Design Binge Update

Whew!  I designed and knit and designed and knit and have come up with the following pieces:
First up is Kedzie, a mock-slouchy hat that can be worn and not blown off your head during this gusty October in Chicago:

 Next up is Altgeld, a sporty beanie that works equally well for men and women.  I love the sort-of art-deco feel I got from the texture!

The last hat of the mix is the Dearborn Cloche, with a pure silk lined brim and linen-stitch "ribbon", with a tweed alpaca-silk-merino blend for the body:

 For a fun little accessory, conceived by Grace and engineered by moi, the Bomber Collar using Skacel's new Caribou yarn!  Everyone who sees and touches this can not believe that it's knit, but they never want to stop touching it, either!

 And it wouldn't be a Sarah collection if it didn't involve at least one shawl!  This is a bottom-up shawl with a beaded picot cast-on and a simple lace stitch.  Oh yes, and it is a silk-cashmere blend, so it's amazing to wear!

None of these patterns are ready for publication, but if you'd like a free printed draft with your yarn purchase, come by booth 320!

Vogue Knitting Live: Making Samples!

Yesterday my friend Grace & I went through boxes of yarn for our booth (mostly hers, but I'm helping!) and we had a great time sorting, scheming, squealing, and sighing. I fully admit that the Art Yarns evoked involuntary yelps and giggles from my lips.

Upon sorting, we had to decide which yarns to create into samples, and what we could knit up (and design!) in two weeks out of this:

Over the next two weeks I'll be posting my progress and linking to the new designs as I finish them!  Because of the time constraint, the photos will be not-too-fancy, but hopefully good enough to give you the idea of what they would look like, knit up!  Then, after VKL, I'll bribe my trusty photographer to get some real, publish-worthy photos, now that she's spoiled me with what those actually look like!

Fire District

Fire District is a new shawl design that starts out with a short-row-shaped garter-stitch body which then fans out into lacy flames  with beaded tips.
The crescent shape drapes perfectly over the shoulders

Because of the long wingspan and garter-stitch body, it can also be worn as a scarf.

 It can also make you feel fancy!

 And people will always be touching it so they can see the details.

Thank you so much to Jen Marek Photography for these images!

Autumn is Here!

Oh, the joy of temperatures under the 70's!  Both shawls I knit this summer, and the hats, hoods, and cowls, can all be enjoyed.  Why not knit some of your own?  Here's a small collection of small items to get you back in the swing of things:

CyCowl
It's still warm enough to ride your bike outside, but with a little nip in the air, let's make sure you're still keeping yourself warm.  With special straps that feed through the loops of your helmet, you can keep your face covered and your brain safe! It's a free download!

Catalpa
This hat is top-down and uses twisted stitches in place of cables.  This is one of my favorite hats to wear--so soft, cozy, and a wicked-quick knit!

Logan Boulevard
Just like the street, it starts in the round, and then it turns!  This is a multi-gauge hat that will get you noticed (especially by other knitters..."What did you do here?")!  You'll find this super satisfying!

Chopin Chapeau

This design was thought up while I was dancing to Black Bear Combo at the Chopin theater in Wicker Park, Chicago.  It's fantastic for using up leftover bits of yarn, and feels so great on your head. 

Condurat
The Condurat cowl, knit in brioche stitch (photo tutorial available in pattern), and intentionally twisted at the beginning, is a super cozy piece to keep you bundled up this winter!

I hope these patterns prove useful!  I'll continue to post more as the season continues!

Introducing Logan Boulevard

It's been ages since I've released a pattern, but I hope you haven't forgotten about me!  This one's one of my favorites, and I'm now knitting my fifth one.  (Not pictured because I'm still knitting it.)

 Here's one I knit in Rios, Malabrigo's super-wash worsted-weight yarn.  I am wearing it as I type this!

 Here are a couple hats I knit for my brother and his wife.  I told them to frolic, and boy did they deliver!  Liz's hat is in Malabrigo Rasta, and Galen's is in Malabrigo Chunky.

And here is a Malabrigo Worsted hat for my Mom, looking classy as ever.

If the spirit moves you, please !  It's a pretty fun pattern, keeps you interested, and it's easier than you think!

Mother's Day

For the third Mother's Day in a row I've designed a shawl to give my mom, had a photo-shoot with her, and released the pattern.  It started with Wicker Park, a bottom-edge cast-on, sideways-knit shawl, with which I was very lucky, being incredibly inexperienced and pretty much flying by the seat of my pants as I knit it.  I had to purchase a second, then a third skein of Malabrigo Sock before I finished it, and thank goodness I took some notes (but not enough--trust me!) so I could write the pattern.

Last year's pattern, Sheridan, benefited from an additional year of experience with reading and writing patterns; also my realization that I could write the pattern on my iPhone, if I was on the go.  I got some pretty great pictures of this one with my mom!  Below is my favorite action shot:

This year I had a new benefit; I had made not one, not two, but three prototypes before making one for Mothers' Day.  The first was fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants and didn't warrant notes.  I tried again, months later, making a simple change, and found it to be so much easier.  In fact, this is the Mothers' Day shawl that gave the testers the least grief, which I take as a good sign.  Another change--this year I'm offering it for free!  Here we are, on my parents' roof, enjoying our (not exactly) matching shawls:

Yep!  Year 3 of this tradition brings you Martinmas Shawl, a free Ravelry download--enjoy!

Fat Elvis Chocolate Chip Cookies

We all know the famous sandwich: The Fat Elvis. Peanut butter, banana, and bacon, fried between two generously butter-slathered pieces of bread. They are so sinful, but also quite messy, and not conducive to packing them up in a lunch. Also, there is not enough chocolate. Naturally, I have solved this problem: I have made it into a cookie recipe that is better than the other Fat Elvis cookie recipes out there. Namely because I don't forget the bacon, but also because each of the three main ingredients--bacon, banana, and peanut butter--are used as both a crunchy and a wet ingredient.

These are the ingredients, the bold writing indicates necessary preparation:

1 cup each of brown sugar and white sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup each of butter and bacon fat (whenever you make bacon, save the fat in a bowl or a jar)

1 very ripe banana (if frozen, leave in a bowl on the counter in the morning with the stick of butter to soften)

enough creamy peanut butter to fill one cup, with the ripe banana occupying space in that cup

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda

4 slices bacon

a large handful each of salted peanuts and banana chips

First, chop the bacon into small pieces.

Place them evenly in a skillet, over medium-low heat to ensure even cooking.

While the bacon is sizzling, chop up the peanuts and banana chips: these and the bacon pieces will be the crunchy bits in your cookies.

Make sure to check on your bacon!

Place the bacon, when done, over a paper towel on a plate. Put the stick of butter in a measuring cup and pour the hot bacon fat over it.

As that will not be enough fat to fill up to one cup, take out your trusty jar of bacon fat, the one that's been waiting just for today, and fill it the rest of the way up to one cup. Bacon fat in a pyrex cup is not very pretty, but I'm showing it to you anyway. It's for your own good.

Stir this in with the sugar, and mix with your trusty mixer for a few minutes, until creamy.

The only thing prettier than bacon fat and butter in a pyrex cup is a very very ripe banana, sitting inside, coiled and juicy just like something very special man's best friend made:

Now scoop some peanut butter in there until it reaches one cup. The plop it into your mixing bowl and blend until smooth.

When it's smooth, add both eggs and keep mixing. After they are incorporated, add the vanilla extract. Yum! Now for the dry ingredients! Add them and mix at a low power; not too much, just enough to get it velvety.

Now add the crunchy ingredients! Stir this time with a wooden or bamboo spoon.

Make your hand look tiny compared with your large satchel of chocolate chips.

You may think I said a lot of chocolate chips. I said, throw in all the chocolate chips you have.

Mix it up and cover it with plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge. Preheat the oven.

Use this time to do the dishes, you slob!

That wasn't so hard! What were we doing again?

Oh yes! Cookies! Spoon lovely balls of dough on a greased cookie sheet.

And you know what they say about spooning...it leads to forking.

(Seriously, this is important as it helps distribute the heat while baking.)

Bake for eight minutes. They will not look done, but take them out anyway!

Leave them on the sheets for five minutes, which will let them to continue cooking, just a little. Then transfer them to a wire rack and restrain yourself from eating them until you die on top of a toilet. That's how the King went down.

Oh, you've been warned...