Yoonsi Cowl

Many years ago I saw a picture of one of my favorite actors on a casual dress red carpet. I liked the color combo he was wearing and the pattern on his shirt. They were not my usual style which inspired me to try and branch out a bit and try something new. The first incarnation of this pattern was an infinity cowl that did not work in the slightest. I started a cowl version at the same time but it found it's way to the bottom of my WIP bins and stayed there for a while. This year, in an attempt to slim down the WIP's bins (and piles and bags and boxes) I pulled the cowl back out and gave it another go. What was supposed to be a casual mindless project turned into 4 cowls; I enjoyed the process and like the end product so much I made 4 of them. So I am very happy to share my latest cowl pattern with you now.

The Yoonsi pattern is a funnel shaped cowl, knit in the round, with alternating bands of garter stitch and simple colorwork. It is a fast and easy pattern and because it gets smaller as you go, it feels like it flies off the needles.

Yoonsi is made using either fingering or sport weight yarns on a 24" US Size 4/3.5mm circular needle. The pattern includes 3 different motif patterns and the yardage varies slightly between them. See the Ravelry listing for more info.

Chart A

Chart B

Chart C

*I've worn this one a lot before photographing and you can tell. I couldn't help myself and threw it on the second it was done and wore it for a month straight. It needs to be reblocked. 

Chart C was inspired by a Chinese web drama I was watching called Go Princess Go. the colors were just so stinking pretty I had to make something in that vein. This one is my favorite to wear. I really like to be seen from space when I get dressed.

Finally since Chart C's cowl was so very, very bright I thought I would try something a little more subtle. Light blue and brown are one of my favorite combos and I had both a beautiful cone of tan alpaca my dad brought me from Chile, and several skeins of light blue lace weight alpaca, so I made a fourth cowl. I used the Chilean alpaca for both the motif color and garter bands.

As a little bonus, for no other reason than I wanted to give it a try, I made a coordinating coloring page!

Temporary Coloring Page Link

I will leave it up here free for the first week and after that it will be available with the pattern. I've decided to leave it up for everyone. Please do not upload this coloring page to another website. 

If you make a Yoonsi cowl or just have fun with the coloring page and want to share with me, please tag me on Instagram, username: Wonderfallz

Coming Off the Back Burner

Remember the Baktiari hat?

I started a Baktiari cowl too, but at about the halfway point it got back-burnered.  You know how it is when you have to do some yardage math and purchase more yarn (the black Cascade 220), the momentum slows and other projects are picked up.  After unearthing it from the WIP bin last week, I have decided to use the longer summer days to finish it.  The colors of that Sanguine Gryphon silk Codex* yarn are just too pretty to sit unknit in a ziplock bag.  They are Rhinebeck purchases and deserve better. 

I took it to see Blockbusters at the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.  Three hours claiming a decent spot before the movie meant ample time to make significant progress.  You can tell how pumped people were to watch that movie next to the NY Public Library, where the opening scenes were filmed, by how far back and to the side my decent seat was.

See Bill Murray on the screen?

I am hoping to have a Baktiari cowl pattern out by the end of the summer.  In the meantime, here is a sneak peak at what's coming next.

*Sanguine Gryphon is no longer, but one of the spin off(?) companies, Verdant Gryphon, still carries it.  Such pretty stuff and lovely to knit with.

Bloomst

There is something about a brutally cold winter that makes a person want to knit flowers in bright colors.  With that in mind I would like to share my latest cowl pattern, Bloomst!

The cowl formula is my favorite to wear.  It flairs at the bottom and covers my collar, protecting even the nape of my neck from the chilly winds blowing across my elevated train stop and folds down around the neck nicely.  It is a looser fitting cowl and does not fit closely around the face but if that is the desired fit, there are tips for customizing in the pattern.

Technical details about size, yarn, and needles can be found on the Ravelry pattern listing.

Ribbon Candy Cowl

When I set out designing this pattern it looked quite a bit more Christmas-ey in my head than in execution.  Luckily the end result is a much more universal pattern that can be worn any time of year.

$3.00

The Ribbon Candy Cowl is made using 3 yarns.  Two colors are used for the colorwork body of the cowl and the third is used to make the bands.  The example I show here used 2 balls, one red and one white of a 420 yard sock yarn, for the colorwork body of the cowl and an undyed sock yarn for the bands.  The colorwork portion of the pattern uses equal parts of each color and is meant to be repeated until the yarn runs out.  If you have 2 balls of yarn that are roughly 200yds/180m each, the cowl will be roughly 11"/28cm in height.  If you have 2 balls of yarn that are roughly 400yds/360m each, the cowl will be roughly 20"/51cm in height.  The ribbed bands require 150yds/137m of yarn.

My favorite thing about this pattern is that the jog between rows is completely hidden in the spiral.  There is no way of seeing where one row ends and another begins.  

Rhinebeck 2014

Another year, another trip to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival.  This year my mom and dad joined me.  I've enjoyed going with each and every person I've ever attended with, how could you not, but Rhinebeck is the best when my family visits.  Heck, NY in general is just better when my family visits.  

I have talked about Rhinebeck extensively year after year so I will keep the recap short and sweet.

First, the hat.  I have tried this on every year for the past 8.  This year it came home with me.  There was a guy also from NYC trying on a different hat from this vender and I think we talked each other into our hat purchases.  It reminds me of Dr Zhivago.

Second, the animals.  How cute is this sheep?  I was squeeing over it and the farmer told me this breed is special because they smile.  And no, I don't know what breed it was because I forgot to take note.  whoops.

 And finally, the haul.  Miss Babs, Fiber Optic, Touch of Twist, Bartlett Yarns, Brooks Farm, Ensign Brook Farm, and sparkly gold fiber from a vendor I can't remember.  The goal was golds, a light indigo, a Fiber Optic ombre box and colors I don't normally grab.  I think I accomplished that.  There is not a red and teal combo in sight (if I didn't check myself those are the only colors I would ever use).

Just something random, it never fails that the moment you stop posing like an normal adult and start goofing off, it will be captured for posterity.  So here you go. 

I call myself a normal adult but my sunglasses say otherwise.

\/\/ Wribbons /\/\

I have published a new cowl pattern today.

\/\/ Wribbons /\/\ 

This cowl is one of my favorites to wear.  It flares at the bottom to protect the neck and collar from chilly air.  The pattern includes yardage and instructions for a sport weight cowl as well as the formula for the pattern so it can be customized for any yarn and any size.

Here's the Ravelry link:

I made the first version of this cowl over a year ago and it was far and away my favorite cowl to wear.  Unfortunately I failed to write down any of the yardage so the pattern hung out in limbo until I knit a second sample.  The edging on the first version is different from the final version because even though visually I loved the way it looked, it rolled in on itself too easily so it got replaced with ribbing which managed to make it even cozier.  The yarn on this first version was such a surprise.  They were two random cheap merinos from Ebay and Smileys Yarn Sale that were utilitarian yarns in my stash.  Together they are luminous.  The first version also had one additional round of chartwork.

Scary Easy Hocus Pocus Tote

Fall is finally upon us.  All the drinks and food at Starbucks and Whole Foods are pumpkin flavored and the Halloween section of the craft store is jam packed with glitter fall flowers, skeletons, black cats and pumpkins.  With a month and a half till Halloween I thought I would add a little addition to the Hocus Pocus Trick or Treat Bag Pattern.  Here is the Scary Easy Hocus Pocus Tote. 

 This tote is a much easier, finish in a weekend, version of the original bag.  It does not require any lining or felting and it a much more appropriate size for trick or treating.  

If you have already purchased the Hocus Pocus Cowl and Trick or Treat Bag ebook then you should see this new tote pattern added to the download options, you do not have to purchase anything new.  If have not purchased the pattern but are interested in making your own, follow the button below for more details.

Plush Bow Tutorial

I am knitting a new hat and wanted an alternative to my usual pom pom or tassel so I whipped up a plush bow to tack onto the crown.  I thought I would stick a little tutorial up ahead of the new pattern. Following the directions exactly will give you a bow roughly 2 inches by 5 inches.  The general idea can be used to make bows of many sizes.

Pollen and Bubbles Revisited

 I am super excited to announce that this month the Pollen and Bubbles hat pattern is being included in the KnitCrate Int/Adv box.  For anyone unfamiliar, KnitCrate is a knitting subscription service, like magazines but you get yarn, patterns and other goodies.  They have a bunch of other different subscription options like Beginner, Indie Dyers, Baby, Sock, and ect.  It's such a great way to discover a new products.  I especially like the mini skein option.  There is also a gift option available in case your loved one knows you love yarn but doesn't know how to shop for you.

Anyway, I thought I was a good time to revisit and beef up the Pollen and Bubbles pattern a touch.  The initial pattern was one size only and required 2.5 skeins of yarn.  The new pattern includes additional sizing info and instructions for a hat that takes exactly 2 skeins of yarn (one of each color).   If you have already purchased the Pollen and Bubbles pattern then you will automatically have access to it in your library.  It is called Pollen and Bubbles 4.0.

If for some reason you have stumbled onto my blog, like the hat, but don't knit, I have put some of my latest samples in my Etsy shop.  

Darling Mermaids Sneak Peak 1

I have a fun new ebook releasing on Tuesday Oct 1st.  This is the first sneak peak.

Darling Mermaids Cowl

Stellar Burst

After many months of horrible pattern writing blockage, I am happy to release Stellar Burst, a hat and cowl pattern.

$5.00 for the PDF Pattern

I drew this up after spending some quality time last year on Flickr, searching Finland, Sweden, Lapland, ect and pretend vacationing.  When the everyday grind of NY gets to be too much and I pretend vacation on Flickr or Craigslist, although checking out the prices of apartments everywhere else can sometimes exasperate the problem.  Anyhow, on one of my pretend vacation afternoons I came across a gorgeous pic of some spiky red stars hanging on a winter tree in front of a house with light blueish-grey shutters.  That picture was the inspiration behind this pattern.

The example cowl was knit striping a light gray and a light blue for the background while the hat got a solid background.  The instructions include one size for the cowl using DK weight yarn and two sizes, small/med (18 inches), and med/large (20 inches), for the hat using sport or DK weight yarn.

The chart background is striped.  This is optional and can be ignored if you wish to have a solid background.  The chart is repeatable horizontally and vertically except for the stripes which should be reversed if you choose to repeat the chart vertically (this is unnecessary for the projects in the pattern and only applies if you choose to use the chart for another project entirely).

The pattern includes yardages, and the needles and notions needed to complete the projects.


I hope you enjoy the new pattern, and remember, spring and summer are when you knit the things you wear in the fall and winter!

Time to Stop Being a Hermit

It's the start of the year and time to share some things.

Patterns:  

I have two new-ish (I published them in the fall of last year) patterns. 

*my apologies on the scary coloring of the pic.

As soon as fall weather hits I cannot get enough of Pumpkin themed stuff.  Large glittered pumpkins ala Martha Stewart, nerdy carved jack-o-lanterns of Firefly characters, Trader Joe's pumpkin greek yogurt...  I think the only pumpkin thing I don't like is Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte's (I hate them with a fiery passion despite their excellent cozy marketing).  So this year I decided to whip up a quick pumpkin pattern that could be used before and after Halloweeen, something that could be worn a little longer than the Hocus Pocus pattern.  The chart for this one is fairly small so you can adjust the pattern easily if you wish to change the yarn weight, size of the cowl, or if you want to use it for something else altogether.

This winter hat was designed on a lark Christmas 2011 and is the first thing I knit using yarn I spun (the green and grey version).  The green yarn was an awesome sparkly batt I got from the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn a few years ago, post pool, pre riverside.  The grey yarn is alpaca that came from a farm in Callicoon, NY.  We visited the farm and got to meet all the alpacas.  If you have a chance to visit an alpaca farm I highly recommend it, they are adorable and so soft.  

The pattern includes instructions for a large or medium hat using bulky, aran, or dk weight yarn.

Christmassy Happenings:

Once again I went back "home/home" (CO as opposed to "home" which is NY) for 12th night.  Christmas day was spent in NY seeing Les Mis and eating Chinese food like 75% of the population of the city.  No lie, I took a lovely walk from the theatre in Chelsea to my favorite Chinatown dumpling place and I passed multiple people talking about Russell Crowe's singing.  

I decided to take a bunch of "Christmas in NY" pics this year.  I know it's a fairly common subject but NY does the holidays so well.  

If Christmasy pictures of NY are your thing, there are a lot more in my flickr.

A few days after Christmas I  took off of Colorado for some fresh air and family.  My deer friend came around to see me.

*please note that this is an absolutely horrible example of how to behave with wildlife.  Deer are wild animals and can hurt you.  If I still worked at the zoo I would be getting a stern lecture right about now.  Yes, I worked at a zoo in high school.

We named her Stella.  This is the second time she has visited me at Christmas.  Most of the deer are not afraid of humans but don't dare approach, Stella on the other hand is curious and will walk right up to our door and sniff until someone comes out to see her.  In internet terms, she thinks she's people.

The rest of the trip was lovely even though I was working through that dreadful flu that swept the country.  I saw high school friends, post college friends, and spent many marvelous hours sitting in the kitchen jabbering at my mom.  I also fit in a few trips to my favorite Colorado Springs places Panino's, Wimbergers, Salsa Latina, La Casita and fit in a movie, Silver Linings Playbook, with my dad at the awesome indie theatre, Kimball's, where they still allow you to bring ice cream from the the amazing Josh and John's next door.  Not so fun fact, movies are a good $5+ cheaper in CO than NY.  

OMG Have You Heard of This?!:

Lastly, over Christmas vaca I discovered Miranda.  

I'm completely obsessed.  I think I've watched every episode 10 times at this point.  Had to order this from Amazon UK which is surprisingly affordable and fast.

My mom, ever ready to replace TV watching with book reading, ordered Miranda Hart's book from Amazon UK as well.

It's going to live with Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling's books on the awesome and very funny ladies shelf.

Well it is lovely catching up with the dear blog again.  Now I am going to go enjoy the snow that fell last night.

Gotham Skies... Available Once More!

About two years ago I designed a pair of steampunk inspired socks for The Sanguine Gryphon.  At the end of last year Sanguine Gryphon split into two separate companies and the sock pattern was no longer for sale anywhere.  Well as of this week I am happy to announce that the pattern is once again available for purchase!  You can find it on in my Ravelry pattern store, or you can purchase it through Cephalopod Yarns (soon) while you pick up some gorgeous Skinny Bugga to knit the socks with!

I am hoping to find the time to knit up one sock in a slightly heavier yarn and use it as a Christmas stocking.  My apartment has this awesome mantel and it needs some stockings come December.  

I need to thank my pal Carly for letting me use her feet to take pictures.  I like to ambush my friends at work and say "Pretty, pretty please can you model this so I can take pictures?"