Cachou Cowl

I'm very excited to be a part of the Tanis Fiber Arts Year in Colour Club this year -- as a long time admirer of her yarns, I was thrilled when Tanis asked if I would contribute a design. And now that we're nearing the close of May, I get to share what that design is.  Right now, the pattern is exclusive to club members*, but it will be available to the general knitter public in time for next spring.

Photo courtesy Tanis Lavalée

Cachou (which is a little candy used to decorate treats) is a springtime cowl made up of a simple lace pattern and scalloped edges that uses exactly one skein of Tanis' Blue Label Fingering Weight yarn. You can drape it around your neck infinity-scarf style, you can wrap it once for a lacey cowl, or you can wrap it twice for a bit more warmth when the air conditioning is on a little too high.

Photo courtesy Tanis Lavalée

When I first opened the package containing this yarn and saw the color I was going to be working with (the Thrills colorway), my jaw dropped. This is so my color. For me, it embodies spring and early summer. It reminds me of the sight and smell of lilacs, my favorite flower, that bloom at my parents' house only in March. It's the exact color that has been on my fingernails for two months. It's the color of my favorite nail polish in high school, the nostalgia for which prompted me to buy the current stuff. It's the color of my favorite shirt from 10th grade (plaid, short-sleeved, button-up, Gap) that I wore during the spring break I declared to my diary to be "the best week of my life" back in 1996, when I found my group of friends and actually spoke to and made friends with the boy I'd had an unrequited crush on for several months**. And it's the color (well, the yarn is much more lovely and nuanced) of the tube of chapstick I carried around that year because the flavor, Jelly Bean, had the same initials as the other boy I had an unrequited crush on.***  To me, it's the color of freshness and sweetness and fun. And, needless to say, I love it and knitting with it took me to a happy place.

You can find out more about the cowl here and I'll be sure to post about it again when the pattern opens up for public consumption.

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* If you would like to become a club member, it's not too late! Folks may join any time, and those who do will receive all the prior months' shipments in addition to the ones to come. See here for more info.
** I think his mom might actually read this blog from time to time -- if so, hi Martha!
*** Can't believe I just admitted that.

Caeles: A Bit of Backstory

The idea for Caeles started, as many of my knits do, when I saw something pretty at Anthropologie. The item in question, I believe, was a slouchy jersey tank top with a knitted collar. I say "I believe" because I don't have a photo of it and, as many of my knits go, once the design seed is planted by the pretty thing at Anthropologie, it starts to take on a life of its own. Because after thinking it might be fun to try and knit a collar onto a tank top, I started thinking about how a similar collar would look on a knitted something, what shape that something would have, how it would fit, and suddenly I had a new summer top.

Here's my original sketch (this is kind of embarrassing -- my sketches and handwriting are awful):

Unlike the Anthro tank top, I wanted my top to be fitted through the waist and flare at the hips, which I thought would be nicely executed with body darts. Because my sketches are so much better in yarn, I didn't think about adding little sleeves until the prototype was finished. 

 

I thought the collar had a little bit of a retro-modern, Judy Jetson-ish vibe and that the top could use one more dose of that quality. (By the way, that's where the name 'caeles' came from. It's Latin for 'heavenly' or 'celestial' and comes from the word for 'sky' -- I picked it to reflect the original space-y feel of those sleeves and collar.)

The prototype (modeled above with completely the wrong undergarment -- my apologies) was knit in Tess' Designer Yarns Linguini (the same yarn I used for Aurelia), which had been staring at me from my stash basket for quite some time. I like the drapiness of the silk in this top, but I really like how the Valley Yarns Goshen gives it more structure, especially the collar and sleeves. 

The finished version is a couple of inches larger than the prototype and you can see how it looks with a little bit of ease on me, above.  I didn't change anything in the final version, aside from making the sleeve caps just a smidgen longer. 

Ah, a much better fit. I love how the Twist styling team paired Caeles with this pretty printed skirt. I've been wearing my prototype with jeans and a blazer or white pants (last summer), but really want this outfit now.  (Maybe another trip to Anthropologie is in the cards?  Can I count it as a business expense if I end up getting another design idea?)

If you're thinking about casting on, WEBS is having a Caeles Knitalong over on their blog! You can read more about it here and pick up a copy of the pattern here. And even better, you can get Goshen on sale for $2.97 a skein (!!) right now here.

Res Completa: Doodie

My dear friend Stephanie and I met on Craigslist in 2004 when we were both looking for a roommate and/or apartment at the same time, and had both independently rejected every disgusting studio in our price range, as well as every person/group looking to fill a room (I don't believe everyone in San Francisco is a huge weirdo, but that year every single one seemed to have a spare room in their apartment). It was fate, really -- I found her ad immediately after she posted it and, though we were both a little wary, we met at a coffee shop blind-date style and instantaneously bonded over her really cool purse and the fact that we had almost identical, meticulously organized binders with all the other Craigslist ads we had both rejected. Fast forward to 8 years later and we're still good friends, both now married to the guys we were dating when we first met, I've got a baby, and she'll have one, too, this July. (Not sure why I thought you needed all that backstory, but I've had a lot of coffee this morning and am feeling chatty.)

Any knitting outside the secret-for-publication variety has really taken a back seat lately, but I forced myself to make time for a little something for her baby shower last weekend. I've enjoyed (immensely) both making and using everything I've made for Daniel from Wee Woolly Toppers, so to Wee Woolly Toppers I went once again.



Pattern: Doodie, from Wee Woolly Toppers
Yarn: Tess' Designer Yarns Fine Cashmere, almost exactly half a skein (~123 yards)
Needles: US 4 (3.5mm) circs



Doodie is a slouchy, rasta-style hat for baby and is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. The bobble at the end just kills me. The yarn made me really happy for the entirety of the knitting, too, and it'll be so nice and soft for Steph's little guy's noggin.



I made the size Medium (for a 16" head, I believe), so it's a bit small as shown on my little model, who is not only a year old now (?!) but also has a giant (still bald) head.



In case you were wondering, those are indeed Christmas pajamas Daniel is wearing, and, indeed, it is the middle of April. Hey, they're really good quality pj's and they still fit him, ok? I would have changed him for the photoshoot, but the lucky combination of his good mood, the morning's decent light, and the fact that he was distracted enough by the vaporizer water tank (fully cooled) to not want to rip off the hat every five seconds probably wasn't going to happen again and I had to strike while the iron was hot.

Patternum Novum: Caeles

Have you guys seen the new Spring/Summer issue of Twist Collective yet? I'm beyond thrilled to have had a design included in the beautifully-styled "Bloom" story

© Jane Heller

Caeles is a springy, summery tank knit in Valley Yarns Goshen from the top down all in one piece. (Well, you start out knitting the back only, but it soon becomes an in-the-round'er.) It's a simple piece that is meant to be fitted around the bust, but flare out around the hips, and uses lots of short rows to shape the collar and sleeve caps:

© Jane Heller

Caeles is written for 8 sizes ranging from a 29 ¾ -57 ¾" bust -- you can find out more information here and see the rest of the issue here. As usual, there are beautiful knits and gorgeous photography galore -- the "Rain Date" story was almost too pretty to handle -- go check it out!

Lomography, Part II

Still alive (and knitting) over here......more craft-related content later, but for now I thought I'd share some more of my Lomography photos. Most of these were taken around Christmastime, but I just had them developed (that's one of the fun things about real film -- if you wait awhile to develop it, you forget what you shot then get a fun surprise when you get them back).

Just above the roofdeck...
Rainbow...

A walk around our neighborhood...








Playing with the little guy...



A walk in Turlock...
Sun glowing through the trees...

Patternum Novum: Pontos Cardigan

Last late summer, while staying at a family friend's house on a chilly Central Californian beach, I was finally knitting a design I'd had floating around in my head for at least a year. I had seen Tess' Grand Manan at the last Stitches I'd been to, and had an idea for something cozy, but cool. It'd be knit in some sort of textured lace pattern - textured to give visual interest, and lacey to lighten up the bulky, wooly, mohairy yarn, which was going to be warm enough no matter how many yarnovers I used. And the result was the Pontos Cardigan.

$6 via Ravelry (no account needed)

(more info on Ravelry here)

Finished measurements
Bust: 33.75 (37.75, 40.25, 44.25, 49.75, 55, 59)”/ 85.5 (96, 102, 112.5, 126.5, 139.5, 150) cm
Length from collar to hem: 29.75 30, 30.5, 31, 31.25, 32.25, 32.75)”/ 75.5 (76, 77.5, 78.5, 79.5, 82, 83) cm
Sample shown in size S with 2.5”/6 cm of ease.

Yarn & Needles
Tess’ Designer Yarns Grand Manan (55% Mohair, 45% Merino; 325 yds/297 m per 227 g);
2 (3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4) or 610 (680, 725, 795, 895, 990, 1065) yards/ 560 (620, 665, 725, 820, 905, 975)
US 9 (5.5mm) circular needle for ribbing
US 10 (6.0mm) circular needle for body and sleeves

Gauge
12 sts & 19 rows = 4"/10cm in Star Rib Mesh pattern on US 10 (6.0mm) needles
14 sts & 20 rows = 4"/10cm in Stockinette St on US 10 (6.0mm) needles

Errata
3/19/12: Page 2, Create St st Base for Pockets, Sizes XS, L, XL, & 3XL, Row 3 - pattern repeat after second marker is slipped should be [k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo]. Corrected in Rev. 2 of the pattern.

Pontos is Greek for "sea", and I've given this name to my new cardi both because it reminds me of that week on the seashore where I knit it and because the stitch pattern, Star Rib Mesh, somehow reminds me of the ocean - starfish, a fisherman's net, things like that.

It's knit from the bottom up all in one piece (those are faux seams you see on the sides) and has patch pockets picked up from a Stockinette base when you're done with the sweater, so there are only two small sides to seam for each, and a raglan yoke.

There is no side shaping, which makes this a super easy knit (and fast on big needles!). The only area where you really need to pay attention (after you've gotten the hang of the stitch pattern, which is also quite simple) is the raglan yoke decreases, for which I've provided a chart to help you maintain the lacey pattern.

This cardigan is super easy to wear, too, and is a great transitional-weather piece. Throw it on with some jeans and a scarf and you're good to go. I love it belted, too, and I can't usually rock the belted-outerwear thing.

I hope you like it, too!

Stitches West V

We've been to FIVE Stitches Wests now? This is crazy to me. Anyway, last Saturday, my knitting gals and I headed down to the Santa Clara Convention Center for our annual knitter-spotting and yarn-buying spree (Ok, that was just me. And sort of Sophy, too.). As usual, I headed in with all sorts of plans for the photos I'd take, but ended up getting all distracted and over-stimulated and only taking a few.

By far the highlight of the trip was getting to meet some very cool and very inspirational knitters. I actually took a photo of Romi last year, but didn't officially meet her because I was too shy (darn those introvert genes of mine), but this year I actually went and said hi. She is extremely awesome. We chatted a bit about motherhood and geekiness and took a picture of each other taking pictures of each other...my favorite (her version here).


And because I had treated myself to a latte before the show (thought I'd go all out since I was missing a baby-feeding anyway) and was literally vibrating from the extra caffeine, I had to take another picture, this time with two hands. Sheesh.


We also stopped by Ysolda's booth, tried on her beautiful samples (I'm in Laika, which I now MUST MAKE AND WEAR IMMEDIATELY), talked to her about her designs, and took a photo in her photobooth.

Ysolda is super sweet and even more adorable in person than on the internet. I wish I had told her that Arisaig was what got me started on sweater-knitting five years ago, but I forgot. (The caffeine made me a little conversationally spastic, too.)

I love spotting my designs out in the wild. Here's a particularly beautiful Citron on the convention floor, made in Miss Babs sock yarn.

After spending quite some time petting yarn and chatting with the ladies in the Tess' booth, eating some lunch, and making some purchases, we decided to call it a day. But not before getting our obligatory (and inexplicable) yarn-hat photo. Love the heavenly quality of this one.

Good times, had by all.