I finally found the time to sit down and put together this pattern.  The Atlanta Knitters Guild Secret knit-a-long took place in June, 2009.  Since starting back to school I have not had time to do much designing or editing and so now it is November and the pattern, somehow, is complete and ready for sale.

I have another pattern in the queue and one in the head, so maybe I can stay motivated to get them out for you all soon.  The next Secret of the Stole Knit-A-Long will probably be next year sometime, but I have no idea when.  The two patterns that I have coming up are more narrow in theme and are really not suitable for a “world-wide” knit-a-long.  There will be another one, I just don’t know when.

Here are the links to Galadriel:

Patternfish and    

I hope you enjoy it.  Fair Winds, DK the Nautical Knitter

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

[youtube]itxU0fNtbvo[/youtube]

Here is the list of bags you see in the video and their contents.

Bag #1 – Pattern – Sunflower Designs “Iris“; Yarn – Xie Bamboo Fiber #469

Bag #2 – Pattern – Knitpicks “Rona“; Yarn Knitpicks “Dye your own lace weight” that I dyed in blueberries

Bag #3 – Pattern – Sunflower Designs “Hydrangea“; Yarn – Xie Bamboo Fiber #492

Bag #5 – Pattern – “DaVinci Shawl“; Yarn – Yarn Place “Touch” (this yarn is so soft!!)

The winning bag was #4 – Pattern – Knitting Delight – “Way of Life Stole“; Yarn – Knitpicks “Alpaca Cloud” Moss colorway

If you would like to knit along with me on the winning project, you can find the instructions here.  It is a yahoo group and you have to join to get the pattern parts.  Leave me a comment if you want to knit along with me.  If you don’t, that is ok, just stay tuned to watch my progress.  Catch ya later, I’m off to cast on!!  Whee!!!

On October 18th it will go up to $10.  The pattern is available here.  If you wish to pre-purchase the pattern, a download link will be sent to you on the 18th of October.  The download file contains a complete set of charts and instructions to complete this stole.

I am so excited to have another pattern ready and available for purchase.  This makes 4 patterns in 2 years that I have designed, knitted, and presented to the knitting world.  Go Me!  Ha, Ha…

The next pattern is about halfway complete in the charting phase and is unlike any other pattern I have ever seen on the market.  I hope everyone will be super surprised by it when they see the final piece.  My plan, at the moment, is to release this next pattern for purchase first and then create a knit a long group where members can enjoy and encourage each other’s progress on the pattern.

Thanks for letting me toot my own horn. 

Fair Winds

In the past I have really tried hard to avoid being “tagged” by other bloggers.  However, when my friend, Nathalie, deemed me worthy of this challenge, how could I resist?  So without delay, I present to you, 7 random and/or weird facts about me, in no particular order.

1. If a rabbit will eat it, I won’t.  This includes all vegetables, except corn and potatoes, and ALL fruits.  Mr. K says I haven’t eaten a vegetable in 43 years…
2. Animals I have owned include, dogs, cats, fish, rabbits, a horse, hamsters, chickens, cows, a silver fox, and birds.  The birds I bred and hand fed for sale include, cockatiels, Moluccan, Umbrella and Sulfur Crested Cockatoos, African Gray Congos, and Yellow Collared Macaws.
3. I would have made a great party planner.  I love to organize and create new ways of celebrating things.  Wedding planning would have been the perfect job for me!
4. I hold a cosmetology license from the state of Texas.
5. Dancing is my greatest passion.  I grew up on Polka, but enjoy swing and ballroom just as much.
6. I lived in a converted Greyhound bus for 5+ years.  This bus was a seated coach when we bought it and while we lived in it we converted it to a wonderful motor home.
7. I do not drink coffee.  Love the smell, hate the taste…  Coca~Cola is my drink of choice and I drink it from the time I get out of bed to when I get back in…

Now you know more about me than you probably should.  Identifying “random and/or weird” things about yourself is more difficult than it sounds.  If I thought it was weird, then I wouldn’t do it.  So, something that is perfectly logical to me, is not necessarily sane to someone else.  I am a bona fide risk taker and so, there are not too many things out there that I would consider weird anyway.

Thanks, Nathalie, for the fun introspective look at my oddness.  Here are my blog choices for spreading the goofy web love…

Meezermeowmy’s Weblog

Bammer’s Knits and Blabbers

Scrappy Knitter

Costumechick and Her Mind Control Powers

Knit n Crazee

Quirky Knit Girl

Waterborne – a Live Aboard Blog

Before:

After:

We are looking for articles that are well written, professional in nature, and have a little spunk.  If you think you fit that description just let us know what you idea is and you may see it posted here.  KWU

The knitting chart above is drawn without the “no stitch” squares. If you were to knit this sample, (please feel free to do so) this is an accurate depiction of how your finished knitted sample would “look”. However, if you were to try to knit from this chart, when you got to row 7 you would knit 2, knit 2 together, and yarn over exactly in the same place you had been before. These four stitches and the yarn over on your knitted piece do not actually move one stitch toward the center. So why do the rows get smaller and smaller toward the point of the sample?

Beginning with row seven, do you see the decrease symbols toward the center? These decreases do not have increases that go along with them. Therefore, this is actually where your pattern is “coming together” or decreasing toward the center.

Now take a look at the chart below.

This chart is drawn with the decreasing of stitches where they actually occur. In this chart, the beginning four stitches we discussed above all line up, as they should, on every row. They should also “line up” on your knitted piece. The decreases are happening within the knitted piece itself. To accommodate for the reduced number of stitches on each row as you move up the chart the stitches are charted as “no stitches”. Each row as you go up the chart has two less stitches in it, therefore the “no stitch” space gets larger toward the top of the chart.

So the conclusion to all of this is that a “no stitch” on a knitting chart means exactly what it sounds like. Where you see a No Stitch charted, skip over it and move on down the row, knitting only the stitches that are actually there.

Try it on the sample above. Cast on 25 stitches. Knit three rows of garter stitch and then begin the chart. On the even rows knit 5, purl 15, knit 5. Follow the charts and see if you can “read” what is happening in your knitted piece as you progress.

Enjoy.