Botanist Hat

UPDATE 12.14.15: Congratulations to winner, Kathy W! Kathy, check your email. ---------------

Close your eyes, hold hands, have a bit of a kumbaya moment, take a deep breath and say it with me now, dear readers... Knitted hat weather.

It's here. I love knitted hat weather. Love it.

Mornings are insane for everyone, no matter what your career is, what your commute is like, if you have children, pets or significant others to wrangle, but I always take a moment to dig through the giant pile of knitted hats in the front closet and choose one that will make my morning a bit brighter, a bit warmer and a bit less crazy. Knitted hats can set the mood for the day. Feeling blah? Grab the gray cabled one. Having a happy day? Go with the bold rainbow stripes. A good rule of thumb is you can never have too many hand knit hats.

With that in mind, I'd like to introduce you to the Botanist Hat. With 2 stunning shades of Mrs. Crosby's Steamer Trunk and a Victorian-inspired ginkgo leaf fair isle design, this hat brings a bit of warm weather delight to your noggin on a chilly winter's day.

Knitting up on US 6 needles, this hat flies off the needles. A 100% superwash merino wool, I love the crisp ply on this yarn, which really made the fair isle stitches stand up on their own and look their best. At 164 yards, you'll need a hank of each color and Mrs. Crosby does not disappoint. I chose one of my favorite color pairings of cranberry and turquoise using Hollywood Cerise and Sunset Regatta, but with so many wonderful color offerings, the choice is yours. One of the best things about fair isle knitting (and I see this time and time again since I teach it so frequently at my LYS) is even though a group is knitting the same exact project, by choosing the colors that suit you or your lucky recipient, you can completely change the look. What about Winter Wheat and Red Kind Radish? Golden Butter and Midnight Aubergine? Try something out of your comfort zone!

Starting with corrugated ribbing then going directly into the fair isle ginkgo design, this slouchy hat comes together quickly at the end with spiral decreases. Designed to be unisex, ginkgo is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta (all others being extinct) and is recognizably similar to fossils dating back 270 million years! Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and was introduced early to human history and has various uses in traditional medicine and as a source of food. There's something elegant about the ginkgo leaf and I've been wanting to turn it into a fair isle design for a while.

Hats are the perfect knitted gift because they fit everyone. You don't have to worry about bust size or arm length, everyone has a head and that head can get cold once the cold weather sets in. They're perfect for last-minute knits and always appreciated.

Let's give a copy of this pattern away, shall we? Answer the below trivia question correctly and automatically be entered to win! Contest open to readers worldwide and you'll be contacted by me via email. A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, December 14th.

Where is the largest ginkgo farm in the world?

Download the Botanist Hat here.

A Move & Embroidered Landscapes

Things here on the blog have been a bit quiet, mainly because in between spraining my left wrist and coming down with (another round of) bronchitis, we moved locally over the weekend. The annoying thing about moving is there are simply no short cuts. EVERYTHING you own in the world must be gone through, donated, thrown away or kept, chucked into boxes, moved by a bunch of random strangers and unpacked into an unfamiliar space. You're left with an empty tape gun dispenser, a graveyard of broken-down boxes, sanity frazzled and a general feeling of whiplash. Local moves seem particularly insulting because you're not moving far, but it's really no less work. So we moved. We're in a home that's ours, we're by a lake, I have a real office (instead of a closet) and while my sanity remains slightly frazzled as I try to unpack with a 4-year-old who thinks "helping" is putting stuff back into boxes, we're pretty excited to start this new chapter. We left a place that was 900 square feet with two adults, a child and a dog (not to mention my yarn and fabric stash). It was difficult and we always felt cramped. My dad aptly said "you have elbow room now." Elbow room, indeed.

I have a few new things to share with you over the next week or so, but I just got my computer up and running, my command central set up and while it'll take me a while to fully unpack, this place feels like home. It feels like home in a way no other place we've ever lived (and there have been many) has. My brain has been humming with new ideas and things I want to try out, my hands are dying to get back to my sewing machine and the OCD part of my brain is begging to get my yarn stash organized, but for now, I'd like to share this amazing article I read a few days ago that stopped me in my tracks and made me say "wow" out loud... Original article posted here.

New Embroidered Landscapes That Cascade off the Wall by Ana Teresa Barbozaby Christopher Jobson 

Ana Teresa Barboza (previously) produces embroidered landscapes with wandering streams that break the fourth wall, jumping off their 2D structures and cascading to the floor in waterfalls of blues and greens. The remaining landscape Barboza keeps in black and white, focusing the viewer’s eye on the vibrant colors that compose the rushing water rather than the surrounding mountains and rocks.

Recently the artist has begun to embroider on top of images, collaborating with photographs instead of producing the entire scene. For these particular pieces her yarn remains organized when it trails off the work, each color tightly wound into separate spools that rest above or beside the piece. In this way it seems as if she is neatly categorizing the shades of the ocean, dissecting the hues that comprise the water’s high and lowlights.

With this focus on color it makes sense that the Peruvian artist has an education in painting, she studied the subject at Pontifical Catholic University in her hometown of Lima. The work featured here was originally in her solo exhibition “Volver a Mirar” at Now Contemporary Art in Miami, Florida in late 2014. You can see more of her embroidered land and seascapes on her website here.

Alderaan Shawl

It's here, the final installment of the TanisKnits Star Wars trilogy of patterns, the Alderaan Shawl!

I've really enjoyed coming up with ideas, stitch patterns and colors that remind me of my favorite original film trilogy - Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi. Star Wars is a universally loved series and when I was a kid living in a town where I felt like I didn't quite fit in, I could let my imagination take me to a place far, far away where being different was cool. I never imagined being a princess or a droid - in my mind I was always a Jedi, fighting for the good side, waving a lightsaber and hurtling through the galaxies at warp speed.

This final pattern is my favorite of the three. A lace shawl knit in a stunning blue as gorgeous as the night sky, what I like most about it is the shimmering silver beads tucked into the lace meant to mimic the stars.

Starting with the lace border, it's knit back and forth with lace on both sides and the beads added as you go. Knitting with beads is easier than you think! Never pre-string your beads... This can cause trouble later on if you happen upon a knot in your yarn. It can also stretch out your yarn with the constant pushing down of the beads on the strand of yarn and before you know it, you may have completed changed your yarn weight from a DK to a sport completely by accident! I've included helpful links in the pattern for adding beads as you go with a small crochet hook. This method is significantly faster than pre-stringing, it's easy and it's kinder to your yarn. Once the border is complete, stitches along the straight edge are picked up and worked back and forth across using German Short Rows to create the body of the shawl.

Knitting this shawl reminded me of many of my favorite "star moments." When I was a kid, we'd drive out to the field on Pine Street and watch the meteor showers or stars, seeing neighbors and friends - often in our pajamas. Sometimes my mom and I would drive up to New Hampshire after school on a Friday when the sky was already dark at 5pm. We'd see more and more stars the further north we drove, away from Boston. Once we even saw hints of the Northern Lights! Sometimes we'd bundle ourselves up and walk down the road in the middle of the night, staring up at the amazing display above, needing no words, just company in the dark. I spent a lot of time on the docks at Squam, late at night when everyone else was asleep, staring at the stars, the likes of which I'd never seen because I've been living in a city for so long. A lot of wonderful memories of mine take place in the dark, looking up at the sky and this shawl brought all of them to mind. I never wanted to be an astronaut, but the stars have long been a fascination of mine.

Worked on US 7 needles in the glorious Dream in Color Everlasting DK in the aptly named Nebula, this shawl takes just 3 skeins and is a hand dyed superwash Australian merino wool. I used sparkly silver beads, but you can choose a different color or opt out of the beads entirely. I've used this yarn before to knit my son a sweater and I love the crisp feel of it. Dream in Color has some of the most beautiful color ways and I've always been a fan!

Named for the planet Princess Leia was raised on after being adopted by Senator Bail and Queen Breha Organa after her mother died giving birth to her and her twin brother Luke Skywalker, I liked the idea that Alderaan was a peaceful planet - a planet with no weapons. Renowned galaxy-wide for their planet's unspoiled beauty, refined culture, and commitment to peace, Alderaanians worked with and around the land to preserve as much of the natural surroundings as they could. Sounds like a pretty great place, no?

Download the Alderaan Shawl here, and be sure to check out the other two patterns of this trilogy if you missed them, the Nerfherder Cowl and The Force Cowl.

May the Force be with you, always.

Spilly Jane Knits Mittens!

Spilly Jane is known for her whimsical, surprising and super fun fair isle knitting! A mitten and sock designer, Spilly Jane hails from Ontario, Canada and she and I have worked together many times (check out her two gorgeous pairs of mittens in my Knitting Architecture book). What I like most about her work is that she keeps it fun - I found myself smiling as I knit her Gnome Mittens, and as I looked through her new book, I found many cute things I want to knit. Knitting should be fun and Spilly Jane clearly got that memo. I was delighted to see she has a new book out, Spilly Jane Knits Mittens (Cooperative Press, 2015), with 13 wonderful mitten designs, all knit in the stranded colorwork technique. Fish, cupcakes, penguins, stripes and geometric designs round out this lovely collection, but tucked in between those are extensive tutorials, tips, tricks and blank templates in the back to help you create your own exciting mitten design.

Jane kindly sat down to answer a few questions for us about her new book...

Tanis Gray (TG): Whenever I think of you I think “whimsical!” You have wonderful, fun, well-executed designs. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Silly Jane (SJ): My inspiration comes from all over the place, both external and internal. I always have my eyes open for new ideas and things are always floating to the top of my brain. I never know where a pattern is going to come from, but once it does it seems like it never could have been any other way. Then it bugs me until I get it out on a mitten.

TG: You and I clearly are addicted to Fair Isle knitting. Is it your favorite technique and why?

SJ: It’s the only technique that allows me to get the patterns that occur to me out. More than that, I love the way colours come together in Fair Isle knitting. I am addicted to colour; I love how colours change and take on new tones when you put them together. Playing with colour is the most fun you can have in knitting as far as I’m concerned. Single colour knitting is great too, but colourwork brings in a whole other layer to the process.

TG: Which design in this book are you most proud of and why (I love Midtown and the Penguins)?

SJ: I’m happy you said you like Midtown, because it’s one of my favourites as well. It shows how inspiration can come from something as simple and potentially dull as a ventilation grill or a drain cover. Beauty, pattern, and rhythm are everywhere in the urban landscape. I love cities and have always lived in an urban environment, and infrastructure in my own city has inspired me as well; my Willistead mittens are based on a park gate near where I live. But in travelling to a different city these everyday pieces of the urban landscape take on a newness that they don’t have at home. I really enjoy engaging with places to which I have travelled through knitting. Abney Park, based on a chapel in a London cemetery, is another of my favourite patterns in the book for the same reasons.

TG: Are you a DPN knitter, a magic looper or a 2 circs kind of gal?

SJ: I first learned to knit in the round on DPNs. When I got into mittens, mostly through Elizabeth Upitis’ book Latvian Mittens, I realized DPN knitting was an ancient technique, and I feel like I am part of a great knitting tradition when I use it.

TG: What is your favorite part of mitten knitting? The design phase, the knitting phase, the pattern writing phase?

SJ: My favourite part of mitten knitting? Each part of the process is obviously crucial to the end result, but it’s really exciting for me when the chart first comes together on my computer screen. I get excited to knit it, and then it’s always really satisfying to finish the first few repeats and see the pattern emerge in physical fabric.

TG: In a battle between gusset and afterthought thumbs, who would win and why?

SJ: My money’s on the Gusset thumbs. They are sneaky and they fight dirty.

TG:  Gnomes and fish are a recurring theme for you… Are they close to your heart?

SJ: I have always loved fish and birds. But aside from my love of the animals themselves, I appreciate them as instantly recognizable, basic geometric forms. They are fun shapes to play with, and knitting them makes me happy.

TG: Do you have a favorite kind of color palette?

SJ: I like a folky, natural, traditional colour palette. You can do a lot with bright red, mustard yellow, olive green and natural white.

TG: What are your favorite fibers to work with?

SJ: Wool, wool, and wool. No contest. I particularly like Shetland wool, as it is especially characterful, and just delightful to work with.

TG: Any tips for knitters just starting out on their Fair Isle journey? What did you find helpful when you first started knitting with more then one color?

SJ: Don’t overcomplicate; don’t use more than two colours per round. If you aren’t already, get comfortable knitting with both hands so you can hold two different yarns; your work will go more quickly and will look nicer in the end. Most importantly, it will keep you sane as it prevents prevents irritating tangles.

TG: What’s on your Fair Isle knitting bucket list?

SJ: My husband wants a traditional Fair Isle sweater.

TG: I like that you provide blank templates in the back of the book for those thinking of designing their own mittens. What advice can you offer to people looking to get into designing?

SJ: Keep it simple and logical, and avoid the temptation to overcomplicate things. Simplicity is important when working within the confines of a knitted grid. Keep your eyes open for inspiration and knit what makes you happy.

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Thanks, Jane! Check out all 6 designs from Spilly Jane Knits Mittens on Ravelry here and order her fantastic book here.