One of the most fun parts of being a designer is seeing how others interpret your designs. Here are a few of my favorite finished objects (FOs) of late, with a focus on cozy sweaters and comfy couches!

Alaria -  knit by wmcurella — Alaria - knit by wmcurella

Cresting Waves Shawl - knit and dyed(!) by kquinnschroeder

Summer Rain Shawl - knit by maplebuttermom

Want to share your knits with me? Tag me @mscleaver on Instagram, or if it's on Ravelry, I'll see it. :)

Caiterly - PDF Pattern

$6.50

Sweetly feminine with all the right details, Caiterly is adorned with delicate cables against reverse stockinette. Leah B. Thibault's bottom-up raglan cardigan is worked in Cleaner Cotton™ Willet resulting in a medium-weight sweater to go with any and every last thing in your closet, from borrowed boyfriend jeans to sundresses.

Shown in size 33” / 84 cm with 1” / 2.5 cm negative ease

Bust Circumference: 31¼ (33, 34¾, 38, 40¾, 42½, 45, 46¾)" [79.5 (84, 88.5, 96.5, 103.5, 108, 114.5, 118.5) cm]
Yarn:8 (8, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12) skeins of Willet by Quince & Co in Sail (701)(100% cleaner cotton; 160yd [146m]/50g)
Needles:32" circular in sizes US 4 and 5 [3.5 and 3.75 mm] / set dpns in sizes US 4 and US 5 [3.5 and 3.75 mm]

Gauge: 26 sts and 35 rows = 4”/10 cm in reverse St st on larger needles

Learn more about Caiterly in the Chronicles

View it on Ravelry

Photos © Pam Allen

Alaria - PDF Pattern

$6.00

A traditional triangle shawl featuring a ﬂowing series of lace patterns. Inspired by the undulating forms of seaweed and the summer chills that result from overly air-conditioned offices.

Shawl begins at the long edge and ends at the point. The lace patterns used only have the yo’s and dec’s on the RS rows and all the WS rows are purled. Pattern includes both charted and row by row instructions.

Shawl size can be increased by completing additional 24-row repeats of lace patterns #1 and/or #2. Any modifications may necessitate more yarn.

52 “ wingspan, 25” depth
430-500 yds of Fingering weight yarn, sample shown in Quince & Co. Tern in Seagrass 143
24-inch circular needle, US 6 - 4.0 mm
19 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in lace pattern #1 blocked open

Learn more about the Alaria Shawl in the Chronicles

View it on Ravelry.

Photos © Carrie Bostick Hoge

Summer Rain Shawl - PDF Pattern

$6.00

As a child, I dreamed of summer storms.

Growing up in northern California, my summers consisted of soaking my swimsuit in the sprinkler and rushing to the driveway to leave an ephemeral body print on the concrete; of running barefoot across the hot asphalt to my friend’s house and trying not to burn my feet; of the dark towels my mother put over the windows in the daytime to keep out the heat.

I wanted my summers to be cooler, wetter. I thought a summer storm would be the perfect antidote to the dry California heat, a backyard sprinkler writ large.

Having lived in Maine for a decade, the dozen or so summer storms take on a different role than I imagined as child, offering not an invitation to play, nor to hide, but to simply be still. After a stretch of hot sunny days, the plants in my garden welcome the rain. I follow their lead, raise my face to the heavens and drink it in.*

This shawl is knit flat from the bottom up. You will decrease 4 stitches every right-side row through raindrop pattern and every row thereafter.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
66" [168 cm] wingspan, 31" [79 cm] high
YARN
Milo by Manos del Uruguay (65% merino wool,
35% linen; 380 yards [350 m] / 100 grams)
2 skeins in Lisboa
NEEDLES
One 36" circular needle in size US 5 [3.75 mm]
GAUGE
24 stitches and 36 rows = 4" blocked
NOTIONS
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle

So on Tuesday, something very exciting happened for me. A national magazine hit the newstands with my name on the cover (spelled right and everything)!! Way back in March I got a email from Lisa Shroyer, the Knitscene editor, asking if I would be interested in doing a collection as their featured designer for the Winter issue.

Would I?! And in the Winter issue none the less?? I think I thought about it for a minute before I said yes, yes and yes!

After about a week, I sent Lisa a packet of about six design proposals ranging from the simple to the complex and included four sweaters and two accessories, plus one more accessory I had submitted to magazine through the regular process. (Some of the "rejects" will likely show up as designs in the future too). We edited it down to three items, which I though was doable in the approximately 8-week knitting period.

Some yarn was ordered and fortunately some of it matched my swatching yarn, so I was able to get a head start on the math. As soon as my first yarn arrived, I start knitting like a crazy person. (Fortunately no repetitive stress injuries were obtained in the process of making this collection.) In end, we ended up with three designs that I'm very proud of.

Willamette Coat

The Willamette Coat (they named it after my alma mater) is my personal favorite in the collection. It's an idea that's been banging around in my head for over a year, and I was glad to finally get it out into reality. The big feature hear is the asymmetrically buttoned front with the dramatic cable panel and the matching cabled cuffs. I think the sample might have been a bit small on the model, because it can button (for example, dress form it's a size 35" sample on a 33" bust), but I'd recommend a minimum of 2" positive ease.

The sample was knit in Berroco Vintage Chunky an acrylic/wool blend that is probably my favorite machine-washable yarn ever. It comes in a bunch of great colors, is fairly inexpensive, and doesn't feel plastic-y at all (though the ends are a bit harder to weave in). I'm actually on my third project with this yarn now, that's how much I like it. If you're looking to sub, I'd recommend any bulky weight wool that shows cables well.

Toulouse Pullover

The Toulouse Pullover has been the big hit on Ravelry so far. Knitscene did some lovely boho-chic styling on this one, that I think has really attracted people to it. Which is funny as I considered it a much more 50s-style garment in my head when I was making it, but that just shows the versatility and timelessness of the bow-neck I suppose.

This item is probably the easiest knit in the whole collection. After you knit the collar/ties back and forth the rest is a super simple raglan with no body shaping. Again, I'm not sure on the model's size, but for comparison it's a size 34 3/4" on a 33" dress form in the center photo.

The yarn for this sample is Classic Elite's Mountain Top Vista, an organic worsted weight wool. It's got a nice hint of halo, surprisingly drapey, and is definitely sheepy. In the projects that are already (!) popping up on Ravelry a lot of people are subbing in Berrocco's Ultra Alpaca, which would be a really good choice too. Anything with a bit of drape and halo.

Marketa Mitts

This is the only design in the collection I named myself, and like the mag says, they were inspired by Mareketa Iglova's character in once. They're your basic fingerless mitts, knit in reverse stockinette with a tulip-esque insert panel that's a combo of a bunch of sts.

This sample was knit in Shibui Baby Alpaca DK - a super dreamy yarn to knit with, though I'm not sure I'd call it a DK (these were knit on size 2/ 2.75 needles). The could easily be done in a fingering weight, and something with less halo would show off the stitch pattern a bit more clearly.

Where can I get these?

Right now the magazine is on newstands, or can be purchased as a digital magazine. There are several other lovely patterns in there, as well as a 2-page profile on me.

If you want to favorite or queue these up, here are the links for the Willamette Coat, Toulouse Pullover, and Marketa Mitts.

A Giveaway!

I've also got one signed copy of the magazine, along with a skein of Shibui Baby Alpaca DK in Artichoke (like the sample) to make your own pair of Marketa Mitts to give away. If you're interested, simply leave a comment below and I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner on Tuesday.

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