Countdown to the Crawl: Prickly Pear Pastures

It's the most yarnderful time of the year! The 7th annual DFW Yarn Crawl starts in just 3 days!

From Friday August 17 to Sunday August 26, fiber enthusiasts from far and wide will be gallivanting around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visiting shop after shop, collecting yarn, notions, prizes, stamps in their yarn crawl passports (which can lead to even more prizes!), and of course, fun memories with their fiber friends. To celebrate, I'll be releasing 3 new shawl patterns this week!

I met Linda from Yarnies of Texas at the Stitches Texas expo last year. After seeing her gorgeous yarns and learning that she's based a stone's throw from my hometown, I knew something inspired by West Texas was in order. Thus, the Prickly Pear Pastures shawl was born.

This shawl begins at the top center with five sections of expanding lace that shoot outward like a patch of prickly pear. Tiny beads knitted into the fabric suggest the succulent's spines (without actually being poky, of course) and also serve to give the shawl some weight, helping it to drape nicely over your shoulders and stay in place.

If you'll be participating in the DFW Yarn Crawl, you can see this sample in person at the Yarnies of Texas trunk show, all day Saturday 8/18 at Georgina Estefania in Fort Worth.

SIZE
One size

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Span: 46 inches
Height at center: 22 inches

GAUGE (after blocking)
24 sts/38 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

MATERIALS
Yarnies of Texas D’Lish Silky
[70% merino, 30% silk; 438yds/400m per 100g skein];
color: Desert Rose; 2 skeins
US #2.5/3mm circular needle
6 stitch markers
80g of size 6/0 Miyuki glass beads in Silverlined Crystal (810 beads)
Tiny crochet hook (1mm or smaller) or beading tool
Tapestry needle

Buy the pattern now on Ravelry, and shop Yarnies of Texas' Etsy store to find the perfect yarn!

Triangulate

This shawl made a big splash at DFW Fiber Fest last month, with its "pattern coming soon" tag taunting passersby in front of the Yarnia and Amanda Hope Yarn booth. And who could blame them really? With a nice balance of garter and slipped stitches, a 3-way fade, and 2 size options, it has a little something for everyone! And now the wait is over! The time has finally come for my Triangulate shawl to be released into the wild!

Magnetic agate shawl clip handmade by Valerie of Yarnia in Nacognoches, TX.

Each size begins with choosing your favorite variegated or speckled yarn. Next, pick out some solids or semi-solids to coordinate with your variegated color - just one for the small size or three for the large. The samples used Amanda Hope Yarn's Aussie Extra Fine Single, which is just lovely stuff. She's got some gorgeous colorways to offer, and she's even put together kits, specially curated just for this pattern.

The construction is interesting, but not difficult. You'll start at one end of the shawl with a solid and fade into the variegated. Then you'll put that first tail on hold and make a second tail to match, fading from another solid (or more of the same solid if you're making the small size) into the main variegated color once more. Finally, you'll join your two tails and work the center section downward, fading from variegated into a third solid (or the remaining portion of the original solid for the small size). Easy peasy!

SIZE
Small[Large]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Span: 106[146] inches
Height at center: 17[21] inches

GAUGE (after blocking)
22 sts/38 rows = 4 inches in slip rib pattern
17 sts/34 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch

MATERIALS
Fingering weight yarn in one main variegated/speckled colorway and 1[3] coordinating solid/semi-solid/tonal color[s]
Amanda Hope Yarn Aussie Extra Fine Single [100% merino; 437yds/400m per 100g skein]
-Small MC: Breakfast at Tiffany’s - 350yds
-Small CC: Caribe - 350yds
-Large MC: Pablo’s 3 Musicians – 375yds
-Large CC1: Aegean – 375yds
-Large CC2: Bronze – 375yds
-Large CC3: Spicy Mustard – 275yds US #4/3.5mm circular needle
Removeable stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Waste yarn, stitch holder, or spare needle

Buy now on Ravelry!

Bluebonnet Fields Forever

Every year, fiber enthusiasts from across North Texas band together in a massive show of support for our local yarn stores. Over the course of ten days - one week and two weekends - we are encouraged to visit as many shops as we can during the annual DFW Yarn Crawl (currently revamping their website in preparation for this year's event). It's a great opportunity to get to know shop owners, local dyers and ranchers, and probably your carpool buddies too! Some of us drive hundreds of miles, from Dallas up through Denton, Whitesboro to west Fort Worth, and everywhere in between. The past two years, I've managed to hit every single shop on the list and got a free t-shirt proclaiming my Road Warrior status!



This year, I'm honored to be a contributor to the DFW Designers Collection: Volume 2. It's a compilation of patterns from local designers, with one or two new designs released each month throughout the year, to help you use all the yarn that followed you home from the crawl. You can get the knit bundle, the crochet bundle, or buy them all! And the proceeds go to improving the annual crawl festivities. Sounds like a win-win, right?



My contribution to this year's knit collection is the Bluebonnet Fields Forever shawl, and it's just been released for the month of April! It's a half-hexagon worked from the center outward in a lacy stitch resembling a field of bluebonnets disappearing into the distance, edged with larger "foreground" bluebonnets and a green grass border. You could use any fingering weight yarn you like, but it would look best in two solid or semi-solid colorways. Bluebonnets not your thing? That's cool. Find your favorite flower - something with tall vertical clusters of blooms like lavender, lilac, hyacinth, or snapdragon to name a few - and pick a yarn based on that color instead.



And as a special bonus, if you're attending DFW Fiber Fest next weekend at the Irving Convention Center, we'll be having a cast-on party for this pattern Sunday April 8 from 12-2 in the stitching lounge. There will be close to a hundred vendors in the market hall, so pick your perfect yarn and then come knit with us!



FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Span: 51 inches
Height at center: 20 inches

MATERIALS
Fingering weight yarn: 300yds/275m of Color A and 150yds/137m of Color B
Color A: Cascade Heritage Paints [75% merino, 25% nylon; 437yds/400m per 100g skein]; color: 9825 Isle of Skye; 1 skein
Color B: Happy Fuzzy Yarn Corrie Sock [75% wool, 25% nylon; 435yds/398m per 100g skein]; color: Moss; 1 skein
US #6/4mm circular needle
Tapestry needle
2 removable stitch markers

GAUGE
18 sts/24 rows = 4 inches by 4 inches in lace pattern, after blocking

Buy now on Ravelry!

Stonefeather

I often draw inspiration from nature for many of my designs - some subtly so, some not so subtle. Today's newly released shawl pattern falls into the latter category. Or perhaps it floats into it, slowly and gracefully like, oh I don't know, a giant feather maybe. That's right. I've designed this shawl to resemble a huge feather, with a center spine and lots of little barbs/hairs shooting outward.



This was a collaboration with the guys over at Leon Alexander Yarns, using two colors of their Heir single-ply fingering weight merino, one of which was held together with a single strand of their Heiress laceweight mohair/silk blend. They and their yarns were truly a pleasure to work with! The loose gauge and mohair halo give the shawl a soft, lofty, weightless feeling that might make you wish you could glide away on the breeze. And of course, being bi-color brioche, it's completely reversible! Purple with green on one side, green with purple on the other - or whatever marvelous color combination you fancy.



New to brioche? That's ok! This pattern would make a great intro to the brioche technique, with plenty of plain ribbing to practice the basics in between some simple shaping rows where you'll learn how to increase and decrease in this stitch pattern. So what are you waiting for?

SIZE
One size, easily adjusted

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 84 inches
Width: 14 inches

GAUGE (after blocking)
16 sts/20 rows = 4 inches in brioche rib

MATERIALS
Fingering weight yarn, approximately 430yds/423m each of two colors
Leon Alexander Yarns Heir [100% merino; 430yds/423m per 100g skein]:
DC: Deadly Nightshade; 1 skein
LC: Haunted; 1 skein
Laceweight mohair yarn to be held double with LC (optional)
Leon Alexander Yarns Heiress [70% mohair, 30% silk; 460yds/421m per 50g skein]: Hemlock Root; 1 skein
US #4/3.5mm circular needle
2 stitch markers
Tapestry needle

Buy now on Ravelry!

Sound Check

My latest design is now available for purchase through Ravelry! I'd like you to say hello to Sound Check. She's an asymmetric triangle shawl, worked from side-to-side in expanding sections of bi-color brioche on a garter stitch background, meant to mimic volume bars on a digital read-out. As written, two-thirds of the volume bars are to the max, but every 3rd bar is only half as loud (i.e., tall). Once you see how it's done though, it's super easy to customize to your preferred sound level by simply making each bar taller or shorter as you please. The overall size of the shawl is also easily adjusted by working more or fewer volume bars before bind off, or by switching up the yarn weight and gauge.

This design was a collaboration with Abby and Byron at Twisted Owl Fiber Studio. They - and their yarn - were such a pleasure to work with! Their Super Sock base has maximum squoosh and is available in a vibrant array of colors. They have a couple different options of kits with two colors already paired up for you, or feel free to choose your own. Pick two highly contrasting colorways for the bi-color brioche to really pop, or a more subtle set to let the texture do the talking.

SIZE
One size, easily adjusted

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Span: 68 inches
Height: 27 inches
MATERIALS
Fingering weight yarn, approximately 463yds/423m each of two colors
Twisted Owl Fiber Studio Super Sock 4-Ply [75% merino, 25% nylon; 463yds/423m per 100g skein]
LC: Rocker Chick; 1 skein
DC: Technicolor Cowgirl; 1 skein
US #2.5/3mm circular needle
2 stitch markers
Tapestry needle

GAUGE (after blocking)
18 sts/24 rows = 4 inches in brioche rib
20 sts/40 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch

Buy now on Ravelry!

Curtain Call

I'm so thrilled to share with you my latest pattern, a collaboration with the fine fellas at Leading Men Fiber Arts. They generously provided a skein of their Diva merino/silk base and sent me spiraling into a nostalgic fog of high school theatre memories. I took inspiration from that iconic red velvet curtain that graces so many stages. Diva's silk content contributes just the right amount of sheen and depth to give it that velveteen appearance, and its lovely drape calls to mind the folds of fabric cascading down in front of the scenery and pooling at the actors' feet.

Beginning at the top center, this shawl slowly unfolds into two side panels with a larger vertical panel in the middle. The pattern primarily utilizes charts, but the lace is fairly easily memorized after a couple repeats. It's also quite easy to adjust the overall size by simply working more or fewer repeats of the lace pattern, so feel free to make it your own!

SIZE
One size, easily adjusted

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Span: 60 inches
Height at center: 20 inches

MATERIALS
Fingering weight yarn, approximately 600yds/549m
Leading Men Fiber Arts Diva [80% merino, 20% silk; 600yds/549m per 150g skein]; color: Out Damn Spot!; 1 skein
US #3/3.25mm circular needle
2 stitch markers
Tapestry needle

GAUGE (after blocking)
23 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in lace pattern

Buy now on Ravelry!

Plum Dandi Knits

Today, I'd like to introduce you to the latest addition to my knitting library, Plum Dandi Knits by Alicia Plummer and Melissa Schaschwary. The subtitle says it all really: Simple Designs for Luxury Yarns. It's chock full of classic garments and accessories that allow those precious fibers you've been hoarding to do all the work, while you relax and knit the night away.

I couldn't stop myself flipping through this book as soon as I received it, debating which lovely design to make for myself. The Bretton Woods cowl? The Ramsey shawl? The Keene pullover? The Sawyer cowl? There were too many to narrow down!

So, as I often do, I opened up Ravelry to search my stash for appropriate yarns. When I noticed the Prescott wrap called for 655 yards of chunky weight, and I happened to have 656 yards of Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky in my stash... well, it was kismet.

As promised, the pattern was straight forward and easy to follow. In the first evening, I blazed through the chart at the beginning. A simple combination of knits and purls, even the greenest knitter could handle this one. No cables, or lace, nothing too complicated - the perfect project if you're just learning to read knitting charts (or if you're a more advanced knitted looking to keep you hands busy while allowing your mind to wander).

After that, it was smooth sailing in garter stitch for the majority of the pattern. As the weather cooled over the coming weeks, this project grew and grew, creating a fantastic lap blanket for fireside knitting. And now that it's complete, it's the ideal shoulder wrap for those chilly days to come. Now which pattern to make next...