Project Inspiration - Aham's Scarf by Ijeoma Oluo

I'm very inspired by other independent designers lately. Check out this fabulous Stephen West-esque scarflette design by Ijeoma Oluo - Aham's Scarf.

Aham's Scarf by fisherwomanknits via RavelryIsn't this lovely? And what a great way to use up some of your stash!

looking for testers - mogul cowl & infiniti scarf

well, it looks as though i successfully completed 3-4 days of the knitting blog week! the balance of my week got crazy with work and errands, so i was a naughty blogger and i did not post - oopps!

today i'm sharing with you a preview of one of my new patterns - the mogul cowl & infiniti scarf. the pattern includes instructions on how to create a close-fitting cowl and a long infiniti scarf you can wear in many ways - wrapped around the neck loosely or swirled around a few times, or as a hooded cowl.

i'm currently looking for test knitters to knit both the small and large versions. the small version uses about 200 yards of heavy worsted/chunky weight yarn. the large version uses about 400 yards of light worsted weight yarn.

if you are interested in testing, please PM me on Ravelry. details for testers are available in the BreeanElyse group on Ravelry.

Where are they now? Malabrigo Book Three Design Samples

Full disclosure: I've been a naughty Knitting & Crochet Blog Week participant! Having not posted this yesterday, I am going to post twice today to make up for it! :)

Whatever happened to your __________? Write about the fate of a past knitting project. 

My design samples for Malabrigo Book Three have amassed more miles than I have!

Rasta Neckwarmer

Their journey began in Uruguay as wool on sheep, then they journeyed to the mill where they were processed and skeined. The skeins then traveled to the folks at Malabrigo, where they were lovingly kettle dyed to perfection.

Then the yarns were shipped to me in Chicago, and I wound them into balls, swatched with them, created my designs, and finally, knit them into the samples seen in Book Three.

The finished samples then made their way to California along with the patterns for some tech editing.

Scalloped Shawl - Silky VersionGwen, the tech editor, then sent the samples back to Uruguay, where they were styled and photographed for the book.

Scalloped Shawl - Sock Version

Soon the samples will be shipped around the world, making their way to yarn shops for trunk shows, and to events like Stitches and TNNA.

These samples have traveled more than me! I've only visited California once - and I don't even have a passport!

It does make me happy that so many people will get to see and touch the actual pieces from the book, which were lovingly handknit by me in my tiny Chicago apartment.

tidy mind, tidy stitches...2KCBWDAY3

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? Well, that's a really good question.

I'm one of those people that tends to find harmony and order in a mess. There's a fine line between having "neatly organized" piles and having total chaos. While I like to think that my piles are organized, lately they seem to tilt towards chaos.

The photo above is one of the ways I store my yarn. I have 3 large storage containers from The Container Store that I keep most of my yarn in. The overflow lives in a plastic drawer unit inside my closet. My books, patterns and magazines all live on various book shelves, but there is no rhyme or reason to their arrangement. This method is a little hairbrained and annoying, but it's the best I can do with the small space I have in my city apartment.

One of my stash problems is that I am a collector of beautiful single skeins of yarn. This makes for many headaches - the need to constantly make one skein projects, and the inability to effectively organize my stash in a decent manner!

But I just can't help myself...look at this beautiful skein I recently purchased from Windy Knitty - Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Duchess.

The only thing I am vigilant in keeping organized is my design notebook, which has sections for pattern notes, sketches and inspirations.

my knitting evolution

It's day 2 of Knitting & Crochet Blog Week - it's so fun to see everyone's posts! Today's post is about my knitting skills evolution, or revolution perhaps.

Knitting & Crochet Blog Week - Day 2. Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

2010 was an interesting year for my knitting. I can't say that I've learned any groundbreaking new skills, but I have discovered what types of projects I find most enjoyable to knit. I'm finding it easier to subsitute yarns, modify existing patterns, and my designing is becoming more thoughtful.

I was one of the lucky designers published in Malabrigo Book Three. For this project, I worked with cables and simple textures, and experimented with colorful stripes and shawl construction.

Twisted Cowl, Malabrigo Book ThreeMy cabling speed has definitely increased, allowing me to complete projects like this Snapdragon Tam quite quickly.

Snapdragon Tam by Ysolda Teague

Knitting for gifts became easier too...

What knitting skills did you learn in 2010?