***Originally published on July 16, 2014***This shawl was born out of a USPS disaster.  A few months back, my friend Naomi emailed me, wanting to design a yarn for her friend’s wedding shawl (here is the pattern she was using — isn’t it cool?).  We went back and forth over email, tweaking the weight and fiber content, and finally landed on a beautiful blend of bamboo and linen. We wound it up, shipped it out…and it never arrived by the intended deadline that she needed it by, to get cracking on it and have it finished for the bridal shower.  Now, you’ll never meet a...

***Originally published on December 30, 2009***At long last! This project and I have been in a relationship for over a year now, and it’s finally off the needles and ready to wear. I’m pretty psyched about it because when I started it last spring, I actually didn’t think it was my style at all (I just loved the simplicity of the pattern and the way the yarn knit up!) but for some reason this fall I’ve really been into the belted tunics and fitted t-shirt dresses, and I’m always game for a cowl neck!Coffee Tunic, knitted in a sportweight bamboo/wool/nylon blend; burgundy with ...

Originally published January 11th, 2011Remember back in the fall when I was working on my Chevron Lace Cardigan?  Well, it’s been sitting at 98% finished for quite a few weeks now, and just the other night I had a few minutes to sew on some buttons and call it done.Dudes, I’m so excited about this pattern.  It is SO simple, SO fast, and totally my style.  I had decided to whip it up in a yarn that had not been such a hot seller, just to test out the pattern, but now that I know how it turns out, I’m psyched to make another with a lighter colored, springier yarn. Although I ha...

Originally published August 8, 2014This is a delightfully fun and easy shawl — knitted entirely in garter stitch, dramatic increases that allow it to grow, and very simple short rows that give it this nice swirly shape. I chose an alpaca/merino blend for my yarn, but really this shawl would work well in nearly any fiber content, and any color combination.  In retrospect, I wish I had chosen more contrasty colors for my Colorways #1 and #2 (that’s the seafoam green and the grey, in this case), because I really like the deep contrast of the navy blue. Because the p...

Originally published on September 11, 2015This was a super fun cowl that — appropriately named — took me all summer long to finish! In actuality, the reason I named it the Summer Chevron Cowl is that while it’s long enough to wrap around your neck twice, and has enough alpaca in the mix to keep you warm, the yarn is balanced with both linen and bamboo, which keep it breathable and not-too-hot on those summer evenings. For this pattern, I wound up equal amounts of all 3 colors, as they are distributed evenly throughout the pattern.The pattern is free and can be found right here.  T...

Originally published April 12, 2013Yes!  Don’t you love it when you look at a cone of yarn, take a stab at a pattern to match, and get it right the very first time?  That’s what I did with the Falling Leaves Cowl and our Dorothy yarn.  These two couldn’t have been a better match, the pattern knit up beautifully, without a hitch. Even though there are multiple repeats of this 22-row repeat, they flew by, and the project took satisfyingly close to a full cone of yarn. With just enough left over to make a little mini table runner for the dining room table. Falling Leaves...