Stitches South
Photography by Sara Parker
April is here which means Stitches South is just around the corner. This is one of the closest knitting shows to me! I am excited about traveling only for a few hours! This year I’ll only be about halfway done with my pregnancy during the show, where last year I was ready to bust…full term at 37 weeks. Still, not the very best time to be doing a booth set-up & tear down, but that is the life when you’re in a business just-you.
If you’re hitting the show floor, please make time to swing by booth 515 and say hello. I would love to meet you! I always do some sort of promo for those who are aware of my existence before the show, so stay tuned next week to hear what it is.
One thing I also wanted to briefly mention, in case you haven’t noticed, is that I have a brand new website! I love it, and I hope you do too. I’ve added some new features like an FAQ page which includes tons of tricks & tips both dealing with knitting in general, along with specific patterns. You’ll also notice that my web-shop is now miles above what it used to be. I am able to know sell actual things and not just downloads. So, in case you don’t have a shop nearby that’s stocking my patterns, or you’re not able to make it to the shows I attend, you can still buy your hard copy pattern or kit directly from me.
Mad show prep has been going on at my house. Shows are a great motivator for me to get things out, things that I may have been working on for months but just haven’t prioritized. And that’s what happened this time around, too. I’ve just gotten three new patterns out in time to have them printed all pretty and available in my booth. I don’t blog about all my patterns but here’s a peek at these three! They are all so different but so very “me” if I do say so myself.
For grown ups, take a look at the scrumptious River Cowl. I saw this colorway from Dragonfly Fibers at another Stitches Show (I believe it was East back in October) and just fell in LOVE. Luckily for me, Kate was looking to have something cozy worked up in her bulky Super Traveller so she was willing to send me a few skeins to play with. It didn’t take me long to decide it needed cables and here is what happened.
My friend and former college roomy, Kathleen, modeled it for me. She’s so lovely! (And tiny, I try to to forget that she has a baby who is even YOUNGER than Oliver! Geez… Lila appears a little further down in this post)
This cowl is worked on circular needles, sideways. The pattern is written for you to BO, knit, CO and then seam. But, if you’re feeling a little adventurous you can try a provisional cast-on and grafting the ends together. I warn you though, kitchener with a stitch pattern to maintain is no easy feat! The cabling is both fully written & charted so whatever your preference, you’ll easily be able to follow this pattern.
Moving on, let’s take a look at two of my friends precious baby girls modeling the LuLu Headband! Lila is in the pink headband (her mom Kathleen above) and Sydney is in the orange! When these pictures came back from Sara, I grinned ear to ear. I should have brought a tea set for them to play with, don’t you think?
I had actually knit the band of the pink version LAST YEAR. All the while picturing what I’d do to jazz it up. But it took Stitches South coming up to kick me into gear and finally get it finished. Even though the entire project takes all of about 2 hours. Bulky yarn is great.
This project is worked in a few pieces that are then sewn together at the end and capped off with a funky button for the flower “center”. Here’s a look at what happens in the back of the band.
One more pic of the two gypsy princesses for good measure.
Oh and did you notice that Sydney is also wearing the Sweet-As-Pie top? It went so perfectly with her LuLu!
And let’s bring it back to some basics. I finished knitting this piece probably in January. Wrote up the first draft of the pattern, but never managed to get the time to sit down and work out the sizing. Henry Cardigan is simply sweet. Its an easy, beginner friendly top-down raglan cardigan. Please excuse Oliver’s Old Man Hair in this pic. It was my fault, not his.
If you’ve been intimidated by sweater patterns before, I urge you to give this one a try. No fancy techniques are used, and there is no seaming involved. Everything is knit in one piece and you’ll be amazed at what you are fully capable of accomplishing :) You can even leave out the stripes!
I’ve worked garter stitch edging for the hem, buttonband and cuffs. Its not something I use often but I found it to be exactly what I wanted in this design. The pockets are sized just right for a little treasure that your baby might pick up and need to save (whether you want them to or not!).
I can’t ever seem to write a short blog post. Sorry about that. But at least its filled with cute baby eye candy, right?
See you at the show!