Button Day

Actually, today in Ontario, is ‘Family Day’ - a new stat holiday I think only us in Ontario  - and Alberta and Sask- maybe - get, because some politician was looking for votes - kind of dumb, I think because everything is closed (even Home Depot) so what are you supposed to do - can't even go stateside because it's Presidents Day and the post office is closed...I did go out to go snow shoeing with my niece and saw our poor mail carriers doing their routes - ha! ha! they are federal employees and don’t get this day off (yet)!

Just finishing up the February Pattern of the Month designs - this means all the little finishing details, darning in ends and sewing on buttons - and doing the final tweaking of the actual patterns. Thought I’d give you a quick preview of what’s coming if you’ve subscribed to my Serial Stuff (thanks if you have - if not, you still have a week to get on board!).

Marsh Print (working title) is a new sideways knit, for the standard gauge - well, actually I did wear it last fall in Cleveland so it’s not really new, new - everyone loved it, but I didn’t have the pattern ready then, so if you’ve been waiting, here it is. The yarn is woolray/velveen, aka Wool Crepe Deluxe and Sue at ‘Knit It Now’ (used to be BT Yarns) had it on sale again, I noticed... anyway, this design features back and front knit cuff to cuff - I’m giving several variations - I’ve actually knit it 4 different ways, playing with sleeve length, and size and placement of the gores which add fullness in the hip region - this variation has a box pleat 3/4 length sleeve - I also made it in Mini Dina and in Tamm Diamante - I did get same gauge with each of these yarns, so you’ll have a variety of yarn choices. The pattern will include various edge finishes and different bands. On this marsh print, I used the purl side as the right side, because I liked it better - I thought the purl side didn’t look as stripey - but the other versions use the knit side as right side. The full-peplum-look from waist to hem is created with gores and again, I experimented with a very large gore (this one) to a much smaller gore, resulting in a less full bottom. This garment can look very fancy or relatively casual, depending on how you pair it.

For mid gaugers, the Red Raglan (working title) is it for February - an A-line shape cardigan with fancy detail in the raglan decreases and rib and cable combination hand transferred hems, cuffs and collar - lots of nice details for the intermediate/advanced knitter - there is a plain version for the beginner knitter - knit in a DK weight wool. A great button loop technique that really makes the front band outstanding, will solve the buttonhole dilemma for many. It’s always a challenge to find the perfect button to go with something you’ve made - one tip - I am hardly ever able to find an exact colour match for buttons, so I usually opt for metallic or wooden buttons - these buttons are just laying on the garment right now - I’ll look at them for a bit before deciding - I usually pin them on and try on the cardigan to get a better idea - my other option is a flat wooden button the same size that I’ll paint to match if I don’t like these...