All pattern posts

The gift-a-long ends at midnight eastern time on Wednesday which means you only have a matter of hours to save 25% on thousands of patterns from hundreds of designers.

I decided to look through the shops of some of the participating designers and picked out a few eligible designs that looked like they'd be fun to make or fun to wear. Links below the image.

Trellis & Chevron by BabyLove Brand | Tablet Braid by Janelle Martin | Peacock Tail Feather by Christa Veenstra
Rigel by Helen Gipson | Roses and Ivy by Julie Yeager | Irish Rover by Kirsten Hipsky
Estuarine by Stephannie Tallent | Mint Coffee Mandala by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk | Grow Your Molecule by Elena Fedotova

As you can see, there's lots to love in the GAL. Check out these designs and many many many more over here. If you buy a pattern during the GAL, you can join in the various KALs and CALs for a chance to win prizes. And remember, the discount ends at midnight eastern on Wednesday. After that, all patterns turn back into pumpkins and you'll have to leave the ball. Use code giftalong2016 to get your 25% discount until then.

And, if you happened to miss them, my eligible patterns can be found here.

A few years back, I participated in the Gift-A-Long and I'm doing it again this year. For those of you who aren't familiar the organizers describe it like this:

"The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. From November 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm US EST to December 31, 2016 at midnight US EST there will be fun games, contests, and 8 KAL/CALs that will help you get your holiday knitting done with companionship and fun! From November 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm US EST to November 30th at 11:59pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Use coupon code: giftalong2016. You can read all about the details in this post: click here or on the FAQ page in our group pages."

My eligible patterns are shown in the graphic above and are viewable in my GAL bundle on ravelry. To get all the details and join in the fun, check out the Ravelry Group. You'll find pinterest boards of all eligible patterns from all the designers as well as details about prizes.

I can't believe an entire month has passed since we launched the new edition of Twist. Between losing Panda and seemingly-unending home repairs that started in May with an attempt to get the house repainted and turned into an endeavor that required a carpenter, roofer, electricians and new decks, all before the painting could even begin, it's been hectic, to say the least. My poor little blog never stood a chance.

But the new edition of Twist is still waiting for you, if you haven't seen it yet and as always, I feel genuinely privileged to have a place in its virtual pages.

My first of two patterns is Lithograph a half-circle shawl design worked in twisted stitches and lace. For the submission process, I made a mini-prototype to show how the increases would blend into the background of the latticework.

The final shawl is worked in Lisa Souza's Polwarth Wool and Silk yarn which is a breeze to work with and so lovely to touch. The silk gives it plenty of drape while the wool gives the piece some substance. It's a perfect choice for this pattern.

My second design is Antrea, a beanie, slouch and cowl pattern suitable for anyone. Knitters are probably aware of the general submissions process for patterns and they see the end product, but in between those points, yarn companies, designers, and the members of the publishing and editing team, all try to wrangle a zillion moving parts to make the magazine. Yarn is often being shipped to other countries and then the sample shipped back to tech editors in a third country before being handed off to the publisher for photography and anywhere in there, a missed deadline or late delivery can throw the process off kilter. So was the case with the yarn for Antrea. It was originally scheduled to go overseas, went missing, alternate yarn was shipped and the orphaned yarn, finally tracked down, needed a home. Having finished up Lithograph fairly quickly, I volunteered and was told that I may only receive one color so I should plan a design that didn't require two different shades.

A bit of virtual graph paper and a few hours of playing and I had a cable pattern suitable for a unisex set that could be worked in a single color or with a contrasting color in the ribbing.

The SweetGeorgia Superwash DK is super soft and springy with great stitch definition so the pattern pops even in a darker shade. The hats can be worked in a smaller or larger circumference and fine-tuned with a tighter or looser gauge. One skein of each color will make either hat and the cowl in opposing colors dominance.

There's one more bit of new that you've probably noticed if you're friends with me on Facebook, I have a little bit of art with me all the time now.

Oregon Grape blossoms

This beautiful piece was created by Ashton Allen at No Hope No Fear and it's even more beautiful than I could have imagined it would be.

California Poppies, Mayflowers, and Violets

Each flower is the state flower for somewhere I've lived with a hummingbird in back because, well, hummingbirds are pretty.

Lilacs and Anna's Hummingbird

Barring any unexpected issues, it'll be colored in November and the tattoo will be complete. I love everything about it and can't stop looking at Ashton's beautiful artwork.

The time between the Winter and Spring/Summer editions of Twist Collective are always the longest span of the publication year and it means I'm the most anxious to see the Spring/Summer edition go live. Spring/Summer 2016 is up and it's got some beautiful new patterns, great articles and a little...ahem...twist. Kate picked 12 of her favorite older Twist patterns from a variety of designers and had them reknit in new yarns and colors, then packaged them all together at an incredible discount. How does 58% off sound to you? Even if you already own half the patterns, you still manage to save a little money buying the set, and if you've bought fewer than that -- or none at all -- this is an amazing value. I managed to snag two slots in the collection.

First up is Regent which I love in the deep blue-black Catherine Lowe yarn and in this more rustic, creamy-colored alpaca blend. I think this substitution really highlights how a garment can be redefined by the yarn choice. In the original yarn, it's suitable enough for an evening out. In the alpaca blend, it's more casual and can take you on your errands or snuggle up on the couch with you on a cold day.

Next up is Picard and Kate kept the nod to his red shirt with bright red buttons. The original yarn had exceptional stitch definition, making the pattern really pop. The white yarn is similarly great for showing off twisted stitches but that pale color makes them stand out even better, and with a neutral color choice, the buttons can be little gems instead of being simply functional.

Last, but hopefully not least, here's my new shawl design. Flechir is a 3/4-circle shawl worked from the top-center, out, then each scallop is finished individually. This means your best choices for yarns are ones that are not obviously variegated. The tweedy Northern Lights yarn used here is perfect. Up close, the yarn is several individual shades but they all blend into a harmonious whole from afar.

Here's the gorgeous photos from the magazine.

And here is one of my own photos showing the shape of the shawl. Since it's a 3/4-circle, the shawl falls in soft ruffles when you wear it or you can wrap it snuggly around your shoulders.

What more photos and get all hte details? Check them out:

Regent: Magazine | Ravelry | Here
Picard: Magazine | Ravelry | Here
Flechir: Magazine | Ravelry | Here

And don't forget to check out the rest of the edition here.

I hope you've all seen the Winter 2015 Twist Collective that went live a couple weeks ago. My designs for the edition, is featured in the "I think I'll stay home" shoot which might as well be called the "Marnie's life if she were better dressed" shoot because I'm a shameless homebody who spends most of her time in her pajamas. In fact, I'm writing this post from the comfort of my big red robe and fuzzy slipper boots, right now. And, as is my wont to do, I'm sipping tea from my favorite mug that is nearly as big as my head.

See, I'm just like the shoot only, sllliiiightly less well dressed. Don't you agree?

The shawl is a modified half-circle design, featuring just enough beads to add a little weight and drape. I love beads, but I find they slow me down when I'm working so I prefer to use them sparingly. I chose a deep aubergine shade to pop against the lilac color of the shawl, though I think gray or silver would be a really nice alternative option, for a subtler effect.

While I include instructions for a standard knitted picot bind-off, the sample is shown with my suggested bind-off. It's worked with a crochet hook using very simple crochet stitches and some pre-strung beads. I love this option for lace because the bind-off basically cannot be worked too tightly to block the piece out well.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but blocking lace shawls is one of my favorite parts of the shawl-designing process. It seems like magic; turning a crumpled mass of fabric into something airy, orderly and filled with unexpected detail. Twisted stitches, beads and nupps all pop and yarnovers and decreases scallop the edges in subtle or dramatic ways. But a tight bind-off can ruin the effect and knitters often can't tell how loose the bind-off needs to be until the piece is ready to be blocked. By then, hundreds of stitches may have been bound off, the yarn has been cut and ends woven in. It can be pretty disheartening.

The crochet method joins a small number of live stitches together with loops of single-crochet chains that provide more-than adequate flexibility to block out the shawl as aggressively or lightly as desired and unlike a too-loose standard bind-off, the edge is neat and tidy no matter how lightly the shawl is blocked.

Not a crocheter but willing to give it a try? The pattern includes a tutorial but if you want more detail, I've got an article for that.

Crochet really is my first crafting love and this season, I take you through the basics of holding the hook and yarn, and working all the basic stitches. Crochet is knitting's best friend and knowing how to do both will open new finishing and embellishing options for your projects and designs. It may take a little time to get comfortable with it, but crochet is a great tool to have in your arsenal. If you've never crocheted before, I hope you'll give it a try and if you just need a refresher, I hope the article will get you back on track. I even point you to some existing Twist patterns that already feature some crochet. You won't lack for projects to put your crochet skills to work.

And lastly, I have a companion article to last season's article on Tubular Cast-Ons.

Just as a tubular cast-on gives those edges a professional finish, a tubular bind-offs produce flexible and attractive edges that elevate the quality of the work to a more professional level. Learn to work a standard tubular bind-off and how to adjust the bind-off for knit-two, purl-two edgings like ribbing and moss stitch.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of Twist Collective each season and I never cease to be impressed with the great articles and designs my fellow contributors bring to each edition. Even if you don't like my additions to the edition, I hope you'll flip through the magazine, read the articles and browse the shop.