alisonknits

New Pattern: Gosport pullover

My latest design is finally here! I say finally because this pattern has been a looooooong time coming... maybe five years? I first knit a version of this sweater I think in 2004 or 2005, and even wrote up a pattern for it and had it edited. Even though I had never self-published any patterns at that point and wasn't really sure how to go about it. I was focused on a different career path at that point, and the pattern went on the shelf while I pursued other things.

Last winter I happened to be wearing the prototype sweater while visiting the fine folks at Yarn & Fiber in Derry, NH, and became acquainted with their lovely hand-dyed yarn line Ivy Brambles. We all agreed the sweater would be great in their Superwash Worsted, and I agreed to re-work the sweater in their yarn.

More time passed, as I was occupied with other projects. Finally, after re-working the pattern in a different gauge and expanding the range of sizes, I had the sample knit by another knitter. She finished it in August. I went on vacation. Came back and scheduled a photoshoot. And rescheduled the photoshoot. And rescheduled the photoshoot. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever put this puppy to bed. But now it's done!

So you can imagine why I'm so excited to finally be able to bring you this pattern.

Knit from the top down, this pattern is accessible for knitters at a variety of experience levels and is available in a wide range of sizes.

Finished Bust Measurements: 31 (35 ½, 38 ¼, 41, 44 ½, 47, 50 ¼, 53 ¾)” / 79 (90.5, 97, 104, 113, 119.5, 127.5, 136.5) cm  

Yarn

1170 (1300, 1460, 1570, 1740, 1900, 2000, 2100) yds / 1070 (1190, 1340, 1440, 1590, 1740, 1830, 1920) m worsted weight yarn.

Sample used Ivy Brambles Superwash Worsted (100% Superwash Merino Wool; 250 yards / 230 m per 3 ¾ oz / 105g skein) in Storm colorway.  

Needles and Notions

Size 7 / 4.5 mm circular needle, 16” / 40 cm length

Size 8 / 5 mm circular needles, 16” / 40 cm and 29” / 74 cm lengths

Size 8 / 5 mm double pointed needles

Or sizes needed to obtain gauge  

Stitch markers in 2 colors

Stitch holders or waste yarn

Cable needle  

Gauge

18 sts and 26 rows = 4” over St st using larger needles

$7.00

New pattern: Clotilde beret

I'm welcoming the cooler weather here in the northern hemisphere with my new beret pattern, Clotilde. This charming hat features twisted-stitch cables that grow out of the brim's ribbing, diminishing to the top.

The pattern includes both charted and line-by-line instructions.

Finished Brim Circumference: 19 ½” / 50 cm.

Yarn: Approximately 275 yds / 250 m DK weight yarn

Sample used 2 skeins Green Mountain Spinnery Sylvan Spirit (50% wool, 50% Tencel; 180 yds / 165 m per 2 oz / 57 g skein) in Sterling.

Needles & Notions

Sizes 4 US / 3.5 mm and 6 US / 4 mm circular needles, 16” / 40 cm long

Size 6 US / 4 mm circular needles, 24” / 60 cm long (optional, for widest part of beret)

Size 6 / 4 mm double-pointed needles

Stitch marker

Gauge

22 sts and 48 rows = 4” / 10 cm over Twisted Rib pattern on size 4 US / 3.5 mm needles.

27 sts and 38 rows = 4” / 10 cm over chart pattern on size 6  US / 4 mm needles.

$5.00 

Watcha Doin' Saturday??

I hope that if you're around MA/southern NH, you'll join me and many lovely fiber folk at the 3rd annual Fiber Revival in Newbury, MA. There will be classes, vendors, animals, and lots of knitting & spinning. I'm teaching a Magic Loop class, where we will make a good start on these easy and cute fingerless mitts:

Email me [alison at alisongreenwill dot com]  to sign up for the class, which will be in the afternoon.

Hope to see you there!

10 on Tuesday

I always enjoy reading Terry's 10 on Tuesday posts, and this one was too fun to resist. So I'm jumping on the 10 on Tuesday bandwagon. Let's see how long this lasts....

10 Favorite Songs from the 80s (in no particular order... it was hard enough to pick only 10, I can't possibly rank them!):

1. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
2. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N Roses
3. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
(Digression: This is quite possibly my favorite video ever. Or it's tied with Take On Me, which is also such a classic 80's video but the song doesn't quite stand the test of time like this one does. And okay, now that I watch that video again, it seems pretty silly. Nevermind. Sometimes nostalgia should remain nostalgia.)
4. Love Is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar (Also one of my favorite karaoke songs.)
5. Tainted Love - Soft Cell
6. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
7. It's the End of the World (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M.
8. I Love Rock N Roll - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
9. Super Freak - Rick James
10. Faith - George Michael

That was fun.

New pattern: Inara cardigan

My latest pattern is available, and I've named her Inara.

This wrap-style cardigan features a simple yet lovely cable & lace edging. It is knit in one piece to the armholes, where it is split back and fronts, with the 3/4 sleeves worked separately. Short-row shaping is cleverly hidden in the edging pattern to keep the edging lying flat at the front edges and back neck.

Knit in linen, it is the perfect cardigan to keep off the chill of a summer evening or an overly air-conditioned office!

Details...

Finished Measurements
Bust: 34 (37, 39 ½, 42 ½, 45, 48, 50 ½, 53 ½)” / 86.5 (94, 100.5, 108, 114.5, 122, 128.5, 136) cm, closed.
Length: 21 ¾ (22 ¼, 22 ¾, 23, 23 ½, 23 ¾, 24, 24 ½)” / 55 (56.5, 58, 58.5, 59.5, 60.5, 61, 62) cm

Yarn
Approximately 1400 (1600, 1600, 1700, 1850, 1900, 1900, 2000) yds / 1300 (1450, 1450, 1550, 1700, 1750, 1750, 1850) m sport weight yarn
Sample used Louet Euroflax Originals (100% linen; 270 yds / 247 m per 3.5 oz / 200 g skein) in #18.42 Eggplant.  (Note: this yarn was discontinued and replaced with Louet Euroflax Sport Weight, which is very similar.)

Needles & Notions
Size 5 circular needles, at least 32” / 80 cm long for 4 smallest sizes; at least 40” / 100 cm for 4 largest sizes.
Size 5 double-pointed needles for I-cord ties
Stitch markers
Stitch holders (2)

Gauge
23 sts and 32 rows = 4” / 10 cm over St st.

PDF download: $7.00

I'm on the J. Knits podcast! Hear me & Julie chat about lace, Michael Jackson, and my illustrious career. Download it here.

Twist into summer!

The new Twist Collective is up! Including a sweater by yours truly, called Bernhardt, and many other lovelies. If you haven't already, go check it out.

A Lovely Scottish Visitor

I've been lucky to spend the last couple days with Ysolda Teague, who stopped over at my house during her whirlwind US tour.  Danielle picked her up in Cambridge and brought her up to our neck of the woods, Crystal helped me entertain her when we got back to my house, yesterday I brought her to her book signing gig at Yarn & Fiber in Derry, NH, and Kelly R. and Julia, and later the Newburyport knitting group, entertained her while I was at work in the afternoon.  It takes a village to entertain a knitwear designer.  Fortunately my knitting friends are very entertaining.

Today she'll be off to Portland, ME. In my typical fashion, I neglected to take any photos. But! Kelly came to Yarn & Fiber bearing a sample of my Gawain design that she had knit for the store using their Ivy Brambles yarn. Ysolda was kind enough to model it:

Ysolda is charming, talented, and I'm delighted to have met her!  You should definitely go by her book.

More Blue Things

One of the very few things that I don't like about being a knit designer is that I don't get to knit for myself very much anymore.  Almost all my knitting time needs to be spent making samples, and samples need to be knit in a smaller size than my 40" bust.  But! I found myself in between projects recently, so I started knitting on a Gawain of my very own.  It is blue.

I'm knitting this version in the round - and I'll post notes about my changes in case anyone else wants to knit it in the round instead of flat as it's written.

Meanwhile, I realized that if I'm going to be working on a sweater for myself, I really should finish up my Jaali, which I intended to wear to Rhinebeck last year... until I realized that I couldn't go to Rhinebeck, and really didn't have time to work on this anyway.

Here's the complete front, which I finished recently; I'm now working on a sleeve.  It is slow going.

Sadly (well, sort of), I have to get back to sample knitting... I have a linen wrap cardigan that I designed last year but needed to re-work the fronts on, and put aside when it became clear that I wouldn't have it ready for any warm season last year.  Picked that up again today, and I'm hoping that I can publish that one this spring or early summer. 

If I get the energy to knit that sweater a second time, in my own size, I have yarn for it, and that yarn is also a lovely blue.

The last sweater I completed for myself was Hermia, which is also blue.  And of course there were my La Borgia gloves (see last post).  Blue.

The next thing I'll be starting is a pair of socks for a magazine, and the color they picked?  Blue.

Blue looks really good on me (matches my eyes).  But I'm thinking next time I knit something for myself, I should probably branch out.  Maybe it will be purple.

La Borgia Gloves pattern is here!

My new glove pattern is now available!  I had a great time knitting these gloves - and have been enjoying wearing them for most of the winter.

Stats:
Yarn - Louet Gems Sport, shown in #57 French Blue. About 250 yds (unfortunately, just over one skein - someday I'll design a matching hat or something...)
Needles - 2.75mm (US 2), double-pointed, 2 circs, or long circ for Magic Looping.
Finished size - 7 1/2" hand circumference, slighted stretched.  Finger length is adjustable.

I knit the gloves at a tighter gauge than the recommended gauge for the Louet Gems Sport that I made them out of, for warmth and to make the cables stand out more.

Fits hand circumference 7 1/4” - 7 3/4”. Pattern includes charts for cuff, hand and finger cable patterns. Separate charts and instructions provided for right and left hands (no “reverse shaping” instructions!Stats:

More pics:

Enjoy!