MONOMANIA, anyone?

Good news! The Monomania pattern is now available as an individual pdf from Plucky Knitter, right here!

I'm going to make another in this combo that Plucky created:

And my mom has requested one in all neutrals from Neighborhood Fiber Co.:

I am going to be knitting my little fingers off! I have several other things in the works right now, too, including some Container Ships designs and an epic work of garter stitch. Hint.

Early Adopters, Part II

And the next Early Adopters pattern is . . . Powel!

Use up your fingering-weight leftovers to create a unisex hat! The pattern is so easy to remember that you can work on this hat while traveling or watching TV. It uses three colors per round some rounds, but again, simple pattern and small motifs make this really easy and a great introduction to colorwork. I love the projects on Ravelry so far and want to see more of them! Let's spread the Powel love!

Starting today, 100 Powel purchasers will get the pattern for $2 rather than the usual $5 price: You can purchase the pattern here. Just use the coupon code EarlyAdopter at checkout.

For those of you who voted for the other contenders, stay tuned!

Today in Baltimore, and Early Adopters Requests

The feral cat who looks like wood:

Work:

Mini skeins from Three Fates Yarns (I get to knit something from these as a reward for getting the Work done):

Since Traffic Furniture was such an Early Adopter success, I'm taking requests for the next pattern that will be promoted at a seriously discounted price to encourage knitters to try it. In the running are Powel,  Big Top, Button Coil, and Honeycomb Shawl. Leave a comment telling me which you'd like to see promoted!

Early Adopters, Part 1: A Pattern Promotion

I have some designs that I feel haven't received the attention they deserve. These are garments that get a ton of attention when worn or when seen in person, but for some reason this enthusiasm hasn't carried over to the number of knitters making the project.

First among these projects is Traffic Furniture. I visited Country Needleworks last week during a visit to my family in Michigan, and two knitters brought in AMAZING Traffic Furnitures. At the time, I was knitting one in Plucky Knitter Plucky Feet, which received raves wherever I went with it, even when it was just a blob on the needles. Here's the result, modeled by my lovely mom:

This one uses Plucky Feet in Medieval (dark gray), Elegant Elephant (medium gray), and Cider Mill (orange).

[Hey mom, I know you're reading this. Go down the basement into the room where you store all those boxes containing the collections of my childhood. Look in the box on the shelves marked Beer Steins.]

Here are photos of one of the shawls I saw at Country Needleworks, knit by my friend Jenn (Country Needleworks is full of early adopters):

This one is knit in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Rustic Fingering in Eastern Market (red-orange) and Belair (chartreuse), with some Malabrigo Sock (deep blue) thrown in.

To share my enthusiasm about Traffic Furniture with adventurous knitters, I'm offering a special Early Adopter discount: I'm selling 100 copies of the pdf pattern for $2 each, rather than the usual $5. I figure the people who read my blog and follow me on Ravelry are my trendsetters, my lighthouse customers, the knitters who add more colors or beads or mix bases and stripe patterns or embrace variegation. 

To get your copy for $2, go to the pattern page on Ravelry and click Buy It Now. On the checkout screen, enter the coupon code EarlyAdopter, which will apply your discount.

Okay, you guys were so fabulous that the Early Adopters promotion was over in a day. Time for the next one, right? Here it comes!

Single Minded

Hey everyone! Popping in to share some GREAT NEWS for you about the Monomania pattern. Plucky will have the pattern and yarn for sale during the blog update this Sunday, August 11, at 8:00 p.m. You can purchase the pdf pattern only ($7), the pattern and yarn in many of the kit combinations, the pattern and yarn in combinations of your choosing, or the pattern and just a skein or two of yarn to use with stuff in your stash. ENJOY!

 

Because I know knitters will have leftover yarn, and because I can't stop knitting chevrons, I'm bringing the Monomania chevron pattern to hats! Version 1, in Plucky Knitter Plucky Feet:

 

 

Version 2, in Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool (the gradient gray-yellow--by the way, two skeins of Dyed in the Wool will make TWO HATS) and Wollmeise "Pure" (black):

 

 

The pattern is coming within the next few weeks. If you purchase the Monomania pattern through the Plucky Knitter this weekend (or if you have already purchased the Monomania pattern as part of a kit), you'll get the hat pattern for free when it's released, so stay tuned!

 

Red Fruit Jelly

Sometimes really amazing and unexpected things come out of my work. The most recent example is Red Fruit Jelly, a swing-knit shawl that Birgit Fitzke (Fadenzaubereien) created based on Chittagong.

Birgit has written the pattern for her version, which you can purchase here. Note that this pattern is intended for experienced swing-knitters. Right now it's only available in German, but an English translation is in the works. Check out the different versions knitters have created here.

Here's one of my favorites (I can't resist anything in these colors).

These are unbelievable! Like Alice-in-Wonderland versions of my original idea. It's an honor to have provided the initial impetus for this work.

Monomania

a single pathological preoccupation in an otherwise sound mind

In this case, chevrons and making them align. Making them align and working all the shaping for a set-in sleeve cardigan in five sizes was a challenge. According to my sister/layout department, making the lines of the pattern align was also a challenge. Monomania: ALIGN!

I've been working on this pattern for several months, and some of you have probably seen this sample. After test knits in every size, a tech edit, several rounds of proofreading, and a careful layout, it's time to  release this one!

Final pattern page count: 37.

Don't let the page count fool you--this is not a difficult pattern! Quite the opposite. The pattern is written out line by line for each size, so you just print the pages for your size and follow the instructions. Use a row counter and you'll be all set!

Monomania will initially be available exclusively as a kit from The Plucky Knitter. There will be at least 12 color combinations available, and they will go live at 9:00 a.m. EST this Friday, July 12, in The Plucky Knitter shop. The pattern will be available as an individual download in three months, at which point you can knit it in whatever you like (leftover skeins, mix and match skeins, anything!).

Here's the original: It's knit in Plucky Feet in Message in a Bottle, Essie, Wintry Mix, and Cider Mill. This is an elbow-length version, but the pattern includes instructions for both elbow-length and three-quarter-length sleeves.

In this photo, I'm wearing the 37-inch bust size, and I have a 32-inch bust. The reason it doesn't look gappy and too large on me is that the fabric is light and stretchy (fingering-weight yarn knit on US 6 needles). I'll be posting photos of me modeling the 31-inch bust size tomorrow.

Here's Ruth, intrepid 37-inch bust size sample knitter, modeling her version, which was knit in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock. Ruth has a 37-inch bust. This is the three-quarter-length sleeve version.

I tried to pick only the best photos of Ruth, but all the photos of Ruth are the best.

And here's Claudia, intrepid 43-inch bust size sample knitter, modeling her version, knit in Plucky Knitter Plucky Single (a single-ply silk/wool blend).

And here's Karida, the artist behind Neighborhood Fiber Co., modeling the 49-inch sample, which was knit by my lovely friend and intrepid sample knitter Pat. This sample is worked in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Rustic Fingering, a single-ply Merino wool. Again, this is the three-quarter-length sleeve version. 

I love the way the cardigan looks totally different when worked in a gradient.

Note: Better photos of this one are coming. I forced Karida to pose in front of the vacant house next to my house after we went to the farmers market.

So THIS is what I've been doing for the past few months, and I'm so happy to share. Comments? Questions? Let me know!