10 Gorgeous Gradients
Wow, 2020 is almost hindsight! With the wild ride the world-wide pandemic is, I’m so thankful for the vivid colors of “gorgeous gradients” to awaken each release. As I prepare for the nephew invasion (which will see us here until the New Year), let’s recap what 2020 brought to your knitting needles.
Love Moebius – kicking off our 2020 Moebi Knits Pattern Club, Love Moebius married a moebius cast on with double knitting fun. I so enjoyed the KAL and seeing all your projects! Thank you for making my first Pattern Club a success!!
String Theory Moebius – emotional distress expressed in stitches, remembering back to my sick boy and how he struggled. My utter absorption in his needs hour by hour left me with only enough energy to knit a mega skein into an I-cord. The hand dyed organic cotton and bamboo from Fearless Feet Fibers brought the gorgeous blues I love most to brighten the moments between the clean ups. With the publication, he was still struggling, but on a good day his indomitable spirit bounced along, stick in mouth, to shoot in the snow with me.
The Stacks – sneaking gorgeous gradients in through a finishing touch, the glass beaded fringe draws this illusion knit into our theme year. One of my favorite “shoot” story designs, I’ll never forget the road hike to Table Rock, the not quiet making it, and the joys, laughter, and time with camera mom in the trying. The design is pretty special too! With yarn from Eco Stitch across the pond, this easy illusion pattern creates a wrap perfect for weddings and backyard bbqs, alike.
Milady Admiral – with great admiration to the doctors and nurses who bravely stepped in when the pandemic hit, Milady Admiral lands butterfly kisses upon hands that heal. When I see this pattern, I will always remember the words of the Samaritan’s Purse field hospital in New York’s central park. The trials to save each life, the joys of success, and the hardship of seeing others pass. At the same time in my own life, this was the beginning of the turning point for Puddles. Yes, from October to May he was sick on a daily basis! At the beginning of summer we started to see a few days of wellness interspersed between the days of sick. My precious boy was turning a corner and not just an “it’s snowing outside adrenaline boost” kind.
Offshoot Shrug – the Daylily color way from The Unique Sheep with it’s orange end was so incredibly outside my color comfort zone that I was determined last year to craft a halter with it. I had reserved my favorite end of the gradient for the upcycle project as a treat for stretching my color limits. But to my surprise, Cultivation became one of my favorite designs to wear in the heat of the NC summer with Puddles, of course! So, a double win happened this year, designing Offshoot – I got to use the gorgeous purple and pink end while enjoying the coolness of the halter. I shall also remember this design for the input of my teacher (Jill Wolcott) on the front trim. I knew the design needed something, but wasn’t sure what. Her suggestion brought it to completion beautifully… and with just enough yarn to see it realized! The structure of breaking KEC tradition and making the trim an addition rather than contiguous helped to keep the trim in place… even when chasing down a certain playful pup.
Beach Bum – talk about going out of your comfort zone… a beach cover up! When I had the idea for the Pattern Club I didn’t quiet think through the fact I am my own model. I was enthralled with thinking up different and fun uses for the moebius cast on. Funny how that bit about modeling it didn’t strike consciousness until I hit the lace bit while knitting the design. Camera mom came through in a big way making for a fun photo shoot at the beach of our local lake! Originally planned out differently – the pattern club theme of “double” was going to attempt a beach skirt come cowl in a DK weight yarn. However, the yarn never became unscented enough, so it went off to a good home elsewhere. As I stash dived, I came across the new to me “Five Wise Owls” yarn review yarn and inspiration took a turn. A fingering weight organic cotton where “double” came into play with a beach cover up skirt come beach cover up dress! In the process I got to know a wonderful indie dyer and we hit it off! Pst, we’re planning a few collaborations for next year 😉.
Autumn Come – a love for brioche blossomed with this design, which combined brioche knitting with a moebius cast on in the fourth Moebi Knits 2020 Pattern Club design. Again, the lovely dyers at The Unique Sheep stretched my color comfort zone. And again, I was thrilled with the results! I also thoroughly enjoyed filming all the new stitches I was experiencing in brioche. Watching Puddles leap through the tall grass brought joy as his sickness was now down to just a few times a month. His fighting spirit and God’s provision in his healing resounded throughout these Gorgeous Gradients designs!
Snow Showers – a Malabrigo Yarns Quickies, Snow Showers brought the fun of double knitting off the moebius and on to a regular cast on… with a twist. This design is almost completely seamless! The gradient was subtle and rather hard to capture, but a rainy day proved the best for highlighting the tonal gradient colors of Rain and Sailor Blue. I was overwhelmed by your response to this release… it quickly became a best seller almost out striping Snow Gazer! Over the next few months, I look forward to seeing your projects and all the wonderful winter adventures you enjoy in your Snow Showers.
Winter Chic – the original design of Snow Showers that ran a little long. Yes, I miscalculated the yarn required due to the double knitting so Snow Showers was created after Winter Chic in order to meet the Quickie program requirements. The fun dance of knitting Winter Chic started last winter, took a detour with Covid and yarn availability, and finished up just before the photo shoot. I’ve worn mine on countless romps with my sidekick, Puddles, already. The double knitting snood works beautifully against blasts of cold air, whether delighted with the presence of snowflakes or just wearing them.
Winter Showers – combining the two releases back into one, originally the snood was an extension of Snow Showers. But upon knitting my designer eye made a change. Hehe, tech editors and review knitters love you for these displays of artistic temperament! But this change made each one unique, like the textures of snowfalls that change from storm to storm.
Delayed Joys
A few disappointments were met along the way… in particular, this year’s MKAL. It was my mainstay April through November as I pushed, knit, frogged, knit, tinkered, knit, frogged, knit, sin binned, knit, and thought. Seriously the hours that have gone into the design! It is still a WIP, but thankfully I’m on the final skein and love the design that struggled to become. So keep an eye out for the MKAL next year! Though the design process was much like turning coal into a diamond, the event will be like discovering a diamond shining through the rough. Brioche lovers, this one is especially for you!
Moving to Maine was delayed. Yes, I was designing and hoping to be wishing you a Merry Christmas from my new home in Maine and the start of the realization of my non-profit, Habitat For Canaries. We are still dealing with a chicken / egg / Covid issue (I can’t move until I have a new environmentally inert home to move into, that can’t be built without oversight, Covid prevents dad from traveling up and back easily, etc.) So the exciting news here is we’re looking at something to be built locally and moved up. Yep, Puddles and I will be going tiny! (If all works out.)
My nephews’ annual visit this summer was postponed. But all is set for their arrival on Monday! Like the rest of the disappoints, I prefer to think of them as delayed joys. A little extra time for planning and excitement at the soon realization!
Two Left
Before the clock strikes 12, I have two more releases to share with you! Moebius Fun is the final addition to the 2020 Moebi Knits Pattern Club. This fun little design will take you on a moebius roller coaster! Complete with two construction methods – a brainteaser for those brave hearts ready to have their stitches taken for a spin and a more standard construction that breaks it down into more recognizable stages. Which will you choose?
Recovery is a story that started with String Theory Moebius, traveled to the West Coast to a dear teacher and co-indie, and resulted in a new design for super bulky yarn. If you have someone or are someone in recovery or have a dear friend needing an extra snuggle while she deals with her own, Recovery is a story to touch your heart and cozy your neck in an easy moebius cowl. Due to the pandemic and photographer needing to quarantine, this release is being pushed to the near year.
Thank You!
Thank you for joining me on the Gorgeous Gradient journey! To celebrate the continuation of designing despite the pandemic and the cheer brought to dreary days through gradient yarns, please enjoy 20% off all 2020 new releases through the end of the year with code:
GorgeousGradients
On payhip and Ravelry. Lovecrafts and Stitched.zoned knitters, send me a copy of your receipt and I’ll refund the difference.