When the weather turned chilly, I realized that Alice had outgrown all the hats she had as a newborn last winter. Knitting to the rescue! I’d had my eye on the Aviatrix Baby Hat pattern for a while, so that was an easy choice. Then I just had to go stash diving for the perfect yarn. I landed on Stroll Kettle Dyed in Gold. It’s my favorite of the kettle dyed colors, but I don’t wear yellow, so it was perfect to use for Alice, who looks great in yellow. The pattern calls for a DK weight, and, of course, Stroll is fingering weight, so I simply held the yarn doubled. The bonus to this was that the doubling broke up any pooling that the yarn may have wanted to do in the short-row constructed hat.
The construction of the hat is just so cool, and it …

I’m done! I’m done! I calculate that my Classic Lines Cardigan is the most stitches I’ve ever knit for one project–coming in around 76,000 stitches (38 size). Eeep! I’m glad I didn’t make that calculation before I started! I squeeked this one in under the 6 month mark, and it fits like a dream, so I’m quite proud.
Angela helped me take some photos. It’s very windy outside, so it was quite the challenge to get the lightweight sweater to lay flat.

It’s supposed to be 90 degrees today, but our office is always chilly, so I’m wearing my cardigan now. The only modification I made to Alison’s great pattern is to knit the sleeves longer for my monkey arms (mine are 20″ instead of 17″), and to finish the bottom hems while I knit instead of at the end. My favorite part about this pattern is how …

If you haven’t checked out the new fall issue of Knitty, here is the link. It’s OK, I’ll wait until you’re done.
Now that you’ve looked at everything, let’s talk about the patterns!

These are the Zozo toys which were knit out of Swish Superwash.
There have been so many good sweater patterns released this fall. I’ve queued up several things from Knit Scene, but I was waiting for the fall Knitty to arrive before I figured out what I was going to knit next. And I’m glad that I waited, because I really love the patterns that Amy Singer selected.

My absolute favorite sweater is Girl Friday, designed by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark. I enjoy knitting lace, but most lace patterns don’t fit my style, they’re just too fancy for me! This folding diamond lace pattern is bold, geometric, and full of texture. Also, I love cardigans and shawl …

It’s almost the end of the summer, and we need to clear out a little room in our warehouse for the heavier winter yarns, so we’re having a one-week-only lace yarn sale! Lots and lots of colors are on sale in all of our lace yarn lines – Shimmer, Alpaca Cloud, Shadow, Shadow Kettle Dyed and Gloss Lace.
Do you knit lace in the fall and winter? I do – year round! I love knitting lace because it is very interesting – you can choose a pattern that is relatively easy or very intricate. And, lace knitting takes up hardly any room. I have a vacation including a plane flight coming up, and I’m already planning which lace project to take because I know the lace will keep me occupied during the long flight, but it’s compact enough that I can knit away without annoying my seat neighbors …

Have you seen the new Fall issue of Interweave Knits yet? There are a lot of gorgeous patterns in this issue, but four of them really stood out for us because they would look especially fantastic in our new heavier weights of Gloss.

If you haven’t knit with Gloss yet, you should really give it a try. The silk takes dye beautifully which results in deep, rich colors with a slight sheen that gives you incredible stitch definition. Please excuse my gushing, this is a really special yarn- one that we think you need to see for yourself in person to truly appreciate. On that note, we’ve decided to take these 4 patterns from Interweave, pick 4 Knitting Community members at random, and send them enough Gloss in the colors of their choice to knit the pattern for free!
Here are the patterns you can choose …

The argyle pattern of my Nederland Vest (Ravelry link) is moving along quickly, probably because it’s so addictive to knit row after row and watch the colors interact along the way. Gloss DK is so yummy to work with – a little silky sheen, very soft, and intense colors. The Merino silk blend takes dye very well. And, let’s not forget Gloss HW – which is perfect for warm, textured pullovers, cardigans, vests, scarves – well, pretty much anything!
Click here to see all things Gloss (lace, fingering, dk, heavy worsted). <