We’ve had some slight technical difficulties and couldn’t release The Shepherd and The Shearer information just yet. Check back on Monday and we’ll have all the information that you need in order to make a kick-butt sweater (or two) with some fantastic, hearty yarn.
If you’d like a reminder to check back, please leave a comment below and I’ll email you!
UPDATE TO ADD: Sorry for the confusion– the patterns for both sweaters will be available digitally starting Monday.
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Tagged architecture, Martha's Vineyard, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Photographs
Yesterday I took a big step outside my comfort zone and road the bus. I know that will sound comical to most people, but I have kind of a thing about public transportation. And by “kind of a thing” I mean that I loathe it.
Before you start with comments of the “You-should-be-ashamed-of-yourself” variety*, let me explain. I totally get that I am supposed to be a big proponent of public transport. It’s good for the environment! It’s populist! It helps with the massive traffic problems in urban areas! And those are all awesome things. I believe in all those things. I think public transport is amazing for other people. It just makes me personally INSANE.
I rode the subway every day when I worked for CBS and I hated every minute of it. Every. single. minute. I got sick all the time and I felt completely claustrophobic in the subway tunnels and I just couldn’t deal with all the pushing and shoving. It was so intense and, by the time I got to my office, I was kind of a wreck.
Ever since then I have avoided subways and buses like they were dripping with black plague juice. The only exception is the train, which seems somehow more refined and less across-the-board disgusting to me. For whatever reason, it just doesn’t set alarm bells off in my head. Train travel is evocative of Katherine Hepburn movies and the 1950s in general, so it gets a pass, I guess.
But yesterday I needed to be in NYC for a couple of hours and the train was sold out, so a friend recommended taking Megabus. She described it to me as “Like a first class airline seat, with wifi and everything”.
Let me be the first to tell you that Megabus is nothing like a first class airline seat. It was perfectly fine, (and hella cheap!) but it wasn’t fancy. On the way up to New York, the wifi was broken and I was seated next to a man who smelled of mothballs and booze. He did the robot dance in his seat during the entire four-hour journey, but he was endearingly polite and didn’t bother me, so whateves. Do it up, Robot Booze Man!
In a stroke of what I thought was ingenious forethought, I had worn flip flops on the bus and carried my lovely new ballet flats in a tote bag. I didn’t want to take a chance on my new shoes giving me blisters and I didn’t know how far I would have to walk.
Got to New York without incident. Grabbed a taxi to my meeting. Spent two hours having my ego stroked at an amazing meeting at the Vogue Knitting offices. Caught the bus home with time to spare! By the time I met my friends Kris and Charlie at Union Station, I felt like one of those people who totally has her shit together. Like a grown-up, even.
Then I got home and realized I had left one one of my brand-new, only-worn-once shoes on the bus. And, in a flash, I was back to reality. Oh, and add $100 to the price of my bus ticket.
If there are any one-footed women reading this, and that foot happens to be a size 8, email me. I can hook you up.
*Since the very first comment was exactly what I was trying to avoid, I feel the need to explain that having anxiety about public transportation isn’t an issue of preference; it’s an issue of anxiety. If it were a matter of being an elitist I would have just, I don’t know, not written a blog post about it. I apologize for not being clear in the original post, but I didn’t want to change it because that’s kind of a jerky thing to do.
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Tagged everything else
Monday we’ll be posting about The Shepherd and The Shearer. I know you’re excited to see the patterns and we’re thrilled to show them to you. We’re getting some things ready behind the scenes, however, and it’s taking a little longer than expected. Until then, Sarah’s here to tell you what you can make with the share yarn that’s headed your way shortly! – Lauria
Hello yarn lovers! It’s your friendly neighbourhood pattern junkie Sarah again – I’m back with more pattern ideas for your precious precious Juniper Moon share yarn!
If you missed the cardigans post, it’s over yonder. I’m usually a loyal cardigan fan, but these pullovers are really tempting me! I have some exciting suggestions for both worsted and DK yarn weights, and I think these will look great in natural cormo, or any of this year’s dye options, or even the coloured shares! (I’m Canadian, so I’m contractually obligated to spell it “coloured” 
) Without further ado, let’s get to pattern-drooling!
Since I finished with lacy options last time, let’s start with some pullovers featuring lace. I’m a huge Tin Can Knits fan, and I think Windswept, in DK weight (and in sizes from kids to adults!), would really make share yarn shine and flatter a variety of body types.
For the adventurous knitter, with even more jaw-dropping lace AND cables, check out the Dragonflies Jumper in DK weight by Joji Locatelli.
Maybe you’d like something with just a little bit of a lacy touch. Ruth Roland’s Dylana, in worsted weight, has such a pretty lace-edged scoop neckline!
Amy Herzog’s Sapwood in DK weight has a lovely lace panel that’s a bit more subtle than something like Windswept. Sapwood’s button detail is so sweet, too!
Some of you might be looking for something even simpler, but special enough to be worthy of one-of-a-kind JMF share yarn. I think Simsbury’s pockets and eyelet details totally fit the bill! It’s in DK weight, by Tabetha Hendrick.
It’s no secret that I think Veera Valimaki is a total genius, and if I had some DK share yarn in my hands, I might just cast on her Wanderlust Pullover. The combination of garter, stockinette, and a cool button detail on the back of the yoke make it really unique!
Purl Soho’s worsted weight Sweatshirt Sweater is another simple pattern with very special details – like the front pocket! Even more awesome, the pattern is FREE!
Or maybe you’re looking for my favourite thing – CABLES! In worsted weight, Norah Gaughan’s Forster is pretty high on my list.
There are TWO versions of Vanessa Smith’s worsted weight Julissa sweater, one with a higher neckline and one with a sexy scoop neck (shown in the photo below) - both featuring tons of feminine cables!
For people who love LOTS of cables and who have a double share of worsted weight yarn (this sweater needs a lot of yardage), Fiona Ellis’ Gwendolyn would be a real showstopper.
Perhaps you’re looking for fun & quirky? Leah B. Thibault’s worsted weight Toulouse Pullover might be just the thing for you. This sweater’s bow detail is such an elegant, interesting feature!
Possibly, you’d just like something really, really pretty. Tori Gurbisz’s Livvy Pullover, in DK weight, should fit the bill: pretty, shapely cables that will keep you warm and keep you looking good. (I know our own Lauria likes this one!)
I’d love to hear about the pullover patterns in YOUR queue! Is there a design feature you really have to have in a pullover? Cables? Pockets? A squishy cowl neck? Let me know in the comments and share the patterns you love!
For those of you with half shares (or anyone not too keen on sweaters or larger projects), there’s one more share yarn pattern suggestions post coming with some smaller projects and accessories. There are SO many cool options! Stay tuned!!
Now that it’s fall, Sarah eats oatmeal and cinnamon toast for breakfast, snuggles her cat, and piles on the handknits every chance she gets. She blogs now, too!
YARNSPLOSION!!!! Yes. Every box you see in the garage is packed full of yarn.
Lauria has been here hard at work sorting through yarn and hand dyeing large batches of it. By hand. In pots over hot burners. And it’s next to impossible to make every batch come out exactly the same. It’s times like these I am glad I don’t do this for a living; it’s a lot to keep track of, and it’s a lot of work. And I am starting to think Susan doesn’t charge enough for it!
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A customer in a yarn store was recently asking about our Yearling pattern, Charlie, which was designed by Pamela Wynne for the first season (Spring/Summer 2012). 
The yarn store had run out of pattern booklets and was hoping we might release it digitally. Well, because of that one customer, not only are we releasing it digitally, but we’re releasing it for FREE and we’ll be doing a knit-along so that you can join us!
Oona’s grown a lot since the last time that she wore this sweater, as you can see. Although it does come in a size range of 18 months through 6 years, so it would be possible to make one that fits her now. It’s designed with positive ease, which is great because I bet that it will fit a little one for awhile, instead of them growing out of it in 2.5 seconds.
It’s unisex, so you can make it to fit a little boy or a little girl, or a little duck. Okay, I’m kidding about the duck, but here’s a picture of a duck, who I’m pretty sure is NOT Bananafish, who modeled with Oona.
The original pattern calls for:
MC: 2 (3, 3, 3) hanks Yearling in color #09 Blue, Blue Sky
CC1: 1 hank Yearling in color #06 Jack Frost
CC2: 1 hank Yearling in color #04 Kiwi
I’ll be making mine in this season’s colors of Yearling which includes:
MC: #19 Mermaid
CC1: #16 Hold Your Breath
CC2: #13 Misty Morning
I’ve been swatching, and it looks like I’ve got gauge:
Had I NOT swatched this on the plane ride down to Virginia and had access to all my needles, I would have knit a sleeve as a gauge swatch! It’s a great way to check your gauge, AND not have your sweater stuck on sleeve island. Instead, I used this technique from Tech Knitter to knit my circular swatch flat. (It’s kind of like making i-cord without tightening the loop.)
I’ll be working ahead so I can lead the way. This is a fantastic sweater if you just want to dip your toes into sweater knitting or into colorwork. It’s a bulky child’s sweater, so it will go quickly. I hope that you’ll join me in knitting it! I am looking forward to getting a little Christmas knitting out of the way before it gets too late.
You can find the free pattern here. We’ve asked yarn stores to post on our facebook wall if they have Yearling so you know where to get it easily.
We’re dyeing at Amy’s house, as she’s got a great back porch set up that’s perfect for dyeing and drying yarn. Yesterday, Susie was on her way to a meeting in DC, so I put the rest of the house to work after school was over. Oona has become my little shadow and a changed little being since I last saw her in January:
Amy is making the doofiest face here, but she’s going to have to live with it being on the blog because she knew I was taking a picture…
When we were finished and I went into the bathroom, I took a good look at myself and saw that I was filthy with soot and dye. This is after Neve’s special hand soak and it much improved from when I first came in:
Fortunately, a shower and some good scrubbing has cleared away most of the dye and soot, although it’s still clinging to around my nail bed. When all this is over, I’m going to pamper my hands. Don’t worry, I’ll share MY special recipe for soft, clean hands!
Come back this afternoon for to see which favorite older pattern we’re releasing digitally for the first time and giving away for FREE!
Connected to last week’s—it’s one of the ways writing has changed. Books from a century or two ago spent huge swaths of text describing locations and character traits, but modern writing does all of this in shorthand. You might know a character is short with blond hair and blue eyes, but the author leaves the rest for you to figure out on your own. The writer might tell you the story takes place at a beachside town, but leaves the details to your imagination. Why do you suppose this is? Is it that we have shorter attention spans these days? That, bombarded with video and photos as we are, we don’t NEED every detail of an unknown scene described, because we have a stock of images already in our heads?
Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!
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Tagged Wordpress
- by Joan -
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Tagged autumn, colors, flowers, Photographs