New Pattern: Hydrophile

I am just rolling them out here, aren’t I? Well, this one has been a long time in the planning. I actually got the yarn for Hydrophile almost 18 months ago! It does not usually take me that long. Shocking, I know. It is one of those things that happens. You start the design and then other things with deadlines get in the way. When I did finally come back to it, it was like a whole new design to me and I was excited to finish it. I am excited to show it to you now!

While I did the sample for Hydrophile, the lovely yarn made me think of water and how much I wanted to be at the beach. In fact, most of this sample was knit while sitting on the beach. So, I chose the name Hydrophile. Hydrophiles are molecules that are attracted to or dissolved by water. I thought it a very fitting name for it.

The cardigan is top down, knit flat. It is almost a shrug, but not quite. The body has some slight shaping and a ruffled bottom edge pays more homage to water echoing the waves hitting the shore. The open front is edged with a garter collar to give textural interest. It hangs beautifully when worn open. The collar is wide enough that you can use a shawl pin to wear it closed.

The cardigan is worked up in Malabrigo Arroyo, which is a favorite of mine. It knits up so beautifully. The colors are so saturated and vibrant. It wears beautifully and is just so soft.

New Pattern: Highlight

I told you I would be back this week. Well, here I am! I have a new sweater design for you. Highlight is a top down raglan pullover with a few extra details. It’s not your run of the mill raglan, by any means.

Yes, that is me modeling. This sweater is a pullover design that utilizes brights and darks, color blocking and stripes. I am really loving bright bold colors and patterns lately. Maybe you noticed with my last shawl design (Flouro). This sweater has a few details, that are not entirely as obvious as the color.

The sweater has a lowered neckline in front and also faux saddle shoulders. It is still all one piece, worked flat and then joined. No seaming involved, though you do have to pick up stitches for the collar.

Look down at my hip. The seams are split and the back is slightly longer than the front.  I especially love this detail. I think I will really like layering this with a cami in the winter for extra warmth. It gets really cold here in North Dakota.

The color and yarn choice are definitely elements that I thought very hard about for this design. I wanted brights and I wanted to pair them with something dark. I like the contrast. The brights are toned down a bit by the dark. Now, that’s not to say that this wouldn’t be great in another set of colors. It would be. You could have fun with it. Think about it a little. It could be a great stashbuster. Or something to use those minis up on. Each stripe could be a different color. RAINBOWS!!!!

The yarn is Rain City Knits Organic Merino fingering weight. It is a gorgeous yarn and really a pleasure to knit with. Krista has some of the most vibrant colors I have seen. In fact, when I was thinking about this design, her colors were what I had in mind.I do have some leftovers. I might be thinking of a hat.

Now, sometimes when I release a pattern, I put it on sale. I decided to put this one on sale, too. I have a promotion going right now to go along with Stockpile, too. This sweater pattern will be 35% off with the code HIGHLIGHT at checkout until October 5th.

Please check out my group! I will be putting together some fun giveaways this next few weeks and you wouldn’t want to miss out on yarn!!! and patterns!!! and extra stuff!!! Oh, and the next KAL. I also run my test knits there, so if you want in on one of those, let me know. I will be putting up a new one…hopefully next week. Maybe two, even. So, please stop by.