Posted in Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitters, knitting, test knitters, test knitting

Hollywood and Vine Ready for Testing!

July greetings!  Hollywood and Vine is ready for testing! Hollywood and Vine is created through cables, twisted stitches, leaves, and a lifted yarnover knot stitch.  It is elegant, light, and warm, and it is large enough to use as a wrap or even as a lap blanket.  I would say that it is likely my most advanced pattern to date.  The knitted-on border is what bumps it up to advanced, and it definitely can be made without that border.

Ha!  If you are still interested in testing it, please go to the Hollywood and Vine test on Yarnpond to learn more or to sign up.  Thank you!!

Hollywood and Vine will be available as part of the Technicolor: Main Event  indie designer collection later this year.  As with our other collaborations, individual patterns will be available sometime after the entire collection has been published.


Shearwater Sweater will be finished with test knitting soon.  I can’t wait to announce its publishing!

This hem makes me very happy.


While I have been struggling with the 2023 pumpkin design, although I think I’m gaining on it, I found this gorgeous yarn yesterday at our local yarn shop, Wild Knits Salem.  I believe it wants to become a cowl that can be made in either of these weights of yarn – using some of the stitches from Hollywood and Vine.

The super bulky is Malabrigo Noventa in Flor de Jade and the DK/Sport is their Susurro in Cian.  I’m very tempted to cast on even though I know I should be working on the pumpkin that is eluding me!!


If you are interested in test knitting Hollywood and Vine, please do let me know or please sign up for the Hollywood and Vine Test on Yarnpond.  Thank you for reading, for encouraging me on my designing journey, and for spending part of your day with me here.

xoxo

Carol

Posted in knitters, knitting, test knitters, test knitting

Shearwater Sweater Ready for Testing!

The design I have been working on since February has been tech edited and it now has a name: Shearwater.   A shearwater is a seabird; it is also the name of a lake and a resort.  It makes me think of the sea – the smell of saltwater and the sound of seagulls.  Who knows, perhaps even a selkie is sunning in a cove nearby.

I mentioned before the similarites to the Ethereal Sweater, with the major difference being that it has no stranded colorwork.  Only one color is ever worked at a time, and the colorwork is created through the use of slipped stitches.

The sweater uses a main color (Dragonfly Fibers Pixie in Captain Nemo) and 10 solid/ semi-solid contrasting colors, along with one variegated colorway.  The variegated colorway magically ties the rest of the colors together and adds an extra something special.  It really makes the sweater sing!

Fading is the technique used to blend the colors one into another.  It’s really quite fun to do, and instructions are included, of course.

The hem and sleeve cuff are worked in another slipped stitch pattern that almost looks woven.  This hem makes me very happy.

If you are interested in testing, please go to Shearwater Test on Yarnpond to get the details and to sign up if you wish.


A very different type of test knit will be coming soon, the Hollywood and Vine Shawl.  This design is part of a designer collaboration, so it will be top secret until the collection is published.  We will test it over on Yarnpond as well.  It has cables and some wonderful Japanese stitches, as well as a picked-up border.  I can share a glimpse of it here.

And finally, the 2023 pumpkin design has revealed itself to me.  (It really is a thing…it’s like with authors whose characters have conversations with them….)

…Anyway, the yarn is purchased, and as soon as Hollywood and Vine is sent for tech editing, it will be on the needles.  It will have two or three colors, but they’ll be treated more like color blocks than any kind of colorwork, and this will be the color at the base – I really can’t wait to get started!:


Ahh, happy to be dreaming of pumpkins!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo
Carol

 

Posted in knitters, knitting, test knitters, test knitting

Little Ethereal Test Knit and Improved Pattern Store

Hello dear friends,

The test-knit for Little Ethereal is open on Yarnpond.  I could still use a couple of testers, if anyone is interested.  Sizes 4-6 yrs and 8-10 yrs are still available.  You can find the test here.

I really love how this little sweater turned out.  It’s just so tiny in this little 0-6 mo size.  As it approaches the larger sizes, the proportions become more like those in Ethereal.

Also, I have improved the pattern shop here on Knit Equals Joy.  I realized after the previous post that you would need to know what you were looking for in order for the previous shop to be very useful, and even so, the drop-down boxes were a pain to use.

The new and improved shop is now found by using the Pattern tab in the navigation bar.  You’ll now see all the patterns at once.  Hovering over each thumbnail provides the pattern name.  There is now a search bar, and you can also filter by tags if you’d like to see all the pumpkin patterns, for instance, or all the lace patterns.  Clicking on the photo will take you to the pattern page with the description of the pattern and the capability to buy now or add to a cart.  Since this is so much easier to use than the previous shop, I’d like to offer 25% off all my patterns purchased through this website through mid-August.  Just use the coupon code shopthewebsite2 at checkout between now and August 15th for that 25% discount.

Thank you, as always, for your support.  Please stay safe and well.

xoxo

Carol

 

Posted in knitting, knitting patterns, sweater knitting, sweater pattern, test knitters, test knitting

News!! News!! News!!

Hi everyone!

I hope this finds you all safe and well!

I’m thrilled to announce that the Ethereal Sweater pattern is now available in Spanish.  Designer Marcela Chang, who hails from Chile, has added pattern translation to the services she offers, so I took her up on it.  Now when you purchase the pattern here on knitequalsjoy.com or on my Payhip or Etsy shops, you will receive two PDFs, one in English and one in Spanish.  I’m looking forward to offering more patterns in Spanish, as well.

Also news – my patterns are now available for purchase right here on knitequalsjoy.com.  I am so happy to offer this capability to you now – it’s at least one step easier than before.  Just go to the Patterns tab in the navigation bar and find the pattern(s) you want.  You can sort under tags and you can also search now.  And to celebrate, use the coupon code shopthewebsite2 from July 25th to August 16th for 25% off.  The coupon is good on all Knit Equals Joy patterns purchased through knitequalsjoy.com.

The last bit of news is that I’ve designed a Little Ethereal. It’s currently in tech editing, and when it is through that process, it will be ready for test knitting. I’ll be looking for a few test knitters who have a little one available who can try on the sweater and also maybe provide some great pictures – because I don’t have any little ones nearby and no grands yet. Additionally, I will be looking for testers who can knit this pretty quickly and who have previously completed test knits. If this sounds like you and sounds like something you would like to do, please email me at knitequalsjoy@gmail.com. I wanted to give my fabulous knitting friends first stab at this, and then will offer the test on Yarnpond.  The sizes are 0-6 mo, 6-12 mo, 1-2 yr, 2-4 yr, 4-6 yr, 6-8 yr, and 8-10 yr, and it is knit in fingering weight yarn.

I have a couple of vacation days coming up, so I’m hoping that I can start working on 2020’s pumpkin design. I have some great yarn for it, and I think it will be a cute but not too difficult addition to the pumpkin patch!  Now that Little Ethereal is written up and out of my head, I’m starting to get excited about pumpkins and the 2020 Pumpkin-A-Long!  I hope you will join in!!!

xoxo

Carol

 

Posted in sweater knitting, sweater pattern, test knitters, test knitting, yarnpond

Join me on Yarnpond!

Hi everyone!  Happy 2020!!

The Ethereal Sweater is finally ready for test-knitting.  Ethereal is knit top-down, it’s seamless, and it has fun and lovely details like a vertically striped collar, a slipped stitch yoke in two colors, and a split hem.  The cuffs and the hem share one of my favorite textured stitches, the rice stitch – in a single color on the hem and two colors on the cuffs.  It is written for sizes 28-62 in. (bust).

This pattern is one in which choosing your colors is half the fun.  It works equally well in a monochromatic scheme as it does in a complementary scheme.  Speckles are great fun in either the main color of the contrasting color – or both.

Here’s a sneak peak of Ethereal:

Join me over in Yarnpond if you are interested in test knitting Ethereal.  Yarnpond is a website that was created specifically to provide an online platform for test knits.  Not only will I list my testing calls there, but members will have access to lots of designers looking for testers.  It’s the perfect match!  <3

The test for Ethereal is here: Ethereal test.  You have to be registered as a member to access the test, but it’s easy and free to register.  You can sign up to be notified when I have tests by going here: Knit Equals Joy on Yarnpond.  I hope you will sign up if you’re interested in test knitting in the future…the 2020 pumpkin will make its debut there first!

Have a wonderful week!

xoxo

Carol

Posted in colorwork knitting, Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitting patterns, sweater pattern, test knitters

Test Knitters Wanted!

Hi Dear Knitters!

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the time of year when school is over or nearing its end, the flowers are blooming, and the temperatures are warming!

The Willamette Valley Tee is finally completed and photographed.  I love how it looks on my friend Hydie.  She’s so adorable and she’s an artistic soul herself.  I think that shows in these pictures.

It has also gone through its first set of tech edits and is currently awaiting the final okay. Before the pattern can be published, however, it also needs to be test-knitted.  A few lovely friends are testing it for me.  These friends are wonderful test knitters, and their sweaters will be knit lovingly and well.  However, I am looking for 2 more colorwork knitters to knit the size small (32-34 inch bust measurement).

The size small has about 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches positive ease built into the pattern.

The sweater is knit in the round, top-down, on size 4 circular needles using fingering weight yarn.  The pattern calls for 10 colors, but fewer colors may be used.  It also would be great for stash-busting.

If you are interested in testing the pattern or would like further information about test knitting, please contact me.  You can leave me a message here on the blog or I can be reached at knitequalsjoy@gmail.com.

More pics from the photoshoot:

Hydie 13 resized

Hydie 8 resized

I just love colorwork!!!

With sincere gratitude,

Carol

Posted in Color, Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitters, knitting, knitting patterns, test knitters

Color Bliss Sweater

Greetings, dear knitters and creative friends!  It has been a while since I’ve posted, and that’s because I’ve been working madly on the Color Bliss Sweater design.

Color Bliss is a seamless, top-down yoked sweater. Color is its defining design element: beautiful, happy, joyful color. The pattern is written for 8 colors, but any number of colors may be used. The colors in this first version were inspired by a ready-to-wear sweater I bought for my son when he was in high school – I just loved these colors in this order.

I’m now making a second Color Bliss, using a palette of greens, purples and blues.  I’m loving this palette and can’t wait to finish this one!

The pattern is written for ten sizes, for chest measurements of 36-54 inches. It has been tech edited and is now being test-knit. We are testing through the end of April in my Ravelry group, and it’s a bit like a knit-a-long. I am looking for a few more testers; let me know if you are interested.

Check out #colorblisssweater on Instagram to see the great sweaters that the amazing testers are knitting and to check out their gorgeous palettes!