Nibbling Along

Knitscene Summer

Yesterday Measure and I stopped by Purlescence, where I needed to pick up some needles (how is it that I have more than half a dozen 5mm Addis, but none of them are smaller than 32"?), and I found out that they'd already sold out of Knitscene Summer! Amazing, considering the magazine is not technically due out until the 19th of this month, but I guess a lot of shops got it in early and it has just flown out the door. I'm really proud to be part of this issue -- Knitscene just seems to go from strength to strength, and I particularly love how this issue was styled and shot. I can't wait until they start offering a subscription!

Here's one of my designs from the issue, the Loon Island Shawl (all images copyright Knitscene Summer 2011):

I actually have three designs in this issue, and I think it's funny to look at them side-by-side; you can see how much of a jack-of-all-trades I am as a designer. You know how some designers have a really coherent line? When you see something new from someone like Cookie A., or Stephen West, or Kim Hargreaves, you recognize it clearly as representing their particular aesthetic. I don't feel like I have that sort of distinctive aesthetic in my own work.

Here's another design, the Mie Pullover:

There are some common threads, I suppose -- I gravitate towards fairly simple stitches, and I try to make all of my designs "knitter-friendly." Since I have a toddler and can't devote a lot of intense focus to a project, at least not for any great length of time, I try to keep stitches easily memorizable, I try to make finishing fairly simple, and the overall design fairly intuitive. But I can do these things with cables, with lace, with texture stitches, with socks, with shawls, with pullovers, with hats...you get the idea. So I do.

Here's the Mayville Cardigan:

I suspect my lack of an obvious point of view makes me less marketable as a designer; it's certainly hard for me to conceive of what theme or element might unite a book-length collection of my designs. But to be honest, I'm not sure I care. Becoming a Super Famous Designer would be pretty sweet, but it's not really my goal. As long as I'm enjoying the process, and putting out work that (at least a few) other people enjoy too, then it's all good.

Spider Stitch Shawl

My Spider Stitch Shawl is now available as an individual pattern PDF!

Originally published in the October 2009 issue of Yarn Forward, the Spider Stitch Shawl features an easy-to-memorize pattern stitch and an elegant but simple border. It's a classic triangular shawl knit from the center back out, and it's easy enough that I think it would be a good pattern for a lace newbie (or a good quick and easy knit for the expert!). I'm glad I paid to have Yarn Forward ship the sample back to me, because it's one of the knits I wear most frequently during the winter. It just looks cool scrunched and wrapped around my neck -- it seems to dress up even the most boring outfit -- and it really does keep me toasty warm.

The pattern is a 4-page PDF file, and I've made it easy for you: all of the charts are on page 2 of the pattern, so if you're the type of knitter who really just needs the charts, that's the only page you'll actually need to print. Clicking the "buy now" button will help you purchase the pattern via Ravelry and PayPal, but you don't need a Ravelry or PayPal account to buy.

The pattern is $5.

To make the shawl, you will need a size 4 (3.5mm) long circular needle and 2 skeins of Malabrigo Lace, or about 750-800 yards of an equivalent yarn. The finished size is about 64" across and 30" deep, although the size is easily adjustable if you, for example, change yarn weights, work more or fewer repeats of the main chart pattern, and/or work more or fewer repeats of the border pattern.