Fait accompli

I've just returned from a trip to the post office, to send out a very special pile of knitwear.

It's been a bit of a crazy few months while I've been working on this collection. I've had a few shows, looked at a lot of very expensive and not very nice property, been back to the States on a scouting trip against the possibility of moving back next summer, seen family, come back, put on a Yarn Crawl and Marketplace, seen more expensive real estate, starting visiting secondary schools with my daughter, put in an offer on a house, had the offer accepted...you get the idea. And all the while I've been plugging away at this accessory collection, in the fantastic Tundra from the Fibre Co.

As the pieces have only just gone off for their photo shoots, I'm not going to reveal too much, but I will share these details: there are three hats, two pairs of fingerless mitts, two cowls (one of which comes in two sizes) and a long, narrow shawl. All of the pieces have cables and texture - some are all over, some have just one focal cable, some have an all-over cabled pattern. All are worked in bulky weight yarn, so they knit up super fast. They all take between one and three skeins of Tundra, and are super soft and squishy.

Over the next few weeks I'll share more details of each piece and the construction, but I didn't want to go much longer without letting you know that I'm still here, and there is still lots and lots of knitting going on.

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour - Bagatelle Cowl

Welcome to Stop 8 on The Boardwalk Collection blog tour! When Kettle Yarn Co. first contacted me about being a part of this endeavour to highlight the new DK version of her extremely popular Islington fingering weight yarn, I was thrilled with the inspiration and design spec - Linda asked for pieces with lots of negative space, highlighted with geometric lace designs. I was hooked!

Bagatelle Cowl in Islington DK in "Peony", image copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

I've always loved the seaside, and spent vast amounts of time growing up on the beaches of New England, particularly Maine. Those rocky, somewhat barren shores have very little resemblance to the more cosmopolitan beaches of places like Brighton and Lyme Regis, but the salty breeze and calls of the seagulls are constant. With the Bagatelle Cowl, I wanted to capture the lines of piers emerging from the water's surface, ebbing and flowing as the tides go in and out.

Bagatelle Cowl in Islington DK in "Peony", image copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

Bagatelle is knit in the round, and the focal point is a strongly vertical lace pattern that biases across the face of the cowl. The edges are finished in simple seed stitch, evoking pebbly beaches. The pattern includes both written and charted instructions, but if you're new to knitting from charts, this pattern would be a good starting point, as the lace stitch itself is very simple. The pattern uses 2 skeins of Islington DK, and is plenty long enough to double up around the neck.

Bagatelle Cowl in Islington DK in "Peony", image copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

The Islington DK base is perfect for this type of accessory - hefty enough to give real warmth to the finished item (perfect for our somewhat inconsistent British summer weather or for the transition into autumn), but with beautiful drape and swing. The combination of 55% Bluefaced Leicester and 45% silk results in a yarn with plenty of elasticity and luxurious shiny softness. And the colours are perfection...

The Boardwalk Collection includes patterns from a phenomenal group of designers: Arcade by Isabell Kraemer, Pavilion by Renée Callahan, Promenade by Maria Magnusson, Seaward by Rachel Coopey and Jetty by Linda Lencovic. You can see all the designs on Issuu or (hopefully) in the preview below.

The next stop on the Boardwalk Collection tour will be Coopknits. And don't forget, there's a Boardwalk Collection KAL that's just started on the Kettle Yarn Co. Ravelry group. And don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour:

You will find the rest of the blog tour here:

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 1 – Kettle Yarn Co

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 2 – A Playful Day

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 3 – Isabell Kraemer

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 4 – Curious Handmade

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Stop 5 - Shinybees

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Stop 6 - Renée Callahan

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 7 – Maria Magnusson

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 8 - Knitted Bliss

In the works

I've been thinking about cables lately, despite the fact that it's nearly August. Specifically cozy warm cables worked in luscious yarn that can snuggle up around your neck, or cuddle your ears or warm cold fingers this upcoming winter....in other words, I've got cable patterns on the brain, a box full of yarn support, and I'm venturing boldly into Accessory Collection territory. 

Warning: post conatins photos dangerous to cold sheeping intentions

This collection is happening in collaboration with the wonderful people over at The Fibre Company, purveyors of incredibly special luxury yarns with beautiful palettes of colours. The yarn I'm working with is their chunky weight Tundra, a blend of 60% llama/30% merino/10% silk. 

Prototype #1, in Bearberry

To say that this yarn is squooshy is a gross understatement! It is a true pleasure to work with, and being a chunky weight means that the projects are knitting up super-fast. The first prototype is done and blocked, and has me wishing it were just a bit colder so I could wear it constantly.

Prototype #2, in Larch

Prototype #2 is on the needles and well underway - I need to do a bit of figuring on how the crown decreases are going to work, but I'm hoping to have this done by the end of the week before we go on holiday. Sadly, I won't be taking any of this yarn with me on our first summer holiday - backpacking + Italian August + llama are not a good combination in any scenario. But I'll be back to these for the second trip of the summer to the States, when I will be child-free for at least a week, and have lots and lots of time on airplanes...knitting bliss!

Bagatelle Cowl

I'm super excited to show off my latest pattern release, the Bagatelle Cowl, part of the Boardwalk Collection from Kettle Yarn Co., which is launching tomorrow, 13 July.

Photo copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

I'll have a lot more to say about this pattern on (revised date) 4 August, when I'll talk about the design in detail for the blog tour for the collection, but suffice to say that Linda's new yarn base, Islington DK, was a dream to work with, and I loved every second of working with it. Don't miss the launch of the collection and the blog tour on Linda's blog tomorrow. And you can see all of the patterns in the collection on Ravelry.

The Design Diaries: test knitting

Now that the Boat Race Hat prototypes are finished, and the pattern is written, it's time to move on to the next steps: testing and editing. I suppose you can argue that doing both test knitting AND tech editing is a bit redundant, but I would disagree.

Test knitting is a great way to get feedback on your pattern before it goes live - you'll be able to know if the wording in one section isn't clear, or if you've left out an important line of the instructions. You'll be able to get a good sense of the yardage requirements for each size (as long as your testers are knitting to the correct gauge), and as a bonus, you'll have a number of projects that can be uploaded to Ravelry when the pattern is published, so people will be able to see your design knit up in different colours or yarns right from the beginning.

With that in mind, the next step for the Boat Race Hats is test knitting - I find that test knitters can very often pinpoint a number of errors and inconsistencies that I would otherwise depend on a tech editor to find. And while tech editing is crucial for any knitting pattern, it's also a service that has to be (and should be!) paid for. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have my tech editor spend their time on a pattern that's been tested and had most of the kinks worked out already.

In an ideal world, test knitters would also be paid for their work, but sadly that's not something I'm able to do at this stage, so I have to rely on knitters who enjoy getting a sneak peek at a new pattern, or like helping to work out the kinks. You can pick your yarn, and I'm happy to send you a copy of the pattern when it's finished, as well as your choice of another of my self-published patterns if you'd like one.

Here are the two hats and their specs/requirements. If anyone is interested in test knitting, please give me a shout in the comments or head over to my Ravelry group and post in the Boat Race test knitting thread that's there.

A bit about both hats: both hats are sized in S (M, L) sizes, and both are worked from charts with no written directions.

Oxford

This hat is a slouchy, comfy knit, with two staggered twisted stitch boat motifs worked on a reverse stockinette background. The only complicated bit is the knitter will need to be comfortable shifting the crown decreases to keep the stitch motif intact as much as possible as the crown gets towards the top.

Techniques: twisted stitches and working stitches through the back loop.

Yarn: the large size pictured used less then one skein of baa ram ewe Titus (a fingering weight yarn) held doubled, so under 175 yds/160 m. Appropriate yarns would be sock yarn held double or DK yarn, or any yarn that knits to gauge specified.

Gauge: 23 sts/30 rows over 4 inches/10 cm in reverse stockinette.

Needles: US 4/3.5 mm circulars or dpns, as preferred

Cambridge

This hat is a close-fitting beanie style. Although the stitch pattern is worked all over, the crown decreases are much simpler then in Oxford.

Techniques: twisted stitches and working stitches through the back loop.

Yarn: the large size pictured used less then one skein of baa ram ewe Titus (a fingering weight yarn) held doubled, so under 175 yds/160 m. Appropriate yarns would be sock yarn held double or DK yarn, or any yarn that knits to gauge specified.

Gauge: 23 sts/30 rows over 4 inches/10 cm in reverse stockinette.

Needles: US 4/3.5 mm circulars or dpns, as preferred

And views of the tops of the hats:

Although I wanted to get these up and published earlier this year (like in time for The Boat Race. Hahahahahaha!), I'm not in a rush to get them out ASAP, and the deadline for this test is going to be the end of September. If you're interested, leave a comment on this post, or PM me on Ravelry, letting me know the size you'd like to test, and the yarn you'd like to use. If you're on Ravelry, you can also post in the testing thread in my group. Thanks!