Interweave Crochet Accessories

Hot off of the interwebs, Interweave Crochet Accessories goes live today. It features a new pattern by the lovely Linda Permann, author of Little Crochet.




This shawl is called Jeanne Lois Bandit and is shown here in 608 Ashburn. Ashburn has turned into one of my all time favorite colorways. I have a Rock Island in it too and it makes lovely lace.

Here's what Linda had to say about it.

The Jeannie Lois Bandit was born out of my wish to design a shawl pattern that was simple to work but still elegant and fun to wear--something that wouldn't intimidate crocheters who are new to lace weight yarn. Working with Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace was a pleasure--this yarn is soft and floaty--like all good shawl yarn should be. It really came to life after blocking. I'd like to crochet another one in a tonal solid to really show off the diamond lace edging, and since the pattern is easy to memorize, I just might! The best part of this shawl is that it takes less than 500 yards of lace weight yarn as written, so one skein of Helen's lace is enough to hook up two--one to gift, and one to keep!

One for you and one for a friend. I couldn't have said it better myself!

**Edited to add a couple more photos. The original was cute but the yarn bombing kinda took focus away from them main attraction!

Before and After

I decided to go through a bunch of old magazine and books last weekend and ran across the Rowan book that I picked my very first project from.



It's called Fisherman Sweater and was designed by Kim Hargreaves. It's from the Fox Tweed book and would have come out somewhere around 1990.



The before photo is styled just the tiniest bit better isn't it?

Anybody else have before and after pix of their first project? Bonus points for any that use Lorna's Laces!

Cat's Anemone Hat

I'm lucky enough to spend time in places where people like Cat Bordhi hang out. That way I can shamelessly beg her to use Lorna's Laces yarn in one of her designs. Well, that shameless begging just paid off in the form of her Anemone Hat.



Is it going to get any cuter than that? I mean really?

But as hard as it might be, I want you to put the cute aside and take a look at all the fun you're going to have knitting it. First of all, there's the moebius brim. Cat is the bomb when it comes to the mobius. This pattern includes updated instructions too!



Not only do you get to do the moebius, you get to learn how to how to make the tendrils. Cat credits Annie Modesitt with teaching her how to make tendrils. That's a whole lot of knitting smarts all wrapped up in one pattern.




As if all that isn't enough, this is a one skein project. Yep folks, you heard it here first, you can make your Anemone with just one skein of Shepherd Worsted. (You'll need an extra skein for the adult sizes if you want extra tendrils.) Cat says "Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted is an absolutely perfect choice: Soft as butter against the skin, and when washed and dried, as bouncy as you could possibly hope for. I rarely declare that a particular yarn is the very best for something; in this case it is." Blush.

She does include a bit of a warning though:

If you wear an Anemone Hat, you will have to get used to being stopped by strangers who are smiling at you and want to tell you how much they like your hat. In the Pacific Northwest, I wear my hats fall through spring, and they inspire ten times as many comments as anything else I have ever designed. An Anemone Hat can provide all these things for you: cozy warmth, beauty, a non-prescription anti-depressant, and a good-hair day.

I think it's worth the risk!

When the cats away...

the mice will play as they say!

Hey folks, Amanda here! Beth is out of town for the next few days attending a TNNA board meeting down in New Orleans. Don't worry I made her promise to eat beignets on my behalf. I noticed she mentioned on Twitter that she was planning to cast on the Swan Lace Sock. Swan Lace is a lovely lace sock designed by Ms. Judy Sumner. Judy was a fantastic designer and wonderful lady who passed away a few weeks ago. In Judy's honor (and in the interest of sneaking around behind Beth's back) I have decided to give you all a FREE download of the pattern.



One condition though! You have to upload your projects on Ravelry so I can see all the pretties!

xo
Amanda

Holiday Knit Simple

Oh my, I just got my issue of Knit Simple Holiday. We're talking about Holiday already?! My brain is still firmly stuck somewhere in the middle of July.



This darling raglan jacket by Amy Polcyn is worked from the top down and is sized up to a 56" bust! It is knit in Lorna's Laces' Shepherd Worsted in 701 Purple Club.

Did you know that purple is Lorna Miser's favorite color? She wears it every single day. She created this color one afternoon when her kids got off the school bus and wanted something to do. She was busy trying to finish up some work and needed something to distract them. She started calling them the "Purple Club" and it stuck!