Step One: The Knit Stitch.

Beachy Cowl [ jenleigh ] version

Striped Cotton Cowl by Purl Soho

Knit using Classic Elite Mountain Top Vail (Parchment) and Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in pale pink, mild green, black, yellow, Bahama blue, tomato red, and eggshell.

Knit on size US 10.5 circular needles with parchment held throughout cowl with contrasting Silky Wool colorways.

  

I've got to stop giving away the good stuff.  Or better yet, just plan on making two of everything!  In the spring of 2012 we had our annual Artapooloza auction at school.  The auction raises money for the Art Departments in the lower, middle, and upper schools.  I've donated different projects over the past years, and this year was knitting lessons, a gift basket full of all sorts of yummy yarns and notions tucked in a pretty Jordana Paige bag, and this beautiful cowl designed by Purl Soho. 

It's exciting for me to see how knitting interest has grown year after year!  I love getting texts and emails for groups and individuals wanting to learn how to knit.  And after completing a round of Knitting 101 I always have students knit a scarf for their first project.  There's nothing like rows and rows of knit stitches to truly learn all the ins and outs of our craft.  

I'm a stickler for one thing in knitting:  learn how to read your work.  Period.  I believe if when someone is learning how to knit they are also learning what the different stitches look like, then when a mistake comes (mistakes... what are those?) they will be able to look at their work and correct the mistake.  I have helped so many people over the years who have the knit and purl stitches down, can do yarn overs, and lacework, but when they make a simple mistake they are at a complete loss as to both what they've done wrong, and what they need to do to correct it.  I think that for a lot of beginning knitters this is why there are so many projects left unfinished and new ones started.  (Now, for the record, we all have UFO's tucked away... many of them for completely different reasons...)  But so often, as beginners, we get out ahead of ourselves, which leads to countless frustrations, the main of which being mistakes we don't know how to fix.

I have several beginning scarf patterns I go to for beginners, and this cowl by Purl Soho is a great one!  Nothing more than thousands of knit stitches knit in the round (new technique!) with occasional color changes (new technique!) and within a week or so you have a gorgeous cowl for year round.  Well, three out of four seasons anyway...

I knit mine using a combination of two yarns, Vail by Classic Elite, which is an alpaca/bamboo blend.  And Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold, which is a yummy wool, silk, and nylon blend.  I LOVE how this cowl turned out.  Because my yarn was a bit thicker than the yarn denoted in the pattern, it made my finished cowl a shade longer than the original, so the finished piece has lots of room for layering without adding weight.  It's surprisingly warm to be so light, and the alpaca gives the overall piece a gorgeous halo effect.

There are so many color options for this cowl, and I'm looking forward to knitting one for myself in a monochromatic theme, maybe differing shades of grey?

So if you are a beginning knitter... start here!  This is a simple scarf with only a couple of new techniques that you can easily access online.  For me, I love going back to the basics.  Sometimes it's fun to throw in a lacework shawl, or colorwork mittens, but for easy-going-TV-watching knittin' there's just nothing better than step one:  The Knit Stitch. 

  

I hope everyone is doing well and you're well on your way to lots (!!) of yummy Christmas knits!  

Happy Knitting!

In Bloom. Spring Patterns & Yarn Giveaway!

BLOOM Fingerless Mitts and Cowl, NIK 2012

Earlier this year I was fortunate to receive some Orange Flower DK silk/merino blend.  It's fantastic.  So incredibly soft and the colorways are gorgeous!  And I'm thrilled to be able to feature it in two new designs for Spring 2012.

BLOOM consists of two patterns:  fingerless mitts and cowl.  Both feature the Apple Leaf design and showcase Karin's amazing colorways Green Tea and Porcelain Blue.

BLOOM Fingerless Mitts & Cowl, NIK 2012

And for  those who purchase BLOOM by midnight (central time) March 31st, I will enter your name in a drawing to receive two FREE skeins of Orange Flower DK silk/merino blend in the gorgeous Green Tea colorway! If you've been fortunate to knit with Karin's yarn before, you know how luxurious a gift this is!

I hope you enjoy these new patterns for Spring!  Enjoy!

Spinning Rope.

Nola's Slippers, [ jenleigh ]'s version.

Nola's Slippers by Nola Miller, published in the Seamen's Church Institute, Christmas at Sea.

Project Specs:

Knit using personal hand-dyed and spun Corriedale, Turquoise and Gold.

Knit on size US 4 circulars.  

*I modified the pattern to be knit in the round.  Nothing really to change, but when I came to the center of the sole I grafted the remaining stitches together. 

In the fall of 2008 I was fortunate to attend a weekend retreat referred to as Yarn School.  It's three days spent with like-minded fiber enthusiasts who drive or fly from all corners of the country and descend upon a tiny (and I mean tiny) town called Harveyville, Kansas.  Yarn School is one small part of a greater good Nikol and her partner Ron have lovingly named The Harveyville Project.  I highly recommend visiting Nikol's profile page on Ravelry which provides both great information on the work they're doing, and links to see how they've managed to establish an artists' colony in a schoolhouse in rural Kansas.  (There are even photos of sheep.)

I posted about Yarn School back in October of 2008, but here I am again.  I still have hand-dyed and natural fibers from Yarn School to spin!  I'm so pleased with how Lu's slippers turned out that I'm looking forward to spinning more of my fibers from Dye Lab.

I love that grubby heel!

Nola's Slippers is such a great little pattern.  Simple and quick.  Perfect for a last-minute gift that's still handmade.  I modified the length a bit and opted to make the cuff only an inch long.  She likes the length better and can slip them on and off easily.  (I know, I find them under the covers while making the bed!)

I also decided to knit the pattern in the round instead of back and forth on straight needles.  I didn't have to change much,  I just grafted the last of the sole stitches when I came to the end of the pattern.

Top Left: Spun Corriedale.  Bottom Left:  Two-ply.  Main: Soaked and ready to knit.

As for my yarn itself, well, I'm still learning!  And sadly don't have as much time as I'd like to devote to the practice of spinning.  This skein, albeit beautiful (I can say that right?), had the consistency of rope!  I plied it at the wrong tension, and then soaked it to death to remove the evidence.  Thankfully rope works perfectly for an eight year old's slippers!  

I wanted to include some photos of an earlier handspun project as well.  As much as I'd love to, I can't take the credit for this dye job.  It's all Adrian Bizila [ Hello Yarn ] and her mad dyeing skills.  I was just fortunate to get some of the fiber.

Main:  Handspun Cowl, [ jenleigh ]'s version.  Upper Right:  One of two singles.  Bottom Right:  Hayride colorway.

I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's gull pattern found in her Baby Sweater on Two Needles.  I believe (double check me) the pattern is a seven stitch repeat.  My handspun (after plying) ended up being a heavy worsted weight, so I multiplied my number of stitches per inch (gauge) on size US 8s by the number of inches diameter I wanted my cowl to be.  I then found the closest number divisible by my pattern repeat and ran with it. 

Looks like this:

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4 stitches per inch [ multiplied by ] 14 inch circumference [ equals ] 56 total stitches.

56 [ divided by ] 7 [ equals ] 8 total pattern repeats.  

Voilà!

Luxe Cowl

Luxe Cowl, [ jenleigh ]'s version.

Luxe Cowl by Jennifer Adams

Pattern Specs:

Knit in 1 (!) ball of Noro Silk Garden (colorway 241).

Knitted on US size 8 circulars.

I am on a real "don't overthink it" kick.  Simpler is often better.  My friend asked for a cowl with pretty colors.  That was it.  I love Noro and I love miters... goodness knows I've knit several pair of Mitered Mittens!  And I've wanted to knit a cowl using both for quite some time, it's just been on "the list" for too long.  

One (!) ball of Noro and a movie.

I knit this simple Luxe Cowl last night.  And I'm calling it Luxe because it truly is.  Silk Garden and Silk Garden Lite are two of my favorite luxury yarns.  The colorways are gorgeous and anyone who is fortunate to receive a knit from either will thank you for it. 

Luxe Cowl 

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Using the alternate cable cast on (or knitting on), cast on 80 (100) stitches on needle.

Join in round and alternate purling and knitting rounds for 5 rounds and then begin mitered pattern.

Mitered Pattern:

Over 20 stitches: *K1, M1L, K7, SSK, K2TOG, K7, M1R, K1* repeat *pattern* to end of round.

Knit round 2.

Repeat these 2 rounds until the cowl measures 8 inches. Then alternate purling and knitting rounds for 5 rounds (ending with a purl round), and bind off with knit stitches.

  

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That's it!  I'm including the pattern in the notes section of my project page as well.  So if you're looking for a quick, yet special gift for someone, the Luxe Cowl is a perfect choice.  Enjoy!

Happy Knitting!

Fall Arrival & Flint Hill

Flint Hill Cowl

Flint Hill by Jennifer Adams

Project Specs:

Knit in Magnum by Cascade Yarns, 2 skeins in #9459 Yakima Heather.

Knitted on one pair straight needles or one 20"‚ circular needle in size US 15.

It's here!  And just in time for Autumn.  The leaves had just begun to turn here, but after a Sunday rainstorm the landscape has changed overnight.  And along with the rain came cooler weather.  Perfect time to begin on Fall and even Christmas knitting.

Flint Hill is now available for purchase on Ravelry.  A super fast project to match the super bulky yarn, Flint Hill knits up in just a couple of days.  As a matter of fact I think the blocking time is longer than the knit itself!

I've been taken with cowls for some time, and most recently with larger scarf-sized cowls, that can wrap more than once; or be worn around the head and neck simultaneously.  Flint Hill manages both perfectly.  Cascade's Magnum yarn is so light and airy (imagine Peruvia's big brother), that I was able to design a large scarf, 60"x8", without adding weight.  After finishing the piece I soaked it for a bit in Euculan and then draped it over the towel rack to dry.  Doing so really intensified how the cowl drapes, making it easy to slip on and off.

After finishing the pattern I was initially worried that it might be a little finicky to style. But Amy, one of our instructors, proved it was a sinch (see first photo).  She slipped it over her head and it looked perfect!  Thankfully I had my camera on me and snapped a photo right then and there.

We're all having a hard time keeping our hands off of it at the yarn shop.  Every time one of us walks by the display we adjust it.  I've yet to see a styling I haven't loved! 

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: whitney  DATE: 10/11/2010 03:51:31 PM I love this!!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: amy  DATE: 10/12/2010 08:08:49 PM oh my gosh, i feel famous! i have made it to the front page of Jen's blog! thanks for making me look good Jen! and the cowl....oh the cowl, it's a must make! go knit it up folks!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Leslie  DATE: 10/18/2010 10:05:02 AM This is so great! My daughter would definitely love this.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer  DATE: 10/19/2010 07:11:05 AM Thanks guys! =)