Tag Archives: Knitting

2017 started a little slower for me with self-publishing: I put a lot of time upfront into the Winery Knits eBook in order to get it ready for deadlines.

Once I realized I was going to self-publish my designs on my own, I kicked my designing into gear with some gorgeous shawls: Under the Sun (below, top) and In Love With the Night Mysterious (below, lower).

Next up was the Coronado Cowl.

I also had two stranded projects with Knit Picks: the Blodwen Cowl and the Morgan Mitts.

After those, I started publishing the patterns from Winery Knits. I love this collection: I love the yarns, the colorways, and the yin/yang of the Aran Lace vs stranded patterns. See pics at top.

• Atlas Peak
• Dry Creek Sweater
• Willow Creek Mitts
• Spring Mountain
• Chalk Hill Mitts

I interspersed those releases with a few other releases with yarn support I arranged at summer TNNA: Tafoni and Escondido shawls.

I was able to work with yarn companies that are longtime faves of mine (Anzula, Mrs Crosby, Dragonfly Fibers, Sunday Knits, Elemental Affects, Stitch Sprouts) and with some new-to-me-designing-with-their-yarns companies (Harrisville, Shalimar).

I attended summer TNNA, but not winter: my flight to San Jose was cancelled due to weather.

Although I didn’t publish as many designs as in previous years, I’m quite happy with those that I did.

The Chalk Hill mitts are named for the Chalk Hill appellation in northeast corner of the Russion River AVA in Sonoma County. Primary varietals grown here include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

I know Chalk Hill best as my bike-leg nemesis for Barb’s Race in 2007, my first and only half-Ironman triathlon. (At the time, Barb’s Race was an all-women’s half-Ironman triathlon, run concurrently with the full Vineman, raising money for cancer support.) The Chalk Hill area is gorgeous, but, oh, going up that hill was hard! The downhill and ride back to the transition area was awesome, though!

Cabled stitch pattern is both charted and written.

Read about the Winery Knits collection here.

Sizes
Women’s Small (Large); to fit 6–7 (7–8)” / 15–18 (18–20.5) cm hand circumference

Finished Measurements
Palm circumference, unstretched (note the lace cable pattern is quite stretchy): 5.75 (6.5)” / 14 (16.5) cm

Yarn
Shalimar Paulie Fingering, 60% Merino Wool / 20% Camel / 10% Silk / 10% Cashmere goat, 420 yds / 115 g, 1 skein, shown in size Large in Buttermilk

Needles
US 1 (2.25 mm) needles, or size to obtain gauge, for working in the round
US 0 (2 mm) needles for ribbing, or one size smaller than needle to obtain gauge, for working in the round

Gauge
32 sts and 48 rounds = 4” / 10 cm in Stockinette Stitch
Cable pattern, unstretched: 2.25 (2.5)” / 5.5 (6.5) cm

Notions
yarn needle, waste yarn, 3 stitch markers

Skills
cabling, maintaining stitch patterns

The Willow Creek mitts are named after one of the new AVAs (American Viticultural Area) in the Paso Robles area, the Willow Creek District. It includes the rolling hills west of Highway 101; some of our favorite wineries such as Cypher and Turley have tasting rooms in this area. The most common varietals grown include Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Viognier, and Grenache.

Read about the Winery Knits collection here.

One Size

Finished Measurements
Palm circumference: 8” / 20.5 cm

Yarn
Elemental Affects Natural Shetland Fingering (118 yds / 108m per 1 oz / 28g), in the following colors:
Fawn (MC): 2 skeins
Ciel (CC): 1 skein

Needles
US 1.5 (2.5 mm) needles, or size to obtain gauge
US 0 (2.0 mm) needles for garter stitch, or size smaller than needle to obtain gauge

Gauge
32 sts and 34 rounds = 4” / 10 cm in stranded stitch patterns
28.5 sts = 4” / 10 cm in garter stitch

Notions
yarn needle, waste yarn, minimum 3 stitch markers

Skills
cabling, stranding, reading charts, maintaining stitch patterns

October 16, 2017: I’m heartbroken over the devastation caused by the fires in Northern California. Please click here to learn about how you can help.

Here’s the Spring Mountain Stole! As for the companion shawl, Atlas Peak, I wanted to choose a mountainous name to tie in with the feather-evoking two-colored cable pattern and the peaked merge into the cabled section. It’s always exciting to see raptors overhead!

Did you know that there’s a company, Authentic Abatement, that rents out birds of prey to scare off non-native berry-eating birds?

The Spring Mountain appellation has been the site of two of our favorite and most memorable wine tasting experiences (both at Fantesca, including tastings of Fantesca wines and La Sirena wines). Lush, rich Cabs and Cab blends are the highlight here.

The shawl is worked in one piece from the bottom up, with stranded portions on either end of the textured center.

Size
One size (can be easily altered)

Finished Measurements as shown
Length: 85¼” / 217 cm
Width: 15½” / 39.5 cm

Yarn
MC: Sunday Knits Nirvana 5 ply, 92% select fine Australian merino / 8% premium Mongolian cashmere (137 yds / 125 m per 50g), 6 skeins, shown in Earth. Actual yardage: 715 yds / 654 m
CC: Sunday Knits Angelic 5 ply, 75% extra-fine Australian merino / 25% ultra soft French angora (137 yds / 125 m per 50g), 2 skeins, shown in Sky. Actual yardage: 165 yds / 151 m

Needles
US5 / 3.75 mm or size to obtain gauge for cabled, stranded pattern
US6 / 4 mm or size to obtain gauge for Spot Stitch pattern

Gauge
27 sts and 26 rows = 4” / 10 cm in cabled, stranded pattern
18 sts and 21 rows = 4” / 10 cm in Spot Stitch pattern

Notions
yarn needle, cable needle

Skills
cabling, stranding, reading charts