One reason I began creating and designing my own clothing was because I had trouble with clothes fitting right off the rack. I was always tall for my age, and rail thin to boot (for the first half of my life anyway). So I learned how to sew. The first pair of pants that I made with a 36 inch inseam were truly a revelation. With my new skills, all that torturous shirt tugging and the constantly cold ankles would be no more!

[caption id="attachment275" align="alignnone" width="450"]<img class="size-full wp-image-275 " title="10thbirthday" alt="" src="https://knitdarling.s3.amazonaws.com/attachments/253/blog/10th_birthday.jpg" /> Standing very tall on my 10th birthday with my friends in our costumes[/caption]

For this reason, I make everything perhaps a bit longer than other people would prefer. As it turns out, not everyone in the world is a giant like me. Who knew? I've had some requests recently for instructions on how to make my Delancey Cardigan pattern shorter. Due to the unusual construction, I do not include these directions in the pattern, but I will try to explain how to do it here.

Below is an excerpt from an email I sent to a very nice lady who wanted a shorter Delancey Cardigan. These directions should shorten the torso section by about 20%.

"These directions assume that you want to maintain the same number of stripes on the body. You should change the stripe pattern to begin on row 21 instead of 29, and have 18 rows of MC between each section instead of 24 rows. The first stripe won’t start right at the center front, but it will look pretty much the same overall.

Follow the directions from the pattern (except the stripe pattern directions) until you get to row #89 (83 for plus sizes), at which point you should skip ahead to row #109 (103 for plus sizes). This should eliminate 20 rows and shorten the cardigan sufficiently.

On the sleeves, start the stripe pattern at the same point it says on the pattern. Again, just do 18 rows in MC between the thin stripe sections.

Also, you’ll need to pick up less stitches for the button band section, but that should be pretty easy for you to figure out. The directions are pretty clear about picking up 4 sts per inch along the front edge."

I hope this is helpful to all of you out there :)

I just realized that I had never introduced this new pattern on my blog, how silly! After the Delancey Cardigan, I really needed something fun and easy, enter Gowanus
(available for sale here).

You can call it a triangular scarf, or a shawl, or maybe even a scarflette (shawlette perhaps?) Whatever it is, I've always wanted to make something like this. I've made other attempts, but none came out so fully formed as this.

I bought the yarn last spring at a really fantastic yarn shop in Manhattan called School Products (no website unfortunately). If you ever get a chance you should definitely stop by. It's always instant inspiration for me.
[caption id="attachment_250" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Photo from Orchidarts on flickr"][/caption]

After knitting the sample I realized that I had done something really stupid. I had no idea who made the yarn. This is apparently a big no-no in the pattern authoring world. The label on the yarn said, "Wool- 50g". I knew where it came from at least so I stopped back by to ask the shopkeeper and he said that he thought it was from an Italian yarn company called "Natural Fantasy". Google was no help either. It's a really beautiful yarn, so I especially regret not being able to give you more information about it. A new sample is forthcoming, so this won't be a problem for too long.

I've been busy working on a new pattern that I plan to release in the next few days. In the meantime I thought I'd post a little sneak peak.





I love blocking so much. It's really like magic. I can take a formless blob and turn it into something crisp and beautiful. I feel like I'm showing my knitting who's boss!





A future rosette. Cute, right?

Delancey Cardigan. This was a whirlwind project that I completed from initial sketches to finished sample and pattern in just under a month. It was really hard work, but very much worth it. It's for KnitPicks independent designer program and will be available for purchase on their website as of today. In addition, I'm offering it for sale here and through Ravelry if that's what you prefer. I'll have more updates as soon as I get a chance to catch my breath!

Recently I was at my friend Laura's house for our Wednesday night knitting club and she plopped a pile of old knitting books down for us all to see. Looking at old patterns is so inspiring! Seeing things through the ridiculous, obviously drug hazed eyes of another fashion era was just what I needed! I had been wanting to design an easier project that didn't involve colorwork when I saw this:

Amazing, right? I know. I was instantly inspired! I just knew I had to do something with that super cool stitch pattern on the white sweater. I had seen that stitch pattern before, but with teeny-tiny yarn and itty-bitty needles, so of course I dismissed it as something for people that don't have full time jobs and very demanding sleep schedules. Not for people like me at all!

With my mind changed, I swatched and swatched and swatched some more. I didn't even care that "swatch" isn't a verb. I did it anyway, and with relish and vigor! This one is ALL about gauge people. So GET IT RIGHT! or all that swatching will have been done in vain.

And what did I come up with? CAPITAL SCARFLETTE!

Check it out, I've designed it with a button-hole band on each side. It's extremely modifiable. You can change it up every time you wear it. The pattern explains how to make a sort of button cuff-link which could be used anywhere, even in the middle parts, of the scarflette. The unusual stitch pattern is surprisingly light and drapey. Buttons easily slip between the large stitches as if through a button-hole. Even though the buttons are so much fun, my favorite way to wear it has been to just pin a big 'ol broach through the layers  in the middle.

This was a super-fast, super-fun project. It's a good way to use up some of those extra skeins of DK weight yarn you know you have laying around. It would also make a great gift! And the best news? You can buy the pattern RIGHT here on my website.

It's getting warmer. Knitting is getting harder. I never get tired of knitting, but I'm having some motivation issues. I hope this post will serve as an impetus to finish something I've put to the side for a while. If you check out the list of what I've knitted over the winter, maybe you'll see what my problem is.

Glove 1- Broccus, frogged
Glove 1- Broccus, frogged, again.
Glove 1- Broccus
Glove 2- Broccus
Glove 3- Broccus for Rachel
Glove 4 -Broccus for Rachel
Glove 5- Red Bud
Glove 6- Red Bud
Sascha hat
Arbuckle hat
Bergen Street Cardigan
Glove 7- Red Bud for knitpicks
Capital Scarflette
County Line Kerchief

So... What's missing? That's right, a glove. Somehow it only took  NINE tries for me to loose interest in this pattern. Tenacity? No, more likely it's a sign of insanity. The time has come. I've got to finish it. It will be a good thing to do while I waiting for more yarn to come in the mail.

The moment I lost motivation coincides with the day it became too warm to wear gloves. It's a confusing time for any knitter. Spring is so inspiring for creative people! Unfortunately, the irony of this particular brand of creative is that it's so darn warm. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

I actually really like this pattern. I originally designed it so I would have something to do over our Christmas trip home to Oklahoma. I wanted something bright and cheery to light up the winter doldrums. Whenever I think of this glove pattern I remember sitting on my Mother-in-law's couch drinking cup after cup of coffee with my dear old friend Elise. Ahh, the good times!

here on my website.

Let's hope that since I wrote it down, I'll feel responsible to finish it. I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

So here it is. My first blog post. This is intimidating stuff, folks! I suppose I should explain myself and my intentions here, right? I want to use this blog as a forum to share my passion for knitting and pattern design. I'll start with a little about myself. So this is my life story as it pertains to fibers.

I started designing my own patterns about 30 seconds after I learned how to cast on, but before that I learned how to sew. In the 8th grade, I learned how to make a pair of boxer shorts in home economics, and thought I might just be able to take over the world! It wasn't long before, my dear sweet mother, with an instinct sharper than even my beloved gingher scissors, gave me her old Bernina 830 sewing machine.

I started sewing everything. In high school I would borrow my friends jeans and copy the patterns. There were prom dresses and Halloween costumes and a veritable MOUNTAIN of pajama pants. I'd stay up all hours of the night figuring out how to fit a collar, working out a welt pocket, or finding out just how big I could make my silly bell bottoms with looking too weird. At 16, I needed a more "social" craft, so I typed "how to knit" into a search engine. I would bring my needles to a party and knit coasters for the host and koozies for the guests. I was an odd duck to say the least!

I got a part time job at Hancock Fabrics Store my senior year of high school, and I really thought I had made it. Hancock's kept the better part of the paychecks they issued me all the way through college too. I graduated with a degree in fine art (painting and pottery) and immediately put that degree to work. I spent 2 blissful years painting my brains out in my beautiful little studio in the deep woods outside of Norman, Oklahoma. Then my husband was offered a job in New York City, and we decided move!

Moving to the city was the hardest, most rewarding thing I've ever done. Now that I'm here, I'm as happy as a clam! I've got a sunny little apartment in Brooklyn, a great job, and some wonderful friends. As a textile print designer by day, and a hand knit designer by night, it's hard, but I also find time to paint too (check it). There's not a minute to lose! I'll be sharing my knitting adventures with you all here on my blog.