Earlier this month, I received new photos from the Brooklyn Tween team of my first design for them, Culm. Since realizing that I had never shared this design on the blog before, I thought this would be the perfect time to do so. It is up there with one of my favourite sweaters I have designed and definitely the one I wear myself on a daily bases. Culm was originally a part of Brooklyn Tweed’s Wool People 13 collection, which launched back in June of 2019.
Looking back at my blogging habits, I’ve noticed that I tend to go on hiatus around January and don’t surface until the spring. I probably post in January thinking this year will be the year I write consistently on the blog. However, after one post the New Year’s resolution dissolves and I don’t emerge until months later. I thought I’d be slightly embarrassed when I noticed this pattern but I’m trying not to put so much pressure on myself. Often the pressure of feeling like I need to post keeps me from do that very thing. So instead, I’m posting when it feels right. I’m still here and still knitting.
Back in December, my husband and I travelled to Nova Scotia to spend the holidays with my family in Canada. For those few hours, when the airplane is above the clouds, there is a calm and hopeful outlook towards this new year. Then, anxiety sets in again after landing while trying to navigate overwhelming airports and new restrictions. However, we are thankful that we were able to visit my family as safely as possible since it had been six years since I spent Christmas with them. I still remain hopeful about this coming year. I feel a little more rested compared to this spring but ultimately, I am happy to be home and start designing again.
In today’s post, I will be introducing the Penger Pullover and this one feels pretty special to share with you. First up, this is my first self-published pattern in a while. A self-published pattern means that it wasn’t originally featured in a magazine or yarn company’s collection. And secondly, Penger was done in partnership with Kettle Yarns Co.! If you’ve been following me or Pom Pom Publishing, you’ll remember a few designs that I did in the past using Kettle Yarns Co. First there was my Ketch Harbour Shawl in Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey, knit in Kettle Yarn Co.’s Islington DK. Then, there was Sparklers Hat in their 25th Anniversary Issue, knit in the Beyul 4ply.
Over in my pervious post, SYNTHESIS: Part 1, I shared part of my new work in the latest amirisu and DARUMA publication, Sublation DARUMA Collection 2021. In this post, I'll cover the rest of my new designs that make up another mini collection within the collection, Spiral.
As summer started to fade from Helsinki, I grabbed at the chance to fly home to Nova Scotia for the first time in two years. When I arrived at the end of August, I was greeted with a handful of summer days and saw the first touches of fall before I left. I am now back in Helsinki where the nights are cooler and the leaves are well on their way to changing into their fall colours.
September was full of pattern launches and I can’t wait to share everything with you. When I write a blog post I normally have one pattern to introduce. However, this time I have six, I repeat, six new pattern to chat about. Before this blog post gets too lengthly, I thought I would divide this collection in half and share three designs with you today.
When I published a post back in May, I mentioned the amount of rain and overcast skies that we were experiencing in Helsinki. Two months later and I can report that we’ve hardly seen those grey skeins since. It’s been all sun and it is starting to show in the parks, these naturally green spaces have turned yellow. I’m surprised my garden box hasn’t turned to ash yet. I am finding it hard to focus on knitting, especially when that project is a wool and mohair sweater sitting on your lap. We’re due for some rain this week, we need it badly, so I’ll get back to it again. If it wasn’t so hot and humid, I’d be thinking of more knitting. This latest design is something I see myself living in this autumn and winter.
Today, I will introduce you to my latest design with amirisu magazine. Stripe, colour work and lace fill the pages of Issue 22, as well as a beautiful craft guide to Okinawa. Due to covid, the amirisu team decided to explore areas of Japan outside of the mainland. There are twelve knitting patterns inside and my contribution, Fay, is one of them. This summery collection is photographed in and around the Osaka Prefectural Flowers Garden and I am here for the lush green vibes after spending a winter indoors.
