New Pattern: Gray Matter Cowl

I wrote up a quick new pattern in celebration of fall for Lynn at Knit 1 using large needles and Skacel Tee Cakes yarn. Lynn was sweet enough to take the photo above, showing the ginormous stitches in high definition against a small burst of color that is one of the first leaves to fall this season.

The pattern is available for free at Knit 1 with the purchase of Tee Cakes yarn.

Speaking of Knit 1, the shop is in the full swing of things this fall--and last night I attended a special event featuring Cirilia Rose, designer dujour and creative director for Skacel.

In town for Vogue Knitting Live, Cirilia stopped by the shop for a quick Q&A, where she dished about Skacel, design inspiration, color theory, her upcoming book and The Fiber Factor.

An awesome night! If you're not familiar with Cirilia, you should definitely check out her amazing designs on Ravelry and look forward to owning a copy of her new book when it comes out--because it is truly special and lovely.

some of my favorite fall knits

It's upon us! Fall, I mean.

n Chicago, weather transitions like to tease us (and mess with our heads, quite literally), undulating between 90 degree days and 58-and-rainy days, until -- in this case -- the cool, crispness of autumn truly sets in.

Already, I've donned knitted items--usually my go-to transition piece: the Riverside Cowl

(C) amachael via Flickr

The pattern is written for two sizes, using Malabrigo Arroyo, which is one of my favorite yarns. It's super soft and the colors are gorgeous.

Pretty soon, I'm going to have to pull out my Roscoe Village Hat. Knit up in Malabrigo Worsted, this is squishy and simple to knit and wear with everything.

The Grasshopper Hat is also a fall mainstay of mine. It's a bit more textured than the Roscoe Village Hat, knit up in garter stitch with your favorite light worsted weight yarn.

What are your favorite transitional pieces?

Featured FO: Klara's Punchy Colored Geometric Cowl

Klara (starsoup on Ravelry) has lovingly agreed to let me share her FO on the blog this week.

Behold...her beautiful geometric cowl!

This rainbow version is making me smile! And that braid looks fantabulous :)

Image Credit: starsoup via Ravelry

Spring Color Inspiration

Poppy

Cerulean

Emerald

Images via Jenny Durham on Pinterest

YarnCon 2013 This Weekend

You might recall that I helped The Wool Dispensary launch at YarnCon in 2011.

This year's YarnCon event is a little different. A new venue, a new time-of-year (spring instead of fall), and it's also now a 2-day event instead of one.

via The Wool DispensaryYarnCon kicks off tomorrow at 11am.

YarnCon 2013 Details:

April 6 & 7, 2013

Saturday 11-7, Sunday 11-4

Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Hall

1340 W Washington St., Chicago, Illinois 60607

Oh, and the first several attendees are getting a lovely goody bag, so make sure you show up early!