Wow. I’ve been a bad blogger lately, haven’t I? Well, though I’ve been a horrid blogger of late, I’ve been a busy designer. There are three sweaters in the pipeline (a cardigan and two pullovers, plus I’m about to cast on for another cardigan), and then there’s Birdsfoot Fern, a scarf pattern that I released a couple of days ago.

I knit the model with Bugga! in Cuban Cockroach from The Sanguine Gryphon. Yum. They died up a special batch of this yarn to coincide with the pattern release, so if you’re of a mind to, you can make a scarf just like mine. As usual, the pattern is available online from Patternfish, and it will be coming to shops in the U.S. soon. For more photos, and a complete description of the pattern, please visit Birdsfoot Fern on my pattern site.

And then there’s this gem of a little video. I don’t know about you, but this is exactly how I feel most of the time.

Hello everybody. Dave here with a quick note about the Fiber Dreams website.

We released a new version of the site a couple of days ago. Most of the changes are in the background. A lot of the server-side code has been updated, and the site’s running on a new server. The main thing you’ll notice is a speed improvement. You may also notice a few visible changes here and there; there are some. The biggest visible change is to the Shops page. It’s been completely redone as an interactive Google Maps page. I love it. Check it out.

Thanks,
Dave

The pattern isn’t actually a labyrinth or a maze at all. But that was a popular theme with people suggesting names. I even got a couple of votes that indicated people liked the labyrinth theme. I dug around a little, did some research online, and thought that perhaps Knossos would be a good name for the pattern, because though some say that the Palace of Knossos was built as a labyrinth to hold the minotaur, in other places that aspect of the building wasn’t mentioned at all. I was close, so close to using Knossos. In the end I decided not to, because I have the hardest time pronouncing it! Labyrinth is much easier to pronounce—though this word I seem to have a difficult time spelling…

What does all this mean? This means that the pattern will be called Lost Labyrinth, but I’ll be giving away two copies of the pattern: one to Miya, who suggested Lost Labyrinth, and one to Angela (apparently blogless), who suggested Knossos.

Huge thanks to everyone who suggested a pattern name, with special thanks to Miya and Angela. I’ll be sending email confirmation to both of you ladies in the next few minutes. Please let me know if you don’t get it.

Interview

On another note entirely, my dear friend Mary Bird interviewed me again this morning on her live podcast, Yarn Thing. It was awesome talking to you again this morning, girlfriend.

While waiting for yarn for a couple of sweaters to arrive (the first package arrived from Green Mountain Spinnery with Saturday’s mail) I knit up a quick little cowl pattern with Malabrigo Lace Baby Merino. Before you panic with thoughts of knitting a cowl forever with 30,000 stitches, while this cowl is knit with lace yarn, it’s held double, and worked with size 7 needles, so the knitting actually goes fairly quickly—much faster than a pair of socks.

The photo of the blocking cowl is horrible. Mostly it’s the color. The color in the picture is atrocious. It’s really quite pretty in real life. The color in real life is much closer to this small picture to the left. But, I’m showing you this horrible blocking photo, because I once again am in need of a pattern name. And though the color in the photo is awful, the stitch is plainly visible, which is the important part for this little exercise.

If you have an idea for the name for this pattern, please let me know what it is by leaving a comment to this post before midnight July 28, Pacific time. Whoever suggests the name I end up using will get a free copy of the pattern after it’s released.

Seven new patterns in eight weeks

The madness that started with the release of Clematis has (at least temporarily, I think, though I may be proved wrong) ended with the dual release of Lazy River and Stream (as well as the e-book that combines the last two called Confluence). That makes seven new patterns released in an eight-week period. Eight, if you count Confluence on its own. All but Clematis were conceived, knit, written up, tech edited, photographed, as well as released in that eight-week stint. No wonder I got sick the other day—not super sick, just a mild stomach irritation that is making eating and other related activities… uncomfortable, as well as making me sleep 21 of the first 24 hours after it hit—and I’m definitely on the mend.

Edited to add: Oops. Forgot about the other e-book. Roses and Riverbeds combines the Rosehaven and Lazy River cowl patterns into one document. So, depending on how you count it, this might be the ninth release in eight weeks. Or not.

My body seems to be telling me it’s time to slow down.

Which is good, because I don’t have anything to knit right now.

I know. How strange is that? I thought I had something to knit. I had a plan. I swatched. Several times. Blocked the swatches, calculated gauge. I knit a sleeve. But it turns out that either the yardage stated on the label is all wrong, or something else is, because that sleeve took almost half the yarn that I had. A sweater would be very strange with only two sleeves, and nothing to hold them together. Actually, wouldn’t be much of a sweater, would it? I’m disappointed, too. I was really looking forward to wearing that sweater. Drat. Yes, I know. I’m sure there’s enough yarn to make a vest. But it’s been hot out, so I am dying to knit a thick, warm sweater, not a measly little vest thing that I will probably never wear. Frustrating.

I guess I could rip out the top of the thick, warm sweater I knit last summer in that lovely Malabrigo Twist, but I’m not emotionally ready to do the ripping part of that yet. Also a bit frustrating.

Back to the drawing board, I guess. I wonder if I have a sweater’s worth of some other yarn hanging out unnoticed in my yarn trunk. Hm. Might have to go stash diving.

Patternfish interview

Gayle at Patternfish interviewed me recently. The interview was released late yesterday in the most recent edition of their new monthly newsletter. If you’re not on the list, be sure to read it. Actually, read it even if you are on the list! Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Quotation

Time and time again I have sat myself down to write a quick little blog post about something or other, and the next thing I knew it went on for a number of lengthy paragraphs. Or so. Recently I stumbled upon this quote from Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662), a French mathematician, physicist, and theologian; the same man for whom the Pascal programming language was named. It seems to suit:

“I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”

First off, huge thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to share your suggestions for these two cowl designs. You all came up with a lot of wonderful names. It was difficult to choose. In the end I wrote a list of my favorites, then read and re-read the list, crossing off a name here and there as I went.

In the end two names in particular floated to the top.

Though originally I thought it would be fun to use names that were twinned—Dave’s suggestion was to name them Pisces Primus and Pisces Secondus—I ended up being smitten with Rosehaven, suggested by Michelle, and Lazy River, suggested by Eileen. As soon as the two patterns are ready to go, I’ll email special copies of them off to Michelle and Eileen.

I’ve sent email to both winners, but haven’t heard back from one of you yet. If that’s you, please send me email, so I know you know you won.

Since the cowls are done, I’ve spent a fair amount of time swatching lately. I’ve had some lovely navy blue bulky cotton yarn in my stash for ages upon ages now, and it most definitely wants to be a cardigan. In fact, it’s thinking about becoming a cardigan with these fun little cables at the hems. And maybe some pockets We’ll see what ends up happening. As yet, the yarn isn’t completely certain.

Again, huge thank yous to everyone for sharing your name ideas!

Completely untouched by imaging software, other than to make them small enough to reasonably display here on the blog, I share with you two much better photos of the cowls we are trying to name: twisted cowl 1 and twisted cowl 2. Though they’re definitely cowls, I discovered quite by accident that they’re both stretchy enough to wear as capelets. Nicole looks quite cozy in both of them, don’t you think?

The naming contest continues. Please leave your name ideas for these two patterns in the comments of yesterday’s post. Winners will receive a free copy of both patterns!

I hinted the other day that I have two new cowl patterns coming up. Both patterns are currently in the hands of the tech editor. All that’s left other than that is to write up descriptions, take some better pictures on my dress form, Nicole… and to name the things. Most of it is easy stuff. No biggie. Just a little time investment, and good light for photos at the right time of day, and it’s a snap. The names—Arg. Naming the things is sometimes the hardest part of the whole project. I’ve been doing fairly well lately, but for these two cowls I keep coming up with blanks and dead ends, so I’m hoping you all can help.

When you scroll down a little bit you’ll see a couple truly awful pictures that I took just after the sun rose this morning. They’re horrid photos, especially the glaring orange of the one, but they should be good enough to start the juices flowing. I hope. Their working titles are, respectively, Twisted Cowl 1 and Twisted Cowl 2.

The small picture to the right is a more accurate photo of the color of the orange-red yarn.

So far I’ve bandied about ideas from naming them after twin Greek gods, plants with twisted stems, buildings with twisted columns or other twisted decorations, leaves (the orange one reminds me of acanthus leaves, or sometimes of thistles).

Also, if it helps, if you happen to have these two yarns yourself, both yarns are from Claudia Hand Painted Yarns, her merino Sock yarn, in Indian Turquoise and Scarlett O’Hara.

Go wild. Think of stuff. Let me know what your ideas are by replying to this post before midnight Friday, 24 June, 2011. The person (or persons) who come up with names I end up using will get a free copy of both patterns when I release them.

Update

I’ve closed out comments for this post, as the time for making name suggestions has closed. I’ll post here when I’ve decided which ones of all the fabulous names you all came up with I’m going to use. Thank you all!

I’ve been insane. Truly insane. Why? Well, because I’ve released five patterns in as many weeks, and have more coming in the pipeline—soon. Perhaps another this week. And (maybe) two more in the next two weeks. Perhaps three more in three more weeks. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.

I told you I’ve been insane.

One. It started with the release of Clematis on May 18—a triangular shawl pattern with an elegant border and a simple garter stitch center.

Two. When I finished knitting Clematis I discovered I wasn’t done with the stitch pattern, so I cast on for Niobe. Niobe is a scarf pattern in the same vein as Spanish Dancer, Anjou, and Mako: in other words, it’s a scarf with that starts and ends with a point on the end, and the design grows from it row by row. Niobe was released on May 27.

Three. I originally came up with the idea for Aventine a couple of years ago, knit it up, even wrote out the pattern, then held it back. Aventine ended up being published originally in an issue of Love of Knitting magazine, where they completely messed up the chart when they printed the pattern. Time passed, and I eventually got the publication rights back to the design. Then more time passed. Meanwhile, people knit the pattern anyway. At this point, the back issue of that issue no longer appears to be available from the magazine, so I reworked the pattern adding two additional sizes (now two sizes of scarf, and a shawl), got it tech edited, and released it on my own. With the correct chart as well as written stitch instructions. Aventine was re-released on June 2.

Four. I got yarn at Stitches West from Teresa Ruch in February with the idea that she’d kit up what I designed with it to sell at shows, while I retained publication rights. The first of these designs is Minerva, a light little cowl with an interesting stitch, and a lot of drape. Minerva was released on June 9.

Five. I have a love of combining cables and lace. Starshine is the latest result of that love. I wrote up the pattern in three scarf sizes, but it could easily be made larger yet, and worn as a shawl. Starshine was released on June 16.

Six and seven? I have one cowl pattern knit up, and ready to photograph, the other is getting close to having the knitting done. These two cowl patterns, neither of which I have a single picture of yet, use the same yarn, a lovely merino sock yarn from Claudia Hand Painted Yarns, are knit with two strands of yarn, and both are loaded with tons of twisted stitches. Especially the first of them. Since the patterns are both based on a twisted rib, they’re sort of twins. I thought it would be fun to give them twin names, but I haven’t been able to come with anything. Yet.

Eight and beyond. I did a pattern for Bijou Basin Ranch last year that is coming home the first of July, Kumasi. I also have a shell pattern that’s in the hands of my tech editor. Hopefully she’ll have time to take a look at it soon. The shell pattern is the mate to Corinthian. And then there’s the sweater pattern I started last year with the lovely Malabrigo Twist. It needs help, and I’m seriously considering ripping out the entire neckline, so it can be re-worked as soon as I’m done with the second twin cowl. Then there’s also the cardigan that will be the final installment of the West Coast Swing Collection. I hope to finally get that out of my hair this summer. Plus, I’ve been feeling the need to knit a cozy cardigan. And…

Oh! I almost forgot. While all this has been going on, my little lace sweater pattern, Lalique (buy it here), has been rising in popularity on Ravelry. As of yesterday it has reached the number two spot on the Sanguine Gryphon pattern page there. I obviously don’t know that it will last, but it’s quite fun seeing it there.

I told you I’ve been insane.

Last week I released the first shawl pattern since last year. I know! It was wonderful knitting a full shawl again, but kind of strange, too, since it’d been so long. The shawl is called Clematis, and is named for the gorgeous old Shetland stitch I based it on, which happens to be one of my all-time favorite flowering vines.

I used a much, much thicker yarn for my model than I historically have for lace shawls. It’s a light sport weight yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch called Lhasa Wilderness. The yarn is 75% yak and 25% bamboo, and is marvelously soft and warm. Between that and the large size—more than 6½ feet across—it’s something to really cuddle up in.

The shawl has gotten so much good feedback already that I thought it might be fun to do a KAL for it in my Ravelry group. Please go over to the Clematis KAL? thread, take a look, and let me know what you think.