Since posting the other day The Genius Of The Place all about the inspiration behind my wool bag & basket collection, I have managed to simplify everything, get the pattern finished and photographed the groupings.
And so what that means is…
Maiya’ Kma Wool Basket & Bag collection is live!
On Ravelry HERE.
I’ve been picking up the pace with the knitting in the last few days, ramping up for a new design. Here at the start, with many prototypes ahead yet to knit, and many winter hours spent in pattern writing concentration, I’m going for it again. More to come, most definitely.
I am really astonished at how time speeds along. Tomorrow is the seventh birthday of Jenjoyce Design! That is, January 25th 2013, I submitted my first pattern to Ravelry, a free pattern, and new projects of it continue to get knit about the place. I have kept things moving forward with JJD very slow and steady, taking my time trying for the most artful and original designs that I can manage, and opting out of all the crazy marketing, video presence… etcetera … and have just stuck with the old-school blogging. Wanting to rely only on myself, I choose to wear all the hats in the indie design process, keeping it modest and within my ability. I suppose I have been doing well enough for a hermit knitter enjoying the quietude of her woods hermitage, I can’t really complain about anything, and have mountains of gratitude for everyone who has encouraged me, keeping up appearances in Jenjoyce Design Group on Ravelry, commenting here on my blog, and test knit the new designs ~~ you know who you are, and thank you!
(( Oh, and I am having a very brief pattern give-away celebration just for part of today over on Ravelry here in case you want to join in the celebration! Edit In: Now Closed))
This is what seven years looks like . . .
Solstice Lanterns is a colorwork tam with original motifs depicting lit lanterns glowing in the festive time of deep winter when the earth takes a nap and we all make merry.
Jolly wee lanterns hang in the base of the crown above the ribbing, and the color changes are close together so you can carry the colors upward without having to snip the yarns, making the finish work of weaving in ends minimal . . .
. . . and elegant chandelier lanterns in the upper crown, cozy with scrolls and checking and the detail of the lights casting a glow is rather delightful . . .
However, as these sort of things go, it doesn’t much matter what they are, because the kaleidoscopic affect of the design is quite transfixing. I knit this tam in a lovely Elemental Affects Shetland 2-ply yarn , which I am a big fan of. But by the time knitters are able to get their yarn to needles for this, it will likely be only a few weeks left to the Winter Solstice .
So speedily gather your Shetland 2ply yarns of choice, cups of tea, mugs of coffee, plates of baked goodies, and a lot of spiritual calm and please do knit one of these up for yourself before the holidays are past.
Poetically speaking, the lanterns have a deeper meaning for me, and that is ~~ a light in the dark is hope, and from our hearts shines a beacon for the future.
The pattern is available HERE.
♥ ♥ ♥
Now, just in case you are thinking, what about the grey-scale tam that I knit up in Jamiesons Spindrift ? Well, it is a bit of dark humor (excuse the pun) as I knit it during a Public Safety Power Shut-off during a very windy few days in October (power lines and wind are a major cause of wildfires in California) , and which in fact lasted a week in the mountainous areas north of the bay. Then, due to falling trees there have been still more power outages, and furthermore, the power is OUT as I post this!!! With a bit of irony, I introduce to you my slightly sinister ” Lights Out In California ” . . .
Adorned with a tidy wee felted toorie which I made & posted about yesterday . . .
Equally as good looking as the festive prototype! However, now that I’ve posted the “Lights Out” version, I have a mind to stitch in colored lights. I’ll think about it. In the mean time, please do check out all the details of Solstice Lanterns over on Ravelry, as it is now live! Thank you ~ xx Jen
From The Archives: January 2012 “Paws”
On the eve of the Summer solstice I am celebrating fourteen years
of Walking With Emma.
From The Archives: July 2018 “Out Walking”
And as Emma naps beside me at my feet, I am enjoying coffee in the pause of a cool morning, putting finishing touches on the pattern pdf. You see, I have been knitting Ten At A Time socks with an impossible deadline to finish, and as the time for knitting lessens while the house rebuild work increases, I have jubilantly decided to put the pattern & photos together “as is”, and get it submitted today.
An ensemble I am naming “Walking With Emma”.
Eight socks, one pattern.
(( click image below for enlarged detail ))
Walking With Emma is a collection of classic cables & ribs. If knit with a rustic wool they are the quintessence of country socks, and so befitting of wandering in the rural spaces, as I have with my dog Emma! And if made with fine to very-fine yarn, these socks can be as elegant as any occasion could ask for. Four classic cables in a progression of 1/1, 2/1, and two variations of 2/2 cable cross, as well as four plain ribbed variations, making eight ways to knit a sock. This is an epic sock pattern for me because not only do I give it four charts, but six sizes to fit men, women, teens & kids…. and…. the pattern includes a gauge substitution chart so that you can use several weights of your favorite yarns, from rustic hand-spun to fine fingering, and even lace weight!
Please go get the latest pattern and set yourself in motion walking (or sitting) while knitting one or two or three or more of this collection . . .
pattern is live on Ravelry HERE.
In closing, I’d like to mention that Emma and I are still “walking together” as you can see posted over here, and we will greet the Summer Solstice this way! Please click through this epic slideshow and view some great photos I have taken over the years, out trail-making and walking with Emma in our mountain landscape …
A year and a half ago I wrote a rather traditional feather & fan lace motif into a simple cowl pattern to be available either by itself or in an e-book collection of three cowls, and for this lace prototype I used yarn “Road To China Light”. It was not meant to be by itself anything amazing or noteworthy, but it appears to have meandered its modest way into the Indie Designer Patterns on the Fibre Co. website. I am quite pleasantly surprised, and have excitedly come to spread the news first to Yarnings readers!
I must confess, this is a first for me, and it has brightened everything on this drizzling cold mountain today. So, I have decided to make myself another celebratory lace cowl with some more Fibre Co. Road to China Light yarn, and I have been absolutely craving one in greyish teal or plum…
Yarn weight: Sport Skein weight: 50 g
Fibre: 65% baby alpaca, 15% silk, 10% camel, 10% cashmere
Also, I am gifting this pattern (for a very limited time) to anybody who would like to knit one along with me, in whatever yarn you desire…
Edit In : Pattern give-away is closed. Thanks to those who joined in!
I will be posting my lace cowl in whatever yummy color of Fibre Co. yarn I end up choosing and show progress reports on it in forthcoming posts , and I do honestly hope to see you & your project pop up over on Ravelry!
I’m going through my numerous button jars, sifting and splashing about, trying to decide which one to finish the latest vest… I really love the wild cat-eye buttons in square one, but there are tragically only three, and the … Continue reading
