Epameinondas

If any of you follow me on Instagram (I'm @theacolman), you might already know what I'm about to do here, because I hinted at it last week. This is the first in a series of posts I'm going to share with you as I begin working on a new design to be launched in late Winter/early Spring 2019.  Also, these posts are part of a larger conversation I've been having with some of my peers about what actually goes into the design process, and they do create kind of a fun reason to hang out here and use my new blog format,  (Did you notice?) I will start with how I am settling in on this idea as it unfolds, and once we have a sweater to make, I'll go into the knitting and writing and editing and testing - and the photo shoot. Some of it may meander, and other parts may come together quickly.  I never do know what's about to happen as I work, and I've found that it goes best when I let the process lead me. To be  honest, I usually work against the background of my other...

A cool pattern, some squishy yarn and quick knitting.  The Pabst Blue Ribbon hat - I knit these in less than two days, and I think the girls claimed them in even less time than that. I'm keeping it short since I have this girl home for now, and we are about to go support some small businesses here in Boston -- but enjoy!   All the info is on Ravelry....

I know.  Squishy farm yarn.  Heavy worsted, a beautiful heather, a mix of Rambouillet and Alpaca. I bought this SQ of Hinterland Range about a year ago, just because I wanted it.  Not to design with, and not to worry about, but because I absolutely HAD to own some.  But then it stared at me from behind the glass doors of my yarn cabinet, and I was powerless.  So I cast on, telling myself this was just FOR ME.  I didn't have to worry about a deadline or any parameters or anything.  I could just knit what I felt like.  (But maybe, just to be safe, I'd take notes as I went...) You know the rest. I finished and looked at it and said it must be published .  And now it is - Kahlua .  The cardigan I knit just so I could chill out and enjoy the ride.  With that in mind, it features lots of simple elements - a textured garter rib, a simple cable, and some 1x1 rib.  That's it.  But it's how these pieces transition into each other th...

By now, you may already have seen my latest cardigan, The Botanist.   It's part of a lovely collection from my friends at a Verb For Keeping Warm , and it's knit out of Kristine Vejar's gorgeous Pioneer yarn, dyed in the Vineyard colorway (how appropriate, right?) The pattern is my translation of the classic Aran cardigan - that one with the big wooden buttons, usually knit in heavy cream yarn.  I wanted to make a lighter, more delicate version - with a shorter, boxy fit, a bunch of gorgeous textures and cables, and a little bit of an interesting collar.  I especially love the little wraps around the seed cables... Verb still has kits for this pattern available in Tree Fort and Tortilla, and is taking pre-orders in Vineyard, Root, and Peat for December 2018 delivery.   The Botanist is part of Verb's first Look Book, a collection that celebrates the whole process behind our craft - from the farm to the needle. Other featured designs in the collection are by Brist...