First up, I learned to do fair isle this week.  I have only tried this on my own once (winging it) and it turned out nice, but this time I am working from someone else’s pattern and am actually going to produce a pair of socks to boot.  The pattern is Elika, by Heatherly Walker.  The yarn I am using is knitpicks essential and kroy socks.  The pattern is bare bones and basically assumes you already know a lot about knitting socks.  It also includes instructions for a short row heel, which I have learned that I DO NOT LIKE!  The fair isle, on the other hand, is great!!  I can see more fair isle in my future!

Next up is a pair of gloves/mittens.  I have never made gloves or mittens before, so I figured I would make both at once and learn both at the same time.  The pattern is easy enough, but contains errors.  Actually, I expected better instructions in a pattern from Knitty.com, but free is free.  The concept of the fingerless glove covered by a mitten cap is great!  If you want to make a pair of these I suggest these notes as they helped me out tremendously!  So, now I give you the left hand of a pair of Broad Street Mittens by Janis Cortese.

Left Hand Glove

Left Hand Mitten

About a week or two ago the secret knit a long that I put together for the Atlanta Knitting Guild ended.  I designed an original lace pattern for them to knit so they could enjoy the experience of a knit a long and have a pattern (free) to call their own.  The KAL was done exactly like the Secret of the Stole KAL’s, but exclusively for the guild members only.  Here is the resulting pattern.  This pattern will be for sale as soon as we get the photos done this weekend.  If you would like to be notified when the pattern is available please join the Nautical Knitter Designs Yahoo Group.

Blocked and ready for the photo shoot this weekend.

As if knitting wasn’t enough, I also did a bit of sewing this past weekend.  This top is from a Butterick pattern (#4684) and apparently I am a smaller size in Butterick than in Simplicity.  Who knew?  So, this top came out a size or two too big for me.  I do like the pattern though and the next one should fit just right.  This one is being gifted, if it fits and she likes it …

The mail held some wonderful goodies this week as well.  I received 3 new books on my newest interest, socks.  Remember the socks that I just finished that were too short?  Well, I traded them for some awesome hand dyed sock yarn which also came.  Unfortunately, the US Postal Service has not delivered the socks to her yet and I fear that all that hard work may be lost.  If so, I will have to do something to compensate for this lovely yarn she dyed for me.  Snail mail stinks!

Can you tell what is on my list?

Well, if you made it this far in the post you deserve a treat, so for those who have been patiently waiting I can officially say that I have begun test knitting the Secret of the Stole IV!  YAY!  It is probably the coolest pattern I have done to date and I can’t wait to share it with you all.  The yahoo group is not open yet, but you can join the Nautical Knitter Designs group to be notified when it is.  Until then, here is a teaser:

Could it be? Why yes, it is, SOTS IV in progress!

There you have it, my last week or so in a blog post.  I hope your week was just as productive.  Until next time, Fair Winds

This is the day I have been working toward. All this lace knitting that I have not been able to share with you is finally complete and will be revealed within the next two months. The Secret of the Stole III KAL group is now open for new members and now the work really begins. I really love this part though, because it keeps me very busy and invariably learning new things.

If you would like to join the group click on the image and sign up. See you there…

Check out the Nautical Knitter KAL page to find out more about this new knit a long that will be beginning in January.  Please join up and don’t miss out on any of the fun!  In addition, feel free to snag one of these cool new blog buttons Mr. K made for the new KAL.  He is so awesome!

Fair Winds, DK

Being a member of the German knitting yahoo groups is not a new thing for me and I realized the other day while skimming the emails that I was actually reading them in German without a translator. How cool is that? Check out Claudia’s blog and tell her I sent you.

How about some eye candy? Check out what Fleegle just finished. She does such amazing lace work. More photos and details of her progression on this knitted lace shawl can be found on her blog.

Last, but not least, Mr. K has added a pre-purchase link to the Patterns page for the Secret of the Stole finished pattern. The complete pattern will be available in PDF format on December 1, 2007. If you would like to be one of the first to receive this pattern in your inbox or you would like to gift it to someone special, please visit the patterns page for more info.

If you would like to be informed about the next Nautical Knitter KAL you can join the yahoo group Nautical Knitter Designs and you will receive the latest updates on new Nautical Knitter patterns and knit-a-longs.

Update: For those of you interested in the Knitting Daily advertising issue I wrote about last week, there is a link at the bottom of the advertising emails that says unsubscribe from Knitting Daily promotions. I did that and now all I am receiving is what I originally signed up for and that was the blog posts.

I was wondering if there were any knitters out there that are as excited about October 5th as I am? I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

The Secret of the Stole KAL membership closes at midnight (-6 GMT) tomorrow and the first hint is released October 5th. In case you don’t know what on earth I am talking about, although I am not sure how that is possible, I suppose I should post one last announcement. If you or someone you know hasn’t joined up yet, time is of the essence. Here are the details:

• Description: KAL, SECRET OF THE STOLE I
• Group Type: Yahoo Group [ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secretofthestole/ ]
• Starts: October 5th, 2007
• Signup Closes: October 4th, 2007
• Group Close: January 15th, 2008
• Pattern Available: Yes, upon last hint
• Pattern Designer: DK the Nautical Knitter

This is a group for the new Secret of the Stole KAL (knit a long) that is beginning October 5, 2007. Along with knitting a stole, several lucky members will receive prizes along the way. This will be a fun group to learn some new techniques, meet some new knitting friends, and have a great time knitting. Membership will be closing for this group on October 4, 2007.

The stole is a combination of lace and beads and the pattern is by Nautical Knitter. Those who complete the Secret of the Stole KAL will have a beautiful stole to wear for New Year’s Eve festivities

I have decided not to do the “wing” section of the Mystery Stole #3. The theme of this stole is Swan Lake, because the designer developed an asymmetrical design with a pointed shaped end and a feathery wing shape to the other end. I had every intention of completing this stole as designed, but after seeing other’s finished stoles I realized that if I did complete the stole as designed I would probably never wear it.

Sometimes it pays to be behind others working on a project like this because you can see what the finished product will look like before you get there. Having said that, I am not fond of the feathery wing portion of the stole and have decided to follow (somewhat) the designer’s instructions for a symmetrical version.

Once I decided to knit the symmetrical version I wanted to knit this stole all in one piece (no grafting). I have the directions for completing the symmetrical version in all one piece, but as best I can tell the central swirl design is not there and I can’t get my head around charting the decreases to come to the point at the other end. SOOOOO, I am just going to do the two sections separately and graft them together. Stay tuned…..