Wrapped in Color

The vast majority of my 20s I spent living in cardigans. I was in college, working at the yarn shop, and working with kids. They are easy to through on and off as I get hot and add just a little extra to an outfit. Now that I'm in Washington and it's much colder and most of my time is spent working from home I don't throw them on as often, I reach for a shawl more readily than a cardigan. 

BUT! Shawls don't always stay in place like I want them too and it drives me nuts to constantly pull them up and over my shoulder. The 3/4 shape that is used in Wrapped in Color is my new obsession to throw on when I'm at home working. 

Wrapped in Color features a fleck stitch that is a four row repeat and adds just a bit of texture to the body of the shawl and then a wide mosaic border. The original sample uses a gradient mini skein kit for the mosaic section but is designed to use leftovers, random mini skeins, or a kit you have in stash. The main body color works best as a tonal or solid to really show off that fleck stitch. 

Wrapped in Color is a long lasting knit, using close to 400 grams of fingering weight. I did have testers that used a heavier weight yarn for colder weather and a faster knit. You can check out the different test knit samples on Ravelry. 

Me Before Brioche

Two color brioche can be so intimidating! Not only with funky looking abbreviations but also with RS, slide, RS, Turn, WS, slide, WS, turn...what the heck do those mean? Me Before Brioche is my latest shawl pattern and it's the perfect stepping stone into two color brioche. 

Me Before Brioche is designed using the same two color garter technique that two color brioche uses. First you knit the RS of your work, then slide your work back the beginning needle, then you'll work the RS again with your contrast color. Once you've completed your RS again then you turn your work to start using the WS. 

Why this shawl before brioche? If you already understand the mechanics of working each side twice then it won't be intimidating at all to approach the technique with brioche added in. 

Using two color garter you can create your own fades/gradients using mini skeins or leftovers from your stash. This effect can blend colors that look good together but aren't a gradient into a smooth transition gradient that will create stunning color effects. Me Before Brioche is a crescent shapes shawl which will wrap smoothly around the neck and ends with an i cord for clean finish. 

The original sample used 7 mini skeins of 37 grams each for a total yardage of 931 yards of fingering weight. The pattern itself is designed to use the amount of grams you have per skein so even if your grams weight is different than what I used it will still work out. Although the original sample and the pattern are written for fingering weight by adjusting your needle size you could knit it with sport or dk weight as well! 

I hope Me Before Brioche gives you confidence to move on to trying two color brioche and helps you play with color. Take a dive through your stash and see what you can come up with! 

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

We came to sell and did we ever! I love attending a new show because All Knit Up Designs is new for so many people! I enjoy talking about the process of my designing and how each design leads to the next one. 

My Mom and I have been to OFFF before as shoppers and I enjoyed it just as much as a vendor. There is a certain camaraderie that happens when you're selling at a fiber arts event. You're all there to sell your products but you're also surrounded by people who understand the amount of love, passion, and work that has gone into your business. It's not really a competition because everyone has their own style and customer base. With that, I'm usually one of the only designers there so I can't really speak from the dyers perspective on competition. 

Fiber events are also about creating contacts for your business. I usually come away with cards of people I'd like to collaborate with and handed out lots of cards to people who are contemplating wholesale. 

The Oregon fiber enthusiasts were lovely and full of praise for my designs. I can't wait to see which one's they knit up! The Scrappy Booklets were a big hit, I love that everyone is inspired by them. All Knit Up Designs debuted our signature scent created by Kaitlin of Woolin & Co. Citrus Mint is now available as a wool wash bar and a body bar. I hope this post fave you an inside into vending and made you want to attend your next local festival. Hopefully you'll be able to visit OFFF next year!

Reverse Socks

The start of my designing career (when I think about it) starts with Color Riot. But, I started designing sock patterns before that! Sock patterns allowed me to practice my design writing, fitting stitch patterns into certain parameters, and how to photograph knits to really highlight them. 

I went back to my roots on my latest project and worked my Reverse Socks pattern in a new colorway! You can out the original blog post about the Reverse Socks here. My new yarn was the exclusive colorway from Nano Stitch for Red Alder Fiber Retreat in Tacoma WA. I actually cast on these at Red Alder but it has taken me this many months to actually finish them. 

Although it's taken me this long to finish them I love how they turned out. I'm excited to stick my feet in them as the fall weather has hit Port Angeles in full force! I followed my Reverse pattern as written but added a contrast heel in. I wrote the pattern as a needle ambiguous pattern but I used a 9inch circular which is my preferred method. I hope this updated sample inspires you to knit a pair of Reverse Socks!

What is a knitting summit?

You may have seen (since 2020) posts, links, podcasts, etc. talking about knitting summits and having no idea what it is. Let me tell you! 

An online knitting summit is a meeting of the minds of knitting teachers from all over the world who come together and give you a short informational class about a knitting (or fiber) topic. The topics can range from beginning (learn to cast on) to advanced classes about colorwork and seaming! 

I taught at my first one in Feb 2024 and I was asked to teach an another! 

Knit Your Own Adventure Summit has over 20 teachers gathering to give you knowledge on knitting. I'll be teaching an Introduction to Mosaic Knitting, which is a technique I love and design with frequently. Many wonderful designers I know are participating and you are in for a real treat. You can take a look at the summit website and see if you have any interest in the classes. Visit the link HERE for the website and sign-up. 

Flock Fiber Seattle WA 2024

The first weekend of August was wild! After months of prep Flock Fiber arrived to Seattle! This was the second year of Flock but the festival completely changed venue and almost doubled the amount of vendors. 

The amount of wonderful fiber enthusiasts was astonishing! Never before have we been that busy in one day. So many people came to the booth who had seen All Knit Up Designs at trunk shows and previous shows around the area and I appreciated every single on of you. To have so many people come and appreciate my designs and love on my bags induced so much joy. 

I debuted two new products at Flock Fiber; a new booklet focused on texture patterns and a kit for my textured Henness shawl. It's lots of fun bringing joy and new ideas to knitters. 

I definitely will be at Flock next year as this event is close to where I live. Hopefully All Knit Up Designs will bring new patterns, ideas, and bags to even more makers. 

Now that I'm home, the shop has been updated with all the bags and kits that came back. Were you able to attend Flock? Will you be back for 2025? 

Granny Stripe Blanket

As most of you know (if this is your first time here then welcome!) I am a knitwear designer. Iknit. But occasionally I throw in crochet but it's pretty much only a double stitch striped blanket, Hereby referred  to as Granny Stripe Blanket. 

This is actually my second one but his one is larger and has double rows of each color instead of a single row like my original. My double granny stripe was crocheted with all fingering weight yarn leftovers and mini skeins with a US C crochet hook. 

This granny stripe is made using a double crochet (US term) cluster stitch and was nice and meditative. I'm loving have this memory blanket on my bed, the smaller one is on my couch! I found this a fun alternative to a mitered square blanket and it was nice to play with yarn but not have to knit.