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Audrey Totter

January 9, 2012

Happy New Year, y’all! It’s been a busy holiday season over at Kninja Headquarters, but I think the coming year should be a really great one. As you probably have heard, the Sanguine Gryphon closed its doors at the end of 2011. This is sad news for all of us who loved the company, but the two new companies (The Verdant Gryphon and Cephalopod Yarns) rising phoenixlike from the ashes promise new temptations and beauty for all.

The pattern rights for Sanguine Gryphon patterns reverted to the designers when the company dissolved, and I am now rereleasing Audrey Totter through Knitting Kninja. Both companies will still be carrying the Bugga! yarn used for the body of the dress, and both will have some lovely laceweights on offer for the sash. If you previously purchased Audrey Totter through The Sanguine Gryphon and you would like a copy of the Knitting Kninja version, please let me know through email or Ravelry message (username Jejune).

I am very excited about the advent of these new companies, and I hope you’ll be seeing more Knitting Kninja designs using their yarns in future!

I am addicted to murder. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve never killed, but I love a good murder mystery, and I love a good noir film. I have a certain sympathy with the dames, broads, dolls, and molls of the noir genre. They may be bad, but in the words of Jessica Rabbit, they’re drawn that way. Every femme fatale needs a tight fitting dress that makes her look like a million dangerous bucks, and that’s what Audrey Totter is. Knit simply in mostly stockinette fit, the design uses dart shaping and negative ease to cling to every curve. The lace sash is knit separately and joined to the dress afterward for a retro look that is to die for.

SIZE
Woman’s XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X)
Bust size 28 (32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52) inches
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Bust: 26 (30, 34, 38, 42, 45.5, 49) inches

MATERIALS
* 3 (3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6) skeins The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!
[70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon; 412 yds per
113 gram skein], shown in colorway Longhorned Beetle
* 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2) skein(s) The Sanguine Gryphon Gaia Lace
[40% Mongolian cashmere/60% silk; 420 yds per 56 gram skein],
shown in colorway Cobblestone Mazes
* U.S. size 4 (3.5 mm) 24” or 32” circular needle
* U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm) needles (straight or circular)
* U.S. size E (3.5 mm) crochet hook
* 5 stitch markers, one distinct
* tapestry needle
* waste yarn or 3 stitch holders

GAUGE
22.5 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch in Bugga on size 4 needles
12.5 sts/25 rows = 4 inches in Vine Lace stitch in Gaia Lace on size 5 needles

Buy it now for $6.50 US

One thing more! I will also be rereleasing the pattern Dear Jane, previously available through The Sanguine Gryphon. However, that pattern was knit in Sanguine Gryphon Codex, a yarn that will not be regularly offered through either company. (Sad tears here – that yarn was a real favorite of mine!) I am planning on reworking the pattern in a currently available yarn of similar fibers offered through another company and Dear Jane will be rereleased when the math is all done and the sample knit in the slightly different weight yarn. Thanks for your patience.

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Posted in Audrey Totter, Dresses, Knitting, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale | 1 Comment »

Introducing a couple of bad girls, and a discount

October 16, 2011

I am so excited to finally be able to tell you all about Audrey Totter, the Bad Girl. Audrey’s part of the Sanguine Gryphon Film Noir line for Fall 2011, and most definitely the sexiest thing I’ve ever knit! When the call went out for Film Noir inspired ideas for fall, I think I jumped up and down with excitement. I am an old movie junkie with the entire Thin Man collection on DVD, and for the last few years I’ve become deeply obsessed with mystery stories of any sort. Many of my favorite movies are noir, and I love the look of the period as much as the actual content.

I am not the world’s fastest knitter, and I am trying to know my own limitations, so although my brain caught fire at the prospect of making noir themed clothing, I decided to limit myself to one submission. Although at first I was drawn to creating menswear for a detective type, ultimately, I knew my sympathies lay with the femme fatale. And you know, I’ve really, really been wanting to design a dress for ages, so…

I immediately started looking at pictures of femmes fatale in dresses from my favorite movies. Some of these dresses were surprisingly sensible compared to what I was imagining, such as Barbara Stanwyck’s costumes from Double Indemnity. She wears a lot of twin sets and suits in that film and of course looks like a million bucks, but I was aiming to clothe a sultry nightclub singer, not a housewife, and I wanted something more revealing and clingy. There’s a sultry nightclub singer played by Penny Singleton in After the Thin Man, but her costumes are actually kind of silly looking. After a while I sort of went out on my own and started trying to look at period costume and make it more sultry and more like the picture in my head. What ultimately inspired me was this photo of the Boswell Sisters, a singing group that became popular in the ’30s.

I’m not sure which sister is in the center of that photo, but I do know I loved her dress right away. I’d never seen a dress with a sash threaded through it like that, and while the Boswell dress is not tight and sultry, the possibilities were very interesting. A sash threaded through a keyhole like that creates an exaggerated hourglass, highlighting the shape of the figure. (Also, seriously, I want those shoes. And the ukelele is pretty rad, too.)

This is what I drew.

I know the point of a garment sketch is to convey the idea of the garment, but let me tell you, I agonized over how terrible those hands look. I feel the need to put a disclaimer that I can actually draw, even if I didn’t do such a great job here. At a certain point, I was realizing I was spending all my time on the sketch and not enough on the actual submission and I let it go, but I am still not over those stupid hands.

My original idea was to knit it in a worsted weight yarn with a laceweight sash, but the wise folks over at the Sanguine Gryphon HQ knew better and chose Bugga! for the dress body instead. Bugga!, although thinner than I had planned, is actually a fabulous choice for a dress. It’s a hardwearing yarn (my son has Bugga! mitts that he’s worn for several successive winters and he is HARD on them) but soft as can be with a merino/cashmere/nylon blend, saturated, and the nylon content that can be very helpful in maintaining wear and shape in a garment. The sash is knit in Gaia Lace, a seriously luxurious cashmere/silk blend.

Despite being a dress, this is not a slow or a difficult knit. It’s done in the round to the armpits from the bottom up, and shaped with placed darts. The stretchy fabric created by the Bugga! hugs the curves with negative ease, but I wrote a very little positive ease into the waist so that the dress won’t cling at the tummy. The sash is knit separately in one piece and seamed to the neckline at the end. I’d originally planned to bind it off onto the dress, but when I tried, it looked absolutely terrible, so a little seaming it is!

The lace used for the sash is a very simple Vine Lace repeat to keep it all nice and easy. With very few rows to memorize, the lace breezes by. I was worried about whether I’d finish to the deadline because the idea of knitting a whole dress with sport and laceweight yarn was intimidating as all get out, but no sleeves and open lace makes for a pretty straightforward knit!  When I’d finished, I asked Mr. Kninja to take a picture of me in the dress before we sent it off, and he got super excited and asked our neighbor if we could take the picture in front of the neighbor’s Model A.

I don’t quite have the enviable proportions of the model used by the Sanguine Gryphon, but the stretchy fabric means it fits me too! You can buy the Audrey Totter pattern at the Sanguine Gryphon website for $7.00. Please do check out the rest of the Film Noir collection, as it is AMAZING! I love so many of these patterns and wish I had time to knit more of them. As it is, I want to knit both hats, and I think I can probably swing that!

I mentioned another bad girl. That would be our new rat, Amelia. I didn’t blog about this when it happened because I was so depressed about it, but one of our rats, Daisy, died some months ago after what should have been a routine surgery to remove a benign tumor. Her sister, Rose, has been kind of down since then, and since rats are healthier with cage mates we decided to get two new baby rats to keep her company. They came home on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning we introduced them to Rose and put them in the big cage. It went great until I checked on all the rats a short while later and found only two of them, Clio and Rose. Amelia was loose. We spent a very upsetting day and a half searching and attempting to lure her out and feeling discouraged, but on Thursday afternoon, something nibbled my toes when I stood in front of the couch. I peeked under and there was Amelia! She took off for behind the piano, but once we knew where she was, catching her was not that hard. She’s in rat reform school now and I’ll post adorable baby rat pictures soon.

And finally the discount! I know we’re all deep in holiday knitting mode, and to aid in that, I’m offering 15% off any Knitting Kninja pattern from now through the end of November. Just use the coupon code jumpstart at checkout and you can get 15% off any pattern or ebook.

Happy knitting!

Posted in Audrey Totter, Dresses, Knitting, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Sanguine Gryphon | 7 Comments »

Horatio

September 27, 2011

I have this same challenge yearly: I go to knit hats for the family, and my husband turns crazy picky. He likes many of the hats I’ve knit him, but he expresses annoyance with the brim, believing that a brim that isn’t long and that doesn’t turn up does not a man hat make. I look over hats and he sits by and tells me what’s wrong with them. I love knitting hats, and I love a lot of patterns that he looks at once and then says, “Ehhhhh,” to.

I am frankly, sick of this. I want to knit him a hat that he loves and wears all the time without hearing about how the brim makes it less than perfect. I wanted to knit something where he’d say, “PERFECT!” This year I decided to make some hats that incorporated all of the elements of the essential man hat as described by my husband, with a caveat that it couldn’t bore me silly to knit it. The end result of this experiment is Horatio, a nautical looking watch cap that works equally well for a man or a woman. (I stole one of my sons’ hats briefly and loved how it looked on me.)

SIZES
newborn, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, child, adult S/M, adult L

A note about sizes:
Children’s heads are often bigger than one might think, and the adult S/M will fit many children. Roughly speaking, the sizes correspond to the following head circumferences.

newborn: 13-14”, 3-6 months: 14-17”, 6-12 months: 16-19”, child: 18-20.5”, adult S/M: 20.5-22”, adult L: 22.5-24”

MATERIALS

  • 50 (75, 85, 100, 135, 165) yards worsted weight yarn (wool is suggested); shown in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Forest colorway (green hat) and Classic Elite Princess, Regal Teal colorway (blue hat)
  • U.S. size 4 (3.5 mm) 16” circular needle
  • U.S. size 7 (4.5 mm) 16” circular needle
  • 1 set U.S. size 7 (4.5 mm) double pointed needles OR long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • tapestry needle
  • stitch marker for start of round

GAUGE
19 sts/29 rows= 4 inches in Semaphore Stitch on size 7 needles

Tech edited by Lauren Cross

Buy it now for $5.00 US

P.S.  Two little ironies: One, the blue hat in the photo is no more, as my young model lost it on his first day of wearing it. Two, after all that input, my husband is the only male person in my immediate family without one of these hats! He decided he wanted stripes instead of texture. Go figure!

Posted in Hats, Horatio, Knitting, Pattern for sale | 6 Comments »

Lower price for Understory

July 27, 2011

Hey all! Remember my April pattern collection, Understory?

This is the cover.

Understory is a collection of six patterns knit in Malabrigo yarns. When it came out, I priced it at $20, working with the idea of a 30%(+) discount on the cost of the individual patterns. I have since noticed that this is high for a pattern collection, and I felt bad for pricing it thusly, but people had already purchased it at the original price, and I didn’t want to penalize buyers by lowering the price. What to do? The answer turned out to be pretty obvious! I lowered the price to the more comparable-to-other-ebooks $16 and issued a partial refund to buyers. Win and win again! I think the new price point should make it easier for more folks to purchase, and this way I’m not penalizing loyal customers for their early purchase. More information about the individual patterns in the collection is available here, or on Ravelry.

If you’d like to buy Understory, you can do so now for US $16.00.

Posted in Knitting, Pattern for sale, Understory | 2 Comments »

Jewel Lake Pullover

June 17, 2011

I am a very lucky knitter. Seriously. I have gotten to work with a lot of my favorite yarns and yarn companies in recent times and to that list I now get to add Lorna’s Laces. I bought myself some Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock waaaay back on my Piecation trip as a souvenir, and I was so impressed with how the yarn was soft, but also sturdy and hard wearing.  It was also a gorgeous color. (Firefly, a sort of neon yellow tinged with green.)

Recently, I got to make a sweater out of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted. It is soft and hard wearing like its sister yarn, but much, much squishier. I am in love. I did not get to keep the sample sweater, but that’s OK, because I want one for myself in one of Lorna’s Laces beautiful oranges – maybe a red orange, like Brick, or a bright tangerine, like Satsuma. But orange.

Sorry, I digress. This is the Jewel Lake Pullover, and also could be called How I Spent My May.

I have had this idea in my sketchbook for some time now. It’s not a complicated design, but the idea stuck with me longer than most ideas do.

This nice thing about a simple design is that it allows the yarn to really shine. I hadn’t imagined Jewel Lake in a variegated yarn, as you see above, but the Lorna’s Laces yarn really brings it to life. I loved the way the colors shifted while I was knitting – the colors (the colorway is called Navy Pier) were harmonious enough to look great even where they pooled, but different enough to sparkle. I thought it looked like especially beautiful water.

Enough chatter for now! Here are the details.

One of my family’s favorite places to go on the weekends is Tilden Park in Berkeley. Within Tilden, there is a small body of water called Jewel Lake. It’s a short hike to the lake, but there is such variety both on the way and at the lake itself that we never tire of it. The beautiful watery colors of the Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted reminded me of happy mornings spent clambering around the lake, looking at snakes and frogs and turtles. A simple top down boat neck pullover, I hope Jewel Lake will be inspiring to you as well. Dressed up with a skirt or down with jeans, worn with a ribbon or without, this is a top that can see you through the season.

SIZE
28 (32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52) inches at bust
Shown in size 32 with negative ease

MATERIALS

  • 4 (4, 5, 5, 5. 6. 6) skeins Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted 100% Superwash Wool; 225 yds per 4oz skein, shown in colorway Navy Pier
  • U.S. size 6 (4 mm) 24” or 32” circular needle
  • 1 set U.S. size 6 (4 mm) dpns OR long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • 5 stitch markers, one distinct
  • tapestry needle
  • waste yarn
  • 2 yards of 1-1.5” wide wireless ribbon (optional)

GAUGE
19 sts/28 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Tech edited by Lauren Cross

Buy it now for U.S. $6.50

Posted in Jewel Lake Pullover, Knitting, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Sweaters | 13 Comments »

Arcadian Shawl

May 25, 2011

Arcadian Shawl modeled 1

I’m very happy to be able to release the Arcadian Shawl! This has been one of my favorite projects to date, helped in no small part by the beautiful yarn from A Verb for Keeping Warm. Seriously, if you can knit this in the suggested yarns, I highly recommend it, as it’s a rewarding experience. And what’s more, if you hurry, the Alpaca Silk is May’s Dyer Special from Verb! I think the natural dyes really make something special with this shawl.

Arcadian Shawl nasturtiums

Arcadia, before it was a city in Southern California, was a region in Ancient Greece. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Arcadia became a concept, an idealized fantasy of perfect unspoiled rusticity. In the imaginations of western Europeans, Arcadia remained pristine, utopic, populated by happy shepherds and beautiful shepherdesses. The Arcadian Shawl is so named for its own faux rusticity, in which gorgeous luxury yarns are transformed into a simple but beautiful wrap. The lace edging for the shawl requires very little yarn, making this a great project for using up leftovers.

Arcadian Shawl detail

SIZE
Small: 55 inches wide, 18 inches long (shown in Small)
Medium: 63 inches wide, 20 inches long
Large: 78 inches wide, 25 inches long

MATERIALS

  • 1 (1, 2) skeins A Verb for Keeping Warm Alpaca Silk Yarn 70% Alpaca, 30% Silk; 310 yds per 112g skein for MC – shown in Magic Bean
  • 1 (1, 1) skein A Verb for Keeping Warm Metamorphosis 70% Superwash Merino, 30% Silk; 385 yds per 115 g skein for CC – shown in Nugget
  • U.S. size 6 (4 mm) 24” (or longer) circular needle
  • tapestry needle
  • stitch markers

GAUGE
16 sts/28 rows = 4 inches in stockinette using Alpaca Silk

Tech edited by Lauren Cross

Buy it now for $6.50 US.

Posted in A Verb for Keeping Warm, Arcadian Shawl, Knitting, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Shawls | 9 Comments »

Understory

April 11, 2011

This is one of the secret projects I’ve been diligently working on behind the scenes. As you may know, this year Malabrigo started a new program called the Malabrigo Freelance Pattern Project. Each month, an independent designer will release an ebook of Malabrigo patterns. I’m Miss April!

Understory is a collection of six accessory patterns with a woodsy theme. They are available individually, or all together in ebook form. (If you purchase the ebook, you will get an ebook and each of the individual files as well.) All patterns were test knit by a pool of knitters and tech edited by Lauren Cross.

Lichen Beret

Lichens and mosses are so miniscule and usual that they can easily be overlooked, but these tiny not-quite-plants are truly beautiful and fascinating. The Lichen Beret celebrates these Lilliputian wonders in larger form with a simple lace faggoting pattern that mimics some of the patterns of lichen fronds. Knit either in smooth Malabrigo Twist, or luxuriously fluffy Malabrigo Angora, very different looks can be achieved with the same easy pattern. Top with a fluffy pom pom for an especially cute look.

SIZE
One size fits most adult heads
18 inches in circumference at brim

MATERIALS

  • 1 skein Malabrigo Twist 100% Merino; 150 yds per 100g skein – shown in Olive OR
  • 2 skeins Malabrigo Angora 100% Angora; 50 yds per 60g skein – shown in Primavera
  • U.S. size 7 (4.5 mm) 16” circular needle
  • U.S. size 10 (6 mm) 16”circular needle
  • U.S. size 10 (6 mm) dpns or long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • tapestry needle
  • scrap yarn for optional pom pom (Shown in Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Dove)

GAUGE
16 sts/25 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on size 7 needles
13 sts/20 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on size 10 needles

Buy it now for U.S. $5.00

Laetiporus

Laetiporus is a genus of edible mushrooms that grow in brackets from living trees. The shelf like construction and bright yellow color make for a spectacular sight in the damp woods. The Laetiporus scarf mimics, with a wide and gentle garter ruffle, the broad ripples of Laetiporus mushrooms. Although the scarf pictured here is extremely long, the simple lace and short row ruffle pattern can be made to any desired length for an unsual and wearable scarf that will stand out and keep your neck toasty warm. Refer to the chart or the written pattern to meet your comfort level.

SIZE
8 inches wide by 100 inches long

MATERIALS

  • 3 skeins Malabrigo Merino Worsted 100% Merino wool; 210 yds per 100g skein – shown in Frank Ochre
  • U.S. size 10 (6 mm) needles
  • tapestry needle

GAUGE
15 sts/20 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on size 10 needles

Buy it now for U.S. $5.00

Amanita Muscaria

The Amanita Muscaria mushroom is one of the most iconic fungi around. The cheery red cap with the white spots disguises the fact that the mushroom is actually quite poisonous. These happy mitts have all the geniality of the Amanita Muscaria mushroom with none of the danger. The simple stranded colorwork pattern makes an easy introduction to stranded colorwork or a relaxing interlude for those already familiar with the technique. Change the colors around for a fun polka dot look. In lightweight Malabrigo Sock, these mitts are perfect for nippy spring weather.

SIZE
one size fits most adult hands

MATERIALS

  • 1 skein Malabrigo Sock 100% Superwash Merino; 440 yds per 100g skein in MC – shown in Natural
  • 1 skein Malabrigo Sock 100% Superwash Merino; 440 yds per 100g skein in CC – shown in Ravelry Red
  • U.S. size 1 (2.25 mm) dpns or long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • U.S. size 2.5 (3 mm) dpns or long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • tapestry needle
  • waste yarn

GAUGE
30 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in colorwork pattern in larger needles

Buy it now for U.S. $5.00

Verdure

April’s lush new growth fills the woodland floors in a riot of bright young greens and fast growing leafy plants reaching for the light before the canopy fills in entirely. This shawl, composed of different leaf shapes and Faroese construction, is inspired by the verdant hues and herbage of spring. Both sizes result in a true shawl rather than a shawlette, good for wrapping around a short sleeved top or light dress on a cool evening. Both samples were knit in spring greens, but it would be easy to change the season by changing the colors. Greys or whites for frosty winter, oranges, reds, or golds for autumn, deep greens for summer.

NOTE: There are two PDFs, one labeled charts, one labeled written. These are identical in content, but have different layouts to more easily facilitate chart users or those who rely on the written pattern. Both have the charts and the written pattern.

SIZES
Small: 60 inches wide, 24 inches long
Large: 85 inches wide, 34 inches long

MATERIALS

  • 2 skeins Malabrigo Sock for size Small 100% Superwash Merino; 440 yds per 100g skein – shown in Lettuce
  • 4 skeins Malabrigo Silky Merino for size Large 51% Silk, 49% Merino; 150 yds per 50g skein – shown in Manzanilla Olive
  • U.S. size 6 (4 mm) 24” or longer circular needle for size Small
  • U.S. size 8 (5 mm) 24” or longer circular needle for size Large
  • tapestry needle

GAUGE
Small: 26 sts/34 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on size 6 needles
Large: 19 sts/24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on size 8 needle

Buy now for U.S. $6.50

Light and Shade

Variegated yarns frequently call my name, but I often have trouble knitting them up. Patterns that looked beautiful in theory can look messy in reality. Light and Shade is a simple cowl designed for use with those tough but beautiful Malabrigo variegateds. The slip stitch honeycomb pattern breaks up the colors and gives a look of dappled light rather than pooling or messiness. An attached i-cord edging makes a neat, tailored edge that looks great without much effort. The button placket is a great opportunity to use some pretty buttons and the cowl sits differently depending on how many holes you button.

SIZE
Small: 7 inches high, 20 inches wide.
Large: 7 inches high, 24 inches wide.

MATERIALS

  • 1 skein Malabrigo Merino Worsted 100% Merino; 210 yds per 100g skein – shown in Jaen (Small) and Mariposa (Large)
  • 1 set U.S. size 6 (4 mm) needles
  • 1 set U.S. size 10 (6 mm) needles
  • 3 buttons (19 mm)
  • tapestry needle

GAUGE
15 sts/20 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on size 10 needles

Buy it now for U.S. $4.00

Woodpigeon Mitts

Spring brings a host of avian life to the woods, and the sounds and sights of birds fill the usually quiet groves and thickets. The Woodpigeon Mitts take a simple feathered lace pattern inspired by some of the feathered occupants of the forest, and create a dramatic and dashing fitted mitt that is light and warm. The elbow length mitts can easily be shortened for a more everyday look, while the longer version hints at old movie star glamour and sophistication.

SIZE
Small, Large

MATERIALS

  • 2 skeins Malabrigo Silky Merino 51% Silk, 49% Merino; 150 yds per 50g skein – shown in Cape Cod Gray
  • 1 set U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm) dpns OR long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • tapestry needle

GAUGE
22 sts/30 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Buy it now for U.S. $5.00

Or buy the whole collection at a discount of almost 50% for U.S. $16.00

Posted in Amanita Muscaria, Cowls, Knitting, Laetiporus, Lichen Beret, Light and Shade, Mitts, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Scarves, Shawls, Understory, Verdure, Woodpigeon Mitts | 12 Comments »

Atalanta

February 3, 2011

This has been a long time in coming! In 2007, I made this top, Arthemis. At the beginning of 2008, I released a pattern for it. Unfortunately, said pattern was a mess. It was pretty well impossible to follow and made very little sense. To those of you who tried to use it, my deepest apologies. Since then, I’ve wanted for a long time to return to Arthemis and reknit and rewrite it. As time passed, I also came up with a list of ideal changes to the pattern: greater length (the original photos hide how much that top rode up when I moved in it), wider neckline, a repeat of the lace pattern in the sleeves. I also wanted to change the yarn – the Rowan Cotton Glace is pretty, but I didn’t like the way it wore as an against the skin top. I wanted to keep the dart shaping, the fluttery lace pattern, and the raglan sleeves created with yarn overs.

Meet Atalanta. I think I changed enough from the original pattern that a name change was also in order. Atalanta is a heroine of Greek mythology. I grew up listening to Free to Be You and Me, which is probably where I first heard (an updated, feminist version of) the Atalanta story. Atalanta has long been my favorite Greek mythological figure because of her speed and skill and determination to decide her own destiny. (This being a Greek myth, she doesn’t actually get to do that, but I respect the attempt!) The original name, Arthemis, referred to a butterfly, but kind of looked like a misspelling of Artemis, and, in combination with Clothilde, seemed like I just liked throwing extraneous Hs around.

Atalanta is knit in Knit Picks Shine Sport, which yarn, besides being very affordable, is also very soft and not at all hard on the hands. This tee makes a great spring knit, and while it may not currently seem like it, spring is definitely on its way!

SIZES
28 [32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52] inches – (Pick size closest to actual bust size for a sweater with 7% positive ease at bust.)

MATERIALS

  • 6 (6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9) balls Knit Picks Shine Sport [60% Cotton, 40% Modal®; 110 yds per 50g ball] in MC – shown in Serenade
  • 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) ball Knit Picks Shine Sport [60% Cotton, 40% Modal®; 110 yds per 50g ball] in CC – shown in Leapfrog
  • U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm) 24 or 32 inch circular needles
  • U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm) dpns or long circular needle for Magic Loop
  • U.S. size 4 (3.5 mm) 32 inch circular needles
  • tapestry needle

GAUGE
20 sts/26 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Atalanta is available through Knitting Kninja or Knit Picks.

Buy it now for $5.00 US.

Posted in Arthemis, Atalanta, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Sweaters | 3 Comments »

Apologies, etc.

January 8, 2011

My vow of getting better at posting here has gotten off to a rocky start. On my birthday, which was two days ago, I decided it would be fun to give something back, so I set up a few different Knitting Kninja related promotions on Ravelry. Did I then post here to let people know about that? No, I did not.

Basically, I noticed that the beginning of the year marks a spate of knitting resolutions among knitters, and saw many people adding one or another of my patterns to their queues in preparation to meet some goal in the coming year. The majority of these folks were part of a group wanting to knit 11 shawls in 2011. In response, I have two shawl related deals underway for the remainder of the month and one baby knitting deal. All of these deals are automatic when you check out, so no coupon code needed.

Deal 1: Buy Two Ladies, get $1 off Rosa. All three shawls for $15.50.

Deal 2: Purchase Clothilde or Arabella individually, get Beetle Tracks free.

Deal 3: Buy Surtsey, get Paulette free. Again, just add Paulette to your cart and it will be automatically discounted.

NOTE: Deal 2 originally read that you could buy ANY individual shawl and get Beetle Tracks free. However, including Rosa in that promotion was causing the first deal not to work, so I changed the parameters. If you’d like to purchase Rosa individually and get a free copy of Beetle Tracks, please email me or leave a comment here, on Twitter, Facebook, or Ravelry, and I will try to manually get the pattern to you as soon as possible. More apologies for the trouble this entails.

Posted in Arabella, Beetle Tracks, Clothilde, Kidswear, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Paulette, Rosa, Sale, Scarves, Shawls, Surtsey | 1 Comment »

Dear Jane

December 21, 2010

I have all these half finished entries that I swear are not just another post about a new pattern, but I haven’t finished any of them. So you get another post about another new pattern this time.

This one is rather special to me. The Sanguine Gryphon’s winter collection has a literary theme, and I have a book addiction. I feel so clichéd in this, but like so many female knitters about my age, I love Jane Austen’s writing. I read her books over and over again without losing enjoyment in the process. (I tend to gain enjoyment, actually, because I also read essays on Jane Austen and gain context that helps me appreciate new aspects of her writing. No one ever accused me of being anything other than a giant nerd.) When the call came out for literary themed patterns, it was to Jane Austen I first turned.

When I think of Regency fashion, a lot of the standouts for me are the garments that didn’t really outlive the era. Ladies’ turbans are an interesting colonial relic that I find intriguing and distinctly of the period. (In the novella Cranford, published in 1851, Elizabeth Gaskell uses the turban style hat as a way of depicting a character’s age and her distance from trends in fashion. An elderly lady longs for a beautiful turban of the sort that was popular in her youth, and which she never got. Her young houseguest is appalled at the idea, finding it grotesque, and buys her a staid cap instead.) Unlike a true turban, Regency turbans for ladies were sewn into shape, so they did not need to be wrapped each time a woman wanted to put on a headdress.

The turban style hat was part of a general Romantic and Neoclassical trend toward Orientalism in which the eastern world was depicted as both incredibly exotic and exciting and also somehow accessible. Artists such as Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres depicted the Orient in ways that blurred the familiar with the alluringly alien. His obviously Western models, posed as odalisques, or female slaves, lounged in ambiguously Asian settings – supposedly Turkish bath houses or harems. In the literary world of roughly the same period, Thomas Moore would publish an Oriental romance, Lalla-Rookh, and the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge would publish his Oriental poem Kubla Khan.

As Xanadu, with its stately pleasure dome, was becoming a favorite subject for the critics to disparage, India was under the control of the British East India Company, and had been since the mid 18th century. This was a long enough period of time that Indian Englishmen had become commonplace, and India held an exciting but familiar place in the public imagination. Jane Austen had herself an Indian cousin, the romantic and tragic Eliza Hancock, upon whom she may have based some of her more sensational characters. In cooperation with the British Navy, the East India Company, starting in the mid 18th century, but escalating in the early 19th, drove east from its base in India, expanding its colonial empire into central Asia.

All of this context is to say that the turban as a fashionable accessory did not arise out of the blue and my interest in it arose out of its place in history as well as literature. Jane Austen refers to a turban in Northanger Abbey (published in 1817, but actually the earliest finished of Austen’s novels) and tellingly puts the words to the pen of Isabella Thorpe, a character with a taste for the trendy and new. My turban, however, was designed for Jane Fairfax of Emma, a character who might not be enamored of its ostentation, but who certainly, to my mind, deserved a little levity and fashionable respite from her difficult existence. Jane is introduced through her letters to her aunt, and while Emma takes her time to warm up to the character, it’s clear that Jane’s creator greatly admires her, hence the name Dear Jane.

OK, I’ve blathered on for five paragraphs now without even getting to any of the details of this design in specific! The pattern is knit in Sanguine Gryphon Codex, which is a gorgeous and wonderful yarn to work with. It’s a blend of Blue Faced Leicester wool and silk, and the result is a warm, soft, shiny, drapey yarn that knits up like a dream. The pattern was designed specifically with this yarn in mind, to take advantage of that drape and sheen. The construction is different from anything I’ve previously designed. It starts with a long ribbon knit in Tunisian rib, and then the hat stitches are picked up from the ribbon and knit up with large, strategically place eyelets throughout for the threading through of the dangling ribbon ends. The rather disturbing picture below shows what the hat looks like when the ribbon is unlaced.

(Said picture is the most looked at of the batch I uploaded to Flickr. Apparently y’all like looking at weird creepy pictures.)

Further details:

Sizes
To fit 20 (22.5)”/51 (57) cm circumference at brim

Finished Measurements
17 (19)”/43 (48) cm at brim
10 (10.75)”/26 (28) cm in height, not including ribbon

Yarn
The Sanguine Gryphon ‘Codex’, 4 oz/234 yd, 52% silk/48% Blue-faced Leicester wool, 2 (2) skeins, shown in Mary Crickett

Needles
US 4/3.5 mm needles, straight or circular
US 6/4 mm needles, 16” circular, or size needed to obtain gauge
US 6/4 mm double pointed needles OR long circular needle for Magic Loop

Gauge
19 sts and 27 rows = 4”/10 cm in St st on US 6 needles

Notions
3 Split stitch markers OR waste yarn
Tapestry Needle

You can purchase this pattern at The Sanguine Gryphon website! Be sure to check out the other patterns in the winter collection as well. There are some real beauties! I’ll save prototype pictures for another post.

Posted in Dear Jane, Hats, Original Pattern, Pattern for sale, Sanguine Gryphon | 12 Comments »

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