All Squared Up

If this is your first time here then you don't know, but if you are a long time follower of All Knit Up Designs then you know I love a shawl that uses up scraps! All those little leftovers are just too precious (and expensive) to just toss. My newest shawl pattern utilizes little bits of leftovers in a fun new way! 

All Squared Up is an asymmetric triangle shawl that's finishing edge is mitered squares! Don't know what a mitered square is, take a look at the blog post here to read about the type of mitered square that I used! 
All Squared Up used a shawl skein for the body (150 grams vs 100 grams) for a generous size to wrap around your neck and then used ~3 grams per square. All Squared Up is the perfect way for you to explore color combinations and palettes that may not be in your everyday accessories.

There is 13 mitered square along the edge which allows for so much color play. The original sample used a variety of leftovers that lean to the blue/green palette. Check out the test projects here and see the wonderful pallets the pattern testers pulled together. I'm particularly enthralled by the version that used a gradient for the mitered squares.

I used a wool/cashmere blend for the main body of the shawl but an fingering weight you are comfortable with around your neck would be great. This shawl can easily be made larger or smaller depending on how much yarn you have. The number does have to be a multiple of 16 if you want to follow all instructions for the pattern. As shown by testers, the mitered squares can be done in a variety of fingering weight leftovers or with a gradient. Raid your stash and see what you can pull together!

What is a Mitered Square?

What is a mitered square? That's what this whole post will be about! A mitered square is a form of knitting that utilizes decreases at certain sections to create a shape. 

Mitered Squares cast on the full amount of stitches for two sides of the square ie cast on 32 stitches for 16 stitches per side and then you decrease on both sides of a center marker. 

There are also options for decreasing two stitches at once instead of on each side of a marker but for All Squared Up, the pattern uses a center marker and then decreases on both sides. 

Mitered Squares can be used in a variety of ways. All Squared Up uses them a the bottom of the shawl for binding off, Scrapbook Cowl uses only mitered squares to create the body of the cowl. 

Mitered Squares really are a fascinating and fun knitting technique that is simple to knit and a great way to explore color. I can't wait to see the color groups knitters come up with for All Squared Up! 

Book Review: This Long Thread

I finished another fiber book! I purchased This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community, and Connection by Jen Hewett at Stitches West this year and I'm so glad I did. It felt sacred reading everyones stories and their history; stories and histories of only makers of color.

Jen's book is based on women of color in the crafting community who she interviewed and surveyed and learned their personal stories with making. My family doesn't have a deep connection to the fiber community, I learned to knit at 14 and my mom learned with me. We took a class and the rest is kinda history, so reading the deep history so many makers had was heartwarming and induced a longing for a deeper practice with making.

The survey questions were personal but also basic and brought so much of the makers personalities out. I felt like I was learning and meeting each maker and I loved it. The makers were a variety of ages and all had different experiences which made it a very nuanced read and didn't feel like it was geared toward a specific generation. 

I would highly recommend this as a read for every maker so that, for white people, there is a better understanding of how makers of color are treated and how they feel, and to realize there is a deep history of crafting for people of color. Although, this book is not a monolith, each maker of color has their own experiences and story, don't ignore what other people are saying. I've included a link above to purchase but also check out your local book, yarn, or fabric shop and see if they have it in stock. 

Valley Snow

 Ya'll should get excited because this pattern is amazing and has wonderful memories that inspired it! Valley Snow is a traditional triangle shape that highlights three different sections of the same lace pattern. 

Let me tell you a the inspiration behind my new shawl pattern. There's an urban legend where I grew up in Sacramento Valley that it only snows once every 10 years. In my 28 years of living there I believe it snowed twice. What did happen every year is the dropping of the almond blossoms which cover the ground like snow. Valley Snow was inspired by the slow drop of petals from the almond trees; the only snow that valley ever really saw. 

For the collaboration I reached out to From Me to Yarn with the inspiration photos below and explained what I was looking for in colors and what shape/patterns I would be using to evoke the feelings and nature of falling petals. 

I was looking for the soft colors of the petals and then slowly getting darker as the shawl gets larger and more lace is added to each section. This color change would represent more and more petals falling through out the season. This is what Jessie sent to me and it was perfect! 

With these colors and the inspiration of falling petals I started working on my design! This was one of the first times that I started with a full drawn picture of the shawl will look like and represent. Usually I'm a bit more freeform with my designing. The end result looks so amazing and accurate than what I imagined! 

Valley Snow uses a fingering weight yarn with approx 900 yards total. If you want the same colors I used Jessie has a kit in her shop with a free shipping code! If a kit isn't in your budget or you already have yarn in stash than any fingering weight would work, though probably not a self striping. I think that a solid or a tonal color would look amazing and really show off the lace transition. 

70s Couch Socks

Yes, I really did name a project the 70s Couch Socks, but come on! Look at the colors! Can't you just see a 70s couch with a crochet blanket thrown over the back and arm covers...I'll wait while you imagine. 

This sock yarn came in a pack that was gifted to me by a friend/previous co-worker who purchased the yarn in Switzerland. She is no a fan of orange, so any yarn with orange came to me! Yay! My sister is going to be so happy with some new socks in her future. 

The yarn is a basic wool/nylon blend from the brand Stabile by Bernetta Wolle. I reminds me of Regia and other German brands of sock yarn, definitely on the hardier side of the scale. Which is perfect for my sister because she seems to wear through socks quicker than anyone I know! 

As with other European sock brands this ball came with a small spool of thinner thread so you can reinforce the areas that wear through quickly. I don't need to reinforce at the traditional spots (the heel) but more along the ball of the foot and into the toes. 

Using the spool along with the regular yarn together resulted in a pretty marled section is the sock that is slightly thicker than the surrounding areas. I'm actually kind of nerdy excited about seeing if these wear better than the other pairs without the reinforcement thread. I'll keep you updated! 

Little Bits

Another pattern, another blog post! I have a new shawl coming out and it uses mosaic knitting! Not sure what mosaic is? Check out my previous blog post here and get a little background. 

Little Bits is my newest shawl pattern! Little Bits uses an asymmetric triangle shaping and mosaic stitches to create a simple stitch pattern that highlights and play with color! 

I used a light main color and then a gradient set (well, part of a gradient set. I kind of deconstructed the sit and picked what I want.) There is 800 yards of the main and 160 yards (30 grams) of contrast for the large size, the small size is 400 yards of the main and 100 yards (20 grams) of contrast. 

I think this would be a great project to use your leftovers if you don't have a gradient in stash! I used a merino cashmere base but whatever base you are comfortable wearing around your neck is perfect for your shawl! Can't wait to see your version! -- Sierra 

Mosaic Knitting, High Contrast - Low Contrast, Why?

Have you knit mosaic style knitting before? Mosaic knitting is a form of color work knitting that only requires you to work with one color at a time. This technique utilizes slip stitches to make the picture/pattern you want to show. 

Mosaic can be an amazing way to show off motifs or play with color but how do you really make it shine? Contrast. Contrast is how you make mosaic knitting shine and really show off the colors you're working with. 

Above are two swatches that show basic mosaic stitches. Just a slip one, knit one technique. Below you will be able to see them in black and white and show how different the contrasts are between the color choices. 

Can you believe the difference?! You can use your camera settings on your cellphone and see your swatches in black and white. Using black and white photography shows the color values of the yarn and how high and/or low the contrast of your colors are. The top swatch is the green and cream combo, the bottom swatch is the black and red. The cream/green is high contrast and the black/red is low contrast. 

When picking yarn for your mosaic piece this black and white camera function can easily show you which combo is best for your pattern. 

You definitely don't have to follow any sort of rule when picking your mosaic yarns. If you prefer a lower contrast combo that is 100% okay! My new shawl sample is definitely on the lower end of contrast vs high, it's what I prefer, and your knitting should be about you! 

Along with contrast in yarns you can also difficulty levels for mosaic knitting. The swatches all featured above are simple slips and knits without difficult patterns or charts to follow. The swatch below was knitted from a mosaic chart and is slightly more complicated previous swatches shown. 

Can you even believe that the bottom swatch only uses one color per row! Mosaic is a fun and different technique than other color works but still leads to really cool results. 

I hope this overview of mosaic makes you more confident to give those patterns a try! All Knit Up patterns that include mosaic are Monticello and Little Bits, take a look at these lovely shawls and give them a try! 

Happy Knitting -- Sierra