Knitcircus Podcast #105

Lately I have been all about colorwork cowls. Being a woman of “a certain age” a stranded colorwork sweater is just too warm for me to even consider wearing, but I love knitting stranded colorwork. Cowls are the perfect solution, because they are incredibly handy and versatile in the winter. I like them better than a scarf for outdoor wear because they stay put better, and they are easily popped on indoors if the room is a little chilly.

2) What was the biggest challenge of designing this project?

My biggest challenge was charting the large leaf motif so that it actually looked like a maple leaf!

3) What was your favorite part of the process?

I love, love, love knitting colorwork with a gradient and a semi-solid because it makes the finished piece look far more complex than it really is. Watching the pattern emerge as I knit is always my favorite part of knitting colorwork, and it is why I can knit it so quickly: I’m so eager to see the design come to life that I knit faster!

4) Your favorite thing about the finished piece?

I love how perfectly suited the yarn is to the design. The finished cowl has an almost velvet look to it because of the depth of color in the yarn.

Here’s a snippet of one of the charts that reveals my dark secret: I chart all my colorwork designs using an Excel spreadsheet and a dingbat font! I never sketch with pencil and paper first, I always start with a blank spreadsheet!

–Wendy D. Johnson

Links:

Wendy’s website Wendy Knits

Maple Leaves Gradient Cowl pattern on Ravelry.

Maple Leaves Gradient Cowl Kit on the Knitcircus website.

Knitcircus Podcast #64

In which Amy gets all Scottish, Jethro gets pony-sized and Jaala sneaks in some tv.

Listen on Libsyn or iTunes

Mentioned this episode:

Jamieson’s of Shetland

The Art of Slip Stitch Knitting, by Faina Goberstein and Simona Merchant-Dest

Knitcircus Fall Retreat

Susan B. Anderson

Knitcircus Fall Collection

Buffalo Wool Company

Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival

Keys to the Castle! And Speckle Yarn and Studio Events

Hi, Knitters,

It’s a whirlwind of activity here as we’ve been sending out Trunk Shows for June (Yarnology, Strings Attached and the Yarnover Truck, whooo!), preparing for TNNA (luckily, I’m just attending, not vending), working on our Kickstarter campaign (still time to get in on the exclusive rewards if you haven’t yet!), getting ready to release a new collection this Friday (yay!) AND packing up for the big move June 1st. And all without our beloved Amy D, who’s leading a group of knitters around Ireland as we speak. 🙂

STUDIO NEWS

Maybe not the prettiest photo, but the prettiest things to me! These are the official Keys to the Studio, so we can come and go at will. Our landlord, Tom, is determined to get everything done so we can move in on time. This is no easy task! He’s in the middle of having the ventilation system installed, tiling and plumbing the bathroom, finished putting in extra electrical for our stoves and is about to knock out a wall!

And here’s the Exclusive Grand Canyon Speckle colorway for our wonderful backers! Getting the pale color to show up was a challenge, but I”m very happy with the way it turned out and hope you’ll love it, too.

Today, we have the fun job of picking out colors for the new spaces…no bashful grays here!

We have a new page on our website for Studio Events! Please check it out for classes, events and general good times.

Finally, I’m very excited to announce one of those Events; the Knitcircus Studio Open House! We’ll celebrate having our doors open and our new digs on Saturday, June 27th, from 12-4:00 pm. If you’re local to Madison, Wisconsin, please join us for gourmet treats, our fresh new store and a special sale event!

Take care , knitters,

Jaala