April 2011 Newsletter

April showers bring May flowers, or in your case, April knits bring May's new looks!

In This Issue: Wrap Yourself Up in a Shawl / Give Yourself a Hand / Your Favorite Sweaters /

Wrap Yourself Up in a Shawl
A light weight shawl will easily transition you from the cooler days of early Spring into the warmer ones. Lily Go, Nelkin Designs and HeartStrings FiberArts bring you 7 new styles. Can't decide which project to knit first? With Lily Go's eBook you won't have to, the Shawls to Knit Collection includes her four new lace designs, Narnia, Poison Ivy, Bella and Metropolitan, for only $15!

Poison Ivy

Narnia

Metropolitan

Bella

Aventina

Nelkin Designs' beaded Aventina is a sumptuous, oversized scarf that you'll love to wrap around yourself. Its worked in two halves and grafted in the middle in Schaefer's silk wool yarn Audrey.

Tourmaline

And Nelkin's triangular Tourmaline is a fast knit in Schaefer's Anne and it quickly adds a little flair to any outfit. It was originally published in Knitscene and now available for purchase as a PDF.

Half Note Symphony Shawl

HeartStrings' Half Note Symphony Shawl is a semi-circular lace shawl, in alternating wedges of 2 harmonious colors, it features a fluted hem and scooped neckline turned back into an asymmetric collar. Purl lace short-row wedges, separated by spokes of garter stitch bands, gradually narrow as they encircle this sophisticated shawl.

Give Yourself a Hand
Knitting is a "hands on" activity, celebrate your crafty fingers with one of these new glove projects.

Clepsydra

Through The Loops' delicate Clepdydra mittens feature twisted cables flowing from cuff to fingertips. A cabled icord adds interest and rings the cuff and they're worked in Berroco's Ultra Alpaca.

Watch the ribs part to show the hidden beads glimmering in the shadows when you put on Sivia Hardings' Fluency Gloves and don’t miss the special twisted stitch pattern that adorns the thumb. The ribbing creates a delicious hug for your hands that is very stretchy. Pattern fits a wide range of hand sizes and they can even be knit fingerless.

Fluency

Errant Lace Hand Coverings

HeartStrings' Errant Lace Hand Coverings will keep your wrists and hands warm. The tapered fit, DK weight yarn and an easy-to-read lace stitch pattern make these simple and quick to knit. For symmetry, instructions are provided for making the left and right a mirror of each other.

Knit Look Fingerless Mitts

And Knotsewcute's Knit Look Fingerless Mitts are really crocheted. Their stretch will completely conformed to the shape of your hand and its created by slip-stitches giving you a flexible crocheted fabric. This easy pattern offers 3 different sizes that range from a teen to a man's medium, however the pattern can easily be altered to fit everyone's needs.

Your Favorite Sweaters
An easy fit sweater fits your lifestyle perfectly. Knit one of these projects this weekend and you'll have a fresh new look for Spring.

Cayden

Nelkin Designs' Cayden is an oversized vest meant to throw on over jeans and a t-shirt, your favorite dress, or whatever suits your mood. Seamless and worked from the bottom up, decreases occur along the bobble edge all the way up to the neckline so that the front hem falls gracefully downwards. Its knit in Schaefer's merino wool, silk and nylon blend yarn Heather.

And introducing a new knitwear designer, Joji Locatelli of JOJI! Her two new cardigan designs have a fluid drape that flatter many figures and look great paired with casual looks. Pole is very versatile, seamless and features a large collar, A-line shape and gathered cuffs. The circular piece of the body is built using short rows to form wedges. Directions are given for a seamless and a seamed version and the pattern includes 8 sizes knit with only 5, 6 or 7 skeins of Malabrigo Merino Worsted.

Pole

Penelope

While JOJI's Penelope is a fresh take on the classic cabled cardigan you love, a beautiful, modern cardigan, featuring cables and twisted stitches in the lower part of the body. This pattern is virtually seamless with only two vertical seams.

Cast on today and be wearing one of these new shawl or gloves by next week, or begin one these sweater projects and get hours of knitting enjoyment. Thank you for taking a moment to share my April news. I look forward to hearing about which project you work on and, as usual, I'm always happy to help you with any of your fiber arts needs.