Tyrion's Gift

I'm so pleased to announce the release of Tyrion's Gift, the fourth shawl patten in my Game of Thrones inspired series.

Tyrion's Gift is a top down triangle shawl that is deceptively easy to knit.  With resting rows on the wrong side, it's a perfect project to take to knit group or work on while you watch the Game of Thrones Season 4 Premier.  This tribute to Tyrion and his lady friend Shae is knit up in Miss Babs Tarte, in the Volcanic Eruption colorway.  Tarte has a wonderful hand and is a generous 500 yard skein.  Miss Babs dyed some up just in time for the pattern release and you can purchase directly from her site:  Miss Babs Volcanic Eruption 

A huge thank you goes to my test knitters Margi and Helen who whipped through this pattern in no time and gave it raving reviews! 

Like most couples, in the beginning Tyrion and Shae were truly in love. They were both quite happy until Tyrion's father forced him to marry another woman. 

Shae refused to leave Tyrion, even at the risk of her own safety.  Tyrion was forced to resort to sending her away in a rather brisk fashion.  As a parting gift to show how much he cared for her, Trion commissioned a shawl in deep reds of the Lannister colors.

A single, simple gift to keep Shae warm was what Tyrion intended to give to Shae.  The betrayal that he got in return was most unexpected.

Use coupon code: Gift for $1.00 off of Tyrion's Gift in my Ravelry Pattern Shop, good through Easter.

Sundance

I’ve just released Sundance, a fun venture into colorwork. The Sundance mitts are designed to keep help keep your hands and arms warm in those sub zero office temperatures that we all know and love. These cute mitts are knit up in Knitted Wit’s Victory DK in Wild Orchard and Naked.

Use coupon code: stupidgroundhog for $1 off of Sundance in my Ravelry pattern shop. Don’t wait because it expires on Midnight 2/15!

Wintertime is my favorite time to knit colorwork patterns. The longer nights and shorter days of winter seem to beg for brighter colors and patterns. The Sundance mitts are inspired by classic Norwegian mittens and sweaters with a touch of modern design.

Sundance is written in one size, but can easily be altered by going up or down a needle size or two, or by using a lighter or heavier weight yarn. Make sure to knit a swatch to check your gauge and to ensure you will like the fabric if you are altering the size of the mitts. My test knitter Julia, aka Sapphirechild on Ravelry, used Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and altered her gauge to make them a bit smaller.

Mother of Dragons

I'm so pleased to announce the release of Mother of Dragons!  

Inspired by Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones, this lace shawl is deceptively easy to knit.  I used Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in the Biker Chick colorway.  It has a lot of deep orange, dark red and gray colors in it which are perfect for the pattern.  The colors really reflect what I think of when dragons come to mind - fiery, bright and breathtaking.

The Mother of Dragons shawl was created to look like the wing of a dragon. The lace pattern mimics the intricate scales found on dragons and leads down to a fine point lace edging, like the points on dragon wings.

This pattern will be available at the Miss Babs booth at Stitches South April 10 - 13.  If you would like to purchase the pattern in pdf format it's available in my Etsy Shop and in my Ravelry Pattern Shop.

The Mother of Dragon Shawl is worked in 3 sections beginning with a garter stitch tab at the center neck. The body of the shawl is worked over a series of increase rows in sections 1 and 2 with garter stitch edgings to prevent the edging from rolling. The the lace edging border is worked across the bottom edge of the shawl incorporating all of the boarder stitches so there is minimal binding off at the end.

My test knitters Beth, Margi and Julia all did a fantastic job with this pattern. The deadline got bumped up by a couple of weeks when I found out that Miss Babs would be taking the pattern to Stitches South.  The three of them were all troupers and not only finished the test knit in time, but several days early!

This is Margi's test knit in Blue Ridge Yarns Silk Splash.  The dyer is in our area and Andy's favorite socks are in one of her yarns!

Here is Beth's in Fiber Optic Yarns Kashmir: 

Julia's in Buckwheat Bridge Mohair/Cormo Fingering:

 

If you are are looking for yarn for the Despicable Socks, Berry Colorful Yarnings has added several new Minion colorways to her shop! From left to right... Minion, Evil Minion, Edith, Gru.... all avail for pre order.

 This yarn was so much fun to work with!  I love how the strips on the socks match up perfectly - there are notes in the pattern on how to get yours to match up too.

Frostwork

I'm so pleased to announce the release of Frostwork, my latest sock pattern.  Frostwork is knit up in Peppino from The Yarns of Rhichard Devrieze which is now being carried at The Loopy Ewe!

I had so much fun designing this sock and watching the lace pattern take shape.  It reminds me of diamond window panes from an English cottage that have been gracefully decorated in the night with Jack Frosts artwork. Use Coupon Code: JackFrost2014 for 20% off of Frostwork in my Ravelry Shop through 2/25.

Flu

Last Monday I was minding my own business and went to the doctor for some routine blood work.  I started to feel a little tired on Wednesday and by Thursday morning there was no way I was getting out of bed.  Coughing, fever and feeling like I had been hit by a truck.  I figured it was just a little bug and took some Dayquil and Nyquil.  By Saturday I was not improving so Andy hauled me back to the doctor (can you see the irony here?) where I found out that I had the flu.  Five days of Tamiflu and lot's of rest has me almost back to normal.  I normally don't go to the doctor when I first get sick as usually I get better fairly quickly.  This has been a huge learning experience and I have to say that if you are not feeling well and it's flu season, don't wait.  I could have been feeling much better sooner if I gone in when I first started feeling ill.

Now, on to much more fun stuff!  Today I released Frost in Bloom - The Hat.  It's introductory priced at $3.50 until February 1 in my Ravelry shop.  Shown here in Indieway Yarns First String in the Delicate Pastels colorway. I've also updated the Frost in Bloom infinity scarf pattern with new formatting and my logo. 

The handspun sweater that I had posted about last time is nearly done.  I'm so excited about it!  It fits me really well and I love how it kind of stripes in the center.  The fleece that I used was from a Jacob sheep which are multicolored.  It's a little difficult to blend the colors together evenly when processing fleece by hand so some of the skeins that I spun are darker or lighter and have a cool striping effect.  I think I was pretty lucky with where the darker stripe is. It sort of looks like it was intended that way and gives a slimming illusion in the waist area. 

I knitted the button and neck band all in one piece, adding a bit of mitering where they join.  It still needs a final steam to smooth out the button band.  I'm heading out tomorrow in search of ribbon to line the inside of the button band with.  The buttons are so cute!  I had purchased two of them a couple of years ago from Melissa Jean while I was at MDSW.  I had no idea what I would use them for and when I laid them out on this sweater I knew they were perfect!  I went to her online shop and ordered more (thankfully she had them in stock) and they arrived yesterday.  There will be nine of them, which is why I need to line the button band. 

The First Clue from the Intersect MKAL went out today.  I can't wait to see everyone's projects!  If you have a chance pop on over to the Indieway Yarns group on Ravelry to see all the Intersect projects!

Iridill

It's finally here!  This afternoon I released Iridill.  I'm really excited about this pattern and hope that you will find it to be a fun knit.  I think that knitting should be fun which is why I strive to have my patterns be clear and easy to follow. My test knitters all loved knitting this one and I think you will too!  A huge thank you to Lydia, Aparna, Debbi, Debby and Michelle who all did a fantastic job test knitting.  A lot of time and effort goes into designing a pattern, and it's not possible to do a good job without fantastic test knitters.

The Iridill pattern includes two sizes: The Shawl in Worsted and Shawlette in Fingering.  

Introductory priced at $4.50 until December 15 in my Ravelry Shop.  

Shawlette shown in Miss Babs Yummy in Maryland 2013

Shawl in Miss Babs Yowza in Perfect Wreckless.

The shawlette would also work up really nicely in Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock or Indieway Yarns First String Sock. As an alternative worsted weight Shalimar's Honey Worsted or Indieway's Best Worsted would work well.

If you were wondering where the name came from, here is the story from the pattern:

I have to admit that I am a bit of a magpie. I am drawn to things that have a bit of shine to them, and Carnival Glass is no exception. It comes in beautiful colors that shimmer in the light, showing off the lovely patterns that are molded into the glass. When Carnival Glass first came into production it was called Iridill. The Iridill Shawl and Shawlette are inspired by the ever changing colors in Carnival Glass. It’s an easy knit that will really show off in variegated yarns.

Wandering Wildflower

Introducing Wandering Wildflower

Introductory price of $3.50 until July 1 on Ravelry

Wandering Wildflower is a very versatile pattern and can be worn as a scarf or a cowl.  If you make the version in the pattern it will use close to 450 yards of fingering weight yarn.  The pattern can easily be modified to accommodate a skein with less yardage by casting on fewer stitches.  Shannon who test knit for me used an alternating color for the eyelet section. It's really quite striking.  Just waiting for her to upload pictures.  We are giving her slack though. I think she is still unpacking boxes from her move last weekend.  If that won't put a delay into things, I don't know what will!

Yes, the pattern name was changed :)  A friend suggested that Kracken might not be the best choice for something that is wrapped around ones neck.  Lindr came up with the name and will receive a copy of the pattern (Lindr please contact me via Ravelry and I will send you a copy right away).  JudyH also will be receiving a copy from our random drawing.  Thank you to everyone who participated!

I'm packing today to leave for TNNA tomorrow.  It's exciting to go and get to see friends that we don't see that often.  I can't believe it's been over a year since Ive seen Anne and Erica!  Im really ecstatic about getting to meet Carrie aka IrishGirlieKnits this year!  Ive always loved knitting her patterns and have done some test knitting for her in the past.  

If you are going to TNNA this weekend, please stop by the Shalimar Yarns booth and say hi.  I will be working all day on Saturday and Sunday morning.  Ive finished my Tempest sweater and will be wearing it.  It's hot pink - Love Potion and gray - Ore so I should be easy to spot.