New Design and review of the knitting retreat yesterday ....

Here's a design that has just come off the blocking board, photographed and posted in my Ravelry store:

Spring Garden Wrap, done in a cashmere/bamboo blend, and a fun lace pattern.  This design was so reminscent of a freshly planted garden, with it's furrows, that I just had to photograph it in front of our just-blooming dogwood!

The design, knit with Spring Gate Farm's medium weight cashmere (80%)/bamboo (20%) in a gorgeous springy sage green is perfect for all-year wear:  it's got the warmth of wool with the cooling/evaporative properties of bamboo so it will be comfortable all year-round.  The ends are tied and then buttoned (don't you love that button?) for keeping it closed.  The construction keeps the shawlette on your shoulders, too!

$6.00 for immediate download.

Yesterday's knitting retreat hosted by Dog House Yarns out at Graves Mountain was glorious!  I drove out with a dear knitting friend, chatting the whole way (which was excellent as by the time I got there, I wasn't nervous or anxious at'all!), and although the day was overcast and a bit misty, it was gorgeous!  This was the first time I'd been to Graves Mountain, but it definitely won't be my last ... especially since they are having their 1st Annual "Let's Get Naked: From Toes to Clothes" fiber festival on Saturday, April 30th.


The retreat itself was well attended -- almost 50 ladies of all ages knitting away while listening to me tell them all the wonderful facts about fiber (and NOT the breakfast kind).  We then had an all-you-can-eat, traditional family-food lunch (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables au gratin, spinach salad with fresh strawberries, homemade apple cake with ice cream, etc) .... what a feast!  The afternoon sessions included a few break-out/small group sessions:  I facilitated a "tips and tricks" session where ladies asked me how to fix this or that which of course led to more questions and more answers; I then did an overview of short-rows:  when to use them and how to do them!  It was great fun.


The best part:  after spending a day with wonderful folks talking about one of my most favorite subjects .... I came home to a ready dinner, a clean house and a family who missed me!  What more could I want?


Next weekend, it's off to the Olde Liberty Fibre Faire in Bedford!

Enjoy the journey

Mary C. Gildersleeve

By Hand, With Heart -- hand-knit designs

bhwh.mary@gmail.com

Latest Design: I "heart" Austria .... a vest and matching cap

I "heart" Austria vest and cap is a labor of love: ten years ago, we were blessed to move to a small village an hour south of Vienna, Austria.  My husband was earning a Masters degree and we lived in the shadow of an ancient Carthusian monastery, homeschooling our (then) four children.  We were only able to stay two years but Austria got into our hearts, and remains there to this day.

We took home a lifetime of memories and our yougest son, born during our sojourn in Niederoesterich.  Now, almost eight years later, I have finally created a design worthy of our memories.

I Heart Austria ... a vest reminiscent of the Austrian knitting -- garter stitch insulation with cable panels of lots of diamonds.  The knit-in pockets and simple collar are pure Austrian.  The cuffed watch cap will keep you warm even in on the Austrian slopes ... the turn-up cuff recreates the six diamond variations with a 3x3rib underneath to hold the cap close to the head and also increase insulation.  The vest is sized for Sm, Med, Large, 1X and 2X; the cap is a one-size fits most adults.

Knit in a washable all wool ... this design is classic with a twist!

Enjoy ... you can purchase this pattern for immediate download from my Ravelry store (even if you're not a Ravelry member ... altho I don't know why you wouldn't be) for $5.00.  You can check out my other designs if you just go ahead and join Ravelry (it's free and a treasure-trove of all things knitterly or even crocheterly)

Enjoy the journey

Mary C. Gildersleeve

By Hand, With Heart -- hand-knit designs
bhwh.mary@gmail.com

Designs: another in cashmere ...

I just finished the fingerless mitts that coordinate with the Snow on the Mountains Scarf ... introducing the Snow on the Mountains Mitts ...

Cool, huh?  You can buy the pattern from my Ravelry store or directly from Spring Gate Farm.  Remember, if you buy the cashmere directly from Spring Gate, you can get the pattern free!

Happy knittin'

Mary C. Gildersleeve

By Hand, With Heart -- hand-knit designs
bhwh.mary@gmail.com

Designs: lots of fun to knit this one!

Thanks to NaKniSweMo, I have another design ready for your knitting pleasure:

Ready to go play!

"Hoods up!"

Back of sweater is 1-1/2" lower than front ... and the cables at the top of the hood match!

My Favorite Sweatshirt and Mitts design is a fun knit ... and a comfy sweater, to boot!  The sweater is knit by first making a cable panel, turning it on its side, knitting in the round and adding a sqaured-neckline, a hood and 3/4 sleeves (knit from the armhole down to mid-arm.  Because so much of the sweater is knit in the round, there is VERY little finishing work (I'm lazy, what can I say?).  I made a pair of matching fingerless mitts -- which are fun to knit and fun to wear!

I've sized this design for XS - 5X, so you can make one for all the ladies you know!  You can purchase this design or others of mine from my Ravelry Store .  Check 'em out and let me know what you think!  And if you have any suggestions for designs you'd like me to do, please let me know!

Happy knittin'

Mary C. Gildersleeve

By Hand, With Heart -- hand-knit designs
bhwh.mary@gmail.com

Knit Picks: now this is kinda cool ...

I use Google Reader to keep up with all the different blogs -- knitting, writing, homeschooling, Catholic and family -- with which I try to keep up.  Well today, Stacey at Knit Picks wrote up a post about how they've just entered the 500th design into the program. 

 

No, the 500th wasn't MINE, but it is a cute knitted hat.  But the cool thing is that since I currently have SIX of the 500, that means I have 1.2% of those designs ... out of 230 designers, that's not bad. 

AND, Stacey just emailed to say they'd like another of mine ... Celtic Closure which is a BEAUTIFUL woman's sweater (if I do say so myself) and which should be up by the end of the month.  Here's a sneak peek ----->

For my other designs in KP IDP:  here's the link.

Happy knittin'

Mary C. Gildersleeve

By Hand, With Heart -- hand-knit designs
bhwh.mary@gmail.com

Custom Knitting: woman's sweater

I just (finally) finished a sweater for my mom ... it's knit using Knit Picks washable Swish.This yarn feels so nice while knitting and washes marvelously. Using a US7, I got a great "hand" with a gauge of 6.25/inch. It's a standard, drop-shoulder cardigan, but since she wanted it longer than most sweaters (it's about 3 inches longer than a normal sweater) and she likes plain ... it was quite boring to knit. Since it's a cardigan, it was just knitting back and forth, back and forth.

The hipband, knit-in button-band and neck are seed stitch and I added just a hint of color (using a skein of Swish bare) to make it a bit more fun and interesting. The sleeves are knit from the armhole down ... working in the round to avoid seams, and finishing with a k1p1 rib on US2 dpns -- I've found that ribs are heartier when you go down quite a few sizes from the body needles.

She likes it, though and in the final analysis -- that's ALL that matters!

Turning knitting on its ear!

Sometimes, a design is just better if you knit it sideways.

Here's the back .... and here's the front with a pair of coordinating socks!

Spring Sweater -- Edelweiss

I finished this sweater last Spring, but this is the first really good picture of it so I thought I'd post again. I call it "Edelweiss" as it uses Austrian lace patterns and the silver buttons have edelweiss flowers on them. I used Coats & Clark's TLC Cotton Plus (an acrylic/cotton blend that knits up beautifully!)

Another just finished project ...

I have a real thing for the new look of shrugs/capelets/partial ponchos .... whatever you want to call them. They look so chic and sophisticated! Here's one I just finished -- this one is going to be donated to the Spring Event fund-raiser at Bishop Machebeuf High School.

Here's a close-up of the really easy eyelet pattern on the bodice -- the edges are a simple eyelet rib. This capelet/shrug is knit from the neck down, so it goes quite quickly.

And, it's finished!

All done ...

but the tucking in of ends .... and with a seamless sweater the only "sewing" is for the underarms ...

Here's a close-up of the yoke patterning.

I think I"ll call this one "September" ... the final days of green blending into the browns, golds and yellows of Fall. I knit this one using Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool in: daffodil, freesia, malt heather, nutmeg heather and cedar with just a touch of natural I had left over from another project. The colors blend so beautifully, don't they? I used a US 7 for the body (and a 3 for the ribbings).

Here's the swatch cap I did when I first started out. This swatch gives me an accurate gauge because it's knit in the round (just as I'll do for the sweater) and then the plain knitting is using the correct needles. Also, doing a swatch cap shows what the final pattern will look like "off paper". You'll notice the patterning is different -- I decided I didn't like the original patterning, so I recharted it. And here's the third benefit to a swatch cap -- I can donate it to the Dulaan Project or other charity knitting project....

Yoke Sweater -- almost there ....

Well, I've finally got all the pieces joined for my EZ Yoke Sweater -- I had to do the second sleeve AGAIN because I had forgotten to switch from the rib needle to the body needle (from a 3 to a 7 -- BIG difference in gauge!). And, yes, I had done this earlier on the body so I wasn't too pleased with myself for doing it yet AGAIN!

But, thanks to football playoffs -- boohoo Saints lost, YAY that the Colts won -- I got a lot knitted yesterday. So here's the sweater to date:

I've just got a few more yoke rows, than I get to do my first dec round (going from 240 to 180 will make the rows seem so SHORT!) and then the colorwork -- which always seems to go so fast. I spent Friday and Saturday morning choosing motifs and charting them in preparation for the moment when I get to stop the boring (but mindless) plain green and go to the colorwork.

The charts are a combination of charts from the wonderful resource 1000 Great Knitting Motifs by Luise Roberts. I like this book because the charts are done in color and it's easy to see the repeats. The only downside is that many of the really cool charts have more than 2 colors per row -- a no-no for a "traditional fair isle" sweater.

I have a software program from Knitting Software called Stitch and Motif Maker that makes charting very easy -- either in color or black/white with symbols. They have some great knitting software -- for designing sweaters, socks, whatever -- so you might want to check out that site anyway!

I'll post when I'm done with this sweater -- it's getting close now....

Too busy visiting the frog pond to post

...yep, I'm in the midst of doing my best to knit a sweater for ME. Santa actually brought some beautiful Elann wool in shades of browns and yellows with a rich green for the background. I even did a cap swatch to ensure the colors blend well and to get a true, in the round, gauge.

My PLAN is to do an EZ fairisle sweater but with a henley style opening (the 3 buttons at the yoke) ... I started it once with a hem and didn't like that so .... rip it, rip it, rip it....

Then I re-started with a ribbed waistband (actually I think I'm going to make it long enough to have it sit on my hips) that uses the five background colors -- cream, yellow, gold, light brown, dark brown. I was going great guns, increased for the body using the green -- but FORGOT TO CHANGE THE NEEDLES ... this is a problem as I go 4 or 5 sizes down for the ribbing needles and so I was using 3s instead of 7s! A difference in gauge of 6.5 vs 4.25 per inch! So ... rip it, rip it, rip it ...

NOW, I think I finally have it back to working well ... I was able to get a few hours last night to do the mindless, all-one-color knitting that in the round is a blast becuase it's ALL knit without counting or changing colors or anything....

Keep your fingers crossed, though -- just in case!