Showing posts with label new pattern release. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new pattern release. Show all posts

New knitting pattern release: Niamh's Love... Cabled Knitting Hat Pattern

| on
March 19, 2015

Sorry for the blog silence, but this was what was gobbling up my time.   Niamh's Love

"In Irish mythology, Niamh was the daughter of the sea god and one of the queens of Tír na nÓg, the land of eternal youth. She was the lover of the poet-hero Oisín. He was a mortal from Ireland who came home with Niamh. When Oisín became homesick and returned to Ireland for a visit, he asked where he could find his family, only to find that they had been dead for hundreds of years. Whilst trying to help some Irish men, he fell from the magical horse he was riding and instantly became an old man when he touched the ground. Meanwhile, Niamh had given birth to his daughter, Plor na mBan. Niamh returned to Ireland to search for her love, but he had died.
I used cables because they remind me of ropes and the sea. The 2 cable panels of the hat symbolize Niamh’s Love. The large intricate panel describes how love starts, blossoms, and can create something new. As time passes, it changes and becomes more about the new cable until outer cable eventually passes away, leaving the new cable as its legacy. The narrow undulating cable panel symbolizes time itself. It continues on no matter what happens."
Ah, I just love a tragic romance, especially with handsome Irish men..... :)

It was a really challenging design, but so worth it!  With the help of some amazing testers over on the Free Testing Group on Ravelry, I was able to work out all the bumps and kinks.  This pattern has both completely written out instructions and charts included.  If you like cables and need a new warm worsted weight hat, come on over to my design library and check it out! 

New Hat Knitting Pattern Released: Diamonds Forever

| on
February 12, 2015
2014 was a great year and a terrifying year.  Loads of things happened, some good, some not so good.  Designing kinda went out the window, BUT I did manage to get a knit hat pattern tested, and the pattern written up.  It went live today.  Yay!

Here is a blurb from the pattern:

This pattern was inspired by my daughter, Tress, who was recently diagnosed with Colitis the summer of 2014.
It’s tough to be diagnosed with any disease, but especially so when you are 11 years old. She wore the original almost constantly to keep her warm as her weight plummeted. She wore it because I made it and it made her feel hip and cool on the endless trips to the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
My Tress. Smart and funny, with a heart made of gold and an inner strength to rival any diamond, you are forever beautiful just the way you are. Never doubt your brilliance; let the world see you shine in whatever you do! I love you.

 
Diamonds Forever is knit in the round. I am a fairly tight knitter, so to get the best results, please swatch in the round first to get gauge.

This is a great hat to knit if you want to try lace knitting! It fits head sizes 21” to 23” (52.5cm to 57.5cm) in diameter.

GAUGE:  20 stitches and 27 rows = 4 inches in stockinette

DIMENSIONS
When flat, width= 10.5” height= 9”

MATERIALS
2x 50 grams or 1.76 ounces balls. Heather by Naturally. DK / 8 ply 100% NZ Wool. 109 yards or 100m. Shade 205.

Hat uses between 160 yards to 165 yards or 146.3m to 150.8m

It has both written and charted directions.

The special cast on that I used is the “Twisted 1x1 Ribbed Tubular Long Tail Cast On.” I have detailed written instructions in the pattern as well as a video tutorial. I love this cast on and find it very fun to do.

What was really neat was doing the photo shoot.  I got my iPhone synced with my Olympus Pen camera.  So cool!  I could control the camera with the app on my phone.  What you don't see is me trying to balance a HUGE photography light reflector with my foot.  It's about the size of an adult hula-hoop.  And a desk lamp in the hand without the iPhone.  At one point, the lamp was balanced on a bed on top of a stack of boxes and books.  And then it fell.  Lucky it did not break or burn me.  Those incandescent bulbs can get freak'n hot!  Here are some shots that did not make it into the pattern.  I think learning to work my iPhone with my toes will be very helpful in the future!  Or see about bribing someone to model for me.  I think the toes idea will probably be it.