Into Infinity...

Is everyone ready for winter?  I am ready for lots of knitting, and lovely wool yarn.  I am not ready for trying to get to work in the snow or wind chill.  This project will see you through the cold, dark months and back out into the light!

If you are ready for the knitting part of winter, join me for my Winter 2014 Group Mystery Project. What mystery???  There is a photograph, right?  Well, consider that just an appetizer!  Let me tell you a little more...

As many of you know, BadKitten, my model and fiber co-conspirator, left for college in September.  But I think very few of you know that she is studying math (among other things.)  She always finds ways to combine craft and math, and so this entire group is about infinity.  

The sum of the infinite series converges to some real value .  So as I see it, the sum of this infinite amount of love and now seemingly infinite amount of knowledge will converge to be BadKitten, the young woman and no longer the child.  And the possibilities are infinite...

How in the world does this relate to knitting?  I am so glad you asked!  And it is more than just wanting to have an infinite amount of yarn, OK?  There are two different project sets: 

The first is all about the Möbius strip or Möbius band (UK /ˈmɜrbiəs/ or US /ˈmoʊbiəs/, also Mobius or Moebius.  BadKitten actually knit one of these before I did and totally turned me on to the potential, from a design point of view.  Dare I say, it is infinite??  There will be four projects in the set.  Two use one skein of special sock yarn (Malabrigo Sock and Hidden Brook Farm Painted Glitter Sock, But many other options are possible.) One project uses one large skein of Soft'n'Single ColourWave from Lara's Creations and the fourth uses one skein of Linen from Marks and Kattens.  We are using two different moebius cast-ons, one of which I think I made up!

The second project set is all about fractals.  This is a modular project, and I will be showing a blanket and a stole or shawl as options.  You can make the blanket any size you like.  I am showing options using KnitPick's Fingering Chroma and Wisdom yarn's Limerick, but there are oodles of other choices that we will discuss.  These designs work well using a yarn with very long color repeats.

All told, the group will cover 6 different projects, at a minimal, with an infinite number or possibilities!  Did I catch your attention?  Here is the fine print:

The group will begin enrolling now.  We will discuss techniques and materials.  The first project will be posted January 1st, 2014, and we will continue on until the spring.  As with all my group projects, we will use YahooGroups and I created a unique group for this project.  All project files will be posted at the group as PDFs and you will be in charge or downloading any files you want to save.  Although this group is not attached in any way to Ravelry, I will add the project pages there, for anyone who wants to add their projects, and we can open a discussion forum there if anyone would like that.  The cost for access to the group and all the project files is $16 (US dollars) payable through PayPal.  This is payable to badcatdesigns@verizon.net, via PayPal.  If you need me to send you an invoice or have any other questions, please send me an email request with Infinity in the subject line.  Once payment is received, an invitation to the BadCatInfinity group will be sent to you and you can join and introduce yourself!

It has been a little while since I had a nice, big group project and I am really excited.  I hope you can join me!

Andrea

Winter Extravaganza Wrap Up!

At long last, I am sharing some finished projects from my Winter Extravaganza project.  I would like to thank everyone for a great group and especially thank those who sent me there photos to include here!  If you would like to see all the project details, check our this link!

If you would like to buy a copy of the pattern, you can do that right here: 

If you want to see all the finished projects on Ravelry: check them out here!  You will be able to see the yarns people used and how they customized the piece for themselves.

Without further fuss, and in no particular order...

From Dawn

Yarn:  Kaido Lame

Beads:  Silver-lined gold #8 Japanese seed beads

From Gala!

From Jean

I missed the instructions to move the start of the first 39 or so rows one stitch to the right so I substituted YO/K2tog for the double YO/double central decrease to  make the start easier. It produced a lovely flower,  

Yarn: Classic Elite Pirouette Color: Caribean Sea 3.5 skeins

 Beads: #8 silver lined seed beads

Blocked size 66 x 23

From Cynthia

I blocked it to the same measurements as yours, on a size 4 needle.  The yarn was YarnArt Kid Mohair Transparent, Color 3.  It’s 60% Kid Mohair and 40% Acrylic.  I was terrified it would block horribly.  My fears were unjustified.  It was wonderful.

From Sue

I used Iridaceae lace yarn, Iridae, in Emerald

US 4 needles

Emerald 8.0 beads

Did a garter stitch instead of ribbed borders

From Sheila

Yarn is Crystal Palace Kid Merino, color, Ultra Blues, 6 skeins

Beads are dark amber or root beer ABs 8/0 - chosen for their complimentary contrast to the yarn.

I made a tapered sleeve and added more beads to the corners and sleeve details.

From Mary Rose!

Ouida, at STITCHDRAGON is offering the Winter group a lovely prize for three winners (a circular needle of the winner's choice!)  Names drawn from BadCat's hat, the three winners are: Sheila, Cynthia and Jean.  I will be sending you an email with details!  Also, all gallery participants will be getting a gift of the Ravelry pattern file for The Winter Wrap, so keep an eye out for the link.

Lucy's Gift

I released a new pattern today. It is free and available on Ravelry.  Just follow this link to get yourself a copy of the file.

You can make this small shawl in any yarn you choose.  Here is what I did:

I used one ball of Einband yarn.  The yarn is produced in Iceland, using Icelandic wool, by the Alafoss (Istex) company. Each ball weights 50 grams and is 273 yards.  The sample used just one ball, in a color that matched Lucy’s eyes, but feel free to use more if you want a larger piece.  Lucy was actually as soft as cashmere and had a double coat.  Icelandic sheep also have a double coat, but are not particularly soft.  They are very rugged and can survive the Icelandic winter in style.  We took to calling them BadAss sheep on our recent trip and Lucy shared that same quality.  Small package, big attitude, strong will.  I might knit a second sample in fine, gray cashmere and use a few purple crystals, because she would approve…

-I am working on a second sample in Malabrigo Silky Alpaca and will share photos once I finish.

This piece was inspired by the Hallgrimskirkja church, which I visited recently while traveling in Iceland.  The church has long, clean lines and sits high on a hill in Reykjavik.  It can be seen from off shore for quite a distance.

 

I dedicate this project to my darling cat, Lucy (affectionately known as LucyFur) who died on March 26^th, 2013.  She was my constant companion, lap warmer and blocking assistant and she will be terribly missed.  She was a tiny kitty, weighting in at just over five pounds, but her purrsonality was enormous.  Please consider making a small donation to the Humane Society of New York if you enjoy knitting this project.  You can make the donation in Admiral LucyFur’s memory, and they accept PayPal.  Meow on sweet gray girl…

http://www.humanesocietyny.org/donations/

BadCat's Winter 2013 Extravaganza

At long last, I can announce my winter project!  And not a moment too soon, because we just got the snow storm of the season...

Champagne Powder, if you have ever been skiing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  This project is all about the process.  I wanted to get back to the process, which is really why I love to knit.  I wanted to lose the rules, the stitch counts, and just have some fun.  I promise that all lace knitters will find something lovely here, but it might not be the same thing for each of you.  If you are feeling frisky and creative, and you trust me not to lead you too far astray, please join me!  Project options include a fairly simple stole, and a winter wrap.  The wrap is really an unstructured jacket, with sleeves and a collar of sorts.  There will be some nice lace work, just a little bead knitting and lots of choices.  If you are looking for a pattern to simply follow, step away from the monitor.  I might make you sad.  If you are willing to let go a little and frolic in the snow, come on in.

This project is worked in a lace weight kid mohair blend and I suggest you use a similar style yarn for the wrap.  I have a table with many options ready to share at the group site.  Each knitter will take their own measurements, and use a generic recipe and their own measurements to make a unique wrap.  If you are hesitant to jump in with both feet, you can work on a stole while the project unfolds. Most lace weight yarns will work well for the stole and we will discuss yarn choices at the group.

This project will be like all of my previous group projects, based at a dedicated Yahoo Group.  Once you pay me I will send you an invitation to the group.  You must be willing to have a Yahoo account and use the group in order to participate.  All the project files will be posted at the group's file section.  The files will be PDFs and you will be able to save them to your own computer.  A new file will be posted every 1-2 weeks, as the group works together on the project.  The project will be posted in sections over about 6-10 weeks.  All discussion will take place via email through the group.  We can share chat and photos on Ravelry but all discussions will take place through the Yahoo Group.  Once the group is finished you should save all your project files to your own computer for future use.  The pattern will be available on Ravelry at a future date but is not included in the group project.  If you are joining just to have that pattern file please come back in June (about) 2013 and it should be available through my Ravelry page.  If you want to come play in the snow with me and join the winter group, you can either send me a PayPal payment (directly to my email address if you are familiar with the process) or send me a request for an invoice.  The cost is $11 US.  I apologize but I can't take other currencies.  PayPal can set you up with a US dollar payment.  If you have any questions please feel free to email!

  

BadCatDesigns@verizon.net  is the email for payments, requests for an invoice or questions!  Please use Winter 2013 in the subject line for my immediate attention.