Flint Knits

Hard to believe summer is over — it was 90 degrees yesterday, and September 1 just came around without my even noticing.

But it’s true! Nights are getting cooler, leaves are getting drier, and those Country Time Lemonade commercials with the squeaky, empty porch swing are airing on network TV. Fall is in the air, and all I wanna do is make big, squishy sweaters.

Luckily, I spent a good part of my spring and summer designing a whole bunch of them, in cahoots with Caroline Fryar. Together, we made 14 colorwork designs for the new Juniper Moon Farm yarn, Herriot (100% alpaca sport weight; comes in 10 awesome undyed, natural colors — for more info about the yarn, see Caroline’s post).

And then, with the help of a whole lot of people, including test knitters, models, a brilliant graphic designer, an angelically patient tech editor, and the always-amazing photographer Caro Sheridan, we put them into a book.*

The book is organized in order, from simple to more challenging colorwork — from basic stripes to Caroline’s insane double-knit coat masterpiece. Caroline’s post does a thorough job of describing all the pieces and crediting all the contributors, and the whole thing is available to be ogled on Ravelry, but I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites.

Let’s start with some of the pullovers:

This is definitely my favorite photo, and my favorite design, in the whole book. Caroline created this badass ombre striped dress, which we named Hattie. Caro photographed it in a beautiful, creepy old graveyard in Virginia, and then we borrowed most of the book’s garment names from the hundred-year-old gravestones there.

Edie, a trompe l’oeil intarsia pullover, with little short-rowed cuffs and a keyhole back.

Bessie, a comfy, slouchy, stripey sweater that Caroline designed, and that I want to wear all winter long.

And Maeby, a stranded, seamless pullover with turned hems, a kangaroo pocket, and a drawstring funnel neck.

Oh, and also there are elbow patches!

Truly, that’s just the beginning! Check out all the rest on Ravelry.

You can find the book, and Herriot, wherever Juniper Moon Farm yarn is sold.

More exciting announcements in the next few days — in the meantime, I’ll be sitting on the porch swing whipping up an Edie.**

* If you want your own knitwear or other craft photography to look half as amazing as Caro’s, check out her Craftsy class on product photography, “Shoot It!“

** Not true. I do not have a porch swing. But I AM sitting on the porch, and the chair I’m using is not entirely stable, so it is somewhat swing-LIKE. So.

Cecily Glowik MacDonald is one of my favorite knitting designers working today. Her stuff is classic without being basic or boring, and she designs things I want to wear — and, more importantly, that I want to knit. Even when another stockinette-in-the-round project won’t hold my attention, Cecily’s patterns have details that do.

Case in point: Goodale.

pattern: Goodale, by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, in “vibrant lime green”
needles: 4.5mm circular
[raveled]

On one hand, it’s your basic top-down raglan cardigan (because, yes, what I really needed was another green cardigan).

On the other hand, lifted increases! I-cord edging! AND CHECK OUT THOSE POCKETS!

Er, except I didn’t adjust the pattern for my long, long torso like I usually do, so I ended up with a lovely cropped length, which is perfect (perfect!) for spring and summer dresses and whatnot, but which means that these little pockets are awfully close to boob-level.Clearly, the only answer is to wear this Goodale all summer, and then make another one — this time with three-quarter sleeves and a longer body — and wear it every single day of Winter 2012.

I also made fabric-covered buttons for this one, an idea I shamelessly stole from Cirilia’s Double Decker Cardigan (in Knitting it Old School).

I used some fabric scraps I had lying around, and this kit. And people, it could not have been easier! I WANT TO COVER ALL OF THE BUTTONS ALL OF THE TIME.

To sum up: Cecily rules! details are awesome! pockets! buttons!

And now, on the subject of pockets, I give you my best (and yet? still not that convincing) Stern Professorial Face when I tell you to spend some time with the amaaaazing “Pockets of History” collection at VADS.

Pockets of History includes photographs of and information about hundreds of surviving examples of women’s tie-on pockets from the 18th and 19th centuries (pockets weren’t always attached to clothes, you know). Check out the embroidered pockets in particular — they’re pretty freaking incredible. Pockets!

ETA: Oh! Oh! And please check out Kate’s wonderful, wonderful post about pockets from a few days ago! (h/t to Katie for the link — the post was still languishing in my blogreader.)

First, thanks for all the support during The Crushinator’s recovery! Willie pattern sales paid for all of her vet bills, and she’s nearly back to normal now. The surgery was a success and, after several weeks of keeping her virtually immobile, she’s free of the cast and back to her old self again. Hooray!

Let’s celebrate with a new pattern for sale, yes?

Ella Funt is a cardigan for babies, named in honor of Ramona Quimby’s stuffed elephant in Beverly Cleary’s beloved Ramona books.

The body and sleeves are knit separately from the bottom up, then joined in one piece for the yoke. If elephants aren’t your cup of tea, the pattern also includes blank yoke charts that can be customized with the creature or motif of your choice.

SIZES: Finished chest circumference = 19 (21.75, 24, 26.75) inches
to fit ages 3–6 (6–12, 12–18, 18–24) months

GAUGE: 25 sts and 34 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch

MATERIALS:

• 300 (400, 525, 625) yards of sport or heavy fingering-weight yarn in main color (MC)
• small amounts of coordinating yarn in 3 other colors (colors B, C, and D)
• US 4 (3.5mm) circular & double-pointed needles, or size to get gauge
• 6 (6, 7, 7) buttons, 3/8 inch in diameter
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn

Big thanks to Minty, Ashley, Carrie, Julia, Kelly, and Sarah for test knitting and editing help!

Cost: $6 US

ETA: Shepherd Susie of Juniper Moon Farm has started an incredibly generous contest. If you buy the Willie pattern and comment on her blog, you’ll be entered to win a 2011 share in the farm’s yarn CSA.

Remember Crush? Also known as The Crushinator? My badass puppy and the muse who inspired the wurstwärmer pattern?

Well, on Thursday night, Crush’s favorite puppy sitter took her to the store and had her chillin in a shopping cart when, like a puppy, she jumped out.

And broke her leg.

Badly.

Today, Crush had some pretty complicated surgery to stabilize a pretty complicated fracture (it went through the growth plate, which on a 9 month old puppy, is still all squishy and vulnerable). Did I say the surgery was complicated? I meant to say it was EXPENSIVE.

And so while Crusher was grogged out on morphine waiting for her moment on the operating table, I spent the weekend working like a dog to whip up a wiener-themed pattern to put a drop in the Puppy Surgery Fund bucket.

I give you … Willie!

Willie is a round-yoked cardigan for babies and kids, with a lovable wiener dog that wraps around the lower body. The body and sleeves are knit separately, then joined in one piece for the yoke. If you don’t love dogs, Willie also looks fetching in stripes and solids. Worked up quickly in chunky yarn, this cardigan makes a handy last-minute gift, and a fun introduction to intarsia knitting.

SIZES:
Chest circumference 20 (21.5, 23, 24, 26, 28) inches, to fit ages 6m (12m, 18m, 2y, 4y, 6y)

MATERIALS:

• YARN: Louet Riverstone Chunky (100% wool, 165 yds) or other chunky weight yarn 1 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3) skeins main color (MC); 1 skein contrast color (CC); 1 skein Willie color (WC)
• US 9 (5.5mm) circular & double-pointed needles, or size to get gauge
• 6 (6, 6, 6, 7, 7) buttons, 1/2 inch in diameter
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn for holding stitches and embroidering dog collar
• tapestry needle

The pattern includes instructions and charts for sizes from 6 months to 6 years. If you haven’t tried intarsia knitting before (that’s the kind of colorwork where you have large chunks of color — like argyle! or a wiener dog!), this is a great first intarsia project. KnittingHelp.com has an excellent video explaining the technique.

Cost: $6 US

Why yes, that IS German for sausage warmer!

The wiener dog body poses a number of challenges for handknitters—just ask any dachshund owner who’s watched her dog walk right out of a sweater. There’s the obvious length issue, of course–these are long, long dogs. Plus, the dachshund’s superwide chest means that most sweaters’ sleeves are too close together. Sweater necks are rarely long enough, and their sleeves are almost always too long (these two things are largely responsible for most dachshunds being able to escape their sweaters in the blink of an eye). And few dog sweaters are designed to cover that soft, hairless underbelly on a short-haired wiener.

Wurstwärmer is designed to address all of these issues. Short rows add extra material to accommodate a dachshund’s barrel chest. A long, ribbed, generously-sized turtleneck gently hugs the neck and allows for a wide range of neck and chest shapes and sizes. A long body covers the belly, and more short rows curve the sweater over the rump. Short, wide-set triangular sleeves will stay on even the wiggliest pups.

I strongly recommend taking a few measurements (listed in the pattern) and trying the sweater on as you go to make it truly custom-fit, but standard sizes are provided for gift-knitters and those whose dogs refuse to cooperate with measurings or fittings.

Wurstwärmer is knit in the round, with the exception of the short rows, which are knit back-and-forth. If you haven’t knit short rows before, don’t be intimidated. If you can knit and purl in the round, pick up stitches, increase, and decrease, you can knit this sweater.

Cost: $3 US.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THIS PATTERN WILL BE DONATED TO THE MICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE. IF YOU DON’T HAVE A DACHSHUND TO KNIT FOR, YOU MIGHT KNIT THE PATTERN AND DONATE IT TO A LOCAL DACHSHUND RESCUE ORGANIZATION. OR VISIT THE M.A.R.L. WEB SITE TO MAKE A DONATION ON YOUR OWN.

SIZING: XS (S, M, L, XL), to fit chest circumference of 11-13 (14-16, 17-19, 20-21, 22-23) inches.

MATERIALS: 
–  YARN:
• 2 (2, 2, 2, 3) skeins Hello Yarn Fat Sock (shown in Olive), OR
• 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skeins Miss Babs Yummy Sport (shown in Teal), OR
• approximately 200-500 yards sport weight wool
–  4mm 16″ circular needle (or size to get gauge)
–  4mm double-pointed needles (or size to get gauge)
–  3 stitch markers
–  tapestry needle
–  scrap yarn