Happy May Day!

May Day is an ancient northern hemisphere festival of spring (never thought about that northern hemisphere thing until I started this post...) I am growing in my global awareness.

You may never wear mittens in May (if you live in the northern hemisphere) but you might enjoy knitting a mitten or two this month.

Today is the LAST day that you can purchase my Multi-Pane Mitten pattern with an introductory 50% price reduction. The promotion ends at midnight EST. Click here to buy it now at half price. See the pattern page or my last post for more information.

Today is the FIRST day of the Gosh Yarn It MULTI-PANE MITTEN KAL. Please join us in the Gosh Yarn It KAL discussion thread. I would love to have you virtually join in the KAL! Just chime in to participate, even if you are too far away to knit with us at the shop. The KAL runs through the end of May.
   

MULTI-PANE MITTENS: Design Release, Promotion(s) & KAL

My MULTI-PANE MITTENS pattern is now available on Ravelry! Please read more to learn about the pattern, my introductory promotion(s), and an upcoming KAL!

My goal with this design was to create an easy stranded colorwork pattern for a mitten. I began with corrugated ribbing and carried on with many more rectangles in stranded colorwork… reminding me of windows with many panes…

This pattern was designed for those with previous experience knitting small diameters in the round on double-pointed or two-circular needles, or by using the Magic Loop method. There are step by step instructions for the “afterthought” thumbs.

I have set up a half price introductory promotion on the MULTI-PANE MITTENS pattern. From now through midnight on Monday, May 1, the pattern price will be $2.50 (no coupon code required). The regular price of the pattern will be $5.00. Click on this link to buy it now at half price!

OR, even better... 

You can get the pattern absolutely free from now through Tuesday, May 16, if you purchase yarn to make the mittens at Gosh Yarn It! in Kingston, PA. 

Once you get your yarn and pattern, please join me in the Multi-Pane Mitten KAL at Gosh Yarn It! This KAL will run through the month of May. It will take place in the shop (where I hope to be on most Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons) and will also take place online, in this thread, at the GYI! Ravelry group discussion board.

Knitters everywhere... we welcome you... please consider joining us virtually for the KAL! It will be a lot of fun!   

 

DETAILS
Finished Measurements
8½” [21.5 cm] circumference and 9¾” [25 cm] overall length (sized to fit most women)

Yarn Required
Worsted weight yarn
90 yd 82 m Color A
85 yd 78 m Color B
 
Sample Yarn
Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok (100% Fine Highland Wool; 123 yd 112 m, 50 g)
Color A: No. 1310 Cranberry Compote, 1 skein
Color B: No. 1319 Quartz Crystal, 1 skein
Needles
- Size US 5 3.75 mm needles (two circular or set of double-pointed)
Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. Many knitters find they need to size up when working stranded colorwork.

You may find my popular Two-Handed Stranded Colorwork Tutorial helpful if you are new to colorwork.

Thanks for reading and happy knitting!

♥♥♥

2016 Indie Design Gift-A-Long

The time is now for the 2016 Indie Gift-A-Long!

This giant knit-a-long and crochet-a-long is one of the most highly anticipated annual events on Ravelry, and this year it will be bigger and better than ever!

The first part of the GAL begins at 8:00 pm (EST) today... and continues through November 30th at 11:59pm (EST). It is a GIGANTIC Pattern Sale with over 335 Indie designers discounting thousands of designs by 25%. Use the coupon code: giftalong2016. 

Once you have your patterns, join the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group where you can sign up and participate in the amazing 6 week long Gift-A-Long. GAL fun begins at 8:00 pm (EST) today... and continues through the end of the year, December 31, 2016 at midnight (EST). There will be eight KAL/CAL's with games, contests, and tons of prizes, that will help you breeze through your holiday knitting with all of the joyful companionship that Ravelry has to offer!

I now have 14 knitting patterns for sale on Ravelry and all of them will be 25% off through the end of November with the code: giftalong2016. 

Ready, set, gift!

LINKS

My Gift-A-Long Sale Patterns 

Indie Design Gift-A-Long Forums 

Thread Listing All Participating Designers

Design Release: Floribunda Mitts

 

Even before I designed my Floribunda Cap (with a brand new yarn that was then soon to be available at my LYS, Gosh Yarn It!) I knew that I would also design a companion mitt pattern.

The yarn, Knit One, Crochet Too Après Ski, is a soft blend of wool and nylon featuring really bright colors.

 

With GYI's request for a new colorwork class project using this outstandingly brilliant color, I immediately thought of flowers.  The mitts have an optional rose in duplicate stitch on the back of each hand.  The pattern has two sizes to fit most girls (women).

The hat is a great beginner two-handed stranded colorwork project.  The rolled stockinette edge goes quickly to get right into the stranded colorwok.  The leaf border is the simplest kind of stranded colorwork... limited to three stitches between color changes, it requires little attention to the lengths of floats.  When you get to the rose motif rows, I recommend "trapping" some of the floats.  For more information on all this, please see my popular blog post, Two-Handed Stranded Colorwork Tutorial.

Any two 100g skeins of worsted/aran weight yarn should be plenty to make both the cap and a pair of mitts.

Details
Finished Mitts Measurements

5¾ (6¾)” [14.5 (17 cm)] hand circumference (measured around palm) and 8¼ (9)” [21 (23) cm)] long when unrolled

Yarn Required 
Worsted weight yarn 
50 (60) yd [46 (55) m] Color A 
50 (60) yd [46 (55) m] Color B 
Shown in: 
Knit One, Crochet Too Après Ski (70% wool, 30% nylon; 197 yd [180 m], 100 g) 
Color A:  #238 Cherry Bomb, 1 skein 
Color B:  #589 Colorado Spruce, 1 skein 
Needles (Adjust size if necessary to get correct gauge) 
Size US 7 [4.5 mm] needles (two circular or set of double-pointed).  Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

The Floribunda Mitts pattern is now available for a limited time at a special introductory price of $2.50.  This discount ends midnight Sunday, April 24.  The regular price of the pattern will be $5.

Thanks for reading and happy knitting!

♥♥♥

Related Post:  Just Adorable -- Models, Hats, Hats on Models 
 

Just Adorable -- Models, Hats, Hats on Models

I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to photograph the design samples for my newly released Floribunda Cap pattern modeled by the beautiful and awesome (she even knits!) Lyla, and her lovely mom, Kami.

I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with both of them one morning back in November.  I am grateful that they have been patient in their wait to see this design actually being published.  (Good things take time.)

Aren't they absolutely the best handknit hat models ever?

The Floribunda Cap is a two-color stranded colorwork cap in two sizes to fit most girls (women).

Details
Finished Hat Measurements
18¼ (20½)” [46.5 (52) cm] circumference and 8¼ (8¾)” [21 (22) cm] tall when unrolled

Yarn Required
Worsted weight yarn
80 (90) yd [73 (82) m] Color A
80 (90) yd [73 (82) m] Color B
Shown in:
Knit One, Crochet Too Après Ski (70% wool, 30% nylon; 197 yd [180 m], 100 g)
Color A:  #238 Cherry Bomb, 1 skein
Color B, Size 18¼”:  #762 Borealis, 1 skein
Color B, Size 20½”:  #589 Colorado Spruce, 1 skein

Needles (Adjust size if necessary to get correct gauge)
Size US 7 [4.5 mm] needles: 16” circular (cir) and set of double-pointed (dpn) 

The Floribunda Cap pattern is now available for a limited time at a special introductory price of $2.50.  This discount ends midnight Sunday, April 17.  The regular price of the pattern will be $5.

Thanks for reading and happy knitting!     
♥♥♥