A Playful Day podcast, and a new pattern preview!

As a designer, I have had the wonderful privilege of meeting and befriending many knitterly people through Ravelry and Twitter. I don't know very many knitters in person, so it's nice to have a dedicated way to communicate with like-minded creative people!

More recently, I've had the opportunity to chat with the voice behind A Playful Day blog and podcast. If you haven't already tuned in to her show, be sure to check it out! She is very fun and a joy to listen to, and in her most recent episode, Episode 23: Stop! Sweater Time!, she talks about Julissa, which totally made my day. A very special thank you goes out to her! :)

In other news, I have a new design to share with you today!

I'd been wanting to do another textured yet lacy shawl since designing Sarai, and after some sketching and picking up the perfect yarn (Madelinetosh Pashmina in Tart-yum!) at Sock Summit last Fall, came up with this piece.

The pattern is in its final stages now, and I hope to be able to release it very soon. Stay tuned! :)

First FO of 2012

So today I'd like to share with you my first FO of 2012 - I know, I know... it's already February and I'm only just now getting something off the needles. But, I love this little FO lots, so it's still worth sharing :)

A friend of mine is due to have a little baby girl in one week, and since most of my friends and family have had baby boys, I had to take this opportunity! Knits for baby girls are always fun.

I didn't want to use the typical baby pink/pastels, so I decided to use a skein of Wool Candy Fondant Merino DK in Berry Compote from my stash. I loved working with this yarn, and am so glad I still have a sweater's worth for myself, especially since the dyer just had a baby of her own and discontinued the brand. The colorway is awesome, with splashes of light pink, brick and burgundy reds, and hints of coral. 

As you can imagine, the hat knit up beautifully as well:

My friend really loved a cabled hat I wore recently, so I settled on cables for this pretty little piece. After some trial and error, everything worked out and I really love the result!

In the meantime, even though I don't have any other FOs to share quite yet, this doesn't mean I haven't been been busy planning several projects, swatching and number crunching any minute I get, so I hope to share more with you soon. Until next time! :)

Featured Finished Object Friday :: February 3, 2012

In keeping with my New Year's Resolution of finally getting into the habit of blogging once and for all, one of the bi- (or tri-) weekly blog post themes I'd like to get started again is "Featured Finished Object Friday," which will showcase some of the gorgeous projects that pop up on my Ravelry Designer's User Activity feed 2 weeks up to the Friday of the post. As I mentioned in my first post of this series (back in April 2011-whoa!), browsing other knitters' FO and progress pictures of projects made with my patterns is one of my favorite things to do on Ravelry. I'm always inspired by yarn and color choices, modifications, and really love reading positive comments about my designs. It makes my day every time!

So, without further adieu, here are some of the finished beauties that popped up over January 21-February 3, 2012!

sabinaknits' Ardelise

SOWaters' Alivia

skilovr's Sarai

molliebatmit's Julissa

pfong001's Julissa

Note: The photos featured in this post are not my own and are the Copyright of the wonderful knitters mentioned above. Click the links above each photo to see the Raveler's project page and more photos. 

Swatching :: Hermosa Fiber Company - Hermosa Worsted

Earlier this month, I bought this extremely gorgeous batch of Hermosa Fiber Company's Hermosa Worsted in Sterling:

Isn't it amazing? I was on the hunt for the perfect gray, and fell head over heels in love with this colorway after seeing the dyer's Julissa in the same yarn.

The stitch definition is incredible, and the fabric is very soft and squishy. I'm so excited to get started on this design project! :)

My Very First YouTube Video :: Figure 8 Cast On

I'm very excited to share my very first YouTube Video Tutorial with you!

This video is about the Figure 8 Cast On, which is usually used for toe up socks. I used it as a provisional cast on of sorts for my two recently published sweater patterns, Ardelise & Chantalle. Check out the video below:

Both patterns mentioned above include a photographic tutorial of the technique as well, but I thought a video might be helpful to more hands-on visual learners. I am a 99.9% self taught knitter - with the exception of the long-tail cast on and the knit stitch! :) - and personally understand the value of instructional videos for anyone teaching themselves to knit or adding to their personal skill set, so I hope and plan to make YouTube video tutorials a regular part of my presence in the knitting community. I hope you like the video! :)