WIP Wednesday

Still working on a whole bunch of sekret knitting right now - so not much actual knitting that I can show you.  How about I share a few teasers of things I am swatching and playing with in lieu of "real" knitting?

This was iteration number 4? 5? for this gray/neutral palette combo, but I'm finally super happy with how it looks.  I'm working on multiple different yarn/colorway options for the designs in the Santa Fe Collection, upcoming in November.

Another colorway swatch - also in a gray/neutral palette combo.  I really like how the blues sing against the more neutral background.  Almost like a gemstone-decorated bracelent around this cuff.

A quick gauge check swatch for a new project - and to make sure I liked the beads with the yarn color (I do).  This one is heading out to a sample knitter to get started this week.  I'm all about the summer roses colors right now.

And since several of you have asked about how I get inspired for a new design, here's a sample of some inspiration pages for the above colorway/project theme.  I tend to stay away from knitted designs with online photos - I don't want to be too influenced by someone else's concept, even if it's by accident, so I try to look for things like an overall mood, colors, details in photos (via Google and/or Pinterest searches) that will set a general vibe for me.  From there, I do some sketching and playing around with colors and see what emerges.  This project is related to the Summer Faery Court in the book An Enchantment of Ravens I read earlier this year.  Stay tuned for more details on this one - but it'll be released sometime late summer.

I'm so excited to be able to eventually share all of these designs with you - I've been really inspired this summer to tackle some ideas that are speaking loudly to me and hope they will resonate with you too!

WIP Wednesday - 06/13/2018

Lots of WIPs (works in progress) going on right now.  I'm busily working on my Santa Fe Collection samples.  I got the final sweater, a cardigan, up to the point I can start on the sleeves as of last night.  This one will feature some pretty colorwork patterning at the yoke and on the sleeves, but is otherwise a fairly easy knit with lots of soothing stockinette.  It's been very fun to revisit some of the Southwest themes that didn't make my book a few years' back.

I've also been busy doing some swatching for the "up next" project ideas I've had banging around in my head for a bit.  I've got 2 different sets of items I want to work on next - one will be a shawl collection based on locales from the book An Enchantment of Ravens which I read about a month ago and absolutely LOVED.  I won't have these on a specific roll-out schedule, but I do want to get going on the one related to Summerland.  I've created a 5-skein palette for this one on a brand-new yarn base (merino/cashmere/silk fingering weight).

This design will have lace and beads and LOTS of gorgeous color to it.  I wanted a color group that reminded me of summer roses, so I went with pinks and roses and just a hint of a grape-plum color for a bit of contrast.  I ordered a whole pile of beads to play around with, so I can see which ones work best with the yarn colors.  I plan to work on charting and an initial draft for this one on Friday.

I've also been mulling over some ideas for a menswear group (with unisex sizing), and I've decided on yarn and color palettes for the first two.  Sweater #1 will feature some fall colors in a colorwork patterned pullover.  Yarn will be the classic Finullgarn from The Yarn Guys.  I swatched a half dozen or so options this past weekend using this color palette.

But finally decided on a color combo I think will be perfect for fall but not too bright to be guy friendly. 

I am not quite as far along on the other sweater, which will have cabled textures on it, but that will be in a heathery gray in a DK-weight.  I can visualize what motifs I want to use and how to put them together, but I'll wrestle with that swatch once the yarn arrives later this week. 

Knitting Wednesday: January 3, 2018

I'm really going to try to make sure I do more scheduled posts here on the blog in 2018!  (Giving myself permission to slide a bit when I'm on travel but otherwise, I'll attempt to be better about posting here.)

This week, I'm working on a few different knit projects:

• I'm in the home stretch on the contract design sweater I've been working on for what seems like ForEVER. The plan is to finish that up this week.  I ordered and received the buttons I need to fully finish it post-blocking, and it'd be really nice to have that off my plate. 

• I am hosting a year-long craftalong over in my Ravelry Group - Wooly Wonkapalooza 2018.  Each month we'll have a different set of prompts to try to motivate everyone (me included!) to get some crafting done - spinning, knitting, crocheting are all fair game.  January's prompts are lace projects and/or gray.  I've opted to cast on Veera Valimaki's Bolt Shawl in Aerten Sock in Chimney Sweep and Soot.  Just a small start on this, but it's a start!

On deck, I've got new designs to work on for Filament magazine's spring collection.  I've got yarn in hand for 2 of those, and another project's worth en route, so I'll have plenty to keep my needles busy.  I think the first thing I'll likely tackle is a colorwork set - I've got basic charting done on that and I'll be able to cast on once I take a look at some gauge numbers. 

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday and New Podcast Episode

Whew!  I have fallen off the blogging waggon - it's been crazy busy in the dye room right now, but I'm going to try to get back into the blogging habit.  (And thanks to gentle reader, Laura, for a nudge - I promise some reading updates tomorrow!).

For now, tho, I've got a new podcast episode up, recorded this past Sunday, October 16, 2016.

In this episode, I talk about:

Austin Yarn Crawl and the Happy Ewe in Jonestown, TX

FO: 
Cenote Shawl and Spin + Knit magazine

WIP: 
Sekret Knitting project for March in Kid Silk Haze. 
Strawberries and Cream socks. Pattern by CC Almon. Yarn is Wooly Wonka Aerten Sock in Parfait.

Ongoing KALs: 
Handspun KAL: Hosted by me. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Box O Sox KAL: Hosted by Kristen of the Yarngasm Podcast. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
TBK Sock Club 2016: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Coffee with CC KAL: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Filament KAL – any pattern from the new Filament Fall 2016 issue. See more details in the Ravelry forum.

Socktoberfest KAL - hosted by me. Runs through October 31, 2016.

Handspun Yarn: 
Spinning merino/bamboo blended roving from Hilltop Cloud

Stitching: 
Babushka’s Blossoms pattern

WIP Wednesday and new podcast

Episode 30 is now live (recorded September 19, 2016):

In this episode, I talk about:

Salida Fiber Festival

FO: 
Coffee Date shawl. Pattern by CC Almon. Yarn is Ceridwen Sock in Miss Fanny Price, Low Tide and Unicorn.

WIP: 
Sekret Knitting project for March in Kid Silk Haze. 
Sekret Knitting project for March in Wooly Wonka Fibers Aeslin DK. 
Ribbed socks for my mum in Jawoll sock yarn

Ongoing KALs: 
Handspun KAL: Hosted by me. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Box O Sox KAL: Hosted by Kristen of the Yarngasm Podcast. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
TBK Sock Club 2016: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Coffee with CC KAL: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Gilmore Girls KAL: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through September 30, 2016. 
Filament KAL – any pattern from the new Filament Fall 2016 issue. See more details in the Ravelry forum.

Upcoming: 
Soctoberfest and sock yarn sale

Handspun Yarn: 
SW merino/nylon in Sushi colorway from FatCatKnits. 
August club fiber – 1967 colorway from Oceanwind Knits. 
BFL packs in the Persimmon colorway from Greenwood Fiberworks

Sewing:
Decorating the Wreath pattern 
Babushka’s Blossoms pattern

WIP Wednesday/New Podcast Episode

If you'd like to cut to the chase to hear what I'm working on, my newest podcast edition is now live on Youtube:

Or you can also catch it on Podbean here.   I'm still working on iTunes.  It does not want to play nicely with my Podbean account and I cannot figure out why.

However, if you are just here for a drive-by recap, here 'tis!

Sekret Knitting:

• Sweater #1:  I'm just about ready to put the body on hold so I can begin sleeve #2.  Sleeve #1 is done.  My plan is to try to get sleeve #2 finished this week and get the whole sheebang joined together so I can knit the remainder of the body and yoke. 
• Sweater #2:  I need to get sleeves on the needles this week for this one. 
• Sweater #3: On hold until I finish sweater #1.

Personal Knitting:

• I'm still working away in bits and bobs on various striped sock samples for the shop.
• I also started Jen Lucas's Hogmanay Shawl out of handspun.  This is for the Handspun KAL I'm hosting for 2016.  I've knit Chart A and now 8 repeats of Chart B.  I'm just picking this up as I have time/interest and will be working on it all month. 

WIP Wednesday: December 23, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• Just finished up the 2-piece set that's my next deadline.  I need to finish the pattern draft and that can head off to my TE!
• I started work on sweater 1 of 3 - that's on small needles, but I've started with the first sleeve (which I like to do to double-check my gauge before casting on the entire sweater) and am about halfway done that.  My plan is to finish sleeve #1 and cast on for the body of the sweater, which is knit in the round, and focus on that this week. 
• I'm still working on the prototype/sample for the Sweater Club - I'm going to try to put in a bit of time on that as well this week. 
• And finally, the yarn for sweater 3 of 3 arrived yesterday, so I've got that ready to go when I get one of the others done!

Personal Knitting:  I'm knitting a gazillion stripey socks right now to try out some new colorways.  I have a feeling I will have a fair number of lone socks until I get more colorways established and ready to go and I can knit the mates to them.  Otherwise, not much on the personal knitting front.

WIP Wednesday: December 16, 2015

Sekret Knitting:  And lots of it.

• The first Heroines Club shawl is done, off the needles and through testing and tech editing.  That'll release on January 1, 2016.  
• I've bumped a small DK-weight set up to the top of the list since it has a very short deadline.  That's for a fall 2016 publication.  I'm about 25% of the way through the knitting on that and hoping to be pretty close to having the samples done at this time next week.
• Still plugging along on the large Fair Isle project - I've opted to push that date out a bit for the finalized sample as I've gotten enough knit to calculate out all my grading and get that ready to send for testing/tech editing.  I'm working on that as I have time.
• I've gotten charting and preliminary numbers done for another Fair Isle project - I've wound yarn and that'll go on the needles today to double-check gauge and plot out any changes I need to make for that. 

Personal Knitting:  Believe it or not, I'm working on socks - I've got a secondary sneak colorway of my new Self-Striping Socks on the needles.  I've knit sock #1 to the point I'm ready to shape the toe. Once I get that one off the needles, I'll put the February Colors of New Mexico skein on and be sure I'm happy with the colorway progression.  I'm finding a sort of zen-like meditation in knitting stockinette stitch in the round watching the colors stripe.  It's a good way to rest my brain and not have to really think about my knitting and just enjoy it!  

2016 Clubs!

Since I apparently needed a LOT more caffeiene when I posted my last WIP post not on a Wednesday and not even on the right day, I'm bypassing that category this Wednesday to talk about Wooly Wonka clubs for 2016!  Note that all club sign-ups will be open through December 31, 2015 (the fiber club will be open for those quarterly sign-ups throughout 2016 as well).

This year, I'm offering 3 clubs (with a preview of another new offering if you make it all the way through this post at the end!):  The Heroines Shawl Club and a subscription Sweater Club for knitters, and a fiber club for handspinners.

Let's start with the fiber club.  It'll be similar in format to last year's.  Each month you will receive 4 oz of either a 100% wool, a wool and something blend (like merino/tencel, BFL/silk, etc.) or a custom blended roving.  Since the club is set up in quarters of the year, you'll get one of those bases every 3 months.  You have the option of picking a handpaint or a tonal/kettle dye option.  On the months I send out the blended roving, everyone will get the same roving.  You may opt to do more than 4 oz, of course!  Shipping is included in the price, and you can sign up for just 3 months at a time, or go for the whole year and get yourself a discount.  Our theme for 2016 will be Art Gallery. Think colorways inspired by great masterpieces of art - Botticelli, Van Gogh, Dali, Degas.   Packages will ship around the 15th of every month.

Next up, a new addition to the line-up, the Sweater Club.   This club will get you enough yarn to knit two hand-dyed sweaters and their patterns during the course of 2016.

The first sweater will be a DK-weight cardigan, with my brand-new Aeslin DK superwash merino as the base. It will have a simple knit/purl texture pattern for the body, with the sleeves and upper raglan yoke knit in stockinette, and a casual, boxy fit. The yarn and pattern will arrive mid-March 2016.
The second sweater will be a fingering-weight cardigan, knit with Artio Sock, which is a 50/50 silk/blue-faced Leicester wool blend. It will have some optional waist shaping, with lace patterning on the back and set-in sleeves, with a bit more tailored fit; a great layering piece for the changeable weather of early fall. The yarn and pattern will arrive mid-September. (If you loved the Aspens cardigan from Free Spirit Knits, you’ll like this one).
You can pick and choose from multiple sizing options and can select any of the tonal-dyed colorways available in the shop Gallery section. All of your yarn will be dyed at the same time, so it will be the same “dye lot” for your project. Club members will receive both sweater patterns delivered as PDFs into your Ravelry library. The club will allow you to break up the cost of two hand-dyed sweater lots over 4 installment payments during the year, with payments for the remaining 3 installments due March 1st, June 1st and September 1st. Previews of the sweaters will be available in mid-January and mid-July, so you can select colors that best suit the projects and your personal preferences (and I’ll be sending out reminder emails to club members so they have plenty of time to pick).

And finally, the Heroines Shawl Club.  We’ll again have six shawl projects in the club this year, with the first one shipping out the first week in January, and then every other month (so March, May, July, September and November 2016). You will again have the option of choosing just the ebook collection that has patterns only, opting for an installment payment for the yarn/patterns or paying upfront for the entire year (which gets you the deepest discount). Each shawl project will be a different shape, ranging from half-hexagon, to a rectangle, to circular, and a few others in between.

The themes for 2016 will be:

• Freya from the book Iceland by Betsy Tobin. This will be on the Arianrhod Sock base (SW merino/silk/glitter), and will feature a gradient colorway based on fire and ice.
• Gustine from the book “The Dress Lodger”. This will be on Nimue Sock (50/50 SW merino/silk) in a mid-range cornflower blue. Genevieve from “The Lady and the Unicorn”. This will be a warm rich red on Aeslin Fingering (100% SW merino).
• Jo March from “Little Women.” This will be on a brand-new club-exclusive sockweight yarn (50/50 alpaca/merino) in a dark earthy gray with a heathery look.
• Lily Owens from “The Secret Life of Bees”. This shawl will be knit from a tricolor/gradient on Ceridwen Sock (100% SW merino) in warm honey golds.
• Isabella Byrd who wrote a series of memoirs in the form of letters back home to England while she was exploring the western mountains (Colorado to Nevada) on horseback, and knitting her way through all of that!  This be on Artio Sock (50/50 BFL and silk) in a dark forest green.

All the shawls will be full size, so at least 600 yards of fingering-weight yarn each. Shawls will also be intermediate in terms of skill set - all the motifs will be charted and not written out.

Whew!  Made it this far through this very long post? If so, then I'll sneak in just one more little bit of information.  Beginning in January 2016, I will be carrying self-striping sock yarns.  Each month I'll introduce a new color and in 2016, I'll be focusing on Colors of New Mexico.  January's colorway will be "Santa Fe", a gorgeous 4-color set of stripes.  This color will be available for the first 3 months of 2016 for orders, with a new color added every month.  These will all be on a custom-dye basis, so you can pick from one of four sock yarn bases and have it dyed up just for you.  More to come later in the month of December with some sneak peeks and info on KALs and giveaways!

WIP Wednesday: November 18, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• Thanks to a couple of evenings in my hotel and not going out to be social after a day of vending, I am on the final repeat of the large lace project.  That should be done and blocked by this weekend.  It's already been reviewed by my TE, so it's ready to roll out of here to the publication shortly.
• I've been working on the first Heroines Shawl Club 2016 pattern.  I'm done the first lace pattern on that and just started the second.  I'll be feverishly working away on that while I wait for yarn to arrive for.....
• Another deadline project that's a long jacket with colorwork.  That'll be a dash and a half to get it knit by the end of December's deadline but I think I can get that accomplished. 

Personal Knitting:  I've been working a bit on my second iteration of Mesa Verde, and I've got one more full and one half pattern repeat left to finish up.  If I have some down-time this week, I'll see what I can get knit on that, but re-entry post the Kid N Ewe festival, plus a teaching night and a photo shoot on Friday, probably means not much will be happening there.  

WIP Wednesday: November 4, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• Still working on the first deadline project.  I've knit about 1/4 of it and started in on the second quarter.  That's my primary project right now.
• I have the Annika sweater up to the point I'm ready to bind off for the front neckline and sleeves.  If I have bandwidth, I'll see if I can get that done this weekend, but I'm in the throes of a LOT of dyeing right now to get ready for the Kid N Ewe show in Texas next weekend, as well as finishing up some other custom orders. 

Personal Knitting:  Hey! I have something!  I decided to cast on a Mesa Verde Shawl in a darker colorway using some (ancient) stash Rowan Scottish Tweed.  I picked a dark heathery chocolate brown with flecks of blue and yellow and a dusty mid-range blue.  I've knit 2 of the repeats so far and it looks like: 

I'm taking that with me to knit night tonight!  (And if any of my readers are interested, I'm hosting a KAL for Free Spirit Knits over in my Ravelry group from mid-November through the end of January 2016.  You pick the project from any of the ones in the book - so you can customize it to what you like best.)

And... I finished up the embroidery on the seam lines of the patches on the Bertie's Year - January this week, and just started the snowflakes.  I won't likely get anything done on this until I'm back from Texas, so this one will be on hold for a couple of weeks.

WIP Wednesday: October 28, 2015

This week, I'm working on:

Sekret Knitting:

• The yarn for the next quick deadline project arrived yesterday, so that's wound and ready to cast on.  This will be my focus for the next few weeks, as I've got a November 20th deadline for the project.
• I have been making good progress on the DK-weight sweater project in Wooly Wonka Fibers Aeslin DK, but that'll take a back-burner to the new deadline project for a while. 

Personal Projects:  Nothing on the knitting front, but I did get the border squares pieced and sewn onto the outside of the Bertie's Year block I'm working on.  You can see in the top corner, I've started the embroidery that'll outline the diagonal lines around the outside border.  

I'm taking my time working on this - just doing it in bits and bobs as I have some free time, but it's lovely to have a NON-deadline project to work on too!

WIP Wednesday: October 21, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• I finished up the sample shawl for my #1 deadline project.  That's been TE'ed and my tester is on the last section, so it will be ready to forward on to the yarn company shortly.  Woot!
• I am still working on my DK-weight lace and cable sweater sample in the meantime - that doesn't have a specific deadline, but I'm picking it up as I have time right now. 
• I have another short deadline project that was accepted, but I'm currently waiting on yarn for that.  When it arrives, that'll bump to the top of the to-do list for a bit.
• I have committed to going to Stitches West in February, so I've been brainstorming some kits and 2-skein-size patterns to take for that.  I have been really enjoying my new DK-weight superwash merino yarn, so I decided to start a 2-color, slip-stitch cowl with that, using 1 skein of a handpaint and 1 skein of a tonal dye.  It's knitting up fast!  (Here's a little sneak peek....)

I plan to have it worked up in a long, wrapable size, and a smaller single wrap version too.

Personal Knitting:  Nothing going on here - nor in my sewing this week.  I was a bit under the weather this past weekend, so I just worked on deadline knitting projects and a few swatches.  More to come as I'm solo this weekend - D and Lizzie are headed out for a camping trip up north for 3 days!

WIP Wednesday: October 14, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• I'm just about done the lace sample piece - I have probably another evening's worth of knitting on it and then it'll be done!  Today's plan is to finalize my draft, get that and charts sent off to my TE and my tester, and that one can get put to bed for a while. 
• I did work a wee bit on the sweater piece while I was traveling to and from Austin, but only got a few rows of that one done, so I'll focus on that for a while until the yarn arrives for the next contract piece that I have on the deadline schedule.

Personal Knitting:  Nothing to report here.

Quilting Project(s):  For the Bertie project, I did get all the border pieces cut and sewn into patches - I need to sew those together and attach them to the main center square, which I'll probably work on this weekend - but not much to show in terms of pretty pictures.  More next week tho.... promise. :)

Pattern Releases

I have a metric tonnage of catching up to do with pattern releases now that Free Spirit Knits has gone live, so I'm devoting a post solely to new designs today.  Grab a seat and some nice fall-themed beverage - I've got a bunch.

First up, my newest stand-alone release is my Mina Jacket, which is knit from the lovely Brigantia yarn from Spirit Trail Fibers.  This fitted jacket has a large cable panel up the back with integrated waist shaping, a relatively plain front with just a small cable at the front openings, and then a textured/cabled pattern for the set-in sleeves.  You can opt to make it with or without the front waist/bust shaping, but I like as a trim little layering piece for fall.  You can see this beauty in person in Jen's booth at Rhinebeck this year!

Next up are the currently released patterns from Free Spirit Knits, which is now available both via Amazon and via Interweave.  (Interweave's site has a downloadable ebook available, as well as the print version.  Links to both Amazon and Interweave sites in the individual pattern links to follow).

I just released the Saguaro Blossom Hat, knit from less than 200 yards of worsted weight yarn with a fun cabled pattern on the top reminiscent of the large night-blooming flowers of the saguaro cacti in Arizona.

Then there's the Three Sisters Shawl, knit with Lucent fingering weight from my friend, Kim at The Woolen Rabbit.  This is a great lace project to keep you occupied this fall.  Several fun lace stitch patterns for the body, and a knit-on cable and lace border.

If you are looking for a slightly smaller lace shawl, I've also got my Tres Flores Shawl available. This one is knit from 3 herby-green shades of Jamieson and Smith's jumperweight wool, but it would be lovely in a solid color, or even knit up with a gradient!

I've also released the pattern for the Petroglyph Socks, knit from the wonderfully soft and warm sock yarn blend from my friend, Terry, at Snowshoe Farm Alpacas in Vermont.  These are sized for both men and women, and would be a great project to start now and gift over the holidays.

Finally, my Aspens Cardigan, which is here just in time for fall leaf season in the mountains.  One of my favorites in the book, as well as the cover image, this fingering-weight project has leaf lace motifs in a large center panel on the back, as well as trimming the front bands and centered on the sleeves.  Knit from Brooklyn Tweed's Loft, it's a wonderful season-spanning wardrobe builder.

Whew!  That's a whole lotta knits to review at once.  More to come as I have another 12 patterns to release from The Book, as well as several more stand-alones to roll out in the next month!

WIP Wednesday: October 7, 2015

Here's what I'm working on this week:

Sekret Knitting:

• Bumping up a lace project to the top of the list that has an early November deadline.  Nicely enough, it'll be the perfect travel project so that will go back and forth to Austin with me this weekend for the Austin Yarn Crawl.  I have started it and I'm just about done the first section. I'll get draft charts and text finished up today to take with me. 
• Also still working on my next sweater for the shop.  This one will be good down-time knitting so I'll probably take it with me in case (I'm doutbful this will happen, but you never know) I have time to knit while I'm meeting and greeting at The Happy Ewe over the weekend (or more likely, I'm too brain dead to knit much lace).

Personal Knitting:  None on the go right now, but how about an update on my sewing project instead?  (And this may be an ongoing addition to WIP Wednesday since it is a WIP).

Sewing/Quilting:  This week, I got the rest of the fusible applique pieces sewn onto the quilt block and I finished up most of the embroidery details.  Once the sewn/patchwork border blocks are sewn on, I've got some snowflakes to add to the entire thing, but I need to do those once the border is applied.  So the next step on this piece is to get the border blocks sewn and then attached to this larger center block.  

WIP Wednesday: September 30, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• I finished up the sample and the pattern for the piece that's for the Interweave compilation.  It's off with testers right now, but I'm in good shape for my October 17th deadline for this, I think!
• Since that project is off the needles, I started work on a project using Wooly Wonka Fibers Aeslin DK that will be part of a loosely organized Steampunk collection.  I'm working this project up in the "Spice" colorway (which I think is a perfect fall color too).

• And finally, I had a project accepted for one of Knitpicks collections for 2016, so I've started work on that this week.  Waiting on some other/more yarn from them to really get cranking on this, but I had 1 skein already of one of the colors I'm using so I worked up my charts and got that cast on. 

Personal Knitting:  Still nothing on the go for me right now, although I am seriously considering knitting myself a couple of cowls for the fall.  I'm not sure if I will do that or maybe focus on some other handicraft projects for a bit.  For good or for bad, when I have deadline knitting - of which I have a lot in the queue happening right now - I tend to just focus on that in terms of my knitting time. I'll think about it over the next week and see what I want to do.  A couple of quick and easy projects that use up stash sound really fun - must be the fact that it's fall and prime knitting season right now?

PS - If you are heading to Taos Sheep and Wool this weekend, I will be at Mooncat Fibers in town on Bent Street with a trunk show of my Free Spirit Knits pieces from 10-4 and would love to see you there!

WIP Wednesday: September 23, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• Onto the final stitch section of the project for the Interweave compilation.  Hoping to have this finished up this weekend so I can finalize the draft and get it sent off to a test knitter shortly.  
• I finished up the shawl for the November Yarn Club pattern - that's already been sent off to my TE and it's being test knit as we speak!
• My next project in the design queue is another sweater - I'm using a new Wooly Wonka Fibers DK weight yarn (the Aeslin DK - 100% superwash merino) for this one.  It's a fairly simple top-down raglan, but it'll have a bit of a twist and I'm using some gorgeous closures from Jul and basing the design shaping on these - I'm excited to get going on this one as it's been percolating for several months!

Personal Knitting:  I'm not really working on anything personal right now. One of my projects for this month was to put together a list of projects to work between now and this time next year and I've already got 17 on the list!  That and several hundred skeins' worth of wholesale orders are keeping me busy right now!

WIP Wednesday: September 2, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• In the home stretch on my Bare Naked Wools cardigan project.  I'm down to just the buttonbands and finishing and this will be done!  I love all the wonderful soft grays and natural colors in this one - I think it's one of my favorite designs this year - I can't wait to share it with y'all!
• I'm working on the main lace pattern for the Interweave book shawl - I have one more repeat of this first pattern and then I can move on to the next section.  That'll be my fast-track pattern for the next couple of weeks since it's got an October deadline.
• Following that, up next in the queue is the final Mythical Creatures club pattern - which will be a single-skein fingering-weight shawl.  I'm working on charting for that currently in the hopes of getting it on the needles as my travel project when we drive to Salida.

Personal Knitting:  This one's easy - I'm actually not doing any personal knitting this week - just concentrating on the deadline projects for right now!

WIP Wednesday: August 12, 2015

Here's what I'm working on this week:

Sekret Knitting:

• I'm in the home stretch of the Mina Jacket I'm working up for Spirit Trail Fibers.  I'm finishing up the shaping on the second sleeve cap, and then I just have the front bands to do (still waiting on buttons).  The rest of the garment is put together and just needs a block to be done then.
• I started the cardigan I'm designing for Bare Naked Wools using their Stone Soup fingering weight.  I started the first sleeve and that's about two-thirds finished.  This will be my main focus project now for the next couple of weeks. 
• I had a project accepted for an Interweave Press compilation book, so I've got the yarn for that dyed and I'll work on charting and a pattern draft this week as well. 

Personal Knitting:  Since I'm heading off to vend at the Salida Fiber Festival the second weekend in September, I wanted to get a show sample knit up in one of my new gradiant colorways.   This is "Hollyhocks" and I'm knitting up the free 3S Shawl pattern by Amy Meade.  This is a simple garter stitch and eyelet shawl that's an elongated triangular shape and takes about 1 skein of fingering weight yarn.  Simple, fun and hopefully a quick knit.