Texture is now available for pre-order!

My new book Texture: Exploring Stitch Patterns in Knitwear has been a year in the making.  Finally I can present it to you!

Alongside the 13 NEW designs, Texture is packed with tips and advice. I show you how to plan for perfect-fitting, wearable knitwear, explain how fiber content, yarn weight, and spin can affect knit fabric, and more! If you’ve always stuck to basic Stockinette stitch in your knitting, Texture will help you master the use of cables and more complex combinations of knit and purl stitches. No matter what your experience level, you’ll be able to create finished garments that are perfect additions to your closet and wardrobe!

Starting today, January 3, you can preorder your copy of Texture from Quince & Co.  All pre-orders include an exclusive free accessory pattern using a simple cable pattern near to my heart, the Waverly Cowl.

The official publication date for Texture is January 12.  Books will be ready to ship by this date.  You will also be able to find Texture at your local yarn shop and book stores starting 1/12!

Want to see what's inside?  Check out my videocast on YouTube where I walk you through the book!

My new book Texture: Exploring Stitch Patterns in Knitwear is almost here! Check back January 3 for full details on how to preorder your copy. Official publication date is January 12, so so soon you can find Texture at your local yarn store, book stores and from Quince and Co.!

Texture is at the printer!

Almost a full year in the making, my new book Texture: Exploring Stitch Patterns in Knitwear is now being printed by our friends at Puritan Press in New Hampshire!  Abe was able to go down a last week to see the initial pages come off the press.  

Kurt Peterson Of Puritan Press working quality control on initial pages

Puritan Press printed my previous book Home & Away.  We wanted to be sure that Texture would pair beautifully alongside my best selling title in your knitting libraries!  

Quince & Co will open preorders for Texture on January 3, with books expected to be in house and shipping January 12.  There is an exclusive accessory pattern I am working on that will be made available to all who order Texture through Quince in January.  We can't wait to share EVERYTHING with you at the top of the new year!

NEW PATTERN: Handspun Dreams Mitten

What to do with a precious skein of bulky handspun yarn?  I played with mixing handspun with a commercial bulky yarn to create a simple fabric that stretches the supply of precious yarn further, enough to knit a complete wearable accessory.  For this design I alternated between the two yarns every other row.  If you have a more limited supply of handspun you could space the handspun rows out further.  It creates an interesting fabric, and the combination options are endless!

Shown in Aurelian Supply Merino / Silk Spiral in Black with Quince & Co Puffin in Crow

These knit up SO incredibly fast.  If you have a skein of bulky handspun you picked up a long the way and have never had an idea of what to do with it, this is a good option for you!

Shown in Knit Collage Cast Away in Peachy Sparkle with Quince & Co Puffin in Egret

I'll be sharing more yarn combination options with you!

Ever wanted to take a class with me? Now you can!

Enrollment is open for Knit Stars, the online knitting summit I am teaching at in just a few short weeks!  This virtual conference takes place October 10 - 21, 2016. Because it's all online, anyone in the world can attend and learn knitting tips, tricks, and techniques from a fantastic group of instructors, designers, and indie dyers, and all without the hassle and expense of travel. Knit Stars enrollees get to keep their videos forever, so they can watch or re-watch them whenever they want, and they also get some amazing bonuses, such as free patterns, a live Q&A with the instructors, and a private Facebook community.  All this for just $199!

I don't get out to teach with a young family at home.  If you've ever wanted to take a class with me, this is your chance!  I'll teach you tips that will help you to knit wearable garments that can fit into your everyday wardrobes.  The Knit Stars team came to my house and recorded my class back in July and after seeing the finished result, I have to say, I'm really proud of this class!  

Enrollment ends October 6, 11:59pm PST...grab a spot for this summit with myself, Amy Small of Knit Collage, Stephen West, Julie Asselin, Julie Weisenberger of Coco Knits, Meghan Fernandes of Pom Pom Quarterly, Romi Hill and Taiu Landra of Koigu!

Making Yarn, Part 3

Part three of a three part series. You can read part one here and part two here.

It's a hot July evening and we're on the road again. This time we've got two kids in the back seat, bags packed for a week, and passports in the glove box. We're driving to Canada to visit our friends Julie Asselin and Jean-François "JF" Mallette. They're going to let us watch while they dye our yarn.

We head north through the White Mountains. It's a route we've never taken before, and it's beautiful. The sky is a little hazy and when we get a good view we can see layers of mountains fading from green to gray as they get farther away. The day ends with an amazing sunset that seems to last for an hour, the light slowly changing from orange to purple. It fades to black just before we get to the border crossing. Half an hour later we're driving down Julie and JF's street in Coaticook, looking for their house number. From the back seat both kids are proclaiming that they really, really, need to go to the bathroom. Just in time, we see Julie waving from her front porch. We've made it!


Julie Asselin and Jean-François Mallette

Like us, JF and Julie are husband-and-wife business partners in the fiber industry. Unlike us, they are professional yarn makers. They're most known for using hand dyeing to create beautiful and complex colorways. Their designs mix fibers and colors to make yarns that pull you in and reward close inspection. What at first appears to be a solid color reveals itself to be made up of shimmering iridescent layers. Or streaks of pink and green turn out to be made of tiny dots of magenta, purple, orange, yellow, blue, and turquoise. Julie does most of the design, and JF does most of the dyeing. They're both very good at what they do, and we're grateful that they're willing to take time away from their own work to help us out.

Besides being talented, Julie and JF are really fun to be around. They're hospitable, smart, and silly. Their Québécois-French accents are completely charming, and they tolerate our incompetent attempts at French with amusement. In the morning they make us a delicious breakfast of espresso, toast, and home-cured bacon, and then start teaching us about dyeing. Which starts with its own joke:

"So, JF, do you want to tell us about the dyeing process?"

"Well, first you get very sick, then you lie down, close your eyes, and look for a bright light! Haha!"
 

Colors

After breakfast, we sit down with Julie and look at some color inspiration. We have two colors in mind for our yarn, a gray and a pink, but we need to see some finished yarn before we can make final decisions. We all walk downstairs to their studio to start experimenting with dye.

Choosing dye colors is an art. The color of dyed yarn is a combination of the dye and the natural yarn color, and the ratio of dye to yarn makes a big difference. And in most cases the dye itself is a blend of several dye colors in a different amounts, all of which leads to an infinite number of possible colors.

Julie explaining the colors of dye used in our Mussel Gray yarn.

Julie explaining the colors of dye used in our Mussel Gray yarn.

We've decided to work on the gray yarn first. In its natural color, our wool is a buttery yellow, so to neutralize the yellow we'll need some color from the other side of the color wheel: purple. From her library of dye bottles, Julie pulls four colors in varying shades of purple and purply-black. She chooses a different amount of each color and carefully combines them in a measuring cup, checking a scale to make sure she's got the ratio right.

To test the dye mix, Julie combines the dye, water, and citric acid fixer in a glass casserole dish. Then she adds two skeins of our yarn and mixes it up with a gloved hand. She puts a lid on the dish and sticks it in the microwave for eight minutes. Once we're dying for real, our yarn will simmer in a kettle for 45 minutes or more. But for fast prototyping the microwave gives good-enough results.

After coming out of the microwave, the yarn gets rinsed in the sink and then wrung out in a dedicated spin-cycle machine. Then we take the yarn outside to see the results in natural light.

Look at that, it's gray! And an interesting gray at that. We've overshot a bit with the purple, producing a gray yarn with purple undertones, especially in the darker streaks which occur as part of the natural variability of hand-dyed yarn. We love it. We call the color Mussel Gray since it reminds us of a purplish-gray seashell. Our first color is decided! Time to go into production.

Left, undyed natural yarn. Right, our first skeins of Mussel Gray.

Left, undyed natural yarn. Right, our first skeins of Mussel Gray.

"My arm is tired!" Jean-François says, later that afternoon. He's finished dyeing the first few hundred skeins of yarn, and he's washing them in a sink full of cold water before hanging them up to dry. He takes two skeins at a time, dips them in water a couple of times, squeezes out the water by hand, then drop them in the spin-cycle machine. Once the machine is full, the skeins take a spin to remove as much water as possible before he hangs them up to dry. He invites us try doing a few skeins, and it's surprising how heavy these almost weightless loops of yarn become when they're soaked in water. Wool's absorption ability is really amazing.

The following day, Julie and Hannah spend the morning prototyping our pink yarn. Hannah has in mind a specific warm-pink color we've named Rosé, and this time it takes a couple of adjustments to get the the dye mix exactly right. The alternative-pink skeins get set aside for one-off small projects.
 

Dyeing

When Julie and JF start dyeing our Rosé yarn, we bring our camera to document the process. It starts with a soak to make sure the yarn is really clean. Any leftover dirt or spinning oil will prevent the yarn from absorbing dye properly.

Washing.

Washing.

Next, Julie fills a stainless steel pot with water. She measures out the correct amount of our Rosé dye and adds it to the water. Then she sprinkles in some citric acid. Julie says that the dye they're using is specific to protein-based fiber: wool, silk, and other fiber produced by animals. This same dye wouldn't work with plant fibers like cotton. The citric acid fixes it so it will permanently bond with the fiber.

Adding dye.

Adding dye.

Next, Julie adds our yarn to the pot, quickly submerging it and stirring it around. Hand-dyeing always results in some variations in color saturation, but there are a number of factors that can be adjusted to make the colors more or less variable. Less water makes for more variation, since dye and yarn are concentrated in a smaller areas and there are more likely to be hot spots. Hotter water also makes for more variation, since the dye sets up faster before it has a chance to fully circulate. In this case, we're aiming for fairly consistent color, so she uses  more water, starts it off cool, and keeps the temperature relatively low.

Adding yarn.

Adding yarn.

Simmering yarn.

Simmering yarn.

The yarn simmers for about 45 minutes. When it's done, the water is clear, since all the the dye has been absorbed by the yarn and been permanently fixed to it. The dyed yarn is squeezed out, spun, and hung up to dry. After it's fully dry, it will get twisted up into a pretty skein and be ready to send off to knitters.

Drained and ready to dry.

Drained and ready to dry.

Yarn

It's afternoon on our last day with Julie and JF. Our work is done, and we're sitting around sharing a snack and drink before we say goodbye. We talk about Julie's history as a maker and designer, and the difference between a dyer and a yarn maker. At what point can you say you made a yarn, instead of dying somebody else's?

"Nobody is really a yarn maker", says Julie. "Well, unless you're a sheep farmer who also does hand spinning. Most people need to work with somebody else to source the fiber or get the yarn spun. But I think you can say you're a yarn maker if you're involved in every step of the process."

Our conversation expands to the industry in general, and the amount of time and effort it takes to build up a viable business. Julie says the advice she gives people who are just starting out is this: "If you're going to start a business, it really needs to be your own, where you truly believe you're doing something new. It needs to have a purpose."

We reflect on that. Does our yarn have a purpose? Yes, we believe it does. We started this project hoping to learn firsthand about yarn production, and to share what we learned with our customers and readers. In those respects, we'd like to think we've succeeded. We've certainly gained a lot of insight into what goes into yarn making. And if you've been following along, we hope you've found this glimpse of the process as interesting as we have. Thanks very much for taking the time to read this!

And have we lived up to Julie's other standard, and made something new? Well, there are certainly other 100% wool, woolen spun, two ply, worsted weight, hand dyed yarns in existence. But this particular yarn feels like it has its own unique personality. Like the people whose hands have touched it along the way, it's warm, friendly, and hard working. It's beautiful, but it's not fussy. It didn't come from the fanciest of sheep, it wasn't spun on the most modern of equipment, and it wasn't dyed using the most efficient or precise process. But we wouldn't have had it any other away.

Hold a skein under your nose and inhale, and it's all there. The sheep at Noon Family Sheep Farm. The vegetable-based organic spinning oil that kept the wool moving through the machines at Green Mountain Spinnery. The colorful dyes in Julie and JF's studio. We take a sniff and can't help but smile as it all comes back to mind. We hope that smell puts smiles on the faces of knitters, too, as they imagine where their skein of yarn has been, and then start knitting their own chapter into its colorful history.

Our finished yarn. Left, Rosé. Right, Mussel Gray.

Our finished yarn. Left, Rosé. Right, Mussel Gray.

Making Yarn: Part 2

Part two of a three-part series. You can read part one here.

Raw wool, scoured wool, yarn.

Raw wool, scoured wool, yarn.

Green Mountain Spinnery

There's no fast way to get from Maine to Vermont. All the interstate highways around here run North-to-South, so we settle in for a relaxed drive across New Hampshire on the back roads. On the map, Green Mountain Spinnery appears to be barely over the Vermont border. We wonder how Vermont-feeling it's really going to be. Maybe this "Green Mountain" thing is just an exercise in branding?

We shouldn't have doubted. As we roll into the town of Putney, the Vermont vibes are unmistakeable. Green farmland, tree-covered hills. Firewood stacked in every yard. A little downtown where the main grocery option is the Putney Food Co-op, a cooperatively owned health food store. A roadside eatery called Curtis' Bar-B-Q operating out of a broken-down, colorfully painted school bus. But the best part of all turns out to be the Spinnery itself.

We pull in, park the car, and walk through the front door of what looks like a big farmhouse and into the Spinnery's retail shop. Inside we're surrounded by yarn and smiling faces. "Hannah and Abe! Welcome!" In quick succession we meet David Ritchie, Lauren VonKrusenstiern, Maureen Clark, and Laurie Gilbert. All of them seem unusually comfortable and unhurried for employees in a workplace. Their demeanor is of people welcoming guests who have dropped in to visit while they're enjoying a day off at home. We're trying to figure out which one of them is the owner, but nobody seems to be claiming that role. The answer is that they all are: it's an employee-owned cooperative and they're four of the members. Ah ha! That explains it.

David and Lauren tell us where to unload the wool, and we drive around back to the shed and awkwardly haul our two giant bags up onto the loading dock. Inside, it's a treasure vault of raw fiber. Green Mountain Spinnery works with a lot of small farms and fiber producers, so their shed is packed full of small batches like ours, all in different textures and colors. Among the earthy natural colors are bags of wool in bright blue, purple, and green. These have been dyed in-the-wool, before spinning, and they'll end up being blended with undyed wool to make tweedy and heathered yarns.

Kate and Hannah in the shed. That bag she's sitting on is our wool.

Kate and Hannah in the shed. That bag she's sitting on is our wool.

David helps us get our wool logged in. We work the bags over to an old sliding-weight scale by flipping them end-over-end. He weighs them, and writes down the numbers on a pen-and-paper ledger sheet. With that business taken care of, we meet Kate Salomon back up front. It's time for our tour!

Kate's tour of the Spinnery is a fascinating introduction in yarn manufacturing given by a knowledgeable and patient tour guide. Going in, we weren't sure if we'd even be allowed into the production area, but Kate takes us through every part of the facility, explaining the process in the order it happens. (She also volunteers to take photos and video of our wool being processed, which we're so happy to have and to share here. Thanks, Kate!)

The inside of the Spinnery is both whimsical and steampunk-industrial. The walls are decorated with little notes, collages, poems, quotes, and sketches. The rooms are full of machinery dating from the 1890's to 1950's, boom times of American textile manufacturing. Some of the machines have been taken apart and recombined to meet the Spinnery's needs. As in a post-apocalyptic novel, a band of resourceful tinkerers have found ways to repurpose the abandoned machinery of a previous age.

The scouring machine

The scouring machine

First up on the tour is the scouring machine. Sheep live outdoors, and their wool can get grimy and collect debris. Wool also comes with a greasy coat of naturally-produced lanolin, which gunks up machinery. So all that stuff has to go. At the Spinnery, wool goes through four cycles of scouring in a special machine, using a hot water temperature and process designed to clean the wool without accidentally felting it. It gets a final rinse and spin (in a machine manufactured in 1896, as Kate points out), and then a cycle in a dryer. Now the wool is clean and dry, ready to process.

Wool being fed into the picker

Wool being fed into the picker

Next, the wool goes into a picking machine. This takes the chunks of wool and loosens them up, then blows them through a chute into an enclosed room, where they flutter down and land all mixed up. It's like shuffling a deck by throwing all the cards in the air.

Carding machine, stage 1.

Carding machine, stage 1.

Now we get to the machine we've been wondering about since we first glimpsed it: a room-sized series of rollers that looks kind of like a printing press. This, Kate tells us, is the carding machine. The rollers are covered with carding cloth whose little teeth get progressively finer as they go along. The teeth gently comb the wool to get its fibers aligned and interlocked, until it forms a gauzy sheet called a batt.

A batt coming off stage 1

A batt coming off stage 1

Halfway through the carding machine, the batt gets turned sideways and repeatedly folded over itself. Then it goes through another series of toothed rollers. This creates a batt with fibers that interlock in all directions, and it's this process that gives woolen-spun yarn its distinctive warmth and fuzziness.

A batt being folded over before going into stage two

A batt being folded over before going into stage two

At the end of the of the carding machine, the batt goes through something that looks like a pasta slicer and comes out as thin strands of wool, which get wrapped up side by side onto a big roll. The strands, Kate tells us, are called pencil roving. They look like yarn, but they don't have any twist to them. And they're not very strong, as she demonstrates by easily breaking a scrap piece. To become yarn, they have to get spun. We walk into the next room, which is also dominated by a huge machine: the spinner.

The big rolls of pencil roving go on top of the spinner, and each end gets threaded by hand, ninety-six in all. Multiple strands of roving can be combined to create a thicker ply. We get to watch the spinning machine whirr into action. As it's wrapped onto bobbins the ply spins around so fast you can barely see it, but you can see the bobbins slowly filling up.

At this point, our wool will have become what Kate calls a ply. In a single-ply yarn, the ply and the yarn are the same thing, but for a two-ply yarn there's an additional step, and of course there's some vintage machinery on hand for that too: the plying machine, which twists the plys together. Why doesn't it come untwisted? Kate explains that the steam the yarn after every step that involves a twist. That relaxes it, and it re-sets with the twist permanently in place.

Single plies of yarn. Two of these plies will be combined to make our two-ply yarn.

Single plies of yarn. Two of these plies will be combined to make our two-ply yarn.

It's all really awesome to see. Amazing vintage machinery being maintained and run by clever and friendly people. "The great things about these machines is that they never become obsolete." Kate says. "As long as you maintain them, they'll run forever." Seeing the process also leaves us meditating on the fractal nature of wool garments. Individual wool fibers interlock to become roving. Roving is spun into plys. Plys are twisted into yarn. Yarn is knitted into fabric. At each step it becomes bigger, stronger, and more useful.

Yarn!

Yarn!

By the time Kate finishes our tour it seems like we're the only people left at the spinnery. We chat for a while and thank her for spending so much time with us. Our wool is in good hands. In a few weeks, the two giant bags of raw wool currently sitting in the shed will come out the front door as a thousand skeins of yarn, ready for knitting.

Or, rather, it would be ready for knitting, if were content to keep it the buttery-white color of the sheep at Noon Family Sheep Farm. But we have other colors in mind, and there's another part of the yarn production process we want to see. So when the yarn is ready we'll take another road trip. Next time we'll be going a bit farther North to Quebec, where our friends Julie Asselin and Jean-François Mallette will dye the yarn to its final colors.

Next Time: Making Yarn, Part 3: Dyeing 

Our yarn is for sale in our online popup shop!  

Making Yarn: Part 1

Part one of a three-part series

The story of how we came to produce our own small batch of yarn starts with a casual conversion at a local sheep and wool festival this spring. Hannah was talking with David Ritchie from Green Mountain Spinnery, telling him about our move from the city of Portland to the woods of West Kennebunk, Maine. David said he was familiar with our new area, since they buy organic wool from a farm nearby. Those farmers are great people, he said – we should go meet them. And by the way, he happened to know they had some extra wool from this year's shearing that needed a home. Did we have any interest in developing our own yarn?

Did we? Well, we're not in the yarn business, and we don't want to be. And yet... wouldn't it it be interesting to make one small batch of farm-to-needle yarn? To learn how the process works, and document it along the way? The more we talked about it, the more excited we got about the idea. We made some phone calls, worked out the details, and now, less than two months later, the yarn is happening! We're happy to share the story with you in three parts, starting with this first installment.

NOON FAMILY SHEEP FARM

Welcome to Noon Family Sheep Farm

Welcome to Noon Family Sheep Farm

It's time to pick up the wool. How much room do you need to fit 250 pounds of wool in a car, exactly? We're not sure. We decide to favor storage capacity over gas mileage and take the larger car. Car emptied out, back seats folded flat for maximum room, kids with family for the day: we're ready to go! We head west, away from our coast, through the old riverfront industrial town of Sanford and up into the hills of Springvale, Maine.

Twenty minutes later the GPS brings us to a narrow tree-lined road. We're looking at mailbox numbers, and then we see the sign: a hand-cut piece of rusty sheet metal with a carving of a happy sheep and the word Noon. Noon Family Sheep Farm! We've come to the right place.

Lambs near the barn

Lambs near the barn

Jean Noon isn't home when we arrive, but her nieces Lana and Sara, who grow organic crops at the farm, show us around. The lambs are fenced in near the barn, next to a couple of horses. The flock of ewes are way out in one of the fields, little brown and white dots in the landscape.

Lana and Sara Cannon

Lana and Sara Cannon

Later on we'll get to meet Jean. She and her husband Bill started this farm in the early 70's. "There aren't many people who do what we do," she says. Sheep are vulnerable to parasites and foot disease, which have been conventionally treated with anti-parasitic medications and antibiotics. But at the Noon Farm they keep their herd healthy using a combination of natural practices: good nutrition, reducing parasites with garlic, providing lambs early exposure to build up immunity, selective breeding to favor those less vulnerable to disease, and building rocky paths between fields to keep hooves clean and trim.

Jean Noon and ewes

Jean Noon and ewes

Back on our tour of the farm, we have some newbie questions. Where do the sheep sleep at night? Lana smiles and tells us that they live outdoors all summer long. But they have their llama to keep an eye on them.

One of these animals is not like the others

One of these animals is not like the others

Llama? Yep, a llama. Llamas, we are told, make great companion animals to sheep, and protect them coyotes and other predators. And indeed Yang the Llama turns out to have all the qualities of a good bodyguard: He's bigger than everyone else, suspicious of outsiders, unafraid of confrontation, and looks just crazy enough that there's no telling what he might be capable of. He's spending the day grazing with the ewes down in a valley, and when you look out over the hills you can see the distinctive silhouette of his head sticking up over the top of the hill, keeping an eye on things.

The Noon's sheep have been bred to be multipurpose. The flock started in the 70's as Columbia sheep, a United States-native breed used for both meat and wool production. From there, the Noons selectively mixed in other breeds. Karakul sheep brought brown and black colors into the flock. Polypay and Suffolk improved the meat. Leicester and Rambouillet contributed longer and finer wool. "These are not show sheep," Jean Noon says. Maybe they aren't thoroughbreds, but their heritage makes them work well for a variety of uses. They produce meat, cheese, yogurt, sheepskins, and (of course) wool. The wool fiber is medium in diameter, not as soft and thin as some breeds, but not tough and thick either. When spun, it lends itself to a worsted-weight yarn that's warm, durable, and wearable. It seems only fitting that these versatile, practical animals would produce a versatile, practical yarn.

Portrait of a lamb

Portrait of a lamb

Lana and Sara help us carry two giant burlap sacks of white wool from the spring shearing out of the barn. The larger bag stands about eight feet tall and two feet in diameter. It takes a little pushing and squeezing, but they both fit in our car. (We're glad we didn't try to bring the smaller one.)

It fits!

It fits!

It's a little hard to leave. It's beautiful here, with the fields surrounded by woods and wetlands, spring crops growing, contented sheep grazing with their adopted llama brother. We're already thinking about when we can bring the kids back to visit. Noon Family Sheep Farm is a real working farm, not a park or a petting zoo, yet it's almost the romantic ideal of what a farm should be. It feels like a privilege to get to help this wool become yarn and get into the hands of knitters. We hope it will become garments that are as practical and beautiful as the farm itself.

And with that, it's time to go. Our car is stuffed full of wool and smelling pleasantly sheep-y. We say goodbye and hit the road, heading for Vermont.
 

Next time: Making Yarn, Part 2: Spinning Wool. 

Our yarn is for sale in our online popup shop!  

Home & Away: Lesley

The final garment in Home & Away is a new pullover design.  It's named after my muse, Lesley, who modeled for this collection.  The sweater fits as though I designed it for her, though it was born before she and I met.  Lesley features a graceful neck line shaped with short rows, and is a quick knit in Aran weight yarn.  As with all the sweaters in Home & Away, it can be knit seamless or with seams!  Either way will result in the same finished sweater, and I can't wait to see everyone's versions.

I am grateful to Lesley for marching out to the end of this pier in 0 degree weather this past January, to be blasted with snow and frigid air.  She sacrificed for the shots, and they are beautiful.  Thank you, Lesley!

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 32 (36, 40, 44)[48, 52, 56, 60]" / 81.5 (91.5, 101.5, 112)[122, 132, 142, 152.5] cm

Shown in size 32" / 81.5 cm with 0.5" / 1.5 cm of negative ease. 

YARN

4 (5, 5, 6)[6, 7, 7, 8] skeins Quince & Co. Osprey (100% wool; 170 yd / 155 m per 100 g skein) in Petal OR 650 (725, 825, 900)[1000, 1075, 1175, 1275] yd / 600 (675, 750, 825)[900, 975, 1075, 1150] m of an aran weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 9 / 5.5 mm:

16" / 40 cm circular needle

32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

US 10 / 6 mm:

16" / 40 cm circular needle

32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle

GAUGE

14 sts and 20 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st using larger needles 

So there, we've walked through the nine designs in Home & Away!  Next week let's talk about some of the additional content you can look forward to in your own personal copy.  Pre-orders remain open until the books arrive at the Ravelry warehouse, we're expecting that to happen mid-May.  I'll keep you posted on that!

Also: I will be at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival Saturday, May 9 with copies of Home & Away for sale, along with the trunk show!  I will have bookplates if you've already pre-ordered but would like me to sign your copy.  Look for me in the Elegant Ewe booth at 10am and 1pm signing and mingling.  Hope to see you there!

Home & Away: Simple Hat

Yes, this is the same hat that I designed as part of the Simple Hat KAL last year.  It's such a must-have accessory, it seemed an excellent choice for the only accessory spot in Home & Away!

The knit-a-long based around this hat demonstrated how to knit a properly fitting hat.

The key, as with all knitting, is to be sure you first knit a gauge swatch. Once you’re sure you are getting gauge, choose a circumference that is 0–2” / 0–5 cm smaller than your actual head circumference. Negative ease will ensure a properly fitting hat!

This pattern includes instructions for hats in five sizes at three different gauges!

TO FIT

Baby 16" (Toddler 18", Child 20", Adult 22", XL Adult 24")

Shown in version C with 1.5" / 4 cm of negative ease; suggested negative ease of 0–2" / 0–5 cm 

VERSION A: BULKY WEIGHT

FINISHED CIRCUMFERENCE:

15 (17, 19, 21, 23)" / 38 (43, 48, 53, 58) cm

FINISHED HEIGHT: 6 (6.75, 7.75, 8.75, 9.75)" /15.25 (17, 19.5, 22.25, 24.75) cm

YARN: 1 skein Quince & Co. Osprey (100% American wool; 170 yd / 155 m per 100 g skein) OR 45 (56, 70, 88, 110) yd / 41 (51, 64, 80, 100) m of bulky weight yarn

NEEDLES: US 9 / 5.5 mm
16" / 40 cm circular; US 10 / 6.0 mm

16" / 40 cm circular and set of double-pointed needles

NOTIONS: Stitch markers, tapestry needle

GAUGE: 14 sts and 20 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st

VERSION B: WORSTED WEIGHT

FINISHED CIRCUMFERENCE:

14.5 (16.75, 19.25, 20.75, 22.5)" / 37 (42.5, 49, 52.75, 57.25) cm

FINISHED HEIGHT: 5.5 (6.25, 7.25, 8.5, 9.75)" / 14 (15.75, 18.25, 21.5, 24.75) cm

YARN: 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skein(s) Quince & Co. Lark (100% Ameri- can wool; 134 yd / 123 m per 

50 g skein) OR 75 (95, 115, 140, 170) yd / 69 (87, 105, 125, 155) of worsted weight yarn

NEEDLES: US 5 / 3.75 mm 16" / 40 cm circular;

US 7 / 4.5 mm 16" / 40 cm circular and set of double-pointed needles

NOTIONS: Stitch markers, tapestry needle

GAUGE: 20 sts and 28 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st

VERSION C: DK WEIGHT

FINISHED CIRCUMFERENCE:

15 (16.25, 18.75, 21, 22.75)" / 38 (41.25, 47.75, 53, 57.75) cm

FINISHED HEIGHT: 5.75 (7, 7.25, 8.5, 9.5)" / 14.5 (17.75, 18.25, 21.5, 24) cm

YARN: 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skein(s) Quince & Co. Chickadee (100% American wool; 170 yd / 155 m per 100 g skein) in Kumlien’s Gull OR 92 (116, 144, 180, 215) / 84 (106, 132, 165, 197) m of dk weight yarn

NEEDLES: US 3 / 3.25 mm
16" / 40 cm circular;

US 5 / 3.75 mm

16" / 40 cm circular and set of double-pointed needles

NOTIONS: Stitch markers, tapestry needle

GAUGE: 24 sts and 32 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st 

Home & Away: Sycamore

The Sycamore Vest was originally designed as part of an exclusive club for The Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia.  It was then released as in individual pattern featuring The Fibre Co. yarn Savannah in a color named Sycamore.  The color name crossed over to the design, and it has remained a popular Knitbot pattern for the past few years.  I was excited to include this minimalist vest in my new book Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures.

A minimalist vest can act like an accessory, adding some punch to an everyday outfit.

Sycamore is knitted seamlessly from the bottom up until you divide for the armholes. Charted borders are worked at the same time. The back and fronts are then worked separately. The collar and armholes are picked up and knitted.

For this pattern you’ll be knitting both from written instructions and from charts. 

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 32.75 (36, 39.25, 42.75, 46)" / 83 (91.5, 100, 108.5, 117) cm

Shown in size 32.75" / 83 cm with no ease. 

YARN

4 (5, 6, 6, 7) skeins Quince & Co. Chickadee (100% wool; 181 yd / 166 m per 50 g skein) in Chanterelle OR 725 (825, 925, 1025, 1150) yd / 650 (750, 850, 950, 1050) m of dk weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 5 / 3.75 mm:

32" / 80 cm circular needle

16" / 40 cm circular needle

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle

GAUGE

24 sts and 32 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st 

Home & Away: Moto Jacket

I designed this jacket last spring and love it SO much, it had to be included in Home & Away.  Garment versatility is a wonderful thing, and this piece has it!  This sweater can be worn three different ways: draped open, partially buttoned up with a wide collar or buttoned all the way up with a sculptural collar.

The pictured sweater from this book is knitted seamless from the top down. If you prefer seamed knits, a second set of instructions is included to knit the cardigan in pieces.This will yield the same result. For more on why you might choose one construction method over the other, see page 40 of Home & Away!

In both versions, the collar, button band and buttonhole band are picked up and knitted last.

If you are in-between sizes, I suggest sizing up for this design. When choosing your size it is always a good idea to check your actual body measurements against all the measurements given in the pattern schematic.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 33 (36, 39, 42, 45) [48, 51, 54, 57]" / 84 (91.5, 99, 106.5, 114.5)[122, 129.5, 137, 145] cm

Shown in size 33" / 84 cm with 0.5" / 1.5 cm of negative ease. 

YARN

8 (9, 10, 10, 11)[12, 13, 14, 15] skeins Quince & Co. Chickadee (100% wool; 181 yd / 166 m per 50 g skein) in Storm OR 1375 (1500, 1650, 1800, 1925)[2100, 2225, 2400, 2575] yd / 1250 (1375, 1500, 1625, 1750)[1900, 2050, 2200, 2350] m of dk weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 5 / 3.75 mm:

32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, locking stitch markers, tapestry needle, 11 (11, 11, 11, 12)[12, 13, 13, 13] 0.5" / 13 mm buttons, sewing needle and thread

GAUGE

24 sts and 32 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st 

Home & Away: Boothbay

Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures includes a new raglan constructed cardigan, Boothbay.  This design is named after a beautiful Maine town close to Georgetown where we photographed this collection.

Boothbay is a cocoon of a cardigan, cradling you with its cozy garter stitch collar. Knitted in worsted weight yarn, the long body and wide open front make it perfect for everyday wear.

The pictured sweater is knitted seamless from the top down. If you prefer seamed knits, a second set of instructions is included to knit the cardigan in pieces. This will yield the same result. For more on why you might choose one construction method over the other, see page 40 of Home & Away!

In both versions, the collar is picked up and knitted and last.

If you are in-between sizes, I suggest sizing down for an open cardigan like this one. When choosing your size it is always a good idea to check your actual body measurements against all the measurements given in the pattern schematic.

This pattern is exclusive to the book Home & Away Knits for Everyday Adventures!

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 31.25 (35.25, 39.25, 43.25, 47.25) [51.25, 55.25, 59.25, 63.25]" / 79 (89.5, 99.5, 109.5, 120) [130, 140, 150.5, 160.5] cm

Shown in size 35.25" / 89.5 cm with 2.75" / 7 cm positive ease. 

YARN

11 (12, 13, 14, 16)[17, 18, 20, 21] skeins Quince & Co. Lark (100% American wool; 134 yd / 123 m per 50 g skein) in Bark OR 1400 (1525, 1725, 1875, 2050)[2225, 2400, 2600, 2800] yd / 1275 (1400, 1575, 1700, 1875)[2050, 2200, 2375, 2550] m of worsted weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 7 / 4.5 mm:

32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle

GAUGE

20 sts and 28 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st 

Home & Away: Calligraphy

Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures includes a popular Knitbot pattern: Calligraphy.  This design was originally published in Interweave Knits in 2011, then repackaged as an individual pattern knit in Madelinetosh.  Many happy knitters have completed versions of this cardigan posted on Ravelry if you'd like some inspiration!

Calligraphy is truly a classic design for the modern knitter, with a fitted body knit in dk weight yarn, a wide collar, and oversized buttons.

​The pictured sweater from this book is knitted seamless from the top down. If you prefer seamed knits, a second set of instructions is included to knit the cardigan in pieces. This will yield the same result. For more on why you might choose one construction method over the other, see page 40 of Home & Away!

In both versions, the bands are picked up and knitted last.

If you are in-between sizes, I suggest sizing up for this design. When choosing your size it is always a good idea to check your actual body measurements against all the measurements given in the pattern schematic.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 35 (38.5, 42.25, 45.5)[49.5, 53, 56.75, 60.25]" / 88.5 (98, 107, 116.5) [125.5, 135, 144, 153.5] cm Shown in size 35" / 88.5 cm with 2.5" / 6.5 cm of positive ease. 

YARN

10 (11, 12, 14)[15, 17, 18, 20] skeins Quince & Co. Chickadee (100% wool; 181 yd / 166 m per 50 g skein) in Kumlien’s Gull OR 1575 (1825, 2050, 2300) [2575, 2825, 3100, 3350) yd / 1450 (1675, 1875, 2100)[2350, 2575, 2825, 3050] m of dk weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 6 / 4.0 mm:

32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, split ring markers, tapestry needle, 8 (8, 8, 9)[9, 9, 10, 10] 1.5" / 4 cm buttons, sewing needle and matching thread

GAUGE

22 sts and 28 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st 

Home & Away: Rosemont

As with Knitbot Essentials, Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures includes five previously released designs.  One such design is Rosemont, originally released as a top down seamless pattern, with a picked up and knitted shawl collar.

While this design is simple, to work it from the top down requires you to keep track of a number of things - the dreaded AT THE SAME TIME instruction!  Some knitters expressed that they found the original instructions confusing.  For Home & Away, we have rewritten the pattern in a way that is more clear.  And as with all the sweaters in the book, instructions are included to knit in pieces and then seam.  If you purchased the individual pattern in the past through Ravelry, watch your inbox for an update that I sent out this morning with the new set of seamless instructions!

The oversized fit of Rosemont makes it an everyday favorite. The compound raglan mimics some of the sleeve cap shaping found with a set-in sleeve construction, which contributes to a comfortable fit. Comfort is also found in using a squishy worsted weight yarn like Quince & Co. Lark.

The pictured sweater from this book is knitted seamless from the top down. If you prefer seamed knits, a second set of instructions is included to knit the cardigan in pieces. This will yield the same result. For more on why you might choose one construction method over the other, see page 40 of Home & Away!

In both versions, the bands are picked up and knitted last.  Short rows are used to shape the shawl collar.

If you are in-between sizes, I suggest sizing down for an open cardigan like this one. When choosing your size it is always a good idea to check your actual body measurements against all the measurements given in the pattern schematic.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 34 (37.75, 41.5, 45.25)[49, 52.75, 56.5, 60.25]" / 86 (95.5, 105, 114.5) [124.5, 134, 143.5, 153] cm

Shown in size 34" / 86 cm with 1.5" / 4 cm positive ease. 

YARN

9 (10, 11, 12)[13, 14, 16, 17] skeins Quince & Co. Lark (100% wool; 134 yd / 123 m per 50 g skein) in Clay OR 1175 (1300, 1425, 1575) [1725, 1850, 2025, 2175] yd / 1075 (1200, 1300, 1450)[1575, 1700, 1850, 2000] m of worsted weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 9 / 5.5 mm:

32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

US 7 / 4.5 mm:

 32" / 80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle

GAUGE

17 sts and 26 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st using larger needles 

Home & Away: Hancock

The second pattern in Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures is named after a small coastal town in Downeast, Maine.  My mother and I both spent our childhoods vacationing there at a family camp, and now I share that experience with my own children.  I absolutely love this cardigan!

Hancock celebrates the comfort of garter stitch, with an extra-wide knitted collar. Fingering weight yarn knitted at a looser gauge contribute to a lightweight garment.

The pictured sweater was knitted seamless from the top down. If you prefer seamed knits, a second set of instructions is included to knit the cardigan in pieces. This will yield the same result. For more on why you might choose one construction method over the other, see page 40 of Home & Away!

If you are in-between sizes, I suggest sizing down for an open cardigan like this one. When choosing your size it’s always a good idea to check your actual body measurements against all the measurements given in the pattern schematic.

This design is knitted at a loose gauge. To avoid ladders between the joins of double- pointed needles, you may want to use either Magic Loop or the two circular needle method to knit in the round. For more information see page 76 of Home & Away!

FINISHED SIZE

Chest circumference: 31.25 (35.25, 39.25, 43.25, 47.25) [51.25, 55.25, 59.25, 63.25]" / 79.5 (89.5, 100, 110, 120) [130.5, 140.5, 150.5, 161] cm Shown in 35.25" / 89.5 cm with 2.75" / 7 cm of positive ease. 

YARN

7 (8, 10, 11, 12)[14, 15, 17, 18] skeins Quince & Co. Finch (100% American wool; 221 yd / 202 m per 50 g skein) in Iceland OR 1475 (1725, 1975, 2250, 2500)[2825, 3125, 3425, 3750] yd / 1350 (1575, 1800, 2050, 2300)[2575, 2850, 3125, 3450] m of fingering weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 6 / 4 mm:

32" /80 cm circular needle

set of double-pointed needles

Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle

GAUGE

24 sts and 36 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st using larger needles. 


Home & Away: Georgetown

Here is the first of nine features on the designs included in Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures, my new book which opened for pre-orders yesterday!

Let's start with Georgetown!  This cardigan is named after Georgetown, ME, where all the photos were taken.  If it seems familiar, it's a worsted weight, waist length version of the Autumnal Cardigan.  Some knitters on Ravelry are already commenting that it's the perfect cardigan!  

Georgetown is both effortless and tailored, with a comfortable open fit and wide, folded-over collar. Knitted in a cozy wool / alpaca woolen spun yarn, you will want to curl up in your nook with a favorite book.

The pictured sweater was knitted flat in pieces. In the first set of instructions the body, fronts, and sleeves are worked separately and seamed together. If you prefer seamless knitting, instructions follow for a mostly seamless cardigan. In this version the back and sides are knit simultaneously from the bottom up. Divide for armholes, knit the fronts and back separately, and seam the shoulders. The sleeves are then knitted from the top down using short rows.  In both versions, the collar is picked up and knitted last.  The second half of the collar is knitted on larger needles to aid it in folding over.

I've started a thread in the Home & Away Ravelry group to discuss seamed vs. seamless knits.  What's your preference and why?  Join the discussion!

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest circumference: 30.5 (34.5, 38.5, 42.5, 46.5)[50.5, 54.5, 58.5, 62.5]" / 77 (87.5, 97.5, 107.5, 118)[128, 138, 148.5, 158.5] cm

Shown in size 34.5" / 87.5 cm with 2" / 5 cm of positive ease. 

YARN

10 (11, 12, 13, 14)[15, 17, 18, 19] skeins Quince & Co. Owl (50% American wool, 50% American alpaca; 120 yd / 110 m per 50 g skein) in Abyssinian OR 1100 (1250, 1375, 1500, 1675)[1800, 1950, 2100, 2275] yd / 1000 (1125, 1250, 1375, 1525)[1650, 1775, 1925, 2075] m of worsted weight yarn

NEEDLES

US 7 / 4.5 mm:
• 32" / 80 cm circular needle US 5 / 3.75 mm:
• 32" / 80 cm circular needle Or size needed to obtain gauge.

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle

GAUGE

20 sts and 28 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st on larger needles