cable knitting

cable knitting, knitting pattern, shawl knitting

Calla Lily Wrap Now Available for Individual Purchase

Posted on January 1, 2023January 15, 2023 by Carol

Calla Lily Wrap, which was designed as part of the Technicolor: Matinee collection, is now available for individual purchase on Etsy, payhip, LoveCrafts, and here on knitequalsjoy.com. The whole collection is also available on payhip and ravelry.

About Calla Lily:
Inspiration – 1930s & ‘40s Romantic Comedies

My husband is a film buff. He follows the work of a director or an actor from earliest to latest work, then moves on to another. Through his influence (and because I’m often knitting while he’s watching a film), I’ve enjoyed many movies I would never have seen otherwise.

Calla Lily Wrap is inspired by Art Deco fashion, which flourished in the 1930s and earlier. In madcap comedies like Bringing Up Baby, elegant accessories reigned, whether the characters were larking it up on the golf course or traipsing around the countryside. No matter what my daily life looks like, I can imagine myself wearing those beautiful silks and organdies and handling obstacles with panache. Wear Calla Lily draped over one shoulder Katharine Hepburn-style or clasped around the neck.

Calla Lily is knit flat in worsted weight yarn, bottom-up and sideways, with increases along one edge only. The cabled panel is an engaging motif, and garter stitch comprises the rest of the wrap. The finished piece measures 32x42x53 inches.

LL Yarn Co. provided the yarn for my Technicolor designs, both of them in the colorway Golden Hour. Even the name of the colorway is fitting for the theme, as the golden hour is a favorite time for filming for many a photographer and cinematographer. The play of light in this colorway, along with the fabulous hand of the LL Yarn Co. Worsted, provided for a delightful experience in designing this wrap. My second Technicolor design will follow in the Technicolor: Movie Night collection, being published sometime this year.

My movie playlist to accompany knitting Calla Lily:

Bringing Up Baby, 1938. Featuring Cary Grant searching for an Intercostal clavicle, aided and interfered with by Katharine Hepburn.

The Philadelphia Story, 1940. Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart. Need I say more?

It Happened One Night, 1934. An early – and classic – romantic comedy, known for “the walls of Jericho.”

May you have a happy and healthy 2023. I wish you time with friends and family. I wish you time to spend in creative pursuits and with everything that brings you joy.

xoxo

Carol

knitting, knitting pattern, poncho, sweater pattern

Willow, Bold, and the next thing

Posted on April 6, 2019April 6, 2019 by Carol

This weekend, our weather app predicts 100% chance of rain. Usually they’re not so certain and like to hedge their bets a bit, but rain must be a pretty sure thing around these parts today and tomorrow. (And, actually, it’s pretty much been raining non-stop since I started the first draft of this post earlier this morning).

This changes my plans somewhat, but it’s always a pretty safe bet that my weekend forecast includes chance of knitting: 100%.

You may have seen that I recently published Willow.

The name Willow evokes all things graceful: willows are strong and elegant, and, well, willowy. I find myself wearing my Willow often. It’s great to throw on when I get home from work in the evenings; I often get chilled, but if I can get my shoulders warm, the rest of me is warm, and Willow does that for me.

Willow is worked flat using bulky/chunky weight yarn, then seamed together with two quick seams. There’s even a tutorial for the seaming, here: Cabled Poncho Seam. This would be a great pattern for someone just starting out with cables.

Beth made this beautiful purple Willow.

I love what she says about her Willow:

I finished my Cabled Poncho test knit for @knitequalsjoy and I LOVE it! I thought I wasn’t a poncho person…turns out I just hadn’t found the right one. I knit mine in @blueskyfibers Extra, (alpaca and merino blend) which has beautiful drape and will keep me warm! And of course, it’s purple.

Such beautiful knitting! Thank you, Beth!

Currently in testing is Bold…with undertones of chocolate. Now, whether you interpret that as referring to coffee or to beer is up to you!

Bold is an oversized sweater knit top down, seamless, and stockinette-side-out. It took a bit of engineering to get the sweater to be reversible and to include a giant cable, so I was thrilled when I was able to make it work. If the ends are worked in carefully, the sweater truly is reversible, and can be worn with either the stockinette or the reverse stockinette side out, depending on your whim.

The pattern will be available for 5 sizes ranging from 32-50 in. (bust measurement). If in between sizes, one can choose from the actual finished sizes for the best fit. It’s worked on size 8 and 9 needles, so it’s a pretty quick knit.

I’ve worn my Bold to work a couple of times and have felt like a million bucks in it each time.

The pattern should be released sometime in the summer or early fall.

Finally, I’m working on a new sweater design. I recently found this yarn by Yama Fibre Arts and was smitten by its colors and textures. This is the YAMA Merino Linen Singles in Grey Sage and Nomad B3.

I’m using the two colors together. It’s a subtle contrast, and I love it, but I can see this sweater in so many different color combinations.

A few designs seem to write themselves (like last year’s Autumn Spice Pumpkin ) – and this one seems to be doing that as well. I think the color, fiber content, and spin of the yarn must suggest what will work for the yarn. It doesn’t always happen; sometimes the yarn puts up a stubborn and dogged fight against my ideas for it, but that’s another story…

This is worked in fingering weight and small(ish) needles, so it will be in the works for awhile before it’s ready for testing. I’ll probably be posting lots of progress pictures on Instagram, so you can catch those in either the Instagram feed or the Knit Equals Joy Facebook page.

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and that the chance of rain wherever you are isn’t 100%! Maybe your chance of knitting is.

xoxo

Carol

cable knitting, design, fashion, Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitters, knitting, knitting pattern

Cabled Poncho Pattern Now Available

Posted on March 18, 2019September 13, 2020 by Carol

Hello dear knitters,

I am so pleased to introduce my newest design, Willow. I designed this poncho as a sort of “shoulder hug” to keep my shoulders and upper arms warm but leave my hands and arms free. I also wanted dramatic cables and a pretty edging.

I used baa ram ewe Dovestone Natural Chunky, a light and lofty single ply yarn, which showed the cables amazingly. The cables truly popped using the Dovestone.

This poncho is pretty easy to knit if you have done cabling before. If you haven’t done cables, this is a good one to learn them on.

Probably the most daunting part is constructing the poncho, but I made a little conceptual model that you can actually cut out and tape together to see where to make the two short seams. It’s sort of like paper dolls! I don’t know whether anyone will want to use the model, but I found myself referring to it when seaming my own poncho.

Sometimes seams can be scary, so I put together a tutorial (some written instructions and a 3-minute video just with music, no speaking) here: Cabled Poncho Seam. There’s also a link to the tutorial in the pattern.