Shop Patterns

Tag: pattern revision

  • Projects-in-Progress

    Projects-in-Progress

    It’s taken me a while to find my groove this fall, but it’s coming along. I’ve been experimenting, revising patterns, working on new designs, and still managed to launch a major project in my author business. Could definitely be worse!

    Here are a few things I’ve been up to:

    Unnamed Sleeveless Turtleneck

    Flat lay of cabled knit project on the needles
    Image description: A flat lay of a dark green cabled sweater front on the needles with rows of ascending cables on either side of a centre staghorn cable. Near the project on a white surface is a white mug full of black coffee and a peach-and-fuscia orchid in a white pot, as well as a small ball of hand-wound yarn. The entire scene smells like coffee and sunshine and hope.

    I’m trying to expand my design horizons by creating a cabled sleeveless turtleneck design. There have been some “one step forward, two steps back” moments, for sure. But it’s still coming along. I’m still trying to decide on a name. Any suggestions?

    Lady of the Lake Wrap

    Lady of the Lake still shot with mermaid statue
    Image description: A small porcelain statue of a blond mermaid with a green tail sits on a white desk next to a knitting project on the needles with parallel rows of cables in variegated green, teal, and blue yarn. The yarn cake sits behind the mermaid next to a white knitting mug that reads “Slow progress is still progress”. Light streams over everything, and the air smells like autumn leaves and sunshine.

    This has been an ongoing project for many years now—partly because it’s in a fine gauge, so it’s taking forever to knit; partly because I get bored of it easily; and partly because it actually requires a significant amount of my attention every other row, which makes it less ideal for TV watching.

    However, it’s going to be sooo pretty when it’s done.

    Pre-Socks

    Yarn skeins and a plant
    Image description: A moody shot of two skeins of hand-painted yarn on a white desk between a small-leafed plant and nickel-plated knitting needles. The colourways are shades of purple for the Mad|Tosh yarn, colourway “Wilted”, and autumnal shades of red brown, grey, and gold for the Earl Grey Fiber Company one. A chill wind rattles the rafters, and the lighting warns of cooler days ahead.

    A couple days ago, I finally wound these skeins into balls, but not before taking some lovely last shots of them. I’ve had socks on the mind a lot lately, partly because I’ve been revising the Jill and the Bean Socks pattern (which, since it’s actually a unisex design, I’ve renamed to Beanstalk Socks), and partly because I want to make something out of these lovely skeins. Oh, and also because Winter is Coming.

    Revision-in-Progress

    Flat lay of knitted sock top
    Image description: A close-up of a cuff-down Beanstalk Sock in progress on nickel-plated double-pointed needles. The sock is knit in tweedy cream-coloured yarn, and it has an all-over scallop-like texture with an elongated chain cable cutting diagonally across it. White chocolate with cinnamon wafts through the air.

    I’ve been working on a revision for the Jill and the Bean Socks pattern (currently unavailable), and while I’m at it, I’m adding two more sizes. It’s been more of a challenge than I expected to add the sizes, but the pattern is going to be so much more flexible now.

    Also, I’m renaming it to Beanstalk Socks, since it will look great for any gender.

    That’s it for me right now… but that feels like a lot, lol.

    What types of projects are drawing your eye lately and why?

  • A Pattern Revision Saga

    A Pattern Revision Saga

     

    The original Mary Lennox Tam was made for my friend’s daughter when I first started publishing my designs. She was also kind enough to model it for me.

    As part of my store update, I’m re-editing every single one of my designs. And for designs like the Mary Lennox Tam that were made with yarns that are now discontinued, I’m finding new yarns and testing them again.

    Video description: Video shows a stack of circular tams from above on a wooden table. The top one is dark red with ridges of garter around a centre that looks like it has spokes of knit running through it. There’s a pompom in the centre.

    A hand reaches in and removes the red hat to reveal a green one of the same size (without a pompom), and then removes the green one to reveal a turquoise one that’s a little larger with a dark red pompom. The camera zooms in on the pompom, then zooms out.

    The top hat in this video is made with the original yarn I designed it with in 2011… which has been discontinued since 2012. (Bernat Chunky.) No big deal. There have to be plenty of new yarns to choose from, right?

    Except there don’t seem to be a lot of modern yarns that knit up to this gauge. (15 stitches in 4 inches on size 6.0 mm needles.) I’ve pored over yarnsub.com to no avail. Almost everything else in that gauge is also discontinued. (Was this a yarn weight that had a decade and is now to be no more?)

    Attempt #1 at finding a substitute was with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash Bulky (the green one). Although my swatch wasn’t far off, so I thought, I made it in the biggest size, and it’s the same size or smaller than the original size medium red sample.

    Then I tried Knit Picks Biggo (turquoise), and the angels sang… not only was it the perfect gauge, it also has many of the same qualities as the original, and it’s actually softer.

    With glee, I went to type up the revision… and discovered that Biggo was discontinued sometime last year. *Cue screaming…

    So, now I’m about to start attempt number three at finding a substitute. At this point, I’m thinking of redesigning the pattern for a different yarn weight. Like worsted, since there’s a lot more consistency between yarns in that weight, and I’m almost guaranteed to be able to find a substitute for anything that gets discontinued ever again. (The original inspiration hat that the character Mary Lennox wore in the 1993 movie The Secret Garden was in worsted anyway.) Or I could use an available bulky-weight yarn and adjust needle sizes.

    Which solution do you think is best?

    (I’ve been working on this revision since before I started building this new store. Time to make a decision!)