June 2012 Archives

I have been waiting with bated breath since Quince & Co posted this preview, last Monday. I love designing shawls. When Pam asked me if I would consider designing one for Quince & Co, right as I was swatching up a shawl design, I figured it was serendipity. I put together a quick proposal and the rest is history, except it's the present, not history, but you know what I mean.

The design starts with small textured hills growing larger and then ending in a deep fluted ruffle. It brought to mind the drive to Mt Hood, which we can see from our bedroom window.

The pattern starts at the center-back neck and works out to the bind off at the end of the ruffle, in a single piece. The pattern is primarily charted.

© Carrie Bostick Hoge

I love Quince & Co's dreamy styling and high key photography. It beats the pants off my standing in front of our run down fence near the strawberry patch.

No strawberries were harmed in the filming of this shawl.

If you like the pattern, you can purchase it here. To see even more pictures, you can check out the Ravelry page for it.

Darwin helps with the modeling

Or maybe, The Empire Waist Strikes Back?

Leo, my sci-fi loving nerd monkey, thinks the fabric is an odd choice. I wonder who the hell I married. I mean, really, if you saw this fabric wouldn't you want to make a kicky dress out of it? Of course you would. My one regret is that I didn't buy an additional yard so I could have matched the design up in more places. The pattern is McCall's 6554, and I wrote about the pattern here.

I also did some spinning.

Actually, I started spinning this yarn about a year ago, but got distracted by my new obsession with sewing and my old obsession with knitting. I'm 99% positive it's from Amy's Progression Dyed collection, but the color and fiber content have been lost to time. Whatever it is, it's pretty. Just ask Panda and Thea.

Oh, and you know what else happened? We went to the beach.

And a seal watched us play

So we watched back.

And Thea made funny faces:

And Darwin was adorable

And Panda played her favorite game.

So, yah, things are pretty good.

Best of all, it's Father's day and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how glad I am my dad picked me to be his daughter.

Sometimes, I read through the designer forums on Ravelry and people discuss ideal times to release different types of patterns and often it's pointed out how terrible sales are in the warm months and how unwise it can be to release a pattern at a time when it won't generate a lot of buzz. All really interesting stuff, and good advice.

In unrelated news, I have a new pattern, Uchiwa.

It's worked in a delightful merino/cashmere/nylon blend that is both soft and sturdy enough for regular use, though I did do a prototype in Koigu, and it worked just as well, albeit with a little less cushy softness.

Ahhh, cashmere in summer, I'm getting clammy just thinking about it. I'm pretty sure I missed my calling in marketing. I can tell I'm really selling you on this idea. But I'll say this, the holidays (if you celebrate them) aren't too far off and mittens and hats make for good gifts. And also, mittens are small and portable and it's winter in the southern hemisphere, so, this is totally the pattern you are looking for.

Want to find out more? Check out the pattern details here or on Ravelry