Fanfare

One of the things that we are incredibly fortunate to be a part of is the Knitters Mercantile Accessory Club. We have designed for both the 2013 and the 2014 clubs and it is a lot of fun! We design pieces for the club that are easy to knit and are straightforward in their design. And we get to hang out with a fabulous group of knitters in the club meetings!

All of the pieces we design for the club are one skein projects. Who doesn't love a one skein project? But we also like to be flexible so in many cases we have also included the option to, with an additional skein, expand the piece into a larger size.

With all of that, I give you Fanfare.

Fanfare was originally designed for the April installment of the Accessory Club. The name comes from the shape of the shawl. It's a trumpet! A looooong trumpet.

We are in love with shawls and we are in love with interesting shawl shapes. One of the things that I particularly love about this is the asymmetry. Short on one end and tall of the other, this shawl can be styled in oh-so-many ways! We love the versatility and beauty of JUL fixtures and we have used a variety of them to give you ideas on how to style Fanfare.

The other delight we have in this shawl is the yarn. We used Lorna's Laces Honor, which is a sumptuous blend of alpaca and silk. Oh. My. Word. It is delicious.

Here on the stats on Fanfare.

Sizes: Small (Large)
Yarn: DK weight in a fiber with drape. We used Lorna's Laces Honor.
Yardage: 275 for the small. 350 for the large.
Needle: US 7 circular, at least 24".
Specific skills: knit, purl, yo, k2tog, wrap and turn short rows.

You can purchase and download Fanfare on Ravelry, on Etsy, or get a printed copy at Knitters Mercantile!

Well hello there

Hey! Long time no see.

So, yeah, we've been silent here but that ends now. We've been up to things! Here are a few things we've been up to.

1. New patterns! We've done a few new patterns since we've last posted here. We will be telling you all about our new patterns in upcoming posts. Get ready for the pretty!

2. We're on Etsy now! Check us out here.

3. We've got some cool new Quirky Bird merchandise in the works. But shhhhh! Don't tell anybody yet. We're still working on it.

Come back soon to hear more about what's new!

Greater Than >< Less Than Mitts

 Check out our newest pattern - Greater Than >< Less Than Mitts!

Inspired by those little mathematical symbols, these mitts feature a simple lace pattern that is very easy to work. The right and left mitts are mirror images of each other.

 
Worked in the sumptuous Baah Yarns Sonoma, Greater Than >< Less Than Mitts are a delight to knit and to wear! The color of the mitts shown is Blue Topaz. Isn't it vibrant and gorgeous?

These mitts were featured in Knitters Mercantile's Accessory Club in October.

You can download the pattern on Ravelry. Find it here!

We hope you enjoy!

Turtle Baby Vest

Turtle Baby Vest is here!

This little vest is so much fun to knit. It's worked in a bulky yarn so it works up very quickly. The revere stockinette background really highlights the turtle. Don't you just want to tickle that little turtle?

The vest is designed to work for baby. Both straps attach to the back with buttons making this piece easy to fit over baby’s head. The ribbing is carried up the side so the vest is stretchy and wearable for a long time. The I-Cord bind off around the neck creates a pretty finished edge.

The turtle is really fun to knit. Instructions for the turtle are both charted and written so you have options. The turtle is just a combination of knit and purl stitches, a few simple twists, and basic increases and decreases. Easy peasy!

 
The vest is written for 2 sizes - 3-6 and 6-12 months.

Head on over to Ravelry and pick up a copy of Turtle Baby. Or you can purchase a printed copy at Knitters Mercantile.

Corsette

 Brand new, fresh pattern! We present to you Corsette. It's is a flirty and feminine cloche cap inspired by the Roaring Twenties and Steam Punk corsets.

Worked in the round, this one size fits all cap is purposely worked large and is fitted to your head with JUL fixtures.  (Haven't heard of JUL? We are big fans. They make gorgeous pedestal buttons and fixtures. Check them out here. )

The body of Corsette is worked in a wide stockinette/moss rib stitch and a seed stitch gusset with a ruffled edge.

We have styled it two different ways. The first is with the cinching of silk ribbon around JUL pedestal buttons. 

The second is with JUL Latch closures.

The body of the hat is worked in a wide stockinette/moss rib stitch and a seed stitch gusset with a ruffled edge.

The yarn is Yarn Hollow Photograph. It's a super scrumptious Blue Faced Leicester worsted weight yarn and it's hand dyed to perfection.

You can purchase Corsette on Ravelry. You can also purchase a printed copy of it at Knitters Mercantile.

We hope you love this cloche as much as we do!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Hello there!

Andrea and I have been busy, busy bees recently. Busy with what you ask? Observe.

Two little girls! And they were born only 9 days apart. That's my Veronica on the left and Andrea's Laura on the right.

We have been enjoying these little ones like crazy. But we also have new patterns in the works! One upcoming pattern is a certain vest with a baby turtle on the chest.

Stay tuned......

Footies Part Deux

Holy cannoli people! Our Footies pattern is getting all kinds of love these days!

We are super excited because it is one of the Malabrigo March knit alongs in the Malabrigo Junkies group on Ravelry. We LOVE seeing all the versions of Footies out there. Warms our hearts, it does.

Footies is a free pattern on Ravelry but we know that Ravelry isn't everybody's thing. We want to post the pattern here as well. So without further ado, check out the instructions below.

Supplies:
1 skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage (or equivalent worsted weight yarn)
US 5 32” circular needles (for magic loop) OR US 5 DPNs
Tapestry needle
Stitch marker

Gauge:
5 sts = 1” in stockinette stitch

Abbreviations:
co – cast on
k – knit
p – purl
ssk- slip, slip, knit
k2tog- knit 2 together
sts – stitches
pm – place marker
bo – bind off

PATTERN:

Heel
CO 14 sts.
For the heel, slip the first stitch of every row purlwise.
Starting with a purl row, work 17 rows of stockinette stitch.
Work 4 rows of garter stitch.
Next row: BO 13 sts. Keep last stitch live on needle.
With right side facing and live stitch on right needle, pick up and knit 12 sts along the side of the heel, 11 sts along the bottom (the CO edge), and 13 sts along the other side of the heel. 37 sts total.

Leg opening
Row 1: (WS) k3, p31, k3.
Row 2: (RS) k37.
Work rows 1 & 2 until you have a total of 18 rows.

Foot:
At the end of the 18th row of the leg opening, cast on 9 sts using the knitted cast on. Place marker and join to work in the round.
Rnd 1: p3, k31, p12.
Rnd 2: Knit.
Repeat rounds 1 & 2 once. Repeat round 1 again.
Rnd 6: p3, knit to end.
Rnd 7: Knit 7, pm (this will be the new beginning of round), knit to end.
Knit 28 rounds. Or you can adjust the pattern to fit your foot here. Try on the footie. Knit the foot until it reaches the bone at the base of the big toe.

Toe Decreases:
Rnd 1: k1, ssk, k17, k2tog, k2, ssk, k17, k2tog, k1.
Rnd 2: Knit.
Rnd 3: k1, ssk, k15, k2tog, k2, ssk, k15, k2tog, k1.
Rnd 4: Knit.
Continue in this fashion (work a decrease round with 2 less sts on top and bottom of foot between decreases, followed by a knit round) until you have 14 sts left.
Divide the remaining sts on to 2 needles – one needle containing sts from the top of the foot, one needle containing sts from the bottom of the foot. Graft the sts together.
Weave in your ends. Make a second slipper in the same way.

Pop the Footies on your feet and enjoy that toasty feeling!