The pattern for Winterlude Socks is now in the testing phase. I'm hoping to have it ready for release by mid-November. In the meantime, here's a sneek peek! It's a lacy little sock with a special decorative edging instead of traditional ribbing. It reminds me a tiny bit of snowflakes, hence the wintery name.
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Sock Cuff Blocker Here's a sneak peek at an upcoming sock design... Winterlude Socks... and the sock cuff blocker that I was forced to invent to finish my sample. The cuff of these socks features triangular points topped with bobbles and needed blocking to show it off to advantage. After a bit of confusion, inspiration struck, and the result was a sock cuff blocker made from recyclable leftovers found around the house. I've posted a tutorial with instructions for making and using your own. We awoke this morning to the first snowfall of the year in Yellowknife. I know, October ought to be way too early for winter to descend upon us, but it’s a fact of life in the Canadian arctic. We can either cry or celebrate, so I’m opting to embrace the frosty weather with a special promotion…
Between now and October 31, 2010, I’m offering a discount to members of my Redtigerdesigns Ravelry group on the purchase of my most wintery patterns… Forest Frost Headband, Burlap Bruque, and Cross Island Neckwarmer. This discount is available onlt through my Ravelry shop... check the "First Snowfall Sale" thread in the Ravelry group for instructions on use of the coupon code. I've just started adding yarn reviews to this website. They consist of basic data, photos and my personal opinions on some of the yarns that I use for my designs. I hope they prove at least a tiny bit useful!
I've recently joined Patternfish as a publisher, which means that some of my original patterns are now available for purchase online through Patternfish. It's a lovely website where you can browse for knitting patterns to your heart's content without the distractions of advertising. Check it out at www.patternfish.com.
I've just released the pattern for Grecian Columns Socks... photo in the sidebar! These casual socks are an easy knit for summer.
The mystery has been solved... introducing my Eye of the Helix Socks! I truly hope that the enthusiastic members of the Ravelry SolidSocks group had as much knitting this pattern as I had watching their progress. Now that May/June 2010 has been committed to history, I have consolidated the clues and released the pattern as a single pdf file. It's available for free both in my Ravelry shop and on the free patterns page of this website.
I'm absolutely thrilled to be the designer of the May/June 2010 mystery sock for the Ravelry Solid Socks group. The pattern will be released in four installments through the month of May. The first "clue" was posted early this morning. You can find it as a free pattern in my Ravelry shop.
So as not to spoil the surprise, I can't give away too many details about the pattern. Just think cables! Participants in the group KAL post project photos as they knit, so the mystery will be solved as we go along. I can't wait to see all the projects! The pattern for Palisades Socks is now available! Many thanks to the wonderful test knitters for their helpful suggestions. These socks look very lacy but are surprisingly easy to knit. The points of the lace pattern extend into the heel and toe to provide special finishing touches.
I'm thrilled and amazed... some kind soul nominated my Twisted Tendrils Socks for "Best Design" in the 2010 Mini-Awards in the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry! It was a challenging pattern to design and it's an honour to have it recognized. But the real recognition belongs to the intrepid folks who volunteered to test knit the pattern and marched on through all those complex charts.
The pattern for my Cross Island Neckwarmer is now available. It's a quick and easy knit and would be perfect as a last-minute gift. My sample was knit from some gorgeous handspun yarn bought from a friend at our Guild Christmas sale. Summer's over in the North and it's time to switch from fishing and camping back to knitting and designing. So as not to stress myself during the transition, I've started with a tiny and simple, but still useful, project. Here's my Two-Tone Cell Phone Cozy... perfect for protecting your cell phone or similar device and for using up leftover bits of sock yarn. Perhaps I can't save the cell phone from being dropped in the lake, but I can protect it from a few scratches! Here's my latest sock pattern... Twisted Tendrils Socks! These socks were a challenge to design since virtually every row is different. The leaf motifs are laid out on the sock so as to suggest trailing vines and tendrils. They're a brain twister, but well worth the effort. Better late than never! The pattern for my Orelia Rose Socks has finally been published. I had my heart set on using wild roses as the backdrop for the photos, and waited forever for them to bloom, but then wasn't satisfied with the results. But I do love the socks! In the course of having my Orelia Rose Socks pattern test-knitted, I discovered that my method for grafting toe stitches might be slightly unusual. However, the test knitters loved it once I provided a tiny bit of explanation and encouragement. I've now written up a short tutorial with instructions and photos and haved posted it on my new "tutorials" page. I hope it's helpful and I'm planning to create similar tutorials for other techniques as the need arises. Here's a little peek at the design that I've been working on lately. It was inspired by the wild roses that grow in our yard in early summer... I'm trying to overlook the fact that it's still below freezing with a wicked wind chill today. The lace pattern extends from the leg over the instep and trails away toward the toe. I used small needles and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in the poppy colourway and I'm really happy with the results. Just finished... Precambrian Cable Socks! These socks feature both simple 4-stitch cables and more complex embedded cables. The pattern is now available both on my Ravelry store and through this website. My sample pair is knit in Soft Touch Heather from Shelridge Farms. I just love this yarn! Purple flecks add depth to the gorgeous opal blue colour. I have just started adding book reviews to my website. I have an extensive library of knitting books, plus other crafting books, not to mention knitting and craft related fiction. Some books are fabulous, others are a disappointment, but all have something to offer. The pattern for my Falling Fern Socks has just been added to my Ravelry store. These socks feature a lacy fern diamond pattern that is easily mastered. The pattern extends from the calf just into the instep to suggest an image of trailing greenery. The pattern for my Woven Ladder Socks has finally been completed and posted in my Ravelry store. The yarn used for my samples is Estelle Cadenza, and while I love the rich pink and purple shades, this particular yarn is prone to major colour pooling. To avoid excess pooling, I chose a stitch pattern which places floats on the right side of the knitted fabric. Since the amount of yarn used for the floats is less than would be used in the bypassed stiches, the colour pooling is interrupted! The pattern for my Ribbed Rope Socks has now been added to my Ravelry store. These socks feature intricate cables within cables. Twisted stitches are used to ensure clear stitch definition. The pattern contains detailed instructions and cable charts. Here’s a sneak peak at the sample for a new sock pattern that I will be adding to my Ravelry store in the next few days. This pattern is not intended for the beginning knitter but will provide experienced knitters with a sock that displays their skill with detailed cables. It was fun to design and test knit and looks pretty impressive on the foot! Introducing Ribbed Rope Socks... I’ve just started handspinning and it’s simply mezmerizing. I’m participating in a wheel spinning class through my local Guild; the first session was last night. It will definitely take practice to master the rhythm, but I can already glimpse the meditative and relaxing potential of spinning. Not to mention the possibilities of creating my very own handspun stash. I see knitting projects designed especially for small skeins looming on the horizon! Creating a website and blog and being happy with the result isn’t as easy as I hoped. This will definitely be a work in progress for a while. Baby steps will be enough for now. My intent is to use this site to showcase my original knitting designs, which are available for purchase through my Ravelry Store. I’ve posted my first designs on Ravelry already and am anticipating my first sale with great excitement. A few of these designs are: |