NiseyKnits

It's another beautiful collection from the in-house design team at Brooklyn Tweed. Y'all know how much I love the work done by Jared Flood and his team. His yarn lines Shelter and Loft look pretty darn good, and I'm kicking myself for not having a skein or two yet to try out. Well, Mr. Flood and his team over at Brooklyn Tweed have given us a wonderful way to welcome fall (A.K.A knitting season) with 18 mouth-watering designs in the BT FALL 12 collection . The patterns in this collection make such good use of the Shelter yarn brand that you want to buy a few skeins in EVERY color available (or maybe it's just me? ) The first number that caught my eye was the Gelsomina Aran pullover by Veronik Avery. Those traveling stitches at the front, that rich deep blue color, the moss stitch used all over to give such awesome texture! I tell you, I fell head over heels (or needles over yarn?) in love with this pattern. © Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed © Jared Flood/Brookly...

"Seonmul" is the Korean word for "gift". The scarf in this week's post is a gift for my dad. I started this scarf in February 2011 but I quickly lost interest in it, mainly because it was all black and I wanted to knit with color. Fast forward to June 2011 when my parents came to visit us. I pulled out the scarf again and quickly started knitting, hoping to be done before they left so they could take it with them. That also did not happen. The scarf went back to the WIP abyss until last month, when I felt so bad that I had let this scarf slide for almost a year and a half. With gritted teeth, I wallowed through the last half of the scarf with the help of many Korean drama episodes (which is why I know the word for gift in the Korean language) and finally finished it! Whew! Oh, but the story is not over. I soaked the scarf and got ready to block...and left the scarf in a bucket for about 5 days. Not good!  I finally blocked it and let it lie around for two more...

I'm making progress, little by little, on the giveaway shawls. I finished another one on our vacation trip, but only got the chance to photograph it this past weekend. I used the  Moody Kerchief  pattern by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loop ). The winner of the shawl, Alexandra, wanted this shawl in the Twig and Peacock colorways of Quince & Co's Chickadee yarn .  This was quite a quick knit, and I'm glad I was able to get to it during the trip. Alexandra, I'll be sending your shawl later this week. :) I hope you like it. Thanks again to Irene of LivedStories and the lovely Lilia for the beautiful photos! I only have one more to go (Yay!) - the Roma Shawl (also by Kirsten Kapur) for Megan. That's all for this week. Next week I'll share a few new items I've knit up for the shop. Have a great week everyone, and enjoy the long weekend!  

You all know that I'm psyched, over the moon, and thrilled silly to be in this inaugural issue of Knitscene Accessories . I thought I'd share with you some of the patterns that made me want to pick up my needles and pull a knitting all-nighter (in addition to mine that is, hehehe). However, just like with clothing and accessories you would see in a store, you might think something is gorgeous but it might not be your style. So this list is not meant to offend or belittle any design that's not mentioned here. I seriously LOVE all of them, but I know I won't be able to ever knit them all. Or will I? (maybe a challenge to knit all the accessories in this magazine might be fun!) Here goes. I've been on a recent fingerless mitts binge so that the Reservoir Mitts by Allyson Dykhuizen caught my eye at first glance. I was immediately drawn to the interplay of pink and brown in an entrelac dance and thought "I want a pair in those same exact colors!" Reser...

You all know my friend Zeina. She's the lovely lady who has been modeling most of my knits for the past year or so. Sometime last year we went to a yarn shop together so she could choose the yarn she wanted for me to knit something for her. She chose Mirasol Tupa yarn in the Daffodil color (#801)  and we bought 2 skeins. She likes the color yellow, you see. I first made a crochet necklace for her using the Mirasol Tupa yarn, from this Crochet Necklace pattern by Creative Yarn. However the necklace took very little yarn, so I still had almost all the 2 skeins leftover. What to do? I let the skeins languish in my ever expanding yarn stash until last week, when I was home sick with an ear infection. I wanted to knit something I didn't NEED to have done by a certain time, so I decided to knit a present for Zeina.  I chose the Little Shells pattern by Holly Griffin-Weidner, as it required 250 yards and seemed like a quick knit. And it was!! I cast on for the ...

As a new knitter, I was afraid of anything that asked me to stray from the plain ol' knit and purl. I ventured a bit into yarnovers, knit 2 togethers, and slip slip knit because I was dying to knit lace fabrics, but that was as far as I wanted to go. It took more than 2 years for me to get circular needles and attempt to knit in the round. And after diving in head first into a cardigan project for my friend Kathleen with "interesting" results, I've shied away from knitting actual pieces of clothing that require seaming. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I tried my hand at the Kitchener stitch and realized it wasn't scary AT ALL! I mean, AT ALL. I love it! It's such a great skill for every knitter to have in their back pocket. My latest project is a custom order that required me to basically design an infinity scarf by looking at a photo. I didn't want to sew a seam because I suck at sewing. You can ask anyone I know. However, the beauty of the Ki...

I am singing with the Christmas Choir at my church this holiday season, and the colors we will be wearing are black and white with some gold or silver accent. As the knitting gods would have it, I had just attended the Interweave Knitting Lab held in San Mateo from Nov. 3rd to the 6th, and had just snagged 2 balls of Lana Grossa Lace Lux Yarn in Bronze Colorway from the Jimmy Beans Wool booth. I promise you that I had no knowledge of the color choices until AFTER I had bought the yarn. I got the yarn on Saturday and the first choir rehearsal was Sunday. I realized that the knitting powers that be had decided that I should FINALLY knit something for myself, so I set off to look for the best pattern to showcase this beautiful yarn. My search for the pattern that would work well with this yarn brought me to Xenia by Vanessa Smith. I have purchased one other pattern by this designer and although I haven't knit it yet, I am in awe of the stunning detail and simple twists sh...

I loved this pattern by Alexandra Tinsley ( http://www.dull-roar.com/ ) the first time she put it up for sale on Ravelry. The patter is called Dilih, for Drop It Like It's Hot, so named for the two dropped stitch sections in the wrap. The beauty of this pattern lies in it's simplicity. Apart from a few stitches knitted through the back loop, it's straight knitting in the round, making a lovely stockinette stitch garment. The wrap can also be worn as a cowl twisted around the neck, or even with a brooch like a conventional scarf. You can also wear it stretched around your shoulders, adding a touch of elegance to any outfit. I knit my version of this wrap in Malabrigo Chunky, using the Cadmium colorway. This yarn is so soft and sproingy (that is a real word. Ask any knitter!). It doesn't get split easily by the needles, and it just moves so smoothly over your fingers that you are barely aware of how many stitches you are knitting. I loved knitting with this yarn! And the ...

Since early July I have been working on some secret projects that I can't blog about, and will be doing so until mid-September. As such I thought I would share with you something new and beautiful from one of my absolute favorite designers, Jared Flood of Brooklyntweed.net . He just put together a collection of designs based on his yarn line, Shelter. First off, Jared is an amazing photographer and his knitted items and patterns are always drool-worthy because of the photos. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent reading his blog posts and looking at his pictures and wondering how I could come up with patterns like him. In this pattern collection, Wool People Vol. 1 , Jared has curated patterns from various knitwear designers and put them together in a book that will make you want to knit even if you aren't a knitter. The Look Book for the whole collection can be found here , but I wanted to highlight a few items that I would love to knit if I ever get some...