A Time for Thanks

Since November marks the beginning of the holiday season, I am offering 25% off my Transitions Cowl pattern for the holiday season. This cowl would make the perfect assessory for a mother, daughter, sister, aunt or even that special teacher that your child loves. The price was originally $4.00 but has been lowered to $3 until December 31.

Enjoy!!

A Trip to a LYS and a Finished Project

A few Saturdays ago, a group of coworkers met in Frederick, MD for a day of fun and pampering. Frederick is a cute town with lots of great boutiques and antique stores along with fun restaurants. Of course, I stumbled upon a new knitting store called the Knot House. The store has lots of staple yarns by Classic Elite and Malabrigo as well as some indie yarns. The staff were super friendly and knowledgeable. If you are ever in Frederick, be sure to stop in.

Ever since I saw the pattern Sproutlette by Tanis L. of Tanis Fiber Arts,  I have been wanting to make this darling little dress for someone. Unfortunately, most of my friends are past the baby stage and are preparing to send their teenagers off to college next year. However, when a coworker announced she was having a baby girl, I jumped at the opportunity to knit this pattern since I already had it my queue. I chose Miss Babs Yummy sock yarn in the Violets colorway and I am very happy the result. This project was a pleasure to knit up and it took less than a week of evening knitting. The pattern directions were very clear and I made no modifications to it.

Front of dress

Back of dress

Isn't it darling? Now I need to start working on some winter accessories!

2013 Wine Tour Recap and A Pattern Preview

This past Saturday, 13 of us braved the bad weather and took part in what has become known as our annual tour of Northern Virginia's wineries. Despite the rain, we all managed to have a great time! We visited five wineries, including one that isn't open to the public until spring 2014. Some of the vineyards included Doukenie, 868 Estates, and Notaviva. With all the stress and uncertainty going on with the partial government shutdown, this was the perfect way to spend a Saturday with both old and new friends. Thanks to my dear friend Shannon for organizing this day for us and I can't wait to do it again next year (though we don't have to wait until next year to go visit a winery)!

For those of you that read my last post, I did indeed finish my Stockholm Cowl and it came out beautifully. Unfortunately, since the weather did not cooperate, I do not have many good pictures of me in it on Saturday. However, here's a group photo of us enjoying a wine tasting at 868 Estates.



2013 Wine Tour-868 Estates

With the shutdown, I have had some more time to devote to designing knit patterns. Yes, I'm trying to look at things with the glass half full. Anyhow, I've been working on a hat design and I really like the way it turned out. Here's a quick preview of it with my favorite model. We managed to sneak in a quick photo shoot this morning when the sun peaked through the clouds for the first time in almost a week.

Look for a pattern release shortly!

When a Plan Changes...

Fall has come early here to Northern Virginia and in a few weeks several friends and I embark on our yearly tour of Virginia's wine country. It's an opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones, and of course try some new wines from the local vineyards. For this outing, I decided I would make the perfect accessory. Things are crazy with work and school for the kids so I decided I would pick a simple cowl from Ravelry and cast-on. Seemed simple enough in theory especially since I had an amazing skein of cashmere fingering weight yarn in a beautiful shade of brown in my stash. I just knew it would go perfectly with a brown blazer, jeans, and tall boots. Try as I could, I was not able to make the yarn work for any of the patterns I picked out. The yarn had too much drape in it. Yet, the more it didn't work for me, the more determined I became to make the perfect accessory. While sitting in stop and go traffic last night on the way home from work, it suddenly dawned on me. I have the perfect skein of  brown yarn from Miss Babs Yowza (did I mention my overflowing stash) that will work perfectly with  Knitted Bliss' Stockholm Cowl pattern.

So, last night I sat down and cast-on for the cowl during the season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother" and I love it. Maybe all the ripping out over the past few days will be worth it in the end. Here's a picture of my progress to date.

I have 16 days to finish knitting it. It may seem like a lot of time for a cowl but fall is always a busy time in our family with work, school work for kids, soccer, and marching band. Pressure is on but I love a challenge!

Welcome and A Pattern!

An avid knitter since my 20s, I recently put myself out there with two self-published patterns. For several years, my family and friends have encouraged me to take a chance with it. I plan to use this blog as a way to highlight my journey in knit design and I hope you decide to follow me.

I just published the Transition Cowl--a versatile accessory for the fall months. Knit in Cephalopod Skinny Bugga, this cowl was a dream to knit. The yarn slid easily off the needles and the slight variegation added to the overall look of the pattern. I am looking forward to the cool weather so I can wear it.



Transition Cowl



My dear daughter had a blast modeling for it! You can find more information on the pattern at Ravelry.