Name That Cowl Contest

As I mentioned last night,  next week marks the first blogiversary of French Press Knits.  In honor of this occasion, today we will start a little contest that will lead into a new pattern release next week.  I've been holding back this cowl for some time now:

  With October Stockpile starting in the Malabrigo Junkies Group on Ravelry, I figured there's no time like the present to launch a pattern that utilizes just one skein (yes, one!) of Malabrigo Worsted.

This pattern is worked in the round with a classic fan and feather pattern.  The hood is shaped with short-row shaping within the infinty-cowl style.  Knit on size 10 circular needles, this is sure to be another great last-minute gift idea.

And here's where you come in.  This cowl does not yet have a name, and of course it would love one.   In the comments section, please leave me suggestions for a name.  If I choose the name you suggest, you will win the cowl pattern upon release, and a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in purple Mystery to get your WIP started!

And that's not all!  Be one of the first 5 people to leave a comment with a name suggestion, and you will automatically win a pdf of the pattern emailed and/or gifted to you on Ravelry when the pattern is released next week. 

The winning name will be announced on Tuesday, October 5, with the pattern going live soon after.  Comment by Tuesday morning for your chance to win!

CAYSC Shop Hop

As promised, a follow up from the Shop Hop last week (complete with loot pictures!).

As I began documenting and taking pictures of everything I walked away with last week, I realized that I bought a little more than I originally thought. Here we go...

Besides the cute little passport pictured above, Shop Hop attendants also received a reusable tote bag filled with loot from local Michigan companies.  Every store along the route provided 'hoppers' with a free pattern, written by the shop owner.

The first shop along our way was Woven Art in East Lansing. Woven Art became one of my favorite yarn shops from the moment I first walked in back in January.

Here I purchased yarn for this cute little Acorn Hat designed by Meg Croft, and also a skein of Shepherd's Wool in baby blue (just in case Baby B turns out to be baby boy!).

I was getting ready to check out at Woven Art when I spotted the Dale of Norway books and decided to peruse a little more.

Naturally, being only two months away from the due date of my first child, I grabbed a baby book- what can I say?  These days, it's instinct.   On the first page of the booklet I just happened to find this little beauty:

Seriously?!  You cannot expect any soon-to-be-first-time-mother-with-baby-due-a-month-before-Christmas to pass this one up.  Not this soon-to-be-mother at least- no way!  The plan for this is to try to get it done between the time baby is born and Christmas.  Should be interesting!

Next up was Rae's Yarn Boutique in Lansing. Here I scooped a sweater stone and my first skein of Noro. I have neve worked with Noro, and honestly, have never really understood the appeal- but I think I may be starting to get it. Once Jill introduced me to the Spring Sock pattern, I figured it was worth a shot.  Not sure when I will get around to knitting with it, but you can expect an unbiased review when I do. (You can also find some interesting footage of Erica and I battling with giant knitting needles at Rae's if you click here.)

Our third stop was at a shop I've been wanting to go to for some time now, so I was excited to visit Yarn Garden in Charlotte. Here I purchased the project bags seen above and also yarn to knit a new stocking for Christmas (yes, I will somehow have to fit this in along with the Dale of Norway...we'll see).  The stocking pattern was the free pattern designed by shop owner Lindsay Harmon.

Finally, as our time was running low, we made a stop back in Lansing at Threadbear Fiber Arts Studio where I walked away with two booklets from Classic Elite Yarn (not to mention my new Lansing Cowl and Beret pattern, which happened to be the pattern given away upon receiving your fourth Shop Hop stamp).

If you happened to attend to CAYSC Annual Shop Hop and have pictures and/or a blog post to share- let me know, and I will link to them here:

Knitterella Blog

Kollage Yarn Blog

EKnits

Also, if you attended and received my new patterns, they are now posted on Ravelry for you to add as a WIP- find the cowl here, beret here.

Sneak Peek

Just a quick sneak peek of what is coming. Pattern written up, test knit, and sending off to the graphic designer later today. Some details I can give you now: hooded cowl/infinity scarf, utilizes just 1 (yes, one!) skein of Malabrigo Worsted.

I'll also be taking some better pictures today... more soon!

Montebello Explained

{Source}

In a rush to get everything ready for the Yarn Harlot's visit last week, I published my new Montebello Texture Cowl and posted about it here without much information. You may have noticed that when I first wrote about it, it was still just named 'Texture Cowl'. Today I want to tell you a little about the name/inspiration behind the cowl itself.





Montebello is the name of one of the three castles in Bellinzona, Switzerland. Bellinzona is in the Ticino canton of Switzerland. It is the southernmost canton in Switzerland and the only Swiss canton whose sole official language is Italian. When many people see my last name, they assume Joe's family is from Italy. Joe's grandpa is actually from the small town of Medeglia, Switzerland, just 'up the mountain' from Bellinzona.


A couple years ago, Joe and I had the pleasure of visiting his extended family in Switzerland. We stayed in the Ticino region, and explored it quite extensively. His family was very welcoming, we enjoyed the time we spent with them. We hope to return in the near future- and when we do return, we are sure to be greeted once again with polenta and fondue- what more could we ask for?

So, this cowl is named for our 'Swiss Family', thanks for welcoming us with open arms!

Texture Cowl

Yesterday I shared my Ishbel progress, today I wanted to give you a peek at what else I have been working on. I've been selling the Breckenridge Cowl online since the beginning of December, but have not been able to make it available for wholesale purchases yet. The main reason for this is because I sell it for so cheap online. After printing costs, it wouldn't make sense for me to sell it at wholesale prices.

Here is my solution: two patterns on one sheet of paper! In order to offer these to local yarn shops, and still keep my low online prices I will be selling the Breckenridge Cowl together with the 'Texture Cowl' (final name is yet to be determined). Both cowls are similar in construction, using the same weight of yarn and needles.

Both of these cowls were introduced in my Etsy shop when I opened, so although they may be old news to me- they are new for you! So, here's me in all my dorkiness modeling the Texture Cowl.

Pattern should be available on Ravelry by this weekend. The combo Breckenridge Cowl/Texture Cowl pattern will be available for wholesale orders by next week. If you happen to be in Detroit this weekend to see the Yarn Harlot speak at the Library- I should have print copies hot off the press!

Improv Hat and Cowl Patterns

Earlier this week, I posted my selfish knitting projects. Both the hat and the cowl were a super easy knit, and in a couple evenings, I had a new matching set.

I jotted down some notes as I went, and as promised, will share them here. I will most likely get around to putting these in PDF format to have available on Ravelry someday, but for now I will just post them here on my blog. After all, there needs to be some sort of benefit for being a loyal reader, right?

These patterns are relatively simple and quite suitable for a new knitter. If you have not yet knit in the round, challenge yourself to do so. You may feel like you are all thumbs when you start, but by the end you will have it down!

**A general note about the amount of yarn used: Joe gave me 5 skeins of Ella Rae Latte(from Center Street Knits) for Christmas. I knit the hat first, and it used up about 1 1/2 skeins. When I knit the cowl, I just kept going until I ran out of yarn. Although the yarn is a bulky weight, I think it knits up a little thinner than a regular bulky. For a 50g skein, there is 82 yards. This means for the hat I probably used about 120-130 yards. Check my hat gauge against yours to see if your yarn it going to work- you may need to use a different needle size.

Improv Hat

Yarn:
100 g bulky weight yarn
(I used about 1/2 skeins Ella Rae Latte)

Needles:
Circular needle, 16-in length, size 6 & 7 (4.25 &4.5 mm)
and one set of dpn, size 7 (4.5 mm)

Gauge:
19 stitches and 26 rounds= 4 in(10 cm) over stockinette stich

Instructions:
Cast on 80 stitches with size 6 circular needles. Place marker. Join, being careful not to twist.

Cuff: Work k1, p1 cuff for 6 rows

Switch to larger needles.
Round 1: *k8, m1 ; continue from * to end of round (90 stitches)
Round 2: knit
continue in stockinette stitch until hat measures 8.5". Since you are working in
the round, you will just be knitting(no purls)

Begin decrease rows (switch to dpns when you can no longer work on circulars)
Round 1: *k7, k2tog; repeat from * to end (80 stitches)
Round 2: knit
Round 3: *k6, k2tog; repeat from * to end (70 stitches)
Round 4: knit
Round 5: *k5, k2tog; repeat from * to end (60 stitches)
Round 6: k2tog across all stitches (30 stitches)
Round 7: k2tog across all stitches (15 stitches)

Break yarn, leaving tails about 8" long. Draw yarn through remaining stitches
and fasten off.

Improv Cowl

Yarn:
200g Bulky Weight yarn
(I used about 3 1/2 skeins of Ella Rae Latte)

Needles:
Circular needle, 29-in length, size US 13
Gauge:
(double strand of yarn used)
8 stitches and 17 rows= 4"(10 cm) over seed(moss) stitch

Instructions:

With two strands of yarn held together, cast on 93 stitches. Join, being careful not to
twist.
Round 1: *k1, p1; *repeat from * to end
Round 2: *p1, k1; *repeat from * to end

Since the whole cowl is worked in seed(moss) stitch, and there is an odd number of stitches, you will k1, p1 for the whole cowl. Just continue to repeat this until the cowl is the length you want it. Mine is about 6" wide, but I would have gone longer if I didn't run out of yarn! The shape is a very long circle(about 54"), that you can wrap twice around your head/neck.





For all the new knitters, you can do this! Even if you have never read a pattern before, try to figure out as much as you can, and ask me any questions you have.

For the more experienced knitters, let me know if there are any mistakes or changes I need to make.


PS...sorry for the deja vu pictures. My usb flash drive broke this week so I have to use pictures that are already on my computer until I get a new one!

Selfish Knitting Month

Last night I was browsing Ravelry forums when I came across a post about "Selfish Knitting Month". The concept is, all the presents are out, so January is a time to knit something for yourself. Makes sense, I thought I would join right in!

Joe gifted me a few different yarns for Christmas and I am slowly deciding what to do with each of them. For my 'selfish knitting' I started with the Ella Rae Latte. At first I was a little baffled by this yarn. The label lists the content fiber as: 30% baby alpaca, 30% milk fiber, and 40% microfiber. The yarn in single ply and so incredibly soft, but I was still interested in finding out what exactly 'milk fiber' is.


After doing some research, I learned a few interesting things about milk fiber. Milk yarn is made from milk protein fibers. You can read more about how milk fibers are derived from milk here. This website also claims that since milk fiber contains amino acids, it makes the fiber antifungal and antibacterial. Huh...who knew?


Anyway, back to the knitting.


Joe had purchased 5 balls of Ella Rae Latte in a beautiful orangish/pinkish/reddish color. Whatever color you call it, it seems to match well with my new mittens and I decided to make a complementary hat and cowl.


I had an idea in mind of what I wanted, but I couldn't really find a pattern to my exact specifications, so instead, I just put yarn on needles and started knitting. Result: slouchy hat and infinity cowl combo. I'm sure I will be living in these over the next couple months. Any selfish knitting for you?