer who rambles on in her blog.”

Well, maybe I’ll be both.

It’s a soft, floppy, what-I-hope-will-be-slouchy hat of my own impromptu design. Basically, I just cast on 90 sts (forgetting that 90 is not divisible by 4) and started working in 2×2 ribbing.

Then, I increased a bunch of stitches evenly around the whole head and started working in a bit of a modified eyelet pattern, which also didn’t divide evenly into my sts, but was close enough that I could fudge it. What can I say? When I’m not writing a pattern, I take a lot of liberties.

I’m using up some really soft, acrylic/bamboo yarn that I bought on sale last year because the price was so cheap that it was impossible to resist. The lure of bamboo and the lovely spring green colour sucked me right in. I really like the way it feels and drapes. The needle is my size 7 US 16″ circular, so I can just knit around and around in a circle.

This may be a strange confession, but I’ve never made a slouchy hat before. But it just seemed right for the yarn. I have no idea what Ecuadorian teenagers like, so I’m just praying that it’ll be stylish there, too! And hopefully, the loose drape and the eyelets will work with the climate. What do people wear in Ecuador, anyway?

I think it’s time I sent my friend Heather a message with a couple questions to be answered, since she actually lives in Quito. Maybe she will know a teenager or two. I should have thought of this months ago!

Now, I’m off to knit like crazy. I’d like to give her more than just one hat.

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Modified Eyelets:

Repeat of 4 sts
Eyelet round: [k2, yo, k2tog]. Repeat.
Knit 3 rounds plain between each Eyelet round.
Stagger the Eyelets, if you want, by switching to [yo, k2tog, k2] every other Eyelet round.

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Staring at Colours as Therapy

Today, I love this colour.

Its name is Pennyroyal (which I love. It suits it, doesn’t it?), and I’ve had it sitting in my Palette drawer for a couple months now. I thought it would become arm warmers, but it’s becoming something much, much better. (Maybe I will buy some more and make arm warmers, too.) Who knew that such a pale colour could be so appealing? It’s subtle and soft, it’s light and airy; it reminds me of spring, but it’s made of pure warmth.

Yes, I love to stare at pretty colours.

I would now like to thank the moth larvae that scared me into putting all my stash into plastic baggies in the freezer. In the process, I discovered all sorts of yarn goodies that had been forgotten. So, stupid moths: Thank you. And watch out, because if I see you again, I will hurt you.

Category: Blog