Holli Yeoh Knits

Yesterday Canada Post arrived with a parcel of yarn from One Planet Yarn and Fiber.  I’m working on a secret project for them and it’s great to get the yarn in my hands so I can finalise the details.  The yarn, a cotton/wool blend is Clarissa by Lana Puras in Petal and Biscotti.  Pretty, huh?

When I’m writing a pattern I like to hammer down all the measurements first.  Around the same time I also knit a swatch then wash and block it.  Then I create a spreadsheet and grade all the sizes at once using the information from the swatch and the measurements that I have already decided upon.  Once I’m confident that I’ve figured out all the math then I like to write the instructions before I even start knitting.  That way I’m also test knitting the instructions and hopefully catch any typos or omissions in the first go around. This makes the knitting more enjoyable for me if I don’t have to stop repeatedly to figure things out.

Today I’m going to finish up the swatch I started last night. Last week I worked on the measurements and grading the pattern. I’ll plug the stitch and row numbers into my spreadsheet once I have them and then I’m almost ready to knit!

I love the burst of energy I get with a new project and deadline.

I just received an email from Annie of Annie’s Mittens.  I only know her mother and I have never met Annie but as I mentioned before, my knitting guild makes mittens for Annie’s kindergarten class in New York every year because these little kids don’t have much and it’s our way of helping out.  Here’s what Annie had to say,

Wow!! I cannot believe that I have had a mitten pattern named after me!! What an honor! … I was really pleased this year with the children’s interest and love of the mittens that they received.

I also just found out that this is Annie’s last year teaching in New York.  She’s moving back to Canada this summer.  Our guild will have to put our efforts into another meaningful charity - never a problem with a knitting guild, is it?

I was happily working on the Peacock sample for Three Bags Full over the holidays between games of Dance Dance Revolution (one of the new Christmas presents in our house … that is one fun video game!). 

I was all set to block some of the pieces and I was really happy with the combination of hand-painted and semi-solid colourways.  I wanted to double-check something against one of my finished samples only to realise that I’ve been knitting the wrong size.  Aargh!  Here’s the result. 

Tonight I’m starting over.

Three Bags Full, one of my LYSs is now carrying my patterns!  Three Bags Full specializes in gorgeous natural fibres, often hand dyed.  They don’t carry the conventional self-patterning yarns and therefore weren’t carrying my patterns to date.  I convinced them that my designs look great when knit with hand-painted yarns and they certainly have a great selection of lovely sock yarns in semi-solids, solids and hand-painted variegated such as: Cherry Tree Hill, Indigo Moon, Louet Gems, Lorna’s Laces, and Koigu among others.

Right now you’ll just find the gloves and mittens patterns in stock.  I’ll be filling another order of all my patterns first thing next week.  What I’m really excited about though is that I’m knitting up a sweater sample for them in these two lovelies:

The variegated is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Old Rose colourway and it’s paired with Dream in Color’s Smooshy in Spring Tickle.  I’m knitting Peacock and I’m looking forward to the finished product.

Happy Knitting New Year to you all!