Gift-A-Long 2018 is Here

It's that time of year again when I am thinking of all the gift knitting/crocheting I want to do and that I should have started months ago! But then I remember that I don't have to despair ... the Indie GAL (gift-a-long) is here and it's the perfect time to set my pattern designing aside and knit/crochet other designers patterns. No need to work the math, think about the stitch counts, or rip out a bunch of times cause it's not working ... the work is done!

GAL 2018 on Ravelry

What is the Indie Gift-A-Long?

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. 

From November 23rd, 2018 at 8:00 pm US EST to November 29th at 11:59pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 10 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Use coupon code: giftalong2018. Find all the discounted patterns in this bundle on Ravelry.

From November 23rd, 2018 at 8:00 pm US EST to December 31, 2018 at midnight US EST there will be fun games, contests, and 8 KAL/CALs that will help you get your holiday knitting and crocheting done with companionship and fun! 


Gift-A-Long Stats

There are 349 designers participating with 6,118 patterns on sale for 25% off until November 29th at 11:59pm US EST.

Both Knit and Crochet patterns are available with 51 crochet designers, 263 knit designers, and 33 designers who create both knit and crochet designs.

Patterns 25% off using coupon code giftalong2018 on Ravelry

I have 20 patterns on sale at 25% off using coupon code giftalong2018. Find those patterns in gift-a-long 2018 bundle here.

I hope you will come join in all the fun on Ravelry. 

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

What's New?

I had a wonderful summer ... the weather was so warm and sunny and my family took a vacation to Europe. So much to see in Italy, I can't wait to go back and spend more time in Rome. It's now November and reality is setting in that Thanksgiving (here in the USA) is next week and Christmas will follow quickly on it's heals. 

I've been busy creating new designs for you to knit and crochet over the last few months.

Yorkshire Throw is a crocheted blanket available from I Like Crochet, an online magazine with many wonderful designs available every 2 months. There's a yearly subscription fee, but you get so many patterns and articles for that small price.

Yorkshire Throw from I Like Crochet

 This blanket is worked with Cascade 220 100% wool yarn in colors Yakima Heather (11 balls) and Antiqued Heather (3 balls) using hook size 7 (4.5mm).

Pattypan is part of a collaboration of talented designers and available exclusively on Ravelry through Stranded Magazine. 

©Andi Satterlund -  Pattypan

The asymmetrical pattern of Pattypan is inspired by the spokes of a ferris wheel. The intricate stitch pattern is balanced by stockinette stitch making this sport-weight cardigan the ideal combination of simple and complex knitting.


Finally, just released this week, is Grand Forks Pullover. Available in Interweave Knits Winter 2018 magazine on the Interweave website or through your local yarn store.

©Harper Point Photography - Grand Forks Pullover

This stranded colorwork pullover is worked with 3 colors of Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair and US8 (5.0mm) needles, top down and in the round. 

And one last note .... the 5th annual Indie Design Gift-A-Long starts on November 21st at 8pm EST. I'm participating again this year and I hope you will join all the very talented designers for heaps of friendly chatter, hundreds of prizes, and beautiful projects. Find out more on Ravelry.

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

5 Tips for Choosing Yarn Colours

If you are planning on knitting/crocheting a garment or accessory that uses more than one colour of yarn, how do you go about choosing which colours go together? I find it much easier to choose if there are only two colurs in my project. Complicated fair-isle or stranded colourwork patterns can seem very daunting unless you work with the exact colours used in the sample.

Here are some tips to help you choose yarn for your next stranded colourwork project.

1. Use a colour wheel

One way to choose colours is to use a colour wheel. On the wheel you can choose whether you want bright, paste., or a more grey colour palette (shade, tint, tone).

Use a colour wheel

Once you've decided on shade, tint, or tone, choose the colour combination you would like. Often technical words like complementary, split-complementary, analogous, and triadic are used when choosing colours. You can use these methods for color choice (and I think it's good to know what they mean), but there's an easier way to choose.


2. Use your favourite shirt

I really like to use fabrics to choose colours. Someone has already done the hard work for me and I can choose fabrics that appeal to me.

Use fabric to choose yarn colours

Take a look at your clothing. I'm sure you have a favourite patterned shirt or skirt. What colours are in it? Can you seehow they work together?

The next time you are out shopping, be sure to look at the patterns and colours of the clothes you like. Maybe even take a few photos to analyze later when you are stuck on which colours of yarn to combine.

Use photos from pinterest

Alternately, look online (specifically pinterest) for those colour charts where the colours are taken out of a picture and combined for you. Harrisville yarn company does a fantastic job at this.


3. Add some drama

Colours on opposite sides of the wheel are complimentary and often cause drama or tension in you project. Choosing two colours that have one colour separating them (like green and blue) and then adding in their compliment (red-orange) makes for an exciting knitting garment. This is called split-complimentary. 

Add a pop of colour

This fair isle sweater is a good example with green, blue and white as the main colours and peachy/pink which is opposite on the colour wheel from the green and blue. Adds just a bit of pop to the design.


4. Vary the values

Vary the values of the colours you choose. If you use all dark colours they just blend together and the pattern doesn't stand out. By choosing a light, medium, and dark colour you are really able to see the 3 colours of yarn work together to make a pattern. You can also add white and/or black to the colour mix.

Vary the values

5. Take a black and white photo

Finally, to see if you have enough contrast between your yarns, take a photo and convert it to black and white. If all the yarns are a similar shade of grey you know that the yarn choice needs to be altered a bit. Try adding a darker or lighter yarn and retake the photo.

Use a black and white photo

In the photo to the right, the teal and peach yarns are similar in shade (as seen in the black and white photo). They work in this design though because they are opposite in colour. That is, they are complimentary or opposite on the colour wheel.

If you are looking for a small knit project to try out these tips you can check out my Stranded Flower Hat knitting pattern.

Stranded Flower Hat knit pattern

Or a crochet pattern to try could be Falling Leaves Baby Blanket which uses 4 colours of yarn.

Falling Leaves Baby Blanket

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

Charlestown Pullover

Photography @harperpointadventures | Stylist @tinamgill | Hair/Makeup @janierocek

This is my latest design ...

Charlestown Pullover published in Interweave Knits Spring 2017. 

Are you feeling adventurous in your knitting? Looking for a challenge? This highly textured pullover will provide the knitter with a challenge of multiple cables and textures being worked on the body and sleeves. Features include saddle shoulder, twisted stitches, cables, and is worked top down.

Photography @harperpointadventures | Stylist @tinamgill | Hair/Makeup @janierocek

Starting at the shoulders, two saddles are worked, stitches are picked up on either side of saddles and front/back are worked downwards to the hem. Stitches are picked up around the arm scythe and the sleeve is also worked downward to the cuff.

A few tips ....

* To help keep track of where each pattern starts and stops, place a marker between each chart. Any mistakes can be easily caught before working to the end of the row or round.

* Make a note of which row you've started the front neck shaping and also the armhole shaping. Then the charts will match correctly when the fronts and back are joined in the round.

Find a tutorial for this stitch in this blog post

Charlestown Pullover ~ Interweave Knits Spring 2017

Charlestown Pullover ~ Interweave Knits Spring 2017

Happy Knitting!

Gift-A-Long 2016

It's starting ... this years gift-a-long on Ravelry and it's something I look forward to at the end of each year. So many indie designers come together for a fun time connecting with our customers through knitting and crochet. And of course there's the SALE and PRIZES that are an incentive for you to join us!

20 of my Patterns on SALE with CODE giftalong2016

What is the Indie Design Gift-A-Long? 

It’s prepping for the holidays as only fiber folks can, with special deals from tons of indie designers!

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by hundreds of independent designers. From November 22nd at 8pm (US-EST) through November 30th at 11:59 pm (US-EST) these indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event.

There are eight KAL/CALs to participate in, prizes of all sorts given out, games, and generally a lot of fun! The Gift-A-Long KAL/CALs will run from November 22nd at 8pm US EST through - December 31, 2016 at 11:59pm US EST. All patterns by the participating designers are eligible for the KAL/CALs and all not-free patterns by the participating designers are eligible to win prizes.

Which Designers are participating? 

There's a list of participating designers with photos here. 
My discounted patterns can be found here.

How do I get the discount?

Just purchase the patterns you want directly from the designers' Ravelry shops between 8pm US EST on Tuesday, November 22nd and 11:59 pm on Friday, November 30th. Put them in your cart and enter the COUPON CODE giftalong2016 at checkout and 25% will be automatically taken off the total price.

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!