The Great Game

Introducing the first pattern in the second Game of Thrones Collection! The Great Game was designed to work with Miss Babs 7 Color Gradient Set in Caroline or Yummy 2-Ply, and is shown in the Edge of Reality colorway. Be sure to check out the three amazing Great Game Sets that Miss Babs has dyed up in Caroline, her new super luxurious fingering weight cashmere blend.

Edge of Reality, which is even more amazing in person and what I used to design The Great Game.  The beautiful teal transitions to a teal/gray and then to charcoal. It's one of those colors that looks great on everyone!

This one is Edge of Temptation.  I think I'm going to pick up a set of this and knit another Great Game.  Those reds are really calling to me!

And Phoenix Rising.  Beautiful creams, gray and black.  This would go with anything and be a stunning Great Game shawl!

I designed The Great Game to be a simple to knit shawl that could be worn throughout the year. It has side to side construction with a delicate lace edging that is worked along with the body of the shawl.  It's one of those knit's that becomes intuitive early on in the pattern and provides a relaxing without being boring knit.  Aside from the lace edging, you won't have to worry about stitch counts which make it a perfect project to bring to knit group.  Ive provided instructions for the lace in both written and charted format for your knitting pleasure.  I hope that you guys enjoy knitting it as much as I did!

~Lara

What a difference a yarn can make!

I'm constantly being amazed by you guys!  It makes me so happy to see what you are doing with my designs and what you are coming up with.  Last week I was scrolling through my feed on Ravelry and spotted BlissKnitters Windbranch that she knitted up in Noro Silk Garden Light.  Check out her project page for more details.  I hadn't really thought about using a self striping yarn on this hat, and I'm so impressed with how it turned out!  It just goes to show how changing yarn can give a whole new look to a design.

One of the many things that I love about yarn is how similar to painting or coloring it can be.  The hand painted variegated skeins are my absolute favorite because they tend to knit up like a soft abstract painting.  Each skein is a little work of art and always have a bit of a surprise when I knit with them.

Happy Knitting!

2015 was a little bit of the year of suck, and when 2016 finally came around, I was ecstatic for a new beginning.  Last year Andy wound up changing jobs twice within a very short period of time.  One is stressful enough (the first one wasn't by choice, the company he worked for was sold), but compounding that with a second change to a brand new company, which has turned out to be a change for the better overall,  added a little bit of a strain to our daily lives for the first few months he was there.  In the midst of the job changes we found out that Andy's dad has cancer and then a short time later that his mom also has cancer.  They have both had surgery and seem to be doing as well as can be expected.  His dad is just finishing up his radiation and we are hoping for the best.

I had talked to my grandmother at Christmas and knew she wasn't doing well.  I tried to prepare myself for what was inevitable, but her death still came as a great shock and I am still recovering from it.  She was such an influential part of my life that it's strange to think of her not being here anymore.  I feel really lucky that I knew her for so long and know that most people don't have their grandparents when they reach midlife. 

The day after my grandma passed away, Jasper our rescue pug, was scheduled for surgery to remove his anal glands.  I considered rescheduling the surgery because of the timing, but his glands had been leaking multiple times a day and really needed to be taken care of.  We had tried every other option that our vet offered before choosing to have them removed.  The surgery seemed to go well, but then there were complications.  Jasper wound up being allergic to the antibiotic the vet gave him which caused projectile dirarreah that was like something from a nightmare.  His stitches blew out on both sides, the diarrhea lasted for two weeks, then suddenly he couldn't go to the bathroom properly.  We rushed him to the on call vet who did an exam and x-rays.  She sent us home with advice to give him probiotics and an anti inflammatory medication.  He condition got worse and I brought him back to see the vet who did the surgery.  She found a stricture from the surgery which is a scarring that gets progressively tighter over time. She said she wasn't going to do surgery on it again because it wouldn't help and to just bring him in once a month and have it stretched and to feed him Metamucil and stool softeners for the next six months. Yes, six freaking months of watching our poor dog try to go to the bathroom with extreme pain.  I decided to take matters into my own hands and started researching rectal strictures, which can be corrected with a procedure called Balloon Dilation.  On the recommendation of our pet sitter who is a vet tech I called another vet in the area who thankfully talked to me on the phone and asked to see Jasper.  While he was in the process of trying to locate a larger dilator than what was available here, Jaspers butt completely closed up.  We wound up going in for emergency surgery last Friday with the possibility of taking Jasper to VA Tech for additional surgery on Monday.  Thankfully the vet was able to remove the strictures and stretch things out a bit which means Jasper is comfortable and so far doesn't have to go to Tech.  Our new vet is very hopeful that this will be a long term fix. 

There is a lot more to the Jasper story and what has been going on in my personal life, but it's really too much to write about publicly.  I wanted to share with you why I haven't been posting as often and haven't been on social media as often as I usually am.  Of course I'm still designing and have a new hat pattern that was released last week: Windbranch.  If you have a chance, please check it out.  It's an easy knit and works up quickly and the pattern is only $2.99!  I have a few releases planned for early spring - just in time for fiber festival season!

I am taking a temporary break from making bags for Michelle's aka Berry Colorful Yarnings, clubs, but she does have a couple of bag makers who are filling in.  Michelle has been really supportive with everything that has been going on, and I really appreciate it :)

Stash Bash with Unplanned Peacock!

Natasha from Unplanned Peacock has a wonderful sense of color and dyes up some pretty amazing yarns.  When she asked if I would be interested in having her create a color palette and kit for Stash Bash, I was ecstatic!!  Natasha has come up with a vibrant rainbow of eight colors with your choice of a coordinating white or black background all in her Peacock Sock.  If you already have Stash Bash in your library, no worries as there is a kit only option.  I can't even begin to describe how excited I am about this kit!  The colors really speak to me and I can't wait to see all of your Stash Bash shawls knit up!  Be sure to tag me on Instagram with your pictures @spinninglara and use the hashtag #UPPStashBash so I can see your shawl!

Here is a link to the kits:  Unplanned Peacock Stash Bash Spectrum Kits 

Holiday Pattern fun with Signature Needle Arts and Miss Babs!

I’ve teamed up with Signature Needle Arts for their annual holiday free with purchase pattern!

Introducing Signature Chevron, an easy to knit and perfect to gift, infinity scarf. It works up perfectly inMiss Babs Yummy 2-ply shown in the Canis Major colorway. The Signature Chevron pattern is free from Signature Needle Arts with any purchase.  Signature offers free shipping with a $50 purchase so it’s a win/win!  If you haven't had a chance to try Signature Needles yet, this is a great opportunity.  I have a full set of their interchangeable needles and they are really the Cadillac of knitting needles.  Smooth, precise, and flexible cords make them a joy to knit with.  I also love their double pointed needles and use them for the majority of my sock knitting.  

2015 Indie Gift A Long

I’m so exciting to be participating as a designer in this year’s Indie GAL! What is the Indie GAL? Here is a quote from the front page:

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. From Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 pm US EST - Friday, November 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event.Use coupon code: giftalong2015.

There are KAL’s and CAL’s in the Indie GAL group that include lot’s of great prizes. I hope that you have a chance to check it out and participate. There are over 300 designers that are in the GAL this year so there are lot’s of fab patterns to choose from.

If you would like to knit one of my patterns for the GAL, here is a list of the one’s that are included in the 25% off sale using coupon code giftalong2015 beginning on November 19 and running through November 27.  If you would prefer to see them all at one time, click on this link to go to the bundle on Ravelry: GAL Patterns

Shark Bite

Stash Bash

Intersect

Sundance

Sugardance

Mother of Dragons

Spark

Eclipse

Frost Bite

Catching Katniss

Heat Lightning

The Outer Limits

Babalicious

The Lakes Cowl Collection

Lartha

Iridill

Untangling

Also included is my latest release Illumination

Knitscene

Photo credit: Knitscene/Harper Point Photography

It's been a dream of mine to have one of my designs published in a magazine and I am elated that it's become a reality.  In January I submitted my Hotpoint sock design to Knitscene and it was accepted for the Winter 2015 issue.  It's just hit the newsstand and if you haven't already gotten your copy, be sure to check it out.  

Photo credit: Knitscene/Harper Point Photography

Photo credit: Knitscene/Harper Point Photography

There are so many pretty designs in this issue.  Two of my favorites are the Trapunto Vest by Katya Frankel and the Chamei Pullover by Bristol Ivy.  I think I have some yarn in my stash that would be perfect for the vest and the sweater is just screaming for me to do a little retail therapy so I can knit that as well. 

Trapunto Vest

by Katya Frankel

Photo credit: Knitscene/Harper Point Photography

Chamei Pullover

by Bristol Ivy

Photo credit: Knitscene/Harper Point Photography

Heat Lighting and Socktober

I'd like to introduce my latest sock design, Heat Lighting in Unplanned Peacock's Cozy Sock.  This is a super fun and easy to knit sock that is worked from the cuff down and incorporates a modified short row heel.  The lace pattern is simple enough to knit while watching tv or going to a game.  Unplanned Peacock's Cozy sock was a delight to work with.  It's a blend of 20% super soft alpaca, 60% merino and 20% nylon.  It had a luxurious hand and literally just glided over my needles.

In celebration of the release of Heat Lighting and Socktober, ALL of my sock patterns in my Ravelry Pattern Shop are 50% until October 1.  Use coupon code: Socktober when you check out.

A New Sock Pattern and Spoiler Alert

One of the things I love about working with variegated yarns is finding a stitch pattern that really shows off the colors in the yarn.  It can be a bit of a challenge sometimes, but it's something that I greatly enjoy.  Miss Babs is continually coming up with amazing hand painted colorways that catch my eye.  One of them was a one of a kind Babette in Yummy 2 Ply that I knew would be perfect for a pair of cabled socks.  I wanted something with a bit more interest then a plain cable and added a bit of lace to it.  It's one of those stitch patterns that is easy to knit and easy to remember.  I normally don't work on cables or lace while riding in the car because I tend to get motion sick if I have to read anything, but because these were so easy to knit these socks were the exception. I'm really excited to bring you Lartha and here is a little bit of background on the pattern and the name:

Several years ago Martha Stewart tweeted about how often her horses needed new shoes and I jokingly tweeted back to her that I didn’t see that as a problem because who doesn’t love new shoes, right? Well, she replied to my tweet and since then I joke that she and I are besties and our celebrity couple name is Lartha.

Maybe someday I will get to meet Martha in person and can give her a pair of Lartha Socks that I knitted just for her.

Lartha is a cuff down sock with an easy to knit lace and cable repeat that is given in both written and charted instructions. A modified modified short row heel adds a bit of interest while being simple to knit. These socks look great in both variegated and solid yarns.

The sample in the photos was knitted using Miss Babs Yummy 2 Ply in a one of a kind Babette. If you would like to use a similar colorwayPerfectly Wreckless or Soul Food would be great choices. Seriously though, any of the colorways that Miss Babs dyes would be fantastic with this pattern!

Lartha is introductory priced on Ravelry at $4.50 until June 15

Spoiler Alert!

Photo is © Miss Babs

If you are in the Miss Babs Knitting Tour and don't want a spoiler, please don't click on the link below.

I'm so, so excited that the Miss Babs Knitting Tour pattern has been added to Ravelry.   This was one of the most fun patterns that I have worked on and the yarn is fantastic!  I'm really trying not to give anything away so I'm not saying much right now.  If you would like to check it out and see what it is along with pictures click on this link:  Miss Babs Knitting Tour

If you weren't in the tour the pattern will be available for purchase sometime in December.  

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.

Sugarplum

I know it's been a few weeks since I've posted, it just couldn't be helped.  I've been a bit under the weather since just after Thanksgiving.  I finally went to the doctor and he gave me on an inhaler and steroids.  the inhaler works great and I'm hardly coughing anymore.  I had a fantastic allergic reaction to the steroids on the first dose, which means I won't take those again!

I'm feeling a bit perkier and wanted to share my latest design release with you. It's called Sugarplum and is a super fun knit.  I knit it the sample up in Countess Ablaze Viscount of Spark in the Fake Your Death colorway.  The yarn was divine to knit with and the colorway is amazing. This cute infinity scarf can be doubled and worn as a cowl on the super cold days of winter.  When spring comes along, wear it with your favorite top as a cute little accessory.

Sugarplum is available on Ravelry for just $2.99 until January 20th.  If you are located in the EU, Sugarplum is available on Love Knitting for the same price later this week.  I apologize for any inconvenience, it takes approximately 24 hours for patterns from Ravelry to make their way over to Love Knitting.

Happy Thanksgiving from
Lara Smoot Designs
All patterns in my Ravelry Pattern Shop will be 30% beginning November 27 and ending on Midnight December 1.
No coupon code required.

This has been such a busy week!  Andy and I have been spending every free moment working on the deck to try to get it finished.  The majority of the construction is done, which is a tremendous relief.  We still have the stairs to put in and then can begin work on leveling up the ground under the deck so that we can have a cement patio poured. 

Andy and I sat outside this afternoon, put our feet up and had a beer.  It was so nice to be able to take a moment to relax and enjoy the deck and the beautiful day.  The new wood needs to cure for six months before we can paint the deck.  We plan on painting it, along with the house this spring.  It's going to be fun to choose a color and we are really looking forward to it!

I haven't had as much time as I would like to knit this week and am still working on the Bethesda's Socks for the Sock it To Me KAL.   I also have a new cowl design on the needles that I plan on taking with me next week while we are on vacation. Yep, that's right, we are taking a vacation!  This one doesn't include construction, cooking, laundry or anything of that nature. 

I have a blog post scheduled for next Friday which will have a BIG surprise and announcement which I think you will like.  If you follow me under Lara Smoot Designs on Facebook there will be a few hint's there during the week as well. 

Yarn and Fibery Goodness

I recently got a very lovely package of yarn from Deborah at Yarn Indulgences.  Deborah has a fantastic online shop that specializes in hand dyed yarns in a fabulous array of colors.  I had a really hard time choosing between them because each skein is a work of art.  This is what arrived in my mailbox:

This first lovely is the Indulgent Style Fingering base in the Campfire colorway.  It's an 80% Superwash Merino 20% Silk blend and feels absolutely decadent.  It's screaming that it want's to be a shawl so be on the lookout for a new design in this!

This next lovely skein is in the Indulgent Fingering base in the Maleficent colorway.  Can we say fabulous purple and green?!  Indulgent Fingering is a 100% Superwash Merino base which has a lovely luster and the colors really pop on it.  I have to say that both of these yarns are much more vibrant than what my pictures are showing.  My camera has been a bit of a party pooper recently and I fear that it will need to be replaced in the near future.  I'm hoping that a new memory card will improve things a bit and will try that first.

I also received this beautiful batt as a prize for participating in the Tour de Fleece in the Dropped Stitches Podcast group on Ravelry.  The batt is from Knit Spin Farm and is a beautiful blend of Blue Faced Leicester, Angelina, Corriedale, Finn, Merino, Sari Silk and Silk Noil.  The colorway is Violets at my Feet which is the perfect name for it!  It's quite soft and scrumptious feeling and is going to be a dream to spin up.

Julia tucked in a few other little goodies into the package. I feel very spoiled!

Two Fun Fall KAL's

Fall is almost here and we have two fun KAL's on Ravelry beginning on September 12! 

Pictured is Frost in Bloom


The Cowltastic Knit Along 

Fall is the perfect time for cowl knitting. They are fun and easy, plus make great holiday gifts. If you are a last minute gift knitter (like me!), then you know how nice it is to be able to have a gift made ahead of when you need it (instead of finishing it up in the car and trying to block it in the hotel room).

Guidelines:
Cast on no earlier than September 12.
Use any of my cowl patterns.
Post a picture of your finished cowl by October 19 midnight your time to qualify for prizes.
Tag you project with LSCowltastic.
Use coupon code: Cowltastic for $1.00 off of one pattern for the KAL. The coupon is good through September 12.

I can’t wait to see what you guys make! Spark and Camberwell are perfect for using up stash left overs if you are on a yarn diet.

Spark

 Camberwell

The Sock It To Me KAL

Pictured are Frost Bite


Socks are one of my favorite things to knit and I can’t seem to get enough of them. They are great for gift giving - to those who are sock worthy of course! I owe a pair to a friend who hand washes the ones I made for her a couple of years ago so I am going to join in on this one.

Guidelines:
Cast on no earlier than September 12.
Use any of my sock patterns.
Post a picture of your finished socks by October 19 midnight your time to qualify for prizes.
Tag you project with LSSockItToMe.

Modifications? Of course! If you prefer toe up and want to alter one of my patterns to knit them toe up, sideways, or any other mod’s feel free to do so. I really love seeing what you make from my patterns and love seeing the mod’s too!

Use coupon code: SockIt for $1.00 off of one pattern for the KAL. The coupon is good through September 12.

Sock it to me??? Why this name? My maiden name was Toomey and when my mom was pregnant with me she was a teacher. She told me that her students wanted her to call me Sockit Toomey. I always thought this was really funny :)

I'm working on the prizes for both KAL's.  If you would like to donate a prize, please let me know!

Catching Katniss

Earlier this year I was asked to design a project for a joint venture with Wendi from Indieway Yarns and our friend Sally who is a bag maker extraordinaire.  The theme for the project was Catching Fire from the Hunger Games books and movies. 

When I started planning Catching Katniss I wanted something light and airy that would be perfect to wear over your shoulders in the heat of summer without being too warm.  With the Catching Fire theme in mind I decided to incorporate the flames from the Mockingjay dress that Katniss wears.  The scene where Katniss's dress bursts into flames and looks like the wings of a bird is my favorite part of the movie.  It's kind of magical and stunning all at the same time and just takes my breath away.  The lace edging represents the flames of the dress and the fun colorway called Ring of Fire has many different tonal shades that flames tend to have.

It was really important to me to create a design that would be both fun and easy to knit and completely effortless.  Summertime is when we all want to relax and have something that we don't have to think a lot about while we knit.  This is a perfect take to the beach or work on during a road trip project. Catching Katniss is deceptively easy to and begins with the lace edging and is worked from the bottom up. The body is worked in garter stitch short rows.  I hope you enjoy knitting it as much as I have enjoyed designing it!  Beth and Margi both had their test knit's done in a matter of days.

Wendi has a very limited number of kit's for Catching Katniss left in her Etsy shop.  Right now I think there are only 3 available.  If you really like this color be sure to grab up one of the kit's before they are gone!  If you would like to purchase just the pattern, it is available in my Ravelry Pattern Store.

Continue in Pattern as Established

Sometimes a pattern will have the term: Continue in Pattern as Established used in it.  A couple of my patterns have it in them and I recently had someone ask how to do this.  Regardless of the type of pattern - hat, mitt's scarf, etc. Continuing in Pattern as Established will have the same principal and work the same way for any pattern unless the designer has made a note indicating that it will be done differently.

When you see Continue in Pattern as Established it means to work the stitches as you have been on the previous rounds or rows.  It can be confusing at first, especially if this comes in the middle of a round or row.  I have created an example on how to do this below.

Let's start with a simple ribbing that is being worked in the round over 20 stitches:  

Pattern:
Rounds 1 - 5:  [K2, P2] 5 X
Round 6 - 10: K 7, continue in pattern as established

The brackets [  ] indicate a repeat, the number following them: 5 X, indicates that what is in the brackets will be repeated by that many times.  In this case it will be 5 times.

Our pattern says to work the ribbing for 5 rounds, then on rounds 6 - 10: K across the first 7 stitches, and continue in pattern as established.  This means that on round 6 we will knit the first 7 stitches,  then P1, [K2, P2] 3 X.  The chart below shows what the stitches will look like:

The important thing to remember is that when you see Continue in Pattern as Established that you need to work the stitches that are indicated in the same manner that they have been worked on previous rounds/rows.  It does not mean that you are starting from the beginning of the round or row.  This is one of those times that stitch markers come in handy, especially if one of the sections you are working has stitches that are hard to see or you are working with a darker color yarn.

I hope that this tutorial helps you to understand what to do when you see Continue in Pattern as Established used in a pattern.  If you have any questions, please email me or leave them in the comments section.