It didn’t seem fair to separate these beauties from one another, so this week we have not one Sweater of the Week, but three. If you haven’t come across these sweaters on Ravelry yet, let me introduce you to Rosalind, Titania, and Opelia.

Elizabeth Klett of A Mingled Yarn has designed three amazing sweaters named after Shakespearean heroines. Beautiful lace patterns, flattering shapes, and gorgeous details make each of them stand out. But most amazing of all is that she is giving away this hard work for free.

Each of the sweaters is designed with a cotton or cotton blend yarn, making them perfect warm weather wear. Rosalind calls for Knit Picks Shine Sport and is written with finished measurements from 32.5 to 48.5 inches. Titania calls for Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, a light worsted weight blend of cotton and wool, and is written with finished bust measurements from 28 to 52 inches. Ophelia, a cardigan with a simple tied closure, uses Blue Sky Organic Cotton at a gauge of 16 stitches/4 inches and comes in finished bust sizes from 28 to 52 inches. I don’t have much to suggest for modifications other than possible yarn substitutions. If you are partial to wool or live in a cool climate, I think any of these would work in a merino or merino blend. You’ll want to be sure to choose a smooth yarn with multiple plies in order to keep the crisp stitch definition these designs require.

The only question I have is which one to choose first!

Intarsia can be daunting to many knitters.  How do you make a design in two or more colors? Read the rest of this entry »

Where don’t you knit? Read the rest of this entry »

This Week’s Block:

Stitch: Brioche Twist (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Two: Cables)

Yarn: Cascade 220, color 8407

Needles: size 7 (US)

Gauge: 5 1/2 sts x  6 rows per inch in pattern

Size:  28 sts x 43 rows = 5″ x 7 1/4″

Read the rest of this entry »

As I sat here and pondered what to write about today, I realized something.  Most of  y’all know I’m the resident food goddess, but most of you don’t know how I got there.

Well, go get a beer, tea, or your beverage of choice, and let me tell you a story.

Read the rest of this entry »

The BBC recently made a bold move against knitters when it requested that original knit designs based on Doctor Who characters be removed from a fan site.  The BBC is claiming copyright and trademark infringement.

Has it really taken the BBC this long to figure out we are showing our fan-dom in a way that only knitters can?  And why are they choosing to bring this up now after years of fabulous Doctor Who scarves?  Why all of a sudden are we being targeted?

The original article can be found here, with related articles here and here.  The site of the designer in question has been left up as an incredibly depressing ode to the power of the BBC.

Are you into invertebrate knitting?  (And who isn’t?!)  Then Berroco is here for you!  Check out this great new Jellyfish pattern from KnitBits issue #239.

Made with 1 hank of Lumina, this would be a great pattern to try out the yarn or just get a quick project finishing fix.  Me?  I think I need to decorate my cube with these things.  Do you think HR would object to me hanging them from the ceiling?

Is it getting any warmer where you’re at? I can’t wear my socks anymore! Read the rest of this entry »

There are many, many devotees of the anti-bacterial sock yarn called Tofutsies, by Southwest Trading Company.  Well, now, at Yarn Market, there’s a sock yarn club.  It works kinda like this:

Every other month, in the first week, Yarn Market will post the exclusive color for that month.  Each selection will come with 2 free patterns, designed specifically for that month’s colorway.

Hurry, they have limited availability! When they’re gone, they’re gone!

(p.s.  this one is actually February 2008’s selection.  But hurry, there’s not much left!)

Here in the NW we finally got a taste of some warmer weather last weekend. While I was sitting outside watching my son play baseball, getting a sun burn, and working on my wool cable swatch of the week, I was thinking about all of you. As usual I was wondering what everyone was working on and if anyone else was working on a wool blanket in 70 degree weather. So..

This week’s question: “Does your project of the moment change with the seasons?”

My answer: A little bit. Living in the northwest and having air conditioning (yes, it’s weird) I don’t have to worry much about having a project that is uncomfortably hot to work with. My natural tendency to be chilly and the previously mentioned conditions also make it sweater and wool sock weather for me almost everyday. Even though I could comfortably knit on a useful wool project all year, I do like some of the summer projects and find myself even more interested when I remember how much less knitting a tank top requires than a sweater. Then again, when the heck would I ever wear just a tank top? I’d freeze.  So, I dream about summer projects, purchase the yarn for summer projects, start them, and once in a great while I even finish one, but mostly I stick to the warm and wooly.

What’s your answer?

Sam lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two kids, two Basenjis and a houseful of yarn. She is known to all the soccer moms in the area as the “weird knitting lady” and has been spotted knitting at the bus stop, soccer, gymnastics, restaurants and while waiting in line. You can read more about her knitting and crafting adventures on her blog, and reach her at sam@limenviolet.com.