Calla Lily Wrap by Carol Herman. Photo by Avi C. Dascaloff

Calla Lily Wrap

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Pattern Related, Q&A Leave a Comment

The next release in the Technicolor: Matinee eBook is Calla Lily Wrap by Carol Herman (aka Knit Equals Joy). I love Carol’s blending of highly textured sections with easy sections. Curiously enough we both picked the same pattern from the 4 to use and were both inspired by Katherine Hepburn! 1. Which came first, the movie or the design?  The design came first, based on the stitches our group of designers selected.  My original hope had been to come up with a colorwork design, but our choice of stitches ruled that out.  Once the design became concrete, it led me to think of Bringing Up Baby and other madcap romance/comedies of the 1930’s and ‘40’s. 2. Is your design something …

Steam Heat by Laura Patterson

Steam Heat

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Designers, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Pattern Related, Q&A Leave a Comment

The next release in Technicolor: Matinee is Steam Heat by Laura Patterson.  We may have totally different design processes, but one thing we do both love is jazz in movies… especially when sung by power-house singers! More about how this relates to Laura’s design in the essay section of Technicolor: Matinee ;-).   1.  Which came first, the movie or the design The movie. Actually, a set of movies came first. Starting with old black and white movies, and progressing to pictures that are much more current. Parts of each of these movies shared a feeling, a theme as it were, in a certain kind of scene. 2. Did the movie play a role in your yarn or yarn color …

Silvia Needs a Bag

Silvia Needs a Bag

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Designers, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Knitting Events - KALs, MKALs, UMALs, etc., Pattern Related, Q&A Leave a Comment

The next release in the Technicolor: Matinee eBook collection is Silvia Needs a Bag by pattern engineer, Christine Guest.  Christine’s designs fascinate me!  She incorporates such incredible detail scientifically proven to work together in beautiful artistry.  I’ve had a few peeks into her process and her pile of swatches to get everything perfect is mesmerizing!  I’m also privileged to be test knitting an upcoming release of hers, a men’s sweater, and am loving her attention to detail.  The care she takes to make sure patterning develops in a beautiful method even when doing something like increasing for a sleeve – wow!  But you’ll hear more on that a little bit later.  For now, Christine was kind enough to let me …

Puppy dog eyes

FOYAL Question

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Q&A Leave a Comment

It’s almost that time of year again. Soon I too will be picking out my cast ons, but before it begins, I wanted to know what you have your eye on! Email me (knitecochic at gmail) with your favorite 5 patterns and help me create my FOYAL sale bundle! Any patterns or eBooks posted on my Payhip shop are eligible for voting this year. (And yes, I’ll be running the sale on Payhip and Ravelry, but my Payhip shop is smaller, so please check that link when voting for the pattern you want to see included in the sale.)

Tassels

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Hems and Ends, How-Tos, Pattern Related, Q&A 2 Comments

Tassels and plant-based fibers can tend towards a bit of a love-hate relationship.  Love the look, but do they ever tatter quickly!  Without the natural felting abilities of wool and depending on the yarn twist, what looked lovely, can, after just one wash look like it was chewed to death by an active Great Dane 😉. Don’t fear there are solutions! The “ends” feature in the new release, Autumn Sense, in our Hems and Ends year showcases one very easy solution… Don’t cut the yarn… leave them loopy! Cut, bead, and knot – okay, I know this is fringe and not a tassel, but you can use it on tassels, too.  If going this route, you may wish to decrease …

Summer Hideaway Tank close up

Around the Arm Openings of Summer Hideaway

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Pattern Related, Q&A Leave a Comment

An interesting conversation came up during the testing / TE period of Summer Hideaway.  How can the same pick up around the arm opening result in the tank and sleeved versions having two different lengths on the schematic?  If the pick up stitch count is the same, shouldn’t the schematic be the same? It’s really a nerdy answer, but in short, the proof is in the pudding.  See the difference when they are laid one atop of the other? The reason is it isn’t just a matter of the pick up stitch count, it also depends upon what happens to those stitches after you pick them up. On the tank, the stitches are picked up and immediately bound off (loosely!). …

Floral Chic tip

Tips for Floral Chic

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Pattern Related, Q&A Leave a Comment

Creating petals and leaves in stitches was an unexpectedly fun experience, but also one with a lot of frogging.  So, as I travel the journey back through the process, here are some tips for you to succeed the first time through! Tip 1: picking yarn colors – check the grey scale. I asked Diane at Eco Stitch to pick out the colors for me with the caveat that they were 2 color families – I picked pinks or purples and green – and they were highly contrasting.  Here is what she surprised me with! Checking the colors out on grey scale reveals the amount of contrast between each color. When picking your colors make sure you have a contrast between …

circa 2013 - yep I was into intricate even back then!

How Does Your Garden Grow

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, eco world, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Pattern Related, Q&A, Stitch in Focus Leave a Comment

Stashing down for the move to Maine, I came across this beautiful skein of 100% cobweb weight linen yarn from a discontinued yarn company. It has been in my stash for years! And over the years I’ve tried to make several different design concepts from it. But nothing really stuck.

CC mini bubbles chart

Extra Bubbles

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Designers, eco world, How-Tos, Into the Unknown (2022 theme), Pattern Related, Q&A 2 Comments

Into the Unknown has been a year of unexpected blog customizations.  The newest release, Bubbling Interplay, has some fun options to reveal too!  At the bottom, a bubble of a different kind invites you outside to play. Same amount of yarn, more bubbles Little Bubble CablesIf you’d like even more bubbles on your Bubbling Interplay and follow the charts, print up these two snippets and paste them anywhere you want where there is 6 plain Garter in a row for 3 rows.  (Thanks to Denise who asked for even more Bubbles… more of the ones sized in the pattern won’t fit, but these little gems will!) Written additions – mini bubbles cover 4 sts with 1 st on either side …