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

Journey to Atlantis and the Miss Babs Knitting Tour

One of the things I enjoy most about designing, is being able to create a story to go along with the design.  When Miss Babs asked me to design a shawl with an Atlantis theme, it really got me excited and even more so when I found out that it would be in her Yowza yarn which light worsted and has a generous 560 yards.  I had so much fun creating the shawl design and doing the graphics for the pattern.  It's now available on Ravelry and if you use coupon code: Trident, between now and December 24th you will get $1 off. 

If you missed out on the Knitting Tour in 2015,  sign ups for the 2016 Tour begin today: Miss Babs Knitting Tour  Not only will you receive 4 fun filled packages, but there are KAL's in the Tour Group on Ravelry with lot's of chatter and some fun prizes too.  Here is a little more info directly from the site: 

2016 Knitting Tour

Join other intrepid armchair travelers as our virtual knitting tour visits four exotic and interesting destinations. Our shipments will send you around the world with four themed packages, each containing a new and exclusive colorway on one of our favorite base yarns, a coordinating pattern, souvenirs and treats, and our travel guide that brings each destination to life.

Of course, the travel is all imaginary. But you’ll be able to picture yourself in each destination with the four great accessories we’ll be knitting and wearing together. Our four wonderful designers for 2016 will be Tanis Gray, Laura Aylor, JumperCables, and Lucy Hague. We think you’ll love their creative and interesting projects.

The projects will include 3 shawls and 1 cowl & mitts set.  In general, if you’re a newer knitter, these projects will help build skills and gently stretch your knitting muscles. For experienced knitters, these will be relaxing and fun. We also have a Ravelry group for all your travel anticipation, excitement, knit-alongs, questions, knitting support, and prizes.

Miss Babs Knitting Tour

SPOILER ALERT!!! IF YOU ARE IN THE MISS BABS KNITTING TOUR AND HAVEN'T RECEIVED YOUR JUNE PACKAGE YET AND WANT TO BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU RECEIVE IT, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

I was so honored when Miss Babs asked me to design a shawl pattern for the Miss Babs Knitting Tour last fall.  Babs gave me some ideas of what she wanted and a jumping off point including the them of the pattern which is Atlantis.  I'm a huge fan of mythology and really enjoy reading about it and like to be able to create a design that is related to something that I have either read about or have seen in a movie.  The fact that the destination for this stop on the Tour was Atlantis, was a huge bonus for me as it was right up my alley!

Helen who is one of the fabulous ladies who works for Miss Babs was a huge help with coordinating everything from contact with Sarah who is the test knitter for the Tour, to creating the written directions with Carmen who also works for Miss Babs.  I have to say that this has been one of the most fun projects and working with the wonderful ladies at Miss Babs has been more than a pleasure.
Miss Babs sent me one of the kit's that went out to the Tour Travelers and I was so impressed! It came with a skein of Yowza in the Atlantis colorway, a beautiful glass stitch marker, a booklet that includes the pattern along with a couple of recipes and information about Atlantis, and a little packet of Swedish Fish.  They even included one of the Tour bags, which I think Helen must have had a hand in since she knows that I am a knitting bag lover!

If you didn't sign up for the Tour this year, be sure to join the group on Ravelry so you will know when sign ups for 2016 begin.  There is a lot of value in the kit and the group is a lot of fun!

The Atlantis pattern will be available for individual purchase in December.  It uses one full skein of Yowza and works up really well in the variegated colors that Miss Babs is known for.  The Atlantis colorway is a Babette which means that each skein is unique and this is something that I absolutely love! It's so nice to be able to knit up a pattern like Atlantis, and have what you make be totally unique.  Not just because you made it, but because the yarn you used was created one skein at a time and is a work of art.

Mail

I think everybody loves getting a little something in the mail every once in a while.  When I was a little girl I lived in Maine and my grandparents lived in NY.  My grandmother would send me cards and letters and an occasional package which started my fascination with sending and receiving mail!  A couple of weeks ago my friend Yvonne sent me a tracking number and said to be on the lookout for a package.  I couldn't imagine what she had sent me and then the day came when the package arrived.  I was so surprised and very honored that she knitted me a shawl!  She used my Tyrion's Gift pattern and added beads to it.  The yarn is Madelinetosh lace and the colorway is Lapis or Tardi's Blue as I call it.  Every time I've worn it, I've gotten a million compliments!  I'm still overwhelmed by her generosity!

Here is a close up that shows the beading:

Speaking of mail, I'm really excited to be able to reveal that Wentletrap was the May 2015 Poststitch Sockstitch club pattern! If you haven't checked out Poststitch, they have a subscription program and you can subscribe month by month which I love.  Be sure to check out their blog too, they have some great knitting tips on there.

Marshwood

I've teamed up with Bare Naked Wools to bring you Marshwood.  Bare Naked Wools will be offering a kit for Marshwood in their shop later this week, so be sure to check it out!

Marshwood is inspired by the many castles that are found throughout Europe. The simple, but elegant texture of the body of the shawl is reminiscent of castle walls and the picot edging represents the battlements.
Marshwood uses just two skeins of Bare Naked Wools Confection DK. Beginning with a garter stitch tab and worked from the top down this is a great project to take with you to knit group or work on while watching your favorite show.

Weather you will be walking along the Moors of the Scottish countryside or dining at your favorite pub this summer, Marshwood is the perfect accessory for you to wear. The three sections drape nicely and will lay over your shoulders without the use of a shawl pin.


Use coupon code: BNW in my Ravelry pattern shop for $1.00 off of Marshwood through 5/11. 





Later this week I'll have the MDSW recap.  I don't think Blogger had enough coffee this morning as it keeps deleting what I've typed.

Spring has Sprung

Spring is in full bloom here and we are really enjoying spending time outside.  The Red Bud and Dogwood trees are blooming and the area we live in reminds me of some of the scenes in Willy Wonka and the new Oz movie.





Blogger is making my pictures super sized today and doesn't seem to want to let me resize them.  Sorry about that!





We had several days of rain earlier in the week and I found these cute little mushrooms on our garden path.  They appear to be huge in the picture, but are only about an inch and a half tall.  The edging on them reminds me of fringe on a scarf.





I've been wearing Tyrion's Gift in the evenings to keep the night air off my shoulders while we enjoy dinner out on the deck.   It's knit up in Tarte in Volcanic Eruption and available on the Miss Babs site.  It's a really stunning colorway, so deep and rich.  I just love it!   Leslie sent me a lovely shawl pin and it works perfectly for keeping the Tyrion's Gift in place. The brass coloring goes perfectly with the yarn!   It's a really cute design and reminds me of a heart or little scissors.

Ancient Fibre Arts just released the Catacombs set in their 4 ply Merino Silk yarn from Meow collection that I designed for them.  It's a really fun knit and the textured stitches are easy to work.

I just checked my count down app on my phone and there are only 14 days until MDSW!  I've made a list of vendors that I want to check out and have a few things on my shopping list.  It looks like it might be a damp weekend, I'm hoping it won't be of course.  But if it is, I am prepared with a new pair of short boots from LL Bean.  I've been breaking them in so they will be ready just in case I need them.  They were on sale, I think the darker tops may not have been as popular as the original lighter leather ones.  Plus I had a gift card so I really couldn't go wrong!  If you are headed to MDSW, there is a great packing tips thread in the MDSW group on Ravelry: Packing Tips The tips are handy for other festivals as well.  It seem that no matter how many times I go, and how carefully I pack, there is always something that I left at home.

Iggy wishes you a Happy Spring!

It's KAL Time!

I hope you can join us for the Tyrion's Gift KAL in my group on Ravelry.  It's being done in a casual style, cast on anytime you like and finish up by May 16th.  If you haven't tried a KAL before, this is a great one to get your feet wet on.  We have several experienced shawl knitters participating who are happy to answer questions and cheer you on.  Tyrion's Gift is a simple lace pattern with resting rows on the wrong side which makes it a great first shawl/first KAL project. 

Here are the fabulous prizes:

Leslie Wind custom made this pin to go with Tyrion's Gift and it's called Tyrion's Closure.  It's a wonderful design and easily slips into your shawl and stays in place while being worn.  Tyrion's Closure will be available in Leslies shop, if you can't wait until the end of the KAL to see if you won! 

Gwenderful, my favorite stitch marker maker extraordinaire, has donated a set of her Rainbow Stitch markers. I have several set’s from Gwen and they are fantastic! Plus they come in a cute little tin which makes them easy to keep track of.

 I’m donating a choice of any single pattern from my Ravelry Pattern Shop and one of the small project bags that I make and sell in my Etsy shop. This one has cute birds in cages and cheerful colors and is the perfect size for socks or other small projects. I’ll be updating the shop with more bags later next week.

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.

Winter is Here

Never mind that Winter is Coming, it's here!  The temperatures have been well below normal here for the past week, dipping well down into the single digits.  It was only 2 degrees here yesterday morning and barely got into the double digits.  I had all the intentions of blogging yesterday afternoon only to discover that we had a frozen pipe.  I spent a large part of the afternoon thawing the pipe with a heating pad and a blow dryer.  This doesn't sound really awful and normally I don't think it would be, but the pipe happened to be in between a wall in our basement and the foundation in a spot that I could barely squeeze through.  While I was squeezing in and out of this tiny space I noticed that where the main power to the house comes in had a large hole and was letting cold air in. No wonder the pipe had frozen!  I plugged it up with insulation and then insulated the pipes with pipe insulation.  So far it seems to be working. 

This was the spot that I squeezed into and yes, I was terrified I would either get wedged in there or attacked by spiders the entire time!

Because there was exposed insulation and god knows what else, I dressed properly for the occasion:

Now, onto some fun and much happier stuff!  

Last month Verity from Truly Hooked contacted me to see if I would be interested in having my Wentletrap pattern included in her sock club!  The mail has been really slow here and I sometimes wonder if our mailman likes to keep the yarn packages for a bit before delivering them.  After all,  they are really soft and squishy and hard to resist!  I can't tell you how delighted I was when I opened the lovely lavender package that contained Verity's yarn!  The colors are bright and cheerful, just the thing for the middle of a dreary winters day.  The yarn base is an 80/10/10 Superwash Merino/Nylon/Cashmere with just the right amount of twist to work well for socks, and soft enough for me to just want to wrap the skein around my neck and dance around the house for a bit.

As well as being a fantastic indie dyer, Verity also just recently had one of her crochet designs published in Inside Crochet. Verity also has a group on Ravelry and there are quite a few Wentletraps knit up in this colorway.  It's called Quirky, which suits it's cheerful colors perfectly.  Here is a link to this months yarn club: TruelyHooked

Here are Verity's Wentletraps in Quirky.  Don't they look like happy socks?  The colorway is perfect for them!

I've been working on a second Arya's Needle that has three of the lace panels and omits the sword in the center.  It's going to be used as a sample at the booth I will have at The Powhatan's Festival of Fiber in April.  I dyed up the yarn myself and will have some kitted up with the pattern at the festival. It was snowing again this morning and I wanted to capture a bit of it in the pictures without actually going outside. Even though they are a touch dark, I really like the way they came out.

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.

Stash Bash

If you are like me and have little balls of sock yarn hidden away throughout your home, then it's time to cast on for Stash Bash!  

Knit or Treat!!  Stash Bash is just $2.99 on Ravelry until November 5th and then it will be $6.00.  

I had such a great time designing and knitting Stash Bash.  Originally there was just one version, but when I finished knitting it I knew that I had to cast on for a second one!  It's such a fun knit and doesn't require a huge amount of concentration which makes it perfect to take to knit group or work on under your desk when your boss isn't around. 

The Mild version was knitted with the two skeins of Kismet Fingering  that I picked up at Mosaic Yarn Shop during the Yarn Crawl. This was a limited edition colorway and is no longer available, but Kismet Fiber Works now has Gradient Kits which would work up perfectly.

The Wild version was knitted with one full skein of Bugga (416 yards) and varying amounts of left over yarns for the contrast:
Contrasting Colors:
1. 4 gm/10 yards Indieway Yarns First String Plus Fingering
2. 9 gm/15 yards Painter's Palette Premium Merino
3. 12 gm/20 yards Verdant Gryphon Bugga
4. 13 gm/25 yards Socks That Rock Lightweight
5. 15 gm/30 yards Verdant Gryphon Bugga

6. 17 gm/35 yards Gnome Acres House Gnome
7. 19 gm/40 yards Plucky Feet
8. 21 gm/45 yards Socks That Rock Lightweight 

Seasons

I got an email from Carol at Rivers Edge Fiber Arts this week telling me to keep my eyes out for a package.  The mailman now thinks I am some sort of yarn crazed lunatic because I have been meeting him at the mailbox every day! When you are waiting for something exciting like yarn it really feels like time slows down and this week was no exception.  I was only a few moments too late to meet our mailman today and it makes me wonder if he has started speeding up his route to avoid the yarn stalker?  When I opened the mailbox, the package from Carol was there!  I opened the package up right away, and am so delighted at the amazing fall colors! 

This is Seasons, a blend of 70% Royal Baby Alpaca and 30% Tussah Silk.  It's so soft that I just want to wrap the skeins around my neck and wear them just like they are!  The colorway is Riverstone and can be found at RiversEdgeFiberArts.com  This is the same yarn that my Juliet pattern is designed for.  I was going to knit another Juliet in Riverstone, but when it arrived all I could think is what a fantastic cowl this yarn would be!  If you are heading to SAFF this weekend, be sure to stop by the Rivers Edge Fiber Arts booth and pick up a set of Seasons so you can make your own Juliet.  I have to warn you though, if you pick it up you will not be able to put it down.  It's that soft!

It's gotten chilly here and we had a bit of frost on the car's this week.  I thought it was time that Iggy had a proper hand knit sweater.  I don't really have much worsted yarn in my stash and wound up using left overs from the two Intersect projects.  Iggy doesn't seem to mind and I think the stripes are cute on him!  I made it on the large size so that he has some room for growing.  I also skipped blocking it since the yarn is superwash and I can get a bit of stretch to it if needed in a month or so. 

 

Just before we left for Florida I had a moment of panic and thought that I would run out of things to knit on our trip.  It happens every time we go away and not only have I yet to run out of something to knit, I can't remember finishing a project while on the road!  Back to the moment of panic...I went digging through my stash, skeins were flying everywhere, and I found a lovely skein of Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in Perfectly Wreckless.  I wrote up a little cable and lace sock pattern and stuck it in my carry on bag.  Of course I didn't have time to work on it while we were on vacation!  Now that we are home and settled back into our routines, I have cast on and am really enjoying the yarn and creating the new design.