Soundtrack of a Sweater: Plowman and Bryn Mawr

First, I have to say, I was freaking out when I saw that I got the cover. This is a first for me and I am so thankful.

©Interweave Knits

Plowman Cardigan

©Interweave Knits

©Interweave Knits

Plowman reminds me of summers at my dad's house in Colorado. Living on the east coast, the only place you get a southwest influence is on the pages of Vogue and Marie Claire and perhaps at the American Indian Museum (I'm just south of DC). But in Colorado, I see people actually wearing it and their homes decorated in it. I have to say I love the simple beauty of southwestern geometric art.

Chevrons are having a moment for me in my designs (in fact, you'll be seeing a lot more chevrons later on this fall and winter in new patterns I'm releasing). The motif on the back of the garment was actually inspired by a rug at my dad's house. I was thrilled with the contrasting variegated green that Interweave chose for this design.  Brown Sheep's Lambs Pride Worsted couldn't have been a better match for this pattern. It's incredibly soft and warm with great structure and has a large color palette. I can't wait to see what you guys do with it.

In my design.

Bryn Mawr Dress

In my design.

This has to be my favorite thing I've designed so far. I wanted a form fitting dress that used texture to make a woman's curves look amazing (not to brag, but look at my butt in this dress). I believe that the chevron/diamond traveling cables achieved this. It was quite the challenge sizing this five ways and making sure that within the skirt of this dress you can't tell that stitches are being decreased. I have to give a HUGE THANKS to the tech editor at Interweave that reformatted my original charts for the magazine. The yarn, Rowan Wool Cotton, was a dream to work with, and despite the dark colorway, the cables really popped off the fabric. I can't wait to get this sample back and wear it all fall and winter long.

©Interweave Knits

©Interweave Knits

©Interweave Knits

Pluie Featured on Knitting Daily TV

Today I learned from a very kind someone on Ravelry that the Pluie Cardigan was featured on Knitting Daily TV's Episode 910: Intarsia InDepth. I can't even begin to tell you guys how thrilled I am. Now if I could only get a copy of the episode (we got rid of our DVR last year). I think I'm going to have to wait until it comes out on DVD. Here's a preview and be sure to check out my Soundtrack of a Sweater: The Pluie Cardigan to get the skinny on designing the garment:

Soundtrack of a Sweater: The Pluie Cardigan

I can finally share- two of my designs are being featured in Interweave Knits Fall 2012 (scroll down to see photos)! This is the first that I've been published in print and I'm incredibly excited. I'm glad to say that it won't be the last; more patterns will be in print Spring 2013 (and with any luck Winter 2012/13).

I thought it would be fun to put together a soundtrack of music I was listening to while designing and knitting the Pluie Cardigan. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.

Soundtrack of a Sweater: 

The Pluie Cardigan

The Pluie Cardigan

Pluie was inspired by a rainy weekend day- umbrellas to will the rain away and a cardigan to stay warm and cozy while curled up with a book. I got the idea of doing an all over motif from Victoria Beckham's spring 2012 cat dress. I'm thrilled with the result. Not for the faint of heart, this intarsia cardigan is great for knitters looking for a challenge.

Interweave Press

Interweave Press

I love that Interweave included a picture of the wrong side.
I'm pretty proud of my finishing work.

The Woven Rain Hat

The Woven Rain Hat features a simple, classic herringbone pattern. It was inspired by vintage 50s and 60s fedoras and is great for fall and winter. This is the first time that I worked with stainless steel wool and I chose it because I wanted the hat to have stability without being felted. The weave of the herringbone also helps the hat keep its shape. The challenge for me with this hat was figuring out how to increase and decrease within the pattern so that it looked consistent. Enjoy!

Interweave Press

Interweave Press

Interweave Press

Be Mine - Free Pattern

Happy Valentine's Day! I designed a quick reversible cabled scarf to celebrate. The Be Mine Scarf Kit is available on my etsy site and contains 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Andes, one ball of Debbie Bliss Angel, the printed pattern, and a super cute handmade lined project bag for $47 (a savings of $10). Kits come in red, pink, purple, silver, and white. If you're only interested in the pattern you can download it on ravelry for free.

The BE MINE Reversible Cabled Scarf